Richard Meier On Prospect Park - Condo - Brooklyn

[Derek2k3]

Project #6

1 Prospect Park
17 Eastern Parkway
16/18 stories 150 feet
Richard Meier & Partners
Dev-Mario Procida of Seventeen Development LLC
Residential Condominium
119 units
Proposed 2005-2007


By Deborah Schoeneman

August 9, 2004
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/people/columns/intelligencer/9584/index.html

Richard Meier’s expanding his celebrity-friendly condo brand to Brooklyn. The architect has been drafting plans for a new residential building on Prospect Park for developer Mario Procida of Seventeen Development LLC. “It’s sixteen or eighteen stories, varying from one- to three-bedroom units,” says Meier, adding that the project “will not be luxury” like his three West Side glass towers, where art dealer Barbara Gladstone recently bought a loft (hers is in the new Charles Street building). The development, which should be ready in about two years, is on Eastern Parkway and will probably be called 1 Prospect Park.


The site is a parking lot across from the main library. I haven't seen any work being done yet.

[Stern]

Thanks Derek, I knew I heard Meier's name floating around. This'll be great for Brooklyn it is in dire need of an exceptional glass building.

[Stern]

Update on Meier's One Prospect Park, now 30 storeys!

The New York Times
April 11, 2005
For Act II, Architect Gets More Hands-On
By ROBIN POGREBIN

One might have thought Richard Meier would be reluctant to return to the site, given that the two $50 million glass-and-steel apartment towers he designed on Perry Street and West Street overlooking the Hudson River had attracted so much negative publicity. Celebrity watchers had reveled in reports of leaks, construction delays and other problems that inconvenienced rich and famous tenants like Nicole Kidman, Calvin Klein and Martha Stewart.

But Mr. Meier was undaunted, having now designed another glass condominium building next door, at 165 Charles Street, to be completed in October. Striding through the construction site in the West Village the other day, his white hair flowing out beneath his hard hat, dust coating the trim of his black trench coat, he seemed anything but chastened as he surveyed his new 16-story transparent tower.

"I love being here," he said.

To be sure, the Perry Street experience was exasperating, Mr. Meier said, but it taught him an important lesson: how crucial it is to have greater control over the construction and the interior design of his projects.

Buildings usually go through value engineering, for example, when a consulting architect comes in to suggest how things could be done for less. Not 165 Charles Street. "I've been through that," he said. "I know what that does. In the end, it compromises everything."

And typically, details inside apartment buildings are handled by interior designers, not the architects themselves, who do not usually get involved with finishes, fittings and fixtures.

Fortunately, the developers of Charles Street were willing to oblige Mr. Meier, the celebrated architect whose projects include the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, the Jubilee Church in Rome and the Manhattan restaurant 66.

Mr. Meier has taken a similar hands-on approach to a residential building he is designing in Brooklyn on Grand Army Plaza overlooking Prospect Park. The 30-story condominium includes 120 units, most of which have balconies with park views.

Because there was no value engineering at Charles Street, banks would finance only about 60 percent of the $90 million building, rather than the standard 80 to 90 percent. "It could have saved me a lot of money," said Izak Senbahar, one of the developers, but he chose not to cut any corners. "I thought it was a better decision to just go for it."

Mr. Meier designed the interior of all 31 apartments himself, as well as the building's 50-foot pool with waterfall, 35-seat screening room, wine cellar and fitness center. The developers also paid handsomely for every architectural detail. There are no baseboards; instead the walls float one-quarter inch off the floors like those at the newly renovated Museum of Modern Art - with the same crew doing the installation. The nine-foot-tall bathroom doors, made of opaque glass, were $6,500 each. The African wenge wood floors are being put down by the same team responsible for the Getty's flooring. There is humidity control for people with art collections.

At the Perry Street towers, developed by Richard Born and his partners and opened two years ago, the apartments were delivered as raw space for tenants to configure with their own designers.

At Charles Street, Mr. Meier has had uncommon leeway in keeping tabs on construction. "We have given the architect the right to come in more often to the job site and make sure it is all happening according to plan," Mr. Senbahar said. "The usual deal is, they design it, you build it," he added. "But we have gone the extra distance to give Richard what he wants."

