James Opens Door to (Partial) Admiral's Row Preservation
Coucilmember Letitia James has modified her position on the preservation of Admiral’s Row, the group of ten historic houses along Flushing Avenue, according to an article in The Brooklyn Paper. James had previously advocated razing the structures to make way for a supermarket, but the councilmember is now saying that “some” of the houses could…
Coucilmember Letitia James has modified her position on the preservation of Admiral’s Row, the group of ten historic houses along Flushing Avenue, according to an article in The Brooklyn Paper. James had previously advocated razing the structures to make way for a supermarket, but the councilmember is now saying that “some” of the houses could be preserved and some kind of balance struck between preservation and addressing the lack of supermarket options for nearby residents. James told us that “the key to preserving some of the buildings is money. If the economics are resolved, we can move forward on preserving some of these buildings, but, my first priority is to meet the immediate needs of residents of Public Housing and Vinegar Hill.” A formal public review of Admiral’s Row redevelopment plans begins next Tuesday at a meeting at Borough Hall (209 Joralemon Street, 7 p.m).
James gets in middle of ‘Row’ [Brooklyn Paper]
Guard Starts Talks ‘To Come Up With Alternatives’ For Row [Brownstoner]
Photo by SmithersJones.
Bxgrl – calm down honey. You’re missing the main point. Sam, Gary and I could all come up with super ideas of what do with these houses if we didn’t limit ourselves to what is realistically financially feasible. We are choosing not to speculate on it though, not because we can’t “think outside the box” but because we don’t see the point in this case. Don’t flatter yourself to think that just because you work in non-profits, you can come up with ideas that we can’t. Don’t get me wrong – the trade school idea is interesting, but you didn’t really blow my mind. The point is, it’s even more difficult and creative to come up with ideas that will work within the confines of economic feasibility than to come up with ideas when you have no restrictions. If you could come up with a creative use of the buildings that is actually self supporting and doesn’t rely on some millionaire somewhere deciding to drop a load of cash into this money-pit out of the kindness of his heart – that would blow my mind and that would prove to me that you are far more creative than any of us nay sayers.
and yes- also guest is another name, just as i know who you are, gary.
-bxgrl
gosh gary- and here we thought you’d be too bored to post again.
I hardly live in la-la land and frankly, if I give an opinion and you don’t agree with it, I simply expect common courtesy. disagree without getting all crappy about it. so far sam, you and mmhtph can’t seem to accomplish that. Sure they’re money pits- but the idea was to make them bring in money and I’m neither going to repeat myself nor apologize for being able to think outside the box just because you can’t. You have absolutely no idea of what I am talking about.
I’m not being defensive- I don’t think people who are incapable of coming up with any ideas at all are hardly in a position to criticize anyone who can. And the simple refusal to acknowledge what I actually did say regarding Pratt simply tells me yet again you either can’t or you are willfully misunderstanding what I am saying.
so you 3 can bitch about being bored or bitch about people throwing out ideas you can’t even think of, or think you are so superior while I’m in la la land, as you so meagerly put it, but the bottom line is if you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem.
bxgirl,
get over yourself. You are being way too defensive.
Sam is right. these houses are money pits and Pratt has its own problems, including its own row of vacant and abandoned historic houses, formerly for faculty, now empty.
Maybe the Mayor’s billions could fund a philanthropy that could run a trade school at the officers’ row, but he and his deputies are the ones pressing the hardest for their demolition.
Wishful thinking is fine, but not all of us live in la-la land.
MMHTPH- Offensive? He insults me in his first post by snarking everything I said. He assumes I didn’t know that the ANG was part of the Army, whereas I know better than he what it is and how it relates to the Army. The guy calls my ideas flaky and me calling him unimaginative makes me offensive? Right.
And talking about offensive assumptions, what makes you think I don’t know that creative ideas cost money? You have no idea of my background or the things I’ve accomplished, or the people I’ve worked with so please don’t hand me that “you fail to recognize that all of your creative plans cost money and it’s very easy to be creative when you’re playing with other people’s money.” BS because, since it’s obvious you aren’t in the arts or in nonprofits you yourself have no clue as to what’s out there. No one said Pratt should fund it- but bear in mind Pratt is an established institution with major connections and if they want to start a program they have a better chance than most to get money for it. If you’re the President of Pratt I’d accept your superior insider knowledge of Pratt priorities but somehow I doubt you are.
You have accused me of thinking I am so much more creative than sam, yet neither he or you threw out any ideas at all. That should tell you something.
MM, Sam and bxgirl: You guys all seem to be talking past one and another and not getting eachother’s points, so maybe I can elaborate. Bxgirl and MM – clearly it would be great if something creative that you mentioned could be done with this site. There are actually probably tons of creative ideas that could be put forth for the site that would either help the poor or raise supply some sort of cultural or educational amenity to the citizens of NY. I know that sam is being a little rough around the edges, but you guys are being very offensive. You call sam “unimaginative” and think that you are so much more creative than him, but you fail to recognize that all of your creative plans cost money and it’s very easy to be creative when you’re playing with other people’s money. Bxgirl – your point is well taken that sometimes those crazy ideas find money to support them once they are put forth, but you’ll have to admit that those situations are few and far between and they take tons of time to put together. One things these houses don’t have is time. Every winter that goes by, their condition gets worse, and it won’t be long till they collapse under their own weight. Portions of the houses have already begun to do so.
Because of this time limitation, we need to focus on what can actually happen here – which means limiting ourselves to options that make financial sense without some angel appearing out of the blue. It’s not like Pratt is an institution overflowing with money and donors who are just looking for a project like this. It’s a relatively cash-strapped institution that has along priorities list that it would like to get to before
Sam, as historic buildings in an historic site, the Row houses would need to be sensitively and expertly rebuilt and restored. That is very different than just fixing the roof, slapping up the sheetrock and painting with Benjamin Moore historic colors. Ideally, they should be picked over and researched meticulously like an architectural dig, in order to preserve/reproduce original detail of all kinds, including 19th century paint colors, wallpaper, lighting, etc.
Of course, much of this may be impossible, due to constant upgrades by the Navy up until the time the houses were abandoned and left to rot, and lack of funds. It may be that they will have to simply be rebuilt in the manner of their original styles, with updates for modern conveniences,safety and code requirements. I’m going by pictures I’ve seen, I haven’t seen them up close.
My idea for a training center, which bxgrl echoed, would not just teach building trades, but specialized skills in restoration. 19th c. bricklaying, for example, slate tile roofing, sympathetic methods of electricity for historic public buildings, period appropriate paint techniques, the list could go on. “Graduating” from this project with these specific skills could lead to jobs at museums, other historic sites, or private restoration jobs for homeowners who want to pay for a museum style historic restoration, or starting one’s own business. It may even encourage someone to get a degree in historic preservation, or engineering or architecture. Who knows?
Will this happen? I have no way of knowing. But I don’t think belittling the idea serves much purpose. We need to foster new ideas for helping communities. This is certainly no worse than some, and accomplishes the twin goals of fostering hope for a better future, and getting a job done for Brooklyn’s continuing prosperity.
I see very limited possibilities for these houses, you are correct.
Unless of course we can turn them into the pork belly futures institute (a for-profit corporation that could afford to fix up these money pits).
Oh and sam- I refer to people in the local community, not “natives” but that’s just my flakiness, I guess.