A Simcha for Williamsburg: City Council Clears the Way for New Yeshivas and Hundreds of New Housing Units on Park Avenue in Williamsburg

By Williamsburg 365 Staff

It was a big day for Williamsburg's community.

On Thursday, October 8, the New York City Council voted 47 to 0 to approve the Park Avenue Brooklyn Rezoning, opening the door to new yeshivas, hundreds of new homes and stores on Park Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

For years, Williamsburg families have felt the squeeze. Yeshivas and girls' schools are overcrowded. Young couples struggle to find an apartment. This rezoning gives the community room to grow.

The rezoning covers parts of five blocks along Park Avenue, between Bedford Avenue and Sandford Street, from Flushing Avenue down toward Myrtle Avenue, around Spencer Street, Walworth Street and Warsoff Place. For decades the area was zoned for factories and warehouses. Now homes and schools can go up.

The plan makes room for about 2,500 new students in four yeshivas, Talmud Torahs and a girls' school:

Yeshiva Letzrim Satmar on Spencer Street, 315 seats; Beth Chana School, a new girls' high school on Spencer Street with 497 seats; Central Talmudic Academy at 84 Sandford Street, growing to more than 1,400 students; Yeshiva Bnos Ahavas Israel at 88 Walworth Street, with 298 students.

The school buildings will be five stories tall, with rooftop play areas for the children and wider sidewalks out front.

391 new housing units

Six new buildings on Park Avenue, 7 to 11 stories tall, will bring 391 housing units and space for local stores. Between 91 and 117 of the housing units will be permanently affordable.

Council Member Lincoln Restler, who represents the neighborhood, pushed and spearheaded the plan. "The addition of these school seats, these yeshiva seats, will keep families in Williamsburg and Bed-Stuy for generations to come," he told his colleagues before the vote. He praised the 10 property owners who teamed up to bring the project forward, and said they will also fix up the Taaffe Place Playground so the neighborhood kids have a place to play.

The United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn said, “We are grateful to the City Council for passing the Park Avenue Rezoning, which will create hundreds of additional much-needed housing units and thousands of desperately needed school seats. And thank you to Lincoln Restler for your hard work shepherding this through and making this plan a reality.”

Rabbi Moishe Indig, Executive Vice President of Williamsburg JCC, said, “This is a great day for our community. For years our families have been pushed to the limit, with crowded classrooms and young couples forced to move away from their parents. Thanks to Speaker Julie Menin and Council Member Lincoln Restler, our children will have the schools they need and our families will have homes close to where they grew up. Speaker Menin and Council Member Restler listened to our community and delivered, and we are deeply grateful.”

The City Planning Commission, which approved the plan earlier, pointed to the community's growth as the reason for it, citing "the increase of the local school-aged population and the related need for more housing, schools, and neighborhood-serving facilities."

With the City Council vote complete, the property owners can now begin the permit process and move toward construction.