Mr. Meier said he hoped his Charles Street experience would be instructive for the many other architects who have turned their attention to residential buildings in New York.

Steven Holl, Zaha Hadid, Santiago Calatrava, Frank Gehry, Christian de Portzamparc, Richard Rogers, Architectonica, Norman Foster, Enrique Norten, Robert A. M. Stern, Charles Gwathmey, Jean Nouvel, Tsao & McKown, Winka Dubbeldam, Herzog & de Meuron and Michael Graves are just some of those designing residential towers in New York.

Louise M. Sunshine, the chairwoman and chief executive of the Sunshine Group, which is marketing Charles Street, said great architecture could add $400 to $1,000 per square foot in value to the purchase price. Charles Street is 60 percent sold, she said, at prices ranging from $3 million to $20 million.

Celebrity architects have also become a selling point. "It gives the building a certain cachet," said Deborah Grubman, a senior vice president at the Corcoran Group, a real estate company that has sold some of the Meier apartments. "It's like having a signed painting."

But it is not as if Mr. Meier was some petulant artist asking for the moon, Mr. Senbahar said. "He's built churches in Rome and museums in Barcelona," Mr. Senbahar said. "He's a reasonable man."

Moreover, economics still rule. "You can say, 'The architect should be able to do more,' " Mr. Meier said. "But if the developer is not willing to spend the money, you have very little power."

When the architect Bernard Tschumi designed his new blue glass tower for the Lower East Side, for example, he had to shape the building to get the maximum space and still meet strict zoning regulations. "The developer wants to get every square foot," he said. "In New York, it seems to be strictly business."

The rewards, however, are heady: these architects are changing the New York skyline. Pass by the Meier buildings at night along the West Side Highway or from the Hudson River and you can't help but notice.

As a New Jersey native who has lived in New York City all his adult life, Mr. Meier takes pride in this. "It's like Rockefeller Center," he said. "It makes a place in the city."

[Archit_K]

Ahhhh, can't wait to see renderings.

[Gulcrapek]

That's really weird. I hope it isn't a misinformation.

[Stern]

That's really weird. I hope it isn't a misinformation.

Unfortunately it is a misinformation, fortunately however its still on track.

Daily News:

Luxe glass tower planned for Prospect Heights

BY DEBORAH KOLBEN
DAILY NEWS WRITER

People in glass houses - are rich people.

At least in Prospect Heights, where famed architect Richard Meier is putting up a super deluxe 15-story glass tower.

"It will be the most luxurious building in Brooklyn," boasted Lisette Koe, a spokeswoman for Meier.

The sky-high prices expected for the abodes probably won't shock borough residents still reeling from news that a five-story Brooklyn Heights home hit the market last week for $20 million.

The 119-unit building at 17 Eastern Parkway should be completed by 2007.

Meier is best known for a pair of celebrity-studded glass towers he designed on Perry St. in the West Village.

Martha Stewart, Calvin Klein and Nicole Kidman all snagged places there.

Project officials wouldn't say how much apartments in the Prospect Heights building would sell for, but neighborhood real estate agents estimated around $1 million for a two bedroom.

Residents in the tower - just a stone's throw from Prospect Park - will be greeted by a 24-hour concierge and have their feet warmed by underfloor heating.

Not to mention the extra deep soaking tubs, remote control window shades and parking attendants.

"It will certainly have a ripple effect," said Steve Rutter, who manages the Park Slope Corcoran office. "Prices around there will increase, too."

Some residents fear the new building will stick out against the brick prewar buildings along Prospect Park.

"I hope it fits into the neighborhood," said Margaret Elwert, who helps organize the annual Prospect Heights house tour. "Maybe we'll add one of the apartments to our tour."

[Derek2k3]

1 Prospect Park
17 Eastern Parkway
16/18 stories 150 feet
Richard Meier & Partners
Dev-Mario Procida of Seventeen Development LLC
Residential Condominium
119 units
Proposed 2005-2007

From Curbed:

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2005_4_meierbrooklyn.jpg

"Brooklyn Tower Keeps Growing, and Growing, and Growing...

