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New 72-story tower eyed to replace city-owned 'eyesore' in Brooklyn
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Arun Venugopal
Published May 12, 2025
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Courtesy of Binyan Studio and TenBerke Architects
By
Arun Venugopal
Published May 12, 2025
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The Adams administration is seeking to turn an unloved office building in Downtown Brooklyn into a soaring, 72-story embodiment of “City of Yes,” the administration’s ambitious plan to expand housing across the city.
Mayor Eric Adams told a roomful of real estate executives in a recent meeting that the site – a dark, 7-story building at 395 Flatbush Ave. that's called one of the borough’s “biggest eyesores” – represents the “future of housing in New York City.”
A new high-rise, high-density tower would replace this existing structure in downtown Brooklyn.
“In its place, we're going to build 1,200 new units of high-density mixed-use housing,” Adams said at last week’s Real Deal NYC Forum 2025. “The new 395 Flatbush will be a major addition to the skyline, towering high as the second-tallest building in Brooklyn.”
The 840-foot tall project is still in its early stages and will need to pass through the city’s lengthy land-use process, but it's slated to include 25% to 30% affordable housing, according to the developers, Rabina and Park Tower Group.
The affordable units would be designated for households earning 60% to 80% of the area median income, which ranges from $87,000 to $116,000 for a family of three, according to the city’s Housing and Preservation Development agency. An aide to Adams said the building would also house formerly homeless residents.
City officials said no city funding would be used to subsidize the affordable housing and that the developers were instead taking advantage of new city tax incentives. Adams said at the forum that the incentives paired with City of Yes zoning changes made this “the most pro-housing administration in history.”
The low-slung office building currently sits in an area brimming with new high-rises and is occupied by a Verizon call center. A collection of commercial establishments line the building’s ground floor, which is pocked with vacancies. Homeless encampments and pedestrians compete for sidewalk space under a “porch” that shields the ground floor from the elements.
A new high-rise, high-density tower would replace this existing structure in downtown Brooklyn.
Josh Rabina, the president and CEO of Rabina, said in a statement that replacing the existing “dark and outdated office building” with a “light and airy mixed-use development” would revitalize “one of the most important intersections in Downtown Brooklyn.”
He added, “395 Flatbush will respond to the city’s urgent housing needs, while anticipating and supporting future growth by overhauling the public realm for the thousands of people that pass through every day.”
The project will also include 66,000 square feet of retail space and another 75,000 square feet of commercial space, as well as 4,750 square feet of open space. According to the city, the project was able to benefit from changes passed by state legislators last year that will enable greater density on the site.
The project would also entail a makeover of the Dekalb Avenue subway entrance.
Ahmed Tigani, the acting commissioner of HPD, said the creation of 300 affordable homes, in an area that falls within Community Board 2, would constitute “the most affordable units created in a single project in this community board in the past decade.”
"With the housing supply need so great, it’s our obligation to unlock a range of solutions simultaneously and tackle the demand as aggressively as we can," Tigani said in a statement.
The next step is a public scoping hearing for the project’s environmental review, scheduled for June 5.
Tagged
economy
housing
brooklyn
Race And Justice Unit
Arun Venugopal
Arun Venugopal is a senior reporter for the WNYC and Gothamist Race & Justice Unit who focuses on issues of race and bias in our region. His reporting also tackles the topics of immigration, faith, and inequality. Arun serves as the regular fill-in host of the station's "U.S. of Anxiety" program. Arun was the creator and host of Micropolis, a series about race and identity. He is a contributor to NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He has appeared on PBS Newshour, On the Media and Studio 360, and has been published in The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and Salon. He also frequently serves as an emcee and moderator of panel discussions on race, religion, and identity issues and has been a guest host of NPR's "Fresh Air." He lives with his family in Queens.
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