New tri-borough rail line proposed

From CBS New York:

Transportation advocates hope New York City’s next mayor will take a fresh look at a bold idea — creating an inter-borough train that would link Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.

The proposal calls for the train to come out of the Bronx over the Hell’s Gate Bridge, tower over parts of Queens and run below street level through the heart of Brooklyn – a little-used freight line that could have a very busy future, CBS 2’s Tony Aiello reported Thursday.

The Regional Plan Association calls it “Tri-Boro RX.”

“Makes it easier for people to interconnect among all these neighborhoods in the city,” said the association’s Jeff Zupan.

The existing freight line that runs from Hunts Point to Bay Ridge would be used for new commuter rail service. One estimate has it carrying 80,000 passengers a day.

“What this does is create a rail line, a transit service that has transfer points with bus lines and with subway lines throughout the three boroughs,” Zupan said.

Zupan said the line could easily connect major transit hubs, including Astoria-Ditmars, Broadway Junction and Kings Highway.

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A rather ridiculous building

From Curbed:

An air rights purchase from the rear neighbor on Richardson Street allowed the developer to go tall(er) with a new building at 60 Bayard Street. We glimpsed the front of this space invader last month, and now a tipster has passed along the view of the back.

Holy crap!

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Gentrification can only go so far

All it takes is one rotten property to bring down an area. Case in point: The house on the right. Among the restored buildings and not-too-out-of-character new one next door, 510 Lafayette Ave sticks out like a sore thumb.

Ah, rodents. Let's see what else is going on here.

In 2007, an illegal SRO was found inside. A later complaint called it a "rehab center". One of those halfway houses that the city authorized, then shut down, perhaps.

Then there was a complaint of termites.

Then work without a permit in 2008 followed by a shaky building.

In 2009, an illegal SRO was found inside yet again. Also, exposed electrical wiring.

Then in 2010, squatters moved in though it was boarded up and this went on for at least a year.

Total violations: $66,450

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Glassy, not classy

From CBS New York:

Imagine looking out of your window one morning and seeing your neighbors taking a shower.

That’s exactly what could happen in Brooklyn after one couple built their bath in a way that leaves little to the imagination.

Call it a shower with a view, CBS 2’s Steve Langford reported Friday.

Beyond the exposed brick walls of the beautiful Cobble Hill homes, one newly renovated townhouse features a very exposed glass shower.

The view from the back of the townhouse shows a huge glass enclosed shower area overlooking the backyard, the apparent absence of curtains of great interest to neighbors who have a full frontal view of this home improvement. Langford tried to reach the owners by phone on Friday, but one quickly hung up.

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They paved over a wetland to create a parking lot

"This newly created parking lot was once all parkland at Four Sparrow Marsh. It wouldn’t surprise me if they continued selling this off until none of it was left…and apparently there isn’t sh*t we can do about it!" - Rob

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Guy lives in converted dumpster

From Huffington Post:

Normally, you wouldn't think of a trash receptacle as a viable living space, but if you ask Gregory Kloehn he'd disagree. Featured On HGTV's "You Live In What?," when this West coast resident visits New York, he stays in his Brooklyn home: A retrofitted commercial dumpster that he bought for $2,000.

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Foundations not actually stronger than the storm

From the Brooklyn Paper:

Retreating floodwaters from the superstorm created underground air pockets just waiting to become sinkholes beneath streets, buildings and backyards across Southern Brooklyn, and most people aren’t aware of the danger under their feet, say local architects and companies specializing in subterranean scans.

“From Seagate to Manhattan Beach, a lot of these building’s foundations have been scoured,” said architect Walter Maffei, “and no one knows about it.”

According to Maffei, any structure that suffered severe flooding as a result of October’s hurricane is liable to have lost some of the sediment beneath its foundation as the water rapidly withdrew into the ocean, taking tons of soil with it.

“When you build a sand castle, everybody knows the water comes in relatively slowly, but when it goes out, it moves quickly and takes everything with it,” the architect explained. “A lot of scouring occurs at the foundation level, or below.”

Underground voids, or air pockets, can undermine the foundations of buildings and city infrastructure such as roadways. This means sink holes and structural stability is a big concern and potential hazard for people living in Red Hook and southern Brooklyn, according to Lou Neos, a technician at Ameriscan, which specializes in ground penetrating radar.

“It’s all over, wherever there was severe damage from Sandy,” said Neos, who has found voids underneath buildings in Sheepshead Bay and Brighton Beach. “If there’s another storm, people might lose their whole house because of a void.”

Yes, let's recall the previous Rockaway sinkhole debacle.

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If they could do it in Bay Ridge, why not Flushing?

From WPIX:

NYPD officers arrested 19 people in a prostitution crackdown on various “day spas” and “massage parlors” in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, authorities announced Thursday.

“In this case, there were 19 massage parlors in a relatively small area,” said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. “Now we know that the people of Bay Ridge have back pain, but we don’t think it’s enough to sustain 19 massage parlors.”

