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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Yet Another Stop Work Order For 232-240 Smith Street After Construction Work Undermines Building Next Door

Construction site at 232-240 Smith Street at Douglass Street

FDNY at construction site this past Friday, October 5th

The latest S.W.O. issued on 10/05/2018

Damage to adjacent building at 57 Douglass Street

New scaffolding on 57 Douglass Street

No construction site in Carroll Gardens has been more problematic than the one at 232-240 Smith Street at the corner of Douglass Street. Not only has the construction fence around the site taken up the sidewalk for years, but the excavation work has caused quite a lot of problems, which earned it an astonishing number of Stop Work Orders.

And the problems continue to pile up.
Yet another full Stop Work Order was issued by the NYC Department of Buildings after the adjacent property at 57 Douglass Street was compromised.
This past Friday, the NYC Fire Department responded to a 311 call reporting that the small building was shaking and that its façade had developed cracks. The Fire Department stayed on site until Building Department inspectors were able to assess the situation.
By evening,  a scaffolding had been erected in front of 57 Douglass and the S,W.O. issued to the construction site for "failure to protect the adjoining property."

Here is some background on the 232-240 Smith Street site:
The long saga of this construction site started about 12 years ago with the demolition of several one story buildings that housed a few stores and a then-popular Argentinian restaurant named Sur, which helped spark Smith Street's revival. During a decade, nothing happened on the lot except for violations handed out by the NYC Department Of Buildings for 'failure to maintain construction fence."

Finally, in 2015, Commercial Observer reported that "Madison Realty Capital provided Brooklyn-based Second Development Services with a short-term $9 million loan for the acquisition and development of 232 Smith Street." Louis Greco of SDS told the Observer that he is planning a 15,000-square-foot retail building on the site.

D.o.B. permits were filed by OCV Architects shortly afterwards and by the fall of 2016 work finally began and... stopped. Within weeks, the D.o.B. issued a stop work order for "failure to notify DOB within 24-48 hours of the start of excavation" and for 'failure to safeguard all persons and property."

In addition, the site regularly fills up with water and there have been problems with the sewer lines.

To this date, 232-240 Smith Street has amassed an impressive 102 complaints, 48 D.O.B. violations and 73 Environmental Control Board (ECB) violations. 

It had been announced to the community that a Crunch Fitness would be the tenant in this new building. At the rate construction is going, it will be a while before the gym opens.

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Another Charming Old Brick Building On Smith Street To Get The Glass Treatment In Upcoming 'Remuddle'

If the new silver-toned building that replaced a sweet wooden clapboard building at 159 Smith Street isn't ugly enough in Boerum Hill, it may soon have an equally out of place neighbor.
Just recently, Rime, a sneaker store, moved out of 157 Smith Street and a construction fence was erected around its façade. A NYC Buildings Department permit indicates that this nice original old three-story brick building with a lovely cornice will soon get a vertical and horizontal extension.  According to a posted drawing, it will be stripped of all its charm in the process.

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.

What do you think, dear Reader?

Below is a photo taken in November 2014 of the three original buildings at 157, 159 and 161 Smith Street. Soon, only 161 will remain unchanged.

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12 Years And Counting: Yet Another Stop Work Order For The 232 Smith Street Construction Site

How many years, how many stop work orders and how many violations will it take before the planned two-story building at 232-240 Smith Street will be completed?

For almost twelve years now, a wooden fence has surrounded the empty lot at the corner of Smith and Douglass Street. The long saga of this construction site started with the demolition of several one story buildings that housed a few stores and a then-popular Argentinian restaurant named Sur that helped spark Smith Street's revival.  During a decade, nothing happened on the lot except for violations handed out by the NYC Department Of Buildings for 'failure to maintain construction fence."

Finally, in 2015, Commercial Observer reported that "Madison Realty Capital provided Brooklyn-based Second Development Services with a short-term $9 million loan for the acquisition and development of 232 Smith Street." Louis Greco of SDS told the Observer that he is planning a 15,000-square-foot retail building on the site. 

