Marty and Mayor Deal Death Blow to B'kln History
Selling the public a giant shovel-ful of b.s., Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. President and CEO Andrew Kimball yesterday claimed that he has”no option” but to tear down the ten historic residences for naval officers that line Flushing Avenue at the Southwest corner of the yard. The buildings, which were built between 1858 and 1901,…
Selling the public a giant shovel-ful of b.s., Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. President and CEO Andrew Kimball yesterday claimed that he has”no option” but to tear down the ten historic residences for naval officers that line Flushing Avenue at the Southwest corner of the yard. The buildings, which were built between 1858 and 1901, will be replaced by a 60,000-square-foot supermarket and a 300-car parking garage. Not everyone agrees with Kimball’s analysis. “[Preserving Admirals Row] is definitely doable and worth doing,” said New York Landmarks Conservancy official Alex Herrera. “They’re really a part of Brooklyn and Brooklyn’s history.” In another betrayal of Brooklyn’s heritage, Marty Markowitz joined Mayor Bloomberg in hailing the forces of progress: “A crucial community resource must take priority over preservation at Admirals Row.” Marty better hope he just won a lot of new votes from residents of the Farragut Houses (the most likely patrons of the supermarket) because he sure as hell just lost a lot of support among Brooklynites who care about preserving the borough’s history.
Addendum: Marty’s office contacted us to clarify that Navy Yard officials make all decisions regarding Admirals Row, and that he was simply stating his priorities in the Daily News article. He also pointed out his efforts to restore the historic Loew’s Kings theater in Flatbush and to preserve the character of Coney Island, including the Parachute Jump, as it is revitalized.
Admirals Row Sunk [NY Daily News]
Brooklyn Navy Yard Expansion Begins [NY Times]
Admirals Row [Historic Fort Greene]
Photo by D.K. Holland
“Short-sightedness has ruined many areas of new york, and if you are so clueless to think that architecture does not affect people’s behavior and attachment to a place then you are wasting your time reading this board.”
Amen, this is the same thoughtless, arrogant robert moses style development that New Yorkers fought for so many years to stop. Just imagine if he had been allowed to have his way – no Greenwich Village, no Brooklyn Heights….now it seems the ‘three men in a room’ and Bloomberg are trying to finish what Moses started – the complete erasing of the past, Stalin style.
i thought they already had plans for a giant supermarket at the site of the old brig that was demolished recently. are they going to put in 2 supermarkets within a 4 block radius? what kind of sham is bloomberg pulling now?
I had thought those buildings were landmarked. what a devastating loss for Brooklyn history. I had heard Marty has aspirations to Mayor- he’s sure not getting my vote. Bloomberg is ruthless and insensitive. We have money to burn for Nets arenas, giveaways to developers of luxury housing, and yet nothing to preserve these historic buildings. Loser is right- there’s plenty of room without tearing down the houses. Anon 12:15 has the right of it too. If the City really cared about the tenants of the Farragut Houses they’d spend money making them liveable.
300 Car Parking Garage!?! Why not locate the store near a bus stop or divert a bus route so it passes right in front of it. And put a big sidewalk and bike path from the store to the housing, so people can push “granny” carts or ride bike to from the store.
We don’t need huge amounts of parking, it just encourages people to be wasteful and drive their car a few blocks, when they could have walked or used public transportation.
all you know-nothings claiming that people are only interested in saving these buildings now need to get your head out of your a$%#es. Various groups have been trying to get these places taken care of for years, what do you think that half-mile long white paint message on the boundary wall about presevring the admiral’s row came from? Whatsmore – there i splenty of room inside the navy yard for a supermarket without knocking those places down.
Short-sightedness has ruined many areas of new york, and if you are so clueless to think that architecture does not affect people’s behavior and attachment to a place then you are wasting your time reading this board.
Why not knock down the whole place and turn it into a strip mall. Why not go and live in New jersey or anywheresville.
is there anyway to incorporate the buildings into the new plan? even if one is saved as an office for the new supermarket or something. . .just as a reminder of the character of the area. . .I am no city planner but it seems like it should be possible. like the building on 3rd and 3rd where the park slope whole foods will go. . .
ameraleed, you’re an architect. Can you or your colleagues help those folks over at Broken Angel?
Here is my suggestion:
Look around your neighborhood/city and see what historical structures are still there and start the process to save/adapt them now. Develop a plan, make allies and work it.
If you don’t know who owns the structure/land, find out. The developers do.
Don’t wait and react. Take the initiative.
For at the 20 years that I have been practicing architecture in Brooklyn, I have heard other architects and other lovers of historic buildings to say things like “My dream is to get one of those buildings on Admirals Row and live there. Can you imagine how cool that would be.” Clearly it is too late for something like this now. The cost of the restoration is beyond the modest-but-stable means of most of us.
But the mind wanders to what it would have been like had these houses somehow been sold 20 years ago, when there was still the possibility of restoration. Could have been good for the neighborhood, the Navy Yard, and the new owners.