Stop Work Order for Tall Addition Going up Near Toad Style Vegan Eatery in Bed Stuy

Department of Building records indicate this otherwise ordinary looking building and its neighbors here at 91 Ralph Avenue in east Bed Stuy have had a drama-filled year.

The owner, a small Brooklyn-based developer, received a permit to enlarge the existing three-story apartment building in June 2014. Plans called for adding another story plus a mezzanine, increasing the height of the building from 30 feet to 51 feet, increasing the total square footage of the building from 3,200 to 5,115, and doubling the number of apartments from four to eight.

Since that permit was issued, neighbors have filed 17 complaints against the construction project, alleging damage to neighboring buildings (such as a neighboring foundation wall that “caved in”), demolishing the existing building without a permit, and erecting a new building without the proper permit.

The building in March 2015. Photo by PropertyShark

A stop work order was issued in February. That complaint alleged workers underpinned the party wall shared with next door neighbor at No. 93, home of Toad Style vegan restaurant, without the owner’s permission.

Most recently, a partial permit, a renewal, was issued August 5. A note at the top of the filing dated August 4 indicates the property is being audited for “open issues.”

Permits indicate the owner is Barry Farkas, cofounder and CEO of a small Brooklyn real estate firm called Lightstone Management. (It is no relation to the Lightstone that is building 700 apartments on the banks of the Gowanus Canal.)

The architect is Charles Mallea, who is also working on a bigger project just down the street at 75 Ralph Avenue. Mallea is working on more than a dozen small and medium size projects in north and central Brooklyn, ranging from the traditional to the contemporary. Mallea’s design for 410 Tompkins Avenue, featuring jagged mirrors on the facade, is controversial.

The owner and architect did not respond to requests for comment.

It is sometimes the case that when a renovation reveals the need for more construction than initially planned, owners and architects file a new-building permit, which replaces the initial alteration permit. However, that may not be necessary here. (For one, complaints indicate party walls are still standing, which could mean a substantial amount of the original building remains.)

The construction here is part of a larger trend of development sweeping the neighborhood and nearby Bushwick, where many three-story buildings are being enlarged and units increased.

More reading:

Vegan Eatery Toad Style Opens in East Bed Stuy [Brownstoner]
Charles Mallea coverage [Brownstoner]

The property in April 2012.  Photo by PropertyShark