B'klyn waterfront deemed endangered

The Domino Sugar Factory is a historical landmark. (amNewYork Photo/ Justin Rocket Silverman / June 14, 2007)

By Justin Rocket Silverman, amNewYork Staff Writer | jsilverman@am-ny.com

June 15, 2007

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There was a time when the Brooklyn side of the East River came alive nightly with great flashes of smoke, fire and sparks, and Manhattanites would gather on their side of the water to watch the show.

The metal-working factories and gas refineries that set off the fiery display have long since closed, and the buildings themselves are now vanishing as land is cleared to make way for condos and parking lots.

This disappearing act gained national attention Thursday when Brooklyn's industrial waterfront was added to the list of the 11 most endangered historical places in the United States.

"Brooklyn hasn't gotten the attention it deserves," said Kent Barwick, president of the Municipal Art Society. "This inclusion recognizes that the places people work are as significant as Civil War battlefields."

A little more than a century ago, the seven waterfront miles from Greenpoint to Red Hook were considered the industrial heart of the nation. More than 100,0000 factory workers, most of them first-generation immigrants, lived in the borough. Inclusion on the endangered list could help preserve hundreds of the structures where these immigrants lived and worked.

"Having a working waterfront is as important today as it was 100 years ago," said Councilwoman Jessica Lappin (D-Manhattan), chair of the Landmarks Committee. "There are places that are appropriate for housing and parks, but that can't be all there is."

While the endangered list is not legally binding, more than half the places listed on it since 1988 have been preserved and rehabilitated.

The clock is ticking for the Brooklyn waterfront. In 2004, Ikea demolished a working shipyard in Red Hook to build a new mega-store and 1,400-space parking lot. The following year, the city's Department of Building was issuing an average of five demolition permits a day in Brooklyn.

Images and history of the most significant waterfront historical sites are available on a new Web site called saveindustrialbrooklyn.org.