BREAKING: Hudson Companies / Marvel Architects Announced as Brooklyn Heights Library Developer:

By on September 16, 2014 4:48 pm in Brooklyn Heights, Development, Real Estate

In the only air conditioned space in the Brooklyn Heights Library building, Brooklyn Public Library president Linda E. Johnson and BPL staff presented the future of the much-debated library branch that has been serving Brooklyn Heights since 1962.

The Hudson Companies and Marvel Architects (designers of the Pierhouse and 1 Hotel at Brooklyn Bridge Park) have been identified as the development team of choice for a new residential tower on the library site that will include a new branch for BPL. The developer’s proposed bid of approximately $60 million would not only allow BPL to invest $10 million in outfitting a 21,000 square foot library but will allow for $40 million in capital funding for other needy branches in BPL’s system as well as an 8,000 square foot temporary library to be located at Our Lady of Lebanon Church (113 Remsen Street).

A final vote on the proposal is scheduled for BPL’s board meeting to be held at 5:30 tonight at the Library’s Grand Army Plaza location.

The project, following expected approval by the full BPL board, will then go through thorough public review, including ULURP (Universal Land Use Review Process)—the City’s process for reviewing the sale of public land, which the Brooklyn Heights Library branch sits on—as well as a number of key political decision-makers, including Council Member Steve Levin, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Council.

Here Are The Proposals For the Planned Redevelopment of the Brooklyn Heights Library

An interesting twist presented today by Ms. Johnson is that as part of the proposal The Hudson Companies will build 114 units of affordable housing in Community Board 2. The BPL president explained that the housing will not be located in the new tower—which will comprise market-rate housing in one of the most exclusive communities in Brooklyn—but will be simultaneously built at a location different from that of the new tower.

Johnson stressed a linkage between the two construction projects, insisting that the luxury housing on the library site will not be occupied until the affordable housing units—which will be new construction—is completed.

“We’ve thought about this thing form every angle,” said Johnson, “and the Mayor has made it very clear that the number of affordable housing units [in the city] is shamefully low… so this was an important consideration” in the proposal by The Hudson Companies.

Ms. Johnson clarified that developer must have identified and have control of a specific site for the specified affordable housing by the time that the project is ready for ULURP.

“What we are doing is building a new, exciting library here in the Heights that the community will actually like,” said Ms. Johnson.

PHOTO CAPTION: Renderings of new Brooklyn Heights Library Branch. Image courtesy BerlinRosen.

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  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com ClaudeScales

    The fact that affordable units will be offsite indicates that the winner is either proposal A or G, which is unfortunate, because it means we lose the bas reliefs. The proposals, which did not include the names of the proposed developers, are here; http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/64398

  • Heightsman

    I am shocked the comments aren’t closed based on history. Let the wild rumpus start….

  • ColumbiaHeightster

    Can’t wait to hear what Marsha thinks about this!!!

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com ClaudeScales

    Fortunately, I was wrong. It’s proposal C, which does save the bas reliefs. I guess Hudson decided in the interim to go with off-site affordable housing located in CB2’s area.

  • johnny cakes

    Public land belong to the public. Not the connected real estate developers. Off with their heads.

  • Prince Humperdink

    “More Condos” says Bob Dylan in his latest iTunes release:

    “I lived with them on Montague Street
    Near a library with no air,
    There were ironworkers building condos at night
    And new money in the air.
    Then he started into dealing with mortgages
    And something inside of him died.
    She had to sell every designer handbag she owned
    And froze up inside.
    And when finally the bottom fell out
    I became overdrawn,
    The only thing I knew how to do
    Was to keep on keepin’ on like a overdue book that flew,
    Tangled up in blue.”

  • marshasrimler

    i was at the BPL board and have much to say
    tomorrow

  • marshasrimler

    i agree

  • stuart

    based on the rendering, the new building does blend in very nicely with the adjacent tall buildings. I like the way it fits its odd lot and I like the narrow vertical facade. This is good design. It is not just cookie cutter junk.

  • Willowtown Rez

    Can anyone explain why scale was massively increased for low income housing at pier 6 and not here? I guess all the big money is focused on the library? A double standard is so depressing.

  • marshasrimler

    Any politiican who supports this plan does so at their own peril
    The crony capitalism and web of conflicts of interests behind this ill advised plan will be slowly revealed.. Doug Biviano needs to join this fight as he speaks the truth .
    I will be putting my efforts into a lawsuit so I will be writting much less often.. This will not stand either through the political process of through lawsuits.. Let the games begin

  • Guest

    Happy to join the fight. I tweeted last night that one of the principals of Hudson is David Kramer. David appears to be a crony of BPL board trustee Hank Gutman (Gave Simon $3,500 this campaign). Hank is also BBP
    board member. Hank and David are on the Navy Yard Dev. Corp. board.

