City, National Guard Compromise on Admirals' Row

NEW YORK CITY-Two of the 11 historic 19th century buildings that comprise Admirals’ Row in the Brooklyn Navy Yard would be retained under a tentative agreement reached Wednesday afternoon between the city and the National Guard Bureau. The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp., which manages the city-owned Navy Yard, says it will issue a request for private-sector proposals on redeveloping the site.

According to the BNYDC, the compromise agreement entails seeking proposals to redevelop the site in a way that would preserve Building B—the oldest and largest of the 10 row houses—as well as the Timber Shed, believed to be the only such structure in the US. A new supermarket and additional space for manufacturing companies would be built on the remainder of the site, according to the BNYDC. The Navy built the structures as officers’ quarters more than a century ago; they have sat disused since the 1970s and have fallen into disrepair.

“If a viable proposal is received, the Brooklyn Navy Yard will move forward with the acquisition of the property, resulting in new jobs, additional revenue for the city and state, a vitally important amenity of a new supermarket—the only one to serve the community, and the reuse of what has become a blighted eyesore that has burdened the community and the Brooklyn Navy Yard for decades,” says Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of the BNYDC, in a statement. “BNYDC will issue the request for proposals within the next 90 days, and is determined to bring about the reuse of the site to meet these important objectives.”