It's been a couple of months since we checked in with a photo of the progress at Jane's Carousel in the Dumbo section of Brooklyn Bridge Park. It's pretty clear from this photo what the footprint of the carousel itself will be in the Jean Nouvel-designed glass structure. According to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp., the carousel project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the summer.
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Both the city and state are incredibly committed to the project and the funds are all in place for us to build over two-thirds of the park by 2013. With One Brooklyn Bridge Park up and running, the condominium which is down on Furman Street, we are already receiving the taxes and ground rent to support operations in the early year.
House training! Bridge Park supporters say condos are the best way to raise dough
By Natalie O’Neill
April 4, 2011
Quote:
Supporters of housing inside Brooklyn Bridge Park brought out the big guns last week to support residential units inside the park as the best way to meet a state mandate that the park generate enough revenue to cover its maintenance budget.
At a hearing last week, the head of the private Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy and the former head of the Prospect Park Alliance testified that condos within the park footprint are more reliable sources of cash — and better for the public — than charging fees to use the park’s facilities, hoping for money from film crews permits and renting out space to more snack carts.
“Limited residential development actually privatizes the park less,” Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy Executive Director Nancy Webster told a crowd of 100 at the hearing last Thursday at St. Francis College.
Tupper Thomas, who until this year was Webster’s counterpart at the venerable Prospect Park Alliance, also backed housing as the most stable option, explaining the woes maintaining cash-strapped open space.
“All of these gray hairs on my head will show you how hard it is to raise private money for a public park,” said Thomas, who retired in January. “[Housing is] a great mechanism to maintain the park in the future.”
That assertion didn’t convince neighbors like Roy Sloane of the Cobble Hill Association.
“I will never support housing in this park until there are high-rises in Prospect Park, Central Park and every other major park in this city,” he said.
Sloane and other foes of housing have been on their own campaign since February, when the Park’s Committee on Alternatives to Housing unveiled a study that predicted that non-housing options could at most generate $7 million, not even half of the ballooning $16-million maintenance budget. And half of that revenue would come from a new tax on residents and businesses inside a “park improvement district” whose borders would comprise all properties within one-quarter mile of the park — as such, it is unlikely to gain political traction.
Opponents of housing say that the consultant report low-balled the figures to make it seem like high-rises were the best option.
For example, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund claims that the report only accounted for the $300 cost of a city film permit for a total of $1,500 to $4,500 annually. Yet park officials charge an additional fee to film in the park — to the tune of $30,000 for a single major shoot. The group also said $1 million more could be generated from parking and $365,000 more could be generated from concessions.
Most important, committee rules forbade it from considering the largest pot of money: the revenue generated after the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society sells dozens of currently tax-exempt properties that it owns in Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO.
“All the numbers are to justify one goal: building high on the waterfront,” said Judi Francis, president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund, which has sued to keep housing out of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
The construction of housing and other revenue-generating uses stems from a 2002 agreement between the city and state that the $350-million park raise its own maintenance budget so it would not be a drain on city coffers.
But the proposed 20- to 30-floor luxury high-rises have long been the waterfront development’s most-controversial feature, so park officials created the committee to search for alternatives to housing.
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Work is now happening in earnest on the future home of Jane's Carousel. This photo from today shows some vertical action at the site on the Dumbo waterfront. The antique carousel will be enclosed by a Jean Nouvel-designed glass structure, and it's supposed to be good to go by the end of the summer.
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Judge Blocks City’s Proposal for 2 Buildings in Brooklyn
By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS
April 10, 2011
Quote:
The development of two buildings in Brooklyn has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, who ordered Friday that the mid-19th-century structures be returned to a designation of federally protected parkland.
New York City had approved a proposal to allow one of the buildings, the Tobacco Warehouse, to be used by St. Ann’s Warehouse, a theater company based in the Dumbo neighborhood that has been looking for a new home. The city was planning to take proposals for the Empire Stores building this spring, city officials said.
But Judge Eric N. Vitaliano said that the National Park Service broke the law when it redrew the lines of Empire Fulton Ferry State Park without public hearings, leaving the Tobacco Warehouse and the Empire Stores, both waterfront structures, outside of the park’s borders.
The National Park Service and New York City, both defendants in the case, argued that the buildings had been included in the park by mistake, and that they were not suitable for outdoor recreation, making them ineligible for inclusion. The National Park Service, they argued, was within its rights to correct the mistake.
Judge Vitaliano, of the Eastern District of New York, did not agree, issuing a preliminary injunction against the move.
“The house of cards erected by the defense cannot withstand the gentlest breeze,” he said in his decision.
Haley Stein, a lawyer for the city, said in a statement: “We are disappointed with the court’s ruling and look forward to presenting our full case to the Court. Brooklyn Bridge Park remains committed to moving the Tobacco Warehouse project forward and incorporating plans for St. Ann’s Warehouse and Empire Stores as vibrant parts of the park.”
