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Photo by Carrie Beckman

Introducing the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra (& their fantastic covers)  [FreeWlsbrg]

Domino’s asking for lots of Sugar

from Brooklyn CB1 tonight!

TUESDAY —– FEBRUARY 9, 2010 ***

TIME: 6:30 PM

NOTE TO ALL SPEAKERS: All those who wish to speak must sign and submit their speaker’s form on or before 6:15 PM.

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PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA

NOTE TO ALL SPEAKERS: All those who wish to speak must sign and submit their speaker’s form on or before 6:15 PM.

1. NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF CITY PLANNING APPLICATIONS:

Application # C 100185 ZMK

IN THE MATTER OF an application submitted by the Refinery LLC pursuant to Sections 197-c and 201 of the New York CityCharter for an amendment of the Zoning Map, Section Nos. 12c and 12d:

1. changing from an M3-1 District to an R6 District property bounded by South 3rd Street. A line 100 feet northwesterly of Wythe Avenue, South 4th Street and Kent Avenue;
2. changing from an M3-1 District to an R8 District property bounded by the north westerly centerline prolongation of South 1st Street, Kent Avenue, the north westerly centerline prolongation of South 2nd Street, a line 235 feet northwesterly of Kent Avenue, the northwesterly centerline prolongation of South 3rd Street, Kent Avenue, South 5th Street and its northwesterly centerline prolongation, and the U.S. Pierhead Line;
3. changing from an M3-1 District to a C6-2 District property bound by:

a. Grand Street and its northwesterly centerline prolongation, Kent Avenue, the northwesterly centerline prolongation of South 1st  Street, and a line 235 feet northwesterly of Kent Avenue;

b. The northwesterly centerline prolongation of South 2nd Street, Kent Avenue, the northwesterly centerline prolongation of South 3rd Street, and a line 235 northwesterly of Kent Avenue;

1. establishing within a proposed R6 District a C2-4 District bounded by South 3rd Street, a line 100 feet north westerly of Wythe Avenue, South 4th Street and Kent Avenue; and
2. establishing within a proposed R8 District a C2-4 District bounded by the northwesterly centerline prolongation of South 1st Street, Kent Avenue, the northwesterly centerline prolongation of South 2nd Street, a line 235 feet northwesterly of Kent Avenue, the northwesterly centerline prolongation of South 3rd Street, Kent Avenue, South 5th Street and its northwesterly centerline prolongation, and the U.S. Pierhead Line;

Application # C 100187 ZSK

IN THE MATTER OF an application submitted by The Refinery LLC pursuant to Sections 197-c and 201 of the New York City Charter for the grant of a special permit pursuant to the following sections of the Zoning Resolution:

1.Section 74-743(a)(1) – to allow the distribution of floor area within the general large scale development without regard for zoning lot lines; and

2. Section 74-743(a)(2) – to modify the requirements of Section 23-532 (Required rear yard equivalents), 23-711 (Standard minimum distance between buildings), 23-852 (Inner court recesses), 23-863 (Minimum distance between legally required windows and any wall in an inner court), 62-332 (Rear yards and waterfront yards) and 62-341 (Developments on land and platforms),

to facilitate a mixed use development on property bounced by Grand Street and its northwesterly prolongation, Kent Avenue, South 3rd Street, a line 100 feet westerly of Wythe Avenue, South 4th Street, Kent Avenue, South 5th Street and its northwesterly prolongation, and the U.S. Pierhead Line (Block 2414, Lot 1 and Block 2428, Lot 1), in R6/C2-4*, R8/C2-4* and C6-2* Districts, within a General Large-Scale Development, Borough of Brooklyn, Community District 1.

*Note:  The site is proposed to be rezoned from an M3-1 District to R6/C2-4, R8/C2-4 and C6-2 Districts under a related application (C 100185 ZMK).

