"Private Meetings" & Public Plaza Shrinkage at 360 Smith

Of all the issues revolving around the controversial development at 360 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens, one of the most contentious--and confusing--has been that of the small plaza at the entrance to the Carroll Street subway station. Residents, who wait there for trains going to Manhattan, because they can see them coming, are attached to the space and to the ritual. Yet, the plaza's situation is so odd that there is not even full agreement over who owns parts of it. The city says it it privately owned. Residents say it's owned by the city. The matter has taken on new importance because construction of the former Heavy Metal Building would claim a portion of the plaza. How much? A rendering showing a street-level angle that developer Billy Stein sent to the Brooklyn Paper shows that about one-third of the plaza would be covered by the building (as has been previously illustrated and estimated) and that there would be a pathway of about 20 feet under the building to the station entrance (which the developer calls "a path" and residents call "a tunnel").

Meanwhile, per an email from Carroll Gardens resident Barbara Brookhart, Mr. Stein has held what are described as "private meetings" with staffers for Council Member Bill de Blasio and Assembly Member Joan Millman "and some members of the community" on Thursday, March 27th and Sunday, March 30th. It is not known what is discussed other than general issues related to the plaza or whether any agreements were reached. Mr. Stein also attended the Clarett Group's presentation of their own controversial building at 340 Court Street on April 3. There is no word on whether the developer will hold any further public meetings with residents about the contentious plaza issue.