Downtown Brooklyn’s low-rise holdout at 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension is officially living on borrowed time. On Tuesday, the New York City Council signed off on a plan to turn the city-owned, seven-story office building into an 840-foot, 72-story residential tower with roughly 1,200 to 1,300 apartments, about one quarter of them permanently affordable. The vote clears a major land use hurdle for a redevelopment backed by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Adams administration, with the approved applications now heading into the remaining permitting steps.
Big news: @nyccouncil today approved what will be one of the largest residential buildings in the nation. 395 Flatbush Ave Ext in Downtown Brooklyn will no long be an (ugly) low-rise. It will become a tower with 1,200 homes, 25% of which will be permanently affordable. Made https://x.com/i/status/2031485047392579682
- Mark D. Levine (@marklevinenyc) March 10, 2026
What the council approved
According to the Council’s press office, the adopted land use package includes a zoning map amendment, related text changes, and an amendment to the Brooklyn Center Urban Renewal Plan that together allow the city-owned office building to be converted into a mixed use tower with approximately 1,263 housing units. As detailed by the New York City Council, members modified the application to remove MIH Option 2 and instead approved MIH Option 1 as the path forward. The action appeared on the agenda alongside other land use votes at the Council’s March 10 stated meeting.
Units, affordability and public benefits
Planning documents show the redevelopment is expected to deliver about 1,263 apartments, with between 325 and 379 permanently income restricted units evaluated under the MIH options. With the Council’s switch to MIH Option 1, the project now effectively settles on roughly 325 permanently affordable homes. The same review materials outline a package of public realm improvements, including an approximately 4,745 square foot public open space, wider sidewalks along Flatbush Avenue Extension, and a reconfigured DeKalb Avenue subway entrance, along with commitments to M/WBE participation and prevailing wage requirements linked to the 485 x tax incentive. Those details are summarized in the City Planning Commission’s land use application and environmental filings (City Planning Commission).
Developers, design and neighborhood response
Developers Rabina and Park Tower Group are leading the redevelopment in partnership with HPD, with renderings presented during review showing a glass clad tower designed by TenBerke Architects. The Real Deal reported that the team expects to rely on new city incentives, including the 485 x program, to make the numbers work. Hoodline previously covered the unveiling of the proposal last year and documented early community reaction. Community Board 2 ultimately backed the rezoning with conditions, pushing for deeper affordability, more large family sized units, and a developer contribution toward Fort Greene Park maintenance, as recorded by Brownstoner.
What comes next
The project remains in environmental review, and HPD has accepted the Final Environmental Impact Statement, according to state filings that evaluate traffic, shadows and other neighborhood impacts. NYSDEC lists the FEIS and the set of discretionary actions still required, while city records on Legistar show the key land use items marked as adopted on March 10, 2026. After the remaining approvals and permits are in place, the long term ground lease is expected to be restructured so construction can move ahead under city oversight.
Where this fits in the city’s housing push
City officials have held up 395 Flatbush as a showcase for the “City of Yes” zoning reforms, which aim to unlock underused office sites for housing and to increase allowable density in targeted districts. In a statement marking the anniversary of City of Yes, the mayor’s team highlighted sites like 395 Flatbush as examples of projects expected to deliver large numbers of units without direct subsidy (Mayor’s Office). The redevelopment illustrates how new zoning tools and tax incentives are being deployed to move sizable housing proposals forward in transit rich parts of the city.
As the tower inches from headline approval toward actual building permits, neighborhood groups, park advocates and affordable housing organizers are likely to keep a close eye on how promises around unit mix, affordability depth and park funding are locked in. The March 10 vote is a major milestone, but many of the project’s most watched commitments will be decided in negotiations and implementation over the months to come.
