Unhappy with a ruling by the city’s Buildings Department, a developer planning to bring the city’s first “zero-energy building” to Red Hook is pulling the plug on the ambitious live-work space project.
Jay Amato’s “Red Hook Green” project on Conover Street is a “zero-energy building” as defined by the US Dept. of Energy – one that meets energy needs through nonpolluting renewable sources like wind and solar power. The 4,000 square foot project was supposed to include a studio/workshop, offices for a digital business, garages and an apartment. Amato was trying to build a mixed-use project in a manufacturing zone.
The developer said he was advised by his architect that DOB would likely grant approval on the residential portion – which he called a caretaker’s apartment – on the basis that it would incidental to the plan’s primary use. The DOB determined that was not the case.
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