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March 19, 2007
Development Watch: 339 Greene Avenue
There's a huge development underway on Greene Avenue between Classon and Franklin. The lot's a biggie — 160 feet of street frontage — and the building will be a not-insignificant 12 stories high. We haven't seen any designs yet, but so far it looks like the building will take up most of the lot. Given that this is an R6 district, there will presumably have to be a lot of setbacks in order to reach 12 stories. We believe that there will have to be a bunch of parking included as well. Anyone know anything about the plans for this? We wouldn't be surprised if there was an affordable housing component as well. We'd love to see a rendering. The builders have already managed to rack up two violations for performing work without a permit. Nice. Update: A reader reminds us that we wrote about this project last summer when many people in the community did in fact turn out to protest the scale and unsafe building practices of the developer, WT Construction. More on the links.
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this community is NOT organized. i can guarantee that the block association has not seen a design either. nor do they know anything about the "affordable" aspects of the building. sad, really.
Posted by: jake at March 19, 2007 10:11 AM
i'm dying to know as well-i live nearby. the community actually is well organized, with strong block associations-how do you know that plans haven't been released? who is the architect/builder?
Posted by: anon at March 19, 2007 11:10 AM
silly question: is r6 zoning landmarked? what is the definiton?
Posted by: anon at March 19, 2007 11:52 AM
This block is not landmarked. Landmarking has nothing to do with zoning.
Posted by: Shahn Andersen at March 19, 2007 12:57 PM
You've written about this project before, remember...
http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2006/08/greene_ave_deve_1.php
http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2006/08/pillaging_clift_1.php
The neighborhood was organized (just not well funded enough to hire an attorney), we tried to fight it, there was very little we could do. The community board & city planning have been moving at a snails pace to push through the new down-zoning. The developers are able to double the FAR for the building and have 100% lot coverage by putting medical offices on the ground floor. All of the other buildings on this block are 3 or 4 stories. It will be 12 huge ugly stories, the exterior is pre-fab sections that are supposedly colored to match the surrounding building. They are building 50+ parking spaces for the 50+ new units.
The city needs to reign in these scofflaw developers that feel they can do whatever they want in our communities without care for the current residents or the condition of the neighborhoods while they are building or once they are done. These developers are assholes and openly break the law. They work most Sundays because they know the DOB doesn't check on the complaint until Thursday. They park on the sidewalk (today it was impassible without climbing over an ice-bank) and block parking on the street without DOT permits. Of the three buildings directly attached to their property, they have flooded 2 basements and cracked the third's foundation. They were shut down several times last summer for mechanical demo without a permit and not protecting the surrounding properties. The architect is an ex-Bricolage employee, the engineering firm is Bricolage's. Should I go on...
Posted by: Clifton Place at March 19, 2007 1:08 PM
Does anyone know who the developer is? How about a link to the plans?
Posted by: Matt at March 19, 2007 1:34 PM
The developer is Joseph Tyrnauer / WT Construction, which they sometimes write as WTC Construction. The construction company is Nesher Builders. They are doing another building together a few blocks away on Spencer Ct. at the corner of Kosciuszko St. Nesher has a few other buildings currently in the works including one Lafayette just west of Franklin and one at 44 Troutman St. in Bushwick where a worker died in January.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07EEDE153FF932A05752C0A9619C8B63
http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2007/01/another_new_yor.html
Brownstoner has linked to the "plans" that the DOB has. Check out the number of complaints & violations.
Posted by: Clifton Place at March 19, 2007 2:12 PM
this is a link to a rendering of what the building will look like:
http://www.bluestoneorg.com/showcase.htm
I hadn't heard about the medical offices on the first floor. There already is a medical office in the building next door to the construction site. It seems Washington Avenue has handmade tailoring and medical offices pretty much covered. How about a nice place to eat?
Posted by: chip at March 19, 2007 2:45 PM
disregard my last comment, I thought I was posting on the 475 Sterling thread.
Posted by: chip at March 19, 2007 2:46 PM
It occurred to me walking to work today that this whole damn city is a construction site. It looks like Planet of the Apes whereever I go. Fulton street, new development on every corner and I work in the World Financial Center which is a construction site of the first order. Even Broadway downtown near Fulton Maiden Lane is being ripped apart and residential/hotel building outside my office window all the way up the Hudson River. It blows my mind how much building is going on. I need to go on vacation to someplace that is finished.
Posted by: donatella at March 19, 2007 4:42 PM
not organized. in park slope they decide the traffic patterns. they fight for the community to look the way it does. you are allowing a 12 story fugly building with fugly medical offices (think of the hideous one on lafayette and franklin)across the street from a row of 19th C brownstones. by "you" i mean your community which by btw is filled with people who purchased their homes for 50 G or even less.
Posted by: jake at March 19, 2007 5:17 PM
ZONING LAWS THE BIGGEST REASON FOR HOUSING CRISES IN THE UNITED STATES
http://post.economics.harvard.edu/hier/2002papers/HIER1948.pdf
and, btw, Donatella, there is very litle construction considering the housing crisis - likely you are seeing the various scaffolds setup around our crumbling buildings in order to protect pedestrians and cars from debris.
Posted by: Eryximachus at March 19, 2007 5:34 PM
Dear Eryximachus, Hey I'm not saying we don't need it, it is just amazing. Outside my office there is a new high rise building going up, one floor a week, I walk through WTC construction, construction all over Broadway downtown, construction all over Fulton. Man, I guess I felt like since my constuction is over (2 years!) the rest of the world should settle down. Thanks for the Harvard report.
Posted by: donatella at March 19, 2007 5:59 PM
that, plus I am looking forward to construction at that famous place Vanderbilt down to Flatbush.....
Posted by: donatella at March 19, 2007 6:01 PM
Wt Construction has proven they do not respect the community. They have damaged people's property and cars while doing there best to sidestep taking responsibility to reimbrust for damages caused by illegal delivery by oversides vehicles on Greene avenue. I presently have a claim against them and they told me sorry do what you have to do.
Posted by: William Mathews at July 6, 2007 4:45 PM
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