Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Eyes on the Street

Eyes on the Street: Williamsburg’s “Lively,” “Beautiful” New Garage Wall

Photo: Stephen Miller
Such a lively streetscape on Hewes Street. Photo: Stephen Miller
Photo: Stephen Miller

An apartment building in Williamsburg perfectly illustrates how parking minimums in New York's zoning code make the city's streets and sidewalks worse.

Last year, a joint venture of Alex. Brown Realty and Largo Investments finished construction on a 33-unit rental project at 281 Union Avenue in Williamsburg. The seven-story building, roughly the same size as its neighbors, has something those older buildings don't: 17 parking spaces. While we don't know for certain whether parking minimums were the deciding factor behind that number, the amount of parking is just enough to meet the zoning code's requirements.

From an urban design perspective, city buildings don't get much worse. The lot, shaped like a triangle with one corner lopped off, is bounded on all sides by public streets. In other words, there's nowhere to hide the parking.

So the developers turned the entire first floor into a caged-in parking garage, with the curb cut on Union Avenue instead of either of the side streets. While there are some plantings along Union Avenue to try and spruce things up, the result is a bleak streetscape. Instead of walking by an apartment building, people walk past grating that masks a parking garage.

Making matters worse: The tree pits around the project remain empty more than a year after construction finished, leaving pedestrians to bake in the sun.

Ironically, the sales website for the building touts a "lively neighborhood" that "truly combines beautiful scenery with always growing architecture and development." Just don't include this building as a contribution to that lively neighborhood.

Parking minimums offer another great contribution to New York City neighborhoods. Photo: Stephen Miller
Another fine addition to New York City's sidewalk atmosphere. Photo: Stephen Miller
Parking minimums offer another great contribution to New York City neighborhoods. Photo: Stephen Miller

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

NYPD’s Push To Criminalize Cycling Spells Trouble For Immigrant Workers

Safety for the community? Great. But aren't delivery workers part of the community, too?

May 9, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Habemus Knicksum Edition

It was a big day yesterday, but we're not on the sports or the religion desk, so let's get to our news.

May 9, 2025

Friday Video: Who Ruined Outdoor Dining?

We sent our own video team to find out.

May 9, 2025

Decision 2025: Mayoral Hopefuls Discuss E-Bikes … With Joy and Concern

E-bikes are a vital tool for delivery workers and for people seeking to reduce their use of private cars. What would you do to both expand e-bike use and make streets safer? And the answers are...

Live from Albany: Hochul’s ‘Safety’ Measures Stripped from Budget

Lawmakers dropped three initiatives that Gov. Hochul said would have made roadways safer (though, as we'll see, that's very much in question). Let's review them.

May 9, 2025
See all posts