Fulton Ferry Landing Association

 At today’s hearing at the Landmarks Preservation Commission, after testimony was read by FFLA and the Historic Districts Council and others, the Commissioners decided that the architects for 9 Old Fulton Street needed to make design changes to the façade. They also asked for additional evidence that the rooftop penthouse would not be seen from the street.

Here are excerpts from FFLA’s testimony today:

 We had a chance to review the proposed drawings for the building and have looked at historic reproductions that provided information concerning the former building at this site.

 From these references one can establish that number 7 and number 9 Old Fulton Street were originally “sisters”, detailed with the same architectural nomenclature and materials. Unfortunately, when 7 Old Fulton Street was renovated in the late nineties, the original design elements, for instance, a very simple cornice, were not referenced. And now as the proposed design shows, the historically incorrect design vocabulary of 7 Old Fulton Street is applied in the façade design of the newly proposed building.

Similarly, the façade at street level needs to be examined as to the appropriateness of the assemblage of architectural elements. Also,  material choices have not been shown in the Architect’s presentation, so we are left guessing.

Before the design of the façade is approved, we would like to request that the Landmark Preservation Commission guides the owner and architect to apply historically correct architectural elements in design, scale and materials, whether copied or in stylized form.

While we support the construction of a contextually appropriate and historically accurate building on this site, we are dismayed by the rooftop addition and stair bulkhead. These are the reasons we oppose the addition:

1)           The development of this building must be kept in context, exemplifying the history of Old Fulton Street and its significance to Brooklyn’s progress. This history deserves to be strengthened rather than diluted.

2)           The surviving row of Greek revival buildings must not be seen in isolation, as they are an extension of Schemerhorn row on Fulton Street in Manhattan. No rooftop addition was permitted there; why should one be permitted here?

3)           The rooftop addition for 11-15 Old Fulton was granted based on an alleged hardship claimed by the developer due to the condition of the buildings (he has done nothing to restore them, by the way).  As 9 Old Fulton is an empty lot and a new building is to be erected, no such hardship exists.  Moreover, this community strongly opposed that addition as a bad precedent, fearing that we would have to return here, as we are today, opposing a proposed addition on an adjacent property.

4)           The dense volume of any rooftop addition will encroach on the view of the Brooklyn Bridge because these properties are almost directly below it.  The space surrounding the Bridge is part of its grandeur.

5)           The visual impact of the strength and severity of the Brooklyn Bridge riding on top of this row of 19^th century, four story structures is profound and should not be diminished  by the inclusion of a modern penthouse.

Application has been made to construct a new building at 9 Old Fulton, in the currently empty lot. This is within the FFL historic district, but since it is a new building next to an historic row of houses, the height and design will be extremely important.  The application was approved by the CB2 Land Use Committee over several no votes; a motion to approve without a rooftop “mezzanine”  was defeated by one vote.  

The design has been described to us as a penthouse “cube” on top of the 4-story building. We have concerns that the bulkhead will encroach on the view of the Bridge, will be seen from the street, and will be inconsistent with the historic character of this row of houses, whose history extends back to the 1830’s.  

A Public viewing of the plans will be held at the Landmarks Preservation Commission office,  1 Centre Street, 9th floor, on May 1st followed by a Public Hearing on Tuesday, May 5th, starting at 9:30 am.  If you are interested please come, see for yourself, and most importantly, speak to the LPC on May 5th about the importance of maintaining the character of this historic neighborhood.