4th Avenue's Walls of Voodoo
Not sure how we missed The Journal story about 4th Avenue yesterday—Curbed and The Observer both picked up on it—but it certainly is worth mentioning. Not because the gist was anything new, but because the gist is important enough to merit repeating. While the 2003 rezoning resulted in 859 new apartments—either built, under development or…
Not sure how we missed The Journal story about 4th Avenue yesterday—Curbed and The Observer both picked up on it—but it certainly is worth mentioning. Not because the gist was anything new, but because the gist is important enough to merit repeating.
While the 2003 rezoning resulted in 859 new apartments—either built, under development or in planning—the design of many of the new buildings have come under attack. They’ve done little to improve the character of the neighborhood or make it more pedestrian friendly because they have parking garages, air vents or concrete slabs at street level rather than shops and cafes, critics say.
We’ve been riffing on this subject for years—as has Streetsblog—but nice to see it getting some ink from Rupert.
I feel like a broken record but the redevelopment of 4th Ave could’ve been great and instead it sucks. I’m fine with the scale of the big new apt buildings and understand that this was the trade off for protecting the residential side streets of the slope from over-development. But why oh why are they so fugly? And why have they been allowed to do ridiculous things like put HVAC vents facing the sidewalk?
There should have been at least some minimum standards to compel developers to contribute to the STREET LIFE of 4th Ave. Providing retail spaces, planting the median, etc etc. Couldn’t Borough Hall, or the Brooklyn Downtown Partnership, or the Dept of City Planning or somebody have stepped in with a vision for how the avenue should look? Even outreach to high-end retailers like Crate & Barrel could have yielded a better end result.
Third Avenue is the new Fourth
Wow! I better check to see if I can download it from iTunes or something.
Robert Moses didn’t create 4th Ave the subway did. The entrance to this building is on 7th St. 7th St. would have been a better car entrance because when you leave the building you could drive left or right on 4th Ave. A 4th Ave pedestrian entrance could have been more dramatic. Maybe it is a zoning thing with cars entering and leaving the building, but 4th Ave has more pedestrians then 7th St. It could be poor design.
Not at all sure about the accuracy of assumptions of “demand” for parking spaces by tenants on 4th – as of 6 months ago, the god-awful ugly building on 4th between Baltic and Butler (the one with what is now a permanent plywood installation in a top window) did not have all parking spaces filled by residents. (That building is referred to as “The VA building” by local folks).
While there were many, many undistinguished buildings on 4th, and for better or worse, it is a thoroughfare (although judging from recent traffic non-flow as you approach Flatbush/Atlantic, my guess is that lots of people are looking for alternate routes), I’m always surprised by how many Brownstoner posters are so willing to throw in the towel when it comes to thinking about improving the way 4th is being developed – or entertaining the notion that some serious mistakes were made in the zoning allowances for many of the buildings that have been constructed. I guess they probably don’t live close to 4th, or need to walk on it to and from subways.
It’s not just the absence of retail – as one of the referenced articles points out, there are not a lot of retail spaces on Park – it’s that the cement walls and air vents and lack of good building design that make 4th such an uninviting place. Another example of, literally and figuratively, failure to think outside the box.
“Dirty Hipster, is it any good? What channel does it show on? ”
it’s on HBO – i really like it.
Ditto, that’s funny.
Dirty Hipster, is it any good? What channel does it show on?
Fourth Ave may not have charm, but it would be more walkable with some retail on the street. This isn’t rocket science or the importation of yuppie retail. Any retail will do. You might be familiar with this idea, having seen it throughout New York City.
Benson, why come on here and champion air vents and concrete? Next you’ll be defending junk food and air pollution and saying that anyone who doesn’t like them is part of some anti-working class conspiracy.