This week, a New York Times opinion article boldly stated. “If you care about social justice, you have to care about zoning.” Gowanus cares about rezoning and social justice but not everyone agrees on how to get it done.

Yesterday, Judge Katherine Levine, a Brooklyn Supreme Court judge, lifted a temporary restraining order allowing City Hall to move forward with a controversial Gowanus Neighborhood Plan. The plan is to build thousands of apartments near the Gowanus Canal. As of yesterday, the Gowanus rezoning officially began ULURP, the city’s formal review process. (The Final Scope of Work can be found here)

The temporary restraining order paused the rezoning, which was originally scheduled to begin on January 19. It was the result of an ongoing lawsuit stating virtual meetings on this issue negated the attendance of all interested parties and therefore needed to be in person. Therefore, “moving forward” means holding outdoor hearings, versus the virtual hearings originally proposed, to allow for locals who do not have internet access to attend.

According to the Brooklyn Paper, “The in-person event will take place at J.J. Byrne Playground at Fifth Avenue and Third Street in Park Slope, where folks will be able to watch the Zoom meeting and testify as well.

The Gowanus Neighborhood Plan area and swaths subject to Mandatory Inclusionary Housing | NYC Planning

Since the Bloomberg era, urban planners have pushed Gowanus rezoning as a way to revitalize the neighborhood and transform it from a warehouse district to a residential one. The plan, which most likely will not be completed until 2035, includes over 8,500 apartments, 3,000 of which will be rent-stabilized for low-income, working-class and middle-class families.

This ruling comes after months of lengthy court battles. Voice of Gowanus, a group opposed to the rezoning plan, is adamantly opposed to the rezoning plans fearing the gentrification of the neighborhood. Voice of Gowanus self defines as “a coalition of community organizations and individual citizens opposed to Mayor De Blasio and Councilmember Brad Lander's efforts to create an unhealthy environment for current and future residents of Gowanus with their plan to rezone the neighborhood.”

Immediately after the ruling, an attorney for the Voice of Gowanus released a statement clarifying that Judge Levine’s order is conditional on requirements which the city has not yet met and that court proceedings will continue.

The group concluded, “Justice Levine’s order today is provisional. Importantly, it does not reflect a ruling on the actual merits of the case. Voice of Gowanus continues to review the full range of legal options.”

And so it continues.