Protect Brooklyn’s Garden: Join the Fight for Sunlight

What is the proposed project?

Real estate developers Continuum Company are asking for a new zoning designation at 962–972 Franklin Avenue, which would result in a 14-story/145-foot-tall tower, plus bulkheads, roughly twice the height permitted under current zoning.

Is this the same project BBG fought a few years ago?

No, it’s the same developer but a new proposal for part of the site. Continuum Company sought a rezoning for 7 lots in 2019–2021 that would have resulted in a 34-story complex. The Garden and community members opposed this massively oversized development, gaining support from City officials and tens of thousands of New Yorkers. The City Planning Commission ultimately rejected that rezoning application in 2021.

The current proposed rezoning is slightly smaller—6 lots—but would have significant and unmitigable harmful impacts on the Garden. With a new massing even closer to BBG’s Conservatory, greenhouses, and nursery, the proposed building would block sunlight year-round. The impact statement shows aggregated shadow for up to 3 hours a day. Around 15% of available sunlight would be lost to the Conservatory through the winter and the nursery through the summer—exactly when the plants in these spaces most need light.

How would shade from this project affect BBG’s plant collections?

Plants need sunlight! In the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), the developer disclosed “significant unmitigable environmental impacts,” including loss of sunlight and increased shading, particularly on the Conservatory complex and nursery area.

Loss of sunlight would significantly impact BBGs ability to grow plants for the entire 52-acre Garden, and would harm plant health, plant diversity, and our ability to grow and display plants from around the world.

Isn’t this area zoned for low-rise buildings?

Yes, zoning on the lots where this project is proposed, bordering BBG near Washington Avenue, is now capped at 75 feet (approximately seven stories). These parameters were written into the City Charter in 1991 in order to prevent shadows on BBG’s conservatory complex.

Does BBG oppose other developments in the area?

The Garden pays close attention to all proposed developments in the neighborhood and has not opposed projects that we have determined will not significantly impact our collections. The Garden will oppose projects or rezoning that could harm the Garden and its collections.

Is the Garden opposed to affordable housing?

Categorically not. While we are keenly aware of the affordability crisis faced by New Yorkers, the Garden does not take a position on individual housing proposals or projects unless a development proposal negatively impacts the Garden’s growing facilities and collections.

I’d like to support the Garden—what can I do?

We will keep our supporters updated on the public review process including moments for community input and how and when to reach out to public officials.

If you have further questions please contact [email protected].

The 1991 Zoning that Protects the Garden

These Lots Are Zoned R6A for a Reason

In 1991, City Planning proposed an amendment to NYC zoning to “encourage residential development in keeping with existing neighborhood character, and to minimize the potential shadow impact upon the Brooklyn Botanic Garden from any new residential development.” The amendment was adopted after being unanimously approved by CB9, the Borough President, and City Council.

The background further explains, “The purpose of this amendment is to ensure continuous unobstructed sunlight for the Botanic Garden, and to encourage new development which is compatible with the existing building scale and character of the surrounding neighborhood.” The DCP presentation in the matter demonstrated that “harmful shadows could be cast on the recently completed Garden greenhouse, should building development occur to its maximum height potential.”

The application specifically calls out the lots located on Franklin Avenue between Montgomery Street and Sullivan Place which could be developed to 13 stories under the prior zoning. Through the adoption of the amended zoning, this was deliberately downsized to R6A, to “provide the Garden’s greenhouses with safeguards against harmful shadows which could result from future development on underbuilt or vacant sites such as this parcel.”

Read the Full Amendment ›

The zoning that protects this public resource must be retained! This site can be developed without a rezoning that would reverse these protections and harm the Garden. The existing zoning for these lots allows as-of-right construction of 6 story buildings with up to 300 units, and a substantial incentive (485-x) exists to make 25% of these units permanently affordable.

In disapproving this application, the Community Board cited the project’s potential for “significant adverse effects on portions of the community district including the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) and the Jackie Robinson Playground.”

They also noted that “the 1991 zoning of the district previously contemplated the issue of height restrictions for the protection of the BBG and should be sustained” and “the adverse impacts outweigh the nominal increase of affordable housing stock proposed in the project.” Read the full resolution below.

Resolution on the Land Use Application for 962–972 Franklin Avenue Rezoning (PDF) ›

Community Board Recommendation (PDF) ›

In his recommendation against the 962–972 Franklin Avenue proposal, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso notes: “The core consideration for this proposal is the potential impact on BBG and JRP [Jackie Robinson Playground], where the acceptable amount of shadow impact on BBG’s sensitive resources is zero. ... This is simply the wrong place for this proposed building because of its adjacency to a critical, public, sunlight-sensitive resource.” Read the full recommendation below.

Borough President Recommendation (PDF) ›

At the public City Planning Commission hearing on August 7, dozens of community members voiced their concerns about the impact this proposed rezoning would have on the Garden; watch a video of the hearing on the Department of City Planning’s YouTube channel. The Commission received 557 statements against the proposal.

On September 23, the City Planning Commission reduced the proposed zoning increase for these lots to R7D with MIH and a C2-4 overlay. An additional restriction limits the maximum height of any structure to below an imaginary inclined plane rising eastward at 15° from a height of 85 feet at the rear of the lot (the area closest to BBG). The Commission then voted to approve the amended application, with three Commissioners voting against it. See a video of the discussion and vote.

The Garden believes that for the health of its collections, the angle of the apex plane should be 10° with a lower height restriction.