Plans for this proposal are on file with the City Planning Commission and may be seen in Room 3N, 22

Application # C 100188 ZSK

IN THE MATTER OF an application submitted by The Refinery LL pursuant to Sections 197-c and 201 of the New York City Charter for the grant of a special permit pursuant to Section 74-744(b) of the Zoning Resolution to allow residential and non-residential uses to be arranged within a building without regard for the regulations set forth in Section 32-42 (Location within Buildings), in connection with a proposed mixed use development on property bounded by Grand Street and its northwesterly prolongation, Kent Avenue, South 3rd Street, a line 100 feet westerly of Wythe Avenue, South 4th Street, Kent Avenue, South 5th Street and its northwesterly prolongation, and its northwesterly prolongation, and the U.S. Pierhead Line (Block 2414, Lot 1 and Block 2428, Lot 1), in R6/C2-4*, R8/C2-4* and C6-2* Districts, within a General Large Scale Development, Borough of Brooklyn, Community District 1.

* Note: This site is proposed to be rezoned from an M3-1 District to R6/C2-4, R8/C2-4 and C6-2 Districts under a related application (C 100185 ZMK)

Plans for this proposal are on file with the City Planning Commission and may be seen in Room 3N, 22 Reade Street, New York, N.Y. 10007

Application # C 100189 ZSK

IN THE MATTER OF an application submitted by The Refinery LLC pursuant to Sections 197-c and 201 of the New York City Charter for the grant of a special permit pursuant to Section 74-53 of the Zoning Resolution to modify the requirements of Section 36-12 (Maximum Size of Accessory Group Parking Facilities) to allow a group parking facility accessory to uses in a general large scale development with a maximum capacity of 782 spaces, in connection with a proposed mixed use development on property bounded by Grand Street and its northwesterly prolongation, Kent Avenue, South 3rd Street, a line 100 feet westerly of Wythe Avenue, South 4th Street, Kent Avenue, South 5th Street and its northwesterly prolongation, and the U.S. Pierhead Line (Block 2414, Lot 1 and Block 2428, Lot 1), in R6/C2-4*, R8/C2-4* and C6-2* Districts, within a General Large-Scale Development, Borough of Brooklyn, Community District 1.

*Note:  The site is proposed to be rezoned from an M3-1 District to R6/C2-4, R8/C2-4 and C6-2 Districts under a related application (C 100185 ZMK)

Plans for this proposal are on file with the City Planning Commission and may be seen in Room 3N, 22 Reade Street, New York, N.Y. 10007.

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The New York Community Council

Plans for the New Domino Include 1540 Luxury Condos on Williamsburg’s Waterfront
Four Tall Towers, Minimal Historic Preservation Needed To Achieve Profits for Much-Criticized Silent Partner; Significant Government Subsidies and Rezoning Sought

Domino Sugar- The New Domino Sugar proposal includes 2200 residential units,1540 of them luxury, 15 buildings up to 400ft. Plans call for 100 units reserved for families with incomes of up to $23,040; 310 units reserved for families earning up to $46,080; 100 units reserved for seniors making up to 50 percent of the area median income; and 150 units of for-sale housing reserved for families earning up to $99,840. Using the Envisioning Development toolkit we found that housing at $46,080 is out of reach to over 60% of residents in Brooklyn CB1. The current AMI for Brooklyn CB1 is

$35,300. The for sale housing at families earning 99,840 would be affordable to only 12% of residents in Community board one. The DEIS also states that 181 units of housing would be lost displacing 570 residents due to indirect displacement noting “Given the existing, documented trend toward increased rents in the study area, these households will be vulnerable to displacement irrespective of the proposed project. By 2020, the study area is expected to gain an estimated 6,093 housing units in developments unrelated to the proposed project, and these projects will introduce a substantial new population with high incomes relative to the existing population”.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/env_review/domino_sugar/04_deis.pdf

It’s also important to examine how much subsidy would be provided for each affordable unit. The affordable units would be financed using widely available subsidies and incentives. The 11.2 acre site was sold in 2004 by the American Sugar Refining for 56 million dollars. The new owners Refinery LLC are run by partner’s CPC Resources(CPCR), the for profit subsidiary of Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) and Isaac Katan and The Katan Group.  In South Slope, Katan has had many problems with the community so this should be an interesting marriage.

Task: Socioeconomic Conditions

The EIS failed to study the economic feasibility of 40% affordable housing with 1/2 low-income ($18,000 to $35,000), and 1/2 moderate-income ($35,000 to $57,000) Palmer’s Dock the first affordable waterfront development in Williamsburg is affordable to residents earning as low as $21,300, up to $56,700 for a family of four. The new Domino proposes 150 units will be priced to residents earning $99,840.

