Attend CB 12’s Public Hearing On Orthodox HS Variance For 182 Minna Street Monday, June 15

This Monday, June 15, Community Board 12 will hold a public hearing to review a variance on the height, setback and side yards of a four-story Orthodox Jewish high school to be constructed “as of right” in the middle of a residential block at 182 Minna Street.

The hearing will begin at 7pm at the Amico Senior Center (5901 13th Avenue in Borough Park). The evening will consist of a presentation, discussion, and comments from the public, followed by a vote.

On a street of small houses, Yeshiva Machzikei Hadas, the property owner, proposes increasing the school’s allowed height from 30 to 60 feet, according to CB 12. The school’s allowed width can also be wider than the usual house on that street, and it can ask that setback requirements be waived, again according to information provided by CB 12.

Numerous neighbors have voiced concerns about the school, saying granting this height variance could set a precedent allowing more schools to be built mid-block on quiet, local streets. (Here is a sample of the approved variance for 1275 36th Street, aka 123 Clara Street, where another religious school was permitted to be constructed taller, and closer to the sidewalk, than the zoning allows.)

This is the second public hearing to be held on the 182 Minna Street variance. Twenty-four people spoke at the earlier one on May 14 and another 70 sent in written comments to CB 12.  On Monday, June 8, Councilman Brad Lander hosted a public meeting at PS 230, which was attended by about 150 Minna Street and Chester Avenue residents, to assess the situation. Along with his audience, he agreed that “going from 30 feet to 60 feet is not appropriate for Minna. It’s out of scale.” The CB 12 chair, vice chair, and district manager were sitting at the back of the auditorium during the discussion. CB 12’s Kensington representative, Mamnunal Haq, was there too.

Prior to the meeting on Monday, CB 12 District Manager Barry Spitzer had explained that under NYC Planning rules, “current community facility zoning regulations in New York City permit a wide range of educational, health care, religious and not-for-profit institutions to locate in residential districts in New York City. These regulations are intended to accommodate the need for these institutions to locate near the populations they serve, and to recognize the special legal protections that federal and state law accord to houses of worship and schools.”

He added that, “in this particular case, the applicant applied for a variance that deals with FAR (Floor Area Ratio) and lot coverage, side yards, wall height and setbacks. The board can only consider the issues outlined in the variance application and will be voting on a recommendation to the Board of Standards and Appeals. The final decision on the variance request will be made by the BSA.”

Most likely, the variance will not be put on the BSA’s calendar before the fall. In the meantime, Councilman Brad Lander encouraged sending a polite letter, signed by everyone present, to the owners stating the community’s displeasure at placing this school on Minna Street. People can send in their comments to CB 12’s Committee on Planning, Zoning, Variance & City Map, Att: David Shlomovich, Chair, at 5910 13th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219.

The turnout at Lander’s meeting on Monday was one of the best seen in Kensington. Clearly wowed, Councilman Lander suggested reviving the old Dahill Neighborhood Association to address this and other community problems.

Dahill Triangle residents — the section of Kensington running along Dahill, Church, 36th Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway, where Minna Street and other new Orthodox schools are located — are unhappy about the taller buildings sprouting up in the neighborhood, with neighbors saying the potential influx of people and transportation— especially idling school buses— will bring a myriad problems to their streets. Going right up to the sidewalk, these schools are built without setbacks, side yards or any other design niceties that would make them less visually oppressive, neighbors have noted. The point of a variance hearing is to overturn those niceties stipulated by law.

That area now sports plenty of new or newly completed construction, including a school being built by the United Talmudic Academy of Boro Park at 1275 36th Street, aka 123 Clara Street and another, Gan Yisroel, a K-6 school at 13 Church Avenue corner of Chester, which recently added a vertical extension and a rooftop playground, making it a four-story building.

Deeper into Boro Park on 38th Street, between 13th and 14th Avenues, is the extension and vertical enlargement of Talmud Torah Ohel Yochanan Rachmistrivka at 1325 38th Street.

Intense community speculation on Facebook hovers over the fate of the now leveled 60,600-square-foot former Bergament/Pergament department store site at 1320 37th Street. According to one source, the NYC Department of Buildings’ records say it will be a five-story storage facility (though such plans have not been made public on the DOB’s website), while others have speculated it will be another school. Since they are built “as of right,” none of these schools have come up for public or design review — nor will they  —except to approve a variance.

With the school at 182 Minna Street, as well as the other construction, neighbors have pointed out that, in a community filled with two- or three-story buildings, the height of any new construction is of serious concern, particularly when one building is several stories taller than the surrounding ones.

Other concerns that have been aired include the shoehorning of a school into the middle of a residential side street; its attendant yellow buses idling outside and taking up hard-to-find local parking space; the arrival of numerous kids, teachers, parents in a narrow street; and the possibility of much more traffic.

The property owner of 182 Minna Street could not be reached for comment.

If you have any questions about Monday’s meeting, you can reach CB 12 by calling 718-851-0800.