Neighbors Still Against Hebron School Proposal Despite New Design

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A controversial apartment building on the Hebron School campus in Crown Heights seems on its way to approval with the city's landmarks board, despite a renewed campaign from neighbors against the updated design.

The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission — whose approval is needed given the landmarked designation of the Crown Heights site — were largely satisfied Tuesday with a new design for the 959 Sterling Ave. project, which they had asked architects to revamp after a hearing late last year.

The board resolved to vote on the project after minor tweaks suggested Tuesday were added to the designs.

"I think you are moving in the right direction and hopefully these are refinements you can make fairly quickly," Chair Sarah Carroll said.

The new proposal reduces the size of the seven-story apartment building by about 10,000 square feet to help with what landmarks officials worried was a "mega-block" look that didn't fit with the historic district and neighboring Hebron Seventh Day Adventist School and church.

Perhaps the biggest change is a gap in the center of the building that architects say make it so the historic school can be seen through the new development.

The project would demolish an addition to the school building to make room for the apartment complex on the open space in back of the campus and include $21.5 million for the restoration of the Hebron school.

"You’ve made a tremendous move there — it’s almost like night and day," Commissioner Jeanne Lutfy told the architects Tuesday. "The original plan was something that in no way connected to the context around it, and this new design I think really is much more compatible with what’s there."

But the designs weren't welcomed as warmly by neighbors who have long advocated against the apartment complex.

The landmarks board said Tuesday they had received 350 letters in opposition to the updated designs since the last hearing, including from Council Member Robert Cornegy, Community Board 8 and the Crown Heights North Association, who relaunched a letter writing campaign this week.

"Morris Adjmi Architects has proposed something even more hideous than we could have imagined," the Crown Heights North Association wrote about the new designs. "Zero dialogue with the community."

The neighbors, many of whom spoke out at previous hearings, have contended the building would be a "tragedy" for what they say is a the "Crown Jewel" of the Crown Heights North Historic District.

The landmarks board made several suggestions to architects on Tuesday, including adding more masonry to the ground floor, reducing the height of the building as it nears neighboring brownstones and working on the side of the building that faces the school.

The proposal will face the board for a vote when the refinements are made, Carroll said.

Take a look at the entire updated proposal here.