Brooklyn, Harlem community boards reject controversial rezoning plans

Community boards in Harlem and Crown Heights rejected two controversial rezoning proposals amid anxiety over rising rents and displacement.

In a Tuesday night vote, members of Community Board 9 voted not to support the plan to convert the Bedford-Union Armory into condominiums. Dozens of activists attended the meeting holding signs reading “BFC = Gentrification” in reference to developer BFC Partners [TRDataCustom] and cheered the result.

The board merely has an advisory role and the project’s fate rests on the de Blasio administration and the City Council. The project would include 330 rental apartments, some of them below-market, 58 condos and a 35,000-square-foot recreation center.

Local council member Laurie Cumbo opposes the project in its current form.

“We have certainly heard from the community throughout this process that the condos are a significant sticking point,” Lydia Downing of the New York City Economic Development Corporation said. “So what we’re trying to do now is negotiate with BFC to understand, is there a way to remove the condos and still have a financially feasible project?”

Meanwhile in East Harlem, Community Board 11 voted unanimously not to support a rezoning of the neighborhood that would allow new buildings to rise up to 35 stories tall, unless certain conditions were met.  The decision irked neighborhood activists, who had hoped the board would reject any rezoning in principle, holding up signs reading “no to racist rezoning.” [DNAinfo] and [DNAinfo] — Konrad Putzier