Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings, Resiliency and Dispositions meeting
January 27, 2026, 11:00 AM
The subcommittee held hearings on 18 land use applications and laid all of them over. Items covered proposed historic district designations for Ditmas Park West (LU 0032) and Beverley Square West (LU 0031) in Brooklyn, five applications for the 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension Redevelopment, five applications for the Seaside Park and Community Arts Center special permit, several Constellation affordable housing approvals, and the Prospect Farm park acquisition.
What was discussed
- Chair Marte opens the Landmarks Subcommittee's first hearing of the session Council Member Christopher Marte opened the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings, Resiliency, and Dispositions, arguing that landmarking protects rent-stabilized and tenement buildings rather than blocking housing, and outlined the day's agenda of 18 land use items across five projects.
- EDC presents special permits to keep the Coney Island Amphitheater running Greg Vayngurt, Amy Jin, and Eric Gardiner of the NYC Economic Development Corporation presented land use actions for the Seaside Park and Community Arts Center in Coney Island—a zoning text amendment and special permit to authorize the as-built 6,000-seat amphitheater plus a City acquisition and
- When will the amphitheater reopen, and how were the community's requests handled? Council Member Marte questioned EDC on the project timeline and community engagement; EDC said it hopes a new operator could begin programming by late summer or early fall and described Community Board requests for free community concerts and continued use of the space for graduations.
- Council Member Joseph backs the Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West historic districts Council Member Rita C. Joseph voiced strong support for designating the Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West Historic Districts in Flatbush, framing preservation and new housing as compatible and thanking LPC for a meticulous process, while noting some residents had pushed for larger
- Landmarks Preservation Commission presents two Flatbush historic districts Timothy Frye of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, joined by Stephen Thomson, presented the Beverley Square West (118 houses) and Ditmas Park West (127 houses) Historic Districts—cohesive turn-of-the-century Queen Anne, colonial revival, and shingle-style streetscapes—and emphasized that
- How did LPC decide where to draw the historic-district boundaries? Council Member Marte asked why the districts' boundaries were set as proposed given residents' calls to expand them; LPC's Timothy Frye said the compact boundaries were drawn after analyzing a broader area to capture the most significant, intact, and contiguous streetscapes.
- Residents and preservation groups back the Flatbush historic districts Beverley Square West residents and preservation advocates—including Janice Hamann, Sally Bowman, Mary Louise Clemens, Lisa Dralto, and Sue Fishkin, along with Frampton Tilbert (Historic Districts Council), Robin Redmond (Flatbush Development Corporation), and Andrea Goldujn (New York Landmarks
- Christopher Leon Johnson opposes the historic-district designations Christopher Leon Johnson testified in opposition to the two historic districts, arguing they would enable selective upzoning and criticizing the local Council Member's ties to transportation-advocacy nonprofits.
- Council Member Hanif backs the City's acquisition of Prospect Farm Council Member Shahana K. Hanif supported the Parks Department's acquisition of a privately owned lot used by the Prospect Farm community garden in Windsor Terrace, but said she would keep pressing Parks and DOT to protect the garden from impacts of the planned Seeley Street Bridge reconstruction
- Parks Department presents the Prospect Farm community-garden acquisition Jess Wachtler of the Parks Department, with Colleen Alderson and Matt Drury, presented the City's proposed purchase of a 3,207-square-foot Windsor Terrace lot to preserve the 15-year-old Prospect Farm community garden, explaining that City ownership and a GreenThumb license would make the garden
- Prospect Farm founders and members support the acquisition Garden co-owner Tom Angotti and longtime member Thomas Hinchen testified in support of the City's acquisition, describing how volunteers transformed a former dumping ground into a thriving community garden and food-scrap composting site.
- HPD presents a 72-story mixed-income tower at 395 Flatbush Avenue Hallah Saleh and Anthony Howard of HPD, with EDC's Ian Klein, presented a plan to convert a City-owned Downtown Brooklyn commercial site into a 72-story building with roughly 1,263 mixed-income rental units—about 325 permanently affordable, including 130 for very-low-income households—built over the
- How deep is the affordability at 395 Flatbush, and could the model go further? Council Member Crystal Hudson, the local member, and Chair Marte questioned HPD and the development team on the project's financing and affordability, including whether a more forgiving subsidy or tax structure than 485X could deepen affordability given the project's privately financed, no-subsidy
- Labor and business groups back the 395 Flatbush redevelopment Shashank Shamshabad (New York Building Congress), Robert Tiburzi (LiUNA Local 79), Sara Qureshi (SEIU 32BJ), and Christine Paglialunga (Downtown Brooklyn Partnership), among others, testified in support of the 395 Flatbush project, citing its affordable housing, union construction wages, and
- Fort Greene Park stakeholders seek dedicated park funding as a condition Representatives of Fort Greene Park groups—including Mohammad El-Haj Ahmad (Fort Greene Tennis Association), Annie Lee (Fort Greene PUPS), and Annelise Raymond Alam (Fort Greene Park Conservancy)—supported new housing but urged the Council to require dedicated maintenance and operations funding for
- HPD and Habitat present the Constellation affordable-homeownership cluster Sophia Matheney of HPD and Matthew Dunbar and Richard Fudge of Habitat for Humanity NYC presented the Constellation Cluster—eight new buildings on vacant City-owned lots across four Brooklyn community boards delivering about 96 permanently affordable homeownership units (70–80% AMI) through the Open
- Why is the Constellation project split across eight sites and four community boards? Council Members Marte and Shanel Thomas-Henry questioned the team on the scattered-site structure and governance; HPD and Habitat explained the sites were designated together through the 2014 infill-homeownership program and that each co-op would have its own board within the shared land-trust
- Community member testifies on the Constellation homeownership project Idris Abdullah testified during the Constellation hearing, speaking to the value of affordable homeownership opportunities in Central Brooklyn.