  • Doug Biviano

    Happy to join the fight and help any way I can. I tweeted last night that one of the principals of Hudson is David Kramer. David appears to be a crony of BPL board trustee Hank Gutman (Gave Simon $3,500 this campaign). Hank is also BBP board member. Hank and David are on the Navy Yard Dev. Corp. board together (de Blasio appointed Hank NYDC).

    on Hudson Companies “Team” website:

    “David serves on the Alumni Council of the Collegiate School and is a Board Member of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation and the Coro Foundation. In 2008, David was elected to Chair the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. David also founded the quarterly Brooklyn Real Estate Roundtable to benefit the Brooklyn Historical Society.”

    David also contributed $9,450 to de Blasio that we can see.

    KRAMER, DAVID
    171 CLINTON STREET
    $4,725.00
    15-AUG-11
    NEW YORKERS FOR DE BLASIO
    2012 January Periodic
    Mayor
    New York

    KRAMER, DAVID
    171 CLINTON STREET
    $4,725.00
    15-AUG-11
    NEW YORKERS FOR DE BLASIO
    2011 Off Cycle
    Mayor
    New York

    more to come later.

  • marshasrimler

    great..call me

  • Doug Biviano

    Library Lobbyist for Dev. Hudson Companies, James Capalino was also involved with the closing of LICH and St. Vincent’s Hospitals.

    Capalino also was in on top dollar fund raisers for de Blasio in 2013 pooling together outsized contributions for hizzoner.

    This is the shadow government we spoke of in our campaign and call out Capalino by name on the LICH closure in our very first Press Release on Aug. 6, “It’s Time to Respect the Voters…”

    Also note how this BPL board motion was rolled out immediately after the primary election, not before when an Anti-lobbyist, anti-crony public giveaway candidate (me) was in the field. It is reminiscent of 2010 primary election when veto power over condos in the Park was rolled out to Squadron and Millman after an anti-condo in the park challenger entered the race (me) only to be given back after the elections. This is how the public is manipulated time and time again and opportunities for candidates who are truly from and for protecting the communities are marginalized with various tools of elected officials and special interests.

    From the NYC Lobbyist Search:

    The Hudson Companies Incorporated
    826 Broadway 11 FL
    New York, NY 10003
    United States of America
    (212) 777-9500
    08/01/2013
    12/31/2013
    James F. Capalino & Associates, Inc.
    George Fontas
    James Capalino
    Mark Thompson
    Travis Terry
    Brooke Schafran
    Ben Kleinbaum
    James F. Capalino & Associates, Inc.
    233 Broadway, Suite 710
    New York, NY 10279
    United States of America
    (212) 616-5810
    James F. Capalino

    The Hudson Companies Incorporated
    826 Broadway 11 FL
    New York, NY 10003
    United States of America
    (212) 777-9500
    01/01/2014
    12/31/2014
    James F. Capalino & Associates, Inc.
    George Fontas
    James Capalino
    James F. Capalino & Associates, Inc.
    233 Broadway, Suite 710
    New York, NY 10279
    United States of America
    (212) 616-5810
    James F. Capalino

  • Doug Biviano

    Perhaps Michael DD White of Citizens Defending Libraries can comment on whether or not all the development rights were utilized in this deal and what may come of them down the road, i.e. those that Forest City Ratner control over library. In other words, are there more surprises to come?

    Also, if he has a feeling of the sale price, i.e. is under market value?

  • e

    I agree the design looks pretty good, all things considered. I do worry that it will get watered down into cookie-cutter junk following approval and lose whatever distinctive elements it has (for example, the stone that appears to be on the Cadman Plaza side in the renderings). Hopefully this will not be another all-glass monstrosity.

  • Doug Biviano

    My final point for now is whether or not our noble “Press” — protected by the Constitution — will do their job, do some investigative journalism (pretty easy in this case) and expose the shadow government, lobbyists and elected officials who play fast and loose with fundraisers, campaign finance and Citizen Union like PACs.

    Or maybe I should put it this way, how long will it take our caped press crusaders to work tirelessly in protecting our elected officials, gladly picking up PR firm Berlin Rosen’s “dilapidated” talking point and spinning this a win for a community that just burst PS8 out of its seams?

    Will there be any talk of a new elementary school to educate our children as the six or seven hi-rises come online in the next few years? Who pays? And what kind of tax breaks is Hudson/Library deal getting further tying our hands to build said school. Shouldn’t this have been the debate public officials and the press should have been having and presenting to the residents of our community before the BPL selected a developer?

