BRDC Wants to Put a 54 Foot Building on 98th Street in Bay Ridge. Here’s Their Neighbor’s Homes:
On October 28, 2020, the property known as St. John Church at 9818 Fort Hamilton Parkway, was sold for $2,500,000.
The Bay Ridge Community Development Center (BRCDC) purchased the building and renovated the inside.
In 2021, BRDC went to Community Board 10 and showed the design for a community center.
BRDC said they were going to reach out to other non-profits to use the center. There was no mention of the building having a daycare center or swimming pool in the basement. This was the modest building they showed – this picture is currently on their Facebook page today:
In October 2023, Councilman Justin Brannan gave six million dollars to BRDC for renovations for a community center. In November 2023, Brannan was up for reelectionn (mentioned for the politics involved here). Senator Andrew Gounardes also gave money for the renovation.
This confused many Brooklynites because the building was used as a mosque during covid. The mosque rented space from BRDC. When the money was announced at a Community Board 10 meeting, I noted back then that no one clapped after tBrannan’s staffer made the announcement. Info:
https://shorturl.at/sO9sR
On May 27, 2026, Community Board 10 sent a letter announcing the rezoning meeting for Wednesday, June 3, 2027. What’s the rush?
Community Board 10 notified the community on social media on May 27th at 6:28 pm. See here: https://shorturl.at/1DWMK
We didn’t receive notice of the meeting. Our home is within four blocks of this development. The first time I saw Community Board 10’s notice on social media was on June 2nd and I shared it here as the development looked a lot larger than the original picture from years ago: https://shorturl.at/qC4kT
Community Board 10’s Meeting
Josephine, the manager of Community Board 10 said that some notices were not delivered. She and her staffer went to the homes near BRDC to tell the residents in the 10 blocks near BRDC about the meeting on June 3rd.
Josephine also said the applicant should have shared information about the meeting. The head of BRDC said they shared it on their socials. There is no mention of the meeting on their Facebook or Instagram accounts:
https://www.facebook.com/BayRidgeCommunityDevelopmentCenter
https://www.instagram.com/bayridgecommunity
Josephine shared that residents called the District Office and said that they had not heard about this project. Residents on the adjacent street did not know about June 3rd’s meeting. Why didn’t CB 10 postpone the meeting until everyone was notified.
June 15th is when the Community Board must give their vote in. IS THIS ANOTHER DONE DEAL? THIS IS A RESIDENTIAL AREA. A huge structure is going to deeply impact that area.
Next, the developer for Bay Ridge Community Development Center spoke about the project and asked that the property be rezoned from a R4B to a R6A. BRDC wants a 54-foot building at this location.
The developer claimed that Fort Hamilton Parkway was just like 4th Avenue and since it is 100 feet wide, BRDC deserves this rezoning.
There is no way that street is 100 feet wide!
Photo: Google maps
How could the residential area of Fort Hamilton Parkway be compared the large commercial avenue a block away? I bet someone will measure the width of Fort Hamilton Parkway outside of BRDC today. (If I see anything, I will share it here.)
The developer showed pictures that were not accurate. Some streets were not correct. Some buildings looked larger. Doris from Community Board 10 questioned these streets and the photos. The developer said he would correct it before CB 10 voted on June 15th.
The representative for the organization spoke as if he was doing the community a favor. Rushing a rezoning in a residential area is not a favor!
These are the neighbors to BRDC:
Photo: Google Maps
These homes are across the street:
Photo: Google Maps
These are the homes next to BRDC on Fort Hamilton Parkway:
Photo: Google Maps
The new BRDC building that they spoke about at the Community Board 10 Meeting on June 3, 2026 has a daycare center and also a swimming pool in the basement.
The developer spoke about how they added so much greenery outside the building:
BRDC’s executive director spoke next. When she was asked how many people use BRDC, she inflated the numbers A LOT. She said that that there was 6000 – 8000 participants per month. Later, another member of BRDC explained that when someone picks up food from BRDC, if they have a family of five, then they count the five people!
The BRDC director should have provided the community with the numbered of registered students or people taking classes at the center. How many people are entering and using the center?
The BRDC executive director was asked why they chose this property for the center. She thought it was a racist question instead of understanding that the CB 10 member was asking because the existing zoning for this property is for a residential area. The director was combative and responded as if this was a “done deal.”
BRDC has food giveaways every month. People stand on line outside of the center and pick up food. They have been doing this for years.
While it is a good service, many cars (including many Mercedes) double park during these giveaways. This is taxing on the area because the giveaway is first come, first serve (instead of allowing people to sign up on a Google form) or staggering the times for people to come and pick up food. The executive director mentioned that they could stagger the people, but she hasn’t done it! She also said Staten Island residents come to pick up food.
I will return later today and share more about this meeting. There will be another meeting on June 8th at the Commmunity Board 10 District Office because many residents did not get to speak last night.
Hugs,
marlene
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