City Council signs off on 10-story towers for Arrow Linen site
- 40 percent of the project’s 250 total units will be set aside as permanently affordable
- The original rezoning plan proposed 13-story towers with 25 percent affordability
Council Member Shahana Hanif held a press conference before a City Council vote on the Arrow Linen rezoning.
John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit
The New York City Council voted on Thursday to approve a modified spot rezoning that knocked several stories off the original proposal for a contentious Windsor Terrace site.
Under the City Council’s modifications, the site of Arrow Linen, a commercial linen provider at 441 and 467 Prospect Ave. in Brooklyn, can be developed into two, new 10-story residential buildings with a total of 250 housing units. The plan sets aside 100 units as permanently affordable; 50 affordable units will be two- and three-bedroom apartments.
Arrow Linen, which is seeking to move its operations to another part of Brooklyn, initially proposed a height of 13 stories for the mid-block, non-contiguous towers and 25 percent of units to be set aside for low-income buyers. That plan ignited members of the community, who said tall towers were out of character for the low-rise neighborhood, and lead to raucous hearings in the neighborhood.
Addressing the City Council prior to her vote on Thursday, Council member Shahana Hanif, who leads the 39th District where the Arrow Linen is located, credited a “community-driven process” for shaping the new version of the proposal.
The rezoning is one of the first to include affordable housing under the newly approved City of Yes for Housing Opportunity and City for All, a city-wide rezoning and housing package aimed at developing more units in every neighborhood.
Shifting from a R71 zoning to a R7A zoning through City of Yes lowered the height of the Arrow Linen plan to 10 stories, Hanif said. The updated proposal is part of a Community Benefits Agreement that increased the share of affordable units from 25 to 40 percent, exceeding affordability requirements without public subsidies.
There’s also a separate R6B zoning for the properties between the two sites: nine, privately owned rowhouses with 59 rent-stabilized units. Carving these out of the tower zoning addresses "concerns about potential future speculation,” she said.
Even though the towers will be shorter, they will still have the same number of units as initially proposed.
'Improved but flawed compromise'
A statement from Housing Not High-Rises, a group of local renters and owners that formed in 2023 in opposition to Arrow Linen’s initial proposal, called the modified plan an “improved but flawed compromise.”
It said the shorter towers and the deeper affordability was “due to the pressure applied over nearly two years” by the group’s 2,000-plus members.
The group pointed out that an R7A zoning designation still could permit 11 stories.
“We are very concerned that there’s limited legal recourse to hold Arrow Linen accountable to the 10-story agreement, and virtually no recourse at all for a future owner. A Community Benefits Agreement relies on the parties that signed it to hold each other accountable through the courts,” said Kate McCabe, member of Housing Not High-Rises.
The group said it was largely shut out of negotiations over the Community Benefits Agreement. This “leaves us in doubt about the agreement’s exact terms and enforceability,” said member Jay Goldberg.
However, Hanif said the CBA is a “legally binding contract recorded against the property, ensuring compliance by both current and future owners.” Legal action is the recourse for any violations, she explained. She said a similar agreement is in place for 120 Fifth Ave. in Park Slope, administered by the Fifth Avenue Committee, where a Lidl supermarket replaced a Key Foods.
“While we have not received any indication that the current owners intend to sell, the agreement will remain in effect regardless of ownership,” Hanif said.
Community benefits and environmental features
The Community Benefits Agreement also includes a subsidized, ground-floor space for Sakhi for South Asian Survivors, which provides services and counseling to survivors of domestic and gender-based violence. A childcare center run by a local provider will be included.
Through a partnership with labor union 32BJ, the project will generate union jobs. It will also incorporate sustainable features such as a green roof and stormwater management measures.
This is the final step
An Arrow Linen spokesperson noted the full City Council voted to approve the modified project, the final step in ULURP process to evaluate land use changes.
“Smart housing policy, thoughtful urban planning and public/private partnership won the day,” the statement said. Approval of the project now allows Arrow Linen to relocate to another “more suitable industrial location” in Brooklyn.
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