Horror Show Friday: 1715 11th Avenue
Here’s what the tipster who sent in this photo of 1715 11th Avenue had to say: “one way to ruin a cute row of circa 1940’s Tudor style single family homes? Throw an illegal extension on the roof of one of them and create a stalled work site.” According to this tipster, despite a Stop…
Here’s what the tipster who sent in this photo of 1715 11th Avenue had to say: “one way to ruin a cute row of circa 1940’s Tudor style single family homes? Throw an illegal extension on the roof of one of them and create a stalled work site.” According to this tipster, despite a Stop Work Order still being in place, there was activity on the site last week. Classy. GMAP
Montrose;
You would have a tough time landmarking these homes. The reason? They are not particularly well built, and I doubt that they will hold up another 50 years without a major upgrade.
Many of the homes built right after WWII are not of the greatest quality. For one, the economy was still transforming from war-time to peacetime, and the variety of materials was limited. Builders often had to make do with whatever was available. Secondly, the emphasis at the time was speed: there was a severe housing shortage after WWII due to returning veterans. As their “bungalow” description implies, these homes were viewed as the urban equivalent of a Cape Cod: an inexpensive starter home. They only have 2 bedrooms in the owner’s apartment.
To see the practical effect of this situation, note that the stoops of the two homes shown in the picture do not match. That is because the original stoop did not hold up well. Indeed, my uncle had to replace his, as well as the porch. These homes can be a money sink, if you are not careful.
FWIW that extension has been in the works for more than a year.
Thanks Benson- I knew this was a little Fred Trump Tudor . As you said the best feature was the walk in apt. located behind the owners garage space, which could be rented out to assist the owner with his note. As for the driveways, they are original to the homes and a fairly common post war builder’s feature. I do not care for building these homes up as evidenced here, however, my guess is what they are doing is within the law.
Blocks like this get landmarked all the time in other cities, as well as here. No one is saying there is anything wrong with the existent houses themselves. In fact, Benson, knowing that they are “Trump houses” could conceivably add to their value as fine examples of post war middle class city housing. Landmarking is not exclusively for 19th century or earlier homes.
I like the symmetry of the peaked roofs extending down the block. An intact row of any kind of housing is great. That’s why the extension is so out of place and inappropriate. It totally ruins the streetscape, and I would imagine the neighbors are none too thrilled.
Sorry, benSON.
bensen, agreed…it prob has more to so with the self cert having been audited and need for “fix or refile” but since March?
I’m skeptical. As I said above, from the appearance of the photos, it looks like it’s in R5B.
AJ;
Because a SWO has been issued doesn’t mean that this type of extension is illegal. The SWO could have been issued for alot of reasons: no work permit,bad practices,etc.
I am certain, however, that this type of extension is within the zoning laws, and not inherently illegal.
“If the neighbor is convinced that this is illegal, why don’t they just report it to the DOB, and be done with it?”
Um, they did…and the SWO has been in effect since March and the plans were revoked. I assume they could refile…or will.
What exactly happens going fwd? Hopefully they did minimal damage to the roof line and can tear this POS off the roof. But who knows.
Noki, it’s the lack of trees in those pictures that makes the difference. I have seen driveways in Park Slope, they can be tastefully done and preserve the canopy of greenery that I (personally) feel is one of the best parts of the nabe.