It's Curtains for Most of Admiral's Row
Despite the best efforts of preservationists, who generated a number of proposals detailing how the Admiral’s Row structures could be maintained while also allowing for the construction of a supermarket, most of the historic buildings on the Navy Yard site are slated to be demolished, according to Crain’s. The Timber Shed (above) and one of…
Despite the best efforts of preservationists, who generated a number of proposals detailing how the Admiral’s Row structures could be maintained while also allowing for the construction of a supermarket, most of the historic buildings on the Navy Yard site are slated to be demolished, according to Crain’s. The Timber Shed (above) and one of the 10 other buildings on the site will be preserved, according to a statement released by Andrew Kimball, president of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp, who also said that a request for proposals for a developer to build a supermarket and manufacturing space will go out in the next 90 days. The process will result in the redevelopment of what has become a blighted eyesore that has burdened the community and the Brooklyn Navy Yards for decades, said Kimball. While the news is a blow for preservationists, it’s certainly not an unexpected one.
Admiral’s Row Demolition Near [Crain’s]
Ugly Politics May Trump Reason in Admiral’s Row Saga [Brownstoner]
Admiral’s Row: Up Close and Personal [Brownstoner]
MAS Floats Plans to Preserve Admiral’s Row & Build Market [Brownstoner]
Public Hearing on Admiral’s Row Held Last Night [Brownstoner]
Pratties Have ‘Cake-and-Eat-It’ Design for Admiral’s Row [Brownstoner]
Guard Starts Talks ‘To Come Up With Alternatives’ For Row [Brownstoner]
James Opens Door to (Partial) Admiral’s Row Preservation [Brownstoner]
Officers’ Row Supermarket Not Happening Anytime Soon [Brownstoner]
Admiral’s Row: Feds Must ‘Consider’ Preservation [Brownstoner]
Admiral’s Row: “Extremely High Level of Historic Integrity” [Brownstoner]
Officers’ Row: Let’s Have Our Cake and Eat It Too [Brownstoner]
Officers’ Row Preservation Coming to a Contentious Head [Brownstoner]
For Officer’s Row, Supermarket All But Certain [Brownstoner]
The corps did not want this property, the navy just handed it to them like some hot potato as they packed up their white suits and ran towards their staff cars to beat a hasty retreat from fort apache.
You guys shouldn’t sugar-coat the past.
Bkre;
OK – thanks for the correction!
By the way, your comment regarding San Francisco versus Brooklyn is spot-on.
Benson – all that is true except not relevent to Admirals Row, which was not sold to the municipality, but transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers, who neglected it and let it rot. EIther way, it didn’t rot because of the ultra-white Navy Brass. It rotted because of neglect by the Army Corpso of Engineers.
Sam;
What in the world are you talking about?
The military dealt with the Navy Yard in exactly the same way it dealt with the Presidio: it sold the complex to the municipal government. In the case of the Navy Yard, the city formed an oversight authority (which I believe was called by the acronym of “CLICK”) which was one of the most incompetent and corrupt bodies that ever existed in the 5 boroughs. The Board of Directors was packed with political cronies who knew nothing about running an industrial yard. I remember that one of the cronies was deputy mayor Cavanaugh. There were a series of scandals concerning this authority back in the 70’s. Basically, they did nothing towards the development of the Yard, except to line their pockets.
Fortunately, the Yard is run in a much more business-like manner these days.
I think the main difference between the way the military dealt with the officers houses in Brooklyn and the officers houses in San francisco is that the Presidio is located in a White part of the city and Fort Greene back when the Navy walked away from its properties, was perceived as a classic Black ghetto.
The ultra-White Navy brass figured that the navy houses along with the rest of the neighborhood would likely be burned down or plowed under in a few years anyway.
Gabi and Mr. B really need to get over their obvious bias on this issue and describe the “alternative” plan more accurately and honestly. It was a plan that showed how the existing buildings could theoretically be kept on the site while finding space for the new program elements (supermarket, parking, industrial building). Although how succesfully it does that is debatable (see my comments on yesterday’s AR post). It does not tackle the actual issue which would be how to fund that plan – which has always been the reason that BNYDC has rejected these “alternatives” that don’t make any economic sense.
Mopar – becuase unlike san francisco, brookly still has an industrial base and the rest of the yard is filled with dirty unnnatractive small businesses who build, maintain, and distrubute all of the little stuff that we don’t like to think about but are essential. It’s hard to have a riverside cafe right next to an active dry dock that is repairing oil barges.
Shalom all;
Just back from a quick business trip to Tel Aviv, Israel.
All I can say is: great news! Finally some common sense on this issue. I shed no tear to see mediocre housing of the type that can be found in many a midwest city bite the dust,when there are much more pressing concerns in this city.
This is just depressing. And why a supermarket? Why not a pretty area near the river with a cafe and non profit office and arts space as in the San Francisco Presidio? Or both?