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November 19, 2008

The Rezoning of Windsor Terrace

With all the focus on Gowanus lately, we've neglected Windsor Terrace, which is also being considered for a re-zone. Monday, City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden started up the public review process for about five blocks of what they're calling East Windsor Terrace. Looks like this would mostly be down-zoning, to prevent the higher rises of Ocean Parkway and Coney Island Ave from seeping into the low-rise side streets (seems like the Caton Place condo projects, forever stalled and the scourge of the neighborhood, might be an issue here). "The current zoning has permitted construction of buildings that are not consistent with the area's prevailing built character," DCP writes. "Of particular concern is the R6 zoning mapped in portions of the rezoning area, which can permit the construction of apartment buildings without height limits that are out of character with the surrounding built context." Besides appropriate height limits, the rezoning would add a commercial overlay for part of Caton Avenue (not to be confused with Caton Place), to keep business viable. The application had gone to CB7 for a 60-day review. Meanwhile, CB7 holds a board meeting tonight at 6:30PM, 4201 4th Avenue at 43rd Street, but the public hearing for the rezoning is on December 10. For more info on ULURP, click here.




Posted by lisa at 10:52 AM | Comments (14)
Categories: Windsor Terrace, Zoning

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WAIT A FREAKIN MINUTE - THIS IS NOT "WINDSOR TERRACE EAST" IT'S KENSINGTON YOU D-BAGS. I live in this rezoning area, and have no problem with it, but I will not have my neighborhood renamed "windsor terrace east", which is a fairly ridiculous name anyway, because everything east of windsor terrace is prospect park - this area is SOUTH of windsor terrace, and has been known as known as Kensington since the prospect expressway was built.

Posted by: lalaland at November 19, 2008 11:31 AM

yeah, I'd have to agree with lalaland, this isn't windsor terrace....windsor terrace stops at ocean parkway/fort hamilton pkwy to the south there...just above the boundary of the map.

A couple of questions for lalaland or anyone...what's going in on the site on east 7th btw Kermit Place and Caton Avenue...there used to be a couple abandoned houses there that were knocked down and a foundation was layed but it's been sitting empty for a couple of months now.

Also, other than the 6 floor monstrosity on the north side of caton place (right across from the stables) is there also another building on the south side of Caton place that's also sitting unfinished? I usually walk down east 8th and don't go down caton place,so I haven't seen it but a planner at the DCP Brooklyn office just told me there was another unfinished building across the street from the monstrosity.

Posted by: otisbirdsong at November 19, 2008 11:46 AM

Go to the meeting and tell them to call it the Kensington rezoning!

Posted by: lisa at November 19, 2008 11:53 AM

What the hell? I just spent 5 minutes staring at the map trying to figure out where the hell this was. Why can't they call it Kensington? Kensington is a perfectly nice neighborhood all on its own - it doesnt need to be renamed.

All that said, Im glad they are down downing. Those big buildings can go.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at November 19, 2008 12:24 PM

I have some news on the buildings torn down on East 7th next to the monster vacant lot on Caton across from the nursury: the monster lot was to be developed into a nursing home, and the houses that were torn down were to be medical offices to support that facility, but the nursing home developer (who was going to build it for his temple's congregation) passed away, so the whole project is stalled, and nobody knows anything about it's future.

Also, the "monstrosity" (not that I disagree with that) has been stalled for 6 months - 1st a stop work order, then I heard the mezzanine lender went under, and the bank took the builder to court for missed payments. Future unknown. Across from that is a vacant lot, not another building. That project was supposed to be developed by Empire Properties or something like that, but they had huge exposure to the miami condo boom, so don't know how well they are doing, but nothing has been done since they tore down the 1 story warehouse that used to be there (not the prettiest thing that one either).

Ah, northeast Kensington, land of condo misery - makes the Park Circle condos on CIA look like a smashing success.... ON the upside, don't think the stables have to worry about any future relocations.

