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The Brooklyn Paper / Bess Adler

Some residents of State Street between Hoyt and Bond streets disapprove of a plan to build a school on their block. (From left) Andre Goerges, Janet Liles, Alex Guillot and Jamieson Webster stand on Webster’s stoop nexgt to the construction site.

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Neighbor is turning against neighbor on State Street over a private school’s plan for a new facility that some say will bring congestion to the residential enclave between Hoyt and Bond streets.

The site in question is at the corner of State and Hoyt streets. Developer IBEC Building Corporation bought the land in 2004 with the intention of constructing upscale townhouses — but when the market for such housing tanked, the company decided to sell the land to the progressive Brooklyn Friends School.

That change in plans annoyed some neighbors, who say that a school will cause more traffic than apartments.

“There have been tons of accidents on this block,” said Jamieson Webster, who is leading the fight. “The community even petitioned the city for a traffic light.”

At least 13 households signed onto a Webster-penned petition titled, “Keep State Street Residential.” But others, like Nat Hendricks, who has lived on the block since 1967, support the school plan.

“A quality school would be a great asset to the Boerum Hill community, and is sorely needed,” he said.

The neighborly squabble sits against the backdrop of a larger historic struggle. It took most of the 1990s, but Boerum Hill residents eventually convinced the city to institute “contextual” zoning on area streets that had slowly become residential over the previous decades.

That “contextual” zoning would allow a school, but a restrictive covenant on the deed for the IBEC site specifically stipulates that only residential construction would be permitted. As a result, IBEC needs to get the Empire State Development Corporation to sign off on the school plan before any construction could begin.

As much as the community might want a residential building, IBEC says that it’s just not feasible at this time.

“No bank will support a project with no tenants lined-up,” said Samy Brahimy, a company spokesman. “This project is a really interesting case of how to move forward through changing economic times.”

The construction on State and Bond Streets is just one part of a larger effort by the developer. Phase I of the project was the State Renaissance Court, a fully occupied, mixed-income building above the Hoyt–Schermerhorn subway station. Phase II, a row of six townhouses closer to Bond Street, is in its planning phase, and has generally been well-received by the block’s residents.

Taking the economy into account, some residents recognize that a school is not the worst possible outcome.

“They want to build an elementary school, not an oil refinery,” said James Cohen, who has rented on State Street for four years.

Brahimy said that his company is working with Brooklyn Friends to determine how much car and foot traffic will actually be generated by the school. They hope to win over their detractors at a presentation to the community in early October.

©2009 Community Newspaper Group