Bistricer Taking Minimalist Approach to Bossert Conversion?

By on August 8, 2012 12:00 am in Brooklyn Heights, Commercial Real Estate, News

Your correspondent wished he could attend Tuesday’s real estate luncheon at the Brooklyn Historical Society, but a day job interfered. Fortunately, The Real Deal was on hand to give us the straight skinny on Bossert plans. First off: very few changes are being made to the interior, “which w[as] meticulously maintained by the [Jehovah’s] Witnesses [the building’s previous owners].” Mostly, new owner David Bistricer said, what is going on is upgrading electricity and plumbing. What is being done is so unobtrusive that it doesn’t bother the four long-term residents of the building who predate the Witnesses’ acquisition of it and whose continued right to live there is guaranteed by law.

Bistricer also said that any rooftop lounge would be “private.” We’re not sure what this means. Will it be accessible to hotel guests only, or be a private club, like the Casino? In our view, this would be unfortunate. Many of us would like to have a neighborhood “Top of the Mark” where we and our guests, visitors to the neighborhood, and hotel guests, could enjoy drinks, low volume music, and amazing views.

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  • C.

    “Bistricer also said that any rooftop lounge would be “private.””

    Fail.

  • Mr. Crusty

    Maybe all the carping, complaining, sky is falling fears of a rooftop lounge caused them to decide not to take on that fight and instead decided to make the lounge “private”. If true that would indeed be a loss for the community. The professional complainers win, everyone else loses.

  • Barth Tholu

    To the non Jehovah’s Witnesses Brooklyn residents,City officials,Journalist they only see some tidy bldg renovated by *volunteer* workers.
    Behind the scenes there are hundred’s of thousands of the flock who were fleeced with an apocalyptic promise.A promise that if they ‘invested’ in the Watchtower $ociety they would not see old age.
    That is a fact!

  • Bloomy

    @Barth Tholu

    Not too different than any other religion. People believe what they want to believe, regardless of the truth. But if it were not for religions we would not have St Peters Basilica, Cathedral of Saint Basil the Blessed, Duomo, etc etc. They all took money from people in return for a promise of salvation. Personally I am quite happy the suckers gave their money away so that I get get a chance to appreciate these buildings, along with the Bossert.

  • Mr. Crusty

    @Barth is that anything like the Catholic Church selling Indulgences to get a reduced sentence in Purgatory?

    JW are no better or worse than all of our mainstream religions in my estimation. If people want the comfort in believing in some religion’s fairy tales that is their choice stop making them sound like victims. We are all responsible for our individual actions.

  • Jerome Coates

    I love reading these reports of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ property being sold. There always is a “well maintained” reference to our properties. Thus they go for a higher price and bring in more taxes for the local government. We are thankful to the Brooklyn Heights community for the kind welcome we have had in our years of staying with you. May this kindness be extended to your new neighbors. Best wishes.

  • Reggie

    Mr. Crusty may be on to something, although this project has a history of changable features.

  • DrewB

    Come on! Private Rooftop Lounge? That is a bummer, and I agree that it is probably a direct result of the World Championship whiners in this neighborhood.

  • Hicks St Guy

    I was so looking forward to that rooftop lounge. what relevance is this religion bashing to the new hotel? religion is a private matter to the individual and I wish some of the above would just stfu.

  • David on Middagh

    The JW bashers may feel aggrieved, but on this blog, they’re mainly preaching to the unconverted.

  • Rick

    It appears making the club private allows them to decide who is “cool” enough to get in, a velvet rope type arrangement. Their other rooftop venue at the Empire has a doorman. People there have to meet his approval if they’re to be worthy of being admitted. Looks like they’re going for a young party-hearty demographic, what they may have in mind here.

    While I always take internet reviews with a grain of salt, there certainly are a lot of angry ones at yelp.com and insiderpages.com

  • Andrew Porter

    Hey, I want the return of the Club Wild Fyre, which brought such nice clientele to the St. George Hotel. That place was open to the public, and look at the nice people who hung out there. Literally.