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May 15, 2007

322 Myrtle Ave: So Close and Yet So Far

322myrtle0407.jpg
This new building on Myrtle between Washington Park and Carlton is better than a lot of the smaller buildings that have been built in recent years. However, one can't help but look at this and ask why in the world they wouldn't have used a redder brick and tried to match the cornice to the adjacent buildings. That railing on the roof looks ridiculous. We're curious to know that the retail tenant will be for this place. GMAP P*Shark DOB




Posted by Brownstoner at 11:12 AM | Comments (33)
Categories: Development

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Comments

yuck! what a waste.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 11:26 AM

for murder avenue, i'd say it looks pretty darn good.

have some perspective people. 10 years ago this street was worse than skid row and now you not only want the neighborhood built back up after decades of decline, but want it to look PERFECT ALSO!!!!???

Posted by: anon at May 15, 2007 11:38 AM

At least the windows are large. The railing does look silly.

Can anyone explain whats with all the fugly yellow brick these days? Is it cheaper.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 11:43 AM

Could be worse, I suppose, could look like this:

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/rfs/329862545.html

Lordy, lordy.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 11:52 AM

re: that craiglisted building above... i need a quick tutorial on what the heck the deal is w/ fedders. how do they have a lock on AC for every new really ugly building? are they the only game in town? do they give out free ACs in exchange for the free advertising? why do new buildings have window (or below window) AC & not central? is it that much cheaper?

please enlighten me, brownstoners.
thanks.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 12:09 PM

Well... all things being equal - this is a major improvement over some of the stuff going up in Brooklyn. At least the windows are horizontal prison slits. And the developer keep the street wall instead of pushing the building back. It's a significant baby step.

Posted by: Anon at May 15, 2007 12:10 PM

Oh dear God, what a horror that Craiglist house is! Makes this one look good.

Some more enlightened cities around the world actually have standards that have to be met for new construction. This is to insure something so heinous as the Craiglist house don't happen. That building is a slap in the face to its neighbors, and would actually lower property values more than an empty lot. I can't imagine the feelings the next door neighbors have everytime they go outside.

It's important to have guidelines because what buildings like this tell the world is that the developer doesn't give a flying fahootie about the neighborhood, or the people in it. He is not helping to bring back a depressed neighborhood, or provide needed housing, he's out to make money, no more, no less. He would never build a house like that in his neighborhood, he'd probably be on the front line of the protest to stop it. It's a visible show of contempt for the people he wants to make money off of, and for the neighborhood itself, neither of which matter, as long as the building sells. Perhaps if no one buys it, he'll get the hint.

It's also a slap in the face to the profession of architect, as this does not provide for any creativity, or challenging use of materials or style in order to fit into its environment, yet be affordable, or green, or even attractive. It dumbs down the profession, and discourages anyone with any kind of social vision and creativity from going into this sector of the profession, thereby assuring that the talented will only pursue the high end projects, leaving this scale of project to the hacks and developers with CAD programs.

Right now, landmarking is the only thing that prevents this, and I don't think it's feasible, or desirable to landmark everything in sight. Then landmarking will be nothing special and meaningless. What is needed is some kind of enforced guideline of standards. Let's bring some honor and accountability back to the development business.

So many communities in this city have just begun to rise up out of the problems of the last quarter century. We ought to be able to rebuild with economy, with sound building practices, with environmental responsibility, and with the same sense of permanance and grace that helped to make these neighborhhoods desireable for the last 100 years. Other cities do it, why can't we?

Posted by: Brower Park at May 15, 2007 12:22 PM

have you seen the rents they want for this one on Corcoran - the Minsk-man want 3500-5000 per unit - 5 units

check it
http://www.corcoran.com/property/search.aspx?Region=NYC&RentSale=RU

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 12:32 PM

this actually looks pretty decent to me, even the railing (although i would have painted it a darker color to blend better with the neighboring cornices).

Posted by: z at May 15, 2007 12:32 PM

I don't see Fedders on this building.