2005_4_meierbrooklyn.jpgYesterday, while we were deep in thought over what a $6,500 bathroom door looks like, Brooklynites were up in arms over another revelation in the Times' look at Richard Meier's Charles Street tower. Specifically, the part where the paper matter-of-factly notes that Meier is currently working on a 30-story condominium on Grand Army Plaza, overlooking Prospect Park. The problem? According to The Real Deal, 1 Prospect Park is only slated to be 16-18 stories tall (the Daily News reports 15 today).

Needless to say, the neighbors are not pleased. The Daily Heights blog notes that residents are concerned with traffic and sanitation issues, not to mention the possibility of long shadows, and that was before the 30-story bombshell. But could it have just been a mistake? An update from the Union Temple, the lot's owner, is promised."


http://www.dailyheights.com/archives/2005/04/union_temple_up.html

"The NYTimes has confirmed that (the condo) is NOT in fact 30 stories. They were working from old info and will run a correction shortly. The building will be 150 feet tall, and roughly 16-18 stories."


Read more here also:
http://www.dailyheights.com/archives/2005/04/say_goodbye_to.html

[Gulcrapek]

Ack.

[Derek2k3]

http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/42259181.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/archit_kderek2k3/image/42259213.jpg


From Dailyheights.com:

April 18, 2005
Temple Tower: Artist's Rendition

http://www.dailyheights.com/

temple tower-tn.jpg
DH contributor Quig got his hands on an artist's rendition of Meier's proposed luxury condo tower on Grand Army Plaza. Is it authentic? Based on the description we published last week ("glass, white, curved to fit the street shape") we can't rule it out as a fake.

http://www.dailyheights.com/images/temple%20tower-tn.jpg
lol..Go to the site for a larger size.
http://www.dailyheights.com/archives/2005/04/temple_tower_ar.html

[Stern]

Stupid. Bad joke.

[Kolbster]

What was the point of the rendering, i hope they noticed that it wasn't funny, infact it just makes them look stupid

[dailyheights]

Sorry it's not a scream, but give the guy some credit for a decent photoshop, eh?

[Stern]

NYPOST:

MEIER IS DESIGNING TRENDY B'KLYN TOWER

By LOIS WEISS

Minimalist architect Richard Meier has been hired to design a new residential project in Brooklyn that promises some of the city's best views.

The 15-story, 200,000 square-foot project will be called One Prospect Park. By the time it is ready in two years, prices should be well above $1,000 a foot.

It will rise on the airy corner of Eastern Parkway and Plaza Street that is currently a vacant lot used for parking by the Union Temple.

"It's got Manhattan, it's got the bay, it's got the [Prospect] park, it's got the Brooklyn Museum and the library," said developer Mario Procida. "You pick the direction and you got the view."

Procida, a principal of GPG Equities, said he and partners Louis Greco and Sheldon Gordon bought the site earlier this week, and have commissioned a building similar to the Meier "triplets" already built on West Street.

"We expect it will be similar," Procida said. "Being the fourth one, it will be even better."

Procida said plans already call for every unit to have a balcony, with some larger terraces, as well as roof terraces for the penthouses.

"We believe this will be the residential development in Brooklyn and will be the place to live," Procida added.

GPG is now completing Boulevard East in downtown Brooklyn and the $700 a foot condo, Clinton West, being built over the Amtrak railroad between 45th and 47th streets and Tenth and Eleventh avennues in Manhattan.

[Derek2k3]

Brooklyn Eagle
Erroneous Report on Tower by Richard Meier
by Linda Collins (linda@brooklyneagle.net), published online 04-21-2005

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=5&id=4008

A neighborhood uproar in Prospect Heights caused by an article in the New York Times that mentioned a proposed 30-story residential tower being designed by the renowned architect Richard Meier on Eastern Parkway has been quelled. The Times admitted a factual and issued a correction....

.....Meier, whose work includes the Getty Museum complex in Los Angeles, has been selected as the designer for the Prospect Heights tower, which will be called 1 Prospect Park, according to Procida. Drawings and renderings are not available yet — “we are still in the design stage,” he said — and Procida would not confirm rumors that this building would be a characteristic Meier glass tower. In fact, Procida was reluctant to offer any preliminary details other than to say there will be 120 “spectacular” luxury units.

