Another Piece Of Carroll Gardens History Lost As Little Coal Shop On Hoyt Street Gets Demolished

The little Coal Shop building at 393 Hoyt Street before (photo courtesy of Google Maps)

Yet another sad demolition is currently taking place in Carroll Gardens, and this one really stings.
The sweet two story brick building at 393 Hoyt Street was once a former coal shop owned by a Mr. D'Agostino, who supplied the neighborhood at a time when coal was still used as a source of heating in many surrounding brownstones.

In recent years, the storefront was occupied by 'Brooklyn Workshop Gallery', home of the Workshop Gallery Artists Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Martine Bisagni and Amani Ansari.

The community atelier focused on cultural events and neighborhood outreach through lectures, art shows, concerts and free classes. It also hosted popular "Free Art Saturdays" for children and their families.

Bisagni and Ansari fell in love with the sun-drenched space the moment she saw it. Over time, they renovated it with repurposed materials that were found or donated. In time, the small back yard was turned into a charming green oasis, where children and adults could explore and create.
To pay tribute to the buildings history, Bisagni and Ansari always kept a few black coal lumps in the window.
In other words, the little house was well loved and its past respected.

In January 2018, 393 Hoyt Street sold $1,2 million according to Street Easy,  Shortly afterwards, Brooklyn Workshop Gallery vacated the 'little coal shop'.

By the summer,  demolition permits had been filed.  In the last month, that work has started, though a stop work order has temporarily halted it.

No word yet on what will be built in its place, but the empty lot may be included in any future development

It is so sad to walk by, as a small section of the little coal house was still standing as we walked past on Sunday.
What do you say, dear Reader?

A look back in time at the interior of 393 Hoyt Street when it was home to the gallery:

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The Sad Transformation Of One Smith Street Block In Boerum Hill As Yet Another Original Building Is Demolished

Smith Street, looking towards Atlantic Avenue in April 2018

Original building at 157 Smith Street in April 2018, before demolition

Before demolition

157 Smith Street, now all gone. 

The empty lot at 157 Smith Street

Just a small reminder of the original structure.

For decades, much of Smith Street in Carroll Gardens and Boerum Hill has remained unchanged. The charming commercial stretch was lined with three to four story row houses, with just a few taller five to six story buildings spread along the blocks closer to Atlantic Avenue.

Unfortunately, we are seeing the north end of Smith Street change at a rapid pace, as some of the original houses are being demolished to make way for taller glass structures which don't even try to fit into the existing streetscape.

Part of the problem has to do with New York City's 2011 contextual rezoning of Boerum Hill, which raised the allowable Floor Area Ratio on Smith Street from Warren Street to Atlantic Avenue to R6A, which allows a building to rise to 70 feet.
(In contrast, the southern end of Smith Street was zoned R6B with a 50 feet height limit as part of the Carroll Gardens Contextual rezoning, approved in 2009.)

The temptation to build up to the allowable height limit can be perfectly illustrated on the block between Wycoff and Bergen Streets.  First, a three story original wood-clad building at number 159 Smith Street was demolished to make way for a much taller modern steel-clad apartment building with commercial space that remains unoccupied to this day.

Recently, the original structure next door at number 157 Smith Street was totally demolished, though the building permit issued was for a "proposed vertical and horizontal extension to existing building," only including "a partial demolition of existing structure."

What will replace it, according to a rendering, looks equally out of place as the new building at # 159.

According to Zillow, 157 Smith Street changed hands in 2016 for $3,750,000. That is a lot of money and one can hardly blame a new owner for wanting to maximize every inch of floor-area allowed by zoning. However, one does have to scratch one's head as to why someone buys a beautiful old building in a charming old neighborhood just to turn it into a stark modern glass structure.

At this rate,  the southern end of Smith Street will lose much of its flair.

What do you think, dear Reader?

As a reminder, this is what the two buildings at 157 and 159, together with their identical neighbor at #161 looked like in 2014. To date, 161 remains unchanged. For how long.

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Another Gowanus Landmark Bites The Dust: The Demo Of Burns Brothers' Coal Pockets

Photo By Eymund Diegel

Gowanus, as we know it, is disappearing before our eyes.

Barely days after the demolition of the iconic silos at Carroll Street on the shores of the Gowanus Canal, comes news that the Burns Brothers coal pockets are in the process of being torn down. The photo above was taken yesterday by my friend Eymund Diegel. By today, Friday, the concrete silos opposite Whole Foods at 6th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue will be history.

Eymund also sent along the kite photography pictures below, which he took in 2012.

The Burns Brothers Coal Pockets were in operation at 2nd Avenue on the banks of the Goawnus Canal from 1915 to 1938. According to the Historic District Council's Guide to Gowanus:

Coal was one of the major freights shipped on the canal in the 19th and 20th centuries. Initially, coal
was used for domestic heating and cooking, and it later was burned to generate electricity. Coal pockets
were used to move and store the coal from barges on the canal to wagons and, later, trucks for delivery.
The eight pockets closest to the water were built between 1915 and 1924, and by 1938 there were 10 more. These 40- and 50-foot tall structures are no longer used today but remain as relics of the canal’s crucial transportation role.

