The condo project at 20 Henry Street is at last hitting the marketplace after years of delays. Final polishes are taking place at the former Peaks Mason Mints building, known as the Candy Factory, with asking prices between $450,000 and $2.56 million for studios up to 4 bedrooms. The building includes 24 lofts (six of them penthouse units, at $2+ million), with an additional 14 units in an adjacent modern structure on Poplar Street scheduled to wrap by summer.

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal reminds us of the building’s history: The former industrial space was built in 1885 as the base of candy makers Mason Mints and Mason Dots. In the 1970s, it became housing for artists under the state’s Mitchell-Lama subsidized-housing program.

Artists lived in studios there until the program ended in 2004. Developers Urban Realty Partners bought the site in 2007, but weren’t able to finish a conversion to condos after the imminent financial crisis. Los Angeles-based Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund stepped in and took over the project in 2010, alongside plenty of legal drama.

When plans were first announced that the factory was slated to become a condo development, the Brooklyn Heights Assn. wanted 20 Henry’s garden to remain open space, the WSJ adds—which is now the site of the new 14-unit modern building. BHA executive director Judy Stanton says she still prefers the garden to the new building, but is glad the factory is finally ready for new homeowners: “I’m sure it will attract families.”

Brokerage firm Stribling & Associates is marketing the project, and says that 20 Henry St. already has an 800-applicant waiting list.

(Photos: Wall Street Journal)

Despite City Council approval February 1 of the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District, which designated 21 buildings along Court Street as a new landmark district, the debate continues in an Op-Ed He Said/He Said piece in the Brooklyn Courier. Commentary is offered from supporter Philip Magnuson, chair of the Brooklyn Heights Assn. Landmark Preservation Committee; and opponent Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York.

Read both pieces in their entirety here, with edited highlights below…

Philip Magnuson
The Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District, with the splendid Greek Revival Borough Hall and North Plaza at its focus, is figuratively and functionally the urban center of Brooklyn, located at the civic, business, education and transportation hub of the borough. It is the interface of the vibrant neighborhoods of Metrotech, Fulton/Downtown, Court Street and Brooklyn Heights. They all share the new district as a historic core and a distinctly Brooklyn’s “Town Square.”

This historic district is on its way to cohesion and vitality. Also, like so many inner city districts now returning to robustness, it is rich with a varied, significant and potentially endangered architectural context. The assemblage of important, large-scale, early 20th century skyscrapers along Court Street, each with its own exuberant historical style, embrace a richness and scale befitting the official and commercial heart of Brooklyn. The skyscrapers play a significant role in defining the singular quality of this area.

The designation of the Court Street skyscrapers is a timely step in recollecting, acknowledging and preserving Brooklyn’s urban richness. We believe the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District will safeguard and support the present and future renaissance of this unique neighborhood.

Steven Spinola
The creation of a Downtown Brooklyn Skyscraper Historic District is unwarranted and would add burdensome costs for local property owners and retail tenants. The Real Estate Board of New York believes there is no need to create a special historic district in this area of Downtown. In fact, the report of the Landmarks Preservation Commission notes that several of these buildings have no distinctive architectural style worth protecting and have undergone numerous renovations over the decades.

More troubling, creating a special historic district would impose millions of dollars of additional costs on existing property owners and retail tenants. Once an area is landmarked, significant added costs (are) attached to property improvements; one must acquire additional city approvals and it takes longer to secure such approvals, and all improvements are subject to review.

Many require further review by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which often requires plans to be redone and certain materials to be used, which adds time and cost to any renovation. These delays often result in massive losses for retailers and landlords because space sits empty while awaiting commission approval.

The commercial office market on Court Street is already suffering with a 17% vacancy rate. The landmark designation will impose an additional tax on such space, making it more difficult to rent and provide less incentive to upgrade. This proposal will harm rather than help the properties in this district.

