HRA Plans Catch Flack at CB2
470 Vanderbilt, the huge commercial building between Fulton and Atlantic, has had a rocky past, but with a change in ownership back in late 2007 the mammoth building’s fortunes appeared finally to be in turnaround. Plans for a new residential building on the property’s Fulton-facing parking lot are in the works, and after years of…
470 Vanderbilt, the huge commercial building between Fulton and Atlantic, has had a rocky past, but with a change in ownership back in late 2007 the mammoth building’s fortunes appeared finally to be in turnaround. Plans for a new residential building on the property’s Fulton-facing parking lot are in the works, and after years of almost total vacancy, the former telecom building is getting traction with commercial tenants, including a Quaker school and the Human Resources Administration. It was the HRA lease that was up for discussion at last night’s Community Board 2 meeting. The government agency is currently finalizing terms of its 20-year lease for 400,000 of the building’s 600,000 square feet. HRA Deputy Commissioner Jim Whelan said the occupancy would bring in approximately 3,300 employees and Food Stamp and Job Center visitors every day. The issue confronting the community board the lack of a transportation or parking plan for this significant influx of new people to the area. (HRA’s lease doesn’t include the building’s parking lot which is still slated to become residencies.) “We’re anticipating all our employees will be using public transportation,” said Whelan a DCAS representative. When community board members pointed out how far the nearest subway station may seem for some, he suggested the Atlantic Avenue stop, at which point the crowd broke out in laughter. While one woman was concerned about the influx of HRA visitors (“They’re not the best people in the world,” she said) most were upset the HRA had done absolutely no analysis of the impact their arrival would have on the surrounding community. Residents said parking was difficult enough, with traffic problems already looming due to Atlantic Yards. As a last ditch effort, HRA proposed the idea of an employee shuttle bus from the Atlantic Avenue station, and residents wondered about parking permits for locals. “This is a bad situation, and you picked a bad time to move in,” stated a member in the audience. “This will only be a burden to the community.” On the other hand, if you’re a struggling store or restaurant owner along Fulton Street, you might feel differently about the prospect of a few thousand new potential customers.
Quaker School Coming to 470 Vanderbilt [Brownstoner]
470 Vanderbilt Lands Housing Authority as Tenant [Brownstoner]
470 Vanderbilt Cleared for ULURP Take Off [Brownstoner]
Big Plans for 470 Vanderbilt [Brownstoner]
So Long, Telecom: 470 Vanderbilt Gunning for Residential [Brownstoner] GMAP
Additional comment on the C, yup, its not awesome, but if its good enough to get everyone in the neighborhood to work in the morning, it should be perfectly good at transporting people to this space.
And tybur6, I agree its a bit disturbing that the commercial lease has to come before the community board. Good point by blowfish that the parking lot will be removed, but for over 3,000 employees, the 100 or so parking spots isn’t a huge impact.
It’s all ridiculous. Community impact my ass.
Heather, never seen the ceramic ones. get a glass one.
As I sit here, dave, spitting out the grounds from my poorly made french press cup of coffee, I wonder if I started that discussion. I’ve brought it up a lot before.
In a related topic, I need a better french press. I have this lovely ceramic one that looks great and does not filter well.
Heather, there was some discussion a few days ago about the need for a coffee place in exactly that area.
Oh, but wait, aren’t we going to have the new Atlantic yards parking lots next year anyways? See? Parking problem solved.
They can’t walk to the C-train? Yes, I know that has already been said, and, for what it’s worth, the C-train can suck, but still!
Now, something that IS worth saying is, maybe with the influx of new residents they should fix the traffic signal at Vanderbilt and Atlantic, which is currently “the signal of death.” It allows you to cross a third of Atlantic Ave (or half, if you sprint) before changing. In consequence, everyone jaywalks across a six-lane highway. An influx of new residents is only going to increase that.
Also, perhaps someone should open a coffee place on Fulton!
yeah but tyburg, the building always had a parking lot, and now they’re taking away the parking lot, so, the impact on the community is different than it was when it was built and housed the telecom company. i’m not saying i have an opinion about either way, just saying your point has some holes.
So, now companies (yes I know this is a public agency) have to perform a community impact study when renting commercial space? Shouldn’t that have been done when the building was built?! If the capacity is there, then obvious the community approved it. This is fucking retarded. There shouldn’t be hearings about an existing building.
What if this was Google or Pfizer… would they have to deal with this loverly group of citizens before signing a lease?