Filling a Need But Blocking the View

Plans for a new school and mixed use development in Brooklyn have neighbors excited about the project filling a need but also disappointed about the new project's height, which they say will ruin their view.

1 minute read

January 22, 2009, 8:00 AM PST

By Nate Berg


"Many among them want a local middle school for their children. But they are not sure they want it badly enough to accept its proposed packaging - an apartment tower that would block views of their neighborhood's most prized landmark, the Brooklyn Bridge."

"That is what would happen if a developer, the Two Trees Management Company, wins approvals to build the 18-story tower just east of the Brooklyn Bridge. The project, called Dock Street Dumbo, would include the new school, as well as shops and apartments that many residents say would add vibrancy to a stretch of warehouses."

"But the proposed building has also drawn many critics who say that it is too tall for its location. It would be nine stories higher than the Brooklyn Bridge and alter the view for nearby residents, as well as for tourists, shoppers, and the 132,000 drivers and thousands of pedestrians that the Department of Transportation estimates cross the bridge each day. Some bloggers have compared the proposal to placing a skyscraper next to the Eiffel Tower."

Wednesday, January 21, 2009 in The New York Times

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