Community Board Rejects Development Plans For Avenue Z

Members of Community Board 15’s zoning committee unanimously voted against a development plan that residents fear could further erode the character of a community that is already seeing many changes, Brooklyn Daily reports.

Developer Aleksandr Finkelshteyn wants to construct a four-story building on on Avenue Z between East 21st and East 22nd Streets. Though his purchase of the property is not yet complete, he filed for an exemption with the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals to get around local zoning laws in this area, including building more than the allowed number of floors and including commercial space, which is not permitted in this residential area. The regulations also require 32 parking spaces to be included in the new building, and Finkelshteyn’s proposal includes zero spaces.

According to the Brooklyn Daily:

The developer’s attorney told the committee that it was not feasible to develop the property under the current regulations. The lot hosted a gas station until 1995 and an auto shop since then, precluding residential use, and the lawyer claimed there wasn’t enough room for all the parking required.

“The shape of the property and the environmental conditions on the property all are forming the basis of our variance,” said attorney Eric Palatnik. “It’s physically impossible to provide the parking, for example.”

The CB’s recommendation to reject the proposal is only advisory, so it could potentially still happen.

The nearby area has attracted several developers in recent years. Most notably, Muss Development is at work on a 30-story residential tower near the Sheepshead Bay subway station, which will be a mixture of rentals and condominiums, with a handful of office spaces available on the lower floors.

In 2010, a developer asked the community board to allow him to use a proposed parking garage near East 15th Street and Avenue Z/Sheepshead Bay Road to house ambulatory services from a building he owned a few blocks away, which could have caused a traffic nightmare. However, those plans were also rejected by CB15.