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

Public Place Layout

Brownstoner has all the details in a very comprehensive rundown of the winning bid.

All things considered, and especially given some of the alternatives I saw, this looks pretty good.

Image courtesy of Brownstoner. Check out their post.

Wither Atlantic Yards?

Yes, that's wither, not whither. It seems the project that Brooklyn loves to hate may be dying on the vine, so to speak. A tanking R/E market, sputtering credit markets, and Ratner's failure to secure an anchor tenant for Miss Brooklyn (she's no lady) have soured prospects for this mega-project.

This project from the start was a disaster in the making: a naked giveaway to a politically connected developer, a boondoggle of taxpayer financing for a sports arena, an egregious misuse of eminent domain, and a complete disregard for the community's input.

Make no mistake about it: The Vanderbilt Yards (there is no such thing as the "Atlantic Yards" outside of Bruce Ratner's drawing board) are an excellent site for development. So are the Hudson Yards. Deck them over and build. But this project was ill-conceived from the beginning.

The fig leaf of "affordable housing" (really, did you think that this project was ever about that? Or that we weren't just robbing Peter to pay Paul by raiding the state's funds for affordable housing to hand it all over to Ratner, at the expense of other sites around the city and state?) did very little to disguise the hideous, bloated carcass of Atlantic Yards.

Let's go back to the drawing board. We can do so much better than this. And don't dare build that goddamn arena as a stand-alone eyesore.

Graphic credit: New York Times.

More from The Brooklyn Paper. And an unusually thoughtful Brownstoner thread.

Record Residential Permits In Brooklyn, Queens

From HPD:

NEW YORK CITY'S RESIDENTIAL BUILDING BOOM CONTINUES THROUGH 2007

The year 2007 saw the highest number of building permits for privately-owned residential units in New York City since 1972, according to newly released data from the US Census Bureau records. With 31,918 units permitted in 2007, it was the second highest amount of permits issued since accurate records first began being kept in 1965. In two of the boroughs, the numbers were even more impressive, with Brooklyn and Queens seeing their highest ever totals.

For more information

We're going to be looking at serious overcapacity in a lot of neighborhoods next year, and I think we'll find there aren't nearly as many "Irish carpenters" looking to invest in cookie cutter condos as real estate marketers would have you believe.

Not to be a bearer of bad tidings, but we can expect to see declining real estate prices throughout 2008 and 2009.

Public Place Renderings at Curbed

Check them out at Curbed.

I had to leave a bit early for another meeting. Both renderings have significantly larger bulk than the neighborhood is used to, and the reps from the City basically conceded that no study has been done on local infrastructure needs to go along with the development proposals.

Also, a large turnout of union workers attended the meeting. Apparently, one of the developers has a spotty history of using non-union labor.

CB6 Tonight: What's Going On At Public Place?

As announced by District Manager Craig Hammerman at the last CGNA meeting, CB6 is hosting an informational meeting tonight to get out the word on the Public Place development proposals.

This is a big project by any measure. It's important to have a large presence of interested residents out there to maximize community input.

Tonight, 6:30PM
PS 32 Auditorium
317 Hoyt Street
(between Union & President)

Brooklyn CB6 Calendar

Brownstoner: AIA Kills Drive for Zoning Text Amendments

This is good news.

The process was deeply flawed, and the zoning changes that AIA was pushing would not only have led to bigger buildings shoehorned into tight spaces, but also would have substantially weakened contextual zoning.

This is good news.

Toll Brothers Gowanus Plan

Gowanus Lounge (and Curbed) has renderings from Toll Brothers scoping plans for their 3 acre parcel on the Gowanus. On the plus side, their would be some open space on the waterfront. The bad news would be 6 story buildings on Bond and a 12 story building on the canal.

I imagine a LOT of people will be unhappy about this. Click the GL link for pictures.

Remember, the zoning for this area is in flux . . . this is very different from the situation at 360 Smith. Here, the community actually has a lot more opportunity for influencing the outcome.

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.

More Downzoning Fun

The Gowanus Lounge has not one but two posts today on downzoning. The first is a roundup post on the downzoning rally yesterday. The second and more important post is an analysis piece that calls for a moratorium on building out of context when a downzoning is pending. From that piece:

There are limits imposed on what is possible by the city's land use process and timetables that must be followed. Studies must be conducted. Public sessions must be held and votes must be taken. This will all take time. It is why everyone needs to work to find a mechanism that would allow for big zoning-busting developments to be stopped while the downzoning process goes on. Currently, even if a moratorium could be enacted, it would have to follow a similar process to zoning and would, in and of itself, take 12-24 months.That's why there needs to be a legal mechanism that will stop the clock at the beginning of a zoning study--a legal "moratorium" mechanism, if you will.

