This 51-story residential condominium tower beat out One Hanson Place by two feet to earn the title of tallest building in Brooklyn when it was completed in 2009.

Known as the Brooklyner, it was developed by The Clarett Group and designed by Randy Gerner of Gerner Kornick + Valcarel Architects.

Mr. Gerner also designed two other major buildings for Clarett; the 22-story residential condominium at 2770 Broadway on the southeast corner at 104th Street; and Chelsea House at 130 West 19th Street, a mid-block, mid-rise residential condominium,

The Clarett group is best known for best known for Sky House, the 55-story residential condominium at 11 East 29th Street on the grounds of the Little Church Around the Corner designed by FXFowle, and that team also created the Forte at 230 Ashland Place near the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Other major Clarett projects include Plaza 57, a 36-story, angled, reflective glass residential condominium tower designed by Ismael Levy at 205 West 57th Street, and 200 West End Avenue at 70th Street, a 29-story residential condominium designed by Costas Kondylis.

The 2010 "Fifth" edition of "The A.I.A. Guide to New York City by Norval White, Elliot Willensky and Fran Leadon called the Brooklyner "a non-descript slab fastened to the hip of Daus’ New York and New Jersey Telephone Building," a reference to the 1898 "grand Beaux Arts Renaissance Revival palace designed by Rudolph L. Daus."

The tower is a simple, thin slab form but unlike the great dark and...