    And what of de Blasio’s 2013 campaign BS about protecting our Library? Is there no accountability for de Blasio on the Library or LICH? Condos in park to be next…

  • stuart

    The loss of the hospital and emergency room is the real tragedy in the neighborhood. Unlike the library, there will be no temporary emergency room nearby. It will probably be a long time before we see anything happen there but the very first thing that needs to be redeveloped on that huge site is a new emergency room facility.

  • Doug Biviano

    read my comments below. Lobbyist James Capalino worked on the deal for developer closing LICH and St. Vincent’s. This is the same problem we face, developers with the lobbyists controlling our elected officials with campaign contributions in attacking our vital institutions. de Blasio ought to be ashamed at what he is doing and nobody in their right mind should allow this corrupted man to serve a second term.

  • Remsen Street Dweller

    Stuart, I appreciate you comment — but you cannot have a real ER without a full-service hospital to support it. Without a full-service hospital any ER is just a 24-hour glorified Urgent Care Center. And as we all probably know by now, Urgent Care Centers are not where you go for serious emergencies.

    So our neighborhoods will keep growing with more and taller condos, pie-in-the-sky tramways and who know what else.

    But the fact is, we had a treasure in LICH and it has been stolen from us by a coalition of SUNY, Cuomo, NYDOH, de Blasio, real estate developers, etc. Some government, eh, folks?

  • johnny cakes

    Ken Fisher was one of the lead lawyers hired by SUNY to close LICH. He got paid to close the hospital, and indirectly kill people due to a lack of community medical services.

    Nice responsible community guy.

    He is also the lead attorney for the Pinnacle Group, which is said to be one of NYs worst slumlords. Pinnacle owns the rat invested Riverside Apartments on Joralemon Street, and they are still trying to build an underground parking lot inside the courtyard adjacent to the elevated BQE highway. This fall, Fisher and Pinnacle are, again, suing the DHCR in State Supreme Court as an Article 78 proceeding seeking to overturn a DHCR ruling against the garage project. This was been going on for 10-years.

  • bethman14

    Ad hominem personal attacks and slander. The fall back of demagogues for generations. I see that when presented with a project that will build a spectacular new library, 114 new units of affordable housing, generate MILLIONS to spend on libraries in poor communities you have no actual, substantive, factual, reasonable means to object. The emperor has no cloths.

  • bethman14

    blah blah blah putting your efforts into a lawsuit aimed at stopping the construction of a brand new library, 114 units of affordable housing and the renovations of the Pacific Street, Walt Whitman, and who knows how many other libraries.

    Marsha Rimmler, Co-Chair of Citizens DESTROYING Libraries

  • Doug Biviano

    Why is Bill de Blasio cozy with real estate lobbyist James Capalino?

    Bill de Blasio and Land Use : Liberal Mayoral Candidate Would Continue Many of Bloomberg’s — and Quinn’s — Policies

    nyc-mayor-2013 dot blogspot dot com/2013/09/Why-is-Bill-de-Blasio-cozy-with-real-estate-lobbyist-James-Capalino dot html

  • bethman14

    BRAVO BPL. This is a great project, and as someone who has supported this long and tortuous process and followed it closely I’m thrilled to see the end result. New affordable housing, an awesome new library, a dramatic improvement to the overall Cadman Plaza streetscape. That plus millions of dollars for libraries serving poor neighborhoods like the Whitman/Ingersoll projects. Its a great project.

    The fact that the bulk of the comments here are from Marsha Rimmler and Doug Biviano droning on yet again about bizarre conspiracy theories (shadow governments, etc….I mean really people) speaks volumes about the intellectual bankruptcy of the Marsha Rimmler-Micheal White organized Citizens Destroying Libraries clique. For a year now the CDL co-presidents White and Rimmler have been telilng us that the new library will be entirely underground (lie), replaced by a 40-50 story building (lie), closed for eyars without an interim space (more lies), sold in a “sweetheart deal” (lies on top of lies), etc.

    So glad that we can move past the crazy talk and have an honest dialogue about a great project.

  • bethman14

    She and Micheal White are in an emergency session of the Citizen’s Destroying Libraries Politburo trying to figure out how they can salvage their campaign of misinformation in the harsh face of reality.

  • Doug Biviano

    Don’t forget the lobbyists, the political machines like your own County Democratic Party Law Chair Frank Carone working on behalf of SUNY and the Working Families Party cutting deal with Cuomo (and de Blasio of course) to keep their 3rd party ballot line and de Blasio’s PAC with consultant-lobbyist Berlin Rosen trying to deceive community of the level of protection of this proposed “doc in a box” stand alone ER.

  • johnny cakes

    Destroying an important public library over a broken air-conditioning system, is just diabolical. Let the real estate people go elsewhere with their schemes of housing. Where is the ‘affordable housing’ at Atlantic Yards?

  • johnny cakes

    Tool.

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