The quiet Red Hook warehouse at 62 Imlay started getting ready for rich people's Picassos, Monets, and Van Goghs more than a year ago, when word hit that high-end auction house Christie's would be leasing the former New York Dock Company building as a storage facility. Now the Brooklyn Eagle reports that the storage facility has actually been open since early August. And it seems determined to gentrify Red Hook while involving the actual inhabitants of Red Hook as little as possible: the facility has hired five people, only two of whom "have ties to the Red Hook art scene." On the plus side, the Eagle points out that the development manages to "enhance the neighborhood's profile" without adding traffic or other unpleasant gentrification side effects. Win/win?
The loser in this situation might be developer Bruce Federman, who has been hoping to put luxury condos at 62 Imlay's sister warehouse building 160 Imlay since 2002. A court battle kept the plan from moving ahead, but Federman hasn't given up on it. And proximity to other people's art has certainly been known to enhance brokerbabble.
· A Brooklyn Auction House? Christie's Opens New Facility in Red Hook [BK Eagle]
· Imlay Street Shocker: Christie's Coming to Red Hook! [Curbed]
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