Posted to Crown Heights News on

There Is A New Building Proposal In Crown Heights, and Everything About It Is Wrong

by CrownHeights.info

A considerable lot on the corner of Rutland Rd and Schenectady Ave in Crown Heights has filed for a deed and zoning change to allow an enormous building filled with homeless housing and tiny apartments to be built. The neighbors and community are less than thrilled.

“They want approval to change zoning to allow to build 200 tiny “affordable” apartments (not for anash), and homeless apartments,” a message sent around the neighborhood claimed. “What a shame, this property was once owned by a yid and now we need to fight the city from destroying the neighborhood with their homeless development plans.”

The pain of this proposed development runs deep in the community, as historically, the land was once taken away from a Jew.

Faith Gospel Church, Present Day (Credit: Google Street View)

The parcel of land, located at 777 Rutland Rd, was purchased in 1989 by Reb Yossel Muchkin during the time the Rebbe was urging Lubavitchers to purchase land. Originally a manufacturing house that build doors for submarines, Muchkin made the purchase under the Rebbe’s directive, without plans for the location or the ability to upkeep it. Despite many attempts, Muchkin was unable to upkeep the taxes on the building, and the city ultimately confiscated it by 1995.

Two years later, the city sold the property to the Faith Gospel Church, stipulating in the deed that the property may only be used for “Community Facility Use”.

Deed Stating That the Land May Only Be Used For “Community Facility Use”

Now, twenty-five years later, the church hasn’t exactly flourished.

For more than three years, local residents say that the church has pretty much been closed, rarely holding services, and remained practically vacant.

So when The NHP Foundation, a company focused on “Preserving America’s Affordable Housing”, requested deed and zoning changes to allow a proposed building with 183 “Affordable Housing” units, it was received with little enthusiasm.

The little enthusiasm dredged up drained away quickly when the plans for the building became known.

“Census Data Suggests 24% of the Households in BK are at least 4 persons, yet 777 Rutland has Zero 3 bedroom apts, unlike the other two Vital BK projects,” one unhappy resident pointed out.

With Crown Heights’s largely Jewish population looking for housing, the lack of apartments that could realistically house them created an immediate rejection.

Artist Mockup of Proposed Building

Of the 183 units proposed, 52 of them would be studio apartments, 72 would be just one bedroom, 58 two-bedroom, and not a single three-bedroom apartment. In practical terms, that means that this building would be built in a way unusable by the Jewish community. But that’s only half of it.

Joining two other giant affordable housing projects and multiple halfway houses in the area, the proposed building would set aside 30 the units for homeless, exacerbating the already untenable issue of homeless and mentally ill migrating through the streets of Crown Heights.

All these issues are creating frustration for local homeowners and renters, who would now have to face additional hardships in what was considered the “less developed” portion of Crown Heights.

Other difficult questioning raised by the residents includes the astronomical issue of vehicle parking for such a large building, which is guaranteed to become an overflowing burden that will spill onto all the nearby streets. The strain on the nearby electrical system – already plagued with yearly overhead line fires and blackouts – is also an issue.

As the proposal begins its journey through Community Board 9, residents have already begun to galvanize in opposition, encouraging many to participate in planned Zoom meetings where public comment is allowed.

Arial of the Proposal Area

Related Articles

11 Comments

  • Frustrating

    There was 50+ local residents on the zoom meeting yesterday, no rep of the CHJCC.

    What is going on in this community , where are our representatives?

    How are is this being allowed to happen?

    • Jacob Goldstein

      Who in the local Anash community is heading the opposition to this project . FYI I was Chairman of CB 9 for 34 years and the board under my leadership was able to block various projects like this . I would like to be part of this effort to block this dev and share with the group my knowledge in fighting this monstrosity . It is important that you are organizing your opposition early and now .

    • disappointed

      there was nothing in the package fr our politicians their pockets glory THe community council/Vaad Hakahol members either need to force elections themselves or resign in unison to allow for new elections. They need to stop taking our money for themselves! Stop endorsing kissing up to our politicians when they happen to win!

  • contact for Jacob Goldstein

    How do we reach you to help lead the opposition for this project?

  • Yossel Mochkin

    I also begged the community council at the time the city was trying to take away the property and he didn’t respond either didn’t do things to Save it forget about to help me, just for the community And I don’t understand why there’s no new election now either either it’s just not fair even to the community consul itself that needs to be new re-invigorators new fresh ideas and blood and energy

    • Mushkie

      No one should bite off more than they can chew. Someone that does bite more than they can chew, ends up choking.

      You bit off more than you can chew when you bought the property. You had no plan or vision. You had no means to hold on to it or to develop it.

      Now we suffer the consequences.

      The lesson: We must always look both ways before crossing the street. If we go blindly, we can get run over.

    • Jay Sorid

      Yossel – Thank you for having the vision & pioneering spirit years ago, to buy a property that expanded the boundaries of the Jewish community. Your vision shows how this property would have been used by the many Jews who live by it today. The fact that others did not want to keep it in Jewish hands or provide a small secured loan is an indifference which culminates in the problems we see today.

  • shmuel tayar

    I am prepared to help design & finance an NFP housing project for out-of-town post-secondary students on said real estate. Concerned agencies and residents would love such a vision as it will help with the housing crisis as well as give the local community an economic boost.

  • yerachmiel

    B”H
    One thing is a for sure– There’s NO WAY this would ever happen if this was Williamsburg. They buy a whole city block, put in 1-2 steiblach, men’s mikvah, a grocery store, fish store, dry goods store, fruit & vegetable market