Protect Our Sunlight: Reduce the Height of the Proposed Building at 364 Coney Island Avenue
A 12-story building is proposed just two buildings away from our residential building. The proposed building would be 128 feet tall, plus a 20-foot rooftop bulkhead—a total height of 148 feet. Our nine-story building is 95 feet tall, and the neighboring school is 60 feet tall.
We are concerned that this height could substantially reduce sunlight reaching our south-facing apartments and affect the neighboring school.
We welcome redevelopment of the vacant lot and support additional housing. Our highest priority is a substantial reduction in the proposed building’s height to protect sunlight reaching neighboring homes and the school.
We, the undersigned, ask Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Council Member Rita Joseph to seek these changes before supporting the rezoning:
1. Substantially reduce the height
Our preferred maximum is 60 feet, including the rooftop bulkhead, matching the neighboring school’s height and protecting sunlight reaching nearby homes and the school.
Our concern extends beyond shadows. At 148 feet including the bulkhead, the proposed development would tower above the 60-foot school, exceed our 95-foot residential building, and create an abrupt contrast with the homes on Kermit Place. We ask for a lower-height design with greater setbacks that creates a more gradual transition to surrounding buildings.
2. Make sunlight impacts clear before supporting the proposal
Make a shadow study publicly available comparing the proposed building with lower-height alternatives. Show the effects on our building and the school at different times of day and throughout the year, and use the findings to guide the design.
We also request:
- Greater affordability: A higher proportion of permanently income-restricted apartments than the approximately 25% currently proposed, with more homes affordable to lower-income households.
- More family-sized homes: Three-bedroom apartments and a higher proportion of two-bedroom apartments.
- A plan for neighborhood impacts: Address parking demand, deliveries, passenger pickups, and construction disruption.
We support new housing that respects its neighbors. We ask our elected officials to make a substantial height reduction a priority before supporting this rezoning.
By signing, I support these requests. Please sign once per person.
