An 1870 Romanesque Revival style church designed by William B. Ditmars at 143-149 Kent Street. Application was for a residential conversion:

HDC approves of much of the fine work proposed to allow for the adaptive reuse of these historic structures. Our only concern is the visibility of the solar panels. While we understand and appreciate the benefits of the solar panels, it seems that they would be visible. Applications for solar panels are something the Commission will hopefully be seeing more and more of in the years to come, and we urge you to think carefully about the issue of visibility, the different types of solar technology available, and their impact on the appearance and character of landmarks.

‘Green Church’ sent back to drawing board

The city shot down preliminary plans for a residential building at the site of Fourth Avenue’s soon-to-be-demolished “Green Church” — but the rejection didn’t deter church officials and builders from their controversial plan to level the 109-year-old house of worship to construct condos and a smaller church.

Last week, the Department of Buildings disapproved plans that included a seven-story, 72-unit residential building, an 8,196-square-foot church, and a 42-car parking lot that would replace the Bay Ridge United Methodist Church at the corner of Ovington Avenue.

But developer Abe Betesh said the disapproval is more about revision than rejection.

“They are reviewing it,” Betesh said. “When you submit a set of plans and they disapprove it, they give you certain comments or ask you further questions — it means they are working on it.”

It is not immediately clear why the city shot down the controversial plans for the “Green Church” site, but a Buildings Department official told The Brooklyn Paper that plans are typically disapproved if they don’t comply with building or zoning regulations, or if they are incomplete.

Despite the disapproval, the planned demolition and development will continue, Pastor Robert Emerick said.

(c) The Brooklyn Papers