Fulton Street BID

"Goals are to retain current businesses and improve the atmosphere to make this area of Fulton Street a clean, safe and retail diverse environment that will become a local shopping and civic destination, rather than a thoroughfare."

Top five goals for July 2009 (for FAB, October 2009 start) through June 2010:

1. Sanitation (street cleaning & graffiti removal)
2. Marketing and Promotion (social media, increased merchants association participation, holiday & retail events)
3. Beautification (banners, lighting, street-scaping)
4. Public Safety (staffing)
5. Advocacy for Members (media & civic engagement)

Source: http://faballiance.org/programs-initiatives

Source: http://www.facebook.com/FABFulton

Sources:

Fulton Area Business Alliance

Fulton Area Business Alliance “Annual Report Submission to the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS)” November 5, 2010

Fort Greene / Clinton Hill Rezoning

On July 25, 2007 the City Council adopted Fort Greene / Clinton Hill zoning changes to preserve the area's development scale, limiting the impact of previous zoning without height restrictions that had resulted in inconsistent development. As market demand for housing within Fort Greene and Clinton Hill has increased, a number of out-of-scale, 11- to 13-story tower developments are proposed or have been constructed that are inconsistent with the low-rise, row house neighborhood character. In conjunction with this rezoning, there is a related zoning text amendment to permit the use of the Inclusionary Housing bonus to create incentives for the development and preservation of affordable housing in the R7A districts along Myrtle Avenue, Fulton Street, and Atlantic Avenue. 

This rezoning was supported by the Myrtle Ave BID which "to assist the small businesses located along the avenue and improve the quality of life of the surrounding neighborhoods". 

Under the Inclusionary Housing program, a development providing affordable housing are eligible for a floor area bonus, within contextual height limit and bulk regulations tailored to this area. Affordable units can be provided either on-site or off-site. Off-site affordable units must be located within the same community district or within a half-mile of the bonused development if in a different community district.
Source: NYC Department of Planning

Fort Greene / Clinton Hill Proposed Zoning
Source: NYC Department of Planning

Sources:

Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District

NYC Planning Department

Brooklyn BIDs near Atlantic Yards Development

There are a number of business improvement districts (BIDs) in Brooklyn in close proximity to the Atlantic Yards development site.

Source: http://gis.nyc.gov/

Atlantic Yards: Aging Buildings Spur Change

According to the 2000 Census, much of the housing stock in the immediate vicinity of the Atlantic Yards development was relatively old when plans were announced for the Atlantic Yards development.  When housing is in demand, the combination of an aging population and aging housing stock is often a catalyst for new development and gentrification.

Neighborhood Transitions: Losses & Gains

Contemplating the impact of the Atlantic Yards development project and its impact on the culture of the surrounding communities such as Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, this upcoming project by Nelson George, an advisory board member of DEVELOP DON'T DESTROY BROOKLYN (DDDB), is a volunteer-run and community-funded 501c3 non-profit corporation founded in February 2004 in opposition to the Forest City Ratner plan for Atlantic Yards.



Brooklyn Boheme - First 5 mins TEASER 2011 from Diane Paragas on Vimeo.

"The first five minutes of our feature documentary Brooklyn Boheme gives a first hand account of this vibrant African American artistic community that included the great Spike Lee, Chris Rock, Branford Marsalis, Rosie Perez, Saul Williams, Lorna Simpson just to name a few. Narrated and written by Fort Greene resident Nelson George, this documentary celebrates "Brooklyn's equivalent of the Harlem Renaissance" and follows the rise of a new kind of African American artist, the Brooklyn Boheme."

Demographics in Brooklyn are transitioning.  Population growth in neighborhoods adjacent to the Atlantic Yards development will increase housing demand as the defining cultural characteristics that make up the "Brooklyn Boheme" continue to shift.

Source: United States Census (2000), Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties of New York (2008,2009), American Community Survey (2009)

Source: http://vimeo.com/24489741

Atlantic Yards Opposition

The Atlantic Yards development project was publicly announced for the first time in December 2003. Since then, architects and financiers have come and gone and multiple proposals and renderings have been announced. At this point, the final product remains elusive.  Local journalists, community activists, and other opponents have criticized many iterations of the planned development.

The Fort Greene and Clinton Hill neighborhoods are predominantly characterized by three-to five-story brownstone row houses. Myrtle Avenue and Fulton Street are the neighborhood's major commercial corridors and are generally characterized by three/four-story apartment buildings with ground-level retail.  Much of the opposition is due to the mismatch in scale and character of the proposed Atlantic Yards development. 

Bloggers such as author Will James point out the 'developer's blight' and impact on neighborhood vibrancy of the planned development at Atlantic Yards.

"What I hope to show...is the character of the streets both to the north and the south of the railyards. These are overwhelmingly vibrant and beautiful areas...There are some empty and run down buildings here and there around the site, but the vast majority of these are actually owned and kept empty by Bruce Ratner himself."

Source: developdontdestroy.org   
DEVELOP DON'T DESTROY BROOKLYN (DDDB), a non-profit corporation founded in February 2004 opposed to Forest City Ratner's 8 million square foot "Atlantic Yards" development. 

"If you live in Prospect Heights, Fort Greene, Park Slope, Clinton Hill, Boerum Hill, Crown Heights, or Bedford-Stuyvesant, get ready to kiss your neighborhood goodbye. (Everyone else get ready to see your tax dollars given to a developer instead of your schools. " (DDDB)

Developer's blight or revitalization?

The use of eminent domain is often controversial when acquiring land and property. Since Kelo vs New London in 2005, US courts have often sided with municipalities that claim increased tax revenue or job growth even at the expense of displacement, gentrification, or community transformation.  Empire State Development claims the Atlantic Yards project is a means for "fostering sustainable growth, creating jobs, reviving our economy and expanding opportunities for all New Yorkers."  At $4 billion, the project includes 16 residential, office, retail, community facilities, and parking buildings, 8 acres of public space, and is expected to create thousands of construction and permanent jobs.  As the much delayed construction continues, the developers continue to push against community opposition with weekly construction updates, glossy renderings, and hearings.

Atlantic Yards

The Atlantic Yards development project is a controversial mixed-use development project under construction between Prospect Heights and Fort Greene in Brooklyn to include residential and commercial high-rises, as well as a sports arena for the New Jersey Nets. Developer Forest City Ratner has faced tense opposition for various community groups since the plans were announced in 2003 due to questionable use of eminent domain, criticism of design plans, and opposition to changing the character of the surrounding neighborhoods. Currently under construction, the project will undoubtedly change the aesthetics of the Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue corridor and its primarily residential surrounding communities.

Source: BarclaysCenter.com