Criterion Group Seeks Rezoning for 321-Unit Bushwick Project

Criterion Group, a Queens-based developer and asset manager, has filed a rezoning application with the New York City Department of City Planning for a mixed-use project at 900 Wyckoff Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The filing describes a 13-story building covering about 261,000 square feet with roughly 321 dwelling units, of which 85 would be permanently affordable.

The plan also includes about 19,200 square feet of commercial and retail space. The site, located between Weirfield and Hancock streets, is currently a vacant parking lot. Jaclyn Scarinci of the law firm Akerman is listed as the primary applicant.

In the application, Criterion argues the project would support the city's Block-by-Block housing plan and its goal of producing 200,000 affordable homes over the next decade. Property records show the developer bought 900 Wyckoff Avenue in March 2021 for $4.7 million, and also acquired the adjacent 932 Wyckoff Avenue that month for the same price. Criterion did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

For developers and lenders, the filing signals a pending zoning change that would allow a substantially denser residential project on a formerly underused Bushwick lot, with an inclusionary affordable component.