Maybe market-rate condos won’t be part of the Bedford-Union Armory after all

EDC president James Patchett said city is reevaluating that component of the project

Bedford-Union Armory
Bedford-Union Armory

Market rate condos could be on their way out of Brooklyn’s controversial Bedford-Union Armory project.

The Crown Heights development has drawn strong neighborhood opposition so far, and Economic Development Corporation president James Patchett said at a hearing this week that the city is “reevaluating” its decision to include 40 market rate condos in the project, according to the Daily News.

The overall plan includes 56 condos, 20 percent of which would include income restrictions, as well as 330 apartments, half of which would have income restrictions. It would also include a large recreation center that the condos were supposed to help pay for.

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Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration has been trying to move the project forward, but local Councilmember Laurie Cumbo continues to oppose it, largely due to the market rate condos.

The armory has sparked several fears about higher rents and displacement in Crown Heights, but the City Planning Commission voted 11-1 in late October to move forward with the project. de Blasio had said earlier this fall that his administration would work with Cumbo to address her concerns with the armory. [NYDN] – Eddie Small