The beautifully historic but long-suffering Romanesque revival Offerman Building along Fulton Street Mall is at last getting the facelift it so deserves. As H&M continues its new-construction two-story glass modernist build-out next door, TJ Maxx will open a downtown Brooklyn store at 505 Fulton Street, according to signage that appeared within the last week.

Imagine Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani having presence on Fulton Street (albeit last season). This long-promised renaissance may well take hold, after all, as developer United American Land has its eye on fully developing the block at Fulton and Bridge Street, after demolishing the Offerman annex to build H&M.

Meanwhile, downtown Brooklyn’s City Point up the block continues to take shape, first comprising a four-story 50,000 sf retail building on Albee Square across from the landmarked Dime Savings Bank building. In all, that project intends to encompass 1.5 million square feet of retail and residential.

The Offerman Building’s upper floors are rumored to be going residential, so it appears a full reno is forthcoming. The handsome structure was built in 1890 by Henry Offerman, at the time one of the tallest buildings in Brooklyn. It is best known as the location of Martin’s department store, which ushered other major retailers to the area, including A.I. Namm & Son Department Store and Abraham & Straus (today, Macy’s).

Read a full history of the building on The Smoking Nun blog here.

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.”

According to the Brooklyn Paper story, Council Members Steve Levin and Brad Lander, both of whom voted for the designation, received assurances that proposed changes to buildings within the district would be given expedited consideration by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and that the LPC will “be flexible” with requests from residents of 75 Livingston.

The piece goes on, “No one has claim to freeze New York’s ever-changing silhouette” and claims that the buildings’ “demolition and replacement would, frankly, be quite beautifying. Here is a landmark case of abusing the landmarking process.”

Key endorsements for the landmark designation—which runs along Court Street, from Montague four blocks south to Livingston—were voiced by the council’s Subcommittee on Planning, along with Councilman Stephen Levin, who represents the area.

In a joint statement with Councilman Brad Lander, who heads the subcommittee, Levin said, “After close consideration, we believe this new historic district will strengthen the character of Downtown Brooklyn, allowing for new development and growth like the new retail space planned for the Municipal Building [next to Borough Hall] while preserving the graceful, historic, early-generation skyscrapers that make it Brooklyn’s civic center.”

Lander and Levin added that they intend to ask the city to ease rules for storefronts and work with Livingston Street residents “without imposing hardships on co-operators.”

The district was first proposed to the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2010 by the Brooklyn Heights Assn. and other preservation groups and since, has fostered snarky opposition from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Brooklyn Law School, Court-Livingston-Schermerhorn Business Improvement District and similar groups.

Once again, REBNY president Steven Spinola tore the initiative to pieces in a New York Post article today: “Not only is this an inappropriate use of landmark designation, but it will end up costing the city much-needed tax revenue and jobs. This is another case of the city landmarking away its economic future.” As well, in a direct mail campaign blanketing the neighborhood, REBNY claimed, “In these economic times, when every dollar counts, landmarking threatens to send Court Street back to the ‘bad old days’ of empty storefronts and dirty streets.”

City officials refute that the designation only sets guidelines overseen by Landmarks to ensure that construction blends with the neighborhood.

The Brooklyn Paper: “There are a lot of people who want to keep it around,” said Lowy, who hopes to find a new home for the theater if the building can’t be saved. “It makes it easier to move forward knowing we have all this support.”

The story also quotes landowner Tom Caruana’s architect (not named) as saying “plans for the site are not yet ready to be shared.” Architectural historian Francis Morrone, author of An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn, who the article says “is working with the [Brooklyn] Heights Association on an in-depth history of the building”, is quoted thus: “It’s an intact piece of history, …A major part of what makes Brooklyn Heights what it is is this historical physical fabric.”

The plans of the development company that bought 72 Poplar Street, the former NYPD building (see photo), will be considered at the meeting of the Executive Committee of Community Board 2 tomorrow (Monday, January 23) evening, starting at 6:00, at the Library Learning Center, room 515, of Long Island University, at DeKalb and Hudson Avenues.

