Seeking to learn how area residents and businesspeople feel about a proposal to build affordable housing on top of a brand-new library at the site of the current New Utrecht Library and the adjacent municipal parking lot, Assemblyman William Colton (D—Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights) convened a meeting on Tuesday, December 16 at Il Centro.

The project, which is in a very early stage, is proposed to include a one-story, state-of-the-art library nestled in a development that could contain several hundred affordable housing units, and rise as much as 14 stories in height, without providing much, if any parking, either for residents or for people who use their cars to access the shopping district that it would abut.

According to NYC regulations, which have been amended under the City of Yes, which became law earlier this year, the current zoning (R5 and R5 with a C1-2 overlay) would allow a five-story building. The larger building options that the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is considering would need to go through a review process. HPD is reportedly considering both a medium and a high-density option. The former, according to an information sheet produced by HPD, would produce 230-310 homes in two buildings, one 8-9 stories, and the other 10-14 stories. The latter would result in 290-390 homes, also in two buildings, one 10-11 stories and the other 12-14 stories.

Nearly 100 area residents attended the meeting, and the overall feeling expressed was that either of the options currently being considered by HPD would be too much of a burden on the neighborhood, in terms of their impact on a wide swath of quality-of-life matters from parking to sewer infrastructure to school capacity, all of which are already under pressure because of the increased population living in the area. Businesses, those in attendance said, could suffer if the parking lot is eliminated, basements could flood if the 100-year-old sewer system is further strained, and schools that are already overcrowded would become more so. There were also concerns expressed about options available to the many library users who frequent the branch, and who could be left without a convenient alternative.

In the meantime, Assemblyman Colton noted, not only private landlords but the city itself (through NYCHA) is actually sitting on tens of thousands of vacant apartments that, if utilized, could help alleviate the housing crisis that is spurring projects like this one.

According to Assemblyman Colton, Brooklyn Public Library is looking into the concept because it otherwise does not have the funds to make essential upgrades to the branch. “They will not agree to something unless they feel it tremendously improves the library,” he said.

This is not the first project that BPL has entered into combining a state-of-the-art library with affordable housing. An eight-story project that was the first of its kind opened on Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park in 2023. It was developed through a partnership between the not-for-profit Fifth Avenue Committee and BPL, and contains approximately 50 units of affordable housing.

Stressing that it is important to mobilize early (any project would likely be several years in the future), Assemblyman Colton vowed to support area residents if they are opposed to whatever the city eventually proposes, and he said he would lead the fight. “I believe when people unite and fight, we have the power to stop proposals that do not benefit us,” he said. “They like to keep everything quiet so nobody knows what’s going on, but we’re going to make sure you know what’s going on. They have to understand that if they don’t listen to us, we are not going to support the project. We have fought unpopular proposals before, and won, and we can do it again.

“If we need to fight,” Assemblyman Colton stressed, “I am ready for a fight.”

The New Utrecht branch of the Brooklyn Public Library is located at 1743 86^th Street. Il Centro is located at 8711 18^th Avenue.

The meeting was co-sponsored by State Senator Steven Chan.