Neighborhood Watch in Gowanus
We love it when people do our work for us…We live on 15th Street in brooklyn and for the past year and half have watched the demolition of a 2-story home at 105 15th Street and in its place has been the ongoing construction of a new 4-story apartment building. The construction seems to drag…
We love it when people do our work for us…We live on 15th Street in brooklyn and for the past year and half have watched the demolition of a 2-story home at 105 15th Street and in its place has been the ongoing construction of a new 4-story apartment building. The construction seems to drag on and on without much apparant improvement as the months pass. Not only is the building exceptionally ugly (or so we think), but the construction site itself seems dangerous and we wonder if building codes are being violated. We are also just curious about the building (whose Property Shark profile is here), what they are asking for apartments, etc., so hopefully you can put it on the site for people to comment on. – J.S.
We sure can and we encourage others to send us your their own Neighborhood Watch submissions.
Not “brooklynize,” clevelandize — no thanks! And while I’m sorry you won’t be cashing in on all that FAR at the expense of the quality of life of the neighbors you’ll be deserting for an area more to your liking, I’m sure you could still make way more than you ever dreamed by selling your house to someone who would remove that ugly aluminium siding and lovingly restore it.
Having walked by this building many times, I can tell you that what the photo doesn’t really capture is how awful the fake windows in the center column are. They are not real windows, just pieces of plastic put there to apparently provide continuity between the traditional apartment buildings on each side. They look cheap; like you could just pull them off with your hands. Instead of lame fake windows, you’d think that maybe some interesting brickwork could have been budgeted. I have to believe a better looking option was available.
as a person who was going to condo and upgrade my structure in the south slope the first poster and others couldn’t be more right. but due to downzoning my crappy alluminum house stands, an eyesore for all to see. nimbys stole my neighbors and my FAR (and money) and lined 4th avenue developers with it.
That building looks much nicer than most of the aluminum-sided crap in the South Slope. Much of the area beyond Prospect needs to be upzoned, not downzoned. Unfortunately, NIMBYs want to preserve the dilapidated look.
The neighborhood currently looks like a spaceship from Planet Cleveland landed in the middle of Brooklyn. The new development would “brooklynize” the area. Also, apartment buildings are much more environmentally sound than one/two family houses, especially close to the subway.
Anon 12:17 – would you mind rephrasing that? Are you saying the parking requirements are a good thing, or what? I’m not getting what you are saying.
“building code requires off street parking for new multi-family buildings”
Those of us who do not have a driveway/garage, would be in bad shape if this was not a requirement. imagine instead of blocking 1 space for the entry/exit to the building parking. The new condo owners would all have to park street.
which do you see as the lesser of the two evils?
This building is not half bad. No fedders on the front. Plenty of access to light.
roof deck, terraces for each unit. In an area of gowanus (not South Slope)that is dominated by industrial buildings. It will probably increase property values in the area. Would you rather have a condo building disguised as an industrial building?
My understanding is that the building code requires off street parking for new multi-family buildings. The building behind our house on a brownstone block uses what should have been a rear garden for a parking lot accessed by driving under the building.
Oooh, not very attractive, kinda looks like a motel. Are those garages on the ground floor?
Why does almost all new housing have parking spaces in the front (or under, as this one does?)Are they assuming everyone who buys into one of these things also has a car, or two or three? Since most seem to only have space for one car per house, and they are all at least two or three family houses – I’m talking about the 4 story ones, primarily, have they thought out the parking? Of course not! The parking spaces on the street in front of the houses are gone in order to accomodate the driveways, so all around you have less parking for everyone. I only have a car occasionally, borrowed on weekends, etc, and it is getting harder and harder to find spaces when half of a block is nothing but driveways and hydrants.
Another example of no one thinking about the ramifications of their actions for the public at large.