SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

The profitability of the 3112-3144 Emmons Avenue waterfront condominiums known as the Breakers remains up in the air as Madison Realty Capital just acquired a $23.5 million note in default from the complex’s previous owners, according to a report by Globe St.

The history and development of the Breakers project has been fraught with some controversy. Local mariners have complained that the complex threatens to narrow an already clogged navigational lane in Sheepshead Bay’s waters, neighbors have decried the lost view, and even residents are miffed about a fictional marina they were promised. In August, the development’s owners, Emmons-Sheepshead Bay Development LLC, declared bankruptcy.

The previous owner of the note, TD Bank, acquired the property from the original owners. Madison acquired the note – which represents the developer’s debt – for an unspecified amount, and it includes 49 unsold luxury units from the complex (out of 75 total), and parking.

Source: Williams

Issuing what appears to be the final nail in the coffin for opponents of the proposed natural gas Rockaway Pipeline Project, President Obama signed the New York City Natural Gas Supply Enhancement Act (H.R. 2606) this past Tuesday. Obama’s signature paves the way for the commencement of the project, which now only needs the approval of the Federal Energy Regulation Commission, according to a report by WYNC.

The proposed construction of the pipeline has faced fierce criticism from environmentalists who gathered thousands of signatures in opposition to the pipeline, and led dozens of protests.

The plan calls for a 3.17-mile pipeline connecting an existing line in the Atlantic through an underground path that cuts through the bottom of the Rockaways and Jamaica Bay to Floyd Bennett Field.

Chris Stockton, a representative of the Williams Companies, which is constructing the pipeline, promises that they will take great care in protecting Jamaica Bay telling WNYC that, “We’re not only burying it underground, but they put concrete mats over the pipe to make sure it doesn’t float to the surface, because you’re filling it with a gas. You want to make sure it doesn’t float.”

Environmentalists are concerned about the a meter and regulation station that will be built on Floyd Bennett Field. They warn that if another storm with Sandy’s power strikes the area, the field and station would be flooded.

Source: CDM via the New York Daily News

It would cost upwards of $10 billion and take nearly a decade to build, but politicians, engineers, and average citizens are starting to dream big when it comes to protecting New York City’s coastline from another storm surge disaster.

A New York Daily News report is citing growing interest in plans to invest in a massive billion dollar seascape project meant to push back the types of surging sea swells that caused $42 billion dollars in damage after Hurricane Sandy struck.

The types of projects dreamed up include a 5-mile-long and 80-foot-high rock barrier reaching from Breezy Point, Queens to Sandy Hook, N.J., a massive 1,700-foot wall stretching across the Arthur Kill and a huge structure in the shadow of the Verrazano Bridge that features two identical 640-foot-high gates.

In recent years, support for ambitions architectural super-projects such as these would have met stiff opposition from politicians and taxpayers alike. More than likely, they would be unwilling to invest the vast resources required to prevent a scenario they could scarcely envision.

The reality of Sandy is changing these attitudes.

Despite the enormous cost and ingenuity required to erect a seascape structure, they aren’t long term solutions, as oceans will continue to rise ever higher in the coming centuries. Still, they have proven effective in countries like England and the Netherlands, where massive seawalls have prevented billions in flood damage since their construction.

While enthusiasm is running high right now for bold action, time will prove to be the number one obstacle in seeing such projects to completion. As New York recovers from Sandy’s destruction and is lucky enough to spared of another major storm in the coming years, people’s desire for a long term solution will wane.

The Daily News quoted engineer Larry Murphy who recalled the devastation caused by the 1938 “killer cane” which killed 700 New Yorkers and left 63,000 homeless.

He says, “There’s a tremendous amount of damage, but maybe it wasn’t bad enough. Look at the ’38 hurricane. If that hit today, there would be no question about building that barrier.”

According to a release by the New York Times, the city environmental officials lifted an advisory on recreational water activity issued last month after Superstorm Sandy. The environmental advisory applied to the East River, Hudson River, New York Harbor, Jamaica Bay and the Kill Van Krull.

The advisory was put into effect after power outages caused wastewater treatment plants and pumping stations to discharge untreated wastewater in New York City waterways.

The recreational advisory urged against activities such as swimming, canoeing, kayaking, windsurfing or any other water activity that would entail possible direct contact with the water.

In related news, the Gateway National Recreational Area announced that it reopened both the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and Great Kills Park, however Floyd Bennett Field is still closed.

None of those advisories stopped the local Brighton Beach resident featured above from testing out the cold waters of Brighton Beach by going for a risky swim six days before the advisory was lifted.

Photo by Ray Johnson

Cherry Hill Gourmet Market opened its doors to the public for the first time last Tuesday, and you can barely tell floodwaters ever entered its storefront in the historic Lundy’s building (1901 Emmons Avenue).

“We were working night and day, day and night, 24-seven, to get back on our feet,” said owner David Isaev at a grand opening party last week, attended by Assemblymembers Steven Cymbrowitz and Helene Weinstein, Councilman Michael Nelson, and Community Board 15 Chairperson Theresa Scavo.

