June 2, 2007: Vol. 30, No. 22

The development project that Cobble Hill residents love to hate will likely move forward, despite a unanimous rejection from Community Board 6 at a public hearing last week.

The building in question is a 60-foot condo tower slated to rise next to the landmark Independence Savings Bank building on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Court Street. The six-story condo will replace a parking lot and is within the boundaries of the Cobble Hill Historic District.

As such, approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission was required before DUMBO-based Two Trees Management could move forward with a tower that would rise above the historic district’s 50-foot height limit.

The landmarks commission approval last year provoked the ire of local preservationists who slammed the agency for failing to recognize its own rule.

Those same opponents are again crying foul now that Two Trees is seeking additional exemptions so that the building can be bulkier than typically permitted.

“[If we want to preserve our neighborhoods], we must uphold [preservation] law,” said Jeff Strabone, a resident of Cobble Hill.

But not all landmark codes have been ignored. Indeed, the Two Trees plan was dead in the water last year, until the company redrew the plan to preserve a historic bank annex on the site. That move paved the way for the landmarks commission approval.

Last week’s CB6 rejection, while only advisory, was a first step in land-use review process of the overall project that leads to a City Council vote later this year. If the project is approved, construction will likely begin before the end of the year.

At last week’s meeting, Councilman Bill DeBlasio (D–Cobble Hill) testified that the building was an “appropriate exemption” to the district’s limitations.

“On balance, it is important to maintain height and keep to the rules [of the historic district],” DeBlasio said. “In this case, I believe we are looking at a good project that fits to the site.”

The councilm­an was the only person other than the developer’s lawyer who spoke in support of the project at the hearing, but observers said his support would be vital as the project moves through its public review.

Even opponents admitted that changing the scale of the tower at this point in the game was unlikely.

“All we can do is hope,” said Cobble Hill Association member Franklin Stone.

Samuel Charney, a spokesman for Two Trees, defended the scale of the project as the necessary price to pay for a costly historic restoration of the 83-year-old bank next door, which Two Trees is developing as part of this project.

“[The project] barely makes sense at six stories,” he said. “Making it any smaller would just not possible. It wouldn’t be financially viable.”

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper