Controversial Plans for Outsize Vinegar Hill Development Dropped After Local Outcry

In a rare case of community will prevailing over developer plans in Brooklyn, developer Paul Tocci of the Constellation Group has withdrawn a controversial proposal to build a nine-story, 72-unit rental building at 251 Front Street in Vinegar Hill.

The developer dropped the plans when it became evident local City Council member Stephen Levin would not back the rezoning he was seeking, Politico reported Monday. The rezoning was scheduled to come up for a vote in City Council this week.

“The proposed development would have been too large, too dense, and out of context with the existing Vinegar Hill neighborhood,” Levin said in a statement Tuesday.

Constellation Group was asking to rezone the site from R6B to R7A to allow a 72,000-square-foot building with 18,000 square feet of affordable housing and parking for 27 cars — about double what is allowed there under current zoning.

Currently, the owner is allowed to build a structure with a maximum height of 50 feet — typically about four or five stories — and 39,982 square feet.

The local community board voted no on the proposal in January, but the City Planning Commission voted in favor of it in May, as we reported at the time.

Right now, the site is used as a parking lot. Tocci bought the property from the Catholic Church in 1992 for $570,000, records show. At one time it was the home of St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church.

Despite a handful of modern buildings, much of Vinegar Hill feels like a vestige of a time gone by. The quiet neighborhood has some cobblestone streets and many mid 19th century homes, including a row of landmarked Greek Revival brick houses next to the lot at 251 Front Street.

[Photos by Susan De Vries]

Related Stories

• A Vanished Community West of the Brooklyn Navy Yard (Photos)
• Step Back to 1914 for a Virtual Tour of the Commandant’s House (Photos)
• Concrete-Clad Townhouses Come Together in Dumbo

Email tips@brownstoner.com with further comments, questions or tips. Follow Brownstoner on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.