Representatives of several community groups testified in front of Community Board 15 about their concerns to a proposed private marina development in Sheepshead Bay. The board unanimously agreed to send a letter of objection to relevant agencies urging further study.
The marina will be part of The Breakers, a 75-unit luxury condominium development at 3128 Emmons Avenue, the site of the former Palm Shore Club. It’ll feature 23 boat slips that the developer said is for the use of residents only. The pierhead-line would extend 94-feet from the bulkhead-line.
Below is a video of the three speakers who objected to the plans. The speakers, in order of appearance, are Jerry Borell, former commodore of Miramar Yacht Club; Kathleen Higgins, a member of Miramar Yacht Club; and Laura LaPlant, speaking on behalf of Kathy Flynn, president of the Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic Association.
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.
(Breakers condo photo courtesy of Nikolai Komissarov and Wilk Real Estate)
I don’t always get to tell you about the Brownstoner’s top sales listings, but this one is a must!
A Breakers condo made number three on the top-selling real estate list on the Brownstoner, last week.
SHEEPSHEAD BAY $1,303,360
3112 Emmons Avenue, Unit 1
Condo plus parking spot in The Breakers development. Entered into contract on 8/6/08; closed on 2/11/09; deed recorded on 2/25/09.
Sheepshead Bay’s waterfront property, The Breakers, has sold one unit for close to $1.5 million. The unit is identified as Unit 1, but information on PropertyShark doesn’t allow for detailed information on individual condos. Based on information at Wilk Real Estate‘s website, the unit is probably 2 or more bedrooms.
You can check out Ned’s article from last summer about the Stolen View from The Breakers.
Above are several more shots of the view stolen by the owners of the Breakers, a development on Ford Street and Emmons Avenue. As most of you already know, the development has installed a gate, locking out the community members who’ve lived here for years and have longed for increased waterfront access. These shots were taken back in April, when I wandered into the construction site to get some pictures from the pier (with a rather cruddy camera).
The most amusing part of this architectural monstrosity wasn’t just those ugly cresting waves on top of its otherwise blank walls, it’s the shells that you see littered across the “boardwalk”. The shells were everywhere in the development – on the pier, in the driveway, and on the roofs. They come from birds that pick up clams and drop them – normally on rocks – to break apart and eat. But the birds have taken a liking to using these buildings – apparently not thinking much of them other than another hard piece of crap jutting out of the water. For those of you Breaker-haters, what this means is people are paying out the nose to live in these “luxury” apartments, but will have to deal with early-morning ping-ping-pangs of birds who don’t give much of a damn about their roofs, their sleep, or their cars. This is not to mention that they’ll be tracking the chalky crap into their homes everyday. That oughta warm your hearts.
For those of you who are interested, I also wandered around the insides of the smaller building, which isn’t as finished as the other ones. My impressions were… well, not very impressed. The rooms were small and cramped even without furniture, and there were some really odd architectural decisions made on where to put pretty basic things like, um, stairs. In some of the units it really ate up square-footage, leaving certain floorspace pretty much unusable.
I for one am not an anti-condo person, and think some of the buildings coming to the area are interesting. But the units I looked at, well, they sucked, and I sure wouldn’t spend a dime on them.
The New York Times has picked up on the Breakers story, and the neighborhood’s ire over the gated driveway which blocks public access to the waterfront. According to the story, and the Breakers’ snide broker, the miniature boardwalk with a wide-open view of the bay’s mouth, will definitely not be public.
Albert Wilk, the broker for the new development, confirmed that the Breakers would not provide public access to the water. “It’s private property, developed by a private developer,” Mr. Wilk said. “It’s going to be gated, and accessed only by members. If the neighbors wanted access, then why didn’t they participate in the costs of putting in the boardwalk and the dock?”
The Times noted that CB 15 Chairperson Theresa Scavo and City Councilman Lew Fidler are fighting the arrangement, but add that there’s little hope.
Of course, there is some hope that the Times’ reporting is all wrong, and it’ll be completely public. I mean, they did say the Bay News broke the story afterall… but we all know the truth.
Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic Association has planned a meeting for Tuesday, June 3. The meeting is at 7:30 p.m. at the Baron DeKalb K of C building at 3000 Emmons Ave. Among the topics on the agenda is the possible development around the Best Western, the Breakers’ blockage of the waterfront, and the threats to the fishing fleet. Which makes us ask, are you getting your ideas from our site, SBPB?
A few weeks ago, before this blog existed even as a thought in my head, I had the opportunity to explore the new development in Sheepshead, The Breakers. The condos are causing a bit of ruckus with local groups including the Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic Association, as well as with CB 15 chairperson Theresa Scavo, who are angered with the buildings’ gate, which stops pedestrian traffic. This is a photo off of the development’s “pier”, which is a very generous name. Still, the condos have a beautiful view of the mouth of the bay; hopefully it’ll be one we can all enjoy.
