The Brooklyn Navy Yard recently released its RFP for the redevelopment of the Admiral’s Row site. MAS sees the RFP process as an opportunity to provide practical information to developers interested in responding to the RFP and to encourage the retention and rehabilitation of more than just the required two historic buildings on the site. As part of our Admiral’s Row work, MAS has developed several site plans showing how additional historic buildings can be integrated into new development on the site. In addition, we have gathered many resources on the history and potential future of the site. We are eager to work with developers in tailoring our initial site plans to the information provided in the RFP and to aid in identifying tax credits and financial incentives to help fund the preservation of these buildings.

We hope that our experience and information will be helpful to responders looking to create an exciting new development at Admiral’s Row that combines both new construction and the preservation of the incredibly-significant historic buildings. Continue reading for downloadable resources and further information Continue Reading>>

The rain has done more than just ruin our weekend plans recently.  Late this week it led to the partial collapse of one of the Admiral’s Row buildings near the Brooklyn Navy Yard.  Quarters C, seen in the right in this picture, was originally constructed prior to 1859 and is the second-oldest of all of the houses on the site.  It was altered with a mansard roof in the 1880s when Quarters H (pictured on the left) was built adjoining it.  MAS had known that Quarters C, unlike the vast majority of the other Admrial’s Row buildings, had major structural problems due to a fire, but we are disappointed that the National Guard, which owns the site, had not secured the buildings better to protect them from further damage from the elements. Thankfully, the New York City Fire Department determined that the remaining portion of Quarters C does not have to be demolished at this time.

MAS is calling on the National Guard to make necessary repairs to stabilize the nineteenth century structures as the process deciding the buildings’ future moves forward.  It was recently announced that the National Guard may only require the retention of Quarters A and the Timber Shed.  Nonetheless, MAS is still advocating to save more, and hopefully all, of the significant buildings on the site.  MAS believes that as the owner of the site, the National Guard needs to ensure that the abandoned buildings do not deteriorate any further.

For more information on Admiral’s Row and the efforts to preserve the buildings, watch this video. You can also write to the National Guard urging them to make all necessary repairs and do all necessary stabilization work in order to protect the buildings from further decay.

Today, the National Guard Bureau recommended that the Brooklyn Navy Yard be required to preserve two of the historic Admiral’s Row buildings if it purchases the site. Admiral’s Row is a collection of 11 19th century buildings that hold an important place in America’s naval history. MAS had proposed a compromise that would allow for the Navy Yard to develop the site with a grocery store and industrial space while retaining the historic buildings. MAS has also requested that the National Guard lower the sale price of the property to reflect the cost required to rehabilitate the buildings (law requires that the land is sold at fair market value).

“MAS developed feasible plans that show that we can have preservation and development at the Admiral’s Row site. We have hoped, and continue to hope, that more of these very significant historic buildings will be retained and incorporated into the development (see our video feature on Admiral’s Row),” said MAS director of advocacy and policy Lisa Kersavage.

“MAS appreciates the National Guard’s focus on this issue and the rigorous review it is conducting as part of the Section 106 process. We will continue to work with them to address issues that they have articulated in our effort to preserve more of the buildings. The Brooklyn Navy Yard is seeking to demolish the buildings to create a very large surface parking and we strongly believe that more of the historic buildings could be preserved by reconfiguring their plan.”

The details of the National Guard Bureau’s recommended mitigation measures include: the preservation of the Building B (the oldest and grandest house on the site, pictured) and the Timber Shed (built c. 1853 and likely the only such structure in the nation); the preservation of the historic trees along Flushing Avenue, the photographic documentation of buildings proper to demolition and archaeological work.

Admiral’s Row on the edge of the Brooklyn Navy Yard is in danger of being lost. MAS will attend a meeting tomorrow at which the negotiations between the National Guard, the owner of the property, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) will discuss the buildings’ future. The meeting is part of the federally-mandated Section 106 process that requires federal agencies to study the impact of their actions on important historic buildings.

MAS has been a part of the Section 106 process and has developed alternatives to demolishing the buildings that show it is possible to preserve them while also accommodating the Navy Yard’s program. In March, rumors surfaced that the National Guard may require the Navy Yard to retain only the Timber Shed and one of the houses on the site, which MAS believes is an inadequate solution.

