Residents, preservationists, and elected officials testify for designation. On October 30, 2007, Landmarks held a public hearing on a proposed historic district in the area known as Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, or DUMBO. The area is already on the National and State Registries of Historic Places, and featured in the National Trust’s list of “America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.” The district would include a unique mix of buildings, including some of the country’s oldest large-scale reinforced-concrete factories, and be roughly bounded by John, Main, Bridge, and York Streets. 4 CityLand 107 (Aug. 15, 2007).

At the hearing, Council Member David Yassky testified in support of designation, while urging Landmarks to approve affected property owners’ requests to convert their spaces for retail use. Council Member Yassky also noted that the area is subject to a proposed rezoning, and asked Landmarks to work closely with the Planning Commission so that the designation and rezoning occur concurrently. A representative from U.S. Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez supported designation as well, claiming that it would spur economic benefits for the area from film and other creative industries. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz also testified, praising Landmarks for its timely response to the community’s concerns. (more…)

Rapidly gentrifying neighborhood starts process towards landmark status. On July 24, 2007, Landmarks calendared a 15-block area on Brooklyn’s waterfront adjacent to the Manhattan Bridge approach as a potential historic district. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, DUMBO developed as a primarily industrial area at a time when Brooklyn was counted among the country’s largest manufacturing centers. DUMBO’s East River location attracted a wide variety of industries, including coffee, paper and paint. Now no longer an industrial hub, developers have converted many of the former factory buildings into apartments and condominiums.

The district’s architectural significance lies in its array of American industrial design throughout several decades. Early buildings in the district feature brick facades and wooden beams, while later buildings possess terra cotta ornament, steel framing, and, eventually, reinforced concrete. The area is also characterized by the arches supporting the Manhattan Bridge approach, and the presence of original street paving, sidewalks, and railroad tracks. Landmarks’ research department addressed the district’s historical significance, calling it “a reminder of Brooklyn’s and New York City’s industrial heyday.” (more…)

Plan calls for partial demolition and conversion of three buildings into residential units. Ironworks LLC proposed to convert three vacant buildings located along Old Fulton Street in Dumbo into residential units. Built in the early 1800s, the adjacent four-story brick buildings sit within the Fulton Ferry Historic District, less than 75 feet from the Brooklyn Bridge. Due to their manufacturing zoning, conversion to residential use triggered the need for a variance from BSA.

Ironworks’ plan called for the demolition of the rear of all three buildings above the first story, the internal connection of the buildings, and the addition of a fifth story. The final project would contain 15 dwelling units in one 22,948- square-foot structure with 5,237 sq.ft. of commercial and retail space in the cellar and ground floors. (more…)

Commission decides that Brooklyn Bridge sightline merits destruction of a building within a historic district. Landmarks held a hearing on February 21, 2006 on an application to demolish the Purchase Building, located at 11-85 Water Street in Brooklyn’s Fulton Ferry Historic District. The applicant, Brooklyn Bridge Development Corporation, was created to manage the development of Brooklyn Bridge Park, a new 85-acre park expanding from DUMBO to Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. The Purchase Building, a 300-foot-long Art Deco warehouse built as a WPA project in 1936, divides the park site and blocks views of the Brooklyn Bridge.

At the hearing, a representative from the Brooklyn Bridge Development Corporation testified that Brooklyn Bridge Park would be the most significant park project for the City since construction of Prospect Park in 1860-1868. Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe urged Landmarks to approve demolition despite the fact that, according to him, Parks “usually appeared before Landmarks to urge preservation and restoration.” A representative from the State Historic Preservation Office also testified in favor of the project, arguing that the warehouse was out of context and non-contributing to the Fulton Ferry Historic District. Other demolition supporters felt it was important to reconnect surrounding neighborhoods to the Brooklyn Bridge and the shoreline, and stressed the area’s current state of industrial underutilization. (more…)

BID will encompass 366 properties and address sanitation, security and marketing needs. The Planning Commission unanimously approved an application by the Department of Small Business Services to create a DUMBO Business Improvement District. The proposed BID would encompass 366 properties containing 575 existing businesses bounded by DUMBO’s York, Old Fulton, Gold, and Bridge Streets and extending to the East River.

Under the proposed BID, businesses and industrial uses would be assessed $.05 per-square-foot and $.004 per dollar of assessed valuation. DUMBO residents would pay an annual $1 assessment. Government and not-for-profit groups will be exempt from the assessment, relieving the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, which, in 2004, obtained City Council’s approval for a 736,000-square-foot development on a full city block within the BID area. 1 CityLand 33 (Dec. 15, 2004).

There were no speakers in opposition at the Commission’s April 27, 2005 hearing. The Commission approved the BID as submitted.

BID Approval Process The Department of Small Business Services, as lead agency, issued a negative declaration on March 9, 2005 and submitted the BID plan to Mayor Bloomberg, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Community Board 2, Council Speaker Gifford Miller, and Brooklyn Council Member David Yassky.

Community Board 2 unanimously approved. Mandatory public hearings before the City Council Finance Committee and the mayor are pending.

CPC: DUMBO BID (N 050365 BDK) (May 25, 2005). CITYADMIN