Rezoning Whiplash: Fourth Avenue
Brooklyn Papers reports that a group called Fourth Avenue Neighborhood Preservation wants to downzone Fourth Avenue just three years after it was upzoned. The city should really take another look at it, said Jerry Speier, a committee spokesman. Aesthetically, these buildings [are] quite ugly. It would be a bad mistake to build them. As unimpressed…
Brooklyn Papers reports that a group called Fourth Avenue Neighborhood Preservation wants to downzone Fourth Avenue just three years after it was upzoned. The city should really take another look at it, said Jerry Speier, a committee spokesman. Aesthetically, these buildings [are] quite ugly. It would be a bad mistake to build them. As unimpressed as we are with the tall buildings that are rising on the upzoned stretch of Fourth Avenue, we gotta say this sounds like a silly–and far-fetched–idea. It’s not like most people had any illusions about the aesthetics of the buildings that would be put up between 6th and 15th streets when the rezoning was passed in 2003. It was a trade-off that helped preserve the scale of the side streets of Park Slope. And as readers remind us all the time, you have to build up somewhere to accommodate Brooklyn’s rising population.
Downzone on 4th Three Years Late [Brooklyn Papers]
Photo by Betty Blade
yeah, let’s knock down all those historic townhouses in brooklyn heights to make way for some housing projects. nyc will need to provide housing to support a million additional residents within a decade or so, according to a new study.
The only place that these additn’l residents can go is downtown brooklyn. So let’s raze all of brooklyn heights, cobble hill, carrol gardens, park slope, boerum hill, fort greene, dumbo, clinton hill, bed sty, crown heights and prospect heights.
let’s recreate 6th ave, madison ave and times square in brooklyn. yaaay!
All of brownstone brooklyn from the waterfront to prospect park should be upzoned for buildings of up to 40 stories. That would solve much of the housing problem in the city. Too bad politicians are too short-sighted and self-interested to see that.
You live in BROOKLYN. 12 stories is NOT big. This is not Omaha! 4th Avenue is so wide, 12 stories is not a big deal. Plus, it’s the one place we should place growth, it has a subway line! Hello! If it was up to me, I would put 20 story buildings, and before you attack me, I am 100% in favor of the preservation of the beautiful sidestreets.
But this city needs to grow damnit. Instead of fighting over the difference between 8 and 12 stories, fight over pure aesthetics. THEN you will be doing Brooklyn a favor. I agree the buildings are ugly….because no one protests.
I live close enough to the buldup of 4th Ave to be inconvenienced by it, but I do think the upzoning was a reasonble tradeoff. I’d rather not have so many huge buildings, but it’s not all about me, and at least the deal leaves the side streets in scale. And in some ways I look forward to more people living on 4th — I’d rather walk on the avenue at night if there were more foot traffic on it.
However, the issues here are not just about peopl living on 4th Avenue — as with any big build, it’s about the additional strain on infrastructure, for instance the schools of Park Slope. But I’d rather see the city improve the infrastructure than forbid the buildings.
I actually love this group – they are at least honest about there agenda – NIMBY (i.e. 4th Ave from 6th to 15th).
Now of course they are pushing a ridiculous agenda but at least they dont cynically call themselves the ‘4th Ave Neighbors for Development’ or something similar to mask what they are about.
As for “selling the sky” and “organic development” – no one is selling anything, the city simply changed the zoning (up for 4th Ave and down for the side streets) – nothing organic about zoning laws – either way.
10 stories is not a high rise!!!
Screw local merchants. If big box stores can provide consumers with more, better and cheaper merchandise, then I’m all for it! In addition, big box stores will provide more jobs to the community too. The NIMBIES are always complaining about big box stores but where do they do all of their shopping? Costco, Fairway, Whole Foods, Ikea, Lowes, and Home Depot! Local business protectionism though idealistic is totally impratical. Bottom line: when families are trying to stretch every dollar, they are simply looking at quality, diversity and affordability. This is the reason why every measure to prevent the construction and opening of big box stores in Bklyn have failed thus far and will continue to fail in the future.
And 4th Ave is so beautiful it is worth preserving? These people piss me off. Their NIMBYism is so sickening. Move to artic Canada if you need space. Or maybe I will see you strolling down the esplanade between lanes on 4th Ave. If someone wants to build there and someone wants to buy there, let them – it can’t get any worse.
no matter how ugly these buildings are it is a lot better than the tire shops and crap that was there before. Just don’t know why you would want to live there. Of course most of these buildings are not done yet. So it is yet to be seen what really will happen with the so called luxury housing on 4th.