This video explains these issues in more detail, including the buildings’ unique history, and why they should be saved. You can help us save Admiral’s Row. Continue Reading>>

MAS arranged two tours related to the theme of its April 28 panel discussion, Manufacturing a Greener New York. The first of these took place this past weekend. The second, Look for the Union Label takes place on Friday, May 22, 2:00 p.m.

President of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC), Andrew Kimball, led a MAS bus and walking tour of the extraordinary industrial park that is the Brooklyn Navy Yard last Friday afternoon, briefing tour-takers about the site that contains 40 buildings, 4 million square feet of leasable space and 5,000 employees. On our first stop, we saw the Perry Avenue Building, the nation’s first multi-tenant, multi-story green building — in fact a LEED Gold Building. (All future buildings at BNY will at least meet LEED Silver standards). To our right was the red brick 1889 Paymaster’s Building where burial shrouds for Hasidic Jews were made (niche market, indeed). Striking juxtapositions were everywhere. Continue Reading>>

There has been news coverage today on a reported compromise between the Navy Yard and the National Guard regarding the Admiral’s Row buildings in Brooklyn. Purportedly, only two of the eleven buildings will be retained.

Lisa Kersavage, MAS Director of Advocacy and Policy said in a public release, “If the reported compromise on the future of the Admiral’s Row buildings is true we are deeply disappointed because the majority of these buildings could and should be saved. We will continue fighting to save these important structures.”

It is not necessary to demolish the buildings in order to build on the site. MAS developed 11 alternative plans that that meet the Navy Yard’s program for a grocery store and retail (see rendering above left) and industrial space while allowing for the restoration and reuse of the historic buildings. Kersavage added, “If there is to be a compromise, it should be with the size of the 356-car parking lot, and not come at the expense of preserving these significant American treasures.” 

The buildings are in the midst of a federally-mandated Section 106 process, which provides the public with the opportunity to comment on the buildings’ demolition and to suggest alternatives that could prevent or mitigate the demolition of the historic structures. 

The Urbanists — the MAS membership group of young New Yorkers in their 20s and 30s —  joined advocacy staff on Wednesday night for an informal, insider’s presentation of the advocacy campaigns MAS is championing this year.

Over drinks, Urbanist members learned about the critical role that historic preservation plays in the future of a sustainable city (“the greenest building is the one that is already built”); saving the irreplaceable 19th century buildings of Admiral’s Row, adjacent to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and adapting them to new uses; and, the new vision and plan for Coney Island, one of America’s most iconic neighborhoods. Continue Reading>>

Joining founder of the Waterfront Preservation Alliance of Greenpoint and Williamsburg Ward Dennis were: moderator and president of the Society for Industrial Archaeology Mary Habstritt; MAS director of advocacy and policy Lisa Kersavage; president & chief operating officer of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Andrew Kimball; and preservation consultant to the Austin, Nichols, warehouse rehabilitation Robert Powers. Continue Reading>>

MAS convened experts and community members in an August brainstorming session to develop alternatives to the proposed demolition of Admiral’s Row. The principles for developing the site established during the session and the alternative plans that came out of it are displayed in the slide-show above.

Visit www.mas.org/preservation/admirals-row for more MAS advocacy on Admiral’s Row.

The owner of Astroland in Coney Island is seeking a longer lease from the major landowner, Thor Equities, as their negotiations with the City to rezone the area drag on (AP). MAS testified at the most recent public hearing on the rezoning, stating that the area set aside in the plan as of now for open-air amusements might be too small to sustain a truly great amusement district. Read MAS’ full comments on the revised draft scope.

Admiral’s Row, a series of mid-nineteenth century naval officers’ quarters in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, is under threat of demolition to make way for an industrial building, a supermarket, and parking. MAS presented six alternative plans for the site that would allow for these new structures while preserving all or some of the historic buildings. Watch a video and interview with MAS on NY1; read the full press release here.

In other news, the vacant Mart 125 on 125th Street will be reconstructed as a cultural venue for local arts and performance groups in Harlem Continue Reading>>