City Planning aims to reduce Downtown Brooklyn parking requirement for developers

The Department of City Planning proposed zoning changes that aim to reduce the required number of parking spots developers must build for Downtown Brooklyn residential buildings, Crain’s reported. City Planning sent the proposal to Brooklyn Community Board 2 and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz in an effort “to better reflect actual parking demand in Downtown Brooklyn,” said the department in its zoning amendment.

Downtown Brooklyn developers must create four parking spaces for every ten residential units in their buildings, which has increased building costs while making for a parking space surplus. City Planning’s proposal centers on cutting that required number in half to two parking spaces for every 10 residential units. In addition, the department wants to end parking minimums in buildings that have affordable housing units.

These modifications would only apply to a section of Downtown Brooklyn near Fort Greene, where a number of garages sit mostly vacant. [Crain’s]