During the worst of Superstorm Sandy, several feet of water rushed over the Bay’s walls and barreled into the building – ruining the building’s interior, alongside tens of thousands of dollars worth of items and equipment. Cherry Hill provided the video below to Sheepshead Bites, showing the damage after the water receded.

Keep reading and view the video, featuring a cameo with Paul Randazzo or Randazzo’s Clam Bar.

Parts of 301 Oriental Blvd remains filled with a toxic oil-water mixture. (Photo by Susan Vosburgh)

Some of Southern Brooklyn’s landlords appear to be slow to help in fighting for their tenants’ rights to heat, hot water and electricity, and may even be adding obstacles to the mix.

Take, for instance, the case of 301 Oriental Boulevard in Manhattan Beach, which we told you about last week. A horrible stench has haunted the building for weeks, ever since Hurricane Sandy flooded the basement, causing water to mix with barrels of oil in storage. Residents complain the landlord has done little to rectify the situation, and many are concerned about their health as headaches and fatigue have set in.

“It’s been a month, going on a month, and we still have no utilities,” said 20-year-resident Susan Vosburgh. “Apparently there’s still oil in the building. I doubt any utilities will touch us because it has to be safe when they come in.”

Although pumping has already occurred, Vosburgh said the unskilled migrant workers the landlord hires keep missing rooms filled with the toxic oil-water mixture, and just this morning returned for the umpteenth time to pump out the elevator pit. On their first attempt at draining the basement, she claims they illegally pumped the hazardous materials into the street.

“The migrant workers he gets for like a dollar an hour, they forget this room and that room,” Vosburgh said. “I just want this cleaned up, we’re breathing the fumes.”

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This is a paid announcement from il Fornetto, Sheepshead Bay’s premier waterfront dining establishment at 2902 Emmons Avenue.

The above is a paid announcement by il Fornetto. Sheepshead Bites has not verified the claims made in this advertisement. If you own a business and would like to announce a special offer to tens of thousands of locals, e-mail us at advertising [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com.

In an act of incredibly selfless sacrifice, a local woman is promising to swim across Sheepshead Bay, on a presumably freezing December 2 afternoon, all in an effort to raise money for her Hurricane Sandy-displaced friends, Morti and Shira.

Morti and Shira Lebovich are a young Manhattan Beach couple whose basement apartment was flooded, causing them to lose most all their things, and forcing them, their two young children and dog, out of their home. Ilana, the woman promising to swim the Bay, has invited people to donate, take the plunge, or do both through her impromptu website.

According to Ilana, her biggest fear seems to be the freezing water she expects to wade through come December 2, but who knows what other disgusting obstacles await her in those treacherous Bay waters, so you know she isn’t kidding around and that the welfare of her friends mean a great deal to her.

She’s already raised over $1,o00, and if you’d like to donate, or risk your own hide swimming for a good cause, check out Ilana’s official page with more information on the event here.

The proposed placement of natural gas pipelines from Williams and National Grid. Source: Williams

According to the legislative calendar for the House of Representatives, H.R. 2606, better known as the New York City Natural Gas Supply Enhancement Act or the Jamaica Bay pipeline, is set to be voted on today. After the area where the pipeline will be installed was badly damaged due to Sandy, advocates against the pipeline warn that a major storm could happen again, and with the pipeline there the consequences could be far worse than ever before.

The proposed construction of this pipeline has been marred by dozens of protests and thousands of anti-pipeline petition signatures. Now that they’ve seen Sandy’s aftermath, advocates against the pipeline have added another reason not to ahead with construction to their list.

The Coalition Against the Rockaway Pipeline (CARP) writes:

It’s complete insanity to build a high-pressure gas pipeline and metering station in an area that has just been destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, and will REGULARLY experience such events, or worse, in the decades to come. We don’t need this gas — we need to stop climate change and switch to renewables.

This bill permits construction of a gas pipeline in a national park – right next to a wildlife refuge that is home to a dozen endangered and threatened species; right under a public beach that is used by thousands of New Yorkers every year; and right by the largest community garden on the East Coast.

In the wake of the Hurricane Sandy stopping this bill is imperative. The bill authorizes construction of a high-pressure gas pipeline and metering station in an area that has just experienced major flooding and fire – and will do so again as the oceans rise because of climate change. Thousands of lives could be jeopardized in the event of another hurricane or storm surge.

They urge others to join them in their opposition of the pipeline by calling local congressmembers Tuesday morning and telling them to vote “no” on H.R. 2606.

You can find your congressperson’s Washington number by going here.

Aside from the destruction of Emmons Avenue’s waterfront bungalows, Hurricane Sandy also left disaster and devastation at Sheepshead Bay’s boating clubs.

The worst hit was the Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club (3076 Emmons Avenue), where boats, moorings and marinas all swept in from the ocean approximately 80 feet to the yacht clubs’s back porch, as you can see above.

Keep reading, and view more photos.