Red Hook IKEA: Planning at its Worst?
Was allowing IKEA to build its gargantuan Red Hook store the worst decision the City Planning Commission had made concerning the waterfront in the past 20 to 30 years, as Municipal Arts Society prez Kent Barwick posits? That’s just one of the many arguments Red Hook Civic Association Co-Chair John McGettrick uses to buttress claims…
Was allowing IKEA to build its gargantuan Red Hook store the worst decision the City Planning Commission had made concerning the waterfront in the past 20 to 30 years, as Municipal Arts Society prez Kent Barwick posits? That’s just one of the many arguments Red Hook Civic Association Co-Chair John McGettrick uses to buttress claims that the Swedish retailer will have all manner of negative effects on his neighborhood. In a Daily News op-ed, McGettrick outlines a legion of other objections, including that the store’s location across the street from a park will result in traffic accidents and an uptick in asthma rates; that the build destroyed a historic shipyard; that IKEA is an anti-union employer and hasn’t guaranteed jobs to Red Hook residents; and that the city ignored opposition to the retailer’s plans because of the chain’s powerful lobbyists. In essence, McGettrick’s piece makes the case that the city is once again serving Red Hook with a raw deal cloaked in the guise of economic development, and that zoning changes would go a long way to spurring the neighborhood’s revitalization. Think he’s got a point, or do you think on balance that IKEA will be good for the Hook?
Problems Will Stack up for Red Hook With Ikea in Store [NY Daily News] GMAP
Photo of under-construction IKEA by Gatto Arancione.
The area has so much potential and it will be greatly affected by IKEA moving in. Local leadership should have stopped this but it seems that this was an enthu$ia$tic welcome. Their short-sighted thinking has squashed what could have been a waterfront with the Williamsburg like potential, with NY style Restaurants, bakeries, cafes, local artistian galleries or even an arts theatre that would be unique to this area of Brooklyn that would make it a destination experience. IKEA is very ordinary. Nothing special about this cheap outfit monster big box that I can find in Utah or Minnesota. What an eye sore and really devalues Red Hook and what could have been. More to come. 640 Columbia Street next to Ikea is up for sale (175,000 sq ft). Let’s hope it’s not Walmart or Bed Bath and Beyond or Toys ‘R US. Nothing wrong with this it’s just not the place for it. We need to confront zoning officials NOW to not allow this to continue. Once the owners scoop up the property, things are already in full swing. Residents and owners should have a say on this, not developers or real estate agents.
Ikea does NOT belong in Red Hook right on the waterfront. Red Hook is one of the most lovely brooklyn neighborhoods — and unique. Ikea and it’s traffic of both cars and people will completely kill this beautiful neighborhood that is perfectly quiet even on saturdays. it is the anti-soho. I am completely shattered that they have decided to allow this ugly behemouth to park it’s blue bottom in this particular nieghborhood. why not in bushwick or bed stuy!!!??
Red Hook is an ugly mess of dilapidated warehouses, unsavory housing projects, a smattering of trendoid bars and shops, and a psuedo-Hootersville strip called Van Brunt Street, that leads to the New-Brooklynites mecca, Fairway.
Years ago, when they built the BQE it cut off this area from the rest of South Brooklyn (or Carroll Gardens) and never recovered. Todays attempt to colonize via suburban mega stores is a tragedy to this credible parcel of NYC landscape. Sure, bring on Ikea, and may I suggest H&M as well? I’m really hoping for a mega Six Flags gamepark, with Native American Casinos. The real estate Crash, oh excuse me, “correction” will stall this area for at least 10-15 years. But of course, when the ice caps melt, this neighborhood is going bye bye anyway. Happy hooking!
Atlantic Yards will be worthless one Ikea is built…
And the rest of those containers land.. oh.. DOH! …just down the street at the container dock. What a surprise.
95% of those containers go to New Jersey.
I thought the same thing when I moved to New York because there weren’t waterfront buildings and parks taking advantage of the incredible views.
And then I read that three million containers per year pass through the channels, carrying $82 billion in ocean-borne cargo. It is the largest vehicle import/export handling port in the country, and the largest for refined petroleum products and cocoa imports, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
I guess some would argue that we do take advantage of our shores. I think that we often look at these areas and think that we could “make it a heavenly destination for all of us brooklynites who need weekend treats without going to Manhattan.” I for one am always thinking about how beautiful various streets and neighborhoods could be- if only the right person would come along.
We have a something like 650 miles of shoreline. It is not as though we do not have buildings with views, parks and beaches.
That said, Ikea is a pretty fun store with a really ugly exterior aand probably should not be using up waterfront space.
I can’t build a great case. I just don’t like it. It’s not ‘the something beautiful’ that I want everything to be. Ha!
it’s really sad that we as a generation are not activists at all. red hook is/could be heavenly. I run there regularly and get that rare I LOVE THIS CITY charge when I do. If we had our shit together we would all be fighting to make it a heavenly destination for all of us brooklynites who need weekend treats without going to Manhattan. But we’re not, we’re just sitting here blogging. Not to say that I am NOT looking forward to ikea near me because I am, but think it’s truly sad that big box store is going to be on our waterfront. NYC has the worst waterfront planning in the world,. It’s truly a weird disastrous phemonmenon. We simply do not take advantage of our shores.
IKEA ROCKS!!!!
GO SWEDEN!!!!!