Again, wort reading the entire piece.

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.

I(LA) Smell A Rat!

Well this was an unexpected treat. I had a couple of meetings in the neighborhood this morning and my business brought me by the old ILA building at 340 Court that is being developed by the Clarett Group. You can read about the Union-Sackett Block Association's appeals to the developers here.

Well, apparently the contractor hired to remove asbestos from the site is using non-union labor, because Laborer's Local 78 was out front handing out fliers and manning the rat.

My previous posts on this site are here.

UPDATE: Picked up by Curbed. Bob Guskind points out the irony of non-union labor dismantling an old union building. My god, could you imagine the reaction from Anthony "Tough Tony" Anastasia?

More Details re: Breaking on Boerum

Just a little background color, relayed from a member of the RE community:

Hi – This developer . . . went to the Bureau of Standards & Appeals asking for a variance - claiming hardship because he needed to build a ‘hotel’ on this property to make construction economically feasible (instead of a condo with retail on the ground floor).

The (sometimes active) Zoning committee of Atlantic Ave. (made up of AALDC, BHA & AABBA) + some other neighbors pointed out that a hotel on this spot – with the parking, taxi and bus pick-ups, etc. - near to the dangerous intersection of Atlantic & Boerum Place - is not acceptable! B of S & A agreed!

I had heard that this property would be up for auction and this confirms it.

Interesting stuff. More as I get it.

Under Siege III: Breaking on Boerum

A while back (after NJ builder Kara Homes went bankrupt) I signed up to get auction information on (often distressed or foreclosed) properties. Just now I received information on this property, which will up for auction on Valentine's Day:

DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN, NY - 27,000 SF SITE

• .61 Acres in 5 Contiguous Parcels Between Atlantic Ave. and Pacific St. and Boerum Pl. and Smith St.
• Frontage: 177’ on Atlantic Ave. & 150’ on Pacific St.
• F.A.R. 3.0 Plus Bonus Square Footage
• 80,000+ sf Buildable
• Zoned R6 & R6A with C2-4 Overlay
• Residential/Retail/Community, Medical Use/Extended Stay Hotel

Mother of God! Any guesses on what this will go for? I think the market is softening; this will provide a good measure on how that trend is progressing. Also of note, development of this site might obviate the need for the execrable floorplans of the Le Chien Merde, so there's that.

Sheldon Good & Company

Hudson Yards: Revised Renderings!

Those uninspiring renderings of the future of Hudson Yards have been revised, and the new versions are waayy more exciting. Cap'n transit has the scoop (and I'm late to the party). Check it out!

340 Court Meeting Rundown

The good folks at the Union-Sackett Block Association met with the Clarrett Group and sundry other community activists to discuss concerns over the planned development at the ILA Building site. A very thorough account of the meeting is posted HERE.

Cobble Hill Under Siege, Part II: "Le Chien Merde"

Compared to this monstrosity (h/t Brownstoner), the proposed "mews" at Amity & Henry is utterly non-controversial. This . . . thing rises 12 stories, dwarfing it's neighbors and creates a jarring effect on the street wall above the second floor. Click through this link to architect Chien Dao Studios for six views, including floorplans . . . the second rendering shows the full extent of the horror show.

Granted at the outset, this lot is currently vacant (formerly a parking lot) and should absolutely be developed. But this proposal is simply terrible: please, please go back to the drawing board.

25 Year Old "Tycoon"

A part of me died when I read this article.

100 Luquer Street

I walked past 100 Luquer today, taking a leisurely stroll back from an interview with BCAT about the Smith and Ninth renovation and the Culver Viaduct. The project has risen fairly quickly, with about 2/3 of its 11 stories up at this point(see Curbed for current photo).

The project is allowed to grow to this height for two reasons. First, our local zoning is R-6, which does not have the height limit it should (which is why many of us are pushing for a downzoning to R-6B). Second, Hamilton Ave is a wide street (at least 75' wide), which provides a density bonus to a developer. The lot in question extends from Luquer to Hamilton Ave, with the building actually sited up against Hamilton.

All right, nobody is particularly happy about the height of this thing. But to add insult to injury, the front yard of this thing is going to be a parking lot. I figured the deep setback would be a walled off garden space, with a low front wall to preserve the street line. But take a look at the rendering above. It's a surface parking lot. I'm sure the neighbors will be thrilled.

Rendering pilfered from Curbed.com