According to the developer, as quoted by C.B.2:

Application is to extend the existing fourth floor, construct a new fifth floor addition, set back the rear wall by five feet to achieve legal light and air requirements, construct new rear façade, install new accessible ramp at Poplar Street entrance, create new window and door openings at east and west facades, and construct a one-story rooftop addition on adjacent garage.

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.

Preservationists had claimed victory last September when the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously approved the “Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District,” a cluster of highrises built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries along Court Street and the corners of Joralemon, Remsen and Montague Streets around the already landmarked Borough Hall. Commission Chairman Robert B. Tierney noted then that “the buildings had a central role in Brooklyn’s development and illustrate an important chapter of New York City’s history.”

But a number of property owners, local landlords and developers were vehemently opposed, claiming it would drive up costs and impede retail redevelopment. Mike Slattery, SVP of the Real Estate Board of New York, sneered in September that the buildings “have little architectural and historic significance and distinction.”

In an article published in Crain’s Business New York January 18, Steve Spinola, president of REBNY, further belittled the district: “The city continues to landmark away its economic future. We want the people in the area to know landmarking will cause a lack of investment in buildings.”

Detractors argue that the designation puts a financial burden on landlords, who have to obtain additional permits and pay extra fees for any changes or upgrades on their properties. REBNY surveyed owners of roughly 750,000 square feet of space within the proposed historic district, and predicted property owners and retail tenants will incur $4.7 million in additional costs over the next several years as a result of landmark regulations and rules, according to the letter obtained by Crain’s.

“Some owners were prepared to make an investment in their buildings, but now they have a noose around their neck because it will cost them more money,” added Spinola.

Brooklyn Heights Assn. president Judy Stanton has stated that the landmark designation “is necessary to protect those buildings from being torn down—it does not prevent redevelopment. It has been a longstanding regret we did not get a district sooner.”

No word yet on if this is simply a postponement or a permanent shift in plans.

DEVELOPING….

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.”

Brooklyn Paper: Next Wednesday, building owner Tom Caruana will present plans for a new structure at 70 Henry St. at Community Board 2’s Landmarks Committee — an early step in gaining city permission to demolish an edifice in the landmarked neighborhood, according to District Manager Rob Perris.

The article quotes Caruana as unwilling to reveal details of his plans, but saying he will “move forward” as soon as possible. Lowy is quoted as saying he will do whatever is necessary to keep the Cinema going, even if he has to move it to DUMBO.

Brownstoner reports today on the release of the renderings for the proposed new building at 30 Henry Street. News of the new structure broke recently with word that CB2′s landmarks committee has given its OK while the BHA had asked for a more contemporary design after seeing preliminary renderings. Also, the the new complex will boast a waterfall.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission is scheduled to review the design tomorrow (12/20).

Judy Stanton, Executive Director of the BHA, said:

We knew that our fight to save the Tobacco Warehouse for the public was necessary and that the defense of the public trust in this case was the right thing for the Brooklyn Heights Association to do. We feel doubly rewarded by Justice Vaughan’s decision to uphold it.

BHA President Jane McGroarty said:

We hope everyone will now agree that the Tobacco Warehouse is exactly where it belongs and that a precedent has been set that sends a strong message: public spaces and are for all of the public to enjoy and attempts to take away any of it will be met with action by community groups and the courts.

Joan Zimmerman, President of the Fulton Ferry Landing Association, said:

Historically, it’s fallen to us, the community, to step forward to protect the Tobacco Warehouse from being snatched from the public. This victory for public land – not once, but twice affirmed by the court, is incredibly gratifying and will stand as a precedent for years to come.

The decision was also praised by State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assemblywoman Joan Millman.

