The Owl of Minerva ...

... flies only at Sunset Park? The Post reports today that the Department of City Planning is promoting a rezoning of South Slope/Sunset Park to curtail out-of-scale development on the side streets around Fourth Avenue, while at the same time allowing larger developments--up to 12 stories--on the avenue itself. According to Brooklyn Community Board 7 district manager Jeremy Laufer, residents of the "South South Slope" and Greenwood Heights met with the board in late 2004 to work up a proposal for the D.C.P. to down-zone the area (along Fourth Avenue between 15th and 24th streets) to preserve the character of the neighborhood. Residents have been up in arms over new developments that disregard the scale and character of the nabe. The D.C.P. evidently liked the plan, and it's due to be certified later this month. A public hearing is scheduled for Aug. 25 at Community Board 7's full-board meeting (4201 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.), and it will be voted on later that night. This is all preliminary, though; its needs to go through the land-use review process, hopefully by September, and the D.C.P. has to approve it before it eventually makes its way to the City Council for a vote. D.C.P. spokesperson Rachaelle Raynoff told The Real Estate that the intent of the proposed rezoning is to preserve the character of the neighborhood (including preserving the sight line of the statue of Minerva, which sites atop the Greenwood Cemetery as a tribute to the Battle of Brooklyn that inaugurated the Revolutionary War, to the Statue of Liberty (photo)) while at the same time providing additional housing. - Matthew Grace