Van Brody

First of all, Van Brody is an architect, not a developer (though I believe he may have a finger in the development pie of 457 Atlantic which is, I presume, the project that prompted your post).

Before I answer your question, let me expound on what I would do before buying any new apartment, pre-construction (granted I'm fortunate enough to be in the industry, but you don't have to be to glean this information). First, determine who the architect is and who the developer is. Do a Google search for both names. If you see a phone number for the developer, do a Google search on that too; developers often adopt a new name for each project but don't change their number. Somewhere in the Google searches there will be an Excel spreadsheet from the DOB containing references to other jobs the architect and/or developer has worked on. View those projects "in the flesh" if completed and, if possible, ask folks inhabiting the building about their experiences with it. Plug the project addresses into the DOB Building Information System and get a sense of the number and severity of complaints and violations issued (457 has 21 complaints and 22 violations 4 of which are still open). I'm not saying this is "proof" of whether a job is being handled by a team that cares about the final product, but it's a damned good indication. Google is your friend. For instance I discovered a few months back that the developer of a small site on the South side of Atlantic near me is a disbarred attorney and the proposed builder was a convicted chop-shop operator. I would definitely pass on that one.

Now on to your specific question. Van Brody was the architect for 489 Atlantic / 480 State Street, a through-block development just up the street from 457 Atlantic. The zoning laws were "bent" to the nth degree in that self-certified job to maximize the built square footage (quite apart from the fact that the project itself is a joke aethetically inside and out). A few people on the block, myself included, were so outraged at what was going on that we got the drawings from the DOB and, based on what we saw, raised objections to the DOB's assumption that self-certification meant everything was fine and dandy. Ultimately the DOB mandated that substantial changes to the almost-finished project had to be made. At least one of those changes has not been executed and I presume that's the reason why the development still lacks a C of O. Yeah, it sucks for the developer, sucks for the buyers, but, you know what, having a building like that in one's neighborhood which only got built by lying on the self-certification form sucks too. I think entering into a contract with someone who uses those methods is a mistake.

The number of buildings around here that are half empty because they're crap or have C of O problems is astounding. Just take a look at that Dryvit POS on Third and Atlantic just behind Hank's some time. It's been finished for nearly a year now and damned if I see any lights in it.

Please understand that I'm not painting all new projects with the same brush. There are several in Boerum Hill and its vicinity that I think are an asset to the neighborhood and that I would be happy to live in were I in that particular market. The fact of the matter is, though, that they're all being designed and built by architects, developers and builders who have already established a reputation for quality.

Posted by: johnife at May 15, 2008 6:29 PM

hk4bk,

Just to be clear, I have no evidence that the open violations at 457 are an insurmountable impediment to the building getting a C of O. I would strongly suggest that you both ask the developer what the status is with regard to getting the C of O and go down to the DOB in Brooklyn to get verification of the status. If the two stories differ.......well, draw your own conclusions.

Posted by: johnife at May 16, 2008 10:39 PM

Oh, and I just checked on the DOB site, and the State Street building of the 489 Atlantic /480 State project did finally get a C of O in February even though the Atlantic side building still doesn't show one. About the same stats as the Mets so far this year actually. "You Gotta Believe!"

Posted by: johnife at May 16, 2008 11:21 PM