Broad Support for Domino Designation at LPC Hearing
At the Landmarks hearing for the Domino Sugar Factory, perhaps the Brooklyn waterfront’s most iconic structure, there was almost unanimous agreement among preservationists, neighbors and the developers themselves that the exterior of the refinery building (which is actually three adjoining buildings known as the Filter House, the Pan House and the Finishing House) should be…
At the Landmarks hearing for the Domino Sugar Factory, perhaps the Brooklyn waterfront’s most iconic structure, there was almost unanimous agreement among preservationists, neighbors and the developers themselves that the exterior of the refinery building (which is actually three adjoining buildings known as the Filter House, the Pan House and the Finishing House) should be preserved. It turns out that the interior will have to be completely gutted, as the existing structure is not strong enough to support residences and the spacing of the massive columns is prohibitively tight. Only one group, Churches United, seemed lukewarm on preservation, urging LPC instead to focus on envisioning a time when “factory owners live side by side with factory workers. Though LPC won’t vote until later in the summer, the designation of the refinery seems almost assured; the biggest remaining issue will be whether the Waterfront Preservation Alliance and others can convince LPC to include more of the complex, namely the southern-most brick building that is substantially similar in its design to the refinery. Preservation of the Domino sign itself also remains up in the air.
History and Homes May Mix at the Brooklyn Waterfront [NY Times]
Landmarks Commission Discusses Fate Of Domino Sugar Factory [NY1]
Domino Refinery Sign May Be at Risk [am NY]
UPDATE: Domino LPC Hearing [WPA]
Tear the shithole down. only in NY do asshole preservationists get to preserve disgusting old factories.
As one of the white kids living in williamsburg, right now I love that kent st is a little deserted. That when i go down there it is quiet and as serene as a urban area can be. However I also love the old dominican men playing dominos on my block, and hope they never go anywhere. That’s actually my biggest fear. The neighborhood getting completely whitewashed like park slope. And I say that as a resident who plans on sticking around for a while, and as a real estate agent, which I am.
Is there no reading comprehension here? No one wants to landmark or save the entire factory, especially the newer, and yes, ugly – yellow complex on the right side of the picture. The older structures, as are mentioned above, and in all blogspots, LPC literature, and shown in the links mentioned above, talk about the 3 buildings near the tall smokestack. See WBer’s informative post. Most of what you see in the picture above will be gone. Not landmarked. Torn down. OK?
Before jumping all over this as the ugliest thing you ever heard of in life, at least get your facts straight.
These buildings are a really beautiful example of industrial architecture to my eyes. I can easily see why the developer wants to keep the facade, although I think it might have been better if the building had been converted into a museum. Perhaps one dedicated to the robber baron era and examining the how the industrial revolution brought the United States from obscurity to share the international stage with the great nation states of the world. Of course, the history of the Sugar Trust would be central to the examination of our history in such a museum.
Honestly though who the fuck would want to live in a windowless yellow brick factory?
Since many of the white kids in Williamsburg are stacked like cordwood in their apartments, in order to pay the ridiculous rents, you’d think they’d be happy to see anything that wasn’t exclusively for some trust fund baby. Most of them age out of living like college students, get married or significantly attached, and move on up and out, to be replaced by the next group. Like many of the young white kids moving into Crown Heights, Bushwick and Bed Stuy, most of them are renters who eventually move on. That would be an interesting study – to see how long they stay, and where they go next, since that group really are the shock troops of gentrification.
They are not the demographic that is cited in planning affordable housing, however, nor should they be.
The refinery itself (the big brown building at the back of this photo) is one of the largest pieces of early modern industrial achitecture left standing in the country. And certainly among the largest and best preserved pieces of NYC’s fading industrial history. The sugar refinery has been central to the development of this entire area of Brooklyn, and indeed of NYC as a whole, going back into the 19th century. So it is worth saving from both an architectural and historical standpoint. Since the plans for adaptive reuse are apparently already in place, I don’t understand why there would be any objection to landmarking this.
Someone on curbed said it best:
“The white kids in Willamsburg don’t want affordable housing being built there”
since I think Dominio was going to be 80/20, it makes an interesting theory….
I dunno 2:17 – maybe the fact that of the 19 people who testified at the Landmarks hearing – including the owner, the owner’s engineer, and local affordable housing advocates – every single one supported the LPC designation. I can’t speak for Brownstoner, but I would call that pretty broad support. Unanimous, even.