Opinion: Why killing Washburn’s Model Block is even more important than before, by George Fiala

Following the example of Italian developer Estate Four, UPS has decided to flip their 350,000 square feet Red Hook property rather than execute their planned project. I’ve heard from credible sources that UPS has put their 350,000 square feet of waterfront property, which they bought for around $300 million a few years ago, on the market.

While Estate Four was planning to repurpose the many historic industrial buildings between the Cruise Terminal and Valentino Pier Park, including the Snapple Building, UPS demolished everything except for one wall of the Lidgerwood complex, and left us with New York City’s largest vacant lot.
It’s unknown to me exactly what UPS is planning, but I’m guessing that they have had second thoughts about opening their regional center here. I’ve heard they are hard at work at a new Bronx facility instead.

The last communication that I know of, to anyone in Red Hook, was to Jim Tampakis, who has been working on the last mile warehouse situation here. On September 1, 2020, in response to some questions, they ended a short note saying:

“This is all of the information available regarding the Red Hook site at this time. We will continue to share additional information as it becomes available. Thank you for your leadership in the Red Hook community. Regards, Laura Lane, UPS Chief Corporate Affairs and Communications Officer”

Well, so much for additional information. But the site is demolished and bare and empty for all to see. The only thing missing is a “For Sale” sign. On a recent walk there, I didn’t even see a guard. I guess there’s really nothing to guard. They’ve left behind only some permits for remediation, applied for by a company named Sevinson.

Meanwhile, Van Brunt Street developer A. Washburn is applying for a hardship permit with the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) in order to build a 15 story building on Wolcott Street, directly across the street from the vacant ex-UPS lot. He persists despite the local community board’s decision last February to not approve the project, in a nearly unanimous vote.

The BSA will hear from professional lawyers and lobbyists on behalf of Washburn. These include Capalino Associates, who also represented UPS in Red Hook. In other words, the best crew money can buy. A 15 story luxury rental with Red Hook sunset and waterfront views equals big bucks.

One of Washburn’s points of argument is that his project reflects the context of the neighborhood. His justification of the height is that the Red Hook Houses includes buildings of up to 14 stories (even though these were built before current zoning laws).

If, God forbid, the BSA ignores the Community Board and approves the application, the UPS property becomes tremendously more valuable, as potential developers will see the ability to get through a neighborhood zoning change that could bring many more large luxury towers, using the so-called Model Block as precedent.

If our city government wasn’t so full of shit and actually cared about the future of the city they rule, they first-of-all would have figured out some way to prevent a monolithic company to come in and wipe out a couple centuries of our history, using the magic words “as of right.” Nobody in the community or any urban archaeologist or historian had anything to say about it, least of all anyone who lives here.

But what they should do now, if indeed they cared about the city, is to fork over the money to UPS to buy the giant lot – and start over.

Imagine what could be there – parkland interspersed among low rise homes built for a wide variety of diverse city dwellers – covering all incomes from lower to middle to upper classes. The land is big enough to include workplaces–both commercial and industrial–as well.

There could be modern 21st century factories, as well as a waterfront entertainment district building upon the success of our Brooklyn Crab. What better place than our own version of City Island, right here on the water. And right near the ferry!

I have written in the past that this is what could have been done on the waterfront next to IKEA. But of course, nobody did anything and now Amazon is busy building one of their three new Red Hook warehouses.

This is our second chance. It’s either something we want, or a second Williamsburg beckons.

George Fiala

George Fiala has worked in radio, newspapers and direct marketing his whole life, except for when he was a vendor at Shea Stadium, pizza and cheesesteak maker in Lancaster, PA, and an occasional comic book dealer. He studied English and drinking in college, international relations at the New School, and in his spare time plays drums and fixes pinball machines.