Prospect Heights Owner Still Wants That Curb Cut!
The owner of the gorgeous brownstone at 97 St. Marks Avenue in Prospect Heights continues to gun for a curb cut. A reader let us know the owner has “an appearance before the BSA on Tuesday, 3/15….looks like they are still trying to get the curb cut and garage approved, even though the area is…
The owner of the gorgeous brownstone at 97 St. Marks Avenue in Prospect Heights continues to gun for a curb cut. A reader let us know the owner has “an appearance before the BSA on Tuesday, 3/15….looks like they are still trying to get the curb cut and garage approved, even though the area is now landmarked,” and a Board of Standards and Appeals employee confirmed that an appeal on the matter is calendared for that date. (The owner also has a separate appeal in to continue construction under prior zoning regs that hasn’t yet been calendared, according to the BSA.) This story is an old one: The application for a curb cut was originally filed shortly after the Prospect Heights landmarking in 2009 but the DOB slapped an SWO on it that still remains in place. Something tells us we haven’t heard the last of this one, unfortunately.
97 St. Marks Avenue Update [Brownstoner] GMAP
DOB Posts Letter of Intent to Revoke on St. Marks Ave [Brownstoner]
A Curb Cut on Landmarked St. Marks Avenue? Really? [Brownstoner]
I dont know why everyone hates garages.
i’d love to take my car “off” the curb and park it in a garage on the ground floor.
these can be done in a classy way and should be allowed more often.
it’s ok for bloomberg who has his personal driver sitting n the curb 24×7 but for those of us who have to circle to block for 40 mins trying to park the legal costs in getting this approved would be well worth it.
“You can pretty much zoom around in a taxi, even in rush hour. ” – hypocrite – Saying people should use public transportation /better for environment – and then zoom around in private taxi. What elitist b.s. nonsense. Total self-involved idiot.
Why are they making these modifications?
It’s my understanding they are running a hotel there.
You see people going in and out with suitcases all the time. Stand out on the sidewalk in front of 97 with your iphone and look at the wifi networks: there is one called “Guest Network.”
Somebody should really look into this aspect of the story. Room and board, but not above board.
I have the only garage on my entire block but for years have had to deal with people parking in my driveway and the excuses range from “I didn’t see it” even though the doors are 5 feet away to ” it’s the only open spot for alternate parking” and a ton of others that are worse and even more insulting. If the guy had the application in before the landmark status and he wants to redo his house then good luck and god bless. People did crazy things to their houses 100 years ago too.
This is an amazingly stupid idea for all sorts of reasons, even beyond the obvious aesthetic and community-oriented ones.
First, how would the engineering work? Presumably there’s a basement below the garden level. The wooden floor joists of a brownstone would never hold a car, so they’d have to build some sort of internal steel framework just to hold the floor up. They’d be giving up at least half of their garden floor, so on a psf basis for this neighborhood you’re talking perhaps $200K in lost usable square footage, on top of whatever the construction costs would be (I’d guess $100K minimum for that) . Not to mention the legal costs of having fought for the absurd construction in the first place.
There’s a $200/mo garage on St. Marks about a 5 minute walk from this house. You could pay for a spot there for a hundred years before this garage became a worthwhile return on investment.
Blayze;
You need a vacation, to say the least.
the Board of Standards and Appeals is where you go to get approval for something that is not allowed under zoning. That’s the “Appeals” part.
etson! You’re too funny. I can’t believe this story is back and they’re still at it! I predict it’s a no-go.
The real story here is that they are running a Bed and Breakfast at 97 St. Marks Avenue. It’s a safe bet they are doing so without the city or the taxman’s knowledge.
I imagine the curb cut has something to do with this.
Somebody needs to look into this.