The future of the Brooklyn Heights Cinema building has become even more uncertain after its landlord, increasingly frustrated with his failed attempts to have a residential addition approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, has started marketing the structure at 70 Henry Street. Brownstoner reports that Massey Knakal is marketing the lot for lease at $30,000 per month and for sale at $7.5 million, making certain note that the site can accommodate a residential building of over 10,000-square-feet and can be delivered vacant.
The most recent plan for an addition by Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel that was shut down by the LPC featured an intensely preservation-minded five-story brick building. The proposed design for the structure involved disassembling the Cinema, turning the painted bricks around, and reconstructing the one-story building with an additional four stories of ductal concrete on top. The LPC didn't vote before they sent the architects back to the drawing board.
Marketing the building now may be more a threat than an intent: the owner of Brooklyn Heights Cinema told Brownstoner that the landlord still hopes to move forward with an LPC-approved development, and in doing so will keep the cinema in its place. "He has decided to leave all of his options open," the cinema owner writes of the buildings landlord on a note taped to the cinema door, "...the bottom line is that we are still here."
· Breaking: Brooklyn Heights Cinema Building Is for Sale or Lease ['Stoner]
· All 70 Henry Street coverage [Curbed]
· All Brooklyn Heights Cinema coverage [Curbed]
· Landmarks Preservation Commission archives [Curbed]
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