The arrests come after a year-long investigation that began after neighbors complained of “suspicious and disruptive activities,” according to the D.A.’s office.

“I hope that these arrests will send a message not only to the communities of Dyker Heights and Bay Ridge, but throughout Brooklyn, that I share their concerns regarding these purported “day spas” and “massage therapists” and we will not tolerate illicit operations that exploit women and blight neighborhoods,” said D.A. Hynes.

The bust was the culmination of a joint investigation by the Kings County District Attorney Special Investigations Unit and the NYPD’s Brooklyn South Vice Unit. Using undercover detectives, surveillance and search warrants, the operation revealed “substantial evidence of prostitution” and a string of work-related and zoning law violations.

The arrests included both workers and owners at 12 different establishments.

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Yes, this is the year!

From DNA Info:

Brooklyn’s overheated real estate market is pushing house hunters into Queens, said Rick Rosa, a Douglas Elliman real estate agent who has been working in Long Island City since 1999.

“With a hot neighborhood comes increased pricing and low inventory. It pushes people into buying in areas they would not have considered,” Rosa said.

“Now their eyes are much more open to coming to Long Island City.”

Rosa had never witnessed the crossover of house hunters from Brooklyn to Long Island City before this year, he said, adding that the area's new buildings that are full of amenities have been a big draw for many young families.

“The development of the waterfront is really attracting a lot of people,” Rosa said. “The waterfront from Williamsburg to Greenpoint to Long Island City: it's all one track…and Long Island City has the best view of Manhattan, not to put down Brooklyn.”

As Brooklyn has become a “destination” rather than a “cheaper alternative” to Manhattan, the Queens' market is experiencing growth, Miller said.

The median sales price in Queens increased 9.9 percent to $390,000 and the average sales price rose 10.6 percent to $441,417, according to the Elliman report. Listing discounts also fell, from 6.9 percent to 5.8 percent.

“Queens really is coming into its own this year,” Miller said. “Markets like Long Island City are certainly thriving and are the direct beneficiaries [of] the search for affordability in Brooklyn."

Haven't we been hearing how hot the LIC real estate market is for the past 10 years or so? "Queens really is coming into its own this year." You mean that whole time, it really wasn't all that?

Is it actually now or is this yet more hype?

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Tree protection plan

I know you're trying to protect that young tree, but I can't imagine a wooden fence is going to last very long next to the curb.

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A crap above - Bed-Stuy edition

This shot comes from along DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn, but I was just kind of "floored" by what the developer is doing here. Not only are they building up, but it appears that they changed the height of each existing floor. So I suppose, in essence, we have a new building being constructed under an alteration permit. It seems like an awful lot of work. Might as well start from scratch.

Here's the interesting thing...upon looking this one up, I discovered that the permit has been revoked! Maybe they did something hinky with the zoning? Or just ignored the multiple SWOs they received?

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Sunset Park wants to stop the insanity

From the Daily News:

Sunset Park is being clouded.

For years now, builders have been breaking up century-old rows of brownstones, putting up schlocky condos in the middle of blocks where they look like they don’t belong.

The character assassination has gotten so out of control that a new group is working hard to gain landmark status for pockets that have a high density of unspoiled housing stock.

The group, Sunset Park Landmarks Committee, is hoping to convince the city to landmark up to 800 buildings — or 10% — of the neighborhood.

In an area that’s not conventionally regarded as historic, that’s not nothing.

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Metropolitan Avenue Ghost Bikes

Came across this "Ghost Bike" on Metropolitan Avenue recently. Ghost Bikes are memorials sponsored by friends and family members of cyclists killed on the road.

This one looks like it could use some maintenance.

Interestingly, another Ghost Bike down the street, without a name, is in better condition than the one with the sign.

I wonder if the bikes will be featured in "Lockbox 2013", whatever that is.

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The sordid history of the Four Sparrow Marsh project

From the Daily News:

Construction on a project that includes a major car dealership has quietly started on a controversial piece of land in Mill Basin twice tied to scandal-scarred politicians who have tried to help developers buy the land from the city.

In April, the Bloomberg administration announced it had sold the 110,000-square-foot parcel near the Four Sparrow Marsh and the Belt Parkway to Brooklyn auto dealer Lilaahar (Sammy) Bical, owner of Kristal Auto Mall, one of the biggest Cadillac dealers on the East Coast.

Bical was helped in his bid to obtain the land after paying tainted state Sen. John Sampson (D-Canarsie) a $10,000 "retainer fee" to help arrange a sit-down with Bloomberg administration officials, the News reported last month.

Those meetings occurred in early 2012, and this past March the city sold him the land for $4.2 million.

Sampson and his lawyer, Zachary Carter, did not respond to calls seeking comment.

