So after we posted yesterday about Public Advocate Bill de Blasio’s new watch-list of lousy landlords, and pointed out that Sheepshead Bay was in the clear, we got a call from his office. It turns out that those outer-outerborough neighborhoods aren’t as safe as it seems, and we may indeed have our own flat fuehrers.
According to the de Blasio staffer, the watchlist does not include every landlord or building that would qualify, just the ones that the office was made aware of. We still don’t know why the only ones they’re aware of came from a particular stretch of neighborhoods – but who cares? This is good news; it means Sheepshead Bay can join the party!
If you’ve got a cruddy landlord who may have violations from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, let the Public Advocate’s office know. They will add your building to the map, and try to spread the word and pressure the owner into better practices.
Screenshot of map of worst landlords, taken from Public Advocate's website
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio’s latest initiative, a compilation of New York City’s worst landlords, is burdened by one conspicuous yet unmentioned fact: the vast majority of slum lords operate along the Brooklyn-Queens and Bronx-Manhattan borders.
It was the first thing that caught my attention when I brought up the map of offending landlords created by his office. Manhattan and Staten Island remain, for the most part, clear. And so do the outer areas of the outerboroughs. But clusters of pink tabs congregate like a herpes outbreak around those sticky parts rubbing against their neighbors.
Sheepshead Bay, for its part, is totally in the clear. In fact, the only pin in all of Southern Brooklyn is in Coney Island, at 2766 West 15 Street. It’s a building owned by Henry Wright, a 70-infraction piker when compared to the city’s top slumlord, who has 1049 infractions.
Brooklyn is home to the most troubled buildings, though. We’ve got 96 out of 164 citywide. But, again, they’re almost universally located in the north of the borough.
So what’s with that? Why are they in such cruddy shape? And, in your experience, how do Sheepshead Bay’s landlords fare?
Owners of the commercial development sprouting up at 30 Dooley Street told Sheepshead Bites that they’ve signed leases with a restaurant and beer garden and a “hot yoga” spa.
Benjamin Klein, of Klein Levin Associates, which developed and owns the property, said the building is just a few weeks away from completion, and expects a certificate of occupancy following inspections.
The restaurant and beer garden will take up the basement level of the four-unit property, and will have its own separate entrance on Dooley Street.
The top floor is booked for a Bikram Yoga spa. Also known as hot yoga, stretches are practiced in a room heated to 105°F with a humidity of 40 percent. The top floor of the building is a loft-style unit, with views overlooking the Sheepshead Bay marina.
Klein said two more 2,000 square foot units are still available, both with balconies and waterfront views. The building has attendant parking for 18 cars.
Last July, when we reported that the development on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Avenue Z was nearly complete, a couple of commenters began laying into this project and many others along Ocean Avenue. One called these developments “nondos,” and they all pointed out that the area’s new units appear to have problems selling.
Well, scratch that for the Avenue Z spot.
The mixed-use building that once housed John J. Healey Funeral Home looks like it’s just about booked up, and in less than a year after its completion. All of the residential units up top look occupied, and a handful of businesses have moved into the ground floor.
Most notably, perhaps, is the new 99¢ and Up store. The business is taking up two of the five storefronts, including one on the side of the building (pictured), which wraps around the interior to a front entrance. Next to that, an oral surgeon has put up signage. The remaining storefronts don’t have “For Lease” signs up, and it looks like some work is going on inside, so it’s possible they’re already booked as well.
Not bad for a corner everyone said would be doomed to emptiness.
With 1629 Sheepshead Bay Road nearing completion, the owner said he is in talks to bring a lounge to Sheepshead Bay Road.
A nail salon previously occupied 1629 Sheepshead Bay Rd (Courtesy of Google Maps)
Owner Rovshan Sharifov said he hopes to bring an upscale bar and lounge to the first floor of the three-floor building when construction is complete, which he thinks will be the end of this year. If not a lounge, he said the space will be for retail use.
On the third floor he’ll move the Brooklyn location of his law practice Sharifov & Russell, LLP (his other office is in Hempstead, Long Island). His current practice is down the block at 1661 Sheepshead Bay Road. The second floor will have office space.
According to Department of Buildings records, Sharifov bought the property in 2008 from the Kallas family, which owns several properties on and around Sheepshead Bay Road. The Kallas family bought the land in 2005 for $930,000 and sold it three years later for $940,000. Sharifov said he plans to hold onto the property long-term.
The property was previously occupied by a nail salon.
The development of Sheepshead Bay from 1928 to 2008, as shown in aerial maps from NYCityMap
If the urbanization of Sheepshead Bay is unavoidable, how do we make the best of it?
On my post yesterday about the planned three-story mixed-use building at 2409 Avenue Z (near the corner of Bedford Avenue), commenters Cabbie and Lisanne shared brief exchanges about the loss of the neighborhood’s “small town feel,” but also expressed that the zoning makes it unavoidable.
A three-story building will soon be erected at 2409 Avenue Z, the original location of Tre Fratelli Deli. Some time in mid-June, the developer, 2409 Ave Z, LLC, tore down the existing structure to make way for the new mixed-use building.
Here’s what it used to look like:
According to Department of Buildings records, the new 33-foot-tall building will have 8,631 square feet of space, split between residential use (7,621 sq. ft.) and the ever-present “community facility,” (1,010 sq. ft.), a term rarely used to actually indicate a facility for community use, just a space they label as such to get a greater floor-area ratio (FAR).
A variance issued to the developer in 2007 gave permission to construct the triangular building with a 22-foot-wide curb cut for three cars (a curb cut no larger than 15 feet, and space for five cars are required under zoning law). The new construction will have five residential units, according to the variance documents. You can see the proposed layout here.
The demolition of the building raised complaints from a neighbor, who said they weren’t notified of the work and the shaking was causing potentially unsafe conditions in the adjacent building. They were issued no violations.
The management company responsible for The Breakers condominium development only just started the uncertain process to construct a private marina, but they’ve been marketing the fantasy slips for nearly a year.
Wilk Real Estate, which represents The Breakers at 3128 Emmons Avenue, posted the above YouTube video in October 2009. The problem is that they hadn’t yet started the complex approval process to have it constructed, raising the question of whether or not they’ve been misleading residents.
The back of The Breakers, photographed in 2008 while still under construction
A proposed marina attached to The Breakers condominium development is sparking a discussion about Sheepshead Bay’s shrinking navigable lanes, and the project will be on tomorrow night’s Community Board 15 agenda.
The owners of The Breakers complex at 3128 Emmons Avenue (near Ford Street) submitted plans to the Department of Environmental Conservation to create a 23 slip marina as an accessory to the existing 75 residential units. The plans are to be reviewed and either rejected or approved by the department alongside the Army Corps of Engineers.
But the potential impact of a private marina on the local captains navigating the already clogged Sheepshead Bay is drawing the attention of the Community Board.
Community Board 15 Chairperson Theresa Scavo said the project’s paperwork states that it will involve an excavation and fill in navigable waters.
“For me, that’s a red flag,” she said. “The bay is already narrowed by silt” causing some boats to get stuck in the muck during low-tide.
Friends of Carl, the committee to re-elect State Senator Carl Kruger, just moved into this shoebox on East 22nd Street between Avenue U and Avenue V. In terms of campaign fundraising, Kruger is the State Senate’s wealthiest man, having raised more than $2.1 million. If this is what he’s renting, it must mean he’s saving money to make sure we all get bombarded with more mailers touting his supposed accomplishments.
Or maybe not. The man’s got $2.1 million to spread around, right? Let’s think Kruger style: in what ways do you think he’ll be assaulting the district’s collective conscious this election year?
