01LU 0326-2025Laid over
Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises · Tuesday, July 8, 2025
The one where Restler refuses to take a developer's word for it — and forces affordability into the zoning text itself
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CEQR: Other
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A Brooklyn zoning hearing turned into a fight over trust. On 236 Gold Street, a 14-story building with 114 units and 29 permanently affordable, Lincoln Restler refused to accept the applicant's promise on the record alone , 'leave it up to the goodwill of applicants, we get burned' , and pushed to bake an affordability mechanism straight into the zoning resolution, while neighbors William and Nancy Vinnicomb fought the tower's height on a Duffield/Concord block of row houses. The same skepticism rippled across the calendar: RXR's 4.6-million-square-foot 47 Hall Street campus drew a 32BJ challe
From the room
“from an existing R6B to a C62A zoning district, as well as to require affordable housing in the form of mandatory inclusionary housing”
— Richard Lobel
“if landmark designation or creation of a landmark district is not viable. So I think it's it's it's something that we should continue to explore”
— Lincoln Restler
“in two thousand three, in partnership with city planning and the local council member at the time, worked to rezone bridge plaza”
— William Vinnicomb
“There's some some property that has uh a bit of a C62 on it now and uh that has been rezoned that goes up against the backyards”
— William Vinnicomb
01
The decisions
602LU 0327-2025Laid over
Ajo & Oregano Restaurant
03LU 0331-2025C 250050 ZMKZoning MapLaid over
40 HALL STREET
with 1 related matter · LU 0332-2025
Heard with a labor fight at its center and laid over: RXR's 2.6-acre, 600-plus-unit mixed-use redevelopment at 47 Hall Street drew strong support from the Brooklyn Chamber and others touting 150-plus permanently affordable homes and 500-plus construction jobs, but SEIU Local 32BJ's Sarah Pennenberg asked the subcommittee to vote no because RXR had made no commitment to property-service or security jobs. The Borough President had already disapproved, citing loss of manufacturing, weak affordability, and self-storage use.
The deal
Site
40 HALL STREET
Affordable
153
District
Mandatory inclusionary housing
153 affordable
Option 1
Option 1
Land-use review
Properties40 HALL STREET
04LU 0333-2025C 240275 ZMKZoning MapLaid over
347 FLUSHING AVENUE
with 1 related matter · LU 0334-2025
Heard and laid over for negotiation: the council took up an unusual rezoning for the already-built structure at 347 Flushing Avenue, which sits in a manufacturing district and now wants permission to add commercial uses and legalize the residential units at its eastern end. Sponsors called the progress encouraging and hoped for a positive outcome.
The deal
Site
347 FLUSHING AVENUE
District
Mandatory inclusionary housing
Conditions
- meaningful community use of remaining community facility space
- resolve community-benefit conversations (food pantry, Shomrim parking) before vote
Land-use review
CB Brooklyn Community Board 1 Approve
Properties347 FLUSHING AVENUE
Where it standsCB Brooklyn Community Board 1 ✓→Committee→Full Council
05LU 0335-2025C 250030 ZMKZoning MapLaid over
236 GOLD STREET
with 1 related matter · LU 0336-2025
Heard amid sustained opposition and held over for tighter terms: residents of Bridge Plaza fought the residential mixed-use plan at 236 Gold Street as a threat to the historic low-rise blocks, with Nancy Vinnicomb (whose family home has stood there 100+ years) urging rejection and William Vinnicomb warning that 29 units weren't worth a precedent that could erase the neighborhood. Lincoln Restler pushed back on leaving safeguards to applicant goodwill , 'we get burned' , and demanded the step-down conditions be written into the zoning text.
The deal
Site
236 GOLD STREET
Affordable
87
District
Mandatory inclusionary housing
29 affordable
29 affordable
29 affordable
Opposition & support
Concerns: negative impacts on quality of life · light · air
Conditions
- Binding agreements in the zoning resolution guaranteeing a meaningful step down so a 14-story is not immediately next to the corner townhouse; thoughtful design integrating into the neighborhood
- Guarantee a meaningful step down in zoning so there is no 14-story immediately next to the corner townhouse
Land-use review
CEQR: Other
CB Community Board (downtown Brooklyn) Disapprove
CB Brooklyn Community Board 2 Other
Properties236 GOLD STREET
Where it standsCB Community Board (downtown Brooklyn) ✓→Committee→Full Council
06LU 0337-2025C 240223 ZMQZoning MapLaid over
42-11 30 AVENUE
with 1 related matter · LU 0338-2025
Heard and held over: the council reviewed a residential mixed-use rezoning at 42-11 30th Avenue in Astoria, the CG Stone Realty site that currently houses a Key Food grocery store in Council Member Caban's district. Kevin Riley noted for the record that while he isn't against studios, he sees one-bedrooms as more livable and dignified.
The deal
Site
42-11 30 AVENUE
Affordable
21
District
Mandatory inclusionary housing
Option 17 affordable
7 affordable
Option 1
7 affordable
Land-use review
CB Community Board One Other
CB Community Board One Other
CB community board Other
Properties42-11 30 AVENUE
Where it standsCB Community Board One ✓→Committee→Full Council
Also in the record
Records not linked to a specific agenda item
Mandatory inclusionary housing
150 affordable
Land-use review
CB Queens CB1
Questions & answers
Chair Riley (S9): Why propose only 5 stories vs R6A's allowed 95 ft, and is the community OK with potentially 9 stories?
Procedure
- Opening of NYC Council Subcommittee on Zoning & Franchises hearing; no one may approach the dais; testimony slips via sergeant-at-arms; silence electronic devices — Sergeant-at-Arms / Clerk
- Six public hearings scheduled today — Clerk
- Order of hearings will be mixed up; sidewalk cafes heard first — Clerk
- Hybrid format; public may testify in person or remotely; register at council.nyc.gov/landuse; 2-minute testimony limit — Clerk
+4 more procedural steps
Where it standsCB Queens CB1 ✓→Committee→Full Council
02
The people
Public testimony: 3 in favor · 8 opposed
Practitioners & applicants
Arya
03
The intelligence
Every parcel, owner, and applicant in this meeting, cross-referenced against Zonable’s NYC ownership, enforcement & legislative graph — the record behind the record.
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Owner portfolios, open OATH/ECB violations, 311 & DOB permits across every parcel discussed, developer track records, and an “ask this meeting” chat. For this meeting: 400 oath/ecb hearings across the 4 sites discussed.
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