Zoning? Bensonhurst calls out, ‘Next!’

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights got theirs, now Bensonhurst wants “in” on the downzoning frenzy.

“It is time for Bensonhurst to get the rezoning ball rolling,” said Bill Guarinello, the chairman of Community Board 11 at last Tuesday’s CB11 meeting.

“We are going to make this a big issue soon,” he added at the meeting, which was at the Holy Family Home on 84th Street.

The audience sighed with approval after Guarinello’s comment, though the chairman cautioned a downzoning scheme takes time to wend its way from conception to completion.

“Dyker Heights had a pretty big head start on us, but our time is coming,” said Guarinello, though he did not offer a time-frame for the downzoning push.

The goal of would-be downzoners is to curb “overdevelopment” by restricting builders from tearing down houses for taller condos. Downzone efforts are already completed or under way in Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Fort Greene and other areas where residents are seeking to protect a low-rise feel.

But opponents say that downzoning results in less housing — which is critically needed as Brooklyn grows.

CB11 District Manager Howard Feuer believes that a zoning change would maintain the character of Bensonhurst.

“If we are successful,” said Feuer. “the [area] will be a mirror image of what it is now.”