“We believe it will be one of the most spectacular new buildings — if not the most spectacular new building — in the borough,” he said....

Register and read entire article here:
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=5&id=4008

[Derek2k3]

The pit was really deep the last time I passed.

February 2006
Living in glass houses, shunning stone
Developers, architects find the light and dark sides of using glass in fresh New York development (http://www.therealdeal.net/issues/FEBRUARY_2006/1138384955.php)

http://www.therealdeal.net//issues/FEBRUARY_2006/images/1138384955.jpg

Construction pic.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/atomische/91771213/in/pool-prospectheights/

[Stern]

You can't tell much from the elevation but I think this will be an exceptional building, especially if it follows a curved form.

[bkmonkey]

yea... some time has passed, and the building is not only under construction, but has about four stories on it. Ill post a picture soon

[czsz]

Even if it's curved, it'll resemble nothing less than a late 1950s Florida beach hotel. Beh.

[pianoman11686]

One Prospect Park

http://static.flickr.com/119/268272276_ea5e8dbc7e.jpg

Ando228's photostream (http://www.flickr.com/photos/80048144@N00/)

[ZippyTheChimp]

Latest on One Prospect Park
http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/2292/oneprospectprk01csr0.th.jpg (http://img74.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk01csr0.jpg) http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/8931/oneprospectprk02cau5.th.jpg (http://img163.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk02cau5.jpg)

Work was supposed to begin this autumn on the reconstruction of Eastern Parkway (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7582&highlight=eastern), but so far, all is quiet.

The renovation of the Central Library entry is chugging along. Included is a new auditorium beneath the plaza, which will have kiosks and a cafe.
http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/9237/bklynlibrary10cmk8.th.jpg (http://img236.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bklynlibrary10cmk8.jpg)

[Eugenious]

CurbedWire: Beyonce in at On Prospect Park?, High Line 519 Still Available, Flying Debris!
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, by Scott
http://www.curbed.com/2007_05oppbeyonce-thumb.png
PROSPECT PARK—Random rumor alert! Has the Richard Meier name lured celebrities to his new Prospect Park development? A tipster reports, "People around Pro-Ho are saying that Beyonce just bought a place at 1 Grand Army Plaza (http://www.curbed.com/archives/2007/04/06/brooklyn_development_update_mania_2_meiers_glass.p hp)." [CurbedWire Inbox]

[ZippyTheChimp]

Chugging along.

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/9564/oneprospectprk03cmz3.th.jpg (http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk03cmz3.jpg) http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/2552/oneprospectprk04cza3.th.jpg (http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk04cza3.jpg) http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/7949/oneprospectprk05chp7.th.jpg (http://img299.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk05chp7.jpg) http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/9058/oneprospectprk06cui8.th.jpg (http://img299.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk06cui8.jpg)

Neighbors

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/7516/oneprospectprk07cpg3.th.jpg (http://img299.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk07cpg3.jpg) http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/2443/oneprospectprk08cth9.th.jpg (http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk08cth9.jpg) http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/8445/oneprospectprk09cxq1.th.jpg (http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk09cxq1.jpg)

[ablarc]

Not bad.

Echoes of West Village Meier?

[lofter1]

Very nice building.

But not in that location.

Just don't look right there.

[Skylimitone]

^You're right, something with 15 CPW or Brompton style would have been a better fit. Retro...Classic.

Seems like its taking forever to get done. I mean its only made glass, :D.

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2007/12/579089.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2007/12/579062.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2007/12/579076.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2007/12/579079.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2007/12/579081.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2007/12/579084.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2007/12/579077.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2007/12/579066.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2007/12/579074.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2007/12/579073.jpg

[lofter1]

it's just not right :(

[sfenn1117]

Looks like a modern European building against old architecture.....juxtaposition done fantastically. Stern would have done a good job, but Kondylis would have failed. I'll take the modern.

[BrooklynLove]

i dig the building, but the clash in context is a bit too much for me. i can get over that though b/c this has been a huge step toward spreading the love from PPW around the horn and over to Eastern Pkwy. hopefully we'll see a propogation of investment continue generally down along the botantic gardens side of PP.

makes my head spin when i think about the transformation of the GAP vicinity over the past 20-25 years. let's keep it movin.