A spokesman for St. Ann’s Warehouse declined to comment.
Jim Walden, the lawyer who represented the plaintiffs, which included the Brooklyn Heights Association and the New York Landmarks Conservancy, said that the Bloomberg administration had lobbied vigorously for the park’s map to be redrawn.
“What is clear is that the Bloomberg administration really wanted to do this,” Mr. Walden said. “The city was pushing the idea that this was a mistake, oh, it was a mistake, and that’s where the judge’s language was the harshest.”
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Framework for Jean Nouvel's Brooklyn Barn Now in Place
Tuesday, April 19, 2011, by Sara Polsky
Quote:
For all the controversy that preceded it, and the fact that it involves a starchitect and the wife of a Dumbo kingpin, the Jean Nouvel pavilion designed to house Jane Walentas' antique carousel has been going up rather quietly in Empire Ferry State Park.
We've swiped this latest construction shot from Dumbo NYC. The steel frame is on its way up, and the whole thing, glass pavilion included, is set to be done around August. What will it look like when it's done?
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Just dance! Brooklyn Bridge Park gets down and funky starting on May 12
Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1 brings on the funk, as Celebrate Brooklyn throws a dance party on May 12 with DJ Spinna bringing the tunes.
May 2, 2011
By Meredith Deliso
Quote:
There’s even more Celebrate Brooklyn to love.
The Prospect Park-based performing arts festival expands to Brooklyn Bridge Park this month, with a dance party series planned for Pier 1.
Kicking things off on May 12 is Maceo Parker, a funk musician whose laid down his gritty sax lines with James Brown, Parliament-Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins and Prince. He’ll be joined by DJ Spinna, who will get you moving with a mix of old school funk and futuristic electro.
The series continues on May 19 with salsa big band La Excelencia and DJS Aue Bajo?!, and then bhangra enthusiasts Red Braat and DJ Rekha on May 26, just in time for Celebrate Brooklyn to kick off at the Prospect Park Bandshell on June 10 with Andrew Bird.
“The performers and DJs are prime examples of the diverse, world-class programming Celebrate Brooklyn is known for, and each is a treasure that exemplifies a particular genre,” said Jack Walsh, director of performing arts programs for BRIC, which produces Celebrate Brooklyn. “They all put on a great live show and lay down irresistible dance grooves.”
Brooklyn Bridge Dance Party at Pier 1 (lawn of Pier 1 at the foot of Old Fulton Street in DUMBO), May 12, 19 and 26 at 7 pm. Free. For info, visitwww.bricartsmedia.org
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
East River Floating Pool Concept Now Closer to Reality
Our obsession with +Pool has never wavered. Still, we've doubted the likelihood that the project—four pools in one plus-sign shape floating within the East River—might ever come to pass, because all we had were cryptic hints. Until now! The +Pool team, which has partnered with an engineering firm, has put up a Kickstarter page with the goal of raising $25,000 by July 15 (current total: $4,305). The money's for testing a filtration system that would filter water through the pool's walls "like a giant strainer," always an idea we can get behind when we're talking about people diving into the East River. The ultimate goal of this stage is to build a full-size working prototype of one pool section. This calls for taking the floaties out of storage!
__________________ New York City,The City That Never Sleeps,The Capitol Of The World,The Big Apple,The Empire City,The Melting Pot,The Metropolis,Gotham
Buildings Over 200 Meters 62 Completed 20 Under Construction 50 Proposed 0 On Hold
"City and state officials plan to sign an agreement today that would allow limited private housing to be built at Brooklyn Bridge Park, the New York Times reported. The agreement will ensure the completion of the park, which will expand to 85 acres along the East River...
Housing, Bloomberg believes, will create a steady stream of money and allow the park to be self-sustaining. He initially wanted three apartment buildings at the park; property taxes would be dedicated to the park, the Times said."
That glass carousel is, according to NYGuy's post, supposed to be down around August. It's now August 3, does anybody have any updated shots of this or any news at all?
That glass carousel is, according to NYGuy's post, supposed to be down around August. It's now August 3, does anybody have any updated shots of this or any news at all?
I saw it recently, its almost complete but the carousel itself is still not there yet.
Photo by Zach Campbell from Brooklyn Heights Press
By Gabby | 08/16/2011
Quote:
Last time we checked in on Jane’s Carousel in Dumbo, glass on the Jean Nouvel-designed pavilion was starting to show, and now Brooklyn Heights Press has photographic evidence that the carousel itself has made an appearance on the waterfront.
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Brooklyn Bridge Park is in talks with Con Edison to acquire a three-acre parcel of vacant land near the Manhattan Bridge, a key component needed to complete the 85-acre waterfront park.
The site, on John Street between Adams and Jay streets, is slated to have an apartment tower up to 130 feet tall, a tide pool and additional parkland.
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Prev
Linear Mode
