Trees are making way for a four-story building in Brooklyn Heights, as work on a controversial development project near 20 Henry Street appears to be moving forward.
The developer, 20 Henry Street Development LLC, is planning its new building in the garden near 20 Henry Street, a former Mitchell-Lama rent-stabilized building, which will be renovated.
Fourteen condos will occupy the former candy factory, which at one time housed artists. ‘Reservations’ for units in the former factory are already being taken at the website, 20Henry.com. Prices start at $600,000.
The developers paid $19.6 million for the site, according to reports.
Tree branches littered the road near the garden this week—a sign, according to one anonymous tipster, that “a little bit of Brooklyn Heights is being lost.”
After numerous failed attempts, the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission ruled in 2006 that the garden was not an integral part of the historic district, according to Robert Perris, the district manager of Community Board 2.
“The design went through several iterations, and the community board opposed all those that it saw,” he said.
Irene Janner, the office manager for the Brooklyn Heights Association, said the civic group also opposed the new builidng, but lost the battle.
“It wasn’t technically a public garden, but it made the street a lot more pleasant,” she said.
The garden held sculptures made by local artists.
“It was a wonderful thing on the streetscape,” she said. “You can’t keep the trees and build a new building.”
