Real Estate Brooklyn Heights

Should a 170-year-old garden in Brooklyn Heights be developed?

Neighbors mourn loss

December 21, 2023 Mary Frost
A garden in Brooklyn Heights
A glimpse of the secluded garden at 39 Grace Court in Brooklyn Heights. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle
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BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Community Board 2’s Land Use Committee on Wednesday approved — with several provisions — a contentious proposal for a new 3-story townhouse at 39 Grace Court in Brooklyn Heights. The property has been a private garden for more than 170 years, and one of several adjacent gardens bringing green space, light and air to a charming block in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District.

The committee approved the plans with the provisions that the owners conduct better outreach with the neighbors, especially those adjacent to the site; take into account all the recommendations that were given by the Brooklyn Heights Association; and refine the design with Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The vote was 7-0, with one recusal.

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Ileane Spinner, a resident of 2 Grace Court, said she knew nothing about the development of 39 Grace Court until the night before the CB2 meeting. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle

The property came on the market for development following the sale of two buildings at 34-36 Remsen St. in 2019, which included two adjoining lots at 37-39 Grace Court.

Following a presentation and discussion by Jacqueline Peu-Duvallon of JPD Preservation Consulting and architect Niall Carroll, principal at Ryall Sheridan Carroll Architects, Carstarphen and other committee members pressed the two presenters on what suggestions they had received from their initial meetings with LPC.

LPC had some issues with specific details such as the cornice and entryway, Peu-Duvallon responded. “But in terms of the overall composition, they were comfortable with it.”

The vacant property at 39 Grace Court has been a private garden for more than 170 years. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle

Neighbors said they were not informed

Several impassioned objections to the new building were raised by neighbors who mourned the loss of the green space and neighborhood character.

“You keep characterizing it as an empty lot. It was a beautiful garden,” said Ileane Spinner, a resident of 2 Grace Court. People came from all over to take pictures of the garden over the years, including NY1, she said. After the 6-story 45 Grace Court “snuck through” in 1963 the neighborhood was landmarked, “And we were told that nothing was going to happen after that.”

Like others attending the meeting, Spinner said she saw the proposal “on our Facebook page last night — before that we heard nothing about it.”

Architect Niall Carroll, left, explains a detail of the layout of 39 Grace Court. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle

Therese-Ann D’Ambrosia, the owner of a unit at 45 Grace Court immediately adjacent to the garden property, said she had heard of the proposed construction only the night before the meeting. “No one on the block was even aware of this,” she said.

But committee chair Daughtry Carstarphen made it clear that the owners had every right to build on the vacant property.

“We received eight letters on this property, all opposed,” she said. “I want people to know we read the letters and we understand some of the positions you are coming from about [not allowing] development on the site at all … But I don’t want to hear you say they shouldn’t build a house here, because that is not under our purview. There were a number of letters that mentioned construction, overnight parking, chaos, it’s a dead end street — we got that. We are all savvy, and we understand what happens with construction.”

She added, “Is this the first time any of you have ever been to a community board meeting?” Upon hearing a chorus of “yesses,” Carstarphen said, “It always breaks my heart when the first time you have ever gone to your own community board meeting is when something has gone wrong. I encourage you to please subscribe to our newsletter.”

Rendering of the proposed new building at 39 Grace Court. Ryall Sheridan Carroll Architects

Constructive criticism from BHA

More concrete objections were raised in a letter from the Brooklyn Heights Association, Carstarphen said, and these were the type of issues to which the committee gave weight. “I think the Brooklyn Heights Association did an amazing job. They have some very specific comments, and if you haven’t seen them already, I think there’s some good ones there,” she told the presenters.

The letter from BHA’s Landmarks Committee, chaired by Jeremy Lechtzin, criticized “the timid and inconsistent design” of the proposed house, which “detracts from Grace Court’s special architectural charm, even beyond the disappointing loss of the garden lot.” Grace Court’s diverse mix of building styles and “rich architectural precedents seem to have been ignored,” BHA said.

Given the history of the gardens, any new building on one of these garden lots has a high bar to meet, BHA wrote. However, the current design is “a grab-bag of Brooklyn rowhouse elements awkwardly adjusted to fit what zoning allows here.”

“We think the design would be better served by starting fresh with an approach incorporating smaller, stand-alone house precedents – buildings that are like jewel boxes appropriately proportioned to their sites,” BHA said. (See their letter here.)

The position of the proposed new building at 39 Grace Court. Ryall Sheridan Carroll Architects

“Grace Court is an especially beautiful and unique block — a half-secret treasure in many ways. The neighborhood, and the residents of Grace Court in particular, have benefited for quite a long time from the choice the owners of these garden lots collectively made to maintain them as green space,” BHA Executive Director Lara Birnback told the Brooklyn Eagle following the meeting. “We don’t take the potential loss of the garden lot lightly, and our testimony submitted to the committee should have made it clear that the townhouse being proposed has quite a ways to go to be considered worthy of the surrounding architecture, context, and special nature of this site.”

Peu-Duvallon said the team would discuss BHA’s design concerns with the owners, “who unfortunately couldn’t be here tonight … Any comments that you give us here tonight we will, of course, take back to the owners.”

The full board will vote Jan. 10 and a memo will be issued to LPC after that. LPC will separately schedule their own public hearing on the question.


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