[lofter1]

And how loverly for those in the park to look up through all that glass and directly into the private realm of those in the Meier building.

Why is it that these nouveau riche habitations assume that the world wants to see what is going on inside their homes?

[BrooklynLove]

i can't answer that question, but i sure am looking forward to peering in. they opened up the library stairs again just in time. :)

[Thegreekone]

Any word on occupancy dates?

This is my first post so go easy on me, ok?

Have been a long time fan of site and am glad to finally jump in. :cool:

[Edward]

Anyone has recent pictures?

[JCMAN320]

Yea I would figure it would be close to completion by now. Saw it not that long ago and looked like the exterior was close to being finished if not already.

[BrooklynLove]

Yea I would figure it would be close to completion by now. Saw it not that long ago and looked like the exterior was close to being finished if not already.

this place is uber fancy pants inside so i'm guessing that the interior build out is taking longer than the norm for new construction buildings of this general size. it's looked pretty much done on the outside for quite some time now.

[Derek2k3]

Some nice images posted on WAN:

On Prospect Park, New York, United States Tuesday 29 Jul 2008
Meier's new Prospect (http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=10154)

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/project/uploaded_files/10154_Prospect4main.jpg

I would like it a lot more without the balconies.

[Fabrizio]

Agreed... but at least the balconies are enclosed and the glass is good. I think this building is handome.

[BrooklynLove]

I like the building in isolation, however I think that it really does not work well with its immediate surroundings.

[Skylimitone]

I agree 100%

[Eugenious]

This building looks like a naked girl in a company of well dressed men...

[ZippyTheChimp]

Rats!

I misread the post, put on my best suit, and schlepped over to Brooklyn. Only naked woman was...
http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/6876/bailey02kz8.th.jpg (http://img457.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bailey02kz8.jpg)

So as long as I was there...
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/4030/oneprospectprk10cba2.th.jpg (http://img518.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk10cba2.jpg) http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/8081/oneprospectprk11chv4.th.jpg (http://img518.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk11chv4.jpg) http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/5259/oneprospectprk12cqj2.th.jpg (http://img53.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk12cqj2.jpg) http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/8067/oneprospectprk13cen3.th.jpg (http://img53.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk13cen3.jpg)

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/5830/oneprospectprk14cts0.th.jpg (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk14cts0.jpg) http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/4052/oneprospectprk15ctt5.th.jpg (http://img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk15ctt5.jpg) http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/3646/oneprospectprk16ckz0.th.jpg (http://img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk16ckz0.jpg) http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/9660/oneprospectprk17cjh3.th.jpg (http://img528.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk17cjh3.jpg) http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/2379/oneprospectprk18ccv9.th.jpg (http://img528.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk18ccv9.jpg)

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/157/oneprospectprk19cyv9.th.jpg (http://img517.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk19cyv9.jpg) http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/2176/oneprospectprk20cjq1.th.jpg (http://img517.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk20cjq1.jpg) http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4641/oneprospectprk21crb9.th.jpg (http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk21crb9.jpg) http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4781/oneprospectprk22cuh3.th.jpg (http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk22cuh3.jpg) http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/8633/oneprospectprk23cnu1.th.jpg (http://img210.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk23cnu1.jpg)


The library plaza renovation is complete. Actually, the project was the construction of an auditorium beneath the plaza.

A little hard edged. Needs to be softened up a bit.

http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/6950/centrallibrary01xn2.th.jpg (http://img364.imageshack.us/my.php?image=centrallibrary01xn2.jpg) http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/4206/centrallibrary02fb3.th.jpg (http://img397.imageshack.us/my.php?image=centrallibrary02fb3.jpg)

Foot coolers?
http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/131/centrallibrary03nv6.th.jpg (http://img397.imageshack.us/my.php?image=centrallibrary03nv6.jpg)


http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/6065/centrallibrary04xy3.th.jpg (http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?image=centrallibrary04xy3.jpg) http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/1654/centrallibrary05lw6.th.jpg (http://img291.imageshack.us/my.php?image=centrallibrary05lw6.jpg) http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/559/centrallibrary06cb7.th.jpg (http://img291.imageshack.us/my.php?image=centrallibrary06cb7.jpg)

[Jasonik]

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4641/oneprospectprk21crb9.th.jpg (http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oneprospectprk21crb9.jpg)

Give the bronze a few more decades to green up (http://w3.gsa.gov/web/p/hptp.nsf/0/6c8c800d5618e023852565c50054b2c6?OpenDocument) and this will seem a natural fit.

