Prospect Heights Vulnerable to Developers?
The post we did earlier today about the Park Place teardown got us thinking about how vulnerable this area of Prospect Heights is. It has some incredibly beautiful blocks of townhouses that have two attributes that could make them targets: They tend to be a little smaller than the brownstones of Park Slope and Fort…
The post we did earlier today about the Park Place teardown got us thinking about how vulnerable this area of Prospect Heights is. It has some incredibly beautiful blocks of townhouses that have two attributes that could make them targets: They tend to be a little smaller than the brownstones of Park Slope and Fort Greene and they tend to be on extra-deep (usually 130-foot) lots. And, or course, they’re not landmarked. The result is that many of these old buildings have unutilized FAR and no landmark restrictions to hinder a small developer who wants to squeeze out every last drop without concern for the aesthtic impact on the community. 273 Prospect Place is a case in point. It’s 16.5 feet by 40 feet but sits on a 131-foot-deep lot, so there’s 1,390 square feet of extra FAR kicking around. The deal just got a little more interesting, too, with a price cut from $1,650,000 to $1,575,000. Still a little pricey for the house that it is in this market but we fear that a developer could find a way to make the numbers work.
273 Prospect Place [Douglas Elliman] GMAP P*Shark
“Floor area ratio. If a lot is 20×100 and the FAR is 2, the allowable square footage for the property, other restrictions aside, would be 4,000 (2 x 20 x 100)”
Brownstoner, perhaps if you keep on repeating this fallacy it will BECOME true.
I agree with NeoGrec on that one.
Also, in defense of brownstoner, I have to add that it’s silly to suggest that developers are getting ideas from this website. I assure you that as much as we may enjoy the site and feel it puts us in closer touch with local RE issues and trends, these guys have their ears MUCH closer to the ground than us and there’s nothing we can discuss here that they haven’t already thought of. So enough with the conspiracy theories already.
Look, there’s no point getting into a bragging match about different neighborhoods. Personally I love all of brownstone Brooklyn, from Brooklyn Heights to Crown Heights. And while it’s true that some blocks of PH are a bit scruffy, the irony is that this particular block (Prospect Place between Vanderbilt and Underhill) is one of the best in the area, as is the block of Park Place where that lovely old house with the big porch is being all but torn down to be replaced by a much larger condo bldg that will stick out like a sore thumb. So the bottom line is that this kind of speculative development is happening even on the very best blocks.
I’m not saying that most new development is that great, but I do think that to be fair, you have to admit that Prospect Heights pales compared to nice blocks in PS, almost all of Brooklyn Heights, etc.
Just because it is already there doesn’t make it nice architecure. I think people are also skewed by a “hip factor”. IMHO, Crown Heights has a lot nicer buildings, but the area is not as “hip”, so people ignore it more.
I think the choice of that style range exhaust was a bad one. Totally breaks up the flow of the cabinets and just looks wrong. A hooded style would have been much better suited for that kitchen.
the neighborhood *is* in danger. a real estate agent (corcoran!) who lives at 313 park place is building a huge–25 foot–two story extension, ruining the light and gardens for everyone else. the block association opposed it but to no avail. the neighborhood has such lovely, large, peaceful gardens–hard to find that kind of space in NYC–and some folks can only see $$ instead of greenery and peace.
“face it people, this is the BIG wave coming at us from the top (which erases all history/memory/what was dear) as so much sentimental horseshit.”
Jesus, what in God’s name are you talking about?
“We’re just sounding the alarm, you dopes. We can be accused of a lot of things, but questioning our pro-preservation credentials just seems silly…”
Mr. Brownstoner, you sound the alarm, but as much as I enjoy your blog, I have to wonder how much “good” merely sounding the alarm actually does. I think (as I posted elsewhere today) people vent their ire here and it has zero impact WHATSOEVER in affecting the shape of the neighborhoods or how business will be done in the future.
I agree with a lot of what NGrec has been saying, but I’m not sure it’s enough to simply ally with MAS and civic groups. That’s important, but I also think that the local (lame ass) electeds want your vote and want desperately to hang onto their $$ jobs, and the more you bother THEM, they turn around and bother the civil servants at the city agencies who can actually possibly affect some change, even if it’s only in the form of tweaks, because face it people, this is the BIG wave coming at us from the top (which erases all history/memory/what was dear) as so much sentimental horseshit.
It’s not enough to “sound alarms.” One has to provide – or link to, very very actively – strategies.