Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Construction Site Still Dead: Karl Fischer's Luquer Street Monolith

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100 Luquer Street near Henry Street

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From the Nelson Street side


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The last time I checked out the 11 story finger building designed by architect Karl Fischer at 100 Luquer Street was in November 2009, so I decided it was time for another visit.

Construction on this incredibly out-of-context project started in 2007 , but was slowed down by several stop-work orders. By 2008, the glass façade on the Luquer Street side finally went up, but then construction stopped again. There was a brief period of action in 2009, however, since last fall, the site has been dead.

I am certainly no expert on abandoned sites, but it was rather alarming to see that a section of plywood construction fence separating the neighbors' yards on the Nelson Street side, had fallen down, making it possible for someone to venture right in.
No wood was placed in front of ground street openings either. Instead, a wooden staircase allows easy entry into the building itself.
A full dumpster was just sitting on the site as well and it now looks as though someone dumped a pile of branches over the chain link fence.

Unfortunately, the Carroll Gardens Contextual Re-zoning passed in October 2009, which limits the height of buildings in the neighborhood, came much too late to stop this monstrosity.


What do you think of this building, dear Reader?


To read more about 100 Luquer Street, click here.




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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a renter who will never be able afford to buy into the million-dollar scene around here, I don't see it as a monstrosity. It's more stock and maybe someone can finally join the "haves" of Carroll Gardens. Or maybe the monstrosity is so ugly it will drive prices lower. Hooray.

Batman said...

It's ugly, but not because its out of context. It's ugly because it's just plain ugly.

Hope someone scoops this up at a realistic price so that they can finish it.

Anonymous said...

One benefit I've found is that I now have a frame of reference for finding my neighborhood from manhattan highrises. Also, my dog loves the rats.

BevD said...

Its an awful site- ashameful one.
Like an oversize pencil amongst us all. I personally hate any building with glass enclosures. Let alone a gray slimline pencil stalking building. Its an eyesore.
Unfortunate. All this stalling that is going on with all these construction companies, is giving our community a SORE EYE. Never, did we have empty lots, wooden delapidated ugly wall fences that are sitting on broken crooked tree lifted sidewalks. Everything that could go wrong is going wrong for our community. This is terrible. We keep our homes and streets so neat. City is doing NOTHING for us-to keep it that way. End on that note.

Anonymous said...

alas, another failure, i believe there are several now in my beloved Carroll Gardens. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford to stay there after living there for 54 years. My dream is some government agency takes over these sites (i.e. the old ILA Bldg.) and builds affordable housing for working middle class families. Too many of us were forced to leave our beloved neighborhood. Families and life time friendships fractured. Maybe I can come back some day or my children can if they so desire. As always, greed leads to poverty. Time for the "uneducated" to return and bring some character back to what is now a mini Manhattan. what a shame. firemen, police officers, sanitation workers who grew up there and were not fortunate to have parents who owned properties forced to leave.