Scarano Banned; Good People Everywhere Rejoice

The NYT reports (via Brownstoner) that Robert Scarano, Architect and posterboy for everything that is wrong with self-certication, has been banned from filing construction plans with DOB.

Scarano of course is best known to Carroll Gardeners as the scurrilous fiend responsible for 333 Carroll Street (aka The Carroll Gardens Hell Building), the Satori (aka The Gowanus Bunker), and for the original Heavy Metal design of 360 Smith. Reviled by contextual development afficinados, people of good taste, and those who believe in complying with our building laws, Scarano was specifically targeted by then-Councilman Bill deBlasio for his flagrant, repeated and unrepentant abuse of the zoning code.

Scarano could conceivably be described as an honorary founding member of CORD, as his 360 Smith design proved to be a rallying point that the group coalesced to oppose. (I kid, I kid . . . sort of.)

His comeuppance was long past due.

http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2010/03/scarano_barred.php
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/nyregion/04scarano.html

360 Smith: Stein Digs In

Ah, to be at the right place at the right time. The gate to the 360 Smith construction site was open when I walked by this morning. I snapped a couple of pictures, and the gate was unceremoniously slammed shut . . . but not before I got some (camera-phone) quality shots for you, dear reader.

Looks like Stein is motivated to beat the text change on wide streets. Speaking of which, deBlasio's office, CGNA and CORD are all encouraging people to support the text amendment at CB6 Thursday night, April 24th:

Presentation and review of proposed Zoning Resolution Text Amendment (#N080345ZRK), known as the Carroll Gardens Places Text Amendment, submitted by the Department of City Planning that would define 1st Place, 2nd Place, 3rd Place and 4th Place between Henry Street and Smith Street; and 2nd Street, Carroll Street and President Street between Smith Street and Hoyt Street, in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn Community Board 6 as 'Narrow Streets' for zoning calculation purposes.
Brooklyn Community Board 6
250 Baltic Street
(Court/Clinton Streets)
Auditorium
6:00 p.m.
April 24, 2008

Downzoning Rally VIDEO

Fred from the Union-Sackett Block Association shot some great video of the rally.

Gowanus Lounge has mirrored the videos here.

I'm at the podium about 6:00 into the second video. I have no sound where I am right now . . . hopefully I spoke clearly.

CORD Declares New Holiday

Once in a while I get a good email in the box worth sharing:

On Wednesday, January 30, 2008, our Councilman, Bill DeBlasio introduced to
his fellow Council Members, a Resolution calling for two things that a
substantial number of Carroll Gardens residents have been seeking for quite
some time.

Councilman DeBlasio asked for the requested downzoning study to commence
immediately and, more importantly, called to halt construction on anything
that would exceed fifty feet (a simplified representation of the downzoning
result) immediately as well. For all intents and purposes, he asked for the
interim moratorium that we have been hoping for.

Now, unfortunately, a Resolution, even if unanimously passed, is not legally
binding. It is not law. It is little more than an agreement between
civilized parties. But, we, at CORD are most appreciative of this first
step. Councilman DeBlasio promised this to us back in September and he has
delivered. Some people would say, “So what? It doesn’t really mean
anything.” But, we think it took courage to take this very politically
unpopular idea to the Council Chambers.

We think that this is the way change begins. It starts with thinking about
things differently, challenging what is no longer working and looking for a
way to do and make things better.

What was introduced on January 30th, in the NYC Council Chambers was a
small, but very good first step. We must remember that real change takes
determination, purpose, conviction and tenacity. It takes resolve.

January 30th was Resolution Day.

CORD

I'll second that.

Carroll Gardens Downzoning Rally

Despite freezing weather and spotty rain, scores of our neighbors rallied this morning on the steps of Borough Hall in support of downzoning Carroll Gardens. This is just the beginning . . . all of the work we've done to date has been to get the ball rolling. I want to thank Bill deBlasio and his office for working with the community and helping to make this happen. We wouldn't have gotten these results without his help.

And now we keep the process moving - we can't rest until the process is complete, and the community is protected.

A quick note on the Williamsburg comment, before it's taken out of context - I've got nothing against Williamsburg. What I'm opposed to is what crap developers and their architects like "Hot Karl" Fischer have done there . . . and for the record, Hot Karl is currently straddling Carroll Gardens and making his first deposit at 100 Luquer Street. We can't have more of that.

Pictures from Pardon Me For Asking (which has a lot of good pics). There were also people behind the cameras, and to the left . . . all in all a great turnout.


Media coverage:
Brownstoner
Gowanus Lounge
Curbed
Pardon Me For Asking

This one is not a link to the coverage . . . But Fordham University Radio (90.7FM) did a piece on the rally today, and also plays some really terrific music.

News 12 Brooklyn (Channel 156 in Brooklyn on Cable TV) will be featuring the Downzoning Rally story today starting at 5:30 PM then repeating it throughout the evening.

And NY1 was on the scene as well.

de Blasio Calls For Downzoning of Carroll Gardens

It has become fashionable in certain circles to bash Bill deBlasio for perceived shortcomings. I really don't think the guy gets a fair shake; from what I've seen he is tireless in his efforts and is highly accessible to constituents.

