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P.S. 8 Middle School Approved

By on February 10, 2012 12:32 am in Education, Government, News

Yesterday evening, the City Department of Education’s Panel on Education Policy approved the creation of a middle school extension of P.S. 8, to be located at Tillary Street and Tech Place in downtown Brooklyn. State Senator Daniel Squadron, who supported the proposal, said this:

Tonight’s vote to approve the new P.S. 8 middle school is great news for Brooklyn! By heeding our calls and formalizing the new middle school, DOE is helping to ensure the continued success of P.S. 8 and creating better options for all District 13 students. Now we must work to get the new P.S. 8 middle school ready to go for next school year and continue to work for more options for District 13 students.

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City Council Approves Skyscraper Historic District

By on February 1, 2012 10:54 pm in Architecture, Government, Landmark Preservation

Today the City Council approved the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District by a vote of 46-1, with two abstentions.

The Brooklyn Paper: Preservationists hailed the city for protecting a slew of Romanesque Revival and Beaux-Arts structures, including the tiered co-op 75 Livingston St., which housed some of the designation’s most vocal opponents.

“We’re thrilled,” said Judy Stanton, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, the powerful community group that helped push for the district. “The opposition exaggerated the negatives. This is going to be good for Brooklyn as a whole and very good for Downtown and Court Street.” Continue Reading →

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Downtown Brooklyn “Skyscraper District” On Track For Approval

By on January 25, 2012 2:33 pm in Architecture, Brooklyn Heights, Commercial Real Estate, Downtown Brooklyn, Government, Landmark Preservation

Despite vehement opposition from segments of the local real estate community, the downtown Brooklyn “Borough Hall Skyscraper District” is on track for approval by the New York City Council. On Tuesday, January 24, the plan offering landmark protection to 21 buildings that abut Brooklyn Heights, was given a go by the Council’s landmarks subcommittee, all but ensuring the entire Council will ratify it Feb. 1. (See BHB’s previous Jan. 19 post here.) Continue Reading →

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REBNY Amps Efforts To Quash “Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District” Landmarking

REBNY Amps Efforts To Quash “Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District” Landmarking

By on January 19, 2012 2:33 pm in Architecture, Brooklyn Heights, Development, Downtown Brooklyn, Government, Landmark Preservation

The Real Estate Board of New York is amping its drive to derail the still-tentative landmarking of 21 buildings in downtown Brooklyn, by sending out a mailing to thousands of area residents urging them to bend City Council’s ear against the newly proposed historic district. In addition, on Friday, REBNY sent a letter to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn urging the Council to rethink the decision.

All landmarked districts require final approval from the City Council and mayor within 120 days. The Council vote is slated for Feb. 1, with two hearings scheduled next week. Continue Reading →

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…Meanwhile, New Design for 30 Henry Approved

By on January 18, 2012 11:04 pm in Architecture, Brooklyn Heights, Development, Government, Landmark Preservation

According to Brownstoner, the Landmarks Preservation Commission has approved a new design for the five story residential building to replace the Eagle at 30 Henry Street, at the corner of Middagh. NOTE: the picture on the linked Brownstoner post is of a bank building in Williamsburg, not a rendering of the new 30 Henry design. For an earlier version of the 30 Henry design, see here. There is, as yet, no rendering of the new design available. As we noted earlier, the revisions required by the LPC at its previous hearing were “minor”, so it’s safe to guess that the approved design will not differ greatly from the earlier one.

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84th Precinct Community Council Meets Tuesday Evening

By on January 14, 2012 5:27 pm in crime, Government

There will be a meeting of the 84th Precinct community Council this Tuesday evening, January 17, starting at 7:00, at Borough Hall, entrance at 209 Joralemon Street (between Court and Adams streets). All are invited, and refreshments will be served. The agenda includes a presentation by the New York Peace Institute on mediation, the Cop of the Year award, a precinct crime report, a transit police report, and time for questions and answers.

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Eagle: LPC Hearing on 30 Henry Design Results in Minor Changes

By on January 12, 2012 1:32 am in Architecture, Development, Government, Landmark Preservation

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. Continue Reading →

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Times on the Ongoing Nightmare of the BQE

By on January 4, 2012 11:54 pm in Environment, Government, Transportation

The Times has a story about the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that recounts the frustrations of drivers who use it–”It’s a nightmare”, it quotes livery cab driver Wilifredo Torres, who suffered a blowout that caused his fare to miss a flight–as well as of Brooklyn Heights residents:

New York Times: The highway has also been an irritating neighbor for Lucille Plotz, 85, of Columbia Heights and her husband, Charles, 90. Take, for instance, a recent afternoon inside their apartment. First came the vibrations, then a loud crash; her butter cookies toppled from the counter to the kitchen floor, and the radiator cover dislodged and fell onto a wooden chair. Continue Reading →