Update: Haley Stein, Esq., Senior Counsel in the City’s Law Department, who served as lead counsel for the City in the case, had this to say:

This decision is a major setback toward improving the park and prevents the City and Brooklyn Bridge Park from moving forward with a project that would provide funding for the long-term preservation of the Tobacco Warehouse. The State transferred Tobacco Warehouse to Brooklyn Bridge Park without parkland restrictions, and we continue to believe that the community would greatly benefit from its re-use as a cultural and community center. The decision also hinders plans to rehabilitate and re-use Empire Stores — a series of enclosed warehouse buildings that are in need of preservation and are not usable by the public. The redevelopment of Empire Stores as a commercial and retail space is vital to providing revenue for the operation and maintenance of the park. We disagree with the decision and are considering our legal options.

]]> http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33729/feed 37 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33368 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33368#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:16:51 +0000 Homer Fink http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=33368 The Brooklyn Eagle reports today on plans by the Fortis Group for the paper’s former headquarters at 30 Henry Street. In its original piece about a proposed condo on there, the paper reported that the new building would be 65 feet high, 15 feet over what is allowed in our landmark district. However, the BHA’s Judy Stanton, who has seen the plans, told BHB last weekthat the proposal was a 50 foot structure. The Eagle’s report today includes a similar statement from Stanton. The proposal was approved by CB2′s Land Use Committee on 11/16 and will be presented to the full board on 12/14.

But what new info did we learn from today’s report? THERE’LL BE A WATERFALL.

Brooklyn Eagle: According to Perris, BKSK architect Stephen Burns made the presentation to the Land Use Committee. Citing the committee minutes, he said there will be accessible underground parking with the parking entrance slightly sloping down.

The layout of the building will consist of floors two to four with one layout — some units containing 10-inch balconies for flower boxes and casement windows — and a separate layout for the top floor penthouse.

Burns also told committee members that the entranceway into the building will be through a covered passageway that leads directly to a courtyard. The courtyard will have a waterfall that is visible from the entrance, according to the Land Use Committee minutes.

]]> http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33368/feed 6 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33359 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33359#comments Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:05:47 +0000 Homer Fink http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=33359

There’s already one complaint on file with the NYC Department of Buildings about after hours work at 47 Hicks Street, home of Tutt Cafe. And that doesn’t include BHB readers gripes about the new giant pizza sign in front of the eatery, ostensibly part of its current renovations.

North Heights resident Andrew Porter observes, “Walked by on Tuesday, and they’d erected a large, green external sign; strictly illegal. Talked to possibly owner, or guy in charge of the construction, about how Tutt is in a landmarked area. They were working on the outside of the building, on the entryway into the door. No permits, not even from DOB. Owner of brownstone next door came out, agreed with me in passing that permits are required. I am working with the BHA on this.”

Commenter AEB adds, “I can attest to the fact that the new northerly sign is in fact new, not a redo of an existing one.”

]]> http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33359/feed 42 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33212 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33212#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:23:02 +0000 Homer Fink http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=33212 Brooklyn Heights Association Executive Director Judy Stanton sent us a dispatch this morning about construction plans for 30 Henry Street. The site has been sold by its owners, the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper, to DUMBO based developers the Fortis Group. The Eagle’s own report on the sale claims that Fortis plans to build a 65 foot, 6 story condo there, a potential challenge to current landmark restrictions. (N.B. Their initial application.)

Not so, says Ms. Stanton who has seen the Fortis plans. Her take after the jump.

The BHA was shown a presentation for a new building by Fortis at 30 Henry Street. We were given copies of the plans but I do not have permission to release them to the media. They do not show a 65 foot building. The site falls entirely within the LH-1 boundary (aka 50 ft height limited district). A taller building would not be permitted without a variance which would require an application to the Board of Standards and Appeals in addition to the necessary approvals required by the Landmarks Commission.
The latter is certainly not what was shown to the BHA nor to the Community Board. I would suggest that that Linda Collins needs to double check her understanding of whatever plans she has found on file with the DOB which may have included the floor below grade (cellar). The BHA was shown and we are still expecting a 50 ft building plus the mechanical equipment set back behind a stair bulkhead which would not be visible from the street. (Mechanicals are not counted in the 50 foot limit.)