Posted by: anonymous at May 15, 2007 12:34 PM

This bldg is a big disappointment. They removed two elegant brownstone facade and replaced it with this? Sure, it's a step up from the standard fedders but, this bldg is right around the corner from ft. greene park. They could have done better than this standard, dated, development crapola. It sorta ruins the streetscape.
Granted, there's nothing but bodegas and 99 cents stores for miles around but has any of these developers ever truly considered their clientele. The people who are going to be renting or buying these apartments are most likely looking for something a little more upscale. Let me guess, the bathrooms and kitchens are probably just as fetching.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 12:39 PM

The answer to all of your queries ,12:22, is the almighty dollar. Good or bad, people build to make the most money they can, and most architects with vision naturally want to go where they can make the most money. If it's going to be affordable, it's probably not also going to be green, beautiful, permanent and creative. A building can't be all things to all people. If we don't like what they are building in our hoods, then we should buy land in our communities and develop it ourselves.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 12:39 PM

Many comments on this blog complain about cornices on new buildings not matching older ones. One reason is that unforunately the current NYC bulding code only allows architectural features to project 10 inches over the sidewalk past the property line; and the older cornices project out a foot and a half, two feet, or even more. So with a new cornice it looks flatter and you don't get that great shadow line.

Posted by: anon at May 15, 2007 12:39 PM

the building looks good. people need to get a grip. don't like it don't buy it. if myrtle avenue can get a handful more buildings like this then it will be a major coup.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 12:47 PM

Brower Park, I was in your neck of the woods over the weekend. The architecture is really stunning.

I doubt that the developers of this bldg lives anywhere within miles of Fort Greene; otherwise they would have been a little more attentive to the aesthetics of the area.

I'd give this bldg a "C-" as opposed to the typical F rating of the fedders clones. The victorian era developers paid attention to detail. They combined engineering with craftsmanship and art. Developments were thoughtfully and tastefully done back then; that's why their appeal continues to this day.

Posted by: still_yearning_for_developers_to come_to_grow_a_heart at May 15, 2007 1:01 PM

this is so ugly. Ahhh!!! Are we in Israel? Is the Mediterranean on the other side of Myrtle?

I thank the developer for forever destroying the context of this historic Brooklyn block!

Posted by: anon 322 at May 15, 2007 1:13 PM

normally i think everyone is corny on this site but really that building in Bed Stuy is RIDICULOUS. It reminds me of Dublin, where i used to live, They had no building codes and ruined dozens of historic areas. All the appartments there are just sheetrock sans insulation. every conversation can be heard throughout every room/appt/hallway etc. All these buildings are approaching 7-10 years old and are completely falling apart, leaking and just plain tiny. Not to mention about as lovely in appearance as the Bed Stuy one.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 1:18 PM

This isn't really true anymore:

"Granted, there's nothing but bodegas and 99 cents stores for miles"

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 1:19 PM

Are you people ever happy? Whine, whine, whine.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 1:25 PM

Are we ever happy? Do you enjoy seeing your community's identity and history destroyed? These buildings are from the 19th Century!!!!

Posted by: anon 322 at May 15, 2007 1:50 PM

BTW, this site is FORT GREENE, not Bed Sty, a half block from Ft. Greene Park!

Posted by: anon 322 at May 15, 2007 1:57 PM

anon 1:19, true. I'm just patronizing the poster(s) who are still stuck on the ghetto aspects of Myrtle Ave. To me they lack insight and vision. I don't believe these developers understand what it's like to 'root' for a neighborhood the same way that you'd root for your favorite team.

One of the best experiences of living in a neighborhood under transition, is the feelings evoked from witnessing the changes that occur on a weekly/monthly basis.

Sometimes it's a cheer and a 'hooray' as a corner or a block improves gradually. Othertimes it's a mourning as a favorite local hang-out closes within the wake of 'condos' or other signs of gentrification. But the experience can't be beat; feeling as if you're part of history in the making (regardless of whether or not you eventually are displaced by those changes).

