Community Planning Coalition/ProcessSupport Community Plan / Oppose City Substitute
community-led planning, anti-displacement, affordability
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Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York CityReviewed case record
Bushwick Community Plan vs City Rezoning Proposal
Community plan; city neighborhood rezoning proposal; anti-displacement planning
Executive Overview
2013-2021City Proposal Stalled / Not Advanced As Originally Proposed3
The Bottom Line
Bushwick is a partial process win and policy ambiguity case. A community plan and disruptive organizing helped stall the city’s preferred rezoning path, but the community plan was not adopted wholesale. This is important for showing both the power and limits of community planning.
Why This Case
A key example where a community-produced plan and disruptive grassroots interventions helped stop or stall a city rezoning path, but the community plan also did not become binding policy.
Representativeness
Good case for showing that 'community planning' can be both a tactic and an arena of conflict; not all stakeholders agreed on downzoning/upzoning tradeoffs.
Movement Result
Mixed/Partial Success: Community Plan Shaped Debate But Was Not Adopted Wholesale
Policy Type
Community plan; city neighborhood rezoning proposal; anti-displacement planning
Data Coverage
5 events, 8 actors, 2 claims
Strategic Lessons Extracted
- Community planning is both a tactic and a policy object.
- Stalled process is a real outcome, but attribution is often weaker than a formal rejection/withdrawal.
- Projection and public-space visuals can make process fights understandable.
Tactics Used
Community PlanDirect ActionCoalition Building
Source Media & Documentation
Projection/Direct ActionDownloaded
Mi Casa No Es Su Casa projection action at Myrtle-Wyckoff
Mi Casa No Es Su Casa projected anti-displacement messages at Myrtle-Wyckoff, turning a transit hub into a visual protest site.
Nighttime projection with anti-displacement message on building or public surface near Myrtle-Wyckoff.
Credit: Brooklyn EagleSource
Site ContextDownloaded
Evergreen Avenue and Menahan Street area image
A street-level image of Bushwick helps situate the rezoning/stall story in the neighborhood fabric rather than abstract zoning maps.
Street corner in Bushwick at Evergreen Avenue and Menahan Street.
Credit: City Limits / Adi TalwarSource
Community Planning VisualDownloaded
Bushwick Community Plan graphics
Community plan graphics summarize rent burden, renter share, and planning goals from the community-led process.
Infographics/maps from the Bushwick Community Plan.
Credit: Hester Street / Bushwick Community PlanSource
Public Hearing/MeetingDownloaded
Residents at city scoping meeting
Residents attend/scuffle over a scoping meeting as the city plan diverges from the community plan.
Crowded public meeting/scoping session over Bushwick rezoning.
Credit: BrownstonerSource
Analysis/InfographicDownloaded
Bushwick Community Plan article visuals
Article visuals and plan excerpts help contextualize community planning as a formal anti-displacement strategy.
Graphics or maps from New America discussion of Bushwick Community Plan.
Credit: New America / BCPSource
Community Plan GraphicsDownloaded
Bushwick Community Plan
The Bushwick Community Plan is a visual policy artifact: maps, community priorities, and resident-authored recommendations.
A page or graphic from the Bushwick Community Plan showing planning priorities.
Credit: Hester Street / BCPSource
Plan Map / Policy GraphicFallback Screenshot
BCP final PDF maps/recommendations
Bushwick residents produced a full alternative planning framework, not just protest slogans.
Map from the Bushwick Community Plan showing neighborhood planning areas and recommendations.
Credit: Bushwick Community PlanSource
News VisualFallback Existing
De Blasio rejects community plan
City Hall’s rejection of the Bushwick Community Plan shifted the case from planning win to contested partial outcome.
Image from a news article about the city rejecting Bushwick’s community plan.
Credit: GothamistSource
Community Meeting / Planning PhotoDownloaded
Gotham Gazette story on Bushwick Community Plan
Bushwick residents attempted to dictate rezoning terms through a detailed community plan.
Residents and organizers present or discuss the Bushwick Community Plan.
Credit: Gotham Gazette / BCPSource
Meeting/Protest VisualDownloaded
Bushwick residents accuse City Planning of ignoring community plan
The Bushwick case turned on whether the city would treat the community plan as binding or advisory.
Residents criticize the city’s Bushwick rezoning approach.
Credit: BrownstonerSource
Stakeholders & Actors
Grassroots Anti Rezoning GroupOppose City Rezoning
projection actions, town halls disruption, anti-displacement messaging
Planning Nonprofit/Technical SupportSupport Community Planning
community plan facilitation and documentation
Housing Justice OrganizationAnti Displacement / Community Planning
tenant organizing, Bushwick/Williamsburg housing justice
Planning AgencyCity Rezoning Proposal / Rejected Some BCP Demands
zoning study, draft proposal, environmental review
Local Council MemberSupported Community Plan Elements / Contested City Approach
initiated/supported community planning
Local Council MemberSupported Community Plan Elements
initiated/supported community planning
Community BoardCommunity Planning Partner
Bushwick advisory process
Chronology of Actions
Community Plan Start
Community Plan Start
City Limits/Hester Street
Councilmembers, CB4, community groups and planning partners begin Bushwick community planning process.
Source: City Limits/Hester Street
Community Plan Released
Community Plan Released
Hester Street/City Limits
Bushwick Community Plan released after multi-year process.
Source: Hester Street/City Limits
City Rejects Plan
City Rejects Plan
Gothamist
De Blasio administration rejects or declines core community-plan zoning approach, citing concerns over downzoning.
Source: Gothamist
Grassroots Disruption
Grassroots Disruption
Indypendent/Brooklyn Eagle
Mi Casa No Es Su Casa and other residents disrupt meetings/projections and demand people-led plan.
Source: Indypendent/Brooklyn Eagle
Rezoning Stalls
Rezoning Stalls
City Limits
Bushwick city rezoning process stalls after disagreements between city and local stakeholders.
Source: City Limits
Causal Claims
Bushwick city rezoning stalled after conflict between community plan and city proposal.
Evidence Confidence
4 — Strong Evidence Basis
Gothamist and City Limits document rejection/conflict and stalled process.
Caution / Uncertainty
Causality shared between activism, council politics, city zoning preferences.
Key sources: Gothamist, City Limits
Community planning shaped debate but did not become binding policy as drafted.
Evidence Confidence
4 — Strong Evidence Basis
City rejected core parts, and city rezoning did not move forward as community plan demanded.
Caution / Uncertainty
Important strategy lesson: process can win narrative but not policy text.
Key sources: Gothamist, City Limits, Hester Street
Primary Source Ledger
- Gothamist2019NewsDe Blasio Administration Rejects Community-Driven Bushwick Rezoning Plan
conflict over community plan
Reports the administration rejected a community proposal after years of planning, citing downzoning concerns; local councilmembers asked city to consider the community vision.
- City Limits2020NewsBushwick rezoning stalled/halted after letter exchanges
outcome/stall evidence
Reports a possible rezoning was halted after disagreements between local stakeholders and city officials; community plan began years earlier and city released its own proposal in 2019.
- The Indypendent2019News/IndependentMi Casa No Es Su Casa disrupts Bushwick rezoning meetings
tactics/opposition rationale
Reports Mi Casa disruptions, petition drive, projections, and calls to scrap city plan for a people-led plan; includes displacement/affordability concerns.
- Hester Street2018Planning ProjectBushwick Community Plan / Hester Street project page
community plan source
Hosts/processes community plan materials and visuals for BCP.