Glassy Towers to Rise above Brooklyn Brownstones

For months, residents of Brooklyn's Cobble Hill neighborhood knew they would be getting hundreds of new apartments, many of them in tall buildings, on the site of the shuttered Long Island College Hospital.

Now, they have images to make it less abstract.

Fortis Property Group met with residents Monday night and laid out two proposals for developing the 11-acre parcel. Both scenarios feature market-rate and income-qualified units in glass towers, in addition to several smaller — but still substantial — mixed-use buildings, combining residential, retail, office and medical functions. One proposal would require changes to local zoning restrictions, while the other, somewhat more modest one would not. Both include a tower of at least 40 stories.

(Williams New York)

 "We were not naive — we knew we would get some tall buildings. That's New York development," said Laurie Maurer, an architect and member of the Cobble Hill Association neighborhood group. "This neighborhood is not afraid of housing, and we're not afraid of affordable housing. We're afraid of being overwhelmed by these enormous, enormous buildings."

Maurer was one of many local residents who voiced concern about the proposals.

James Yolles, a spokesman for Fortis, called the meeting "a first step in establishing a productive community dialogue ."

He said the firm had spoken with people in the neighborhood and incorporated much of what they want, including "affordable housing, more public park space, [and] potential for a public school."

"The former LICH site is, quite understandably, the source of much frustration among local residents," Yolles said in a written statement. "We’re eager to continue working with them to make our plan as good as it can be for the site and the neighborhood."

(Williams New York)