The Changing Face of Red Hook:280 Richards Street

Hannah Kramm

December 12, 2010Rob Buchannan

The Harbor and the Hudson New School University

Right between the Ikea, and the Fairway in Brooklyn is 280 Richards Street.

Behind the rain and time damaged blue wooden blue wall that shutting it off from the

street is a piece of property, which holds much more history than it’s current

unimpressive state would let on. This lot just inside of the Erie Basin, has three sides

touching the water, decaying edges covered in algae and waist high weeds, poking out

through rubble. This site was most recently home to the iconic Revere Sugar refinery,

which had been out of business since the 1980’s. The building, which has since been

demolished, was a symbol of the now vanishing history of industry on the Brooklyn

waterfront. The space now sits, flattened, and empty except for the machinery and trailers

sitting at the furthest end waiting for the cue to develop. 280 Richards is a marker for the

future of Red Hook. A grim marker of the times, or at least so it seems when looking at

the Greenpoint and Williamsburg waterfronts, where it feels like a new condominium

appears on the skyline everyday. If this pattern of displacing the historic and valuable

industry in the name of luxury accommodations, expensive dining, and big box shopping

continues more will be lost than just the enchanting appearance of these decaying

structures.

This eight-acre property is located on Beard Street and the end of Richards Street,

in the mouth of the Erie Basin (Image 1). The Erie Basin was constructed in 1864, and is

the largest man-made cove on the East Coast. The protection provided from the harbor

made this spot ideal for shipbuilding, maintenance and repair. The basin used to be home

to one of the only there graving docks in the port of New York and New Jersey. This

dock was filled in 2006 to make a parking lot for the controversial Ikea store that now

dominates the waterfront. The graving dock was one of two in New York both

constructed in the 1870’s (Images2,3). When it was filled in it was still functioning. It

had the capacity to hold a 600-foot ship. Now there are only two graving docks in the

port, one in Bayonne and the other in the Navy Yard, both of which are incredibly busy.

Beyond those on the east coast there is one in Maine, and another in Norfolk Virginia.

The year after the impressive dock was filled in, the City of New York expressed the

importance, and need for more dry docks and graving docks as the traffic in harbor is

increasing and maritime industry in New York expands.

The Erie basin was also home to Todd’s Shipyard docks. Todd’s Shipyards, from

several locations around the country, including the one in Red Hook, produced the

majority of sea vessels used in World War I and World War II. The Todd Shipyards piers

were extensive and provided the majority of boat storage available in the Basin. Currently

the piers are falling into a state of decay and are not being used. Todd’s remained active

and present in Red Hook until the early 80’s when due financial trouble they were forced

to relocate in New Jersey. The building remained until 2006 when it was demolished, and

replaced with Ikea. Parts of the basin are still being used for shipbuilding and repair, but

the future of these businesses is looking bleak.

280 Richards was not however owned by a ship building company, but by the

sweets industry. This property was originally owned by the American Molasses co., and

later by Revere Sugar, whose refinery is remembered by a large photographic presence

on local blogs (Image 4,5). The refinery operated from 1910-1985 when it went bankrupt

and shut down. It sat abandoned and neglected from that time until it’s demolition in

2007. The property was home to a pack of wild dogs that lived in the abandoned

buildings, and was frequented by the subculture of industrial photographers, graffiti

artists, and others in the community that were charmed by the apocalyptic remains of the

unique architecture. When it was still functioning the finished product sent out to the

dock, which extends from the end of the land out into the water where it would be

immediately loaded on to barges, and tugged away to where it needed to go. The rusty

and sinking skeleton of this dock is the only thing that currently remains of the original

factory. Developer Joe Sitt of Thor Equities purchased the property in 2005 for $40

million. Thor Equities is the largest property holder on Coney Island, and owns property

in Washington D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico among other

locations. Total company assets are estimated at more than $3 billion. Now the scope has

been focused on 280 Richards Street.

The lot in question is part of NYC planning commission zone 16a (Image 6).

Currently 280 Richards is zoned as a manufacturing district, but as of October 2010 this

zone has proposed zoning changes. The Waterfront Revitalization Program does not cite

this particular lot as a “Significant Maritime and Industrial Area”. This leaves the lot

open for proposals for mixed-use development on the waterfront. Following the lead of

Ikea, Sitt has proposed another big box shopping unit (Image 7,8). Originally in the plan

the last remaining building of the sugar refinery was intended to be renovated and

included in the structure of The Hook, a six story mall including outlets like Bed Bath

and Beyond, and BJ’s discount store. The mall is intended to be 347,000 square feet of

shopping with a 75,000 square foot waterfront esplanade. Since the original plans have

been released, the last standing building from the sugar refinery has been bulldozed. This

raises questions about the current plans for the site, as no revisions have been publicly

released yet. FX Fowle, has removed the plans for The Hook from their website, creating

suspicions in the community as to what will be put up instead.

David Sharps from the Waterfront Museum says that from preservationist

standpoint the battle for this space has already been lost with the demolition of the last

original structure. He worries now that whatever use the space may take in the future the

Belgian brick paving that leads into the lot will be destroyed as well. The loss of historic

infrastructure and the transformation of Red Hook from making to buying have already

begun. The hope is that because of the limited transportation available in the area there

will be a hold off on more major development in the area like is seen in on the northern

Brooklyn waterfront. However the battle is not over yet.

It is hard to imagine a triumph over such a financially powerful institution as Thor

Equities. There is hope though that the demands of the community and will be heard by

the community board, and NYC zoning commission. David Sharps says that despite the

president set by Ikea for the agenda of consumption, the community and those who

fought the battle against the filling in of the graving dock have learned many lessons

about how to approach these problems in the future. Working with the developers is key

Sharps says, having clear demands outlined and finding a compromise, that gives back to

the community more than what the plan they may have outlined entails.

In the case of 280 Richards, the plans put forth so far have not been considerate of

the importance, and demand for more waterfront access. Building a structure that fails to

utilize the value of being surrounded on three sides by water is negligent, and insulting to

the boating community, and the ever expanding desire of the city of New York to expand

public access to the water for recreation and to expand maritime industries and tourism.

The value of this space should not be neglected.

Imagine (taking into account compromise) a shopping center on the water, which

also provides space for the artist and local community to flourish, and participate in

community activities. Imagine it being surrounded by parks, which protect and help filter

the water runoff into this polluted area. Small boat launch and tie up locations on either

side, and the reconstruction of the crumbling dock at the end into a promenade where the

community can look out over the harbor to the Statue of Liberty, Staten Island, and

remember the deep history and importance of the New York waterfront. 280 Richards is a

large enough site to accommodate the desires for development and improve the

relationship to our complex and precious waterways that are responsible for the shaping

of New York City. These are the demands that need to be made. What failed to be

accomplished in the battle against Ikea has a chance to be responded to here. Hopefully

the battle will be a smooth and successful one.

Visual Appendix

Image 1: GoogleMaps, Erie Basin and 280 Richards

Image 2: http://www.bigcitiesbigboxes.com/, Red Hook Graving Dock 1889.

Image 3: William Eng Photography, Ikea Parking Lot.

Image 4: Gothamist, Revere Sugar Refinery, In the Dome

Image 5: Bridge and Tunnel Club, Revere Sugar Refinery

Image 6: NYC Department of Zoning, 16a Map

Image 7, 8: FX Fowle, The Hook