Train Tracks and A Housing Crisis

By Idy Perl

On Tuesday, June 18, the Community Board will hold a meeting that can potentially change the face of Boro Park forever. 

Officials have long been looking for new ways to solve the housing crisis in Brooklyn and accommodate the rapidly growing community. It’s no secret that Boro Park residents are struggling, with newly married couples living in hotel rooms and families unable to find homes to comfortably fit their needs. Askanim have been working to find a solution, and it seems that a plan that many have talked about in the past might finally happen. 

The famous train tracks passing 14th Ave and 60th Street are well known to every Boro Park resident, but askanim and officials only notice the empty space above it. Space that would look a lot better as apartment buildings. 

On the agenda for next week’s meeting is a proposition to build a large platform above the train tracks, upon which plenty of housing can be built. Many zoning laws would need to be amended to make such a project possible, and plenty of permits would need to be obtained, but there is hope of a positive outcome. 

The Public Hearing on this topic will take place Tuesday, June 18, at 7:00pm at the Amico Senior Center, 5901 13th Ave. (entrance on 59th St.), 3rd Floor.

To view the entire application on this topic, click here.

It's worth noting that discussions and plans are underway for a new lightning-quick light rail system known as The Interborough Express (IBX), which would run along the tracks discussed in the article, connecting Brooklyn Army Terminal near Boro Park to Jackson Heights in Queens. Read more about the IBX on BoroPark24 here.