The Brooklyn Eagle’s headquarters at 30 Henry Street has been sold to the Fortis Group. They are reportedly determined to replace it with a 65 foot, 6 story condo structure, 15 feet higher than currently allowed in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District.
This is a curious farewell to Brooklyn Heights for the Eagle. They also publish the Brooklyn Heights Press, credited, along with its then-publisher Richard Margolies for playing an integral role in establishing our beloved historic district in 1965 which to this day protects the character of the Heights. Ironically, that paper’s exit from the area now brings with it questions as to whether the very “height” constraints it helped to usher in will be honored or destroyed with its HQ’s sale.
Get ready for a tussel, but does the developer have the muscle? And so it goes… Read some of the Eagle’s account after the jump.
Brooklyn Eagle: The height of the proposed new building will likely be an issue for local organizations and nearby residents since the property sits within the historic district’s 50-foot height limit.
According to the Eagle’s publisher, Dozier Hasty, the building was sold to the Fortis Group, which has notified him that the newspaper must vacate the building by the end of January.
“By the end of November, we can announce our plans for our new location,” Hasty told his staff.Public records do not show that the property has changed hands, but it has been on the market for months with an asking price of $3 million. The sale was handled by Massey Knakal Realty’s Stephen Palmese, first vice president, and Winfield Clifford and Michael Mazzara, both associates, who told the Eagle Thursday the closing is imminent but the negotiated price could not be revealed.
