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February 22, 2006

Billburg, Greenpoint Make "7 to Save" List

buildings
In the wake of losing last year's fight over the preservation of 184 Kent, the Preservation League of New York has put the neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Greenpoint on its annual "7 to Save" list. "The real danger is in clear-cutting the whole neighborhood, taking it all down and putting up something new," said Ward Dennis, spokesman of the Waterfront Preservation Alliance. "These neighborhoods have 150, 200 years of history in factories, housing and houses of worship, all of which are completely unprotected." Don't expect the Bloomberg administration to get behind this one--it has already made it clear that high rise development along the waterfront is a major priority. And developers who've already paid top dollar for some of these buildings, which include the Dutch Mustard building and the Domino Sugar factory, aren't going to be feeling a lot of sympathy of the artsy-fartsies who care about unimportant things like preserving the City's architectural Heritage. Anyone who wants to get involved in trying to preserve these industrial pieces of our history should contact Ward Dennis at 718-599-2245 or email him at landmarks@waterfrontalliance.org.
Industry Zone on 'Save' List [NY Daily News]
Industrial Heritage [Waterfront Alliance]




Posted by Brownstoner at 9:21 AM | Comments (13)
Categories: Preservation

Comments

It is long past due time for those people to get a life.
This will NEVER happen, just get over it and get real.
.

Posted by: Mentch at February 22, 2006 9:31 AM

I want to preserve Ward Dennis. And hug him. And shower him with my savings. If I had any. Thanks for the info,and I will get involved.

Posted by: Anonymous at February 22, 2006 9:33 AM

It does happen, Mentch; no thanks to the downers, however. hehe.

Posted by: Anonymous at February 22, 2006 9:35 AM

I don't want to get in here in long debates o weather it's worth to protect those giant dumpster looking buildings, all I am saying that this will NEVER happen, there is too much money and power involved her, and people the live in the neighborhood, like myself, will do everything in there power to stop those radicals from keeping those cranky creators standing tall, that’s all.
If it was for them, I believe we wouldn’t have an empire state building, nor a Lincoln center, nor Rockefeller center, and on and on, WE LIVE HERE, PEPOLE OWN THESE BUILDINGS, THEY PAID FOR IT WITH THEIR MONEY, SO LET THEM LIVE.

Posted by: Mentch at February 22, 2006 9:44 AM

Who knew that the powers that be can't spell?

Posted by: suzy at February 22, 2006 9:46 AM

Well, he got it right in the first post though...
And please, stay on topic, thx.

Posted by: Anonymous at February 22, 2006 9:54 AM

"If it was for them, I believe we wouldn’t have an empire state building, nor a Lincoln center, nor Rockefeller center, and on and on"

As usual some people are oversymplifying the debate by saying that preservasionists are against development and progress. Preservation of industrial heritage has been an issues in many cities in North America and Europe, and there are good examples of industrial wastelands that were redeveloped for residential and commercial use while preserving architecturally significant buildings. Unfortunataly, those are more the exception than the norm, especially in north america. There has been so much published about this in urbanism and architectural books and magazines, please read before showing your ignorance. Of course the Williamsburg and Greenpoint waterfront has tremendous potential. The same is true for Red Hook. I wish we could develop those areas while preserving the unique industrial heritage of NYC, to REMEMBER how this city became what it is today. But i'm sure that will not happen, everything will be destroyed and replaced by shiny towers and malls. The results will be a mix of Mannhatan and suburban styles and will be BORING. But those developments will bring a lot of money, that's for sure. Will it make this city a better place to live or visit? I don't think so.

Posted by: developdontdestroy at February 22, 2006 10:08 AM

A clarification on Brownstoner's post - The push to preseve Williamsburg and Greenpoint is not just about the waterfront - if you look at it, there are really only three or four sites left on the waterfront north of the bridge, the rest is open land, free to be developed.

If you read the information on the website, what WPA is really talking about is the character of the neighborhood, which is defined by its industrial past. This includes the residential, commercial and religious buildings that make up the neighborhoods, as well as the factories and lofts - big and small, on the water and in land.

And no one is talking about stopping residential development. In fact, the best thing that could happen to these a lot of these buildings would be to be preserved and adapted for new uses.

Posted by: WD at February 22, 2006 10:17 AM

to anon at 9:54 - snippy, aren't you, dear?

to "developdon'tdestroy" and WD - well said, thanks.

Posted by: Anonymous at February 22, 2006 11:48 AM

The Domino Manufacturing Plant and the American Manufacturing Company should definately be preserved. These dramatic buildings have more cultural and architectual value than other buildings in Brooklyn, except for maybe the Coney Island Cyclone. No offense to Brownstoners, but industrial buildings in SoHo and Tribeca are now the most cherished buildings in all of NY, these two buildings will be viewed the same within 10 years. The backdrop of the American Manufacturing Plant has been in more movies, model shoots, rap videos and TV shows than nearly any other building in New York. For example in the classic comedy, Zoolander, Mogatu's secret model assasin mind control lab is based in the American Manufacturing Plant. We should not lose these icons from a time when America actually made something other than high end condos and secret detention camps.

Posted by: GrandPa at February 22, 2006 4:12 PM

The Domino Sugar refinery was the largest in the country. The Havemeyers who owned it created and controlled the Sugar Trust, a monopoly that produced 98 percent of the sugar consumed in this country at the beginning of the 20th century. They owned sugar plantations in Cuba, their own fleet of ships, and timberlands in Arkansas and Missouri to supply their sugar barrel factories. Isn't that an amazing story? Brooklyn was once a "smoky seat of manufactures." How do you tell that story if only glass towers stand where the factories once were?

Posted by: RCSIAprez at February 26, 2006 2:00 PM

Thank you anonymous and Grandpa--fascinating information. And thank you Brownstoner and Dennis Ward for providing forums for regular people to discuss issues of preservation.

I love the American Manufacturing Company complex, Harte & Company, Eberhard Faber buildings, and of course the Domino Sugar Factory. As well as the character of Greenpoint along Manhattan Ave and beyond. Like many others, I've taken loads of photos of the neighborhood and the industrial buildings. I'm slowly learning the history. But there's so much more I'd like to learn and the urgent knowledge that these buildings may well be doomed.

Here's my kernel of knowledge to add to the general store: Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon and 40 other childrens books, was born and raised in Greenpoint (until age 10). Her home was on Milton St, close to her father's workplace at the American Manufacturing Company. Robert Brown eventually became its VP and treasurer.

Posted by: catherine at March 3, 2006 12:25 PM

ak! I'm sorry. I meant WARD DENNIS!

Posted by: catherine at March 9, 2006 11:27 AM

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