Prospect Lefferts Gardens residents push for development cap

Prospect Lefferts Gardens residents, angered by a planned residential tower on Flatbush Avenue, are pushing for a halt to the neighborhood’s furious rate of construction.

A group of 300 neighbors and area residents gathered Tuesday and called on the city to implement new zoning that would force builders to present their plans to the community before forging ahead. The move comes on the heels of recent opposition to Hudson Companies’ 23-story tower planned for 626 Flatbush Avenue, which activists have sued to halt altogether.

“All we want is for the community’s will to be a significant factor,” Quest Fanning, who has lived in the area his whole life, told the Brooklyn Paper. “They should only have the right to develop within the framework of people’s surroundings.”

The controversial Hudson Companies tower, slated to rise between Fenimore and Hawthorne streets, would contain 254 apartments, 50 of which would be below-market-rate, according to the paper. Because the developer’s plans fit within the rules of the city zoning maps, Hudson was not legally obliged to consult the community before kicking off construction.

But that hasn’t stopped advocates insisting that because the developer received a $72 million loan from New York State, it should study the impact of the project on the area. The suit also cites the development’s potential affect area rents and cast shadows over Prospect Park as reasons for a study. [Brooklyn Paper] — Julie Strickland