Demolition Starts On Former Court Theatre/ Lee Brothers Garage At 375 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens

A photo of 375 Smith Street when it was the Court Theatre circa 1928.

The Court Theatre in 1932. Photo courtesy of the New York Public Library

The building in 2014

The building as seen from the corner of Smith and 9th Street 2014

in 2018

The former entrance of the Court Theatre in 2018

The building in October 2019

Demolition work

It may be time to say good bye to the long neglected little building at 375 Smith Street. Constructed in the 1920's, it was once home to the Court Theatre, a neighborhood movie theatre, which had previously operated at 551 Court Street, hence the name.
Sometime in the 1940, the building was changed into a gas station. In the 1980's the pumps were taken out, and Lee Brothers bought the building and opened a repair and body shop.
Through the decades, some details of its past survived on parts of its façade.
As of yesterday, a demo crew had started to take the building apart.

In 2014, the Lee brothers filed plans with the NYC Department of Buildings for a new four story, 11 apartment residential building with retail space on the ground floor and a number of parking spots.
It wasn't until the beginning of 2018 that the garage closed permanently. Earlier this year, a blue construction site went up and demolition permits were granted by DoB.

The former movie theatre/ auto repair shop sits on one of the largest and most desirable lots in one of the most coveted neighborhoods of Brooklyn. It is therefore not surprising that the owners have decided to develop it.

According to the Carroll Gardens contextual rezoning, which was approved in 2009, the site is in an R6B zone, with a height limit of 50 feet and a commercial overlay fronting Smith Street . The Carroll Gardens community pushed for the contextual re-zoning and height limit in part because of the opposition to 360 Smith Street, the 70 feet building right across the street.

Below is the DoB zoning diagram for the site

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After Years Of Planning, It's Official: Lee Brothers To Close Auto Body Shop On Smith Street To Make Way For Residential Apartments

A photo of 375 Smith Street when it was the Court Street Theatre circa 1928.

For the past few years, news has been circulating around Carroll Gardens that the Lee Brothers planned on closing their Auto Repair shop at 375 Smith Street at the corner of Third Street.
In 2014, the brothers filed plans with the NYC Department of Buildings for a new four story, 11 apartment residential building with retail space on the ground floor and a number of parking spots.

Though this project obviously has been in the works for years, it has only now become official. In the past two weeks, the Lee Brothers have told customers that they are no longer accepting work and that the construction project will begin soon.
The garage sits on one of the largest and most desirable lots in one of the most coveted neighborhoods of Brooklyn. It is therefore not surprising that the owners have decided to develop it.

According to the Carroll Gardens contextual rezoning, which was approved in 2009, the site is in an R6B zone, with a height limit of 50 feet and a commercial overlay fronting Smith Street . The Carroll Gardens community pushed for the contextual re-zoning and height limit in part because of the opposition to 360 Smith Street, the 70 feet building right across the street.

Though the Lee's auto repair shop site was not much to look at, it does include a sweet little building, constructed in the 1920's, that was once home to the Court Theatre, a neighborhood movie theatre, which had previously operated at 551 Court Street, hence the name. 

Some details of its past are still visible on parts of its façade. Here is a link to an old tax photo from 1928 that shows the theatre.
Sometime in the 1940, the building was changed into a gas station. In the 1980's the pumps were taken out, but the repair and body shop remained.

More on the building's history can be found here.

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It Was Bound To Happen: Lee Brothers Auto Repair Shop Now Development Site

Corner of Smith Street and Third Street, looking North

Lee Brothers Garage at 375 Smith Street

from NYC Department of Buildings

New development at 360 Smith Street, which is located directly across the street from Lee Brothers Garage

Back in early January of this year,  Lee Brothers Auto and Body Repair shop  at 375 Smith Street at the corner of Third Street in Carroll Gardens was closed "until further notice."  Though the shop reopened a few days later, many residents wondered how long until the one story building housing the garage would be torn down to be developed into residential apartments.  After all, the garage sits on one of the most desirable lots in one of the most coveted neighborhoods of Brooklyn.

