First Shots Fired in Sunset Park's Battle of 42nd Street

The Brooklyn development war has moved further south in Sunset Park, and it could be a nasty fight. At issue is a 10-story, 31 unit building that would sit on a block of 3-story houses on 42nd Street between Fifth and Fourth Avenues. Significantly, opponents say it would block views from Sunset Park, possibly including the view of Lower Manhattan from the 9/11 Memorial Grove in the park. Also of particular concern is blocking the view of historic St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church on Fourth Avenue from the park. St. Michael's has an egg-shaped dome atop a 200-foot tower. It was featured in the 1985 teen flick "Heaven Help Us" with Donald Sutherland, John Heard, Andrew McCarthy, Mary Stuart Masterson and Kevin Dillon.

Yesterday, Brownstoner called the building a "non-contextual sore thumb" likely to provoke "a groundswell of opposition" in the community." Concerned Citizens of Greenwood Heights, which has led many of the fights against out-of-context neighborhood development and illegal construction practices, meanwhile, has been sending out multiple emails about the project. For a lot of great photos of the park and some of the views, click over to the Bridge and Tunnel Club's photo page. There are more pics of the development and the neighborhood context here at CCGH's photo gallery.