Friends' Expansion Making Enemies on State?
As you may recall, IBEC, the developer behind the State Renaissance Court, recently floated the idea of building six multi-million-dollar new townhomes on an empty lot they still own on State Street between Hoyt and Bond; while some people question the viability of the high-end project in this market, the neighbors are generally happy with…
As you may recall, IBEC, the developer behind the State Renaissance Court, recently floated the idea of building six multi-million-dollar new townhomes on an empty lot they still own on State Street between Hoyt and Bond; while some people question the viability of the high-end project in this market, the neighbors are generally happy with the use for the space. But the developer also owns a second empty lot on that block, on the corner of Hoyt, and its plans for it aren’t sitting as well with some homeowners in the community. According to a letter we received, the developer is apparently close to doing a deal with Brooklyn Friends School, which wants to build a five-story, 55,000-square-foot academic building on the site. In order to do this, however, IBEC needs New York State to void the restrictions it placed on the property when it sold the land to IBEC in 2004. As part of that deal, lots along State Street were to be low-rise residential. Here’s how the opposition put it:
A school won’t have the positive impact that housing will on a neighborhood likes ours, rebuilding after years of blight and hemmed in by downtown Brooklyn and Atlantic Avenue to the north and south, and the jail and courts to the west. Unlike a nonprofit private school, residents pay property taxes that support our public schools. Residents patronize local businesses morning and evening, weekdays and weekends, summer and winter. They help keep the street safe at night. Homes make a neighborhood more cohesive and more desirable.
The group thinks that one of the nearby lots on Schermerhorn Street would be more appropriate. Do you agree? The group is reachable at keepstatestreetresidential@gmail.com.
Six More New Brownstones for State Street? [Brownstoner]
BK Friends may have some ‘hyper wealthy’ families but it is the most or one of the most diverse private schools in USA,
has many middle class students and gives much scholarships
least ‘fancy’ of the three in downtown/Heights, by far
Sure, they have a right, but I have a right to say look again. Brooklyn Friends does much to help the disadvantaged, including long-term programs that intensively work with educating underpriveleged kids. The current residents could do far worse in a multitude of ways for neighbors.
Just taking a shot in the dark, but I think the problem is not that its a school, but that its a private school for the hyper-wealthy. While the Quakers may once have been open to educating all and welcoming all, its now a school that charges $18,000 for pre-school tuition and a whopping $29,500 for high school. While there aren’t a lot of poor people left on State Street, I bet there are plenty who can’t afford to drop an amount equivalent to their housing costs on an annual basis for school.
I’m in no way, shape, or form anti-private school, but I do think that in a neighborhood that lacks many things, neighbors have a right to voice their opinions about who their new neighbors will be.
G Man, regarding your point – developer would have to have a deal set up and agreed upon before getting State to change the restrictions, how it works.
I have a lot of friends on State and can understand their concerns. However, school is a great use, one that would have been permitted if developers put in for it. I am biased as my dad went to BK friends and so did my daughter.
Wonderful institution. Be kinda convenience for those boerum hill familes…..
they are called CAVE people. Citizens Against Virtually Everything.
Seems like people will oppose anything these days…..even pacifists who seek to expand their educational facilities. Probably has more to do with feelings toward the developer.
I agree with that. The Friends are a wonderful group and this would be a plus. there is plenty of housing going up so I just don’t understand the opposition.
I couldn’t imagine a more benign neighbor than Brooklyn Friends School. Their community service is well conceived and executed. Students work in meaningful ways with nursing homes, homeless shelters, environmental projects, etc to name a few. And Brooklyn Friends has sporting events, activities, etc going on weekends and evenings as well. The opposition argument does not hold up in my opinion. If they felt the scale of the school was out of proportion to the neighborhood, I might understand…but this is not an organization like NYU.
1. “…the developer is apparently close to doing a deal with Brooklyn Friends School….”
2. “In order to do this, however, IBEC needs New York State to void the restrictions it placed on the property when it sold the land to IBEC in 2004.”
These two statements seem to contradict each other.