The (Organic) Carrot And Stick

Maybe Bruce Ratner and Joe Sitt should have dangled the possibility of a Trader Joe’s to naysayers:

Besides a Trader Joe’s, Downtown Brooklyn may be getting something else: A six-story, combination residential and retail development that would exceed the height restrictions currently in place.

It was announced last week that the popular supermarket chain will be opening its first Brooklyn-based store at 130 Court Street, at the former Independence Savings Bank headquarters building constructed in 1922.

For months, however, the project has been a source of contention between residents and the developer, Two Trees Management, which wants to build a 60-foot high structure in the parking lot next door.

Roughly two weeks ago, representatives of both sides appeared at Borough Hall for a special hearing hosted by Borough President Marty Markowitz, during which time Two Trees requested a special permit to build their tower. Although Markowitz has not yet issued a recommendation, he has been straightforward in his support for Trader Joe’s, which specializes in fine imported and domestic foods.

“We’re thrilled this acclaimed store is setting up shop on Atlantic Avenue and Court Street,” he said during a press conference last Thursday. “Trader Joe’s will bring more customers to Downtown Brooklyn, and residents will have even more choices when it comes to shopping for fresh produce, prepared foods, and groceries.”

Yet some of those same neighbors charged Two Trees’ plan to build in the adjacent lot would negatively impact their quality of life, even as Trader Joe’s improves it.

Franklin Stone, vice president of the Cobble Hill Association, said her organization supports having a Trader Joe’s, and wanted 130 Court Street to remain commercial property all along.

“What we opposed was the insertion of floors that would affect how the building looks on the outside,” she said. “We thought that was going to mar this magnificent building.”

However, the Cobble Hill Association remains steadfastly opposed to the project next door, on the grounds it would represent the first building in the neighborhood taller than 50 feet, and would alter what Stone referred to as, “the 19th-century scale and feeling of the Cobble Hill Historic District.”

“We’re not against development,” she later told the Star. “We just want development that lives within the rules. We are pro-development that is in harmony with the surrounding district.”