Potential Owners Of Maples Lanes Property See Setbacks
Before to the final strike is bowled at Maple Lanes, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has a few suggestions for the developers who want to build a 112 units of housing and a synagogue there.
He spoke at a zoning hearing and put his ideas forward. One item on his agenda was the “possibility of integrating a bowling alley into the development plan or at a nearby site,” according to a summary of the meeting.
Aside from building a new bowling alley in another location, Markowitz suggested a plan for near-by Shell Lanes to receive angled parking to alleviate any congestion as brought on by an influx of bowlers to the last remaining local alley.
Markowitz said that until the project plans are amended, the alley at 1570 60th Street should remain open.
The issue he finds with the closing of the space is not so much that it will be a major loss to the community, though he does recognize that, but it has more to do with the language and rendering used in the initial builder’s contract. It does not guarantee the structures that have been claimed to be the end result of the project will to actually be built.
According to the notes from the meeting, “The requested zoning approval offers no guarantee that a vastly different project would not be developed. The proposed zoning does not require that these designs be constructed.”
Markowitz also suggested that the developer make a commitment to provide some affordable housing in the space, though the developers have yet to agree to that.
Ultimately, Community Board 12 approved the application with a “modification for the applicant’s constructed project to mirror the designs that were presented.”
Other than disagreements about how the space will be used, there are some other issues the developers may be facing. According to the Home Reporter, the developers are late on their payments. They owe the LaSpina family, the bowling alley owners, thousands of dollars.
As the scheduled closing date of April 1, 2013 looms closer, the fate of the bowling alley is still unclear.