I am also a young married professional who has resided in the Riverside Apartments for over a decade now. I have a very small apartment, under 450 square feet, that faces the BQE, and pay around 2,000 dollars a month. This is market value for a walk-up and by no means unfair to the landlord.
Let me also state with absolute authority there is no rent strike in the complex. Some apartments, but not all, have had their rent frozen because they filed a complaint about the illegal paving over of the garden over ten years ago(of which I am not one). They won and the landlord was ordered to restore the courtyard and garden to it's previous state. The compliance of the landlord would have stopped the few rent freezes that exist. Instead the landlord has waged a long battle to turn the open space designed for human recreation into a dual use area for both cars and humans.
Being an active and contributing member of the community I am appalled how the residents are written off as a bunch of rent controlled misers. The tenants here at the Riverside Apartments are some of the most diverse tenants in Brooklyn Heights and come from all walks of life. We have everyone from Montague street store owners and city employees to college students and young professionals working in Manhattan. There are journalists, lawyers, fashion designers and architects.
The only thing I feel the landlord owes the tenants and community is to restore the courtyard to it's original splendor. The automobile was the root of "progress" already when the BQE caused one third of it's destruction, but the community has survived intact, barely. What a shame it would be if the automobile was once again a cause of further destruction to Alfred T White's original intent for this structure.
Let us also remember the close to 500 parking spots across the street at one Brooklyn Bridge park.
I would also like to ask Sam and Inigo, can we build a garage in your backyard? I would rather park there.
I am also a young married professional who has resided in the Riverside Apartments for over a decade now. I have a very small apartment, under 450 square feet, that faces the BQE, and pay around 2,000 dollars a month. This is market value for a walk-up and by no means unfair to the landlord.
Let me also state with absolute authority there is no rent strike in the complex. Some apartments, but not all, have had their rent frozen because they filed a complaint about the illegal paving over of the garden over ten years ago(of which I am not one). They won and the landlord was ordered to restore the courtyard and garden to it's previous state. The compliance of the landlord would have stopped the few rent freezes that exist. Instead the landlord has waged a long battle to turn the open space designed for human recreation into a dual use area for both cars and humans.
Being an active and contributing member of the community I am appalled how the residents are written off as a bunch of rent controlled misers. The tenants here at the Riverside Apartments are some of the most diverse tenants in Brooklyn Heights and come from all walks of life. We have everyone from Montague street store owners and city employees to college students and young professionals working in Manhattan. There are journalists, lawyers, fashion designers and architects.
The only thing I feel the landlord owes the tenants and community is to restore the courtyard to it's original splendor. The automobile was the root of "progress" already when the BQE caused one third of it's destruction, but the community has survived intact, barely. What a shame it would be if the automobile was once again a cause of further destruction to Alfred T White's original intent for this structure.
Let us also remember the close to 500 parking spots across the street at one Brooklyn Bridge park.
I would also like to ask Sam and Inigo, can we build a garage in your backyard? I would rather park there.
Posted by: riversider at November 23, 2008 10:52 PM in response to LPC Approves Underground Garage at Riverside Apartments