Big changes coming to East New York

 Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing push is going to usher in big changes for some under-utilized New York City neighborhoods. But Brooklyn’s East New York neighborhood is about to see some of the biggest changes of all.

The administration’s complete plan for East New York is still several months away, but a report from the Department of City Planning has shed some light on what’s to come, according to New York YIMBY.

A rendering of a rezoned East New York

First of all, East New York won’t be receiving any towering apartments complexes. Instead, expect mid-rise housing along Atlantic and Pitkin Avenue and “regional scale development” near Broadway Junction.

Primarily commercial Atlantic Avenue will also be seeing a swath of new residential development, after current zoning rules are altered.

Plans also call for the redevelopment of Pitkin Avenue to the south and Fulton Street to the north, both of which will receive new apartment buildings, after zoning is changed from low-density to medium-density.

Broadway Junction will also see ambitious changes in the form of “regional scale” development similar to Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal. Officials hope to attract offices, retail, movie theaters, or a college campus to the area.

However, some are criticizing plans for East New York for not going far enough. They suggest the medium-density development isn’t enough, and that high-density zoning is necessary to achieve the administration’s ambitious affordable housing goals. [NY YIMBY] – Christopher Cameron