Park Advisory Committee Demands Pierhouse Construction Stop

At Tuesday night’s meeting of the Community Advisory Council of Brooklyn Bridge Park, the council passed a resolution demanding an immediate halt to all construction in the park, including Pierhouse and housing on Pier 6, until concerns about views, financing, and school overcrowding can be resolved, Curbed and Brooklyn Eagle reported.

Steven Guterman, founder of preservationist group Save the View Now, argued in his presentation that the Pierhouse request for proposal, REIS and Design Guidelines clearly require the park and Pierhouse developer Toll Brothers to preserve views of the Brooklyn Bridge from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade — the same view (everything above the roadbed) that the park long ago promised the Brooklyn Heights Association it would preserve and which Pierhouse is now obscuring — the Eagle said.

Park President Regina Myer has said all along that the park has been completely open about all changes to the design and height of the Pierhouse hotel and condos as they were happening, and disclosed everything to the CAC in a series of meetings. But CAC members disputed that at the meeting. Here is the exchange from the Eagle:

“When Myer insisted that the park had conducted extensive and open outreach regarding the Pierhouse development, a hubbub erupted. ‘If you did all this, how’d this all get so far out of control?’ called out Brooklyn Heights resident Jeff Smith. ‘Did you disclose that the view was being cut off?’ shouted another spectator. Later in the meeting, CAC members disagreed with Myer that BBPC had clearly shown the CAC membership the visual impact of the bulkheads atop Pierhouse. ‘The CAC asked for the rendering during the 75 percent review, and we did not get it,’ said Carolyn Ziegler, the Brooklyn Heights Association’s representative on the CAC.”

Myer responded: “Since we’ve released the RFP in 2011, we’ve met with the CAC and its design committee and our board, and had all of the designs on our website. At the 75 percent review, the bulkhead was clearly shown.”

Here is Curbed’s summary of the resolution:

1) The halting of all construction in Brooklyn Bridge Park, including the housing on Pier 6.
2) That BBP Corp. fulfill CAC’s previous motion of providing all financial information relating to operation and maintenance of the park.
3) The creation of a new Environmental Impact Statement as it relates to school overcrowding, transit issues and flooding.
4) A new General Project Plan and/or ULURP-based plan based on that EIS.

CAC’s resolution is, of course, non binding on the park.

Brooklyn Bridge Park CAC Calls for Halt on Pierhouse, Pier 6 [Eagle]
Battle Over Pierhouse’s View-Blocking Height Rages On [Curbed]
Photo of Pierhouse construction by Save the View Now via Curbed