« City Planning Certifies FG/CH Rezoning Plan Ugly Cinderblock Extensions Make Bad Neighbors »

April 25, 2007

No Norten for BAM?

nortenBAMnot.jpgIn what can only be described as a big setback for the much-hyped BAM Cultural District, fundraising efforts for the Enrique Norten-designed Visual and Performing Arts Library have come up well short of the $135 million required to build the glass-and-steel structure. Word of the shortfall, which originated in (password-protected) Crain's on Monday, reportedly came from an insider at the Brooklyn Public Library. Barring someone from the private sector stepping up in a huge way, it looks like Brooklyn will have to wait a while to get a piece of this starchitect. How big a bummer do you think this is for the BAM Cultural District?
BAM Library Project Stalled? [Gothamist]
The Book Stops Here [NY Post]




Posted by Brownstoner at 9:41 AM | Comments (21)
Categories: Brooklyn, Culture, Development, Fort Greene

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/1029

Comments

maybe some of the $200 million earmarked for AY could be used for this. I'm no governor but it seem like it would be better spent here (i.e., public use vs. private enrichment).

Posted by: Anonymous at April 25, 2007 9:52 AM

That sucks.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 25, 2007 9:55 AM

Why not let developers built much taller in the surrounding area and give some of the air rights money to built this thing. Only if I rule the world.

Posted by: James at April 25, 2007 9:58 AM

And all the energy (and grass root money) spent fighting AY??
Better spent advocating something positive???

Posted by: Anonymous at April 25, 2007 10:05 AM

sucks. sucks. sucks.

but at least the pawn shop and check-cashing store across the street will stay in business another couple years.

Posted by: chuck at April 25, 2007 10:24 AM

Scary because if this doesn't work, the next idea will be 60 stories high.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 25, 2007 10:27 AM

I had an idea, though, a couple years ago, to raise a little bit of money for the VPL:

Since the walls are glass, you could start a fund-raising campaign that allowed people to have their names (kids names, etc.) etched in the glass. Say, $250 a pop? I'd pay $250 to have my name written on the wall of the coolest libray in the world.

Get 10,000 people to do that, and you have $2.5 million.

Posted by: chuck at April 25, 2007 10:27 AM

chuck, sounds like you can afford to contribute more than $250. I'd say the folks with their names etched closer to the ground level/eye level should pay more (mayb $10000)

Posted by: Anonymous at April 25, 2007 10:32 AM

Very sad. In Manhattan you could easily get a couple of people to cough up $135 million no problem. Same deal with the campaign against the Ratner development. No one stepped up with major money. Not enough organization. Too many low income people and cheap liberals.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 25, 2007 10:38 AM

Whoa, the jackass meter is off the charts this morning... and where is Andrew Carnegie when you need him?

Posted by: bob999 at April 25, 2007 11:06 AM

Why put this enormous unneeded financial burden on the library when they can't even keep branches open and regular hours, much less books? It would divert fund raising for dog and pony shows like this.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 25, 2007 11:39 AM

the thing if freakin ugly and will be an eyesore once the novelty wears off (then what, knock it down, build another?
Why is a library spending enormous amounts of time and money hiring celebrity architects for frivolous projects like this? how about getting kids to read? How about spending money on, well, books?

Posted by: The Knickerblogger at April 25, 2007 11:42 AM

oh and another thing Joe Chan's 'cultural district' is a throw back to stupid, 1960s central planning - and just a trojan horse for greedy developers (yet again). It will ironically, drive and price out the real, organic growing "culture" in brooklyn for big corporate brand BS like, well this.

Posted by: The Knickerblogger at April 25, 2007 11:44 AM

as I said, cheap (short sighted, stop the progress) liberals....this would have been a beatiful, much need addition to Brooklyn

Posted by: Anonymous at April 25, 2007 11:50 AM

I am not liberal, mr. anon 1150 Its not progress, and Giving huge subsidies and tax breaks to corporations at the expense of the middle class certainly isn't conservative, nor is central planning.
As for being short sighted no one is more short sighted then the mayor who's trying to maxmize revenue and is investing nothing in infrastructure and kicking out light industrial business for luxury condos and building...once the building's done then what do we do?

Posted by: The Knickerblogger at April 25, 2007 12:14 PM

Knickerblogger, the Brooklyn of yore is gone. We need great cultural institutions like this library to improve Brooklyn. Not to mention places for people like you to be institutionalized!

Posted by: Anonymous at April 25, 2007 12:31 PM

thanks for your valuable input anon 12:31...If anyone is thinking (and planning) in the past its the mayor, ratner and Joe Chan. all this crap is throwback outdated 1960s thinking...

Posted by: The Knickerblogger at April 25, 2007 1:34 PM

I think they should spend money on BAM and actually make it a competitive performance venue. Try as they might, the place feels like an oversized public high school theater.

$130,000,000 would go a long way to restoring that building.

Let's also not forget what public libraries are in NYC: day care centers and homeless shelters.

It's nice being able to borrow books for free, but in a city where most people barely have room for a couch let alone a desk, it would be nice to have a study space.

Personally, I would love to be able to go to the library and read in peace and quiet. Unfortunately, I either have to listen to the constant noise of children, or smell the urine and faeces stained beggar sitting next to me.

Libraries are incompatible with a liberal dominated society.

Posted by: Eryximachus at April 25, 2007 2:57 PM

the homeless have every right to stink up an Enrique Norten-designed Visual and Performing Arts Library! The homeless have rights too!

Posted by: Anonymous at April 25, 2007 3:06 PM

Glad that our government has gotton out of the business of building things like parks and libraries and is focusing instead on subsidizing developers.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 25, 2007 5:20 PM

there goes Forte' sales! maybe they can just build another cement thing for BAM to help since the tiny triangle that BAM rents from the city at St felix & Layfaette is for their sole use (except on a few weekends that tey graciously allow taxpayers to use).

Posted by: Anonymous at June 15, 2007 9:33 AM

Post a comment

Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.

Latest Restaurant Additions