- All 18 land use items are laid over After hearing each project, Chair Marte closed the public hearings and laid over all 18 land use applications for later committee action.
Agenda
18 items
- LU 0032-2026 Application No. N 260210 HKK (DL 547, LP 2693) (Ditmas Park West Historic District) submitted by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, pursuant to Section 3020 of the New York City Charter, for the historic district designation of the Ditmas Park West Historic District, consisting of properties Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0031-2026 Application No. N 260209 HKK (DL 547, LP 2692) (Beverley Square West Historic District) submitted by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, pursuant to Section 3020 of the New York City Charter, for the historic district designation of the Beverley Square West Historic District, consisting of Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0016-2026 Application number C 260042 PCK (395 Flatbush Avenue Ext. Redevelopment) submitted by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, pursuant to Section 197-c of the New York City Charter, for a site selection and acquisition of property for use Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0015-2026 Application number C 260041 HUK (395 Flatbush Avenue Ext. Redevelopment) submitted by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, pursuant to Section 505 of Article 15 of the New York State General Municipal Law (Urban Renewal) and Section 197-c of the New York City Charter, for the Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0014-2026 Application number C 260040 PPK (395 Flatbush Avenue Ext. Redevelopment) submitted by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, pursuant to Section 197-c of the New York City Charter, for the disposition of one city-owned Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0013-2026 Application number N 260039 ZRK (395 Flatbush Avenue Ext. Redevelopment) submitted by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, pursuant to Section 201 of the New York City Charter, for an amendment of the Zoning Resolution of the City of New York, amending provisions of Article X Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0009-2026 Application number N 260028 ZRK (Seaside Park & Community Arts Center Special Permit) submitted by the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services and the New York City Economic Development Corporation, pursuant to Section 201 of the New York City Charter, for an amendment of the Zoning Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0010-2026 Application number C 260029 PQK (Seaside Park & Community Arts Center Special Permit) submitted by the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services and the New York City Economic Development Corporation, pursuant to Section 197-c of the New York City Charter, for the acquisition of property Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0011-2026 Application number C 260012 PPK (Seaside Park & Community Arts Center Special Permit) submitted by the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services and the New York City Economic Development Corporation, pursuant to Section 197-c of the New York City Charter, for the disposition of one Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0012-2026 Application number C 260038 ZMK (395 Flatbush Avenue Ext. Redevelopment) submitted by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, pursuant to Sections 197-c and 201 of the New York City Charter for an amendment of the Zoning Map, Section No. 16c, changing from a C6-4 District to a Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0008-2026 Application number C 260027 PPK (Seaside Park & Community Arts Center Special Permit) submitted by the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services and the New York City Economic Development Corporation, pursuant to Section 197-c of the New York City Charter, for the disposition of one Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0007-2026 Application number C 260026 ZSK (Seaside Park & Community Arts Center Special Permit) submitted by the NYC Economic Development Corporation and Seaside Park LLC, pursuant to Sections 197-c and 201 of the New York City Charter for the grant of a special permit pursuant to Section 74-182(d) of the Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0006-2026 Application number G 250093 XAK (Constellation Open Door) submitted by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, pursuant to Article XI of the Private Housing Finance Law, requesting approval of an exemption from real property taxation for properties located at 881-885 Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0005-2026 Application number C 250315 HAK (Constellation CB17) submitted by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, pursuant to Article 16 of the General Municipal Law of New York State for the designation of an Urban Development Action Area and an Urban Development Action Area Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0004-2026 Application number C 250314 HAK (Constellation CB16) submitted by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, pursuant to Article 16 of the General Municipal Law of New York State for the designation of an Urban Development Action Area and an Urban Development Action Area Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0001-2026 Application number C 250304 PQK (Prospect Farm Acquisition) submitted by the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, pursuant to Section 197-c of the New York City Charter, for the acquisition of property located at 1194 Prospect Avenue (Block 5267 Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0002-2026 Application number C 250312 HAK (Constellation CB5) submitted by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, pursuant to Article 16 of the General Municipal Law of New York State for the designation of an Urban Development Action Area and an Urban Development Action Area Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- LU 0003-2026 Application number C 250313 HAK (Constellation CB3) submitted by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, pursuant to Article 16 of the General Municipal Law of New York State for the designation of an Urban Development Action Area and an Urban Development Action Area Hearing on P-C Item by Comm