2nd Restraining Order Stalls Towers Next To BK Botanic Gardens

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Questions about the legality of virtual hearings held during the coronavirus pandemic that put the Gowanus rezoning on hold have stalled another controversial Brooklyn project, this time in Crown Heights.

Opponents of the 960 Franklin Ave. rezoning — which would make way for two apartment towers next to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens — were granted a temporary restraining order against the project on Tuesday, barring developers from continuing the public review process that started last month.

The ruling is the second time a judge has delayed the project thanks to legal action from local activists, who contend the towers would cast devastating shadows on the gardens and don't include enough affordable housing.

This time, activists echoed the legal argument used in a pending case against the Gowanus Rezoning, which claims remote hearings set up during the pandemic stifle public participation.

“Our community has said no to 960 Franklin more times than I can count, but yet again, we’re forced to fight developers tooth and nail to stop a project that will displace long-term residents and destroy part of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden," said Michael Hollingsworth, a City Council candidate and one of three plaintiffs on the latest suit.

"Anyone who’s saying ULURP actually works for the people isn’t working for the people. This TRO is only a temporary win in a deeply flawed process, but we won’t let that shake our resolve. We’ll continue to say no to 960 as long as community voices are shut out of the process.”

The latest restraining order was granted by Kings County Supreme Court Justice Katherine Levine, the same judge who is overseeing the case in Gowanus. So far, in that case, Levine has seemed skeptical of the argument that virtual hearings are against the law, but has pushed the city to come up with "creative" ways to increase public access.

The Franklin Avenue lawsuit — which includes Hollingsworth and local groups The Movement to Protect the People and Flower Lovers Against Corruption — comes several weeks after the proposal started the public review process with unlikely odds for approval.

Both the Department of City Planning and Mayor Bill de Blasio have come out against the plans.

The legal challengers specifically pointed to a Feb. 24 Crown Heights community board meeting in their argument against virtual meetings.

The meeting, which was capped at a certain number of participants but later posted online, included a presentation from developers about new, shorter alternatives to the towers' original 34-story design. The board's official hearing under the city's public review process on the project was slated for later this month.

"...The first virtual hearing—which occurred on Wednesday, February 24, 2021—denied scores of residents, including Community Board 9 Board members and committee members, from attending and fully participating in the rezoning process," the opponents said in a release about the restraining order.

The restraining order will delay further meetings about the Franklin Avenue project until at least March 12, when the case is expected back in court.

The city's Law Department said they will challenge the latest case. They have maintained in the Gowanus case that virtual meetings, accessible by computer or phone, have increased public participation in the review process.

“The public must have a voice in land use decisions," Law Department spokesman Nick Paolucci said. "We are challenging this effort to stifle public discussion of this land use proposal.”