About 50 people (and one well-dressed canine) showed at Borough Hall this morning to support the drive to downzone Carroll Gardens. Council Member Bill de Blasio organized the rally, and he had some big news to share: The Department of City Planning has officially committed to studying a downzoning of the neighborhood. The news comes hot on the heels of Planning’s announcement that it would initiate a a zoning text amendment to impose height limitations on 1st through 4th Place. De Blasio is also pushing for the city to impose building height limitations of 50 feet while the downzoning is studied. We want to limit heights until a legal downzoning goes through, de Blasio said at the rally. Representatives of Assemblywoman Nydia Velazquez and Assemblywoman Joan Millman also spoke in support of the downzoning, as did Gary Reilly of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association. What attracts people to the neighborhood is its low scale, said Reilly. We want to prevent Carroll Gardens from becoming the next Williamsburg, with developers throwing up buildings willy-nilly. De Blasio noted that downzonings typically take a year to a year and a half to push through, and time is of the essence in terms of downzoning Carroll Gardens since the clock is ticking on the current administration’s term.
Prelude to a Downzone in Carroll Gardens? [Brownstoner]
Update on Carroll Gardens Development Issues [Brownstoner]