Speaking about the design, the BHA always favors contemporary design for new construction in the Historic District. While not every owner/architect has felt comfortable about following our recommendation, the Landmarks Commission DOES support contemporary design in historic districts. It should be emphasized that Brooklyn Heights is a veritable treasure trove of 19th century architectural styles, and this historic district can absorb more variety. Note:This topic is currently the subject of an exhibit at the Brooklyn Historical Society Context\Contrast: New Architecture in Historic Districts 1967 to Present. which we encourage everyone to see.

With regard to 30 Henry Street, it is a gateway site in the Heights, and one that cries out for a distinctive and much more contemporary design than was shown to the BHA last week. Fortis has hired excellent architects in BKSK, and the BHA has respectfully asked them to ‘return to the drafting board’ to create a building that celebrates our time.

]]> http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33212/feed 12 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33203 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33203#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 02:50:03 +0000 Homer Fink http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=33203 The Brooklyn Eagle’s headquarters at 30 Henry Street has been sold to the Fortis Group. They are reportedly determined to replace it with a 65 foot, 6 story condo structure, 15 feet higher than currently allowed in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District.

This is a curious farewell to Brooklyn Heights for the Eagle. They also publish the Brooklyn Heights Press, credited, along with its then-publisher Richard Margolies for playing an integral role in establishing our beloved historic district in 1965 which to this day protects the character of the Heights. Ironically, that paper’s exit from the area now brings with it questions as to whether the very “height” constraints it helped to usher in will be honored or destroyed with its HQ’s sale.

Get ready for a tussel, but does the developer have the muscle? And so it goes… Read some of the Eagle’s account after the jump.

Brooklyn Eagle: The height of the proposed new building will likely be an issue for local organizations and nearby residents since the property sits within the historic district’s 50-foot height limit.

According to the Eagle’s publisher, Dozier Hasty, the building was sold to the Fortis Group, which has notified him that the newspaper must vacate the building by the end of January.

“By the end of November, we can announce our plans for our new location,” Hasty told his staff.Public records do not show that the property has changed hands, but it has been on the market for months with an asking price of $3 million. The sale was handled by Massey Knakal Realty’s Stephen Palmese, first vice president, and Winfield Clifford and Michael Mazzara, both associates, who told the Eagle Thursday the closing is imminent but the negotiated price could not be revealed.

]]> http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33203/feed 9 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33194 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33194#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 01:26:44 +0000 Homer Fink http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=33194 Clifford Zink will be reading from his book “The Roebling Legacy” at PowerHouse Arena [37 Main Street] in DUMBO on November 29 at 7pm. He’ll discuss the Brooklyn Bridge, among other things, and be introduced by Washington Roebling’s great-great-great grandson/Brooklyn Heights resident Kriss Roebling:

Brooklyn Paper: Needless to say, Roebling is a fan of his ancestors’ work.

“Being a life-long New Yorker, there are so many times that I’ll be walking over the bridge and my sense of family history dissolves into the experience of being a New Yorker,” said Roebling, who lives steps from the bridge in Brooklyn Heights. “Even if I had no family connection, I would still love the bridge.”

]]> http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33194/feed 0 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/32493 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/32493#comments Sun, 16 Oct 2011 05:10:44 +0000 Claude Scales http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=32493

To counter allegations by Pinnacle Group, which seeks to remove the trees in the courtyard between the A.T. White Riverside Apartments and the BQE to build an underground parking garage, that the trees are of recent growth, Bill Ringler, President of the Riverside Tenants’ Association, has done some sleuthing and found this photo, dating from the early 1900s and published in Hayes Historical Journal — A Journal of the Gilded Age, Volume IX, Number 1 (Fall 1989).

According to Mr. Ringler:

The photo was taken from the South of the fountain facing North to the rear of 24 Joralemon Street. The buildings on the left were demolished in the 50′s to construct the BQE. These trees are the same ones that exist today. It is evident by the limbs on the trees.

The photo is of the teachers and students of the Willow Place Chapel Kindergarten of the First Unitarian Church.

