Man on the Street: Carroll Gardens Development
As outcry over a proposed 70-foot building reaches a fever pitch in Carroll Gardens, we pounded the pavement to ask people what they though about the push to enact a moratorium on new construction over 50 feet. Our highly unscientific survey found that most people had heard about the moratorium proposal, and most were in…
As outcry over a proposed 70-foot building reaches a fever pitch in Carroll Gardens, we pounded the pavement to ask people what they though about the push to enact a moratorium on new construction over 50 feet. Our highly unscientific survey found that most people had heard about the moratorium proposal, and most were in favor of it.
Yes, I’ve heard about the petition. I’m very concerned about development, but I think that if they’re going to build a big building, [360 Smith Street] isn’t a bad place to do it. There’s also the question of architectural integrity, but, at the same time, I’m not one of those people who thinks that there should be no new development.
Dimitri; has lived in Carroll Gardens for 18 years.
I’m totally in favor of [the moratorium]. I think super-tall buildings would be out of context with the neighborhood.
Jill; has lived in Carroll Gardens for 3 1/2 years.
I haven’t heard about it. I think developers are the worst people in the world, but since I’m an architect, I have to try to work with them all the time. I understand that people want to preserve the neighborhood, but that’s why there should be a historic district—so developers can’t abuse their power.
Agnes; lives in Bed-Stuy but frequently hangs out in CG.
I signed the petition online. The thing that separates Carroll Gardens is that it seems homey and like a good place to raise a family. It’s not filled with high buildings, but if they start building them, it’ll turn into another Manhattan. If we had wanted to live in Manhattan, we would have moved there.
Carolyn; moved to Carroll Gardens in March.
I haven’t heard about it, but I’m against allowing people to build high. They should keep the aesthetic the way it is.
Marvin; has lived on the Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill border for 4 years.
Poor Dimitry must have been chased by gentrification from neighborhood to neighborhood. Downzoning will get rid of him for good, he’ll never be able to afford it here. Go away, try East New York, lots of good “context” out there.
I am not at all reluctant about new development in brownstone Brooklyn. I think a taller building at 360 Smith would look great, if it is well designed. That section of Smith is dreadfully boring now and it could use some sprucing up for sure. And, since you asked, 15 years ago Smith Street was a scary dark hell-hole; we used to dash towards the safer Court Street, if we ever wound up getting off the F-train after dark. I would’ve loved to see Smith Street “developed” back then and I am thrilled that it became a bustling commercial center it is now.
And, for the record, I haven’t lived in Carroll Gardens for 18 years, as many of you so thoughtfully pointed out. I’ve lived in Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Gowanus and Prospect Heights since 1991. Dimitry
I think Agness would be much hotter if she actually worked as an Architect like her parents paid for her eductaion to do instead of continuing to be an air headed escort service chic.
Caroll gardens needs some new people based on this pole.
Bring on the new building at 360 and stop the madness of public place.
Putting mothers and infants on such a contaminated site. I guess Bloomberg with do anything for money.
Yes 3:40 but in this case this particular building is being used to scare the neighbors into downzoning the balance of the neighborhood. This poll, like most polls, is really an opinion piece with mathematics. Only this poll lets itself off the hook by saying in a self-deprecating way that is was a “highly unscientific survey” then goes on to make all sorts of conclusions based on its unscientific character. Lets see what questions were asked and how the sample was draw.
I’m a lifer in this neighborhood and it if fun to watch all the back and forth about the old days and whether they were good or bad. There is a lot of selective memory. One thing is clear here, property values are rising quickly, so are rents. What is unusual is to see the beneficiaries of that inflation, the property owners, bellowing how we need to “save the neighborhood”. Even worse are those that think that keeping development out will somehow create affordable housing while simultaneously restricting the supply of new housing.
Now if you do a survey asking different questions you will likely get different results. Are you in favor of higher rents in this neighborhood? Do your kids want to rent a place here? Should empty space be turned into housing? Do you want to sell your house under the same zoning rules you bought it under? Are you in favor of decreasing the value of your house?
Seventy feet is nothing to be afraid of, my favorite buildings in this neighborhood, The Towers between Hicks and Henry, are this height, bulk and density. They were built for workers over a century ago. How can the same size building have become out of context?
This neighborhood is strong enough that its character will remain in tact squeezing a few more neighbors in. In fact, a lot of what makes this neighborhood great, small artisan bakers, butchers and candlestick makers, will be much better off with more customers within walking distance.
The neighbors should accept this builder and work on issues that could actually make a difference to them during the construction in stead of opposing every new brick that is laid. That parking lot and the transit stop is full of rats. Work on rat abatement during the construction phase. Thats something both the builder and the community should get behind. Work on traffic calming during the construction phase, maybe the community will learn how important it is to quality of life.
None of that stuff is the responsibility of the builder, but this guy would be responsive to that. He wants to build a good building. But he paid a market rate for the property based on the R6. Turning it into an R5 at this point would not be in my mind fair. Likewise for the rest of the neighborhood. The moratorium is complete nonsense and the community shouldn’t let it pass as a political campaign issue for Borough President. There are more important fish to fry.
I don’t think your survey was very representative because everyone was against the proposed building, and there are people like myself who don’t object to it. Personally, I think to call a 70 ft, 7-story building “super tall” or a “tower” is ridiculous, and it’s next to other 50 ft. 5-story buildings, so in camparison, it’s not that out of scale.
Where were all the anti-development people in Carroll Gardens when the Atlantic Yards or The Ikea were being planned? Where was their outrage then? I bet that most of them were actually in favor of those two developments because they will bring services near them, but not too close. Did they seriously think that once projects like AY were approved, that development would stop there?
In my opinion, it’s just a case of NIMBY-ism over a relatively minor project, and there are plenty of other more important problems in the world to get upset about than this.
If I may say so, CG has always been “homey and like a good place to raise a family”. I’ve lived here for 50 years, and it has always been one of the more stable neighborhoods in Brooklyn and a great place, indeed, to raise a family. Most of my long-time neighbors would agree. Did you see the four-page spread in the Sunday Daily News last month — which only reinforces what I’ve said above.
Regarding the loss of the parking lot at 360 Smith, I agree. This will be the second lot we’ve lost to development, the first being on the corner of Smith & President, where the current (Eckerd) Rite Aid is located. While a car is not an absolute necessity for everyone here (I don’t have a car myself), parking lots are an important amenity, especially with alternate side parking rules four days a week on some streets.
My two cents 🙂
I think one thing no one has mentioned about the site at 360 Court is the adjacent parking lot. The parking situation is getting worse and worse in Brooklyn in general. While I don’t think cars are really a necessity in the city and it would be better if less of us had them, sometimes, there are legitimate needs for them.
My worry is that taking this very large lot out of the mix would really affect the parking situation.
Brooklyn is a special place and we need to thing long and hard as a community about whether we want to change it’s very nature and character with large, out of context developments like AY as well as with smaller out of context buildings. The question is, do we want Brooklyn to look like any other city in America, or do we work to preserve its historic character?
if developers are the worst people in the world, the world much have solved of its real problems while i wasn’t paying attention.
kudos world!!
“super-tall buildings would super-suck”