After Coronavirus Shutdown, Troubled 'Burg Development Site Goes on Market Briefly

A small development site in Williamsburg went on the market the day after the DOB issued a stop-work order for all nonessential construction in the city. Located at at 22 Havemeyer Street, a five-unit brick apartment building is partly completed on the site, which was asking $2.85 million.

The timing seemed to suggest an early casualty of the coronavirus shutdown but the listing, from Avenue Sothebys International Realty, was taken off the market days later. The new building has been in the works since 2003, and the site has a history of complaints and violations, including work without a permit, debris falling from the building, and construction allegedly cracking the foundation of nearby structures. The owner is Mike Choi, according to DOB records.

In 1927, the property was a storefront with three stories of apartments above it, an old certificate of occupancy and the 1940 tax photo show. In 1948, a one-story building replaced it, according to city records.

New York City shut down nonessential construction March 30 to slow the spread of COVID-19. A number of developers of affordable housing, considered essential, have said they will voluntarily halt construction to protect their workers. Some of these include L+M Development Partners, which has a project in East New York, and Pacific Park developer Greenland Forest City Partners, according to The New York Post.

In the last downturn, there were hundreds of stalled construction sites in Brooklyn, many of them in north Brooklyn. Since 2012, a building boom has transformed the borough, with construction on nearly every block.

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