Addendum: Below is another photo taken at the same occasion, as it appeared on the cover of the Journal:

The flag has 45 stars, a configuration which lasted from 1896 to 1907.

]]> http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/32493/feed 18 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/32487 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/32487#comments Sat, 15 Oct 2011 01:30:30 +0000 Homer Fink http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=32487 In a guest column for the Brooklyn Eagle this week, Brooklyn Heights Promenade gardener Jonathan Landsman writes about one of his favorite volunteers:

Brooklyn Eagle: Almost exactly two years ago, I met Grace Gutman, the volunteer with the Promenade Partnership who has the most relentless hand for weed pulling and most years of life experience. “I came to plant pretty things for the spring,” was how she greeted me then.

I know our meeting was two years ago because it is easy to mark time by garden work. We were planting bulbs that day, an autumn task that will begin anew very soon this year. Bulb planting, it turned out, was Grace’s favorite job.

“You anticipate the pleasure they’ll bring. It’s so glorious to go down and see them,” she said. Certainly spring, the time of our tulips and daffodils, is when I see the most cameras pointed at the gardens, including that of one local resident who took more than 300 photos of our bulbs last fall…

…If you’d like to join Grace and our other volunteers to garden this fall, show up at 9 a.m. this Saturday or 9:30 a.m. any Tuesday at the Montague Street Promenade flagpole. Email promgarden@aol.com with questions or to be added to our mailing list.

]]> http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/32487/feed 0 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/32401 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/32401#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:07:34 +0000 Homer Fink http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=32401

Last month a BHB tipster sent us a photo and a question:

Attached are roof photos of 20 Henry. The structure in wood is about 12 feet and is an entry way for stairs. It is quite large and very bulky. I am not sure I ever saw this design. No rendition of the roof I found online had this structure. Of course, if you try to find anything on the LPC website it is pure luck. Maybe they approved it which is a surprise
considering the tight guidelines they gave the architect.

The BHB “iTeam” along with our pals at the BHA dug into the matter. Late last night we received a dispatch from BHA Executive Director Judy Stanton that included an explanation of the structure from design architect Sherida Paulsen:

The bulkhead is temporary protection over a stair that will be covered by a hatch at the roof. It should be removed as the roof is installed; I do not know what the timing is, but it is not part of the permanent plan.

]]> http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/32401/feed 4 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/32272 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/32272#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2011 03:55:48 +0000 Claude Scales http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=32272 Context\Contrast: New Architecture in Historic Districts, 1967 to Present will open at the Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street (corner of Clinton), this Thursday, October 6, starting at 6:00 p.m. The opening is free, and all are invited. BHS members are invited to a preview starting at 5:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served at the preview and at the opening.

Featuring nearly forty different projects focused on the areas of Brooklyn Heights, South Street Seaport, SoHo, and the Upper East Side, Context\Contrast explores how new buildings and historic districts have learned to coexist in New York, the country’s most culturally and architecturally diverse city. This traveling exhibition has been shown in New York, Washington DC, and Dallas, and concludes at BHS in Brooklyn Heights, the first historic district in New York. The exhibition will run from October 7 to December 31.

The image is of one of the new buildings featured in Conetxt\Contrast, 43 Love Lane in Brooklyn Heights, completed 1999, designed by DeLaCour and Ferrara Architects. The photo is by Elizabeth Felicella.

]]> http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/32272/feed 0 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/31917 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/31917#comments Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:00:15 +0000 Chuck Taylor http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=31917 Area preservationists scored a long-awaited victory Tuesday as the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously approved the “Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District,” a series of 21 historic highrises in Downtown Brooklyn, on the border of the Heights.

Clustered along Court Street and the corners of Joralemon, Remsen and Montague Streets around the already landmarked Borough Hall, the majority of Romanesque Revival and Beaux-Arts buildings were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Still, a number of property owners and developers raised sand over the designation, claiming it would drive up costs and impede retail redevelopment. Mike Slattery, SVP of the Real Estate Board of New York, actually said with a straight face that the highrises “have little architectural and historic significance and distinction.”

