Bay Ridge council member pitches rezoning for auto-shop strip ahead of fast-track housing rules

Brooklyn Councilmember Kayla Santosuosso wants to rezone a commercial section of Bay Ridge for more housing. Her goal is to influence what gets built there before January, when a voter-approved City Charter change strips the City Council of its final word on some projects.

What changes for NYC rezonings in January

Nearly 60% of voters backed the charter measure in last year’s general election. It ends member deference for projects that need a rezoning in certain community districts. Under that long-standing practice, the local council member could advance a project or kill it.

The new rules apply in the 12 community districts that produced the least affordable housing over the past five years. Developments there with affordable units can take a fast track, with a shorter review that bypasses the City Council. Approval instead comes from the City Planning Commission, which the mayor controls. Supporters argue the change will help add homes during a severe housing shortage. The City Council fought the measure hard, as well as two other affordable housing proposals that voters also passed.

The Bay Ridge rezoning plan

Santosuosso is a Democrat whose district takes in Bay Ridge and Coney Island, along with sections of Gravesend and Dyker Heights. Before winning the seat last year, she worked for Justin Brannan, the previous council member. No one else on the council has unveiled a plan to redevelop part of a neighborhood as a direct answer to the charter change.

The plan focuses on a wedge of commercial blocks between Fourth and Fifth avenues, running from 86th Street to 95th Street. Today that stretch mixes car dealerships and repair garages with empty retail spaces. Loosening the rules to allow more homes there, she said, could pull developers toward those blocks rather than other parts of Bay Ridge and bring investment in parks and streetscapes. She described the coming shift as “a sea change for the neighborhood” and said residents want to build housing while keeping the qualities they value about the area.

The idea is still early, and Santosuosso has not said how big buildings could get. A community event on Tuesday will collect suggestions. According to city election results, most Bay Ridge voters rejected the ballot question to speed up development reviews.

Open New York, a pro-housing group that supported the measures, sees the proposal as a sign they are already making a difference, said executive director Annemarie Gray. The measures grew out of a charter commission created by former Mayor Eric Adams.