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August 6, 2009

Aesthetically-Challenged on Columbia Street

295-Columbia-Street-0709.jpg
This nine-unit new building at 295 Columbia Street is pretty rough on the eyes, so it's no surprise it's the work of Henry Radusky. Maybe the interiors are nice though, because it's almost all rented out. There's a two-bedroom still available for $2,800. The building's supposed to be ready for move-in at some point in August. GMAP P*Shark DOB




Posted by Brownstoner at 11:00 AM | Comments (46)
Categories: Columbia Street Waterfront, Development

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Comments

love the clock on the top. nice touch. classy.

Posted by: kjp216 at August 6, 2009 11:02 AM

WOW, WHAT SHIT.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 6, 2009 11:04 AM

hmmm.. i really do sort of like it, and since im not a fan of contextuality, that aspect doesnt bother me. not a huge fan of multicolored brick though, but these are nice and dark and i like the enclosed large balconies. you have to admit the two tenement looking buildings flanking both sides of it are rather hideous themselves anyway.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at August 6, 2009 11:05 AM

No worse than the slum dwellings on either side.

Posted by: Sparafucile at August 6, 2009 11:06 AM

Is that a clock up by the top floor? WTF?

Posted by: sixyearsandcounting at August 6, 2009 11:07 AM

Is that brick? Looks like some faux tuscan crap.

Posted by: DeLepp at August 6, 2009 11:10 AM

My god.

Posted by: Nokilissa at August 6, 2009 11:10 AM

I bet that 70% of the construction materials on this baby were imported from China.

Posted by: WonTon at August 6, 2009 11:11 AM

I can't wait for when the clock just permanently says 6:15 all.the.time

Posted by: gemini10 at August 6, 2009 11:12 AM

Those aren't tenements... those are beautiful pieces of architectural history that should be preserved for eternity!

(p.s. I think I have that clock in my kitchen.)

Posted by: tybur6 at August 6, 2009 11:12 AM

....

It's not that bad...trust me I've seen worse.

Posted by: A CrownHeightsLady at August 6, 2009 11:13 AM

Ah, so nice to go back to the "old country..." Redhook style.

Posted by: Action Jackson at August 6, 2009 11:14 AM

g10, think the clock is at 3:10

Posted by: more4less at August 6, 2009 11:15 AM

I got a glimpse of this last night on way back from IKEA and
thought -gee - howcome never saw this artpiece on Brownstoner.
Too bad can't see from the pic the 'lovely' grillwork on the terrace.
and, Rob, I also prefer these enclosed terraces to the open balconies.

Posted by: Petebklyn at August 6, 2009 11:16 AM

I hope the clock stops at 4:20.

Posted by: 11217 at August 6, 2009 11:16 AM

People were moving in this past weekend. My wife asked one of them what the deal was, and the woman said that these were condos. Maybe she did not understand the question.

Posted by: Ahh beer at August 6, 2009 11:18 AM

11217, I think many of the PLUSAs are too old to know what 420 is.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 6, 2009 11:20 AM

I walked by this place a couple weeks ago, and my jaw dropped at the sheer ugliness. Even scarier: it looks about 30 times better in this photo than in person.

Posted by: talknerdytome at August 6, 2009 11:21 AM

don't worry, after ahile the good old NYC soot will tone down the brickwork... I really like the enclosed balconies... the clock at the top gives me the giggles!

Posted by: bren at August 6, 2009 11:25 AM

G10 -- I doubt the clock will stop for a long time. I'm sure the contractor included a 12-pack of AA batteries in his price.

Posted by: tybur6 at August 6, 2009 11:28 AM

Those are condos...come on!

Posted by: A CrownHeightsLady at August 6, 2009 11:30 AM

It's not THAT bad.

You want to see ugly? There is this new building in Kensington that has a rather unfortunate color scheme, glass blocks, chrome railings and fences, and the biggest Fibrerama awning I've ever seen.

Here is how it looked while under construction:

- http://tinyurl.com/craptacularcondo

Posted by: DitmasSnark at August 6, 2009 11:31 AM

hahaha!
yeah the clock should stop at 4:20

Posted by: gemini10 at August 6, 2009 11:36 AM

What's a PLUSA?

Posted by: Nomi at August 6, 2009 11:46 AM


PLUSA = Powerlifting USA :-)

Posted by: tybur6 at August 6, 2009 11:48 AM

That building alone could stop a clock, rendering the clock useless. That's seriously fugly to the nth degree. Somebody posted a pretty nice new residential building last week. Too bad there can't be more of 'em in Brooklyn.

Posted by: GHB at August 6, 2009 11:51 AM

Rough on the eyes? It looks inspired by the 19th century utopian "worker housing" in Cobble Hill overlooking the BQE. It's not so bad.

Posted by: mopar at August 6, 2009 11:52 AM

Particularly Lame Uninformed Septugenarian Asshole?

