Commission hears mixed testimony on proposal behind State Street garage facade; public hearing closed

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on June 17 held a public hearing on an application to demolish most of a two‑story garage behind its 1939 street-facing facade at 38 State Street in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District and to construct a new five-story residential building behind that preserved screen wall.

Bridal Coburn and the project team described a design that retains the existing brick garage facade and sets a new building back 10 feet behind it, creating a planted forecourt and individual ground‑floor entrances to five maisonette-style units. The new building would be clad in brick with a wood-and-glass top floor and green roofs; the proposal also calls for excavation to create an underground garage and building systems.

Public testimony was mixed. The Brooklyn Heights Association and neighborhood advocates said the proposal had two major flaws: first, they preferred a single, unified multifamily building rather than a set of maisonettes; second, several speakers argued that preserving the historic facade as a detached “screen wall” produces an awkward courtyard and unnecessarily fragments the site. The Historic Districts Council commended retaining the original facade but called the proposed ironwork that fills the existing openings inappropriate. The Victorian Society urged stronger organization and detailing so the new building relates better to the preserved front wall.

The applicant said the design responds to early conversations with the Brooklyn Heights Association and that retaining the facade was an explicit community preference. Designers also said consolidation of the new volumes and site constraints, including a 10-by-40-foot easement along one corner, shaped the layout. Commissioners and staff asked technical questions about how the retained facade would be supported after the building behind it is removed; the applicant said the plan is to shore the building, remove the cladding top-down, catalog and restore cast‑iron/brick components if salvageable, and reattach with new connections backed by shoring and structural work.

After testimony and discussion, commissioners closed the public hearing to allow the applicant to work on the design details and the relationship between the historic street wall and the new construction. The commission did not make a decision at the hearing and will expect a revised submission and more detailed engineering and shop drawings when the applicant returns.