Approval of Atlantic Avenue Mixed Use-Plan to Create 4,600 New Homes, 2,800 Permanent Jobs

Illustrative rendering of a potential future of Atlantic Avenue. 

Plan to Include Significant Investments in New Public Space and Infrastructure to Build Safer Streets 

Plan Now Goes to New York City Council for Review and Final Vote

The CPC’s vote in favor of the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan, a community-led proposal that will deliver new housing, jobs, and investments in infrastructure in Brooklyn was celebrated today. The plan would create 4,600 new homes — including 1,440 permanently income-restricted, affordable homes — and 2,800 permanent jobs to a roughly 21-block stretch of Atlantic Avenue in Central Brooklyn, including neighboring blocks in Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant. Alongside new housing and jobs, the plan includes significant investments in local infrastructure and amenities, such as new and improved open space and traffic safety improvements.

A New Vision for Atlantic Avenue

The Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan focuses on a section of Atlantic Avenue and neighboring streets between Vanderbilt and Nostrand Avenues. Since the 1960s, this area of Atlantic Avenue has been zoned for one-to-two industrial buildings and storage, despite its proximity to a major commercial area and transit hub. Through this plan, Atlantic Avenue would be transformed into a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood with new housing — including permanently income-restricted affordable homes through Mandatory Inclusionary Housing — alongside 800,000 square feet of new, active ground floor commercial uses and manufacturing businesses, and community facilities. Neighboring avenues and streets would see moderately-sized mixed-use buildings with income-restricted affordable housing and job-generating uses.  

Building More Affordable Housing 

Through programs run by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the city will also develop an additional 380 permanently affordable homes on city and nonprofit-owned sites across the neighborhood, including 542 Dean Street, 516 Bergen Street, and 1134-1142 Pacific Street. These buildings will include homes reserved for older, low-income households, as well as formerly homeless New Yorkers. To preserve existing affordable housing, HPD’s Partners in Preservation program will provide a nearly $3 million investment to community-based groups focused on anti-harassment and anti-displacement work to support local tenants. HPD will also hold a series of housing resources workshops this spring and summer to assist tenants and homeowners with their needs. In response to feedback from industrial business owners and other community members during the public review process, the City Planning Commission also modified the proposal to make it safer and easier to preserve and grow industrial businesses in mixed-use buildings within neighborhood. 

Creating Safer Streets and Investing in Public Spaces 

Alongside new housing and job opportunities, the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan includes significant commitments to support and enhance the neighborhood’s infrastructure. To enhance the community’s open space, the plan has allocated $24.2 million in improvements to St. Andrew’s Playground, including a new, synthetic turf multi-use field with a running track, upgraded basketball and handball courts, renovated playgrounds, a remodeled public restroom, new seating, plantings, and other green infrastructure. Lowry Triangle, located near Atlantic Avenue and Washington Avenue, will also be augmented to serve as a more vibrant community space. The plan also includes the first expansion of a zoning incentive to encourage the creation of publicly accessible open space outside of a central business district. 

To make Atlantic Avenue safer for users of all ages, the plan includes several interim street safety improvements to be followed by future investments. These include painted “neckdowns,” which are raised curb extensions that narrow the travel lane at intersections or midblock locations; daylighting to improve visibility at intersections; and bike corrals and a new bike lane on Bedford Avenue. Additionally, new buildings along Atlantic Avenue and Bedford Avenue would be required to be placed between five and 20 feet further away from the street, increasing sidewalk widths for pedestrians.  

Alongside this plan, several storm water and sewer upgrades for Atlantic Avenue and Dean Street are already underway, as are the installation of subsurface stormwater detention systems and 140 rain gardens throughout the neighborhood. These investments will increase sewer capacity and help the neighborhood better handle storm events. New buildings would also be required to meet the New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s stormwater standards, further reducing flooding.  

Engaging with the Community 

Over the past decade, DCP has worked closely with Brooklyn Community Board 8 and local stakeholders to develop a vision for a more dynamic, mixed-use Atlantic Avenue. The official study for the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan kicked off in early 2023 with New York City Councilmembers Crystal Hudson and Chi Ossé, engagement facilitator WXY Studio, Community Boards 2, 3, and 8, and agency partners. The process included over 20 meetings: three public community planning workshops, nine public working group meetings on three topic areas, and nine steering committee meetings to help shape the plan, which culminated in the release of the Community Vision and Priorities Report in 2023. CPC’s vote follows favorable recommendations with conditions from Brooklyn Community Boards 3 and 8, and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. The Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan now goes to the New York City Council for a public hearing and vote.