Comment

Comment by Ben Royce on April 14, 2011 at 10:36am

atticus:

 

as bud/ cv suggested, there's also the issue of access below madam brett park. there's the tiny shaft under the railroad tracks, and there is the tioronda bridge. the bridge is dismantled, so they'd have to rebuild the bridge. i hope they really do rebuild the bridge, no matter what, but not as some stupid carport access road. but for walking/ biking and preserving its historic nature (see john fasulo's post about this tragedy: http://www.beaconcitizen.com/profiles/blogs/bow-string-truss-sectio...)

 

or: widen the passage under the railroad tracks. expensive. and you still would have the problem that no moving vans could get in because of height (are they going to lift the tracks too?)

 

99% of people reading this comment can't do right by the beacon hat factory, they can only comment helplessly like me. but for those 1% reading this with enough power/ influence/ money, this is what you do with the old hat factory:

 

a college campus

 

you buy craig house property (whose current investment banker owner uses it as a warehouse for his art. whoop-de-doo, he can be persuaded to accept a buy out), you get someone like nyu to partner with you to make it a satellite campus. ny state chips in with the university settlement property across 9D because you make the college focus on the arts and the environment (scenic hudson and clearwater would welcome this, because they'd be part of the effort, not shoved aside). you'd have a scenic, charming campus

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7652577@N05/2593835420/

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7652577@N05/2593833530/

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/neversaydie/290196669/

 

somebody with money or power reading this: dia was made from our industrial heritage. the roundhouse as well. beacon is being reborn from its old pieces and here's your chance to make your mark with another piece of our industrial heritage in the best way

 

Comment by Bud Siegel on April 13, 2011 at 9:58pm

I don't understand why people would think they could trespass on private property.  I don't know the property and don't know how structurally sound the buildings are, or if it makes any economic sense to keep them standing or what those huge spaces could be used for anyway. I just know I saw the plans and they were for housing. I just saw inaccuracies in the conversation and thought people might want some facts to base their comments on.  As for my opinion, I think housing along side of a public greenway sounds attractive to potential home owners.

Comment by Ben Royce on April 13, 2011 at 9:01pm

CV: Thank you for the info. And I congratulate the Ehrlichs on their shrewd investments.

 

However, I thought the condos are going in above Madam Brett park not below. I could be wrong. I also think the old hat factory is structurally sound and worth saving and deserves to be reborn as a new institution, not condos, which would be a shame, in my mind.

 

And frankly, I just don't see it happening because its in the middle of a park and its not a very big parcel. I don't think planners and developers are that myopic as to not see its just not a good residential area. Who wants strangers trespassing across their residences all day? That's obviously what would happen. Is a residential development in the middle of Memorial Park a good idea? Same level of silliness. I just don't see that happening. Developers can't be that daft, can they?

 

Comment by Bud Siegel on April 13, 2011 at 4:20pm

Again, please correct me if I am wrong.  Beacon Terminal Associates is part of Ehrlich Companies and has operated in Beacon for many years, and as far as I can tell they are the City's largest taxpayer  They own a number of undeveloped properties including the old DMV and One East Main.  They are developing the Edgewater property north of the train station.  They were the partial owners of the Upper Mills and Roundhouse Property and sold it to the current developer.  They sold the Beacon Theater to the current group trying to make a go of it.  As I said before, according to the planning and zoning board minutes on the City's website, if I am reading them properly, the plan for Beacon Terminals, abutting Madame Brett Park is to tear down those old buildings, which I think are falling down anyway and build housing on the site. If done right, it seems like a good plan to me.  I think that the underpass under the MTA rail extension would have to enlarged for emergency vehicles.  The address on 22nd Street is Ehrlich Company's office and not a lawyer's drop. And I'm sure this company would rather build housing as opposed to collecting insurance. 

Comment by Steve Knowles on April 13, 2011 at 10:59am

Sadly, the owners of the property may not be too upset if the place burned down, because the insurance payout may be a bigger economic incentive than trying to protect it, or develop it.

Comment by Ben Royce on April 13, 2011 at 10:51am

atticus:

 

http://geoaccess.co.dutchess.ny.us/parcelaccess/parcelaccess_map.htm

 

Beacon Terminal Associates is owned by... Beacon Terminal Associates

 

and Beacon Terminal Associates mailing address is 18 E 22nd St New York NY

 

naturally

 

lawyer's maildrop?

 

 

 

Comment by Ben Royce on April 12, 2011 at 1:27pm

Dan:

 

How did the Tuck Tape factory building burn down in 2005?

 

How did Bannerman's Island burn down in 1969?

 

You have to aware of the simple fact that old unoccupied structures are vulnerable to fires. Some natural, some not. While you ask me to imagine what it is like for teenage lives, I'd like you to imagine what it is like for future lives without the ability to enjoy these industrial remnants at all. I share you and your dad's romanticism for rambling through the past, and I don't understand why you view my impulses for preservation as an enemy of that romanticism, rather than the direct product of it.

 

You seem not to be aware of the threat these places exist under from illicit use. I'd ask for you to consider that, in the name of the enjoyment that you have written about, not in spite of it. These teenagers may share your wonder, but they don't necessarily share your benign appreciation.

 

"Do something about it instead."

 

I did. I confronted the teenagers at the time of the break in.

 

Comment by Brian Murnane on April 12, 2011 at 1:25pm

I think the biggest problem here is, Who is giving birth to all these firebugs?

Comment by Daniel Fiege on April 12, 2011 at 12:50pm

Ben, your examples:

 

"gorgeous Saturday of Spring"

"Dia is packed"

"20 cars parked at Madam Brett" (sickening, actually)

 

None of your examples relate to the 3 teenagers and their much different lives than yours or anyone who would identify with the other 2. They probably don't know what contemporary art is. They don't drive cars. And they don't recognize the Spring for it's inherent beauty, just yet.

 

That building has been broken into for about 10 years, by myself. I've photographed the thing extensively, in and out. They are cultural ruins of this area, that are open for those who are bold enough to traverse the abandoned landscape. So lay off. My father camped out on Bannermans in the many years it sat quiet. I swam there with friends and photographed the entire thing, careful not to touch or change a thing. Sure, I'm not everyone, but I say it's survival of the fittest, or did Darwin say that? While you are on your righteous run, others are lost in their youth, clambering around their old town which is still not good enough to provide anything for them to truly engage in. Put yourself in their shoes and stop bitching. Do something about it instead.

Comment by Henry on April 9, 2011 at 6:49pm

Unemployed and bitter. You desperatley need a job.

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