#saveourbkbank

The historic Green Point Savings Bank on Washington Ave will soon be demolished to make way for a fourteen-story, luxury condo unit unless you act now.  

Not only will Prospect Heights suffer having this historic structure torn to the ground, but the building of a fourteen-story condo unit right in front of the Brooklyn Museum will have a significant and detrimental effect on the neighborhood as a whole. 

Help take a stand against greedy developers tearing down Prospect Heights to build condos for the wealthy. Help start the conversation about Prospect Heights' outdated zoning laws, and take the first step in protecting this historic Brooklyn neighborhood. 

UPDATE

- The Green Point Savings Bank is currently owned by Valyrian Capital and the Daten Group. 

Theodore Michael Kakoyiannis is in charge of the project and the bank's demolition.

Mr Kakoyiannis' office number is (917) 509-1215.

Valyrian's office number is (203) 972-4975.

Valyrian's e-mail is info@valyriancapital.com

- Theodore Michael Kakoyiannis is scheduled to appear before Community Board 8 to discuss the destruction of the Green Point Savings Bank.

Call the board and tell them that you OPPOSE the destruction of Prospect Heights History for luxury condos. 

Community Board 8's number is (718) 467 5574 and the point of contact is District Manager Michelle George.

- The bank was DENIED landmark status by Mary Beth Betts, working for the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. Her explanation:

The agency has carefully reviewed the property and has noted that the building is not a significant example of an early-20th century bank building in terms of its architecture and siting, such as the following examples of Brooklyn banks that have been designated by the Commission:

Williamsburgh Savings Bank (175 Broadway)

Kings County Savings Bank (135 Broadway)

Brooklyn Trust Company Building (177 Montague Street)

The Dime Savings Bank (9 DeKalb Avenue).

Therefore, it does not rise to the level of significance necessary for designation and does not merit further consideration as a potential individual New York City

Do you think the building "rises to the significance" of not being torn down and replaced with a 14 story condo unit?

Urge Mary Beth Betts to reconsider. Her e-mail is mbetts@lpc.nyc.gov

BACKSTORY

The Green Point Savings Bank's Story (via Suzanne Spellen at the Brownstoner)

Name: Former Green Point Savings Bank, recently Capital One Bank
Address: 856 Washington Avenue
Cross Streets: Eastern Parkway and Lincoln Place
Neighborhood: Prospect Heights
Year Built: 1928
Architectural Style: Neoclassical
Architect: Francis George Hasselman
Landmarked: No, a tragic oversight

The Green Point Savings Bank was established in Greenpoint in 1869. By 1928 they’d decided to branch out into other neighborhoods and chose this location for the new branch. The Brooklyn Eagle called the area the “Eastern Parkway Neighborhood.”

The new bank was designed by the Manhattan architect Francis George Hasselman, known mainly for his work in wealthy New Jersey suburbs.

Hasselman did fine work with this neoclassic marble and limestone bank, designed to stand out here in the middle of the block.

The bank’s most noticeable feature is the three-story arched window and entrance with a huge Palladian fanlight at the top of the arch. This feature is flanked by two impressive Corinthian columns and capitals. They support a large cornice with dentiled ornamentation.

The bank is reminiscent of Stanford White’s façade for the Bowery Savings Bank, built in 1895. This bank may not have been Hasselman’s usual style or medium, but he certainly learned from the masters.

The Brooklyn Eagle covered the bank’s opening on June 16, 1928. The reporter noted that the beautiful large window allowed in so much natural light that interior illumination during the day was unnecessary.

Customers used the front of the bank for transactions. There were 23 screens for tellers. A wall behind the tellers separated them from the safe-deposit boxes in the vault, offices and a small conference room.

An elevator in the rear took customers and staff to the president’s office and rooms where mortgages were closed. In the front of the bank, stairs led down to a ladies lounge.

The Eagle noted that the Green Point Savings Bank branch was not only the finest bank building in the neighborhood, but the only one. The bank stood out because of its unique status, its design, its placement on the street and because of the elevation — all reasons why it should have been landmarked years ago.

In 2014, Capital One moved to a new branch in a newly constructed building on Eastern Parkway and Bedford Avenue, two blocks away.

At this point there was speculation that it’d become a Trader Joe’s, but then in December 2014 the building was sold to Slate Property Group for $6.5 million. Earlier this month indications it was approved for demolition, and the developer plans to build a 14-story condo building on the site.