An 85-unit residential building proposed for the corner of Bergen Street and Third Avenue in Boerum Hill sits just blocks from Atlantic Terminal, with access to nine subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road. But the city's zoning requirements mandate at least 43 parking spaces for its 85 units, and the entire first floor of the building will be a giant parking garage, facing both the street and the avenue. According to a report in the Observer, the project's developer says construction is scheduled begin within 10 days and take approximately 18 months.
“We are bringing to the neighborhood what we think will be a nice, cool and chic new building," developer Miki Naftali told the Observer.
Perhaps in an effort to boost the "nice, cool and chic" factor, the latest rendering of the building tries to disguise the first floor parking lot with some streaking lights from cars on the street.
In the surrounding Census tract, 74 percent of households are car-free. The intersection falls just outside the area of downtown Brooklyn slated for parking requirement reductions, which must still be approved by the City Planning Commission. With projects like this being built under current zoning, parking reform for the rest of the city's "inner ring" beyond downtown Brooklyn can't come soon enough.
