Yesterday’s afternoon session at the Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing provided a lesson in the importance of building a consensus (or the risks of failing to) when trying to get a big project done in a landmark district. The topic at hand was the proposal by Lucky Boy Development and Time Equities for the existing Beaux Arts building known as the Lamm Institute and adjacent vacant lot at the corner of Amity and Henry Streets in Cobble Hill. After a presentation from the project architect detailing the proposal to build one new townhouse on Amity and five more on mews perpendicular to Henry Street along with a rooftop penthouse on the existing structure, a stream of close to two dozen speakers representing politicians like Councilman Bill DeBlasio and Assemblywoman Joan Millman and groups like the Cobble Hill Association, the Committee to Preserve the Historic Integrity of Cobble Hill, the Historic Districts Council and the Municipal Art Society spent more than an hour detailing the many reasons why the plans were objectionable. Towards the end of the public comment period, three area residents spoke in favor of the project. Then members of the Landmarks committee weighed in, echoing many of the objections brought up by the speakers. The two biggest issues, from where we sat, were (1) the mews layout that prevented the new townhouse entrances from being on the street and (2) the encroachment of the row of five townhouses into the rear yard “doughnut.” In addition, some of the aesthetic choices of the townhouses, which we modeled on the Beaux Arts Lamm Institute rather than the townhouses that define the area, were cited as problems, most notably the mews gate and the balconies. In the end, the LPC sent the applicants packing with no particular timetable for their return, only the directive that the commission review the next set of plans before public review.
Cobble Hill Association: 110 Amity Plan ‘Unacceptable’ [Brownstoner] GMAP
Opposition to 110 Amity Plans Grows [Brownstoner]
CB6 Tries to Avoid Amity Street Horror [Brownstoner]