East side of Clinton Street between Union and President Streets. (looking towards President Street)
Beginning of construction at 395 Clinton Street back in September 2013 
395 Clinton Street today
All the homes on the east side of the block where the new building is going up still have their cornice, decorative window lintels and corbels, as well as their stoop and iron railing.
The new building at 395 Clinton Street is being constructed on a parking lot that belonged to the stand-alone house at 393 Clinton Street at the corner of Union Street. The owner of #393 filed paperwork to separate the two lots a few years back in order to be able to build on the site.
Construction on the new building began in the fall of 2013, but has progressed very slowly. A Department of Buildings Partial Stop Work Order currently exists on this project. The architect on record is TMP Architectural, LP in Manhattan.
A few days ago, I stopped by to check on the progress at 395 Clinton Street and was dismayed to see that no attempt had been made to make the new building fit in contextually. With its recessed entrance and first floor, 395 Clinton Street is certainly one of the most unusual new buildings in the neighborhood. Sadly, it destroys the historic streetscape and distracts significantly from its brownstone neighbors.
Since this block, as well as most of Carroll Gardens, is regrettably not protected by NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission*, I had hoped that the owner and architect of the new townhouse were nevertheless going to be respectful of the integrity of the neighboring buildings. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case.
What is your opinion?
* The Carroll Gardens Historic District, the smallest landmarked district in the city, only includes the buildings on President and Carroll Streets between Smith and Hoyt Streets and the western ends of the two blocks between President and First Streets. The district was created in 1973.
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