So instead of 292 new units \u2014 with 88 priced below market rate \u2014\u00a0in the neighborhood, the negotiated building will have 273 units and 82 units with slightly better affordability levels. Santosuosso declared victory for the neighborhood because the resulting units will be bigger, and more suitable for families, compared to the original proposal, which would have had more one bedroom apartments and less parking, according to a CPC presentation<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Santosuosso\u2019s celebration is misguided at best, according to experts, because the cost of building parking<\/a> is typically so high that developers typically reduce the number of units \u2014 and raise each unit\u2019s price \u2014\u00a0to compensate.<\/p>\n \u201cThe decision of increasing the parking requirements, and claiming that as a victory, is really contrary to our own research that shows that [increasing required parking] has ultimately a larger scale negative effect on the availability of housing and how affordable that housing is,\u201d said Marcel Negret, director of land use at the Regional Plan Association, who authored<\/a> a report on the effect of parking requirements on affordable housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n The inclusion of the large parking garage, coupled with the lower unit count, could end up raising the price of the eventual market rate apartments, Negret said. The average underground parking space in New York City costs<\/a> over $60,000 to build.<\/p>\n The site, at 9305 Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge, is currently a Staples with a large surface parking lot. The developer, Daniel Grinshteyn with BWH group, bought the lot for $17 million<\/a> in 2024 and wants to rezone it to allow for a large residential building with ground-floor retail. The site sits next to the R train\u2019s Bay Ridge-95th Street station and the B8 bus.<\/p>\n The proximity to transit makes the site \u201camenity rich\u201d and suitable for development, in the parlance of Borough President Antonio Reynoso.<\/p>\n As part of his 2025 \u201cComprehensive Plan For Brooklyn<\/a>,\u201d Reynoso created an \u201caccess to opportunity\u201d index that found that Bay Ridge in general, and the 9305 Fifth Avenue site in particular, was a great place for a large residential building.<\/p>\n \u201cHousing \u2026 is crucial in high-access neighborhoods where additional residents can benefit from existing resources,\u201d the Borough President wrote in his recommendation that the planning commission approve the original project. \u201cAt the Census tract level, the Project Area is identified within the second-best grouping of scores for access to opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Car ownership is higher in Bay Ridge than in other parts of Brooklyn, but even so, 44 percent of households there have no access to a vehicle, according to federal census data<\/a>. <\/p>\n The lot\u2019s proximity to the train and location in a commercial area make it a good spot to prioritize building more units rather than more costly underground car storage, which not only drives up costs, but does encourages car ownership, which in turn contributes to pollution, congestion and traffic-related injuries and health problems.<\/p>\n \u201cIn places that have transit we should reduce or substantially limit or even eliminate parking requirements because it just makes the product more expensive,\u201d Negret said.<\/p>\n The developer had originally proposed 75 subterranean parking spaces, more than double the 30 that required under the requested rezoning for a lot close to a train station.\u00a0<\/p>\n The new plan, which the City Council approved last week, will have the developer build 200 underground parking spaces and around 273 units of housing, prioritizing larger \u201cfamily-sized\u201d units, according to Santosuosso\u2019s post.<\/p>\n Grasping on to local power<\/p>\n The city under former Mayor Eric Adams recently updated its zoning code to spur more housing development. The change, called the City of Yes, overhauled the amount of parking mandated for development. <\/p>\n Initially, Adams administration officials aimed to scrap mandated parking altogether to allow developers to decide how much parking to include, based on market forces or community need, rather than due to an arbitrary requirement. But the plan was watered down<\/a> to appease lawmakers in less-dense areas of the city. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-13-at-2.28.52-PM-e1791993171675.png\")
The current site is a Staples and a large surface parking lot. Photo: Zoning Application Portal<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Screenshot-2026-10-13-at-1.23.57-PM.png\")
The original proposal compared to the final, as presented to the City Planning Commission, which approved it on Oct. 7 as it made its way through final approval on Oct. 8.<\/p>\n