This little blog of mine has been hopping in the last few days. Foremost on everybody's mind here in Carroll Gardens is of course the shameless development that is going on on most of our residential streets. Though 360 Smith Street is the most attention grabbing construction project, the neighbors at 333 Carroll Street are still waiting to get some resolution. In the meantime they are staring at the ugly steel frame atop the building. Just check out the comments left on this post.
Most of the anger in this community seems to be directed at Bill de Blasio, our councilman who has held two press conferences against architect Scarano, but has yet to help Carroll Gardens to down zone.
Below is an interesting timetable sent to me anonymously by a reader concerning the 360 Smith construction. Very interesting!
360 Smith Time Table
Memorial Day weekend:
CG residents find out about plan to develop 360 Smith Street entirely by
accident! Residents respond with anger and outrage and begin writing to Bob Guskind at Gowanus Lounge. (GL posts the pics of the Heavy Metal Building to which so many respond with anger)
june 6
deBalsio anti scarano rally #1
DeBlasio (probably a GL reader himself) injects himself (!) into the middle
of this growing sentiment by calling for a rally! against the architect!
protesting "illegal construction" and calling for the state to take Mr.
Scarano's architecture license (see Gowanus Lounge and Curbed)
june 11
CGNA meeting and more anti Scarano rhetoric from Mr. deB (#2)
From Gowanus Lounge "New Shots Fired....."
This is a political question...I called the rally because we thought we had
an opportunity to change things. "
Mr. de Blasio suggested that residents continue organizing and offered to
develop an action plan of e-mail and letter-writing, rallies and an online
petition. "We need to take the power into our own hands," he said. He also
demanded the removal of Mr. Scarano from the project. "He is someone who has
routinely violated zoning, has unsafe construction sites and has violated
Stop Work Ordered," he said. "To me, [the developer] can not bring Scarano
into the project. Scarano is a proven bad actor." Mr. de Blasio said the
community has "a chance to end the Curse of Scarano."
(Public was divided over Bill's motives/intent/honesty/etc)
June 28 360 Smith Street building APPROVALS! from the DOB with Robert
Scarano's name on them! (#3) New public outrage towards deBlasio ...letters
sent to DOB/DeBlasio etc
July 16
DE BLASIO CALLS ON DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS TO STOP WORK ON ALL SCARANO
PROJECTS (#4)
Result? Too late!!
DOB SAYS: 360 Smith street approvals were already granted on 6/28!!
QUESTION: Why didn't Bill call the DOB on June 6? right after the rally???
Why wait til mid July when its too late?
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2 comments:
Joan Millman did not help Carroll Gardens residents either and Marty Markowitz did not either!
(then, again who would even DREAM? of having help from Marty a.ka.a "Mr Over-Development/Mr. Terrorize Community Board 6 into mental agreement with his larger-than-life self?) Mr. deB. was supposed to be the "great local CG hope!", the man to temper the over-development insanity seen so clearly at the top (Marty and Mike Bloomberg!). Ms. Millman though she is a State Assemblywoman, was supposed to also assist and listen to the CG community she ALSO!! sees and serves every single day on Smith street, as her office is two blocks from the 360 Smith Street site! And where is the MTA in this? Where is the review process to the public re: safety issue and interruption of service and/or station issues?
And what happens to the beloved public plaza? They have been oddly silent.
The POLS in unsion all know how to sing that "AS OF RIGHT"/ "It's a done deal"/"It's a good deal"/ "Development is sooooo good for Brooklyn" song while the neighbors/residents/ citizens of too many besieged blocks! fume; get no answers; get to make no community input; but are forced to live! every day! with the consequences of this mal-functioning (dysfunctional)
system which lacks proper city planning and forethought. Just try to read the zoning regulations handbook today and understand something! It is clearly written to put off/confuse people.
So, instead, (in the void) the residents of the nabes are cast as NIMBYS and "hysterically anti-development" (by the other side of course) while
meanwhile the community gets its rights stripped away on the Community Boards to represent itself and speak up for itself! Is it any wonder this situation is polarizing people together? People wanting rational and contextual development and a say in their own neighborhoods are hardly "hysterical" and hardly anti-development.
Then again only Mr. deB. was smart (?) enough to come up with the Anti-Scarano "unique approach" to 360 Smith Street that we have all watched with tepid interest even though Mr. Scarano deserves it!
Look at the DOB postng to Brownstoner this week to see just how many well documented violations exist against Mr. Scarano! And then wonder to yourself about the DOB posting at the blogs?? And then wonder why the DOB and Mr. DeBalsio and the State Education people waited til NOW? to go off after this clearly AS OF WRONG person?
I agree. Carroll gardens is just now realizing that our neighborhood is under attack from developers and atchitects who have cookie cutter designs that they fit into empty lots in Williamsburg, Greenpoint, red Hook and now here. No concern at all is given to contextual design. I think that is the biggest problem. It is not that we hate new buildings, it is that these buildings should fit style wise into the historic context of Brooklyn Neighborhoods.
Our politicians unfortunatelly would rather wine and dine with the big developers who can afford to contribute nicely to their campaign funds and forget that they were actually elected to represent US.
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