Development Watch: City Tech Tower, Take 2
When several blogs (including this one) ran with a titillating rendering of the tower that Forest City Ratner and City Tech are planning to build at the corner of Tillary and Jay Streets in Downtown Brooklyn last week, a spokesman for the school protested that the rendering was out of date, something that DBP’s Joe…
When several blogs (including this one) ran with a titillating rendering of the tower that Forest City Ratner and City Tech are planning to build at the corner of Tillary and Jay Streets in Downtown Brooklyn last week, a spokesman for the school protested that the rendering was out of date, something that DBP’s Joe Chan echoed. Blogger McBrooklyn has dug up a more current rendering of the Renzo Piano-designed project from the City Tech website today. It’s a less vivid potrayal, but it doesn’t look all that different to us in terms of scale or design. What do you think?
Klitgord’s Climax: 1,000 Vertical Feet [Brownstoner] GMAP
You Compare: City Tech ‘Old Model’ to City Tech ‘Today Model’ [McBrooklyn]
@2:05.
I believe Houston is the only major city in the US that still does not having zoning laws like the rest of the country. I’m not sure if the lack of zoning law pertains to building height, bulk, commercial or residential.
It was waaay better in the older rendering. Now it’s just meh. I would have loved seeing the yellow color on the building. All the drama has been sucked out. A dried-out husk of what it could have been. Way to go, Ratner!
“If every joe schmoe in the city was allowed to get a loan and build a 50-story high rise on his land…”
…this would be an unlivable disaster of a city.
1:43
The purpose of zoning laws is not to build strong communities or help the city, but to make the big players in real estate rich without risk. If every joe schmoe in the city was allowed to get a loan and build a 50-story high rise on his land, suddenly you’d have no shortage for housing/office/warehouse whatever and the rich families would have to be content with investing in bonds.
The entire system reaks of corruption and denies every citizen equal protection under the law. In this case, the law favors the few who have the money to bribe and/or buy parcels with favorable zoning.
I like the original rendering better.
I own a vacant lot nearby in Boeurum Hill and am restricted to building no more than 40 feet high. Sure must be nice to have $$$ to make campaign contributions so that our elected officals can be your friends.
@1:27.
I live in Downtown Brooklyn and agree with you. NIMBY’s complaining about noise and dust from construction if this proposal gets built? How else does one build a building? If these luddites know of a better, cheaper way to do construction in NYC, by all means tell us.
For those of us that are in favor of the development and that ACTUALLY LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, I think that’s its very important that our elected leaders hear our voice just as louder or louder than the voice of the NIMBY’s. Wackos like FUREE (“Freaks United for a Return to Economic Empoverishment”) can’t be allowed to determine the future of Downtown Brooklyn. It’s a free country and everyone is entitled to their opinion…but if the only voice that’s heard is the NIMBY voice, the actual decision makers will think that they speak for all of us in Downtown Brooklyn.
I like the first rendering better (i.e. yellow sides). Though, I did worry about how they were to get that yellow color. Was it going to be paint, yellow brick/masonary? What about fading? I would have like a very bright yellow, almost a gold color.
I really hope this gets built. As far as these irrational NIMBYs – those that have no vision for the physical and economic growth for their communities do what people like these have always done; complain, complain, complain like the fools they are.