Preservation Online: Story of the Week Archives: Forgotten Brooklyn

From Preservation Online, the online magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

www.preservationonline.org

Forgotten Brooklyn
Will a Supermarket Replace the Once-Grand Navy Yard Mansions?

Story by David V. Griffin / Oct. 13, 2006

Even hidden by vegetation, the half-dozen houses that make up Admiral's Row are among the grandest remnants of Brooklyn's once-bustling Navy Yard. Dating from 1863 to 1901, the buildings include some of New York City's earliest and most impressive examples of the French Second Empire Style. Constructed as quarters for high-ranking Naval officials and their families, Admiral's Row is a far cry from the austere barracks most associate with military housing.

"It's hard to find a military site of this period and scale," says Simeon Bankoff, director of New York City's Historic Districts Council. "It's equally hard to find an architectural ensemble of this character in New York."

Now plans are on the table for a possible supermarket on the site, and Brooklyn seems about to lose one of its most unusual urban sites.

Part of what makes the buildings unique is the six-acre plot of gardens that surrounds them. But these gardens are now weedy plots choked with rubble, and the houses themselves have fallen into a state of decay that their future holders, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC), claim is irreversible.

"There would have been no question about restoring the buildings if we had gotten control of them sooner," says David Lowin, vice president of development and planning for the BNYDC.

The Navy Yard closed in 1966, and the property passed into the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of Engineers. New York City bought the majority of the site in the 1970s, leasing it to the BNYDC, a nonprofit development organization responsible for finding tenants for the yard's numerous large-scale buildings. However, the city acquired Admiral's Row and its surrounding neighborhood only recently, and the BNYDC is still in the process of finalizing the transfer. In the 30 years that passed between the city's initial purchase and its present interest in Admiral's Row, the buildings have suffered intrusions by wild animals, vandals, and homeless people and have sustained seasonal damage that went unchecked. "Even in the four years since the process of acquiring Admiral's Row started, things have gotten well past the point of no return," Lowin says. "And they were pretty much there to begin with."

Many preservationists say there's hope for the mansions of Admiral's Row. Alex Herrera, director of technical services at the New York Landmarks Conservancy, allows that the houses "are in deplorable condition" but says that "they're very sturdy structures and are perfectly restorable. Many homeowners in the Fort Greene area have handled much worse. The problem is that there is no will on the part of the current administration to save them."

In September 2005, at the commission's request, the New York-based engineering firm of Robert Silman Associates, Inc., studied Admiral's Row and found the buildings structurally sound. "The firm's findings suggested that the masonry houses were certainly salvageable, allowing for the fact that wooden additions would have to be removed," Herrera says. "The recommendation was made at that time to stabilize the buildings by providing them with temporary roofing to prevent further water damage. No steps were taken by the BNYDC."

Lowin "doesn't doubt" the veracity of Silman Associates' report. "To me, the biggest obstacle is the astronomical cost involved for what would be a ground-up renovation." He points to other historic structures at the Yard that the BNYDC has stabilized, such as the magnificent 1838 Greek revival Naval Hospital and the much-admired 1863 Surgeon's House. "We're very proud of the work we've done, where and when such work was feasible. We want to preserve historical resources, but we have to think of costs as well."

Paul Palazzo, an activist with the Fort Greene Association, accuses the Navy Yard of ignoring the houses without exploring other options. "We have always wanted to see an open request for proposals offered to investors and developers. There's plenty of money to made in historic renovation—the whole Fort Green neighborhood is a testament to that." Palazzo points out the steadily rising property values in Fort Greene and other historic Brooklyn neighborhoods where preserved brownstone architecture enhances property values and creates an attractive atmosphere for multiple levels of investment. "But this takes imaginative planning and a long-term view to accomplish. The current administration is interested in neither."

An open request for propsals will be made, Lowin points out that an open RFP will be made—but after the site has been cleared. "We've been discussing this in community meetings for two years," Lowin says. "At no point has anyone come forward with a plan for commercial redevelopment."

Bankoff believes that the current conditions of Admiral's Row are not insurmountable from an economic standpoint. "The interiors are gone, but that's irrelevant from the point of view of finding a viable option for the buildings. In fact, for some purposes, it may make things easier. One or more buildings could be incorporated into a single plan, whether commercial or residential." This is the case in neighborhoods such as Greenwich Village and nearby Brooklyn Heights, where former houses similar in scale to those at Admiral's Row have been converted to boutiques and shops.

Yet the possibility of restoration is waning in the face of the proposed supermarket, which has been praised by some locals, among them city council member Letitia James. "I am very much into preservation, and this was a difficult decision," James says. "But currently there is no market to serve the Farragut Public Housing, which has a high residency of seniors." James says that fourth graders at PS 287 completed a school project based on what they would like to see at the Navy Yard, and "many wanted a supermarket. It's too bad we can't preserve the buildings for these same children, but it appears to be cost-prohibitive, and certain practical concerns have to be addressed."

Palazzo acknowledges the need for such amenities, but calls such a building "a placeholder." "A building like [the proposed supermarket] has an obviously temporary lifespan. It's simply there until they can get a more lucrative project up and running. This is slash-and-burn development at its worst."

David V. Griffin is a freelance writer living in New York.