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?
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.
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.
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.
Corbin Place is one of those rare streets in our neighborhood where all the homes look eerily similar, built around the same era, and have a lot of identical features. They all have garages, driveways, porches – even a bit of landscaping in most cases. Walking down the block, you might get the idea that someone actually planned something in this city.
But then 156 Corbin Place has to go and screw it up.
“This is something sticking out like a tumor or something,” a neighbor told us about the construction.
Look at this monstrosity! This is one of those fantastic examples of how New York City zoning laws fail – epically – at taking into account how neighborhoods are actually developed. This construction site may be a giant middle finger extended to neighbors, but as far as we can tell, it’s totally legal.
Zoned for R6, the owners are building out to the maximum height allowable, even though nearly all the homes on the block are one story less. And say goodbye to the sweet front-porches – as you can see in the photo, they’re extending the front of the house forward to make maximum use of the land.
This old, ugly building at 702 Avenue U sold for $1,483,000 on March 23. It sure didn’t get that dollar amount for it’s chic example of modern architecture. Located on the corner of East 7th Street, the 3,000 square foot lot with R6A zoning is probably what attracted such a fancy price tag. Demand from the Orthodox community has fueled a number of condo projects on the western end of Avenue U, and this could be the latest example of a development on a smaller lot. Under the area’s zoning, developers can stack up to seven stories, and they can build up to ten residential units without parking.
The new owner is 702 Avenue U Holdings LLC, located at 426 Nassau Road in Roosevelt, NY. We couldn’t find a name behind the LLC, but the address is the same as a landscaper.
