Do or Die Time for Cass Gilbert's 184 Kent Avenue
Tensions surrounding the future of a historic warehouse on the Williamsburg waterfront are coming to a boil next week when the City Council will hold its first hearing on whether to approve the landmark designation of the Cass Gilbert design. The owner is looking to convert the building to luxury condos which would include a…
Tensions surrounding the future of a historic warehouse on the Williamsburg waterfront are coming to a boil next week when the City Council will hold its first hearing on whether to approve the landmark designation of the Cass Gilbert design. The owner is looking to convert the building to luxury condos which would include a number of alterations to the facade. (The one we dislike most is the bulky rooftop addition.) If you want to support the landmark designation, now’s the time: with David Yassky appearing to be in the developer’s camp, the preservationists are gonna need all the support they can get. In addition to signing the online petition, you can also come in person to the hearing on November 22 at 11 am at City Hall. The first 100 people to come to the hearing on Tuesday get a t-shirt designed and printed in Williamsburg by kayrock.org.
Austin Nicols Warehouse [Landmark184.org] GMAP
Action Alert [Waterfront Alliance]
anyone who knows anything about this building knows it’s worth designation. it’s unfortunate that only conventionally beautiful buildings are thought to be deserved of designation, and in my opinion, it’s sad that people are not willing to examine other significant features of less common looking buildings, such as this one. also, 184 Kent is symbolic because it represents so much of what is going on right now. what happens to this building will set a precedent for HOW the waterfront is designed. if designated there is the possibility of a DIALOGUE between developers and everyone else. and wouldn’t that be nice? there are so many hanous buildings going up in wburg that we should try and keep a few around to create an architectural diverse neighborhood. please read up on this building.
Calm down everyone, it seems the tensions are high her as well, we don’t have to wait for the hearings.
Personally, I think that the waterfront rezoning was a disaster, but now that it happened, I can’t see how this building will do anything to preserve the history of this wonderful neighborhood, especially when you look at the picture above.
Maybe I will go down today to look at the building myself, since I see that is a burning issue in the community
What do you mean no opposition? The community has been up in arms over the over-development that is happening, most particularly on the waterfront, but the luxury condo-ization is happening EVERYWHERE. This neighborhood, and its incredible history of all the different immigrant groups (Hassidic included, of course!), cultures, etc. is being destroyed by developers who seem to line politicians pockets so that they’ll look the other way. To fight the attempted homogenization, we must fight for the history, and celebrate the past, not cover it up in futuristic towers reminiscent of a space cruise ship. We are trying to save the few last remnants of a special place’s roots before the construction cranes completely block our view. Please help us fight. You’re not just fighting for Williamsburg/Greenpoint, you’re not just fighting for Brooklyn. Not even for only New York. You’re fighting for history over disrespectful, ill-conceived overdevelopment. It’s happening everywhere, and we have to start the fight somewhere. And start it now.
if everyone thought that way we would live in houses made out of plastic bags.
“i believe in progression but at what cost?”
Who the hell are you to decide what to with someone else’s property, because of your “believes”?
And to all of the people out there who “believe” that this building has to be landmarked, the same people will turn out in masses to protest when the Government will seize properties for the Ratner project under the “Eminent Domain” act.
Come on, can the Government, President, do what he wants with your money, body etc. to follow his believes, or he cannot?
Its his building, he paid for it, let him decide what to do with it
i used to live in this building….it was amazing and simple….i am tired of developers coming in and trashing everything in the name or ornate….what they are doing to the williamsbug/greenpoint area is wrong. i believe in progression but at what cost?
As the rezoning brings Battery Park City to our door step, it is more important than ever to preserve the few industrial era buildings that remain, when merited. They will only gain in value if preserved and converted. If the hasidic community views this as ‘four walls with windows’ then why don’t they sell it to someone who will do the job right. They will profit enormously if indeed owned since the early 1980s.
Without slinging mud, the issue here is aesthetic. All the new construction in the hasidic section of W’burg is ghastly, evocative of projects. We are not against any one’s ability to make a profit. We just want to preserve architectural integrity and context where possible. This location is too important to mess up. In 20 years, you will thank me for not ruining the building.
Since when does significant architecture have to have flippery & jigsaw drippy Victorian geegaws? This building is an austere and striking example of Modernism with subtle flourishes – the unsual coved cornice and rhythmic fenestration patterns are well-suited to the momumentality of the building. BTW – the windows are over three feet wide each, and are only seperated by 1 foot of wall space, giving the interior essentially 10 feet of window space.
This building was culled out in the rezoning documents as a building worthy of preservation, one of only 13 in Williamsburg to be so noted (which speaks to a broader issue of a lack of appreciation of historic buildings in the area, but even in that flawed document, this warehouse was recognised.)
Personally, I would rather not see more floors added to this building. There are enough high-rises already going up in the neighborhood and we don’t need another one.
However, anyone who honestly thinks this building should be landmarked is clearly smoking something. It is just a big ugly box. There is absolutely nothing interesting architecturally about this building.
People are abusing the landmark status here to try to stop the building from being developed. If landmark status is abused too much, then it just might not be around when it is really needed.