Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn could get thousands of new homes and jobs under rezoning

Big changes are slated for Brooklyn’s historic “Main Street,” Atlantic Avenue.

The City Planning Commission is expected to consider a rezoning proposal this week that would allow about 4,600 new homes to be built and bring some 2,800 long-term jobs to a 21-block stretch of the avenue and surrounding blocks in Crown Heights, Bed-Stuy and Prospect Heights, according to Mayor Eric Adams’ administration. City officials say restrictive zoning rules have stunted residential development and economic growth in the area, so updates are needed to address the city’s housing shortage.

The plan is part of the administration’s broader efforts to boost housing across the city and revitalize business corridors, particularly in transit-rich areas. It also follows years of discussions about the future of Atlantic Avenue, the western end of which has experienced a boom in activity since the construction of Barclays Center last decade. Traffic safety projects, including planters, bike corrals and daylighting — where parking spaces next to intersections are removed — feature in the proposal as well. Final funding will be determined at the end of the public review process, according to officials.

"While this stretch of Atlantic Avenue has excellent access to jobs and transit, our outdated zoning limits the neighborhood to only auto, storage and small industrial uses,” Dan Garodnick, director of the Department of City Planning, told Gothamist in a statement. “It’s obvious that we are long overdue for change, and this plan will deliver thousands of new homes, more space for commercial and manufacturing businesses, and safer, more pedestrian-friendly streets.”

The commission will weigh in on the plan at its meeting on Wednesday, and then the proposal would head to the City Council for further review. The draft environmental impact statement for the plan notes the area targeted for rezoning and other actions is bounded roughly by Vanderbilt Avenue to the west, Nostrand Avenue to the east, Herkimer Street to the north and Bergen Street to the south. The proposal also includes two smaller areas in Prospect Heights and Bed-Stuy.

City Councilmembers Crystal Hudson and Chi Ossé, who represent the districts the proposal touches, have supported it, citing rising housing prices. The plan comes with more than 1,400 income-restricted homes deemed affordable, as well as various infrastructure enhancements, like stormwater and sewer upgrades, and $24 million for the St. Andrews Playground in Bed-Stuy, according to city officials.

The community engagement process for the proposal has been underway since October. Brooklyn Community Boards 8 and 3 gave conditional approval to the proposal in December, while the Brooklyn borough president’s office did the same last month, city records show.