We're not asking the Citry to Draw the line, we're asking them to enforce it
From the Downtown Brooklyn Star
Dateline : Thursday, July 19, 2007
Nabe Says No Trader For Extra Height
By Phil Guie
Besides a Trader Joe’s, Downtown Brooklyn may be getting something else: A six-story, combination residential and retail development that would exceed the height restrictions currently in place.
It was announced last week that the popular supermarket chain will be opening its first Brooklyn-based store at 130 Court Street, at the former Independence Savings Bank headquarters building constructed in 1922.
For months, however, the project has been a source of contention between residents and the developer, Two Trees Management, which wants to build a 60-foot high structure in the parking lot next door.
Roughly two weeks ago, representatives of both sides appeared at Borough Hall for a special hearing hosted by Borough President Marty Markowitz, during which time Two Trees requested a special permit to build their tower. Although Markowitz has not yet issued a recommendation, he has been straightforward in his support for Trader Joe’s, which specializes in fine imported and domestic foods.
“We’re thrilled this acclaimed store is setting up shop on Atlantic Avenue and Court Street,” he said during a press conference last Thursday. “Trader Joe’s will bring more customers to Downtown Brooklyn, and residents will have even more choices when it comes to shopping for fresh produce, prepared foods, and groceries.”
Yet some of those same neighbors charged Two Trees’ plan to build in the adjacent lot would negatively impact their quality of life, even as Trader Joe’s improves it.
Franklin Stone, vice president of the Cobble Hill Association, said her organization supports having a Trader Joe’s, and wanted 130 Court Street to remain commercial property all along.
“What we opposed was the insertion of floors that would affect how the building looks on the outside,” she said. “We thought that was going to mar this magnificent building.”
However, the Cobble Hill Association remains steadfastly opposed to the project next door, on the grounds it would represent the first building in the neighborhood taller than 50 feet, and would alter what Stone referred to as, “the 19th-century scale and feeling of the Cobble Hill Historic District.”
“We’re not against development,” she later told the Star. “We just want development that lives within the rules. We are pro-development that is in harmony with the surrounding district.”
Members of her group have expressed worry that a ripple effect would result from a single 60-foot property, predicting once the 50-foot height rule is undermined by Two Trees, other developers will push for similar exceptions, rendering the existing zoning worthless.
So far, Community Board 6 has rejected Two Trees’ proposal for an additional ten feet of height, while the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved it. In addition, Councilman Bill de Blasio publicly supported it as an appropriate exception to the zoning.
For its part, Two Trees stated it would renovate and maintain the historic Independence Savings Bank building as part of the project. But Stone called their offer “insignificant” compared to the impact of a taller building, and said she would prefer not to see the height restrictions compromised at all. “We’re not asking [the city] to draw the line,” she said. “The line is already drawn. We just want them to enforce it.”
As of press time, a representative of Two Trees was unavailable for additional comment.