A Curb Cut on Landmarked St. Marks Avenue? Really?
See this beautiful brownstone front yard at 97 St. Marks Avenue? Better enjoy it while you can, because the owner is getting ready to demolish it to create a driveway and garage despite the recent landmarking of Prospect Heights, according to a tipster and DOB filings. How could this happen? We’re not quite sure, but…
See this beautiful brownstone front yard at 97 St. Marks Avenue? Better enjoy it while you can, because the owner is getting ready to demolish it to create a driveway and garage despite the recent landmarking of Prospect Heights, according to a tipster and DOB filings. How could this happen? We’re not quite sure, but here’s the initial permit where it mentions converting a portion of the ground floor into a garage and here’s an amendment for the curb cut. The whole thing is eerily reminiscent of what happened at 174 Clinton Avenue a couple of years ago. The icing on the cake, according to a Forum post yesterday, is that the owner’s kicking out the old lady who sold him the house but continued to live in the garden apartment in order to do it. We’ll get back to you with what Landmarks has to say. Let’s hope this is all a big misunderstanding! Update: LPC confirms that they have no record of any applications for Landmark approval at this address. GMAP
Wow I live so close… I cant believe the house was actually mentioned in LPC’s overview.
Also its good to know that I have some real crabby neighbors that are dying to post on the forum.
So glad Im anti-facebook.
I think B should use his clout wisely, he could of called the higher ups at landmark and corrected this without all this personal crap.
two cats- indeed its not and I hope the tenant takes her to court. But for the record she has to be given at least 30 days notice so the tenant does have rights. And if the landlord wants to get tough, she could find herself fighting for a long time to get out a tenant who won’t have to pay rent for that time. If they had any kind of written agreement prior to the sale, now would be the time to pull it out.
But that said- I would still want to hear the other side of the story before I publicly pilloried anyone. And even then, unless all of us want our private lives to be fodder for the internet, I don’t think its the way to go. Every neighborhood dispute? Where is it going to stop if we use the internet to bludgeon everyone we know or disagree with- and I don’t mean public issues and persons. To use the internet as a threat to force someone to do what you want? So not good.
It is true that ZONING does not allow curb cut nor garage unless you have 40 feet and a 15 ft wide access road/alley.
The DOB if you are well connected will apply R6 or R zoning to grant you your wish. And the traffic department will give you whatever curb cut you desire.
As to all other ordinary people the question does not come up as they never have the $ for such construction.
Welcome to democtratic process!!!
Such happened not too long ago in your neighborhood.
daveinbedstuy, She recently came home from vacation only to find her yard dug up, all of her stuff shoved into a corner and told to be out sometime in October. That was how she heard about having to move. Is that not being thrown out? I don’t care if she made billions of dollars on the sale of her house, that is no way to treat anyone. We are not just talking about a house, we are talking about a home. Many years and many memories.
to clarify, my last paragraph was in reference to infinitejester’s “joke” and dibs’ question about construction trailers and fences going up.
why do grown-ups have facebook pages?
wow, what fun i missed in here. the personal comments and the speculation aren’t right, no doubt. but like it or not, ownership records, dob filings and permits, particularly in a now-landmarked district, are public actions that are public record despite that they may (in part) concern private property. so the issue generally is fair game.
posting the address is also fair game. part of the point of the post was to make people aware. we all know that the DOB isn’t the most transparent of agencies, and even charitably assuming everything was on the up-and-up here, what’s the likelihood that one or two “cranky neighbors” making a complaint would bring enough visibility to challenge whatever forces led to the owner being granted what, based on the prima facie evidence, looks to have been at the very least a questionable and nonstandard determination? and how are people supposed to voice their concerns to the proper authorities without knowing the address? z is right.
as for dealing directly with the neighbor instead of posting a complaint, it might be “neighborly” to do that, but it’s certainly not an obligation. do you think the owner asked her neighbors for input before she decided she was going to go for a curb cut and garage? i am guessing not – so why do we suggest that the neighbors have the unique and unilateral social obligation to do so? particularly when, from the look of things, the owner could have started cutting that curb any day? and before you say, “because it’s her property,” i call b.s. on that. the curb cut affects the whole block, and we all have a common interest in making sure that rules get applied fairly and consistently.
finally, it’s interesting that one of the most vocal posters crying witchhunt in fact was trying to foment awitchhunt. for the record, i live near here and there’s nothing going on at this address.
Dave, Jester retracted his “statement”:
BTW my comment about the construction site going up was a total joke. Was just trying to get people all worked up, at which point I was going to pretend they had put up a snarky sign in their windows.
Puerile, I know. But like how I set that up? Man I’m good.
Posted by: infinitejester at September 23, 2009 3:00 PM
Given that someone said they walked by here at lunchtime and saw a construction trailer nad fence put up can you do a drive by and check.