Linda Collins reports on the discussion at Monday’s Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing on the design of the building proposed to replace the old Eagle headquarters at 30 Henry Street, corner of Middagh, which is the first Brooklyn Heights building many people see after taking the exit from the Brooklyn Bridge (see a rendering of the proposed design here).
Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Following what one person described as “an exhilarating” discussion on the value of contextual vs. contemporary architecture in a historic district, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) yesterday asked the design team of a proposed new five-story, five-unit building at 30 Henry St. in Brooklyn Heights to consider making some additional changes.
The story notes that Brooklyn Heights preservationist Otis Pratt Pearsall and Brooklyn Heights Association President Jane McGroarty and Executive Director Judy Stanton all urged the Commission to reject the proposed design and require something contemporary and distinctive. BHA member and architect Jonathan Marvel is quoted as saying, ““We implore you to inspire, to delight, to raise the bar on originality.” But Park Slope resident and preservationist Clem Labine said the site doesn’t need a “starchitect” building that would be “dissonant and disruptive.”
The Commission’s legal counsel said it didn’t have the power to require “a particular style.”