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More on Trash and Recyclables Collection

By on January 2, 2012 11:46 pm in Environment, Government

Sorry to be late with this, which arrived in your correspondent’s mailbox as he was returning from a New Year’s weekend on (yes) Cape Cod. Judy Stanton of the Brooklyn Heights Association gives us this update:

Dear Neighbors:

This is an updated reminder of the irregularities of NYC DSNY collection times, due to the consecutive holidays interrupting our usual Monday service. Continue Reading →

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Squadron, Millman, Levin Urge New Bid for Pier 5 Bubble

By on December 29, 2011 1:52 pm in brooklyn bridge park, Government, Sports

We’ve just received word from State Senator Daniel Squadron’s office that he, Assemblywoman Joan Millman, and City Council Member Steve Levin have together asked the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation to issue a new request for proposals to operate a facility that would allow use of the athletic field on Pier 5 during the colder months. They note that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under which the City agreed to fund Park construction includes an appropriation of $750,000 for such a facility, and that the community still wants it. More of their statement follows the jump: Continue Reading →

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State Court Rules Bloomberg Administration and State Acted Improperly in Tobacco Warehouse Transfer

By on December 13, 2011 5:32 pm in brooklyn bridge park, Government, Landmark Preservation, Legal

While the attempted turnover of the Tobacco Warehouse for use as a new home for St. Ann’s Warehouse Theater was effectively stopped by a federal court’s decision in July (and St. Ann’s has found a new, if temporary, home in DUMBO), a New York State court ruled in a parallel action brought by the same plaintiffs as the federal one–the Brooklyn Heights Association, the Fulton Ferry Landing Association, the New York Landmarks Conservancy, and the Preservation League of New York State–that the actions of both the city and state governments in transferring the historic structure were a “nullity because [they] violated New York’s public trust doctrine.” Continue Reading →

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Marty’s Letter to Cuomo Urges Reinstatement of BQE Study

By on December 7, 2011 11:56 pm in Environment, Government, Health, News, Transportation

Borough President Marty Markowitz has written a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo urging him to rescind the decision by the State Department of Transportation to terminate environmental studies for the rehabilitation of the Gowanus and Brooklyn Heights portions of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, which would have the effect of postponing any major reconstruction or replacement of these roadways indefinitely. According to Markowitz’s letter: Continue Reading →

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P.S. 8 on List of Schools With Hazardous PCB Laden Lighting Fixtures

By on December 7, 2011 1:42 pm in Education, Environment, Government, Health

We’ve received word from the office of Congressman Jerrold Nadler that P.S. 8 is on the list of schools, compiled by the City’s School Construction Authority, that have old lighting fixtures containing polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. These are carcinogens, and are considered especially hazardous to pregnant women. According to Dr. Maida Galvez, Director of the EPA Region 2 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, “The bottom line is that there’s no safe level of [PCB] exposure in pregnancy, period.” There’s more information here.

Next Monday, December 12 at 10:00 a.m., Congressman Nadler, along with representatives of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, NARAL, Planned Parenthood NYC and others, will assemble on the steps of City Hall to demand action to relieve this hazard to public health. For more information, contact kterenzi@NYLPI.org

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Yassky Catches Deadbeat Cabbies in the Actsky

By on December 2, 2011 9:59 am in Government

Brooklyn Heights resident/NYC TLC Commish David “Oh come on, it’s just over the bridge” Yassky has struck a blow at cabbies refusing fares to the Outer Boroughs.

The NY Daily News reports that the TLC used college students to “sting” cabbies who deny passengers their right to a ride home in Brooklyn and the other boroughs.

Have cabbies refused you a ride to Brooklyn? We’ve had that problem many times, especially last year when 5 cabbies in a row refused to take a very pregnant Mrs. Fink back to the Heights. Continue Reading →

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State DOT Drops Environmental Study for BQE; Say Goodbye to Tunnel Proposals

By on November 29, 2011 6:23 pm in Government, Transportation

We’ve received notice from the New York State Department of Transportation that the environmental impact study for the proposed Brooklyn-Queens Expressway rehabilitation has been terminated.

In these financially difficult times, NYSDOT is making strategic choices to make the best use of our limited resources, balancing core infrastructure preservation with fiscal reality while maintaining the safety and reliability of the transportation system. The alternatives being explored in the environmental study far exceed the financial resources available to us now and for the foreseeable future. Working closely with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), NYSDOT has concluded that terminating the environmental study is the most prudent and responsible course of action, allowing us to focus our resources on the highest and most critical needs. Continue Reading →

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