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PHOTOS: Check Out These Designs for Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6 Towers

By Nikhita Venugopal | August 6, 2014 1:46pm | Updated on August 8, 2014 6:07pm
 The Brooklyn Bridge Park Corp. released 14 possible designs for the two new towers at Pier 6 Wednesday.
Design Renderings for Towers at Pier 6
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BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — The Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation unveiled 14 new designs on Wednesday for two proposed towers near Pier 6 of the waterfront park.

The renderings show a mix of modern and rustic designs with most involving shiny, metallic-looking structures soaring over the Brooklyn park. Many also included outdoor pedestrian-friendly amenities and green spaces. 

The towers have been a source of controversy for community groups in surrounding neighborhoods that have long opposed the plan for residential buildings in the park.

The proposals for the two towers — about 31 and 15 stories each — were discussed Wednesday afternoon at a meeting of the board of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, as the Wall Street Journal first reported.

Residents raised concerns after a mandate from Mayor Bill de Blasio required 30 percent of the development be dedicated to affordable housing. Community activists filed a lawsuit last month to block the development and called for further review of its environmental impact, the newspaper reported. 

BBP will seek the recommendation of a design subcommitte as well as consider community input on the selection, Regina Myer, president of Brooklyn Bridge Park said Wednesday. While a judge allowed park officials to review the designs, they cannot go forward with construction until pending litigation with neighborhood groups is resolved, she added.

According to the public presentation, the two sites allow for a maximum of 315 feet and 155 feet respectively and up to 290 units and 140 units each. The smaller site allows for ground floor retail as well.  

Additionally, about 130,000 square feet should be set aside for affordable housing for moderate/middle income households, according to the presentation.

Dozens of activists gathered at Brooklyn Borough Hall Wednesday afternoon to protest the planned towers. Many argued that bringing more residential units into Brooklyn could have a devastating effect on the already overcrowded park and the district's public schools. Others questioned the newly released designs' ability to withstand another deadly storm like Hurricane Sandy.

Some argued that the towers will reduce the park's ability to serve the general public or even block waterfront views. 

"We need our green space," said Judi Frances, president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund, a coalition of neighborhood groups.

But board members insisted that revenue from the Pier 6 towers was crucial to their financial model, which requires funding through private investment.  

The park's Community Advisory Council had hoped to revist the development's general project plan, which was approved in 2005, but the board voted against the motion, according to the council's co-chair Nancy Webster and Myer. 

Myer added that BBP will go ahead with an environmental impact study of Pier 6 but it was unclear how the results of the analysis would effect the towers' final plan.