Update from the Clarett Group

Dear all,

Here is the latest update on construction activity at 340 Court Street:

Asbestos abatement work will be wrapped up tomorrow morning (January 29th). Interior demolition will begin on Thursday. Interior demolition work will only occur on weekdays from 7 AM to 6 PM. A permit has been pulled and will be posted on the building.

An 8 foot tall plywood construction fence will be erected around the site next week (exact day tbd).

In response to inquiries from the community, Clarett has arranged for the flag pole that currently sits in the Court Street courtyard to be relocated to the courtyard in front of Scotto's Funeral home at the corner of 1st Place and Court. Clarett will also be donating the sign that hangs over the doorway to the archives of the Sacred Hearts & St. Stephen church.

Thanks,

David Lowin
Development Director

Responses to Daily News Article

Thanks to all those who responded to the Daily News article, both on the site and elsewhere. Here is a response that we found particularly interesting and relevant:

As a resident of Carroll Gardens Landmark Condominium, located in a converted church on Court Street about 150 feet away from the Claret site and protected by national Landmark status, it is quite disturbing to know that our 1868 stained glass windows will be subjected to the violent vibrations of the nearby construction site. These delicate stained glass windows are an irreplaceable part of this community's history, and while it is painful to know that listing on the National Register of Historic Places does not seem to provide any protections against nearby construction, it speaks volumes that the developers are so unfamiliar and out-of-touch with our neighborhood as to even make the effort to care. The historic structures in close proximity to this construction site should be pro-actively protected by these developers to insure that they remain important links to the past in our unique neighborhood fabric.

Jay A. Lubow

Senior Principal

Applied Design Initiative, LLC

JANUARY 29TH RALLY FOR CARROLL GARDENS DOWN-ZONING

RALLY
TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT CARROLL GARDENS,
SOUTH BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

TUESDAY, JANUARY 29TH
11:00 AM
16 COURT STREET


Join Councilmember Bill de Blasio, Assemblymember Joan Millman, The Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association (CGNA), Carroll Gardens Coalition For Respectful Development (CORD), Baltic & Warren Neighbors, Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association and The Union-Sackett Block Association to support a resolution calling upon the Department of City Planning to immediately commence a downzoning study (50’height limit) of Carroll Gardens to protect our neighborhood and the Department of Buildings to implement the appropriate procedure to preserve the character of Carroll Gardens until the downzoning is complete.

Daily News Article Announcement

Please check out this Daily News article about the development at 340 Court St.

Councilman Bill de Blasio Drafts Down-Zoning Resolution for Carroll Gardens

We would like to echo the post on Brooklyn Streets, Carroll Gardens, which announces that Councilman Bill de Blasio has drafted a resolution calling for an immediate down-zoning of Carroll Gardens. This is very positive step by de Blasio and one that the Union-Sackett Block Association endorses and supports. We thank Mr. De Blasio for his efforts. This resolution reflects our requests of the Clarett Group.

The draft of the resolution is as follows:

Res. No.

Resolution calling upon the Department of City Planning to commence immediately a downzoning study of Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn and upon the Department of Buildings to not issue permits that would allow any new construction or alteration to an existing building to exceed a height limit of 50 feet until the Carroll Gardens neighborhood downzoning is complete.

By Council Member de Blasio

Whereas, Carroll Gardens is a charming neighborhood defined by its tree-lined streets, beautiful 3-4 story brownstones, and atypical setbacks that create deep front yards; and

Whereas, The architecture and layout of Carroll Gardens creates a village-like character, which is not commonly found in New York City; and

Whereas, Currently, Carroll Gardens is zoned R6, which does not provide a restriction on height; and

Whereas, With the recent state of hyper-development in Brooklyn, there is widespread concern that large scale new constructions pose a threat to the fabric of this historical Brooklyn neighborhood; and

Whereas, According to a 2006 survey by Brooklyn Community Board 6, 91% of neighborhood residents surveyed responded that they were either very concerned or concerned about the height or size of new buildings in the neighborhood. Further, 83% of those surveyed indicated that they favored stricter limits on the height, size and/or overall bulk of new buildings; and

Whereas, A neighborhood downzoning by the Department of City Planning would be the most effective long term solution to the problem of over-development in Carroll Gardens; and

Whereas, A 50 foot height limit will protect the neighborhood from over-development while also providing time for the Department of City Planning to perform the necessary study and analysis that would precede the downzoning of Carroll Gardens; and

Whereas, A height restriction of 50 feet, to be implemented immediately, will cap the height on new building construction or alternation to existing buildings to prevent the construction of buildings higher than 50 feet over the next several years; now, therefore, be it.

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Department of City Planning to commence immediately a downzoning study of Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn and upon the Department of Buildings to not issue permits that would allow any new construction or alteration to an existing building to exceed a height limit of 50 feet until the Carroll Gardens neighborhood downzoning is complete.

Union Opposes the Clarett Group's Asbestos Removal at 340 Court St.

As reported on Curbed, Brooklyn Streets, Carroll Gardens and other blogs, Laborers' Local 78 has put up an inflatable rat and distributed flyers around the 340 Court St. site. The union is protesting Clarett's choice to use non-union workers to perform the dangerous asbestos abatement project. Their flyers encourage members of the neighborhood to call Veronica Hackett, the co-founder of Clarett Group, and urge her to employ union workers in order to ensure that such projects as asbestos removal is done safely and legally.




Neighbors of the site also question Clarett's apparent illegal use of a nearby fire hydrant. Some of their waste bins are also taking up parking space on Union St.

A complaint was put into 311 last night because work on the asbestos removal was being done after 12:00 AM, conflicting with Clarett's promise to work only during acceptable, legal hours. Here is a copy of the complaint as posted on the DOB website:

We have been trying to keep a controlled response to The Clarett Group's efforts at 340 Court St. in hopes of having a productive dialogue about safety and the outcome of the development. The Union's protest today has raised new levels of fear about the asbestos removal and general construction safety, along with all the issues around proper notification.

We have received many emails and calls about this important asbestos removal, along with numerous complaints about the open fire hydrant and blocked parking spots without proper permits on Union St. We know many calls were made to 311 today.

We are currently drafting a letter to Clarett requesting direct meaningful dialogue between USBA and Clarett Group about all these issues. Today's event highlight the immediate need for this dialogue.

Thank You

Thank you to those who attended the meeting on Saturday. We may have underestimated the amount and degree of concern in the neighborhood about the 340 Court St. development. 37 new members signed the attendance list and in total, there were over 50 concerned atendees.

Using the varied talents of Union-Sackett Block Association members, we have formed three important committees that have already begun to work towards our collective goals. We have established a Core Committee, which is responsible for shaping our goals and message, a Safety Committee, which will directly address issues of demolition and construction at 340 Court St., and a Communications Committee, which will help keep the neighborhood and media informed.

If you have an interest or want to make a contribution to these committees, please email the USBA at union.sackett@gmail.com Check the blog for updates from each commitee over the next few weeks before our next meeting on February 9th.