SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Three months after we reported that a new frozen yogurt establishment would open at 1501 Sheepshead Bay Road, yooberry removed the paper from its windows and opened for business on Friday evening.

The inside – and outside, for that matter – is bright and colorful, with what appears to be self-serve frozen yogurt machines and a counter full of toppings. It’s a welcome face-lift near the otherwise dark, dingy and dirty B/Q overpass.

Welcome to the neighborhood, yooberry. Sorry you missed the summer, but there’s always next year.

Sheepshead Bay Road is getting its second frozen yogurt spot soon, as yooberry Frozen Yogurt prepares its digs at the former location of the Flagg Tax Center.

Located at 1501 Sheepshead Bay Road, yooberry will be right across the street from the Sheepshead Bay train station entrance – and the Dunkin’ Donuts / Baskin’ Robbins powerhouse. And, oh, just a block and a half down from the three-year-old Arbuz at 1706 Sheepshead Bay Road.

Unlike the Baskin’ Robbins and Arbuz, though, it doesn’t appear that yooberry will have seating – the storefront doesn’t have enough space to offer much more than a counter.

Thanks to Laine for the tip and photo.

Neighbors of the long-neglected lot at 1515 Avenue Z, formerly occupied by a gas station and mechanic, have noticed a lot of work going on in the last two weeks, as contractors cleared out the overgrowth and garbage. That’s because the property is now in new hands, and the owner – a developer with several properties in the area – is moving forward with plans to add parking.

It’s not the first time the owner has tried to add parking in the area; last time community leaders squashed the plans. Find out more…

1501 Sheepshead Bay Road

A proposed nine-story development may be nixed as the site goes up for sale, giving a sign of hope to opponents who were outraged that the plan’s 101 parking garage would create a traffic nightmare for the area.

For sale signs went up at 1501 Sheepshead Bay Road recently, and representatives of the property have confirmed to Sheepshead Bites that plans are now up in the air. The original plans called for a 115-foot building wedged into a narrow strip of land abutting the train tracks and existing buildings, running all the way from Sheepshead Bay Road to Avenue Z.

“The property is for sale because the owners have another opportunity at another location and can’t proceed with two constructions at the same time,” said broker Arsen Atbashyan, who represents the property.

Don’t sound the “all clear” just yet. Keep reading to find out why.

The owner of the controversial development proposed for 1501 Sheepshead Bay Road (through to 1508 Avenue Z) began clearing the lot this morning.

With two dump trucks and a wood-chipper lined up on Avenue Z, workers began pulling out garbage, weeds, trees and… well, more garbage. This was a property that we’ve previously heard numerous complaints about garbage, poison ivy and other nastiness tangled in the fence.

While taking photos, I ran into property owner George Krasanakis. (I didn’t have a pen or paper, so our discussion is solely from memory.) He said that, regardless of one’s opinion on the development, positive impacts need to be highlighted, and the environmental cleanup is an achievement worth recognizing.

“Have you ever seen that stuff?” he said. “There’s garbage, waste, rats, raccoons – all kinds of junk. Nobody can say getting rid of this is a bad thing.”

Keep reading for a closeup of the cleaned lot, as well as some updates to the Krasanakis’ plans

Earlier today we reported about Community Board 15′s rejection of a special permit application to reduce the number of required spaces at 1501 and 1401 Sheepshead Bay Road. During the meeting, the architect flashed these artist renderings of the 1501 Sheepshead Bay Road location. The left two images are the view from Avenue Z, while the right picutre is the view from Sheepshead Bay Road.

As we’ve reported, the Avenue Z side is the entrance and exit to the garage. The buildings next door on Avenue Z (not pictured) are one story, and on Sheepshead Bay Road they’re two stories.

We’re not quite sure how true to scale the renderings are. The clearance between the subway tracks and the building is about 12 feet, according to the developer. Here’s a photo of that space now – the property is only the fenced in area:

Residents, board members and local politicians chewed out a developer’s plans to construct a nine-story, 115 foot tall building wedged between Sheepshead Bay Road and Avenue Z at this week’s meeting, amidst concerns about parking, traffic and safety.

The board voted unanimously to turn down a request for special permits to reduce the amount of parking required for two buildings by the same owner. The special permits sought to combine the parking for both buildings (1401 Sheepshead Bay Road and 1501 Sheepshead Bay Road), and reduce the number of required spaces by 40 percent.

But the height, location and car capacity of the new building, as well as the developer’s own statements to the Board of Standards and Appeals, came under attack during the Tuesday night meeting.

“When we bring up downzoning in this area, this is the kind of project we’re talking about,” said a representative for Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz.

Continue Reading »

This fence is the site of the proposed Avenue Z garage. The owner says there is more than 12 feet of space.

Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz is calling for a traffic study of the streets around the nine-story office building proposed for 1501 Sheepshead Bay Road in advance of a Community Board 15 meeting voting on the plans. We first told you about the building last week, which is raising questions as they seek to reduce required parking, and the parking they do plan has some interesting quirks. In his press release, the Assemblyman offers some pretty harsh words for the developer, saying there’s no room for a building of its scale, and questions the developer’s veracity.

Here’s the release:

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz has called on the NYC Department of Transportation to conduct a comprehensive traffic study before a developer is allowed to break ground on a nine story multi-use building, at 1501 Sheepshead Bay Road, that would stretch from Sheepshead Bay Road to Avenue Z, next to the subway tracks. While the building may be built as of right under zoning rules, 178 off street parking spaces are required. The developer plans to appeal to Community Board 15, at its May 25th meeting, for a special permit that would reduce the required number of parking spaces to 101.

“There’s literally no room on Sheepshead Bay Road for this building when you consider the congestion that it will generate. This area is already clogged with three bus lines, trucks making deliveries to the stores along Sheepshead Bay Road, shoppers looking for parking spaces and livery cabs jockeying for fares. Adding hundreds of cars to this mix, plus ambulettes and livery cabs dropping off and picking up patients and this street scene will become one of perpetual gridlock,” Cymbrowitz stated.

Keep reading the press release

First floor sketch, including the queuing area. Not drawn in the sketches are the 17 car stalls planned on this floor

Before I get started, there is a statement in my last piece that needs to be clarified. I misunderstood the BSA application and believed the building at 1508 Avenue Z (a.k.a. 1501(c) Sheepshead Bay Road) to be taking up spots that included three existing retail locations, including the Learning Wheel. According to a co-owner of the property, George K., those buildings are not involved whatsoever, and the portion of the proposed 9-story structure that sits on Avenue Z will be in the fenced lot between the existing building and the train tracks. There is currently no building there, and the owners have no relationship with the building next door. I regret any confusion the mistake may have caused.

Now, regarding the parking situation, George K. suggested our report went too far in criticizing the parking garage, and that the problems we complained about are already addressed in the plans. He said that the building is designed with a queuing area for maneuvering the cars within the building. It should offer enough space to arrange cars without the valets needing to pull vehicles into the street and wait.

Providing enough space to keep all vehicles in the building was a high priority for the architect, according to George.

“We wouldn’t do it any other way,” said the co-owner. “We live in the neighborhood; we’re not looking to hurt the neighborhood.”

Above is a photo of the floor plan submitted with the application, so you can see the first floor queuing area as currently proposed.

As for the bus stop, George K. said the MTA agreed to move it a block away. We’re told this is frequently done at the property owner’s expense. We’re waiting to hear back from the Community Board and the Department of Transportation for confirmation.

Again, we apologize for any confusion that resulted from Monday’s report, and the original article has been corrected.

The site of the proposed nine story building, with 101-space parking garage facing Avenue Z

A developer has proposed a nine story building adjacent to the train tracks on Avenue Z/Sheepshead Bay Road, near East 15th Street. The oddly-shaped 6,655-square-foot lot will jam in 101 valet parking spaces on four floors that will enter and exit near a bus stop. Worse yet, the owner is asking the Community Board to allow him to use the building’s spaces for ambulatory services in another building he owns a block away.

The developer’s proposal comes in front of Community Board 15 on Tuesday, May 25, at Kingsborough Community College. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. in the faculty dining room, and residents and commuters affected by the property owner’s plan should testify at the meeting.

The proposed building is 1501(c) Sheepshead Bay Road, currently leased out to an income tax business. The lot is a through lot, extending all the way to the storefront at 1508 Avenue Z. and takes up three lots, including neighborhood businesses like The Learning Wheel and Abe’s Frame Shoppe (a Selfhelp outreach center – which services at-risk populations – vacated a storefront there just a few months ago). [CORRECTED]

On the Sheepshead Bay Road side, the owner proposes a retail establishment and lobby for upper-level offices. Meanwhile, the Avenue Z side will serve as the entrance and exit for the four-level freight-elevator garage. The floor plans submitted to the board show the garage levels packed like sardines, with 25 to 34 cars parked as many as eight deep.

Meanwhile, the garage entrance will reduce street-side parking spaces outside the building, and will sit immediately in front of the B4, B49 and B36 bus stops. [UPDATE: The property owner is now saying the bus stop will be moved. We are awaiting confirmation.]

Layout of the garage levels. This level has 34 cars because of stacked parking. The other levels have 25 cars.

Because the lot is so tightly-packed, the owner envisions attended parking, meaning cars will have to line up and wait to get into the garage. And cars buried deep in the back of the building will have to wait as valets remove nearly a dozen cars, perhaps lining them up along Avenue Z, until the tight space can be navigated.

But if its proximity to a bus stop and likelihood that a slew of cars will be forced to line up along the busy Avenue Z corridor were not bad enough, the developer is asking for leeway in how he crams cars into his building.

Keep reading to find out the owner’s plans for a nearby ambulatory center