Buried in a story replete with depressing statistics about building safety in this town (e.g. 98 construction workers killed since 2001 and many others believed unreported because they involved immigrants) were some juicy details about the state of the Finger building in Williamsburg. Turns out there’s been a Stop Work Order on the North 8th Street building for a few weeks because of a lawsuit by a neighboring landlord named Scott Spector. Interesting! We remember meeting Spector back in 1999 or 2000. At that point he owned a ton of properties in Williamsburg, including the one that runs through the block from North 7th to North 8th between Bedford and Berry whose airspace the Finger Building stands accused of invading. We were surprised to hear Spector’s name in the case because we remember hearing rumors at the time that he was in the process of selling his portfolio of buildings to an Orthodox developer. Anyway, Finger Building developers Mendel Brach and Moshe Oknin have filed for summary judgment to allow them to build 16 stories despite their infractions. (The building is currently stalled out at the tenth floor.) They will get to argue their case in Brooklyn Supreme Court next Monday.
Construction Zone Nghtmare [NY Daily News]
Judge to Give Finger to the Finger [Curbed]
Photo by TrespassersWill