The FBI is investigating whether Sampson broke the law by seeking and receiving retainer fees from Bical, and another businessman, in an unrelated case, who sought his assistance in dealing with the government, sources said.

Originally, the city planned to sell the land to Forest City Ratner to build a mini mall. That plan was scuttled in September 2011 after a Forest City Ratner official was revealed to have asked disgraced former state Sen. Carl Kruger for state funds, according to a criminal complaint.

As part of the new deal, the city also sold Toys R Us the land it currently occupies for $13 million.

The first part of construction, which has just begun, entails carving out a spot for a new parking lot for the toy store, which park advocates charge is being built on protected marsh land. The expanded car dealership will later be built on the old Toys R Us parking lot, city officials said.

Conservation groups and park advocates plan to sue to block the city's sale of the land on the grounds that it lacked proper state approval.

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National grift

From the Daily News:

Nearly a million Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island residents were overcharged on their natural gas bills for two years — prompting investigators to freeze rates until 2015, state officials said.

The state’s Public Service Commission found National Grid charged customers around $2.90 extra a month in 2010 and 2011 - adding up to a $68.9 million payday for the utility company. The news was first reported by New York Power and Light, a new website watchdog.

National Grid stiffed about 980,000 of its users across three boroughs, said the commission, which figured out the overcharges after noticing “the company’s high earnings.”

The rate lockdown affects the “delivery” portion of customers’ gas bills. Prices for the gas itself can still increase, based on market forces.

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CUNY to destroy mural by famous black artist

From the Daily News:

A sprawling mosaic that has long been a symbol of City Tech in downtown Brooklyn will be destroyed when the Klitgord Auditorium gets torn down sometime this summer.

The massive mural, built on the Jay St. theater in 1962 by famed African-American sculptor Nathaniel Choate, will make way for a $400 million educational complex expected to open in 2016.

School officials said only part of the mural — the school crests flanking the main artwork, but not the six figurines celebrating sports, recreation, health, competition, drama and music — could be salvaged.

“This is a loss of history and contact with the founders of this institution,” said English teacher Mary Nilles, one of several teachers who spoke against destroying the artwork.
Construction on the 400,000-square-foot college building will start as soon as the aging auditorium - including Choate’s 33 foot by 17 foot mosaic - is razed.

Choate’s work is on display at several other locations including Harvard University and the National Academy of Design in New York.


If CUNY doesn't appreciate Mr. Choate's artwork, can't they at least donate it to an institution that will? Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Historical Society, etc.?

It's embarrassing to be a CUNY alumnus these days. Sheesh.

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City destroys "Forever Wild" area

Four Sparrow Marsh in Brooklyn was spared from Ratnerization in 2011. A new hearing was held in 2012, but then the project was kept very quiet until now.

When is a nature preserve not a nature preserve? When Parks owns it and Michael Bloomberg is mayor. Then it's just another development site. And one that the EDC is keeping a secret. They removed all mention of it from their website even though they are the lead agency overseeing the project. Which probably means that what NYC Audubon shilled for has been drastically altered.

I hope I'm wrong.






Photos by Rob Jett

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DOB to tear down eyesore after embarrassing news story

From CBS New York:

In response to the CBS 2 report, the city’s Department of Buildings announced Tuesday evening it will be issuing an order to take down the home by the end of the day.

Demolition will take place soon thereafter.

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Brooklyn neighborhood wants landmark protection

From the Daily News:

A whopping 1,150 Victorian-style homes around Ditmas Park would be landmarked to maintain their historic character under a proposal being pushed by local pols and community leaders.

City Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-Flatbush) and other elected officials are urging the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to bestow that status on the homes, built 100 years ago by a small group of architects who converted the neighborhood from farmland into a tree-lined community.

“We are big believers in preserving and celebrating the history of what we have in this community,” said Williams’ spokesman Stefan Ringel.

The Bloomberg administration is reviewing the 437-page application, submitted in March by a group of neighborhood associations and the Flatbush Development Corp.

Swaths of homes in the Ditmas Park area have already been landmarked, but that process has been done piecemeal since 1978.

So there's a City Council member out there who hasn't been bought by developers? How nice that must be.

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Judge slaps down self-certification

From the Daily News:

A state judge has ordered the city to re-examine the flawed process that allowed a developer to build an allegedly illegal — and notorious — building in Homecrest.

Judge Yvonne Lewis sided with neighbors who have argued for seven years that building owner Joseph Druzieh and his architect lied to the city when they said his 53-foot house — built over an existing bungalow — was merely an “alteration” rather than a new structure.

The Department of Buildings and the Board of Standards and Appeals had rubberstamped the permits for 1882 E. 12th St. because the architect, Shlomo Wygoda, had “self-certification” rights — a professional courtesy given to, and sometimes abused by, prolific builders.

Lewis did not have the power to order Druzieh to tear down his unfinished tower at 1882 E. 12th St., but she told him to prepare to do so, according to a lawyer who was there when the ruling was handed down.

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