Against the recommendation of its Land Use/Landmarks Committee, Community Board 6 last week rejected the vision for a new storefront in the Park Slope Historic District.
The board argued that as proposed, glass-heavy, “big box” look of 79-81 Seventh Avenue is wholly inappropriate for the district, which prides itself on its small town aesthetic.
The board will pass its recommendation, which came first in the rejection of its committee’s vote and then in the form of a motion to urge the developer to create a design in keeping with the character of the neighborhood, to the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), which has official say over whether the project may proceed.
LPC spokesperson Lisi de Bourbon said that her agency held a hearing on Oct. 6, weighing whether to give its approval to demolish the existing building and construct a new one-story structure. No vote was taken, and the commission will again review the matter at a date to be determined, de Bourbon said.
The board reasoned that the design should have less overwhelming fenestration, and the that the storefront should be broken up so as simulate smaller frontages. As presented, said board member Ben Atkins, the design “erodes the small town quality of Park Slope.”
The fear is that the design will invite the presence of a large chain store. Board member Barbara Ginsberg said that wouldn’t be as bad as some members fear. “Things change in life…and this is what neighborhoods need,” she said.
Building owner David Chemtob, a partner in Midwood-based Renaissance Realty Group, promised the design would be amended. “It was a beautiful design and I thought the architect did a very nice job designing it,” he said. Still, he said, because of the community board’s Oct. 14 vote, “we will amend it.” He said he could not give a time frame for the new design, being crafted by the firm Fogarty & Finger, and did not have a tenant yet to occupy the space, which consists of two one-story buildings that were destroyed in a fire in 2004.
Board 6 District Manager Craig Hammerman called the board’s overturning of its committee vote is “very unusual.”
“While some people noted that the plans presented were a vastimprovement over plans presented two years ago, it’s still not a good enough design to be in keeping with the neighborhood’s historic integrity,” Hammerman said.
Park Slope Civic Council president Ken Freeman said he didn’t see the latest design, but the first iteration of the project “stuck out like a sore thumb.”
“Seventh Avenue is one of the main commercial corridors in the neighborhood and having a mixed use vibe along the strip is part of what makes it a thriving commercial district and that’s part of the reason that the civic council is seeking to expand the historic district to include all of Seventh Avenue,” he said. “That sort of low-rise, 24-seven, live, work, shop feel is what makes Park Slope, Park Slope.”
He said feelings on the storefront’s design are entirely subjective. “People will have different opinions, so at the end of the day, that’s why we have LPC,” he said.
