Going Corporate on Havemeyer
Granted it’s been a while since we got off at the Marcy stop on the JMZ, but did this building fly up or what? We can’t even remember what used to be here on the corner of Havemeyer and Broadway. It looks a heck of a lot more like an office than residential building, which…
Granted it’s been a while since we got off at the Marcy stop on the JMZ, but did this building fly up or what? We can’t even remember what used to be here on the corner of Havemeyer and Broadway. It looks a heck of a lot more like an office than residential building, which would make sense given that the subway passes by just feet away. GMAP
Very excited to see the BofA branch open up on the corner there; brightens up that intersection quite nicely and adds convenenience to a BofA customer such as myself!
I take the J/M/Z to and from work each morning and love it; there is a train every 5 mins and my trip from Marcy Ave to Canal St. takes all of 7 minutes.
Halden: the Wamu branch has opened; it is just north of the BofA on Havemeyer.
The building is no great shakes, but as noted above by others, it is an office building and looks like one. It also looks cheap – dryvit and cheap aluminum windows. The worst part, though, is the denticulated cornice – an olde fashioned detail that’s completely out of place here.
The banking situation is interesting, as 3:26 notes. Ages & ages ago (like in the 1800s), this was the financial center of Williamsburg. As recently as 6 or 7 years ago, there were a few banks here. There were no ATMs in the neighborhood, so if you lived anywhere in Williamsburg, it was here or Greenpoint when you needed $$. Chemical/Chase consolidated, so that eliminated the bank across the street from here (a drug store now). All of sudden, these small retail banks are popping up – there also a North Fork at Broadway & Driggs in the Forman (Sparrow) Building. I think there’s a WaMu coming too.
yes. by the time you get to Lindsay Park it will be a Metroliner.
addendum to the previous post: the inclusion of a ground-floor bank branch probably says more about the banking industry than it does about B’way, now that I think about it a little more.
This is the southeast corner of Havemeyer (only one “r” no matter how you pronounce it) and Broadway. It has been (was?) an office building for years (although a painter-friend had a loft there in the early ’80s.) Without seeing it in person, I suspect that it’s just a rehab: concrete over the original brick and new windows and (hopefully) much-needed interior improvements.
Residential? Can you imagine how loud the JMZ is as it makes that last/first turn into/out of the Marcy Avenue station?
The bank is an interesting development. As recently as the mid-80s, there were several banks on B’way between Havemeyer and the river, then just the Williamsburgh SB (which became Republic and then HSBC.) Branches of Signature and North Fork have recently opened, perhaps signaling the comeback of western Broadway.
Buildings like these are fine when they are mixed with other types of designs, but when it is the sole building amongst typical townhouses it looks odd. I think the developer did a fine job considering the neighborhood, architectural, structural engineering fees, the cost of land, the cost of construction, FAR issues, etc..
As others here obviously think they can do better, by all means they should do. I would love to see better designs as well but I don’t think most people realize how hard and financially expensive it is to do so considering the return on investments. But, I do believe that these starter buildings once successful will help the next round of designs to improve and so on. It will be gradual, unless you want a socialist sponsored project to be implemented.
So, I guess I’m saying it’s a good start.
Yes, every new building in Brookyn is ugly. Nothing looks remotely acceptable and all developers should be shot. Then, and only then, will there be true justice in this dreadful world of ours.
feeling angry today David?
Yeah anon 10:14 contribute nothing except JOBS – its a f’ing OFFICE BUILDING on Broadway in BROOKLYN!!!