Scarano Pushback on Smith
Some Carroll Gardens residents are very, very upset about a Scarano building that a developer wants to put up on the corner of Smith Street and Second Place. According to Gowanus Lounge, plans for an 8-story, 46-unit building of glass and metal were recently denied by the Department of Buildings. But neighbors are trying not…
Some Carroll Gardens residents are very, very upset about a Scarano building that a developer wants to put up on the corner of Smith Street and Second Place. According to Gowanus Lounge, plans for an 8-story, 46-unit building of glass and metal were recently denied by the Department of Buildings. But neighbors are trying not to leave anything to chance. Flyers have been popping up all over the nabe urging people to attend to show up for the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association meeting on June 11 at 7:30 PM at Buddy Scottos’ Funeral Parlor and to contact Community Board 6 to express concern over the scale and style of the project. And how’s this for street cred? The woman behind the flyers is the great grand daughter of Frank Lloyd Wright’s first cousin by marriage. Okay.
Smith Street Revolt Brewing Over Shiny New Building? [Gowanus Lounge]
Smith Street Could Get Very, Very Shiny [GL] GMAP P*Shark DOB
Photo by Kate Leonova for Property Shark
There is nothing above 4 stories around it except a couple of 5 stories, including the basement apartments. Develop the hell out of that lot, but do it right.
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=qscxv98v08xn&style=o&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=1926875&encType=1
Correct me if I am wrong, but I can’t think of a single 8-story building on Smith from 9th all the way to Atlantic. Call it NIMBY is you want, but I don’t think it is just a small group of people who want to use whatever means they have to influence new development. Lots of people around here want development to be attractive and in scale with the surrounding buildings.
Max and Aon 12:32, good to have some company here.
I live in the nabe, as you might imagine. My understanding is that MTA owns the plaza land (though typically it would be transferred to the city, in this case it was not). At least, that’s what someone stated at a meeting last month.
Everybody’s entitled to their opinions. If you want yours to count, get involved. It doesn’t take much effort to contact the community board, your councilman, or any other representatives. And at least in our neighborhood, they are remarkably accessible.
Sorry but I totally agree that it should be developed, that the proposed building is fine, certainly not flat out horrible. The person who owns the brownstone next to the parking lot had to know that at some point the parking lot would be replaced by a building of some kind. Some people just have nothing better to do than oppose all progress. Nothing just stays the same – ever – anywhere. Crawford’s post is brilliant and true despite being a massive generalization. Gary, the building next door is just as big as the footprint of the parking lot. There are large buildings in the area. Schools as it happens but they are there.
12:32: You don’t have time for meetings, but ” many of us have worked hard to beautify [the neighborhood] for the entire community”? Yeah, sounds like you’ve really been sweating over it. Putting in a new kitchen does not count as community service.
Amen Gary- they are welcome to build on the empty lot- and yeah, I would be happy to bitch about it. But no way in hell are you taking the plaza in front of the subway. How is that ground not public? Who owns it?
Here’s a link to a google map of the site: look at the size of the lot. Look at the size of neighboring buildings.
The scale of this project is totally unnecessary. And there’s no way in hell it will get approved as presented.
http://tinyurl.com/26fra6
I live in the neighborhood and don’t have time for the community board meetings or the neighborhood association meetings. That being said, if you’re looking to make millions by building on that piece of land, which you could easily make that much, you can at least put some thought into it. The buildings in the neighborhood were carefully and thoughtfully designed by architects that cared about the visual presentation as well as the context of the buildings and used the best materials available to build them. They made homes not just buildings. That’s what NIMBYism is about. Don’t come into my neighborhood, my home, which many of us have worked hard to beautify for the entire community, take a huge steel and glass crap and call it chic, so you afford to buy your second home down in Miami.
Crawford, you haven’t addressed the big issue here, which is how can you justify this naked grab for the plaza in front of the subway stop?
Not one person that I know of has argued against developing the vacant lot (currently used for parking).