Watch Out for Falling Objects
We walked out of our house on Sunday morning to find this sight in front of our (all too-close-for-comfort) neighbor’s house. As the photo on the jump shows, a huge chunk of brownstone had fallen off the exterior of a second floor window and crashed on the stoop and sidewalk below. While a little chilling…
We walked out of our house on Sunday morning to find this sight in front of our (all too-close-for-comfort) neighbor’s house. As the photo on the jump shows, a huge chunk of brownstone had fallen off the exterior of a second floor window and crashed on the stoop and sidewalk below. While a little chilling given what could have happened had someone been walking by or entering the building at the time, this incident isn’t too surprising given what kind of shape the landlord keeps the 8-family house in. (You should see the backyard.) This got us thinking about what recourse one has to force a neighbor to fix a hazardous condition like this. In this case, you’re talking about making the guy cough up $50,000-$60,000 for a new brownstone facade. Anyone know?
casual racism by people like “armchair warrior” should just be ignored, don’t respond to his ignorant posts
i’d be more worried about falling air conditioners. i know a few people who have dropped them out the window when putting them in and were nothing but lucky no one was killed.
Last week there were a hundred postings on this site debating what is the most expensive and fancy-ass imported dishwasher to buy. Today posters seem to be trying to figure out how an owner can get out of making proper and safe repairs to an historic facade that is obviously posing a danger to any passer-by. I find that odd.
Brenda, Well put. ITA.
Serge, the Landmarks Law requires that designated properties be kept in good repair. Furthermore, the Commission regulates proposed changes to a building. It cannot make you do work on your building.
I agree, the window area is in poor shape. However, i don’t see why the homeowner need to get his entire facade redone at a cost of $50K. While the would be Brownstoner’s preference, the homeowner could decide to do something less expensive. He could paint it for 10-15K, but i don’t think Brownstoner wants that. He could strip the house of the hazardous details, but i’m not sure that’s what Brownstoner would want either. That’s why i mentioned unintended consequences.
Armchair warrior, it is not…repeat, not…”racial,” okay? We are liberal-arts-poor white trash with a once-cheap POS house now “worth a million” on paper, and God forbid we ever have a mega-bucks safety-emergency repair to do. ‘Cause we tapped out all the equity we could safely afford to borrow a long time ago, to cover a family health emergency. We’d be just as screwed as ‘minorities’ (whom you seem to presume are all poor–not in our experience). *We* are house-poor. We are WHITE. Plus, we have to endure the stigma of being labeled “rich white folks” by people like you while not even being rich, which makes us feel both angry AND lame-assed. What kind of pathetic white person can’t afford to fix up their house, force out minorities, and fulfill the very worst expectations of someone who posts under the name “Armchair Warrior”?
(Which is to say, Brownstoner, that I will both wince and sympathize with both you and your neighbor if he fixes his violation with a half-assed stucco nightmare…)
The Landmarks Conservancy offers grants and low interest loans for facade repair in landmarked districts. Their info can be accessed through 311 or the LPC. They are not a branch of LPC, or any other city agency, they are a separate organization. In addition, the homeowner could contact NHS – Neighborhood Housing Services, which could also steer them to low cost loans and/or grants.
The most important thing is to get a shed and/or scaffolding up before anything else happens, or someone gets hurt.
I’m a minority group member, and I support landmarking. Yes, it causes some annoying pain and aggravation, but it protects those minority nabes from the real threat of “white folks forcing out minorities” – mass overdevelopment, high density lux high rises, historically significant buildings on large lots being torn down for new construction, and vast swaths of existing buildings being razed instead of rehabbed.
I’m nowhere near rich, myself, and if this were my building, I’d be hard pressed to come up with a lot of money, too. But there programs around. Hopefully the homeowner will be advised of such and take action. Having the building seized, razed, or having a huge lawsuit has no upside for him/her whatsoever.
That is such a weird and negative way of looking at increased property values.
If a family of limited income finds themselves suddernly the owners of a multi-million dollar house, is that a bad thing? They can sell and live the dolce vita, or they could get a reverse mortgage and live the dolce vita, there is no downside to owning a valuable asset. It beats not owning it.
alot of poor people have live in the area before these areas become gentrified.
alot of them dont have the means to fix it, the way landmarks would have them fix.
its just another way of rich white folks forcing out minorities.