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
bxgirl, this is not a mob attack. This is a thread facilitating the flow of information and opinions on the subject of architecture preservation. This is exactly what belongs on this blog, and the proper way to address this sort of issues.
If the PLUSAs went down with pitchforks, now I would agree with your consideration. I personally can’t see Minard or Montrose picketing her house.
Besides, getting your architect to play fast and loose with the DOB can be a bit of a game. You play, you lose, Brownstoner and the LPC think badly of you. The owner’s life isn’t destroyed. Her reputation as a preservationist might suffer, but then she brought it on herself and presumably didn’t care that much in the first place.
I agree its a horrible idea and I am dead set against this but that doesn’t mean jon should conduct a witch hunt. Who made him the arbiter of life and wouldn’t it be better to wait until we had all the facts, not just a vengeful neighbors take on it? Sorry but Jon shouldn’t be using his blog as a personal weapon. It sucks and I hope the homeowner talks to a lawyer. I’m all for freedom of the press and the internet- but not if its going to be used (and has been done in the past) to try to destroy someone over something like this. WOnder how any of us would feel if it were happening to them?
Maly- we don’t know anything for a fact. we don’t know how the approval got done, who’s responsible or the homeowner’s intent. And even if they did game the system (which we don’t know) this is a private homeowner. The whole mob attack thing is crazy- she isn’t a public figure and it’s one thing to have your neighbors pissed at you. It’s another to post this on the internet and make her vulnerable to every nutjob and wacko out there. I’m sorry- a curb cut does not mean her life should be exposed or destroyed.
Wasder — I think reasonable people are allowed to presume that anyone who puts in permit requests while the item is calendared but before approval is doing so to get in front of an actual designation of landmarking to avoid outright denial.
While there’s nothing _inherently_ wrong with trying to avoid LPC restrictions, obviously there is a huge difference between trying to avoid a fight over the proper type of windows (a minor LPC issue) and eliminating most the front garden and the appearance of the entire street level appearance of the building.
I disagree with those that think this is none of our business, the private business of the owner and that the address should be removed.
This is the internet age folks and by definition the free flow of information.
This sort of thing is exactly what this blog should be addressing. if you’re not for the preservation of brownstones and the character of the streetview and the neighborhood then maybe this blog isn’t for you.
I support Jon 100% in efforts like this.
The timing says it all. They filed to beat the LPC designation and the fact they got it approved the same day as the official landmarking of the district goes to show they acted in bad faith imo.
Maly–how do we know that the owners gamed the system? I think we know very little if anything about the motivations or tactics of the owner in getting this permit.
IJ, I actually don’t think it’s a private choice. I do recognize that the preferred way to deal with disagreements is to go through proper channels, like 311, DOB, LPC, writing letters rather than physically confronting the owners/workers, which is why this thread is completely appropriate. The owners gamed the system, they lost because their neighbors care. I guess I feel more empathy for the neighbors than the owners. It would be different if I thought the owners were babes in the woods, or had bought the house already defaced thinking a curb cut was legal.
This is a clear cut case of aggressive flouting of the LPC designation. They deserve all that’s coming to them.
New York Zoning Regulations
25-633 — Prohibition of curb cuts in certain districts
R4B R5B R6B R7B R8B
“In the districts indicated, curb cuts are prohibited for
residential developments on zoning lots having a width of
less than 40 feet along a street and existing on the effective date of establishing such district on the zoning maps.”