[Photo courtesy of INSIJS]
What's up at the big, old Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit (BMT) Powerhouse at the edge of Williamsburg near the Brooklyn Navy Yard? Blogger INSIJS does some serious digging and concludes that there are alarming signals the building may be being prepped for demolition so the site can be sold for condo development. Though Con Ed, which owns the property, says the work there is just "spring cleaning," an insider tells INSIJS that the work is "definitely" a prelude to demolition. Meanwhile, a request to the Landmarks Preservation Commission to consider landmarking the plant has been rejected. The Powerhouse was originally built for the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company from 1905 to 1936. Con Ed bought it in 1950 and ran it until the late 1990s. It has tried to sell it in the past. The Shelon Solow project being voted on today is on the site of the Beaux Arts Waterside Number 2 plant demolished in 2006 to make way for a still-in-discussion high-rise residential project. Rumors that the building will get the Hot Karl Fischer treatment like Long Island City's Powerhouse are totally unfounded.
· Historic Kent Ave Power Plant: Are Renovations Prelude to Demolition? [INSIJS]
· BMT Powerhouse Photoset [imjustsayin/flckr]
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