Apparently this dude wants to build to the limit on 88-92 Linden Boulevard, according to The Real Deal.
Actually the article says Boaz Gilad of Brookland wants to build big as he can, meaning it's "as of right" and ain't nobody gonna stop 'im. But more to the point, this rendering really nails a vision of the neighborhood that shows what you can build up next to one of these older six story buildings. A hodge here, a podge there. And lots of glass, supposedly because no one needs privacy anymore. Actually in the age of Google and the NSA we sold out our privacy already. For ease and convenience and Facebook stay-in-touch we gave it all away. So why not dance naked in our apartments for all to see? There's nothing left to hide anyway.
Is it my imagination, or is the renderer of this property a cut above? Seems almost impressionistic. Look at the trees and sky - a frustrated high artist? Might look nice above the living room sofa. Hmm. Let me take a look at it again...
13 comments:
It's big, but I see nothing wrong with the design aesthetic. Big windows are cool. To me, it's better to have bold stylistic contrast than something that will "blend," like a big brick box.
Alex: You're savvy enough to know that it'll never actually look like this. Renderings can even make Fedders buildings look terrific. Frankly all I care about anymore is that we build means-tested units and there's little chance of that during this boom. Maybe next, after China implodes a la Japan.
TRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUE. But a lot of the time these glass buildings come out looking pretty appealing, especially if you're an exhibitionist.
How are they allowed to come out beyond the building line?
alex, you see nothing wrong with this design because you won't have to look at it from your apartment window, and it's not going to be blocking your view of the holy cross church steeple U_U i'm bummed. i'm also bummed that it's probably going to jut out in front of literally all the buildings on Linden--which are all set back a considerable amount from the street; part of what makes Linden so beautiful. but honestly, right now i'm just hoping super hard that they don't damage/rip out the incredibly large old tree on the sidewalk in front of this lot :( if that tree survives construction, i can swallow the rest of the bitter pill
Roxv, your concerns are totally valid, and all things being equal, it would be worse if it were brick box.
There is no front door.
Entrance is by helipad only.
Roxy, note that I was comparing to a big brick box, not a structure of smaller size. Something smaller would be better in terms of preserving views, etc.
There must have been some defunct zoning thing that mandated buildings be setback from the sidewalk a certain distance. Either that or the street was narrowed at some point,
Jacob: i honestly think, from having read old brooklyn daily eagle articles about my building, that in the early 20th century when all the plots of land were being bought by developers, the remaining residents/homeowners (in wood frame houses on large plots of land) were wealthy/influential enough to force the developers to keep in character with the street. In fact, the man who built my building in the 1930s on Lenox bought it from a very wealthy man who actually had a real estate empire, and whose family married into the Lotts and Cortelyous, etc. i'm sure it was *slightly* more complicated than that, but i'm gonna guess $$ was the main factor here
Linden beautiful? ok...
Have you noticed that 226 Linden, the supportive housing studios, which is close to being finished, maintains the street line and front garden? Adds to the mystery of why buildings do or don't.
http://newyorkyimby.com/2014/09/revealed-226-linden-boulevard-flatbush.html
BTW speaking of the beauty or lack thereof of Linden, as we all know this is a major truck artery connecting JFK airport to NJ. I seriously doubt this was the case at the time of the genteel Linden Blvd of the 1930s. From what I can tell, at that time most freight was moved on the rail lines between Ave H and Ave I. Since then, freight rail declined, trucking industry and unions boomed, Flatbush, ENY, Kensington, South Slope, and Windsor Terrace had little political power, and voila, trucks careening through residential neighborhoods.
Ydanis Rodriguez is the chair of the city's transportation committee. Last week he gave support for the Cross Harbor Rail Tunnel, which would, according to him, take 1 million trucks off of city streets. Transportation advocates know that this is not as simple as it sounds: the bill for the proposed tunnel is $7 billion and that money would come from the same places as the proposed and much discussed NY-NJ train tunnel. There is an alternate plan to put freight on barges (in Sunset Park I think) and then have it cross the river.
http://www.streetsblog.org/2015/10/05/outlining-transpo-vision-rodriguez-champions-toll-reform-in-city-council/
You can imagine how Linden, Church, Flatbush, Caton, 20th st, and McDonald would be transformed by a tunnel which restored freight train usage to the city and took 18 wheelers off the streets. But I doubt it will happen in our lifetimes.
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