DCP’s Greenpoint-Williamsburg Rezoning Adopted
On May 11, 2005, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s rezoning proposal, as modified by the Council and the City Planning Commission, for nearly 200 blocks in the Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods of Brooklyn. In the final step of a public review process that began in October 2004, the City Council voted to modify and adopt the department’s applications for the zoning map change (C 050111(A) ZMK) and zoning text amendment (N 050110(A) ZRK) described below. The zoning map change and text amendments are now in effect.
 View a color map illustrating the adopted zoning map change (602 kb).
View the Adopted Zoning Map (418 kb).
Council modifications to the zoning map included retention of the existing M1-1 zoning on a portion of a block bounded by Greenpoint Avenue, West Street, Kent Street, and a line 100 feet west of Franklin Street.
Council modifications to the zoning text included a mechanism for transferring ownership of waterfront public access areas to the city and changes to the Inclusionary Housing program for Greenpoint-Williamsburg.
Inclusionary Housing
 The zoning text change adopted by the Commission and the City Council includes a groundbreaking Inclusionary Housing program, reflecting recommendations made during the public review process. The program promotes affordable units in both rental and condominium developments, encourages preservation of existing affordable units, and targets affordable housing to a range of income levels. On the waterfront, sites zoned with a blend of R6 and R8 districts would have a base FAR of 3.7 (reduced from 4.3 FAR in the original application), with a bonus up to 4.7 FAR for the provision of at least 20 percent affordable housing. Modifications also reduce by 20 feet the maximum permitted heights in R8 districts for buildings not using the bonus.
A bonus for providing affordable housing would also be available in upland portions of the rezoning area, where bonus floor area would be accommodated within contextual height limits. Modifications reduce the maximum FAR permitted without the Inclusionary Housing bonus in R6 districts on wide streets and R6A districts from 3.0 to 2.7, and in R7A districts from 4.0 to 3.45.
Both on the waterfront and upland developments could satisfy the affordable housing requirement by developing affordable units on-site or off-site, or by acquiring and preserving existing housing at affordable rents. Coupled with use of various HPD, HDC, and HFA finance programs, and the city's commitment to developing affordable housing on publicly controlled sites, this Inclusionary Housing Program constitutes a powerful incentive for the development and preservation of affordable housing in Greenpoint-Williamsburg.
View a full description of the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Inclusionary Housing Program (1 mb).
View the Adopted Zoning Text Amendment (1 mb).
Open Space
Modifications to the plan for the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront added 5 acres of open space in Greenpoint, through a City commitment to develop open space on publicly controlled land at Dupont Street and Commercial Street, pending relocation of DEP and MTA facilities. In addition, the adopted zoning text includes modifications to facilitate the transfer of public access areas required under the Waterfront Access Plan to City ownership.
View a map illustrating the Waterfront Access Plan (700 kb).
The pages that follow describe the Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning proposal as submitted by the Department of City Planning for public review on October 4, 2004. |
In
its Greenpoint-Williamsburg Rezoning, the Department
of City Planning proposed zoning changes to
allow for housing and open spaces, in tandem with
light industry and commercial uses, along two miles
of Brooklyn’s East River waterfront and upland
neighborhoods. The proposed actions include zoning
map and zoning text changes to facilitate new housing
and local commercial development, and, in conjunction
with the Department of Parks and Recreation, City
Map changes to establish a new, 27.8-acre waterfront
park. 
