Where Does a Tree Stand in Development Hierarchy?
What do you do if you’re trying to put up a building next to a city park and some pesky tree branches get in the way? If you’re David Angel and the address is 639 Sixth Avenue, you amputate now, ask questions later. To bad for him that a neighbor who happens to quite like…
What do you do if you’re trying to put up a building next to a city park and some pesky tree branches get in the way? If you’re David Angel and the address is 639 Sixth Avenue, you amputate now, ask questions later. To bad for him that a neighbor who happens to quite like Mayrose Park and the old sycamore tree that has stood in it for decades. The Parks Department has handed out a summons already (which can go on the wall next to the outstanding DOB violation for work without a permit), but the really rub is that for the building to reach its full height the canopy of the tree will have to be substantially destroyed. We’re a little hazy on the rules and procedure in a situation like this. Anyone case to fill us in?
Illegal Tree Pruning [Flickr] GMAP DOB
Oh sh*t! TypeKey is finally working again. Thanks Mr. B.
“allowing what remains to go to those less fortunate or having to rent out apartements to afford a mortgage”
Anon 12:50, what rentals are you refering to? And how are these old “renters” affording these “new condos?” Many of the potential rental properties have been torn down to make way for luxury condos (we lost 8 rentals on my block alone to luxury condos). With the exception of I think 4 buildings in the past 5 years in GWH that have become rentals.
The only thing that has happened is the reduction of rentals by the destruction of viable housing stock. i.e. a two or three family where the owners rent out 1-2 apt’s to handle the mortgage. But, those are disappearing rapidly…
“Loser” here, as well as on both of my past posts, don’t know if Typekey will register me this time either. Neither here nor there, really, but not the fake CHP.
12:48, I can’t tell if you are pissed with the developers, the community people, or everyone in general. Seems like you are only defending the new people who move into the nabe?
Please clarify.
a developer of eco friendly construction does more good for the environment then a few tree limbs. a developer plays out his part in the nabe by selling condo’s to the high end folks, allowing what remains to go to those less fortunate or having to rent out apartements to afford a mortgage. Why don’t they get credit where its due? just think, if all these rich folks didn’t have condo’s, they’d convert the townhomes that remain into single family homes.
Nice try, fake “Crown Heights Proud”. ..loser…
Anyway, look everybody…What’s happening here is that some of these old-school brooklyn construction/contractor guys never had anyone question what they did, or complain in the past, because they were pretty much ignored by everyone, including the DOB. They probably threatened people who took issue with them in the past too, but this is a different era. one in which people are now held more accountable for their actions…
Many of these contractor/developer guys have become fixated with a word (NIMBY) which is easy to spell, and it serves their purposes of venting pent-up frustration publicly.
But the yuppies, hipsters, NIMBY’s, midwestern hicks, EuroTrash, Trustafarians and others that you bash (yet pay your freakin’ bills!) have a right to protect their new real estate investments. That also means protecting the neighborhoods that said properties are located in. That means protecting the parks, trees, and other nature and open space which is truly at a premium in nyc. That means calling someone out when they act like a douche.
Duh! Isn’t it obvious that many of the new owners paid a lot of money for their homes, and SHOULD care more about the community than the guys who block streets, leave unsafe conditions, damage houses, release asbestos in the air, and do most everything possible to minimize effort and maximize profits?
Don’t blame the people moving in here and buying the properties for being a problem to your working methods – YOU are the problem!
Please – Get your act together and start showing a little more self-respect for your own workmanship. Your ancestors would cringe if they saw the shit that most of you guys are putting up these days. It’s embarrassing to everyone. Where’s your pride?
“I dunno – but I always thought if tree was overhanging your property – you had right to trim the overhanging part
(but not kill tree).”
For residential (between neighbors) yes…though here is some gray area. For a property adjacent to a NYC Park, no. Also, street trees are protected as well, from trimming or taking them down. Parks or a licensed sub-contractor, are the only one’s able to handle them.
If not, it’s up to a $4K fine.
And for my last comment to the snarky troll (anon 12:06 and his other posts), you do not represent most of the folks in the ‘nabe, sorry buddy, that I know for a fact.
With community groups that are 400+ people (home owners, renters, etc.) full support from CB7, your “…the ‘nabe does not think this NIMBY way…” (see, proper grammar) is total BS.
Keep trying.
Whoops, TypeKey lost me. Yep, that really was me.
Of course the cynic in me thinks that these type of brokers wouldn’t care if they won any award or not, but if winning or losing translated to dollars, then we’d be talking.
I think it would be great for the public to see a positive side of development. Take yesterday’s thread about developer Shahn Anderson’s possible partnership with the Woods’ and Broken Angel. I know nothing about Shahn except I go by his house to see how it’s coming every once in a while, have never met him, and wouldn’t know him if I saw him. But the fact that he is a member of the Clinton Hill community, and seems to be interested enough to support the artistic legacy of the neighborhood, and put his time and money where his mouth is, makes me think there should be more people like that who are worthy of the name “developer”, ie, one who is providing homes for communities in which they live and work. Not just one who comes into a community, and with no regard for that existing community, throws up, in the cheapest, and often lawless way, a piece of poorly designed, badly built, overpriced piece of crap, designed to solely maximize the bottom line in a location that he/she/they take no time to get to know, and care less about because they don’t live anywhere near there, and never will.
I dunno – but I always thought if tree was overhanging your property – you had right to trim the overhanging part
(but not kill tree).
Excatly, Crown Heights Proud (the real one!). None of these developments are for middle and working class families. Which is why it really seems those who defend them are the developers themselves.
The idea for awards is good. It’s true community action, and a positive way to address the issue.