[krulltime]

I really like this building and its location. Nice glass.

[lofter1]

I love the curve of the libraray facade. But trees never hurt.

Are those little cameras poking up at the corners?

You'd think they could have done that better.

[BrooklynLove]

Watch this video for some old memories from the area. This joint was the bomb when i was 13. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGV9G2okC8I

[pianoman11686]

Why does that area of Brooklyn look so deserted?

[ZippyTheChimp]

The area is huge. A comparison to Columbus Circle, which has a diameter of 400 ft:

GAP is an oval, 400 ft X 900 ft. If you include the 3 surrounding park spaces, the dimensions are 800 x 1200.

GAP was originally called Prospect Park Plaza, and was designed as a circle, the main entrance to Prospect Park. It morphed into a huge oval to handle traffic from Eastern Parkway and Flatbush Ave.

More info here. (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?p=248885#post248885)

[antinimby]

Americans today (unlike the past) don't know how to drive through traffic circles without traffic lights and painted lanes guiding them.

Part of the overall dumbing down of America, I guess.

In other parts of the world, they don't use traffic lights and it works, a bit chaotic but works nonetheless.

[ZippyTheChimp]

^
Do you drive?

[lofter1]

In other parts of the world, they don't use traffic lights and it works, a bit chaotic but works nonetheless.

Rome has both traffic circles and traffic lights. As does London.

Without the lights there? oh my.

[alonzo-ny]

Only very large or very busy city centre 'round-a-bouts' have traffic lights in the UK. They are very simple and not a hairy experience at all. Europe is slightly different, anyone who has witnessed the area around the arc de triumphe knows what that ends up like.

[lofter1]

GAP is about as major a traffic intersection (aka "very large or very busy city centre 'round-a-bouts'") as you'll find in Brooklyn.

[alonzo-ny]

I was just being general with my comment.

[Eugenious]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Grand_Army_Plaza_1894.jpg

On August 6, 1889, A blind jury of two experts, appointed by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission, selected the design of John H. Duncan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_H._Duncan) from a field of thirty six entries that had been submitted the previous year. [4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Army_Plaza#cite_note-Luckyman-3) Duncan, who would go on to design Grants Tomb (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grants_Tomb) in the following decade, proposed a free-standing memorial arch of a classical style similar to the Arc de Triomphe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_de_Triomphe) in Paris. After two and a half months of site preparation, William Tecumseh Sherman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tecumseh_Sherman) laid the cornerstone of the arch on October 10, 1889. After almost three years of construction, President Grover Cleveland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Cleveland) presided over the unveiling on October 21, 1892 [5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Army_Plaza#cite_note-AIA-4).
Grand Army Plaza (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Army_Plaza)

[BrooklynLove]

An invitation to those unfamiliar with this location - head over on a nice day late Saturday morning, and you'll find one of the most splendid famers markets and gathering of people available in all 5 boros. Get yourself some feed and take a walk through the park and relish the current state of affairs. I still remember the pre farmers market days and pre-cleanup days of Prospect Park - the progress of the past 25 years is simply glorious.

[meesalikeu]

i forgot i had these. they are from labor day during the west indian parade:

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f370/meesalikeu2/f557900c.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f370/meesalikeu2/dc630c0f.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f370/meesalikeu2/81577d1e.jpg

[Jasonik]

It seems vaguely Parisian (http://cityscapes.blogcu.com/streetwalls-of-paris_3107469.html).

I'm a bit troubled by the piece of slab hanging over the balconies with signage. The brise soleil cornice from the penthouse would be better suited and would define and accent the massing if used at points around the base where the balconies are notched into the building. C'est la vie.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Jasonik/meier.jpg