In any event, deBlasio will be introducing a resolution specifically calling for a downzoning and the functional (but legal) equivalent of CORD's long-sought moratorium on development over 50'. The Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association has worked hard to make a downzoning happen; unfortunately, City Planning won't prioritize our needs without outside pressure from the Council and the press.

Save the date - Jan 29th - for a rally to support this resolution . . . details will be posted here when I get them. I can't stress this enough . . . take the time to come out for the rally. I'm skipping out of work for it. This is the sort of thing that does get results. The DRAFT:

Res. No.

Resolution calling upon the Department of City Planning to commence immediately a downzoning study of Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn and upon the Department of Buildings to not issue permits that would allow any new construction or alteration to an existing building to exceed a height limit of 50 feet until the Carroll Gardens neighborhood downzoning is complete.

By Council Member de Blasio

Whereas, Carroll Gardens is a charming neighborhood defined by its tree-lined streets, beautiful 3-4 story brownstones, and atypical setbacks that create deep front yards; and

Whereas, The architecture and layout of Carroll Gardens creates a village-like character, which is not commonly found in New York City; and

Whereas, Currently, Carroll Gardens is zoned R6, which does not provide a restriction on height; and

Whereas, With the recent state of hyper-development in Brooklyn, there is widespread concern that large scale new constructions pose a threat to the fabric of this historical Brooklyn neighborhood; and

Whereas, According to a 2006 survey by Brooklyn Community Board 6, 91% of neighborhood residents surveyed responded that they were either very concerned or concerned about the height or size of new buildings in the neighborhood. Further, 83% of those surveyed indicated that they favored stricter limits on the height, size and/or overall bulk of new buildings; and

Whereas, A neighborhood downzoning by the Department of City Planning would be the most effective long term solution to the problem of over-development in Carroll Gardens; and

Whereas, A 50 foot height limit will protect the neighborhood from over-development while also providing time for the Department of City Planning to perform the necessary study and analysis that would precede the downzoning of Carroll Gardens; and

Whereas, A height restriction of 50 feet, to be implemented immediately, will cap the height on new building construction or alternation to existing buildings to prevent the construction of buildings higher than 50 feet over the next several years; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Department of City Planning to commence immediately a downzoning study of Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn and upon the Department of Buildings to not issue permits that would allow any new construction or alteration to an existing building to exceed a height limit of 50 feet until the Carroll Gardens neighborhood downzoning is complete.

Carroll Gardens Town Hall Zoning Meeting

Fortunately, last night's meeting has been amply documented . . . I was not looking forward to transcribing three pages of scribbled notes. Miraculously, the Gowanus Lounge found the time, sources, and somehow, the inclination to post about this meeting FROM HAWAII. Mr. Guskind provides a rundown that covers the gist of the meeting, ostensibly from sources at CORD, which has also blogged about last night's meeting and was out in force. Curbed also has a post authored by Lost City.

It was a packed house last night, and a number of issues were raised.

The points that I wanted to get out at the meeting was to pursue a three track process:

1) Pursue down-zoning of Carroll gardens to R6B, with a 50' height limit.
2) Explore landmarking at the same time, to protect the character of the neighborhood. Landmarking overlays may end up taking different shape than the overall zoning area. i.e., pockets of the neighborhood may end up being landmarked, other parts not. But we should get the ball rolling.
3) And most urgent in my view, pursuing a technical determination from DOB that the side streets in Carroll Gardens, specifically including the "Place" streets: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Place, are not "wide streets" for city planning purposes. "Wide Streets" allow greater building rights than a typical street, and this is a justification for building higher at, e.g., 360 Smith Street.

Two particular bits of information stood out dramatically for me from last night's meeting:

First, the ILA site located at 340 Court Street has been sold for what I believe was an astonishing $24MM. The site is enormous - go to Google maps and use the satellite view to get a sense of the parcel size, which stretches from Union to Sackett and halfway up the block from Court towards Clinton. The jaw dropping news was under the current zoning, a builder could go up to 21 stories on this site. That makes 360 Smith look like a grass hut in comparison.

Second, Rita Miller from CORD stated that both Bill de Blasio's office and Joan Millman's office had told CORD that a moratorium would basically be illegal, which was corroborated by Bill and Joan. She then stated that Amanda Burden had sent a letter to CORD saying that a moratorium WAS possible, which sent a stir through the crowd. This caused some backpedaling by de Blasio, and a good deal of consternation in the crowd. I was stunned myself. Unfortunately, the letter from Amanda Burden, which is available in full at the CORD website, does not actually say that.

The relevant quote is here:

"Please note that any moratorium, whether temporary or permanent, is required by law to go through the Uniform Land Use Public Review Process, as well as an environmental review."

I'll have to do some research on this, but my understanding is that you can't simply put a moratorium on building that conforms to the lawful zoning of a given parcel, let alone an entire neighborhood. I don't wish to rain on any one's parade, but I believe that a judge would slap that down in short order as an arbitrary violation of property rights. I am an attorney, though I have not practiced real estate law, so before I can say that my belief is correct, I'll have to do some research.

Anyway, Ms. Miller's presentation was nonetheless impassioned and impressive. At the very least, we will get a definitive answer as to the legality of a building moratorium.

There was a ton more from last night, including a few tangential references to the once and future F-Express, but I'll have to do another post to cover it all.