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.
Well, sam- I suggested Pratt because they have a program that deals with urban community planning. and since I work with non-profits I have seen many “flaky” ideas come to fruition and actually do good in the community, whereas people with your attitude typically sit back on their asses and bitch about the state of the world. that’s a lot easier isn’t it. And in fact I’m an honorary director for one of those “flaky” ideas that a very visionary, ordinary businessman had and brought to reality. I have no idea what field you are in but I would bet it’s something like land speculator or pork futures.
Having also dealt with unions, I will also reiterate- you simply don’t know. You’ve decided but as MM says, you don’t ask, you don’t get. So basically I can see you have no real idea about any alternatives for these houses or even any of the possibilities- If the fact that I do makes me flaky, good for me.
bxgirl:
why don’t you contact the DANSK KULTUR OPERATEN INSTITUTEN
to set up shop in Brooklyn to teach the natives about building trades?
You talk a good game but your ideas are flaky.
Montrosse, it is just the idea of using the houses as labs for kids wanting to enter the building trades, somehow sponsored by Pratt, that I find so very loony.
How many millions of dollars would such an undertaking cost? Who would pay for it? The folks at Pratt need to focus on their mission and their own historic buildings. They have enough on their plate.
The building trades (union and non-union) have their system of recruitment and training (don’t worry).
The houses themselves are financial albatrosses unless they are sold to private owners with legal covenants that they be restored.
There aren’t that many goo-gooey options in this case.
I don’t mean to pick on bxgirl but her points were so off the mark that I needed to respond.
really, Sam???? Gee- what was I thinking? that the “Army” in “Army National Guard” referred to bulgur wheat? I am very aware that the ANG is a component of the Army but it should be obvious there are differences in organization and command structure in several points. Otherwise why does the ANG own the Yards property, rather than the army proper? My organization does training for them, and my employer happens to be in the Guard, so yeah…. I knew that.
Thanks for running interference MM. Obviously Sam has difficulty with creative solutions. The St. John the Divine program’s apprentices have since gone on to other things as construction has ended- at least for now- however the tapestry workshop still exists and is considered one of the best.
If i were you I wouldn’t speak for the unions because they do have apprenticeship programs and they are looking to do outreach. as far as Pratt goes, there is no reason why a professional program for the “trades” couldn’t or shouldn’t be run by them. they want to impact the community, let them do so in a way that really helps. If you think a university like Pratt should not run community programs to help the disadvantaged I would say that’s unhelpful, shortsighted and elitist.
You might also take a look at European schools that teach trades and crafts. They are professional, demanding programs and graduates are as knowledgeable in their fields as architects and engineers are in theirs.
sam, bxgrl didn’t say that Pratt HAD the program set up, but only echoed what I said, in that a program in the same vein as the St. John’s program COULD be set up.
No kidding Pratt’s programs are professional, no one intimated that they were some kind of remedial trade school. Who better than a nearby school with professional programs in architecture and engineering to set up and run a hypothetical program of this sort?
If you don’t ask questions, how is one supposed to get answers? Geesh, indeed.
bxgirl,
just fyi, the Army National Guard is a component of the
US ARMY.
The building trade unions hate restoration jobs, 95% of the crews who work on restoration, and who have expertise in Brownstone repair, plaster repair, wooden windows, etc etc, are non-union.
Pratt’s architectural and engineer programs are professional programs, it is not a trade school for the disadvantaged (like St John The Divine’s defunct program).
geesh!
Actually, MM- if they concentrated on building trades, maybe the Unions would sign on to give money for such a program?
MM- I also wonder why Pratt couldn’t set up a program similar to the one at St. John the Divine where they have apprenticeships for community people to learn skills- in their case, masonry, stone work, restoration, stained glass, tapestry restoration. Think of the skills young people in the neighborhood could be taught by restoring Admiral’s row that would give them skills for life. Eventually the program became renowned and now brings in money.
g man-One thing I believe is that you won’t see anyone wanting to give money for restoring Admiral’s Row because up to now there hasn’t been much talk of really what to do with it. People have simply been trying to keep it from being destroyed, but if viable plans were put forward, I think money would be found. Investors need to see that there is a real, tangible benefit to keeping the houses and from the number of suggestions here, there is quite a lot.
Maybe it’s that most people in business don’t have experience with the money-making potential of historical buildings and museums, so they tend not to consider them.
It’s actually the Army National Guard that owns the site.
MMHTPH, (whew!) I have no gripe with the fact that whatever is done there, it needs to be something that generates income. The Navy Yard is entertaining the idea of tours. Any tour should surely include the very historic, and very visible Row. I would venture to say that the Navy Yard is the most historic site in the city, given that it has been a participant in our nation’s history since our inception, not just once, but continuously for over 200 years. No other site in the the city, and certainly not in Bklyn, can claim that. I’d be more than willing to pay to see the drydock, the Commander’s House, the WW2 sites, and all of the rest of the historic buildings. Add a restored Row, and throw in Steiner Studios, and you’ve got a day long experience. One of the Row houses could be restored as a house museum. The rest could house tourist related office space, a gift shop, cafes, maybe a non profit organization related to historic preservation, or NYC history.
I still think a training program, perhaps co-sponsored by Pratt, could be set up, teaching historic restoration skills, especially to local students, leading to lucrative and real careers in building trades, historic restoration, architecture, engineering, etc.
There is still plenty of room, at least it looks that way from the outside, to have a proper supermarket/retail space with parking. The Navy Yard is enormous. So is the potential.