While some projects on the stretch of Schermerhorn Street between Bond
and Smith streets in Downtown Brooklyn have stalled amid the downturn,
development has stayed strong in much of the area. New buildings
include the Smith, a 50-unit condominium that has sold out; 236
Livingston, a 278-unit project that will open in mid-2010; and
Schermerhorn House, a 217-unit affordable housing project. By the
middle of next year, there will be about 1,000 new residential units in
the neighborhood, according to Joe Chan, president of the Downtown
Brooklyn Partnership. One project, Be@Schermerhorn, has stalled. [more]

The City Planning Commission today launched the public review for an 86-block rezoning in the Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street areas of Brooklyn, according to a press release from the planning commissioner’s office. Community members have criticized the existing zoning for allowing construction that is out-of-scale with the neighborhood’s existing buildings. The rezoning would set height limits of between 50 and 80 feet in various parts of the rezoning area. The proposed rezoning area is bounded in Carroll Gardens by Degraw Street, Warren Street and Douglass Street to the north; Hoyt Street, Bond Street and Smith Street to the east; 3rd, 4th and 5th streets, Centre Street and Hamilton Avenue to the south and Hicks Street to the west. The rezoning area also includes about 14 blocks of Columbia Street. The current zoning regulations put no height limits on buildings. The community board has 60 days to review the proposal. TRD [more]