City takes control of Navy Yard’s Admiral’s Row, braces for demolition

Admiral’s Row in the Brooklyn Navy Yard has finally been transferred to the city, the New York Times reported, clearing the way for the 74,000-square-foot supermarket residents of the three nearby housing projects have long coveted.

Nine of the 11 homes that comprise Admiral’s Row, on the edge of the Fort Greene neighborhood, have fallen into such disrepair since the Navy Yard was closed in 1966 that even preservationists haven’t attempted to save them. They will be razed. The two remaining structures, a historic timber shed and a home called Quarters B, will be restored and opened for daily use.

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In addition to the supermarket, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, which took control of the site today from the national guard thanks in large part to the efforts of Senator Chuck Schumer, will also use the land to create new industrial space. The Navy Yard already houses 275 business, and the newfound space will bring additional jobs.

The development was supposed to be undertaken by PA Associates, until principal Aaron Malinsky was charged in a federal bribery scandal. He was later acquitted. [NYT]