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September 17, 2009

Closing Bell: Stalled Project Mural

Bob Marvin of PLG Arts wrote to us with pictures of a community mural installed at the site of a stalled development project—the 20-story glass tower planned by developer Henry Herbst and Gilman Architects that first hit the presses back in March 2008. The mural, along the fencing of the site, was a collaboration between local artists, students from the Maple Street School, and the community at large, in an effort to reclaim what had become a neighborhood eyesore. Mr. Marvin says that, although the proposed tower seems too high, he has no quarrel with Herbst's Park Tower Associates: they consulted the neighborhood concerning their proposed development, and they allowed PLG Arts to use their fencing for this mural project. The one thing they asked, in fact, was that no panel of the mural be offensive to any religious or ethnic group. We haven't had the chance to bike by yet, but from the photos the mural looks spectacular! GMAP




Posted by jscheff at 4:00 PM | Comments (13)
Categories: Closing Bell, Prospect Lefferts Gardens

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So does anyone know if the tower is ever going to be built? It's just a vacant lot now, they haven't even broken ground.

Posted by: Frederick Law Homestead at September 17, 2009 4:33 PM

F.L.O.,
I'd be very surprised if anyone, including the owners, know when construction might resume, although I'd be glad to venture a guess as soon as someone tells me when demand for new construction condos will pick up and funding will be available. In the meantime, I'm very happy that Park Tower Associates gave us permission to use their fences and create something that's really beautiful that, I hope, will last until construction resumes, or the particle board fences self-destruct. I'm also grateful to the Citizens Committee for New York City, who gave us a grant that will allow us to reimburse individualartists for some of their expenses.

The reactions of PLG residents have been VERY positive, as evidenced by this comment on our local "Lefferts List":

"They [the murals] make me happy every time I walk by! Thank you PLG artists!!..."

Sunday afternoon and evening, when many of the artists were working, seemed like an impromptu block party.

There are MANY stalled construction projects in brownstone Brooklyn; maybe our project can serve as inspiration to other neighborhood arts groups.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at September 17, 2009 4:54 PM

This is so great! And a great opportunity for neighborhood arts groups to get together and create. Hope more groups do so.

Posted by: bxgrl at September 17, 2009 5:22 PM

Murals, while not having a guaranteed transformative powere over the neighborhoods they are placed in, nevertheless do more to highlight the recent (35+ year) history of places which can often be home to very transitory or migratory populations than any other form of local history. They are the silent oral historians, as it were.

Posted by: infinitejester at September 17, 2009 5:25 PM

This will probably be far nicer--and have a more positive impact on the neighborhood--than whatever downsized and "price-adjusted" trash is eventually constructed.

Posted by: shillstoner at September 17, 2009 5:31 PM

Actually, Henry Herbst consulted ONLY with residents of Lefferts Manor about his project, and repeatedly refused requests to meet with any other groups. Perhaps he has now realized the error of his ways -- hopefully he will re-evaluate his project to be more consistent with what most of this neighborhood truly needs and wants.

Posted by: babs at September 17, 2009 5:48 PM

Oh, and I forgot, he also met with our (unfortunately) re-elected council person, Mathieu Eugene, who apparently only wanted to know what he could do to help Herbst build his tower and seemed very surprised to find that most of his constituents opposed it. Kind of like his surprise on learning that most residents supported landmarking ALL of the Ocean by the Park houses.

Posted by: babs at September 17, 2009 5:53 PM

Babs,

You're right in that I WAS referring to a meeting Mr.Herbst had with the Lefferts Manor Association board, but didn't he and his associates also pass out questionnaires at the Prospect Park subway station asking what kind of services and stores people would like to see in the lower portion of the project? In any case, it's sort of a moot point for the immediate future and my intent, in contacting Brownstoner, was to celebrate the beauty of the PLG Arts project; not to rekindle debate about the "glass tower".

Posted by: Bob Marvin at September 17, 2009 6:02 PM

Agreed -- the murals are superb, but again, asking about servies in the neighborhood while proposing a huge luxury condominium project that would be inaccessible to most neighborhood residents (deliberately so) is rather disingenuous. I hope this is not another token gesture on his part in order to gain support for his inapprorpriate project (although I think the economy seems to have taken care of that for the moment, thankfully).

Posted by: babs at September 17, 2009 6:35 PM

Nice work, Bob. Love the paint-splattered girl.

Posted by: denton at September 17, 2009 6:44 PM

The murals are wonderful! They're worth a trip to PLG just for the viewing alone.

If you take the B/Q/Franklin Shuttle to the Prospect Park station and exit the front of the train at Lincoln Road, you'll see the group of murals that are on the Park block of Lincoln Road between Ocean and Flatbush Aves. If you use the Flatbush/Ocean Avenue exit at the rear of the station, walk a few steps south on Flatbush to see that group of murals on Flatbush that are diagonally across the street from the BBG. BTW, you can also take the train just one more stop south to Parkside Avenue and exit at the rear of that station. There, you'll be greeted by a rather large "folk art" installation at the corner of Parkside and Ocean Avenues. There's a bit a mystery about this one. Unlike the PLG Arts mural project, there was no prior public announcement it was coming and the identity of the artist is unknown. Still, it's another great piece of artwork to recently appear on the streets of PLG and, like the murals, another cause for smiles. Looks like the artist community is alive and well and growing in PLG. (Thanks, Bob, for the photos!)

Posted by: Brooklynista at September 17, 2009 7:51 PM

The mural is such a welcome addition to the neighborhood and certainly boosts community pride. However, there seems to be an increase in graffiti and tags directly opposite the mural which make for a very sad juxtaposition.

Posted by: thehuhma1 at September 17, 2009 7:52 PM

The tagging that "thehuhma1" refers to is on the wall of the Lincoln Road bridge, on the south side of Lincoln, over the subway tracks. A few years ago the Lefferts Manor Association proposed a mosaic mural to beautify that newly re-built wall. The Dept.of Transportation vetoed that idea because it would be too distracting to drivers (this on a very short bridge that most people didn't realize was a bridge until it was torn down and rebuilt a few years ago)--it gets VERY little traffic. Go figure.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at September 17, 2009 8:01 PM

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