Council approves waterfront project despite community’s concerns about affordable housing component. On March 11, 2009, the City Council approved Toll Brothers’ proposed development at 363-365 Bond Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The 525,309-sq.ft. development will provide 447 residential units, including 130 affordable units. The project, located on two blocks along the Gowanus Canal, bounded by Carroll, Second, and Bond Streets, includes two five-story buildings, a series of four-story townhouses, and two 12- story buildings fronting the canal. 6 CityLand 4 (Feb. 15, 2009).

At Council’s March 4th Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee hearing, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz called on Toll Brothers to reduce the 12-story buildings to eight stories, so that views from the Carroll Gardens Historic District would remain unobstructed. Markowitz also requested that Toll enter into a legally enforceable commitment to provide the project’s affordable housing component. A representative from Brooklyn Community Board 6 testified that although CB6 conditionally voted to approve the project, it was concerned that the developer had not guaranteed that affordable housing would be built. If the developer could not guarantee affordable housing, CB6 believed the project should be denied. (read more…)

Borough President believes development along Gowanus Canal may encourage DEP to initiate clean-up effort. On January 7, 2009, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on Toll Brothers’ proposed waterfront development at 363-365 Bond Street in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. The project would be located on two full blocks along the Gowanus Canal, bounded by Carroll Street, Second Street, and Bond Street.

In order to facilitate the proposed development, Toll Brothers submitted several applications, including a rezoning of the two-block area from M2-1 to M1-4/R7-2, a text amendment for a special mixed-use district, and a special permit to modify height, setback, rear yard, and inner court regulations. Highlights of the project include two low-rise five-story buildings fronting Bond Street, a series of four-story townhouses along First and Second Streets, and two twelve-story buildings fronting the canal. The project would also contain approximately 2,000sq.ft. of community facility space, 2,000 sq.ft. of retail space, and 23,000sq.ft. of publicly accessible waterfront space along the canal. Toll Brothers expects the development to provide about 460 residential units, 30 percent of which would be affordable to families making 40 – 80 percent of area median income. (read more…)

Cement coating applied without permits will damage masonry. Without permits, the owner of 315 President Street in the Carroll Gardens Historic District applied an orange, heavy cement-based waterproof coating to the exterior of his 1876 neo-Grec masonry rowhouse believing that it would protect the building, and also altered the windows. Following warning letters from Landmarks, the owner applied to legalize the waterproofing treatment and windows.

Denying both alterations, Landmarks advised the owner that if the acrylic waterproofing treatment remained it would cause serious damage to the brownstone masonry by preventing moisture from escaping. Due to the impermeable nature of the sealant, the masonry would crack during each post-winter thawing and eventually crumble when water became trapped between the sealant and the masonry. Landmarks also found that its orange color conflicted with other brownstones. The waterproof coating, which is specifically designed for permanency, will have to be chiseled off and the brownstone facade reconstructed. Landmarks, commenting to CityLand, noted that it is unfortunate that permits were not sought prior to the sealant’s application because the owner was misled to believe that the coating would protect the historic building. (read more…)