The Rheingold Development

The North West Bushwick Community Group began in reaction to the Rheingold Rezoning in Bushwick in September, 2013. New and old residents came together to form a group that would advocate against the displacement of Bushwick's longtime working-class and low-income residents and for accountability from developers.

“In the 1840s and 1850s, a majority of the [Bushwick] immigrants were German, which became the dominant population. Bushwick established a considerable brewery industry, including "Brewer's Row"—14 breweries operating in a 14-block area—by 1890. Thus, Bushwick was dubbed the "beer capital of the Northeast". The last Bushwick brewery closed its doors in 1976.”
-wikipedia

Rheingold brewery closed in 1976. This industrial land was (potentially willingly) underutilized for years serving as loading docks and truck storage, as well as serving less formal industrial and commercial uses. The Mademoiselle building (Flushing & Evergreen) was built with public subsidies serving as a garment factory and local employer.

In 2010 Read Properties (owner & developer of the Rheingold site including the Mademoiselle building) filed a ULURP application with NYC City Planning Department. Through this ULURP process the landowner was asking for the Communities’ permission to change the zoning of this land and allow Read to build residential on industrial land. This zoning change would radically alter the community and provide enormous profit for the developer.

On September 3, 2013 Bushwick Residents were invited by CM Reyna to attend a Town Hall meeting to inform the community about the ULURP (rezoning) application and proposed Residential Development at Rheingold. The attending Community response was clear and direct in it's articulation of local need and concern around the Read Properties proposal. Neighbors convened after the Town Hall and again voiced communal concern. A subsequent step in the Rheingold Rezoning ULURP process- a Planning Commission Public Hearing galvanized neighbors around calling for equitable land use in Bushwick. Most neighbors in attendance at these public events were unaware of the ULURP Rezoning process already underway at the Rheingold site.

In December 2013 The New York City Council approved the rezoning of Rheingold and certified Read Properties’ ULURP application. The 9 blocks of formerly industrial land is now zoned for residential use with nearly 900 luxury apartments slated to built here over the next few years. This massive residential development will impact Bushwick’s long standing working-class & low-income communities and potentially serves to threaten local affordable housing stability.

The mademoiselle building (Flushing & Evergreen) now serves as Bushwick’s largest remaining M1 (industrially zoned) plot of land and is occupied now by the city agency- Office of Emergency Management. In addition to light Manufacture uses M1 zoning allows for hotels & nightclubs. This M1 plot is vulnerable to developers who see more profit in land-uses that do not serve Bushwick’s long standing communities or local need.

Colony 1209

The year was 2006 and Bushwick’s gentrification was still nascent, although the enthusiasm for building condos in Williamsburg showed no sign of stopping the march eastward. A large, former mattress factory located at 1209 Dekalb Avenue was purchased by the Bushwick Enterprise Group for $8.3 million, with intentions to demolish the industrial building. The project stalled when one the investors, Eli Weistein, was convicted of fraud and the site eventualy went into foreclosure to be sold at auction.

In 2012, the site was acquired by Read Property Group for $6 million, who operated under a LLC named ‘1209 Dekalb Holdings LLC’. They prompted resumed the luxury development process and completed the construction of the building known as “COLONY 1209.” The 127-unit building contains NO affordable units, where a studio starts at $1875/month and includes numerous luxury amenities such as a gym and a 24-hour doorman.

As with the Reingold rezoning, Bushwick’s former industrial land is being transformed into luxury developments. These buildings provide no benefits for the local residents and cause rents to increase, displace the working-class tenants of Bushwick. Rents in Bushwick have increased 23% this year.

98 Linden

Tenants at 98 Linden Street were asked to grant access to their apartment at the request of their landlord, Joel Israel, under the auspices of minor repairs and maintenance. Instead, their kitchens and bathrooms were destroyed by the landlord in an (alleged) attempt to make the homes unlivable and force these rent controlled tenants out of their apartments, where they lived for 23 years. A vacant building can be easily taken out of rent regulation and converted to market rate units providing a windfall profit for landlords willing/able to vacate low paying renters. Preserving affordable units, and keeping people in their homes, are important to the housing stability of local long standing communities.

The ACRIS info (public tax & ownership info) lists the owner of 98 Linden as LINDEN VENTURES LLC.