Like it or not, “Flarke” and “Hensvik” may soon become
part of the Brooklyn lexicon.
Swedish home furnishings giant Ikea received its first stamp of approval
this week when Community Board 6 voted to approve the application for
a 346,000-square-foot store along the Erie Basin in Red Hook.
The board voted 34-4 with two abstentions in favor of the plan following
a two-hour discussion at its monthly general meeting at the Park Slope
YMCA on June 9.
Three of the four board members who voted against the plan live in Red
Hook, the fourth lives in neighboring Carroll Gardens.
Several board members who initially opposed the plan said they changed
their minds following several Ikea presentations and a public hearing.
But others held their ground, claiming the massive box store would snarl
traffic and turn Red Hook and surrounding neighborhoods into a “suburban
strip mall.”
“I’m tired of Manhattan turning Brooklyn into the new Paramus,”
said board member Edith Stone who voted against the Ikea application.
“It’s time to say, ‘No more big box stores.’”
Ikea builds most of its stores in suburban areas, in industrial parks
or off highway exits; this Ikea would be the first in an urban area.
Stone, a Red Hook resident, said she was also concerned about a set of
Civil War-era buildings Ikea would be razing to make way for the sweeping
store.
The project would also include 71,400 square feet of adjacent restaurant
and retail space and 1,400 parking spaces. The store would be elevated
18 feet to allow for 600 parking spots underneath.
Ikea went into contract to purchase the 22-acre former New York Shipyard
— roughly between Dwight and Columbia streets along the Erie Basin
— almost two years ago.
Ever since then the proposal has split the community into two camps —
those concerned about traffic and preserving the waterfront and those
who want jobs for the community.
Early on, Ikea officials reached out to the Red Hook Houses city housing
projects, which are home to 75 percent of the neighborhood’s residents,
promising hundreds of jobs.
Some of those residents attended Wednesday’s meeting, but many had
to leave because the community board had not secured a room large enough
to accommodate everyone.
While the board voted in favor of the application it also added several
conditions and just this week Ikea committed to funding a job training
program to prepare Red Hook residents for the 600 jobs the company says
will be available. Fifty of those jobs will be management level, according
to Ikea.
The other conditions include:
• Ikea cannot open until all traffic mitigation measures are in place.
• A restrictive covenant is placed on the site to prevent any development
on the waterfront esplanade.
• Traffic studies will be conducted after the store opens and Ikea
must agree to fund needed improvements.
Pauline Blake, co-chair of the CB6 land use committee, spoke about the
importance of creating new jobs for the community.
“You’ve got to promote this borough, not just for a few but
for everybody,” said Blake.
Because the site is zoned M-3, meant for heavy manufacturing, Ikea is
seeking a variance.
The company certified plans with the Department of City Planning last
month and the plans are now wending their way through he city’s rigorous
Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).
The application will now go before Borough President Marty Markowitz,
the City Planning Commission and the City Council.
In response to community concerns Ikea has amended the plan adding a 6.4
acre public esplanade — a mile end to end — along the waterfront.
Ikea’s real estate director, Pat Smith, said the store will not open
until the esplanade is completed.
Ikea will also maintain a dry dock, convert an existing pier into a public
area and maintain five gantry cranes on the site to retain some of its
maritime heritage.
The company also plans on leasing four piers to the neighboring Erie Basin
Barge Port, which is home to 200 working vessels.
Asked about this week’s vote, Joe Bernardo, a co-owner of the Hope
and Anchor restaurant on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook said he was disappointed.
“It’s so sad,” said Bernardo, who has lived in Red Hook
for the past seven years. “These people do not understand what Ikea
traffic means. That traffic will flood everywhere.”
