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July 6, 2009

Williamsburg Ranks #1 in City's Stalled-Site Sweepstakes

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This morning the Post has a story on the construction-site blight that has pockmarked Brooklyn. DOB stats show Brooklyn has the most stalled construction sites of any of borough, with Williamsburg/Greenpoint leading the tally among neighborhoods. The DOB has identified 63 stalled sites in Brooklyn, 18 of which are in Williamsburg-Greenpoint. By contrast, Manhattan has a total of 39 stalled sites, the Bronx and Queens each have 14, and Staten Island has 13 all together. Residents and the DOB are concerned about safety and quality-of-life issues associated with the stalled sites. "The problem we're having now is that we're starting to get squatters in these buildings and lots," said Williamsburg neighborhood activist Philip DePaolo, who compared the current-day situation in the neighborhood to the Bronx in the late '70s. "Blight draws crime, and if you have blocks and blocks of vacant lots with no people, that creates a problem." In February the DOB created a stalled-sites unit to try and keep the lots safe while nothing is doing. The City Council, meanwhile, has drawn up a bill that would give developers incentives—like granting unlimited extensions on permits—for maintaining safety at their no-go lots.
'Lots' of Woe in W'Burg [NY Post]
Photo by danwitz.




Posted by Gabby at 10:30 AM | Comments (17)
Categories: Construction Sites, DOB, Development, Williamsburg

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Comments

are there really squatters in these sites? it's kind of sad but sometimes you have to put your own shoes in someone elses shoes.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at July 6, 2009 10:38 AM

they need to send in the hipster-douchbag roman candle team to raze these places which can then be turned into community gardens.

Posted by: dittoburg at July 6, 2009 10:51 AM

Wet suit guy does what now?

Posted by: infinitejester at July 6, 2009 10:53 AM

After Scuba Diving in the Gowanus Canal he heads 'home' to his airy raw loft in Williamsburg.

Posted by: Expert Textpert at July 6, 2009 11:09 AM

Wow - thanks for that enlightening story NY Post - in other news: Water is indeed still wet and fire is as hot as ever.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at July 6, 2009 11:38 AM

Surprise, surprise. Brooklyn has been the most active borough in terms of speculative real estate development, and Williamsburg and Greenpoint have been the most active neighborhoods in terms of speculative real estate development.

Yes, there have been squatters reported in at least one derelict site - the loft at the sw corner of Wythe and North 9th (diagonally across from Rosenwach, as it happens). That site has been stalled for three or four years.

No, there are not blocks and blocks of vacant lots. But if there is a ground zero, its probably in the area south and east of McCarren.

Posted by: WBer at July 6, 2009 11:49 AM

"But if there is a ground zero, its probably in the area south and east of McCarren."

Yup - i have at least 6 stalled sites within a 2 block radius of my apt. Terrible during the winter, as no one removes snow from the sidewalks around these sites, so they turn into an ice rink.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at July 6, 2009 11:54 AM


"they need to send in the hipster-douchbag roman candle team to raze these places"

Where do you think these guys live, dude?

Posted by: East New York at July 6, 2009 12:26 PM

"said Williamsburg neighborhood activist Philip DePaolo, who compared the current-day situation in the neighborhood to the Bronx in the late '70s"


This is just a silly comparison. In the Bronx in the 70's you could buy a 4 story house for $1 to live amongst abandoned buildings and fire torn blocks. In Williamsburg you will pay 1.5 million for that same pleasure.

Posted by: 11217 at July 6, 2009 1:35 PM

There's a fair amount on the southside too, but yeah around Macarren and Union Ave. it's really ugly. I do not envy you, Dirtyhipster and a few years ago, I would have. I used to like your neighborhood.

Posted by: Heather at July 6, 2009 1:51 PM

oh, just another NY real estate nonsense article. yes, brooklyn is just like the bronx in the 70's. children on $75 scooters from mini jakes everywhere, high end stores like paul smith and apc, and world class restaurants. can hardly tell the difference.

there are more empty lots than stalled buildings. hipster is right about where. much of williamsburg is too dense for those types of construction sites, so the building had to occur in areas that were formerly industrial rather than residential.

would love to see this taken care of within 5 years, but am enjoying easy street parking until then.


Posted by: wine lover at July 6, 2009 1:58 PM

No one cares what you think, wine lover.

You are one of Brownstoner's known racists.

You and PropJoe.

Posted by: 11217 at July 6, 2009 2:06 PM

I hear ya Heather - from talking to the oldtimers on my block - alot of the blocks that were leveled used to have cute little houses, not just empty warehouses.

I think the worst block that illustrates this is North 9th btw Havemeyer and Roebling (where capone's used to be) - I think now the only building standing is the gay bar.

The corner of Grand and Driggs is also totally leveled.

Seriously - build something. Even an ugly fedders building is better then an empty lot, as long as people are living there.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at July 6, 2009 2:18 PM

The northeast corner of Grand & Driggs (the site that was contentious during the Grand Street rezoning) has been back in action for a few weeks now. Steel is rising above the fences.

The northwest corner is vacant, and has been for years. It doesn't count as a stalled development, imo.

What this article doesn't say - and what actually IS news - is that there a lot of still-active construction sites in Williamsburg. And even a lot of sites that have started construction since did their survey.

Posted by: WBer at July 6, 2009 3:34 PM

Yeah WBer - I've noticed alot more activity on some sites that haven't seen any activity for a while. There was even some activity on my block - first time I've seen anyone doing anything for the 2 years I've lived there. Wonder if this is a coincidence or something is causing this....

Posted by: dirty_hipster at July 6, 2009 4:03 PM

That is what gets me about Williamsburg, Dirty. It was a really cute blue-collar neighborhood. Sure, it was toxic and most of it was too close to the BQE/had too much truck traffic, but that was part of why it was cheap and blue collar. When the land was worth nothing, it was a better place to be.

Posted by: Heather at July 6, 2009 6:43 PM

Beautiful photo

Posted by: katebabyak at July 8, 2009 11:05 PM

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