City Council Revokes Landmark Status for Brooklyn Warehouse, Upsetting

Subject: City Council Revokes Landmark Status for Brooklyn Warehouse, Upsetting Preservationists
Date: 12/2/2005 3:31:27 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: kitchen@hellskitchen.net
Sent from the Internet (Details)


December 2, 2005

City Council Revokes Landmark Status for Brooklyn Warehouse, Upsetting Preservationists

By ROBIN POGREBIN
NY Times

In an unusual move, the City Council has voted to revoke the landmark
status of the Austin, Nichols Warehouse in the Williamsburg section of
Brooklyn, a 1915 building designed by Cass Gilbert that won the designation
in September.

The Council's 43-to-6 vote on Wednesday, with one abstention, drew
indignant protests from preservationists, who said the Council had
subverted the landmark designation process. It is the second time in two
months that the City Council has revoked a decision by the Landmarks
Preservation Commission, yet only the fourth time in 14 years.

In October the Council reversed the designation of the Jamaica Savings Bank
in Elmhurst, Queens.

"It's a real shame," said Kent Barwick, president of the Municipal Art
Society. He accused the Council of catering to developers it favored.

"It's a slippery slope," he said. "Does this mean every time there is a
city councilman who has a buddy who wants to develop something, a decision
gets overturned?"

Councilman David Yassky of Brooklyn helped lead the effort to reverse the
designation, which would have prevented alterations to the building's
exterior. The building's owner, the Kestenbaum family, has been seeking to
add six floors to the warehouse for condominiums and to alter the
building's windows. (The building has already been partly converted to
apartments.)

But Mr. Yassky said he had opposed designation on the merits. "I could not
distinguish this warehouse from dozens of other warehouse and factory
buildings on the waterfront," he said. "It just simply doesn't deserve it.
It's a nondescript white box of a building."

Kenneth L. Fisher, a lawyer for the developer, said: "It was a win-win for
the Williamsburg-Greenpoint community because the existing structure is an
eyesore."

The landmarks commission protested the decision. "The Landmarks
Preservation Commission is, of course, extremely disappointed that the City
Council voted against protecting this significant building," Robert B.
Tierney, the commission chairman, said in a statement.

The vast warehouse, at 184 Kent Avenue, was designed by Gilbert as the
headquarters for what was then the largest grocery wholesaler in the United
States.

The building is considered one of the few American examples of the Egyptian
Revival style.

Preservationists cite its monumental reinforced concrete form, its flared
cornices and the energetic rhythm of its windows, grouped in patterns of
twos and threes.

"This is an industrial neighborhood with a long history," said Ward Dennis
of the Waterfront Preservation Alliance of Greenpoint and Williamsburg.
"Austin, Nichols is an important part of that history."

He continued, "It's disappointing to me that in this day and age, the City
Council is deciding that preservation has no place in neighborhood
revitalization or development."

The Greenpoint-Williamsburg area was rezoned in May to allow new housing
and open spaces alongside light industry and commercial use.

Tony Avella of Queens, one of the six council members in the minority,
said: "You can't tell me the reason we voted it down isn't related to the
interests of the developer. This sends a chilling message to the Landmarks
Preservation Commission and preservation groups."

Roberta Brandes Gratz, a member of the landmarks commission, agreed. "I
consider this very dangerous," she said. "We did the right thing, but the
pressures are so enormous that you get a big developer and everybody buckles."

Last year, two members of the Kestenbaum family - Margaret and Joel - each
contributed $1,000 to Mr. Yassky, according to the city's Campaign Finance
Board. But Mr. Yassky said these donations had nothing to do with his
decision. "That's not a factor here," he said. "I've had far more support
from the preservation community."

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Subject: More info on the BK warehouse landmarks debacle
Date: 12/2/2005 12:25:28 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: kitchen@hellskitchen.net
Sent from the Internet (Details)


http://www.lidbrooklyn.org/bp071904.htm
http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles/weeklyView.cfm?articlenumber=1521

Background on Yassky's deal with the Kestenbaum's not mentioned in the Times article.

This building was a successful rental property, Now the tenants are being evicted in preparation for the condo conversion. No proposed landmark is safe. Take away the $350,000 and the Austin Nichols Warehouse is a Landmark today!