Posted by: Sparafucile at August 6, 2009 11:53 AM

I'm not one to find everything new ugly or make snarky remarks on design, etc....but this one was jarring in person...Can't see from pics the multicolor brick or the ironwork on railing design.
Shape of bldging is ok, windows ok, enclosed terrace good.
Clock kinda stupid.

Posted by: Petebklyn at August 6, 2009 11:59 AM

What's so bad??
Other than its not "contextual" (i.e. same style as its neighbors) I truly dont get the objection....

Its Brick, it maintains the streetwall, it has a large attractive windows, the enclosed balconies don't jut out or look like add-ons - frankly it seems to hit 95% of the endless objections to new buildings here.

Posted by: fsrg at August 6, 2009 12:35 PM


Everyone will get used to it after a few years.

Posted by: East New York at August 6, 2009 12:36 PM

one of the good things about these kinds of balconies is that in the summer you can put out an air mattress and sleep on it but still get privacy.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at August 6, 2009 1:30 PM

Gosh, for once I find myself on the "hey, it's not that bad" side of the aisle. It's not bright orange, I don't see a Fedders, and it reminded me, too, of the landmark worker housing along the BQE with those balconies. And that handy little clock up there is easily visible with binoculars!

Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at August 6, 2009 1:35 PM

I'm agreeing with rob, snark, mopar and brenda. Reminded me of those old worker housing buildings too. the link Snark posted made me feel like my eyes were scraped out with walnuts :-)

Posted by: bxgrl at August 6, 2009 1:48 PM

I live around the block from this TPOS. Don't miss the embedded plaque with the date of construction at the top of the, uh, thing that sticks up in the air for some reason. These look nothing like the worker housing buildings in Cobble Hill.

Posted by: dvockins at August 6, 2009 2:09 PM

What is the point of the skinny tower with windows? The speckly brick makes the whole thing look like it's made of particle board. And the clock bothers me more than anything.

Posted by: brooklynfamily at August 6, 2009 2:51 PM

I think you have to see this in person to appreciate how ugly it is. For me, it's all about the brick. They really jump out at you. They look fake and weird.

Posted by: Kris at August 6, 2009 4:03 PM

Can I propose a New Rule - in any post criticizing a new building you, included with the criticism must be a citation to another building of similar size/scope/usage built within the last 20 years that you actually do like. It seems to me that some people here simply hate anything new and therefore unless all building is to be stopped - their criticism should be taken with a grain of salt.

Posted by: fsrg at August 6, 2009 4:37 PM

Dave,

I'm so old that I don"t know what 420 OR PLUSAs are.

And I'm not all THAT much older than you, except, maybe, in spirit :-)

Posted by: Bob Marvin at August 6, 2009 4:51 PM

This project on Columbia between Summitt and Woodhull (west side, midblock) ranks as THE eyesore of the year, if not of all time on Columbia Street. What's with that "ye olde brick" people?... and that kitchen clock built into the facade? It's painful to walk on this block now and think of what could have been if a developer/architect with at least some education and vision had a crack at it. I was thinking it could be stuccoed over, but in the wrong hands, it would probably make matters worse.
The only hope in the short-term would be the addition of european retractable canopies on the storefronts and fast growing trees (and possibly vines) to hide the whole mess. This may be the first retro example of “brick oven pizza style” architecture! Scary to think these people may still be loose out there spawning more of this.

Posted by: homesweethome at August 6, 2009 9:26 PM

I rather like it for new construction. The brick is nice, I like the clock and the balconies rock and they are private -- I'm not surprised this is almost fully rented. Not every building can be old construction. There are more ppl in this world than there were a century ago... with that comes new contruction and this ain't bad and looks like it can withstand some harsh weathering and look nice still in thirty years.

Posted by: cmar7785 at August 6, 2009 9:29 PM

I rather like it for new construction. The brick is nice, I like the clock and the balconies rock and they are private -- I'm not surprised this is almost fully rented. Not every building can be old construction. There are more ppl in this world than there were a century ago... with that comes new contruction and this ain't bad and looks like it can withstand some harsh weathering and look nice still in thirty years.

Posted by: cmar7785 at August 6, 2009 9:48 PM

I hear your tastes and sensibility cmar (and those who are moving in) who share that with you, but I will stand on my strong belief that it was actually attempting to be "old construction", but the depth just wasn't there and it devolved into being a someone's personal or negotiated folly-at best. It's not about any one element. The whole compositional foundation(vision)is just not developed. The balconies are bulky/heavy handed, almost brutalist with a strange victorian-style iron work reference appended to soften this first questionable design choice and the defining tower (is this even legal?)is really just shake-your- head pitiful.

Posted by: homesweethome at August 6, 2009 10:12 PM

Oh my freaking God

Posted by: pfa at August 7, 2009 3:48 AM

Instead of referencing some other building when being crticial, I believe you should post pictures of your own buildings so we may critique them.

Posted by: ou812 at August 7, 2009 10:03 AM

i dont think its that bad....i'm digging the balconies

Posted by: aj at August 7, 2009 10:44 AM

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