With Clarett Site in Question, Activists Regroup

After the recent announcement that the Clarett Group had closed shop in New York City, Carroll Gardens residents are reorganizing.

At last night's monthly Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association meeting, residents made it clear that they would not sit idly while the Court Street site is vacant. Indeed, it has already been years since the old was torn down, and since then there has been little more than a hole in the ground.

Vincent Joseph of the Union-Sackett Block Association said neighbors would approach Prudential Bank, the financers of the project, in an effort to get involved with the new plans for the site early.

"We are trying to gather facts," said Joseph. "We are reforming a group to deal with the developers."

Joseph said after the meeting that the block association would be working closely with Developing Stronger Brooklyn Communities Block by Block, a group of local activists, in moving forward.

"When construction starts, the community committee will need to organize on safety issues, schools, traffic," he said.

It is unclear whether the new developer will pick up where Clarett left off, or if they will start over.

"I think at this point we want to make sure it's not over 70 feet, they [Clarett] were approved for that," said Katia Kelly, author of the Pardon Me For Asking blog, and a member of Block by Block.

Kelly added that they would like to influence the way the buildings look, to make sure they are not out of context with the current Brownstone neighborhood.

Councilmember Brad Lander said he would work with residents, but expressed concern that the process would take time.

"It could be awhile before it becomes clear what the plans are," he said.

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City Council Speaker Christine Quinn also attended last night's meeting. She addressed several pieces of parking legislation she is spearheading, including Lander's .