City Cracking Down on Historic Sidewalks
Here’s some news sure to be divisive. According to a Brooklyn Paper article, 27 homeowners on one stretch of Fifth Street in Park Slope are being forced by the city to pony up $2,000 apiece to finance the restoration of the sidewalk. The block was initially flagged because of a potential trip hazard, and that…
Here’s some news sure to be divisive. According to a Brooklyn Paper article, 27 homeowners on one stretch of Fifth Street in Park Slope are being forced by the city to pony up $2,000 apiece to finance the restoration of the sidewalk. The block was initially flagged because of a potential trip hazard, and that spread to a block-long mandated clean-up. Because of the historic nature of the block, the city is requiring the use of historic bluestone or tinted concrete, depending on what was originally there. Predictably, some owners are grousing but we’re all for it. If you’re going to designate certain areas as historically significant and tightly control what the exterior of houses can look like, it’s kind of ridiculous to have ugly new sidewalks running in front of them. That’s why we just completed restoring the sidewalk in front of our brownstone—voluntarily—with bluestone following some underground plumbing work. (We also expanded the tree bed a bit as well.) You can see the before and after photos above. Price tag: $2,000, or about what the city’s contractors are going to end up charging one of the most vocally opposed homeowners on Fifth Street. Incidentally, we’d argue that the value of the house went up by at least $2,000 with the job. We’d also argue that neighbors who put in ugly sidewalks don’t only drag down the value of their own homes but that of their neighbors, another reason why it’s reasonable to extend Landmarks’ purview to the sidewalk. (By the way, we ended up using a mason named Lascelle Edwards, who did a great job and can be reached at 917-640-0928. We’d also like to thank the handful of readers who donated their spare bluestone to the project!)
Hmmmm…so maybe this is why some Park Slope mothers have the strollers with the bigger tires that some people like to make fun of so much…?
Those flimsy ones just aren’t equipped to go over the many areas of uprooted sidewalk and bluestone in the Slope.
he city only repairs sidewalks for free if it’s a 1-3 family.
If it’s a co-op (of which there are many in the Slope) the building is responsible for the cost…even if it’s from tree roots…
That makes a ton of sense????? WTF – why should a LL of a 4+ family have to pay and other owners dont – either its a city tree doing the damage (and hence the city pays) or its not
BTW – 3rd St is FAR FAR FAR worse – walking between 7th and 8th boarders on hiking
Mr. Brownstoner: have you ever been on this particular block? I have, many times, over many years, because I have family that’s lived there more than 50 years; family that struggled to buy their house at a time when the neighborhood was redlined. (Remember when Park Slope was redlined? No, of course you don’t.) A time when there was barely a traffic light in all of Park Slope and no need of “traffic calming” or bike lanes because it was safe to play and ride on any street. There’s not a single piece of bluestone on ANY sidewalk in front of ANY house of this block for more than 30 years. One of the few blocks that’s retained it’s oldtimers, ethnic diversity, and extended family members living up and down the street. A block where multifamily houses very peacefully co-exist with single family houses. A block where oldtimers don’t charge the bejeesus out of tenants because they’re not caught up in the profit frenzy and “market rate” highway robbery of the new brownstoners. A block filled with people who preserved Park Slope and brownstone architecture and history long before you ever set foot in Brooklyn, and probably long before you were even a gleam in your father’s eye. Next time, before you get on your high horse about what’s “historically significant”, and what’s “ridiculous”, and what you did so affordably and “voluntarily” (only as the result of bluestone donated by others?), maybe you’ll actually take the time to learn something about the block and the neighborhood you’re discussing, before you go right to the sport of villification. And by the way, it’s not too late to actually visit the block and document the “tripping hazard” in question (assuming you can), rather than photograph your own sidewalk.
I have the same beef about lamp posts… I live on a lovely and landmarked block. I enjoy this environment and understand the sacrifice I make in terms of the bureaucrats and Landmarks getting in my business if I do anything to my exterior. It seems like the city should accept a parallel obligation for its assets on my block – like the out of context cobra-head lamp post and its sickly yellow light. These things are ugly and notorious light polluters – an issue I’m more up on now that the pollution is spilling right into the front rooms of my house!
The city only repairs sidewalks for free if it’s a 1-3 family.
If it’s a co-op (of which there are many in the Slope) the building is responsible for the cost…even if it’s from tree roots…
Why should the homeowners have to pay to fix City property? Because the homeowners voted to tell the City that they wanted to keep their neighborhoods pretty and historic. If the homeowners want to get all protective and NIMBY about their blocks, they need to pony up for it — the City is under no obligation to spend extra money on them as a result.
I wouldn’t want to pay for this, but good for them for taking pride in their home and neighborhood. The job looks great, and bluestone is so much nicer than blah concrete.
Yes, the Blue stone does look nice, but most of the sidewalks in PS are broken and lopsided. The City should fix them for free and in the Landmarked areas put in what is supposed to be there. Why should the homeowner have to fix it, it is city property…and their responsibility
Like the home owners need this added expense. ugh, our City never ceases to amaze me…….
Bluestone does look nice, but they seem more susceptible to root upheaval or whatever it is that causes them to be so uneven. Makes it difficult/impossilbe to navigate with a wheelchair when my mother visits. About ten days ago (week ago Sunday), I saw a stroller pitch forward after hitting an uneven joint – was def past the tipping point, but luckily the father caught it, and the kid was buckled in. Same problem with granny grocery carts that so many use to bring their food home.
Looks classy, but not very pragmatic.