City Council Approves Revised Arrow Linen Rezoning in Park Slope
The rezoning will allow two 10-story buildings to rise on the longtime industrial laundry site.
The Arrow Linen site in Park Slope. Photo by Susan De Vries
A revised rezoning plan for the Arrow Linen site on Prospect Avenue has been approved by the City Council, clearing the way for a new residential development after a contentious yearlong process.
While the deal, which reduces the building heights and increases the number of affordable apartments, comes with a legally binding Community Benefits Agreement, community members who fought against the original plan have raised concerns about its enforceability.
The CBA, which is between local nonprofit Fifth Avenue Committee and Arrow Linen, states that the developers will stick to 10-story residential buildings at 467 Prospect Avenue, a reduction from the originally proposed 13-story towers and less than what the new R7A zoning would allow.
The development will also include a larger percentage of affordable housing than required under the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program, with 40 percent of the units—at least 100 apartments—designated as rent-regulated for families earning an average of 60 percent of Area Median Income, rather than the 25 percent initially proposed, the CBA says. The developers must also make “reasonable efforts” to offer a portion of the apartments to families at 30 percent of AMI, the agreement states.
More than half of the affordable units will be two- and three-bedroom apartments, according to local Council Member Shahana Hanif (although the CBA doesn’t mention unit size).
As part of the CBA, the project will provide 1,200 square feet of subsidized space for Sakhi, a local organization serving South Asian survivors of domestic violence, offered at a 15 percent discount below market rent. The agreement also includes plans for a childcare center run by a local provider, but says if developers fail to find a tenant after a year it can be leased to another communtiy facility. FAC will oversee outreach and marketing for the affordable housing, with a focus on local residents having access to the new units, the CBA says.
The developers have also committed to sustainability and job creation measures, including the construction of a green roof, flood mitigation efforts, and a partnership with labor union 32BJ to prioritize local hiring. A construction task force will be established to provide accountability throughout the development process.
In response to concerns from nearby homeowners, the final zoning plan includes an R6B designation for buildings bookended by the U-shaped Arrow Linen property, as well as a rent-stabilized building at the corner of Prospect and 8th avenues. The change is aimed at protecting the properties from speculation and future upzonings while still requiring MIH affordability.
Despite the changes to Arrow Linen’s original rezoning proposal, Housing Not Highrises, a neighborhood advocacy group formed in opposition to the original plan, said they still had concerns. Jay Goldberg, a HNH member, said while the group is proud its advocacy led to the improvements in the plan, he said overall they feel like community voices were sidelined.
He said HNH was excluded from the community benefits agreement negotiations, something Hanif disputes, and said the agreement appears to be structured in a way that benefits Arrow Linen’s owners and may not hold up if the property is sold. The group also raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, as he said Fifth Avenue Committee would benefit from its role in marketing the affordable units.
“We are disappointed that the Council Member did not engage the community at all for this rezoning that she’s known about since she was first elected. We are frustrated that we had to push and push to get any reply from her. We are incensed that we as a community were repeatedly rebuffed in our many attempts to be a signatory to the CBA for which we put forward a compromise that the community would accept,” he said in a statement.
“She could have been a hero of the community, and we think she’s seriously damaged whatever tenuous relationship she may have had with Windsor Terrace and South Slope.”
HNH is also concerned about the environmental risks at the site, Goldberg said, with the Arrow Linen property having an E-designation and requiring environmental remediation due to the presence of asbestos, cleaning chemicals, and mold in the existing buildings. HNH is pushing for a thorough environmental assessment before demolition begins, stressing the location of three nearby schools.
A rep for Hanif said the HNH’s feedback was incorporated into the plan throughout the review process, and in December the group was invited to work with the council member on community benefits but rejected the offer. The rep said there is a public meeting scheduled with Community Board 7 for March 25 that will focus on the agreement.
“Their involvement was essential to the Council Member being able to successfully negotiate a widely celebrated rezoning that reflects neighborhood priorities and addresses the need for more affordable housing,” the rep wrote.
Hanif told Brownstoner in a statement the community benefits agreement is legally binding and will apply to any future owners of the property. She said there are past examples where similar agreements have remained in effect despite changes in ownership that Fifth Avenue Committee has been a part of. Hanif also said the inclusion of space of Sakhi and the childcare center are wins for the community.
Brownstoner reached out to reps from Arrow Linen, but didn’t hear back. So far, no permit applications have been filed with the city.
Related Stories
- Shorter, More Affordable Arrow Linen Build in Park Slope Passes Council Committees
- Pol, Locals Call for More Affordability in Planned Arrow Linen Development
- City Planning Chair Asks About Affordable Housing, Height at Arrow Linen Hearing
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I attended the meeting with Councilmember Hanif in which her rep states in the article “in December the group was invited to work with the council member on community benefits but rejected the offer.” That is blatantly false. At no point did the Councilmember invite anyone to work on the community benefits agreement.
I’m a member of Housing Not High-Rises, and I’m quoted in the article.
For Council Member Hanif to claim that she invited Housing Not High-Rises to participate in negotiating the Community Benefit Agreement is beyond disingenuous, it’s plain untrue. As concerned members of the community, we repeatedly asked Council Member Hanif for a seat at the table negotiating the CBA, and were stonewalled every time. Even after she informed us that the CBA was already signed, we made repeated requests to get a copy of the text, and she only sent us the memorandum that outlines what would be in the agreement. To this day, she has not sent us a copy. We received a copy from a journalist to whom Council Member Hanif’s office sent it.
Having finally gotten access to what should have been a public document, we have concerns about its content, its enforceability, and the potential conflict of interest of the Fifth Avenue Committee being the only signatory to the agreement. Windsor Terrace and South Slope deserve better than to be stonewalled by our most local representative. The council member has let down the very people who elected her to represent them. She has eliminated “community” from the Community Benefit Agreement that she negotiated behind closed doors, as she has done since Arrow Linen’s lobbyists have been meeting with her since early 2022, the very first quarter she took office. Council Member Hanif did not come to the community with this project. We had to find out about it late in 2023 and come to her – only to be rebuffed.
Shame on you, Council Member Hanif; you could have earned the respect of your constituents and been a hero, and you chose instead to ignore us, even to the end. Your constituents deserve better.