The EIS should have examined the effects of the action on socioeconomic conditions in the study area, including population characteristics, increase in economic activity, and the potential displacement of businesses and employment from the proposed action area. The analysis failed to follow the guidelines of the 2001 CEQR Technical Manual in assessing the proposed actions effects on socioeconomic conditions within ?- and ?-mile study areas The principal issues of concern with respect to socioeconomic conditions are whether a proposed action would result in significant impacts due to: indirect residential displacement; and indirect business displacement. In conformance with the CEQR Technical Manual guidelines, the assessment of these areas of concern should have included a detailed analysis. AKRF failed to show any impact regarding this project. The New Domino would double the population of the neighborhood within a quarter-mile radius. Even when viewed in the context of the bigger one-mile radius, Domino would boost population by nearly 10 percent. We only related this in order to show that New Domino would be a significant development with a major impact on schools, police & fire protection and transportation. 2200 units over 11 acres would be about 200 units/acre. It would be more dense than Battery Park City or Peter Cooper Village/Stuyvesant Town. In August 2004, city officials said they were committed to finding an industrial reuse for the site. City Planning Department officials, who have been pushing forward with an enormous proposal to rezone the Williamsburg and Greenpoint waterfront to encourage residential and recreational uses, had drawn their plan to preserve the Domino site for manufacturing, a move applauded by several officials and labor advocates who would like to see the remnants of the borough’s industrial legacy  and its blue-collar jobs preserved.

In August 2004, city officials said they were committed to finding an industrial reuse for the site. ”We’re not contemplating a rezoning for this site,” Regina Myer, the Brooklyn director for the Planning Department, said yesterday. ”We’re focusing all of our efforts on the rezoning to the north.”

Domino is not doing contextual zoning on their upland block and is proposing a 14-story building with an R7 or R8 equivalent density on that site. Elsewhere in 2005 zoning, when upland blocks were rezoned, they were rezoned with contextual height limits. When a developer sought a variance in 2005 to develop the site across the street from Domino, they asked for 19 stories. The community said no, and ultimately BSA approved 5 or 6 stories.

Domino proposes to build the upland site first, and will put 50% of the affordable units there. So the waterfront high-rises will only get 300 or so units of affordable housing.

Task: Historic Resources

The New York Community Council is pleased that the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to designate the processing house of the Domino Sugar refinery in Williamsburg Brooklyn. The processing house, which dates to 1883, is an icon of the Brooklyn waterfront. The structure housed three separate sugar refining operations in one vertically-integrated factory: the Filter House; the Pan House; and the Finishing House.

While much of the remainder of the site consists of more recent structures of lesser architectural value, LPC omits the Adant House at South 5th Street, an 1883 building in which sugar cubes were manufactured, and a smaller 1883 power house located adjacent to the processing plant. The New York Community Council has advocated for the preservation of these two structures, and will continue to do so.

Task: Public Safety

The EIS failed to consider the impact on response times to Fire, Medical and Police emergencies. With a 45-second increase in response time to structural fires in the area formerly served by closed Engine Company 212 at 136 Wythe Ave., what impact will 2200 residential units and 220,000 square feet of retail have on response times? Response times increases for medical emergencies and police incident were disregarded by AKRF’s EIS

Task: Energy

CPCR should require new or rehabilitated buildings to comply with green building standards as set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), minimum silver standards.

Task: Traffic, Parking and Mass Transit

The EIS failed to consider the impact of up to 2200 residential units and 220,000 square feet of retail on traffic and parking. What will the impact of this proposal have on our already stressed roads and lack of parking for current residents? 1,600 accessory parking spaces would be located on the project site, in below-grade parking. With the L train already severely overcrowded, and the J and G trains overflowing during rush hour, drastic population increase can have only one of two results: a greater number of people driving throughWilliamsburg, or a significant increase in rider-ship on public transit lines.

Until concerns regarding density, zoning, public safety and neighborhood identity and preservation are addressed alongside affordability, The New York Community Council cannot lend its support to CPC’s development of Domino Sugar.

Phil DePaolo

President

The New York Community Council

347-200-2353