D.o.B. permits were filed by OCV Architects shortly afterwards and by the fall of 2016 work finally began and... stopped. Within weeks, the D.o.B. issued a stop work order for "failure to notify DOB within 24-48 hours of the start of excavation" and for 'failure to safeguard all persons and property" as well as " doing damage to the adjacent building."

Since then, the site has been an open dirt pit that regularly fills with water. It appeared lately that the contractor was ready to begin work again, and the site was promptly hit with yet another complete stop work order on February 21. This newest one seems to be related to the sewer line and sewer water that needs to be pumped out of the site.

To this date, 232-240 Smith Street has amassed an impressive 97 complaints, 48 D.O.B. violations and 72 Environmental Control Board (ECB) violations, of which four are still currently open. Most of these were issued since 2006, when the property changed hands.

It had been announced to the community that a Crunch Fitness would be the tenant in this new building. At the rate construction is going, it will be a while before the gym opens.

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Poor PS 32 Students: Pile Driving For School Expansion During Class Time Must Be Terribly Disruptive

If you live anywhere near Public School 32, the Samuel Mills Sprole School at 317 Hoyt Street between Union and President Streets in Carroll Gardens/ Gowanus, you will have no doubt heard the loud pounding noises coming from the construction site behind the school these last few days.

The construction relates to the expansion of P.S.32 with a new three-story addition directly behind the current 1950's area structure. Designed by Edelman Sultan Knox Wood/ Architects, the addition will provide the school with approximately 200 additional seats and replaces the trailers that had being used for the lower grades at the back of the schoolyard.

The new building will house a large dining area, administrative offices, as well as pre-k and kindergarten on its first floor. Occupancy of this new wing is slated for September 2020.

Construction began with the demolition of the trailers this fall. Currently, steel piles are being driven into the ground on the site of the new building. The piles are needed to stabilize a structure of this size, and are most probably an indication of the poor soil in the area.  The noise from the pile driving has been reverberating all the way to Smith Street in Carroll Gardens and across the Gowanus Canal in Gowanus.

In March 2017, the New York City School Construction Authority and Councilman Brad Lander held a joint public meeting meant to give neighbors of the school a chance to address their concerns regarding the construction. A similar meeting was held with parents of students.
At the meeting, Councilman Lander stated: "It is an indisputable fact that we need more school seats in District 15," he told local residents. "It is also an indisputable fact that it is a headache living near a construction site."
Yvette Knight, the Project Support Manager for SCA, assured local residents that her agency has managed many projects like this and "is very experienced in doing this kind of work with kids in the building." However, she added, "I am not going to sugar coat this. Please do not expect that there will be no noise."

Carroll Gardens and Gowanus residents are used to construction noise by now, as the community has endured its fair share in the past ten years. However, no one mentioned at the meeting the need for all the piles that would need to be hammered into the ground during school hours, no less.

Take a look at the videos above, filmed yesterday at about 11:30 am, while kids were trying to learn inside their classrooms just feet away.  The sound was deafening and one wonders what kind of learning can take place under these conditions.

On February 9, 2018, Yvette Knight sent out the following email to local residents:

"Dear K32 neighbors:
In an effort to inform you of upcoming construction activity, please note:
Pile delivery began today and production piling will begin shortly.
Baring unforseens and weather permitting, production piling will continue for 2-3 months.
Please be reminded that monitoring of the vibration around the school will take place. Piling will be suspended if the vibration is above allowed levels.
The SCA apologizes for any disruption to the community and thanks you for your patience."

Another 2 to 3 months of that noise? Really? That brings us almost to the end of the school year.

As we all know by now, the area around the Gowanus Canal was once marshland, which was filled in to create more land in the 1800s. Any larger building going up in the area near the canal needs to be supported by steal piles. (Remember the more than 1,200 piles that were needed for the recently completed Lightstone Group's buildings at 363-365 Bond Street?) 

There are ways to reduce the sound associated with the installation of piles. For example, they could be screwed into the ground, instead of hammered. The use of special sound-deadening apparatus, commonly called a 'noise shroud', would also make a difference.

Are you are parent, teacher or student at P.S. 32? Are you a nearby resident?  What has the noise been like for you?  We would love to hear from you.

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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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