Comments on: St. Francis College Leaving Brooklyn Heights for Downtown

By: Moni

Moni — Sun, 23 May 2021 18:27:00 +0000

Me too. Damn! Pretty soon we’ll be like a tiny gnome village in a clearing of a skyscraper forest. Brigadoonish.

By: Andrew Porter

Andrew Porter — Thu, 20 May 2021 18:24:00 +0000

Lots of foods there at fairly high prices are available at Key Food, etc., at lower prices.

The only thing I buy there regularly is fat-free, lactose-free organic milk.

By: Jorale-man

Jorale-man — Thu, 20 May 2021 15:54:00 +0000

Ha!

It’s been a while since I’ve shopped at Perelandra but that sounds about right. The health food store stereotypes seem to be alive and well there (though I’m still glad it exists).

By: LP

LP — Thu, 20 May 2021 15:26:00 +0000

Since Lincoln Restler and Elizabeth Adams seem to canvass around the Saturday farmer’s market, could be a good opportunity to get their thoughts on the potential demolition of the current building for more high rises.

By: CassieVonMontague

CassieVonMontague — Thu, 20 May 2021 14:48:00 +0000

Brooklynites shopping in a natural foods store are concerned about ingredients? That’s absurd!

But seriously folks, you should also check the expiration date when shopping at Perelandra. I’ve been burned one too many times.

By: Andrew Porter

Andrew Porter — Thu, 20 May 2021 13:37:00 +0000

I phoned Perelandra and told them the news. The college really isn’t in their demographic.

Have you ever noticed the very high percentage of their customers who read the ingredients list before adding them to their shopping carts?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d10f9814ab08d8bb81db6ef79e89b43493b6a96f074894993e2074a039a65430.jpg

By: Cranberry Beret

Cranberry Beret — Wed, 19 May 2021 19:37:00 +0000

Yes I agree, it seems worrisome that they didn’t have a plan ready for athletics facilities on the announcement date. They’re a top water polo program so borrowing a pool is an odd outcome unless money issues are driving the show here.

By: CassieVonMontague

CassieVonMontague — Wed, 19 May 2021 18:52:00 +0000

I always voted at St Francis except for that one election. North Heights votes at PS 8.

By: StudioBrooklyn

StudioBrooklyn — Wed, 19 May 2021 18:29:00 +0000

That might be a North Heights location. Many of us have voted at St Francis on Remsen for the past several cycles.

By: CassieVonMontague

CassieVonMontague — Wed, 19 May 2021 17:10:00 +0000

You’re right. I meant 176 Remsen is landmarked.

http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2336.pdf

By: Jorale-man

Jorale-man — Wed, 19 May 2021 16:57:00 +0000

The north side has seen better days, with the NY Sports Club closed and the Poke Bowl place vacated. Hopefully this won’t hurt Perelandra or Curry Heights too much.

By: Claude Scales

Claude Scales — Wed, 19 May 2021 16:36:00 +0000

As I read it, the former church, now apartments, at the northeast corner of Clinton and Remsen is landmarked, as is the older SFC building (shown in magenta) between 180 Remsen and the modern Academic Center. 180 Remsen is the gray, non-landmarked space between them and the part facing Joralemon.

By: CassieVonMontague

CassieVonMontague — Wed, 19 May 2021 16:13:00 +0000

180 Remsen is landmarked but the rest of St Francis isn’t.

Yellow is landmark district. Magenta is individual landmarks.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ce7d7e716c3bd343ef9b76c5277559a20b12a32f9c61fb63b50f0d949f00ea29.png

By: Andrew Porter

Andrew Porter — Wed, 19 May 2021 15:53:00 +0000

Or… (note that larger images than the one you downloaded are also on the Municipal Archives site)
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/31980a96791b521114baa286087bc0b01605f824f7e6f6d36d722d3313013e6d.png

By: Andrew Porter

Andrew Porter — Wed, 19 May 2021 15:51:00 +0000

This is within the Landmarked area, so, in a word, No.

Don’t forget the building just to the east, which is being redeveloped into a hotel. Many changes to the plans after being submitted to Landmarks.

I wonder about the businesses on the north side of the block, many of which relied on students. During the shutdown, several of the food-related stores closed.

By: Andrew Porter

Andrew Porter — Wed, 19 May 2021 15:46:00 +0000

Whenever I download these, I always do a little image correction, and get results like this:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/372e0b120da19143e8f8688feb92bc37f5f8b2a68031e25ff06751ff99bb5ec4.jpg

By: Mike Suko

Mike Suko — Wed, 19 May 2021 14:07:00 +0000

Good story. Probably has something to do with the financial health of the Catholic Church in the US/NYC, too, but it’d be good if someone with more expertise could confirm that.

Don’t forget that their pool has actually been something of a COMMUNITY amenity, albeit with limited hours for non-college use.

Maybe, they’ll co-operate with LIU that has – I think – decent athletic facilities. I’ll bet that the LIU campus (and university, of course) is gone in its entirety by 2050.

I also fear for SFC’s future – some floors in a mixed use building are about half-way between “traditional college” (not dead yet) and zoom-school. Students from abroad have kept SFC afloat in recent years – gonna be a tough sell to swap even a non-prime block in the Heights for space sandwiched between a department store and apartments.

By: MaggieO

MaggieO — Wed, 19 May 2021 14:05:00 +0000

wow. that’s going to be a big change for the neighborhood. I almost wonder whether Packer would potentially take over some of the athletic facilities since i know they use the pool during the summer…

By: CassieVonMontague

CassieVonMontague — Wed, 19 May 2021 13:01:00 +0000

For the 2013 mayoral primary and election, I voted at Congregation Mount Sinai on Cadman Plaza.

By: StudioBrooklyn

StudioBrooklyn — Wed, 19 May 2021 11:59:00 +0000

I wonder where we’ll vote after they raze the building?

By: Jorale-man

Jorale-man — Wed, 19 May 2021 11:55:00 +0000

A second shot of the brownstones that were demolished to build St. Francis. The tall one above still stands but the brownstone on the right is gone. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3c560000606ee3fdead9c93679ea638f67994d5fc618c967785aa8f95cb673c9.png

By: Jorale-man

Jorale-man — Wed, 19 May 2021 11:45:00 +0000

Not to mention the grand old buildings that the college tore down to build its ugly 1960s campus in the first place. Now we may get another high-rise, hulking over the border of the Heights and casting its shadows and reflections. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/94108dd2a88e39a716bd5740e33fe5018c33cd0dfe7bdd845268b1866136c159.png

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 19 May 2021 05:58:00 +0000

A little gem
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/696fb94f25b0222d62bc6cbadff14c1ebb2bfbad1a3e41fa5805f03cefa3c7ef.jpg

By: CassieVonMontague

CassieVonMontague — Wed, 19 May 2021 03:38:00 +0000

St Francis demolished the 1857 Brooklyn Gas Light Company Headquarters to build their Academic Center in 2005. They got a full 16 years of use out of it before they pack up and leave.

https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/28/realestate/the-littlenoticed-demise-of-a-preservation-miracle.html

Anyone have any good photos of what the AIA Guide describes as “A miraculously saved[!] Tuscan-columned classical temple”?