Neighborhood Projects

Monday, July 20, 2015

Thursday Night Presentation of Polhemus Building Residential Conversion Plans


This Thursday evening at 6:00 pm plans will be presented to the Community Board 6 Landuse/Landmarks Committee regarding Fortis’s repairs and changes to the exterior Polhemus Building, located on the SW corner of Amity and Henry Streets. This building is the first one on the former LICH campus to be redeveloped for residential use, but Polhemus is under Landmarks and there are no zoning changes involved. Fortis plans to convert Polhemus into a 17-unit residential doorman building.

The architect on this building is BKSK, not FX Fowle who presented the overall plans for the LICH campus at the Cobble Hill meeting in May.

If you are interested in attending, the meeting will be held at the 78th Precinct, 65 6th Avenue, between Dean and Bergen streets, at 6:00 pm this Thursday, July 23rd.

4 comments:

  1. Wonder what they're going to do with the amazing & historic operating amphitheater that's inside that building. Centuries of medical learning happened there. Ghosts are in those walls. Such a loss.

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  2. Totally agree with Amy. Very sad day for community to lose our hospital. Hopefully the developer will honor our beautiful community and the brownstone aesthetic. I think as a community we are good to work with but we are fierce in protecting the quality of our homes, the restrictions on height and density.

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  3. Recently toured the interior of the Polhemus building and not only is the amphitheatre historic, the entire interior of the 2nd & 3rd floors - elaborate woodwork & paneling, period wallpaper, cornices, original bronze ceiling lamps w/ favrile glass and much more. CAN'T BELIEVE THIS CAN BE TORN OUT!!! Can the Landmark Commission make a fresh assessment? This is where modern medical schools began (remember there was LICH before there was a Brooklyn Bridge!).
    As a longtime Cobble Hill resident, I'm alternately fuming and saddened.

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  4. Unfortunately, the Landmarks Preservation Commission only controls building facades - or at least historic elements visible from the public vie. If there was no way to see that amphitheater from the ground, there'd be no jurisdiction for LPC to speak on its preservation or demolition.

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