Gowanus Rezoning
Zoning determines what can legally be built on specific pieces of land. A rezoning changes what is and isn't allowed. In New York City, doing that requires an applicant to go through the Universal Land Use Review Process, commonly known as ULURP. In the case of the Gowanus rezoning, New York City was the applicant, and it resulted in changing more than 80 blocks that were mostly industrial into a new mixed-use district with over 9,000 units of housing, including around 3,000 permanently affordable units, along with more than 6 acres of new open space, parkland, and space for artists and more.
The Gowanus neighborhood went through a major rezoning in 2021, one of the largest in New York City history, covering roughly 82 blocks. CB6 helped shape that outcome in a real and substantive way. After years of advocacy, letters, meetings, and public process alongside many across the community, the final rezoning included major outcomes that did not happen by accident: net 100 percent affordable housing at Public Place, a commitment to net zero CSO, and capital funding for NYCHA. That last point mattered in particular. At the outset, we were told rezoning-linked NYCHA funding could not happen. CB6, the Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice, many others across the community, and the City Council, with Brad Lander leading in a rare example of member deference being used to make a land use action better, did not accept that answer. They kept pushing, and eventually it became reality. When the City and City Council finalized their Points of Agreement in November 2021, the overlap with what CB6 and the broader community had been calling for was hard to miss.
But the work did not end with the vote, and it does not end with any one page. A rezoning of this scale will always raise questions, and it should. This page is here to help answer them. It is also meant to be part of a give and take, so if there is something you think should be added, clarified, or asked differently, feel free to email me.
— Mike Racioppo
