Walentas wins approval for Atlantic Ave rooftop cabanas

David Walentas’ Two Trees Development has won permission to finish building apartments on Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue with rooftop cabanas, despite objections by preservationists who say they would violate the Cobble Hill Historic District’s height limits. After a six-story development was rejected, the Department of Buildings and the Landmarks Preservation Commission recently approved a shorter building. Critics say a mechanical bulkhead is a loophole for the developers to exceed the 50-foot limit. The condos are part a project that will place Trader Joe’s in the adjacent Independence Bank building at the corner of Court Street.