This is a connection with a neighborhood that most developers can never, even in their wildest imagination, begin to comprehend.

I'm not sure why exactly I'm so perturbed by this new facade. I guess it's because I knew what was there before. And I waited patiently, with bated breath for the day that the new and improved beauty would be unveiled.

Imagine my surprise when I saw THIS.

I mean, it's not bad...but still.

Quiet, thoughtful people have spent generations contributing to the renaissance of these neighborhoods. Yet it's so easy for a developer, in one felt swoop, to undo the hard work of others and do something contrary to the spirit of the movement.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 2:00 PM

Brownstoner, i walk past this building almost every day on my way to work and i absolutely concur with your ambivalence.

Does anyone know what the retail space will hold?

Posted by: mk at May 15, 2007 3:49 PM

Quiet, thoughtful people sure like to bitch and moan about improvements on Myrtle Ave. The buildings that were there before were so great? There is a reason those buildings are gone now while others that are just as old as they would be still stand. When they knock down the projects across the street an displace everyone who lives there and replace those buildings with new developments everyone who condemns this building at 322 Myrtle will be jumping for joy.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 3:57 PM

I wouldn't call this an improvement (: >

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 4:33 PM

Listen to what is being said: the building isn't that bad.
Is this what architecture has become in NYC? A good building is one deemed not to be an eyesore?

The praise of mediocrity has to stop.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 4:58 PM

3-5k is too much for this location. i live there, they killed a guy last september just across the street and one in february this year(drug related). 2 bodegas in same block are hang outs for druggies from projects across the street. this is a very bad corner. 2500$ max. myrtle gets better after adelphi.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 5:11 PM

It's likely that the building dept required a railing on the roof. I know it looks stupid, but I had that happen to me on a similar project.

Posted by: ella at May 15, 2007 5:12 PM

Anon 2:15, thanks for your quiet, thoughtful explanation to the more clueless readers of this blog about what it means to love a neighborhood and work to make it nice. Anon 3:57, you are a clueless jackass. Yes, there is a reason the original buildings that were on this site are gone. Their owners didn't give a shit and neglected their property. Then they sold it to charlatans. It's nothing for you, or anybody else, to celebrate. Can't we all agree that it would be nice to live in a neighborhood full of cool, well-maintained, beautiful buildings? And yes, I will be jumping for joy in the unlikely event the city ever tears down the warehouses of poverty known as the projects and spreads low-income folks throughout communities instead of stacking them up like cordwood. Doesn't work--obviously.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 15, 2007 7:21 PM

I don't want to sound insensitive but this building is pretty good for myrtle avenue. Better than some of the things going up in more upscale (or midscale) locales. The design is, of course, awful, but it makes a good valiant try, The curved headed windows are nice, the balustrade could be nice if it had a cornice or beltcourse under it to anchor it visually. The windows would look better if they fit more naturally in their masonry openings. The theory of proportion is the lost language of architecture. Even architects are clueless about the careful rules of proportion and visual congruencies that guided both the fancy architect and the modest builder of long ago.

Posted by: anonymous at May 15, 2007 7:39 PM

Oh anon 5:11 so $2500 for a block where they kill people as opposed to east of Adelphi. Are you a complete excuse for a person? Do you perhaps mean that for a better block on myrtle one should pay $3500? Because they get rubbed out below Adelphi on eshould only pay $2500> DOn't go into real estate please.

Posted by: anon at May 15, 2007 9:28 PM

its me, 5:11 again. just 20min ago there was another shooting right there, 10 police cars etc..you get the picture. who with 5k to spend wants to live at such a corner? no,9:28, i am not going into real estate, i have a degree.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 16, 2007 1:09 AM

Anonymous at May 15, 2007 12:39 PM, I don't remember any "elegant brownstones" that were in that location. I do remember some really rundown storefronts though and while I think the developer could have done something a little nicer, all in all, it's not bad. Certainly better than what was there before.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 16, 2007 10:02 AM

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