• January 11, 2010 • We the undersigned declare that we are neighbors of Berkeley Carroll, and do not support their so-called “compromise” construction plan. We stand with the St. John’s Place Block Association and 209 Lincoln Place in seeking the assistance of the wider community to prevent it, or at least mitigate the harmful effects of their construction project. • Berkeley Carroll officials says they have compromised. It is not so – they merely have moved around the most troubling parts. They were forced by the new Anti-Noise Law to move new rooftop mechanicals away from neighbors in the interior of the block, and now would place their huge noisy compressor across the street from their Lincoln Place neighbors. Officials then decided to increase the size of the rooftop recreation area with the freed space by nearly 1,200 sq. ft. The new building will still be built a mere 8’ from the apartments of 12 families at 209 Lincoln Place. These are not compromises! • The existing Berkeley Carroll courtyard is on ground level, sheltered within campus buildings, but the proposed massive recreation area 4,500 sq. ft. and the width of 7 brownstones would be raised upto the roof of the new building. If built, neighbors will experience noise louder than ever before, spilling over the gym onto Lincoln Place, and extending farther up and down the garden core of the block, and reaching for the first time to 7th and 8th Aves. Is that compromise? • The entire block is supposedly protected from developers as part of a registered Historic District. Such highly respected preservation authorities as Otis Pearsall, Everett Ortner, the Historic Districts Council, and LandmarkWest, agree, it is the open spaces as much as the built structures that are integral to the historic character of our garden core. The courtyard Berkeley Carroll is proposing to fill in has been an open space since the 1880s, as has the airspace above. The proposed building and rooftop recreation area would be in plain view of all neighbors within the garden core. It would constitute an assault on the historic feel of a private and quiet corridor of gardens surrounded by 19th century brownstones, as well as two landmarked early 20th century buildings. Berkeley Carroll won’t budge. • Expansion is not new to Berkeley Carroll. Neighbors have endured new build-ups over the years, and now nearly every inch of space on their lot will have been crammed full, both vertically and horizontally. Where and when will it end? We draw the line here and now! • Please visit our website at www.stjohnsandyou.org