The SEPTA Train is Leaving its 4th Avenue Station
[nggallery id=”22444″ template=galleryview] Late last week, construction equipment and a new fence arrived at the mostly vacant lot near the entrance to the Union Street subway station on 4th Avenue. The visible signs of pending redevelopment are backed up by the fact that the DOB just gave the go-ahead for a 12-story, 40-unit building on…
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Late last week, construction equipment and a new fence arrived at the mostly vacant lot near the entrance to the Union Street subway station on 4th Avenue. The visible signs of pending redevelopment are backed up by the fact that the DOB just gave the go-ahead for a 12-story, 40-unit building on the property. The L-shaped lot has been distinctive because of the rusted SEPTA car that’s been parked on it for quite some time. Above, a photo farewell to 4th Avenue’s SEPTA, whose days appear to be numbered. We’d love to know how it is that the train car came to be parked on 4th Avenue and Union; if anyone’s got the scoop, please fill us in! GMAP DOB
If you want facts look into public records, it is all out there.
The “owner” is a dead beat. He lost the lot in foreclosure, which is why he does not own the contents any longer. (i.e. the Trolley, the mercedes with Maine license plates, etc…)
He also has a large mortgage on the Lyceum, so he does not own it outright. Probably going to lose the Lyceum too the way it is operated.
Jack
The solution is, buy your own landmark, then you can do what you want. Sure the owner is a bit of a nutter, but, he unlike every other hideous developer in the neighborhood, out right owns this space. No subsidies, no hand outs, no false claims for housing or hoops or any other circus like scams. If you don’t like it, go to Bam.
judge kathryn freed
I’m curious who the judge was, please.
Hey jack(10:56):
Here is some specific information so you can move on to other things you know nothing about. In seven years there have been hundreds of performances at the lyceum. 99% have gone off without a hitch.
Five have been shut down:
1 – high school graduation party – for being, well, a high school graduation party with all that that entails.
3 – music events for refusing to follow new york city sound ordinances(we measure the sound levels periodically throughout the events).
1 – arts festival that violated their contract by bringing in more sound reinforcement and refusing to tone it down because it was “art”.
I am truly sorry if your friends event got shut down. But the building is about more than hipster rock attitude. There are so many better places for that elsewhere. And since we don’t have a desire to police a constant tug against authority our events now consist of film, theater, music(jazz mostly), dance, opera, batting cage, comedy, basketball, cross-training, weddings, parties with a smattering of rock events. Mix in some rentals in realms we know nothing about(but rather enjoyed) such as break dancing contests and you will have some idea better what is happening.
If that doesn’t speak to you, oh well. Can’t please’em all.
Also jack, if you really care to know anything more specifically than this, you can always stop by the lyceum and ask for a manager.
I am a fan of historic items. That SEPTA although in a rusted state can still be saved. I know I am dating myself by saying this.. but has any of you not seen PIMP MY RIDE? All it takes is a little sanding and painting and poof! trolley back to normal.
Does anyone here know if the owner was able to get the trolley out of that lot to renovate it? From the postings it seems that maybe the architect did not give the option for him to remove it and prefered to sell it illegally to people in PA. Does that not
sound fishy? I wouldn’t be surprised if that architect files with the DOB for a 12-story building has questionable aspects.
This developer must be spending a lot of money on this project considering it has a building next to it. How much do air rights cost nowadays.. does anyone know?… because I’m sure the people living in 630 Union would love some compensation if their sunlight will be gone for good. Ms Gabby are you able to do some reporting on this one? Able to find anything about this proposed plan? if i recall from what Mr Brownstoner said last year when he hired you it was for “bringing a real reporter’s touch to the blog”
http://bstoner.wpengine.com/brownstoner/archives/2007/07/gabby.php
I think it would be nice to find out facts about things blogged. I love some of the topics and questions that are brought up in the brownstoner blogs.. but regarding real estate it would be nice if they gave more facts or at least have the writer of the blog comment back on their articles to let the readers know if something they said it’s on the money or not.
just my two cents.. now I’m off to read about this new awning for foragers! yay!
I don’t know if 1:15 is the owner of the Brooklyn Lyceum, but sounds like them. The Brooklyn Lyceum is an utter waste of resources and space. The owner claims that he runs it as an eclectic arts venue and shouldn’t be held to the same standard as other venues. But you know, being varied/eclectic doesn’t mean that the place has to fall apart and be an nuisance to neighbors. People were complaining about the “Don’t Pee Here” place on 5th Avenue being an eyesore and should be torn down. Completely agreed on that. The Lycuem? It has tons of potential and it’s not clear why it’s as “nutty” as it is now. And stories of artists performing their and having their acts shut down arbitrarily by the owner are very common.
Don’t know what the solution is, but given the overly dramatic explanation about a rotting hulk of a SEPTA trolley about it it seems they would like to spend more time debating petty points and criticizing other New Yorkers for not being “open” enough rather than actually doing something with what they have.
Did anyone else keep thinking about Charles Bronson while reading the owners’ story?
I would like to say that Bob Diamond’s idea for the trolley loop is fantastic and the fact that a DOT commissioner is/was so enthusiastically against it makes you really wonder what motivation is behind dome of these positions. Remember that they specifically ruled out a trolley loop serving Brooklyn Bridge Park? Why? It would have been perfect. I call bullshit, just more NYC politics fucking up progress.
Hang in there owner. You had the lot long before the world of Brownstoner.