The landmarks designation has been in the works for five years, after nearby St. Francis College demolished its elegant 19th-century McGarry Library. “It has been a longstanding regret we did not get a district sooner,” said Brooklyn Heights Assn. president Judy Stanton. “(This) is necessary to protect those buildings from being torn down—it does not prevent redevelopment.”

Commission Chairman Robert B. Tierney noted in the press that “The cluster of tall office buildings that form the district had a central role in Brooklyn’s development and illustrate an important chapter of New York City’s history. These skyscrapers of their day gave Brooklyn not only a commercial heart, but also a new skyline.”

The newly designated buildings include the Franklin Building at 186 Remsen Street, completed in 1887; the 13-story Temple Bar Building at 44 Court Street; a 22-story limestone, granite and brick Colonial Revival style building at 32 Court Street; the 35-story Montague-Court Building; as well as three buildings of at least 30 stories along Court Street, once the borough’s definitive skyscraper row.

In addition, the 32-story coop at 75 Livingston Street is now landmarked, whose board was among those claiming its costs would skyrocket. Considering that the building boasts maintenance in the $3,000s, perhaps they accomplished that before Landmarks came calling.

The City Planning Commission and the City Council must grant final approval within the next 120 days.

]]> http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/31917/feed 2 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/31644 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/31644#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:59:29 +0000 Chuck Taylor http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=31644 HGTV’s “Dear Genevieve” makeover show descended upon Brooklyn Heights in January to make magic at 62 Montague Street, offering residents Chuck (that is I) and Ayhan a bedroom makeover, complete with new floors, moldings, furniture and accessories.

Genevieve speaks fondly of the nabe throughout the episode, as she sloshes through a half-foot of snow on the Promenade during filming. It originally aired in March, and encores today, Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 3:30 p.m. Set those Tivos: Time Warner channel 64/HD764.

You can read details about the experience on The Smoking Nun Blog.

]]> http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/31644/feed 1 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/30954 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/30954#comments Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:41:21 +0000 Homer Fink http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=30954

While the new design for 27 Cranberry Street by local starchitect Tom van den Bout has LPC approval, it still has some preservation minded Brooklynites wringing their hands. The new design substitutes brick for brownstone and zinc for bronze elements but some think the home is still too big for its humble block.

However, this process and discussion around this project is a perfect real-time example of the search for “authenticity” outlined in Suleiman Osman’s The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn.

If both plans were equal in scale, how “authentic” is the new approved brick facade versus van den Bout’s original vison of real brownstone (from the original quarry) frontage? It’s equally plausible that “back in the day” a builder may have chosen to build a brownstone on that lot.

What do you think? If the argument is based on scale, is “historical” relevance no longer in play? Are we now in the business of arguing over which imaginary “past” we’d like to embrace in future construction?

Brooklyn Paper: “We wished he would build a small house instead of what he’s entitled to build — but it’s still impressive,” said Judy Stanton, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, which unsurprisingly supported van den Bout’s original plans. He is a former president of the association, after all.

Simeon Bankoff of the Historic Districts Council, who opposed the townhouse from the start, said he’s resigned to the new plans.

“It’s too big,” Bankoff said. “Cranberry Street is specifically low scale so it’s a tough site. This might have worked if it was on another block in Brooklyn Heights.”

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We received word that the Landmarks Preservation Commission Approved the redesign for 27 Cranberry Street. According to our source, They called it “inventive, harmonious with streetscape and of high quality. They agreed that the use of roman brick completely resolved the scale issue.”

Architect Tom van den Bout tells Brownstoner:

…the 5,000-square-foot house is “massed to appear smaller from both the street and the rear gardens” and “rendered in humbler material in a less formal composition.” There are a bunch of specific changes—including the use of roman brick rather than brownstone and zinc replacing bronze for the metal cornice and bay—that helped it pass muster with Landmarks this time around; click through for all of them.

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