What do you get when you put the future of Red Hook into the hands of some of the Ivy League’s brightest young architects? A big parking lot.
Sadly, that’s what happened when a Yale professor asked his School of Architecture graduate students to plan the future of the historic neighborhood.
The CarPark plan — one of a handful of ideas drawn up by the students — calls for turning 143 acres of Red Hook into a parking lot and another 143 acres into a park (together, that comes to almost half of the neighborhood’s 680 acres). The plan would create an additional 31,021 parking spots, or 3.4 spots per dwelling unit.
The plan is one of a handful on display at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition’s Summer art show.
Those with a personal stake — rather than academic curiosity — in Red Hook were dumbfounded.
“Wow, is that what they’re teaching at Yale?” said Craig Hammerman, district manager of Community Board 6. “I can’t imagine worse public policy.”
Other student suggestions for the Hook included a theme park, a “naturalistic recreation park with camping,” an animal preserve, and big box stores spread evenly throughout the Hook, rather than congregated near the waterfront.
BWAC’s Summer art show (499 Van Brunt St., between Reed Street and the water) continues on weekends through Aug. 20, from 1 to 7 pm.
Professor Edward Mitchell and his students will be on hand on Saturday, Aug. 12, at 4 pm for an artists’ talk.
