Turf War Brewing Over Purchase Building Plot
The Brooklyn Heights Blog posted a tip from one of its readers yesterday suggesting that when the Purchase Building demolition is complete, the remaining plot of land may not go directly to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp., as has been expected: I live across the street from the Purchase Building and wanted to pass…
The Brooklyn Heights Blog posted a tip from one of its readers yesterday suggesting that when the Purchase Building demolition is complete, the remaining plot of land may not go directly to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp., as has been expected:
I live across the street from the Purchase Building and wanted to pass on a tip regarding the space now created by the demolition of the Purchase Building. In speaking with one of the foremen from Sanska, the contractors overseeing the demolition, the DOT is making a very aggressive bid to gain control of this new space under the bridge for the next 4-5 years to store equipment and vehicles in connection with their plans to make extensive repairs to the Brooklyn Bridge. From what he can tell the DOT is winning the argument with the Conservancy and the Mayors Office. So I guess another part of the new park bites the dust.
This tip jibes with information we heard from a source knowledgeable about the situation. Click through to see a rendering of the public plaza that the Development Corp. is envisioning for the space.
Purchase Building Land – Parking, No Park? [BH Blog]
A Look at the Future of Brooklyn Bridge Park [Brownstoner]
Ha! A drive through Dunkin Donuts! That’s great, gotta remember it.
Contractors have fun with locals. One guy at a worksite I happened to be visiting told a neighbor that “the dynamite was all in place, and now they just needed to put in the fuses”.
These guys tend not to be very PC.
Maybe it’s true but contractors regularly mislead local folx that ask questions. They perceive the locals to be anti-development NIMBYs in Brownstone Brooklyn and usually they’re right. So they love giving out these stories. One of my neighbors was told, referring to a development site on 4th Ave that was to be an apt building, that it was gonna be a drive-thru Duncan Donuts.
Of course this will probably be the time I am wrong.
Anyway I’d feel more warm and fuzzy about it if the tipster knew how to spell SKANSKA.
some agency, presumably DOT, currently houses a ton of vehicles and equipment below the anchorage of the manhattan bridge (including a newly fenced area that seems fairly empty). do they intend to free that space up if they are in fact taking space below the brooklyn bridge?
Stoner – I know there’s alot of confusion out there, but you should actually get facts rights. The Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy is an advocacy group for the park that also does some programming (the movies with a view, etc). The don’t own or control any land. The Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp is the entity that is actually building the park and controlling the land. The fight for the land under the purchase building would be between DOT and the Development Corp. While the Conservancy clearly sides with the Development Corp in this fight, they aren’t one of the principals.
As for the Empire Stores conspiracies – not sure where they are coming from. I think that maybe 5 years ago Walentas was the only one who could make this work, nowadays DUMBO is a big enough draw that there are several developers out there who could see the value of these beautiful buildings.
I do not see a happy ending for the Empire Stores.
The Parks Department folks in Albany are frozen like deer caught in headlights. They are clueless as to what to do. The neighborhood is dead set agaisnt Wallentas taking them over although he is probably the one party who could make the project work. I think their physical condition is dire.
Even the sidewalks alongside the Stores are collapsing and the whole streetscape looks like something from a war zone.
I don’t know if the Park people have the final say over this. The mayor probably does. Unless the conservancy sees a way to charge the DOT fees for the use of the land? I have no idea if that is even a possibility or who has the say so.
And I wonder if the idea isn’t to let the empire Stores collapse, forcing the issue at some later point rather than spending any money now to either stabilize them or demo them. The old Benign Neglect thing.
I can see it being used as a staging area for a while, but I doubt very much that the park people would let it be used for parking indefinitely. The whole idea was to connect the north and south stretches of the park. I think that some Fulton Ferry residents may be too fond of conspiracy theories. But I suppose if you live in a neighborhood largely controlled by one developer and the State of New York, there is cause for worry.
As a non-resident my worry is that the Empire Stores will collapse from neglect or simply burn down.
There’s the issue.
Why aren’t people demanding that the powers that be invest in the basic upkeep of these empty, moldering hulks?
Necessary Evil.
It only makes sense. Repairing the bridge is a lot more important at the moment and having your equipment and materials on site means less time spent in travel, fuel, and traffic.