Amid rezoning bid, some locals seek to prevent Bushwick from becoming like Williamsburg

As discussions about a Bushwick rezoning bid take shape, some locals are hoping to prevent the neighborhood from becoming the next luxury condominium-filled Williamsburg. The Wall Street Journal reported that community leaders, such as Councilmember Diana Reyna, are seeking to influence the development that some see as inevitable.

Reyna, for one, wants the rezoning to Look Different Than The One That Took Place in Williamsburg and Greenpoint seven years ago and paved the way for high-density luxury developments and rental buildings to overtake industrial properties. Reyna, instead, wants low-rise developments to populate the industrial Bushwick, so a strong presence of affordable housing and for local jobs to be preserved.

Brooklyn’s Community Board 4, which represents Bushwick, has begun looking at reactions to a potential neighborhood rezoning. The process is slated to wrap up next year. As The Real Deal previously reported, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Brookyn Borough President Marty Markowitz want to keep Bushwick’s zoning predominantly industrial in hopes of retaining a manufacturing center in the city.

However, Steiner Studios is redeveloping an old office building into a rental property on Broadway and Ellery Street. And Paloma Partners is also developing a 12-unit rental building at Wilson and Willoughby avenues. [WSJ]