Gas Leak Disclosed at Goose’s Arrow Linen Redevelopment
The long redevelopment saga at the Arrow Linen Supply Company site in Windsor Terrace hit another snag today after a high-pressure gas main was struck, prompting evacuation of eight nearby buildings.
There were no reported injuries and the leak was under control by Wednesday afternoon, according to an FDNY spokesperson. A third-party contractor reportedly struck the gas main, a spokesperson for National Grid told News12 Brooklyn.
Goose Property Management had finalized its deal to acquire the stalled redevelopment site at 441-467 Prospect Avenue for $55 million just one week before, on Sept. 30.
The development, on the site of a commercial laundry and restaurant linen supply business, has been at the center of a local YIMBY vs. NIMBY showdown. Previous developer Apex spent years trying to get approval to redevelop the site to build two 13-story buildings but faced opposition from local politicians.
Apex ultimately won City Council approval last year to rezone the Arrow Linen site for two 10-story buildings with 250 units, but had to increase the number of affordable units for people making on average 60 percent of the area’s median income to 100 as well as build a child care center and community space for survivors of domestic violence. Despite the win, Apex ultimately sold the site to Goose claiming the development no longer penciled out.
Goose announced plans to build four 99-unit buildings, a popular method for avoiding New York’s 485x wage floor, which states that 100 units or more can only qualify for a property tax abatement if they pay a construction wage minimum of $40 per hour.
The new planned total of 396 units reduces the share of affordable housing to 25 percent, down from 40 percent Apex had set aside under a 2025 community benefits agreement.
Local Council member Shahana Hanif said on X Wednesday that her office is monitoring the gas leak, pointing out that it occurred at the development site now owned and managed by Goose and sister company Developing NY State, which is handling construction on the project.
Hanif has sought to hold Goose CEO Yitzchok Katz to Apex’s prior affordability commitments, issuing a statement in August that she had met with the new developer to clearly state that the site’s community benefits agreement “is the floor” for permanently affordable units and other neighborhood perks.
The Department of Buildings was not called to respond to the incident, a spokesperson confirmed. National Grid and Goose didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Read more
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Goose takes over Apex’s contentious Windsor Terrace redevelopment
