Brad Lander to the Rescue: ULURP For Proposed School Site in Carroll Gardens!

  In the following press release City Councilmember-elect Brad Lander says that he has convinced Bill deBlasio's not to go through with legislation that would allow development and a change of zoning to site at First Place and Smith Street. Next year, he says, there will be a NYC Uniform Land Use Review Proceudre about that site. This is probably music to the ears of local residents who were angered by deBlasio's "secretive effort to allow a politically connected private school to move ahead with a two-story extension atop of the courtyards that give Carroll Gardens is very character," writes the Brooklyn Paper. Inc

"I am pleased to report that, after conversations with Councilmember Bill de Blasio, he has agreed that legislation that would allow development on the lot at the corner of First Place and Smith Street in Carroll Gardens will not be introduced before he leaves the City Council.  The proposed change will instead be considered next year through the NYC Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).

The change has been proposed by the Hannah Senesh Community Day School to enable a two-story expansion of their school into the lot they are currently using as a parking lot, which is currently owned by the NYC Department of Transportation.  The lot is covered by a courtyard requirement that exists on the front yards of the 'Place blocks' in Carroll Gardens.

The change being proposed is a significant one, which would involve an amendment to the City's Administrative Code to remove the courtyard requirement, the disposition of the lot from the NYC Department of Transportation to Hannah Senesh, and other land use actions.

I believe that the City Council should not remove the courtyard requirement in the next few weeks, in a process that would not include community hearings, a vote of the Community Board, or the disclosure of ULURP.  Instead, the proposed actions should be considered together through the NYC Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), which provides a full public-review process with full disclosure, review of environmental impact, community hearings, and recommendations the Community Board, Borough President, and City Planning Commission before a vote by the City Council.  

It initially appeared that the City preferred the Administrative Code change considered first. However, I have spoken with the NYC Department of City Planning and the NYC Department of Transportation, and they have both agreed that the proposals could be reviewed simultaneously.  Councilmember de Blasio has therefore agreed to defer consideration of the Administrative Code change, which would instead be reviewed next year, simultaneous to the ULURP process.  

Through the ULURP process, I will listen to all points of view, consider all of the information provided, and review the opinions of Community Board 6, the Brooklyn Borough President, and the City Planning Commission before making my own decision on the proposal.”