A parks advocate is calling for the hospital campus within the Brooklyn Navy Yard to be opened to the public, while the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation is gearing up for another battle over the fate of the Admiral’s Row houses. At a public meeting, a draft report found most of the homes are salvageable for nearly $20 million (though the number could increase), which does not bode well for the Development Corporation’s effort to tear them down to build a supermarket and more industrial space. The actual meeting had a unique format, which the Eagle thinks could work well for others in the future.
Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates, is calling on the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation to stick to the original plan for the Naval Hospital Campus and make a significant portion of the open space accessible to the public. The email came in response to Wednesday’s article in the Eagle,
which reported that the “preferred option” for the campus, in an Environmental Impact Statement [EIS] from 2000 and subsequent transfer agreement, had conceived 11.2 acres of public, active recreational space. Now, the Development Corporation is in a preliminary planning stage, hoping to transform the abandoned 18.3-acre campus into a media and film campus and back lots for Steiner Studios.
Croft wrote, “It's no secret that the city has an abysmal record of striking an appropriate balance between development and its park and recreational needs. Brooklyn has the least amount of parkland per capita of any borough. The original Navy plan presents an amazing opportunity to capture parkland in an area of the city that is severely lacking. These uses must be part of the equation.” Every 1,000 residents in the community surrounding the hospital campus has about 0.4 acres of open space to their disposal, compared to a citywide average is 1.5 acres, according to the EIS. “The Navy’s decision to transfer the land was based on an environmental analyses which clearly stated that a major portion be used for open space and recreational uses,” said Croft. “The question now is will this be honored.”
Andrew Kimball, president of the Development Corporation, pointed out that the transfer ultimately left the use of the campus up to the city’s discretion. And it’s plan for a graduate institution within the historic grounds would uphold the mission of non-profit and institutional use there, while the open-air sets would help the city’s $1.5 billion film industry grow. Also of note, the EIS did preserve the option of industrial uses for the campus, but planners then didn’t think there would be a market for more industrial and manufacturing space with the yards.
On the other end of the Navy Yard is the dilapidated Admiral’s Row houses, a bigger focus for preservationists who would like to see them renovated rather than razed to make way for a supermarket and more industrial space. Last week, the
Eagle reported that a National Guard Bureau study would estimate the cost of renovating the homes at $18 million, a number Kimball said is too low.
According to a draft report previewed at Tuesday’s public hearing, the cost of renovation is $19.6 million, but Kristin Leahy of the National Guard said the number could be higher in the final report. Eight of the 10 houses are salvageable and have a high level of historic integrity for every indicator, according to the draft report. The homes were also deemed significant as a historic district, which she said could mean they would all have to be preserved, rather than just one or two as a compromise.
All of this would be hashed out in negotiations, and Kimball told the Eagle last week that the Navy Yard doesn’t want the homes if forced to fix them up. Other community leaders agree, and submitted letters in support of demolition: Mayor Bloomberg; Borough President Marty Markowitz; State Senator Velmanette Montgomery; Assemblymembers Hakeem Jeffries and Joe Lentol; City Councilmember David Yassky, Albert Vann and Letitia James; presidents of the Farragut and Ingersoll tenants association, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, among a slew of people.
Tuesday night’s meeting on the Admiral’s Row was carried out differently than the typical one communities are accustomed to, in part because it was set up by the federal government. Rather than the city and state’s typical presentation model, where speakers present and attendees comment or ask questions (to put it delicately), tables were set up in a circle, with takeaway documents and manned by officials from each participating organization. Comments could be submitted that evening in writing, but many of the decision-makers were there to answer questions and take feedback.
The format was surprisingly productive and enjoyable, and should be used for more meetings here in the future, depending on the topic. Attendees were given the rare opportunity to have extended discussions with officials, rather than three minutes to either make a statement or ask a question. There were no scenes, no hissing at people as they spoke, just cordial conversation, even between two attendees on opposite sides of the fence. And rather than sitting through the same topic rehashed over and over again during the typical Q&A period, at Tuesday’s meeting people could move from table to table as they saw fit. In the center of the circle, attendees mingled. As a reporter who constantly attends community meetings, I felt the format worked particularly well for this type of issue, where several agencies are involved with an already well-known issue.
— Compiled by Sarah Ryley
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007
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Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues.
So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net
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