December 19, 2004 -- A proposed development amid the brownstones and boutique shops of Brooklyn's Park Slope has the traditionally staid residents taking to the street in protest.

It's not a new stadium.

And it's not a high rise.

It's a drive-through window.

Commerce Bank, the fastest growing bank in the country, plans to build a new branch on Fifth Avenue and First Street.

According to Aaron Naparstak, head of Park Slope Neighbors, a new group protesting the development, "They're essentially dropping a UFO from Planet Sprawl smack in the middle of an urban pedestrian shopping street."

The problem, he said, is the drive-through, which will send cars back and forth across the sidewalk of a busy pedestrian area.Between 1995 and 2001, 82 pedestrians were hit along a 12-block section of Fifth Avenue between Ninth Street and Union, according to environmental group Transportation Alternatives.

Commerce says it has accommodated the neighborhood, having the drive-through traffic exit on Fifth Avenue rather than First Street.

"There will always be some folks with constructive thoughts, and we try to listen to them and base our plans as much as possible on what those may be," said bank spokesman David Flaherty.