24,000 square feet for parking

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Forgive me for getting a bit obsessed with the Cuver El, but it is hot in our sleepy neighborhood, new businesses are slow to open, and this is the biggest issue right now.

So I was poring over the plans, looking at the land the city is giving up for the affordable housing, and could not help being struck by the fact that the city is giving away public land for parking spots in an area where we desperately need green public space for safe play and enjoyment of folks young and old.

The location of additional parking lots for the unnamed community facilities right in the middle of the proposed housing development is perplexing. And that’s 24,000 square feet of additional parking, in lots of 238×50 feet, 153×50 and 90×50 feet, the latter two being adjacent.

Maybe a there could be a Community Garden?

At the hearing is was said that being 50 feet wide, these lots are peculiar and not suited to anything really, and clearly public space was not a consideration.  I looked up the size of Community garden on E4th street – it is reported by the Parks department to be 0.184 acres. That would translate to 8,015 square feet – three community gardens that size could fit into the proposed parking spots! By adding a community garden, we’d be creating a gathering space, a place for the neighbors from the surrounding area, be they Jewish, Bangladeshi, Mexicans, Russians, Italians or Irish (I could go on) to get together, grow some beautiful veggies and flowers, and get to know each other. The E4th Street garden is such a fabulous neighborhood asset, and definitely large enough to provide for enjoyment of outdoor space, neighbors, and some shade to the apartment dwellers around here. (Never mind teaching kids about how the flowers grow, composting, and all those other good things of environmentally responsible living.). By adding parking spots we get … parking spots.

Or – A Dog Run?

Yet another suggestion for a better use of the space than parking lots: neighbors in Kensington have been working for years to find a spot that would be big enough for a dog run – just ask Sean Casey of the Sean Casey Animal Rescue! Any chance one of these lots could be big enough?

Or, just maybe, a place to play soccer? Currently the games are played in the street … a 40 year tradition, some residents say (see photo above).

    - Liena

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    • Richard

      Liena, You have a great vision for Kensington that I know a lot of us out here share. We live in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the world. It is a delicate balance having all of these different cultures living in such close quarters.You are so right about us needing communal space… it is a small inroad to world peace. Think Global, Act Local. Right?
      Overcrowding our already overcrowded school system in combination with our lack of parks and such is a recipe for disaster. The mounting tension can be felt just walking along ugly and barren Church and McDonald Avenues.THe city needs to stop and take a closer look, actually get the politicians (and the community board) over here to really see what we are about and start taking care to plan OUR neighborhood as nicely as they do others-like that new park near Columbia on the waterfront or the fact that every street in Park Slope, Carroll Gardens,etc. has trees. I have been here almost twenty years and have yet to see a tree planted on McDonald Ave.

    • http://nycgarden.blogspot.com frank@nycgarden

      You should see what I can do with 200 square feet. Parking sounds like what will happen, cause that’s what the families want.

    • Richard

      Frank,not to be snarky, but how do you know what they want???Maybe they too would enjoy a little nature in this cement jungle.

    • julie

      I’m sorry, but I’m not understanding this obsession with “green space”. Do we not live withing walking distance of Prospect Park???? How about Greenwood Playground?

      While I believe trees should be planted, I don’t think we should complain about affordable housing. There are some of us who have lived in this neighborhood for 20+ years and are paying close to $1800 for a one bedroom apartment.

      I feel that affordable housing would be a great BENEFIT for this neighborhood, but only if people in this neighborhood are given first preference. If the people of this neighborhood are given first preference, I don’t think we’ll have this sudden influx of children that many of you seem to think will overcrowd our schools.

      I’m sorry, but many of the immigrants will not be interested in a community garden. And let’s stop trying to turn Kensington into Yuppieville. There’s plenty of that in Park Slope. I never had a need for a community garden and I don’t think I’ll have that need in the future.

      If you want veggies, get a window box

    • http://nycgarden.blogspot.com frank@nycgarden

      Richard,

      Can you tell me why a builder would build parking lots when it doesn’t have to?

    • http://nycgarden.blogspot.com frank@nycgarden

      I mean, is it simply an ignorant choice on the part of the builder? Or is it that the community they are building 4 bedroom apartments around might want a place to put their minivan and the builder sees this as an important amenity that is relatively low cost to install?

      I understand that we are witnessing changing priorities in NYC and many cities regarding cars, parking and green spaces, but parking spaces are still a desirable luxury to most and I am simply presuming that it is no different at Culver El.

    • Jole

      Parking clarification: for every 4-unit /4 story building at Culver El Estates, there will be two parking places for tenants’ use, as required by NYC Planning rules–enough room for a tenant’s minivan, I assume. In addition, ““neighborhood community facilities” will also have 3 lots assigned to them (out of a total of 14), in which they get to park 48 cars.

    • littledebbiet

      A car is definately useful in this part of Brooklyn. Gardens are lovely, there should be more of them. But until the trains start running consistently on the weekends and/or they start installing more elevators I will be throwing my kid in the car to do our shopping. I imagine folks with 3 kids and all their junk feel the same way.

    • http://karmabrooklyn.blogspot.com/ Joy Rich

      About the parking requirements–

      The City Planning Department’s website says that “The amount of required parking varies according to the size, use, and location of a development.”

      In the proposed M1-2 zoning district (commercial, manufacturing, and certain community facility uses), off-street parking is required.

      In the proposed R6A (all housing types) and R6B (all housing types) zoning districts, parking is required for 50% of the dwelling units. That’s waived if five or fewer spaces are required.

      In the proposed C4-2A zoning district (regional and local commercial uses, all housing types, and community facilities), parking is also required for 50% of the dwelling units, and required commercial and community facility parking varies based on use. Parking is waived when fewer than 25 spaces are required for all uses on a zoning lot.

      The proposed C2-3 commercial overlay has the same parking requirements for most commercial uses as the proposed M1-2 and C4-2A districts, requiring one parking space for every 300 square feet of commercial space.

    • Andrea

      Thanks for all of your great reporting on the Culver El project. It is greatly appreciated.

      The more green space, the more public space, the better!

    • Kay

      Julie, Greenwood park and Prospect Park are not within walking distance for my small children. I don’t think we are asking for too much to have a little space for our kids to play. I live in a big apt bldg at the end of Church and we have many kids playing in our street. I don’t think this makes me a “yuppie” to want all of the kids to have a safe place to play.

    • Kay

      Also Julie, no one is complaining about affordable housing at all. We are complaining about how it is done. The city is again putting the cart before the horse.
      BUILD NOW,PLAN LATER. Our schools down here are already way overcrowded and our parks are too. Oh.Nevermind. We don;t have one!
      Have you seen the plans for the zoning changes? It will be great to have something there but why can’t it be better PLANNED -with schools and green space not an afterthought?
      If they aren’t careful NOW, the whole rezoned area will turn into a typical patchwork of ugly, cheap, overdeveloped, cram-as-many-apartments-as the developer-can get-away -with crappy crowded nabe.

    • Felix

      What should be built in 24’000 public square feet in Kensington?
      Playground for children should be nice.
      A public pool would be nice too but it cost a lot of money to run.
      Perhaps more basketball hoops.
      What we should not built in 24’000 public square feet in Kensington?
      No more parking for a mega 99 cent store.
      No dogruns, they are disgusting, they stink!
      No community gardens, they are just sad, get over it, you are in nyc.

    • littledebbiet

      Seems like there is plenty of room for housing, a playground/green space for all the kids and adults who are going to be living there and some parking! Agreed this is nowhere near Prospect Park and its the best to have a place close by and safe for everybody to hang out with their neighbors.

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