Construction of 20 Henry Street Addition Begins in Brooklyn Heights

By on April 1, 2011 10:52 am in Real Estate

Brownstoner notes that the construction of the addition to 20 Henry Street has begun:

Brownstoner: A peek inside the construction fence shows the very beginnings of what will be a four-story building with a garden and courtyard in the middle. You can get a feel for the finished project over at the 20 Henry website. When all’s said and done, the existing Peaks Mason Mints building will have 25 units and the new building will have 14.

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  • julian

    It’s so heartening to hear that soon there will be yet another spiffy, nouveau-riche, architecturally mediocre, edifice, whose function it will be to furnish domiciles for rich kids (“hipsters”) whose parents will buy them a coops or condo, or whatever. It was well worth evicting dozens of real, working artists to provide this invaluable addition to the life of Brooklyn Heights!

  • Heightser

    How about a nice middle school here? Now that would be a good use of this space!

  • Joe

    Take it easy Julian. It’s progress. Think of it as more residents who can afford to purchase that art and keep those artist in new skinny jeans.

  • AEB

    Uh, Julian the building has been empty for at least two years. Would you have it remain a disused shell forever?

    Under our economic system–capitalism–money is used to make money.

  • EHinBH

    A middle school is the worst idea for the North Heights. Too condensed of an area as it is. Besides, most people will send their kids to private for middle and high school here. It will end up being made up of kids from families who dont even live here –so what is the point?

  • Bette

    Just put in a decent restaurant on the 1st floor. Or even just a “good/cheap” place. I wrote to Maoz Vegetarian restaurant corporate office asking them to come to Brooklyn Heights – they’re pretty good! Also The Hummus Place (IMHO). Or over on the corner of Atlantic and Henry Streets. Quite a few vacant storefronts.

  • Heightser

    @EHinBH – PS8 now has 550 kids enrolled and 90% of those kids live in the Heights and DUMBO. There is no decent middle school option within walking distance of our neighborhood. There are many, many amazing families who are dedicated to the success of public education and they deserve to have a great school where their kids can continue their education. In DIstrict 13, that school doesn’t exist.

  • nabeguy

    “Besides, most people will send their kids to private for middle and high school here”. Checked out the admission rates at the local private schools lately EH? They’re not even taking siblings at this point.

  • x

    Maoz requires a million franchise fee up front. It’s a lot of money

  • Andrew Porter

    All idle speculation. I was by there over the weekend and note that structural steel has risen from the former mosquito pit on the corner of Henry and Poplar.

  • http://Building Jeffrey J Smith

    This is an example of the kind of binality which has engulfed our city and reached into the Heights due to the social and financial forces of the 80’s 90’s and early 00’s. Financialization, like the social changes of the 1960’s, caused many areas of national decline including that in the area of art and design.

    There are HUNDREDS of good classical designs available. Imagine if this was built for some child of an old casino family in the 1950’s or 60’s. But while neighborhood associations and the local press is occupied with a park…a building of this nature slips through with little effective social comment or review

    Building which are of lesser design value attract PEOPLE of lesser discernment…and value.

    And, change the human material in a city, and you change the city.
    Almost always, NOT for the better.

  • Gerry

    Lay off EH

    She is correct ALL of the families at the Heights Casino send their kids to Brooklyn Friends, Packer, and other private schools the NYC DOE remains a problem ridden organization even with the improvments Mayor Bloomberg has made private schools are excellent and most Heights families send kids to them just like they go to Manhattan or Nassau County North Shore Hospital when they are sick LICH is a not great choice.

    The North Heights is not a great place for a school.

    Jed Walentas offerd space in DUMBO for a Middle School and the DOE and others said NO THANKS.

    It is about private schools, homes in Bucks County, PA, Westport, CT., etc. for Heights people and thats a fact.

    Brooklyn Heights people do not send the children to NYC public schools if they have a choice.

    Gerald

  • nabeguy

    Gerald, you have a completely erroneous conception of the Heights, and the private schools in it, as does EH. Sure, the Casino crowd can pay for a music room to get their kids into one of the local private schools, but I seriously doubt that you’re a parent, or you’d know that the current enrollment situation with them excludes anyone that isn’t willing to put up that kind of cash. And why would the North Heights be any less appropriate for a middle school than anywhere else? Because it’s “too condensed” as EH suggests? IMHO, that kind of thinking is too condensed. It’s the same kind of DOE mindset that said that they couldn’t dig the foundation of the new extension on PS 8 deeper to allow for a full sized/height gym because if they went 2 feet deeper, it would be qualified as a “sub-basement” and, by NYC restrictions, children are not allowed into a “sub-basement” area. Ludicrous.

  • mlo

    over the years they’ve clsoed most if not all of the Catholic schools in BH, CH and CG. They converted the schools and the churches into condos. Any of those spaces would have been great for additional public school space. Though there are many BH residents who can afford to send there kids to top private schools not everyone can -as a matter of fact most people can’t afford it. It is actually very difficult to get a child into middle and high school these days. There’s not enough availabilty for these kids in the schools.
    Saint Charles on Sidney Place closed and a private school is moving in. In many ways we are our own worst enemy. The DOE and the middle class has to get their act together. We are allowinng corupt politicians and private invetsors to destroy our neighborhoods and our schools.

  • parent in the Heights

    I am a parent who lives in the North Heights and I could not agree with you more, Heightser! I went to the open house for the pre K program at PS 8 a few months ago and all those around me were fellow Heights residents with a few from Dumbo. The PTA at PS8 has worked hard to make the school a greater part of the neighborhood and vice versa and it seems to be paying off as more neighborhood parents seem to be sending their kids there. I totally agree that there is no decent middle school choice around here for all those public school kids from PS 8 and there is a great need for one!