How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
Admiral's Row, in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, is a row of beautiful houses dating back to 1864. They were used to as homes for naval officers until the 1970s. Some of the oldest trees in America grow on the property and one of the houses was used as quarters by John McCain's father during World War II. The area was owned by the National Guard Bureau, which made no effort to maintain the property. With time, Admiral's Row deteriorated.
In 1987 a congressional law was passed allowing the federal government to sell the property to the city of New York for "fair market value," and in 1996 a memorandum of agreement condemned Admiral's Row, the title for the property was transferred to the city and it was authorized to be demolished. Now, the city and the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation want to tear down nine of the 10 houses to build a 40,000-square-foot supermarket (reduced from 65,000-square-feet) and two industrial buildings.
I tried to get both sides of the issue by speaking to Andrew Kimball, the president of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. But he refused to speak on the matter and referred me to one of his minions. The minion argued that there are no supermarkets in that area of Brooklyn, where "low-income people" have to travel a small distance to get groceries. He also said that most of the houses were condemned and unable to be reconstructed — something that the Army Corps of Engineers disputes. When I asked him if the Navy Yard will be making money off the proposed supermarket and industrial buildings, he said yes, but noted the money would be going back to "developing the community." I should note that by industrial buildings, we're not talking about low-rent spaces for manufacturers, we're talking about a Target or something similar.
Scott Witter, founder of Brooklyn's Other Museum of Brooklyn and a leader in the fight against the demolition of Admiral's Row, says the rhetoric of the Navy Yard Corp. is a "crock of shit." I agree with him. Witter said the 1996 memorandum of agreement by the National Guard Bureau is invalid because there is no signature and there was no public process. Guess who initiated this illegal memorandum? The Brooklyn Navy Yard Corp. Surprise, surprise.
The property's "full-market value" is estimated at $300 million, and the restoration estimate is about $30 million. So it is possible to restore the Row and build a supermarket — maybe not a 40,000-square-foot one, but a supermarket nonetheless. The contract proposal for the development is going to the city council this week, which explains why the people I spoke to at the Navy Yard Corp. were so intent on knowing my name and phone number. The more people kept in the dark about this development, the better.
As a New Yorker, the one thing that really bothers me about this city is the idea that newer is always better. Sometimes it's worth it to preserve the look and history of the city without having to destroy classic neighborhoods by putting in chain stores or luxury Plexiglas condominiums. But how can you expect greedy people in business and politics to appreciate this idea?
If you're interested in saving Admiral's Row, visit brooklynsothermuseumofbrooklyn.com. And remember: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
