Brooklyn Activists Fight Razing Old Bank for Condo Tower

March 7, 2016 — The Green Point Savings Bank was built in 1928 on Washington Avenue in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. Today, workers are busy dismantling the interior of the building, which the developer Slate bought for $6.5 million last year before filing a plan to build a 14-story condo tower on the site.

Now, with two demolition permits filed with the city – one for a full demo, the other for an interior gutting – neighborhood activists are fighting to save a grand old dame that is not protected by landmark status, DNAinfo reports.

Prospect Heights resident Scott Watson, an actor and self-described architecture fan, has gotten more than 200 signatures on a petition to save the bank from the wrecking ball. “When Capital One moved out of the bank, I thought, ‘There’s no way they could possibly tear down this amazing marble bank and make condos,' Watson says. "And then when I found out...I tried to do whatever I could to stop it. We’ve seen so many buildings just go. There really is no limit to what the developers can tear down at this point.”

Among those named on Watson’s save-the-bank petition are Mayor Bill de Blasio, Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams, and city councilwoman Laurie Cumbo.