As Eymund adds, "the pockets were an intelligent way of reducing the area needed for the coal piles. I understand the pockets were also used for industrial minerals / oxides after their coal use. The coal would come from Pennsylvania via the newly built barge and canal system."

The image below shows the Scranton Coal mine in the early 1900s (via the Paul Ivazes archives)

And here is a historic photo of Gowanus Bay Manufacturing Gas Plant coal barges at Navy Pier Grain Terminal provided by Eymund.

Here is a screen capture of an areal from Bing.com/maps circa 2010

The two kite photographic images below were taken by the Gowanus Canal Conservancy's  Gowanus Low Altitude Mapping Program in 2012.

It is simply breathtaking with what speed the Gowanus Canal area is changing.  It would seem that every day, the landscape is changing to make way for a future that will no doubt be very different.

The demolitions that are now underway no doubt illustrate the incredible pressure Gowanus is under to change from a mostly manufacturing area to one that will allow more housing.

Here is an amazing article by friend and photographer Nathan Kensinger on the transformations in this unique neighborhood, which was just published on Curbed:
Visiting the Gowanus Canal's Under-Transformation 'Wild West'

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A Year After Collapse, New Building To Replace Old Brownstone On Carroll Street

Ornate brownstone at Number 241 Carroll Street in Carroll Gardens in an old 1940 tax photo

241 Carroll Street on July 2nd, 2012, the day a sidewall collapsed

Demolition of the building during the summer of 2012

And the beginning of construction on a new building in September 2012

Many in the neighborhood will remember the very sad collapse and subsequent demolition of a beautiful ornate 25-foot wide brownstone at 241 Carroll Street right here in Carroll Gardens.
At around 1:30 Am on July 2nd, 2012, the side wall pulled away from the building and collapsed into the driveway of Public School 58, right next door.
Luckily, no one was hurt, though there were occupants inside the residence at the time of the collapse.

Number 241 was once part of a row of brownstones between Smith and Court Streets, and was framed by two buildings. The houses closest to Smith Street were demolished a long time ago, when the subway was built and the rest was taken down to make room for PS 58 in the late 1950's (as you can see in the 1940s photograph above).  Obviously, the building's integrity had suffered and weakened the exposed side wall.

Demolition of the brownstone started almost immediately and continued for several weeks during the summer of 2012.  The empty lot served as a sad reminder of the collapse.

However, just in the last few days, there has been some activity on the site and it would appear that a brand new brick townhouse will replace the old home is about to start.
The N.Y.C. Department of Building has just approved permits for the "reconstruction of a four story building with cellar and penthouse." The permit and a rendering of the future building have been posted on the construction fence and yesterday, a crew began excavating the site.
Douglas Pulaski of Bricolage Architecture & Design is listed as the applicant of record, which would explain the rather generic design of the new building.  Bricolage Deign and Pulaski's partner Henry Radusky have a rather checkered past.
Of course, reconstructing the original building exactly the way it was would be prohibitively expensive, but it is a bit disappointing to see that the old majestic brownstone will be replaced by a rather plain building with a brick façade and no stoop. At least there will be a cornice.

Since the paperwork lists an L.L.C. partnership, it has not yet been confirmed if the original owners are behind the project. But if they are, it will be great having them and their children back in the neighborhood.

***UPDATE***

I received an email from owners Howard and Sisi with the good news that the new building will be very much in keeping with the brownstone that stood at the site.
They write:
"The rebuilding will not be the same as the rendering on the permit sign. The rebuilt building will of course have a stoop, and brownstone facade as well. The sign is only for elevation information.

We are going to make the building as similar as possible to what we had before. Please reassure your readers that it will not be a Boro park special ;)"

Thanks for the clarification, Howard and Sisi. So glad you will be back on your block soon.

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Update: After Wall Collapse,Beautiful Old Carroll Gardens Brownstone At 241 Carroll Street Waiting For Demo

Demolition is imminent for the beautiful 4-family, 25-foot wide Brownstone, whose side wall collpased at 1:30 Am last night. Representatives from the Buildings Department, Fire Department and an ambulance are still on the scene.
Number 241 was once part of a row of brownstones between Smith and Court Streets, and was framed by two buildings. The houses closest to Smith Street were demolished a long time ago, when the subway was built and the rest was taken down to make room for Public School 58 in the late 1950's

Below are some last photos of the brownstone before it is forever gone.

Below is a photo of the houses that stood where PS 58 stands now as seen from Carroll Park in the late 1920's.  Number 241 was once in the middle of that row of brownstones. (to the right)

And the same view today.

And here is a photo I took just two weeks ago of the owners' dog looking out of the window at 241 Carroll Street.

Thankfully, no one was hurt when the wall fell down.

To Howard and Sisi, I am so, so sorry and can only imagine what you are going through.  How can we help you?  I am sure the Carroll Gardens Community will want to do whatever we can.



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