Well, it would appear that the moment has finally come and that the Lee Brothers are developing the site.  NY YIMBY reported last week that permits for a new mixed-use structure have been filed with NYC Department of Buildings.

NYMBY writes:

The proposed four-story building would include a 3,300-square foot retail space on the ground floor, topped by 11 apartments. The units would be spread over 9,800 square feet of residential space, for an average apartment size of nearly 900 square feet. (Confusingly, the Schedule A filing indicates 12 apartments, or four per floor above the ground level.)

The project would include a sizable amount of parking – 13 spaces – reflecting the increasing wealth necessary to live in new construction in South Brooklyn neighborhoods, as demand rises while supply remains nearly stagnant.

The developer – whose listed phone number was not accepting new calls, and whose email address is invalid – is Jimmy Lee with 375 Smith Street, LLC, and the architect as SHV Designs, led by John C. Haskopoulos.

According to the Carroll Gardens contextual rezoning, which was approved in 2009, the site is in an R6B zone, with a height limit of 50 feet and a commercial overlay fronting Smith Street
The Carroll Gardens community pushed for the contextual re-zoning and height limit in part because of the opposition to 360 Smith Street, the 70 feet building right across the street.

Though the Lee's building is rather run down, it was once the Court Theatre, a neighborhood movie theatre. Some details of its past are still visible on parts of the façade. Here is a link to an old tax photo from 1928 that shows the theatre.
Sometime in the 1940, the structure was changed into a gas station. In the 1980's the pumps were taken out, but the repair garage remained.
More on the building's history can be found here.

Read more

Could Lee Brothers Garage On Smith Street Become The Next Carroll Gardens Development Site?

Corner of Smith Street and Third Street, looking North

Lee Brothers Garage at 375 Smith Street

New development at 360 Smith Street, which is located directly across the street from Lee Brothers Garage

***UPDATE***

Thursday, January 30th

I am happy to report that I just received an email from a reader indicating that Lee Brothers at 375 Smith Street is open this morning.  That's great news and hopefully an indication that the garage was only temporarily closed.  That's great news.

Yesterday morning, I received the following message from ChickenUnderwear at http://whatyourdonotknowbecauseyouarenotme.blogspot.com/:
"What's up with Mr Lee Auto Repair on Smith and 3rd [Street]? The sign on the gate says closed indefinitely . I gotta get my car inspected before the end of the month."

I grabbed my camera and walked over to Lee Brothers Auto & Body Repair garage at 375 Smith Street, and sure enough, a notice has been taped to the door, informing that the shop will be closed until further notice.
Of course, there could be many reasons for the closure. Let us hope that the Lees will re-open soon.

But one has to wonder if this may have to do with the fact that the garage sits on one of the most desirable lots in one of the most coveted neighborhoods of Brooklyn.
Perhaps, a developer has made the Lee Brothers, who own the site, an offer that they could not refuse? Maybe the brothers will develop it themselves, as they indicated a few years back.

According to the Carroll Gardens contextual rezoning, which was approved in 2009, the site is in an R6B zone, with a height limit of 50 feet and a commercial overlay fronting Smith Street
The Carroll Gardens community pushed for the contextual re-zoning and height limit in part because of the opposition to 360 Smith Street, the 70 feet building right across the street.

Though the Lee's building is rather run down, it was once the Court Theatre, a neighborhood movie theatre. Some details of its past are still visible on parts of the façade. Here is a link to an old tax photo from 1928 that shows the theatre.
Sometime in the 1940, the structure was changed into a gas station. In the 1980's the pumps were taken out, but the repair garage remained.
More on the building's history can be found here.

For those who need their car inspected or repaired in the meantime, ChickenUnderwear reports back that he took his car to Mr. Nam on Baltic Street and was very satisfied.

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