Vic Flatbush: DCP Fiddling While Rome Burns?
While several brownstone neighborhoods have completed or are close to completing rezonings to better balance the often-conflicting interests of development and preservation, much of Victorian Flatbush has been left at risk. While a small portion at the southern end of Victorian Flatbush (known as Midwood) has already been rezoned, the larger area to the north…
While several brownstone neighborhoods have completed or are close to completing rezonings to better balance the often-conflicting interests of development and preservation, much of Victorian Flatbush has been left at risk. While a small portion at the southern end of Victorian Flatbush (known as Midwood) has already been rezoned, the larger area to the north of Avenue H has been left flapping in the wind. Because of the number unusually large lots and the development-friendly R-6 zoning, the area is particularly at risk of being taken over by McMansions and Multi-family Fedders buildings. (For example, check out the Fedders sandwich above: 345 Stratford Road, 1101 Cortelyou Road and 1105 Cortelyou Road.) City Planning is taking the matter under consideration but at a bureaucrat’s pace. We are committed to doing a study, said DCP’s Winston von Engel. What this means in terms of timing, in The Courier’s estimation, is that it would be a year in the best case scenario. You can get a lot of foundations in the ground in that time. We’d love to hear from readers who have been active in pushing for this rezoning, particularly about what DCP has been like to work with.
Race to save Victorian Flatbush [Courier]
Photo by Flatbush Gardener
odd because donskoy usually designs decent buildings.. I haven’t seen the face of this one but it should at least be better than the standard fedders
I agree with 10:37. Cortelyou is commercial, so it doesn’t matter how ugly it is. If it becomes an eyesore and detracts from the overall desireability of our neighborhood, that doesn’t matter because Cortelyou is a commercial strip.
I did look at the building. I prefer it over the vacant lot that was there previously although it remains to be see what the facade will look like when completed. I don’t think that these structures should be built on the North South blocks but Cortelyou is a commercial strip.
It’s obvious that a lot of these comments are being written by people who haven’t actually seen what has been built so far. Before you voice support for this piece of crap, walk down and have a look. Believe me, you’ll yearn for the days when there was a vacant lot on this site. This building is horrible and we are now STUCK with it.
It’s depressing that so many people who live with me in this part of Brooklyn, and who at least SEEM to like it, are prepared to turn the area over to developers whose only concern is a quick profit. I understand the need for development and would wholeheartedly endorse careful, well planned development, but for the life of me I don’t see how we’re helping our neighborhoods by surrendering them to people who don’t care about us, don’t care about our neighborhoods, don’t care about our homes, and don’t care about anything except how much money they’ll make before moving on to the next job.
I too am a resident of BSW and and I am pleased to see that something was being built on this vacant lot. I am curious to know what the finished product will look like. The Argyle Rd developer should have provided an artist rendition of the end product, he should know how critical his neighbors can be. The developer should have also taken into consideration the feeling of the woman who owns the yellow house on Cortelyou. She is not pleased, to say the least. At any rate I do support the down zoning and I do think that the Condo’s will sell quickly. I have friends who have come to visit me, who were impressed with Cortelyou Road and were surprised at the growing number of shops and the realtively short travel time into the city. They have limited budgets for purchasing a home and although the condos in the area are few, they are ususally reasonablly priced in comparison to nearby areas. So we may not see the Viking and Sub zero crowd but hopefully the condo’s will be reasonable enough to attract people like my friends who are teachers and who work for non profits.
I live near this building. It is not going to be beautiful, but Cortelyou isn’t exactly a model of fine architecture. The references to Victorians being torn down on Stratford are kind of puzzling, since nothing was torn down to build this. It has been a vacant lot since circa 1972, and is opposite a one-story building that serves as a furniture warehouse which only sees activity on the weekend and is gated the rest of the time. The corner has been dark and dangerous for years, littered with broken glass from the cars foolish enough to park there, not to mention drug paraphernalia and other urban detritus. So, even Fedders might be a welcome change. I’m not sure I see the Viking-and-sub-Zero crowd buying condos on Cortelyou and Stratford anyway, across from the Mexican deli and the pastry shops.
the fact is that victorian flatbush is the largest neighborhood of free standing victorian homes in the COUNTRY….they may not be all victorian…some are edwardian…they may not all be in good shape but that is changing…isn’t it worth saving? we are talking about what makes brooklyn great and why it has some of the hottest real estate in the country if not the world….yes affordable housing is important but the developers are not thinking affordable they are thinking profit…if you are for affordable housing then join acorn and get active.
http://www.fdconline.org/housetour.html
Well we assume its a Fedder’s Special because there are indeed holes in the walls where the hvac grills will go… because it is being faced in cheap oversized yellow brick… because it has patios and sliding glass doors that face the street… that’s the definition of a Fedders Special.
Responsible development would have been the same kind of mixed use condo/retail building only aesthetically pleasing, and ideally, with an architectural nod to its surroundings and the neighborhood.
Yes Cortelyou Road is a commercial street and different from the sidestreets. But it is one of the key hubs for a unique and historic area. Wouldn’t it make sense to capitalize on that richness instead of disregarding it?
And lastly if, for whatever reason, you decided that you hate victorian architecture and you didn’t really care about context… Couldn’t you at least build something that’s modern… but great? OK, if great is just too much for you, how about pleasant to look at?