Proposed design of new building on Middagh Street with 56 Middagh Street on the left./Image Credit: Pratt + Black Architects

The proposed building features a ground floor garage that is modeled off of storefronts in the historic district. On January 14, 2020, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing for a Certificate of Appropriateness to construct a new four-story residential building on a partially vacant L-shaped lot on Middagh Street, located within the Brooklyn Heights Historic District. The short part of the lot fronts Middagh Street to north and the long part of the lot extends into the rear yard. Currently, there is a three-story residential building, 56 Middagh Street, on the east end of the short part of the lot. There is a 25’ by 25’ foot vacant space currently used as parking located between 56 Middagh Street and a one-story garage that belongs to 45 Hicks Street. The proposed building will be built on this space. Both the existing adjacent building and the proposed building will have the same owner.

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Update Front Rendering of 27 Cranberry Street Image Credit: Landmarks

Formerly approved design seeks re-approval with modifications. On October 8, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission heard an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness, to construct a new three-story, single-family residential building on a vacant lot located at 27 Cranberry Street in Brooklyn. The lot is located on the north side of Cranberry Street, on the middle of the block between Willow Street and Hicks Street. The block consists of primarily three and four-story rowhouses. Directly to the left of the site is a two-story, 200 year old, wooden home. To the right is another three-story rowhouse. The lot is located right in the middle of the Brooklyn Heights Historic District.

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Architects rendering of 70 Henry Street. Image credit: Morris Adjmi Architects

Adjmi-designed plan to redevelop former movie theater wins approval after schemes stalled under previous ownership. The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve a proposal for the renovation of the existing building and the addition of three stories to 70 Henry Street in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District. The building was constructed in 1895, for use as a butcher shop, and has gone through multiple alterations including the creation of a chamfered corner entrance for a mid-twentieth century restaurant use. Until recently, and for the previous four decades, the site was home to the Brooklyn Heights Cinema. The redeveloped building would be residential, with ground floor commercial uses.

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Rendering of proposed development on 70 Henry Street, Brooklyn. Image Credit: Gerner Kronick & Valcarcel Architects.

Landmarks Commissioners failed to reach consensus for new mixed-use building plan for site of movie theater. October 22, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered a revised plan for a mixed-use development at 70 Henry Street in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District. The site is currently occupied by the Brooklyn Heights Cinema in a one-story building dating to 1895 that has undergone extensive alterations. Landmarks previously considered a development plan for this building on November 27, 2012, but was unable to reach consensus on either the appropriateness of the proposed demolition or the design of the planned new five-story structure.

Cinema owner Ken Lowy stated that a new theater would be incorporated into the planned new building designed by an architect that he worked with. Lowy also said that local Assembly Member Joan Millman had provided a letter in support of the project. (read more…)

Current facade of 165 Columbia Heights. Credit: Google.

The Commission expressed concerns over proposal but approved reconstruction of building’s long-stuccoed brick facade. On February 26, 2013 the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve a proposal to reconstruct the facade of an 1880s carriage house at 165 Columbia Heights in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District. The two-story structure, converted to residential use in the early 20th century, had its original brick facade covered with stucco in the 1930s. The building is owned by the George and Anita Driscoll Feiger Living Trust, which purchased the property from the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization in 2012.

Architect Ann Krsul of Krsul + Viederman Architects, presented the proposal, which she said would restore the building to its historic condition. The plan is to remove the front facade and reconstruct it without stucco, using salvaged brick from the original facade, if possible. Krsul explained that the original brick beneath the stucco had been scarified so the material would better adhere, so they hope to use the reverse side of the bricks on the building’s face. If the existing brick proves to be unsalvageable, the applicants intend to use salvaged bricks from another site to maintain the historic quality or use commercial brick closely matching the original. The brick detailing of the original facade would be retained, using the original brick, as Krsul believed the ornamental features were not scarified. In response to the Commissioners’ questions, Krsul stated that conservators from Highbridge Materials Consulting and 2 ARTS Conservation would assist in the brick’s restoration. The applicants would also seek to recreate the era’s original mortar recipe for the new facade’s mortar and pointing. Steel window frames in the front facade would be replaced with wood, as they were originally.

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Rendering of 70 Henry Street Project. Image Courtesy: Gerner Kronick & Valcarcel Architects P.C.

Ridgeton Poultry Inc. proposed to demolish heavily altered, mid-19th-century one-story building, and develop new five-story mixed-use structure. On November 27, 2012, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered a proposal for the demolition of a one-story building at 70 Henry Street in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, and the construction of a new mixed-use building on the property. The building, located on the corner of Orange and Henry Streets, is now occupied by the Brooklyn Heights Cinema. The Cinema would retain space in the proposed structure.

Preservation consultant Gregory Dietrich, retained by the applicants, testified that the existing building was constructed in 1895, and was originally a poultry and butcher shop. Prior to the designation of the Brooklyn Heights Historic District in 1965, the building was repeatedly subdivided and reconfigured, with multiple changes being made to the storefronts. In 1971, the building was converted into a movie theater with further significant alterations approved by Landmarks. Portions of the existing cornice are original, but are in poor shape, and would need to be replaced if the building is retained. Dietrich argued that the building’s architecture was so compromised throughout the years as to have lost any associations with Brooklyn Heights’ commercial development and lacks the requisite integrity to convey historical significance.

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