They spook horses, don’t they?
Horses at a historic Prospect Park area stable will be frightened —
and get involved in more car accidents — if a super-sized apartment
is built next to the beloved Kensington Stable.
The tranquility of the three-dozen horses, who clip-clop through the already
busy traffic circle at the park’s southwestern corner on their way
to the park, was one reason behind this week’s rejection of the project
by a Community Board 7 committee.
Tranquility of humans was, of course, another.
“The increase in noise, emissions and hazard to pedestrians, not
to mention horses, is going to be exponential,” said Anna Brackett,
who spoke at the committee hearing.
The developer, 22 Caton Place LLC, wanted the board to rezone the lot
so that 20 more apartments could be built at the site, which is across
the street from Kensington Stable.
Opponents warned the board that even a seemingly small increase in bulk
would mean a difference between a happy horse and a skittish one cantering
through the traffic circle.
“A few months ago someone got sick of waiting in traffic and honked,”
said Walker Blankinship, who owns the Kensington Stable and opposes the
rezoning, “The horse kicked back and did $3,000 in damages to the
car.”
Congestion is always a concern. At least six times each day, riders —
some professional, others clearly amateurs — mount the stable’s
mares and colts and trot up East 8th Street to begin a 15-minute walk
towards the park.
Most drivers treat the horses like they treat pedestrians.
“They pull up right up to the horses’ butts,” said Fran
Levy, an instructor at the stable. “They get aggressive. You don’t
need to be an equine expert to see the problem.”
Over the last year, at least one car and a church van have collided with
horses along the route. In the latter accident, both horse and van were
injured — neither seriously, Blankinship said.
“These were minor accidents compared to what could happen if a child
happened to be on a pony when someone honked,” he lamented.
Fans of the stables, which is the only such facility in southwest Brooklyn,
also pointed out that increased development of the area could lead to
a loss of the stables’ famed small-town feel. Parents show up all
day long with their kids and hand over $2 for a slow pony ride up and
down Caton Place. For most Brooklyn kids, it’s their first and only
chance to get in the saddle.
Development has already put the squeeze on Kensington Stable. In May,
five ponies were relocated when one of its two 19th-century barns was
sold and converted into an eight-story condo. Other horses were crammed
into the remaining stable.
Neighbors came out forcefully against the rezoning.
“This is about the stable, but its also just about putting controls
on development,” added Mandy Harris, whose Web site, www.stablebrooklyn.com,
monitors growth in the neighborhood.
The land-use panel’s unanimous rejection of the rezoning sends the
proposal to Borough President Marty Markowitz, who will hold his own hearing
in early December.
CB7 district manager Jeremy Laufer refused to call the vote a victory
of horses over developers.
“I don’t want to say the community board supports the horses
because that sounds silly,” he said, “but I will say the board
is very much in favor of keeping this last stable around Prospect Park.”
The developer disputed that calm horses and a big apartment building are
mutually exclusive.
“The horses are valued,” said the developer’s lawyer, Barbara
Hair, “but I don’t see the project as increasing any risk for
them.”
She added that the entire development “would have to be rethought”
if the zoning change is not approved by Markowitz and the City Planning
Commission.
