Last week we looked at how New York’s parking minimums are losing relevancy in today’s urban landscape. Today, we look at a few spots in New York City that have creatively repurposed under-utilized parking lots and garages into venues for dining, living and the performing arts.
1. The Exley
This Brooklyn bar was previously a deteriorating three-car garage before it was renovated late last year. We took a trip to the bar this past February, and discovered that owners Brandon Chamberlin and Matthew Ricke stumbled upon the abandoned auto body shop through a a dodgy, misspelled, Craigslist advertisement. The duo went on Smallknot, a crowdfunding platform, to raise $7500 for kitchen equipment to complete the bar, which they hoped would become a neighborhood place in Williamsburg along the BQE. The 600-square feet space is now packed on the weekends, a sign that the the industrial zone can become re-integrated into the neighborhood through adaptive reuse–even next to the BQE.
Excellent post Joyce! Where I live, normally, garages are usually replaced with office buildings or offices. These are creative uses of a seemingly wasted spaces, I think I like The Park the best. Amazing.