New York City Council approved a major rezoning and housing plan last week that develops a part of the Atlantic Avenue corridor near Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. Councilmembers Crystal Hudson and Chi Ossé hailed the plan as “community-led.”
“This process has shown what’s possible when planning is driven by community: we build more affordable housing and deliver real, lasting benefits to our neighborhoods,” said Hudson in a statement. “I hope [this] is just the beginning — and that more communities across the city begin the deep, consensus-building work needed to create safer streets, better parks, and stronger, more affordable neighborhoods.”
The Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan (AAMUP) revamps the blocks and commercial spaces between Vanderbilt and Nostrand Avenues, along where the regional Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) runs.
Starting all the way back in 2013, surrounding community boards (CBs) said they envisioned more deeply affordable housing, mixed-use development to encourage job growth, a street redesign to improve safety, more green spaces, more Black-owned and Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) businesses, and broader uses of the Bedford Atlantic Armory on Atlantic Avenue.
After a lengthy public review process, the city compiled their suggestions in a 2023 community priority report — which builds upon CB 8’s M-CROWN (Manufacturing, Commercial, Residential Opportunities for a Working Neighborhood) study.
The AAMUP includes 4,600 new units of housing, approximately 1,900 of which will be permanently affordable, and over $235 million in funding for community investments and infrastructure. It promises to make improvements to Lowry Triangle, Underhill Plaza, several neighborhood playgrounds and school yards, Lefferts Place Community Garden, as well as install raised curb extensions, bike corrals, and a new bike lane on Bedford Avenue. AAMUP is supposed to beautify the Franklin Avenue subway station with a new paint job, a public art installation, and general sanitary improvements. There’s also at least $500,000 dedicated to studying the Bedford Atlantic Armory for new potential uses while it continues to serve its current function as a men’s shelter.
NYC Department of City Planning (DCP)
This will be the largest comprehensive rezoning in the area since 1961, which according to the Department of City Planning (DCP), stems from historic land use patterns in the 1800s. At that time, Atlantic Avenue had a freight line that carried goods between Brooklyn’s industrial waterfront and Long Island. It was discontinued in the early 1900s when the railway moved underground, and was replaced with a passenger rail. Around the same time, more people were buying cars. Eventually, the avenue became car central with businesses dedicated to garages, repair shops, and gas stations. By the 1960s, the M1-1 zoning district instituted a “suburban-style” residential area that prohibited industrial uses, kept houses low-rise, and required off-street parking, said DCP.
“AAMUP is a win for our community, district and the broader fight against displacement,” said Ossé. “Tens of thousands of families are being driven out of our neighborhood and city by an affordability crisis caused by housing scarcity. We are taking on that challenge.”
“We are especially proud that the plan includes nearly 2000 units of income-restricted housing, much of which will be deeply affordable, for those most in need,” he continued. “We are also proud to have secured millions of dollars in investments into our parks and infrastructure, so that the plan will bring not only new housing that is desperately needed, but also material improvements for the longtime residents of the community.”
The Black population has declined in Council District 35 and District 36, accompanied by a sharp rise in white and Asian populations, which fuels broader issues of gentrification, said DCP, adding that many opine that a supply of more affordable housing stock could help alleviate the problem.
The AAMUP attempts to mitigate anticipated displacement in the neighborhood by including $1.2 million in expense funding to increase tenant and legal assistance services in Hudson’s and Ossé’s district offices for the next four years, more support for tenant organizing efforts, more support for local homeowners, and $7.6 million funding for an anti-harassment tenant program.
The Atlantic Avenue revamp is supported by Mayor Eric Adams, since it aligns nicely with his City of Yes housing production vision. “By advancing this plan, we’re not just creating homes — we’re investing in jobs, streets, and parks that strengthen our city,” said Adams in a statement. “This is what the ‘City of Yes for Housing Opportunity’ is all about: bold, forward-looking action that meets the needs of New Yorkers, today and for generations to come.”
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams also spoke positively about the plan’s community investments and affordable housing units.