By Linda Collins
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) took no action at its meeting this week on two applications for residential construction projects the Eagle has been following.

But commissioners did give some direction to the developers and architects, according to Elisabeth de Bourbon, director of communications for the LPC.

72 Poplar Street

For 72 Poplar St., the former 84th police precinct building in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, commissioners said that the rooftop additions for the former station house and garage are too big and asked for more detail about the proposed restoration of the buildings.

The building is escribed as “a brick police station building with a one-story attached garage designed by Beverly King and Harry Walker and built in 1912.� Its owner is seeking a zoning waiver in exchange for a restoration and maintenance agreement, according to de Bourbon.

Saying it was “shocked,� the Historic Districts Council in its testimony — a copy of which was e-mailed to the Eagle — recommended that the application by Regal Investments Inc. be rejected.

“For the record, we have to say that the additions are highly visible from a variety of view points, change the massing of the building, and overwhelm the structure. By no means are they minimally visible.�

“We also find the all-glass entrances to be too much of a rejection of the original design. The existing front doors with their glass panels provide plenty of light and transparency. They should be retained and used as the model for the design of the other doors on the structure. Any preservation purpose is being smothered by the addition or left empty by all-glass entrances.�

For 9 Old Fulton St., a proposed new construction in the Fulton Ferry Landing Historic District, the commissioners asked the applicant to construct a mockup of the fifth floor of the proposed building, according to de Bourbon. The mockup, which can be installed on a neighboring building, will help commissioners to “better understand how it would look,� she explained.

As previously reported in the Eagle, property owner Michael Pederson of Dumbo Development Group wants to build a new four-story building with a penthouse on the vacant lot.

A previous application for penthouses at the adjacent 11, 13 and 15 Old Fulton by former owner Mike Zazza was controversial, but approvals finally came through from both the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) and the LPC in late 2005 after rooftop mockups proved to commissioners that “they were minimally visible.�

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2009 All materials posted on BrooklynEagle.com are protected by United States copyright law. 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