Posted by: lalaland at November 19, 2008 12:31 PM

Lalaland,

Thanks for the information.

I had heard that the East 7th street building was possibly going to be a nursing home...but nothing more than that...and I figured something else happened since the

Yes, it's too bad that the other stable was knocked down for the 'monstrosity'...but I agree, it looks like kensington stables will survive!

Have they sold all the park cirle unit's, last I heard and looked there still seemed to be a bunch left?

Thanks.

Posted by: otisbirdsong at November 19, 2008 12:48 PM

Hey--I live near the monstrosity. Is there any chance the structure as it now stands could get torn down? If it stands in limbo for too long? Please?

Posted by: Ruska at November 19, 2008 1:39 PM

Actually, according to the NYC Parks, Windsor Terrace's southern border is Caton Ave.

http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=12420


Posted by: hazmat at November 20, 2008 12:23 AM

NYC Parks is wrong....Windsor Terracs boundaries are Prospect Park West, Prospect Park, Greenwood Cemetery and Fort Hamilton/Ocean Parkway.

simple enough.

Posted by: otisbirdsong at November 20, 2008 12:30 PM

Well, interesting that they and also residents who have all grown up in the neighborhood all say that WT goes down to Caton. How do you know that WT ends at Fort Hamilton Pkwy?

Posted by: hazmat at November 20, 2008 12:48 PM

Park Circle is almost sold out, there are a couple of units left.

Posted by: klikabklyn at November 20, 2008 5:10 PM

This re-zoning is the happy conclusion to a long process of community planning conducted by residents of the immediate neighborhood. The Stable Brooklyn Community Group conducted planning workshops in 2005 and developed the plan under the guidance of Prof. Tom Angotti (Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Urban Development, author of "New York for Sale"--MIT Press). Since then, we presented it to City Planning, DOT, and elected officials. The zoning aspects that are a part of the current ULURP come directly from the plan. We purposely did not want to rezone the stables area because we want to protect it from residential development.

If anyone is interested in the original vision, a copy of the community's plan can be downloaded from stablebrooklyn.com. Besides the zoning, it includes our ideas about bike/pedestrian/equestrian access to Prospect Park and a handful of other things.

As for the name of the neighborhood, we aren't being snobby. We feel like part of Kensington, but the neighborhood line is drawn at Caton Avenue (as is the Community Board line). The Ft. Hamilton Pkwy and footbridge from the Robert Moses era is what severed the neighborhood originally. We also advocate tearing that barrier down (see the report). Even still, the folks who live here say "Windsor Terrace/Kensington border" which is really what it is, or "the stables area". Real estate agents always make up their own names. We know where we are--on the border of everything.

Posted by: stablebrooklyn at November 21, 2008 4:19 PM

Plus, north of Caton Ave. is Time Warner Cable, and south is Cablevision.

Posted by: hazmat at November 21, 2008 9:00 PM

This is a residential community not a commercial area. I've lived here for 30 years and I do not recall a clamoring for for all of these changes. I don't want this to into Park snobby Slope. Changing the name changes the faces of this community and what it means. Growing up with Irish,Turkish, Russian, Jewish, Arab, Indian, Blacks and Puerto Ricans, all sharing sharing the space and finding peace and building a community. Developers and greedy landlords chased the old residents of Williamsburg and Brownsville out for hiipsters and now its spreading to Caton Avenue. There are more condos being built than schools but the last time I checked, there were more children under the age of 16 in Kensington, than hipsters crying out for Lattes or Brooklyn Lager. The bridges are beautiful, running across it at night with my sister and being smacked in the nose by the scent of Kensington Stables was a part of my childhood. Acting West Side Story scenes running across it at night as teen and no one could see it. How dare you UNStable Brooklyn Community Group speak of taking this away.

Posted by: CatonAveLIVES at December 8, 2008 11:05 PM

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