Amid reelection battle, Shahana Hanif lands a heated rezoning deal

Council Member Shahana Hanif landed a victory for new housing advocates in her district on Wednesday, with a negotiated deal on the Arrow Linen rezoning in Windsor Terrace. She could, however, face backlash from critics of the rezoning in her upcoming reelection battle against Maya Kornberg. 

The negotiated proposal approved by two City Council committees on Wednesday would include two 10-story buildings with 250 units, 40% of which will be affordable. That was quite different from the original proposal of two taller towers of at least 13 stories, with a lower affordability guarantee of 25%.

A Community Benefits Agreement includes additional guarantees under the project – among others, a subsidized community space for a violence support group, a daycare center, union jobs with 32BJ and a construction task force of local residents to mitigate disruption. 

“I’m just thrilled,” Hanif said in an interview on Wednesday. “We’re going to have housing in a lot that has had no housing – going from manufacturing to residential – 100 affordable units … I’m ecstatic that in this moment of a housing crisis, an affordability crisis, we’re stepping up.”

Organizers with Housing Not Highrises – a group that has raised concerns about the rezoning – got their wish on 40% affordability, but they had pushed for even shorter buildings, at seven to nine stories. Critics of the rezoning have argued that new developments will drive up rents and displace longterm residents.

Despite the negotiated deal coming closer to what critics pushed for, the group suggested on Wednesday that they would work against Hanif in her upcoming reelection campaign. “We are deeply disappointed in Council Member Hanif,” said Jack Walsh, a member of the organization’s steering committee. “We made it clear to the council member that anything beyond (nine stories), and we would organize our 2,000 members to support a challenger in the June primary,” he said.

The group did not name names, though a couple members of the group have previously independently donated to Hanif’s primary challenger Kornberg.

Kornberg did not respond to a request for comment on the rezoning deal on Wednesday. During a Community Board meeting on the proposal in September, Kornberg issued a statement that didn’t quite commit one way or the other. “We desperately need more housing in this city, but how this happens matters,” she said in a post on X. “The priority should be affordable units rather than luxury rentals.”

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso praised Hanif’s work on the project. “The Council Member weathered immense pressure to walk away from this project and instead delivered a much-needed win that raises the bar for new and affordable development in an amenity-rich neighborhood,” he said in a statement. 

Hanif and Kornberg aren’t the only ones who are looking at this with an upcoming primary in mind.  State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who is also running for mayor, celebrated the deal on Wednesday. Myrie represents a swath of central Brooklyn that includes Windsor Terrace. “Either we build more units, or we lose New Yorkers,” Myrie said in a statement. “I applaud today’s passage of a rezoning in my backyard – because I don’t know about you, but I’m not leaving.”

Myrie has taken pains to brand himself as the most pro-housing candidate in the mayoral race. He introduced a detailed plan to build or preserve 1 million units of housing if he becomes mayor, and he’s attracted interest from housing advocacy groups and real estate. Real Estate Board of New York Chair Jed Walentas donated to his campaign.