Suck on This Nimby's: Venting an Underground Parking Garage... South Slope Style.

Unconsciousness
Here's one way to euthanize those pesky NIMBY's, >>> Position your underground parking garage's Carbon Monoxide vent so it exhausts directly into their back yards.

"Hey property developers, your hostile gadfly neighbors won't, better yet, can't dial those 311 complaint calls to the DOB when they are constantly being distracted by severe headaches, burning eyes, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, mental confusion and disorientation."

Carbon monoxide can be the perfect final solution to a developers NIMBY nightmares, as persons may not recognize drowsiness as a symptom of poisoning. Consequently, someone with mild poisoning can go to sleep and continue to breathe the carbon monoxide until severe poisoning or death occurs. Some people with long-standing, mild carbon monoxide poisoning caused by furnaces, heaters, or automobile exhaust for example, may mistake their symptoms for other conditions, such as the flu or other viral infections.

*Bonus LEED Points* Gently coaxing people into comas by efficiently reusing recycled CO gas can be considered a "green" building method.

False Hopes and Illusions are a lot like a colorless, odorless gas...

You would be surprised to find someone just a couple of mortgage payments away from owning outright a tiny slice of The American Dream Pie, making plans to wrap their lips around the end of a smoking tail pipe in the style of Mr.Willy Loman. But then again, you never know what unwanted surprises await just over that backyard plywood construction fence.
Armory Heights Plaza, LLC, (or what ever they are calling themselves this week), is the developer behind this magnificent 406 15th Street apartment building with its three levels of subterranean parking. They humbly appear to be reminding the poor folks at 397 16th Street just how temporal life can be. There's going to be some 200,000 cubic feet of air pouring out of that big shiny asshole and into their backyard garden of Eden several times an hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. That's life challenging change for you.
"Let me know if you are beginning to feel a little flu-ish... neighbor."






























Nutty restaurant type squirrel cage blower with motor. If the CO doesn't kill you the constant noise bouncing off all that concrete and brick certainly will ruin what remains of your quality of life.





























Windows to planned Armory Plaza cellar level ambulatory health center/dooms day cult headquarters directly below CO exhaust vent. Private patio terrace for ground floor apartments with sliding glass doors just a few feet away. Entire backyard area surrounded and enclosed by cinder block perimeter bubble wall.

















































































DoB Paternity Tested.
In 2005, Virgin Mother Susan Hinkson was right there during the conception, Magdi Mossad, well, let's consider him the absentee Father of the Year for 2007, and now it looks like Commissioner Derek Lee '09 will be playing the role of new Step Dad, stuck with trying to discipline our little no neck monster after the fact. Is he up to the challenge?

View recent Buildings Department inspections on the 14th of January as the building prepares for its Certificate of Occupancy.

Bricolaged Professionally self-certified amended plans approved as recently as the 22nd of January.

All Buildings Department violations suddenly *Dismissed* on January 14th, 2009.

All Environmental Control Board Violations now marked *Dismissed or Affidavit Accepted* without any fines being collected.

Plug Pulling @ 400 15th Street

400 15th Street

"BOROUGH COMMISSIONER HAS ISSUED A 15-DAY LETTER OF INTENT TO REVOKE APPLICATION #301748777 ON 01/07/09. ISSUE DOB STOP ORDER AND NOTE THE PERCENTAGE OF WORK COMPLETED."

Architect: ROBERT J PALERMO CORPORATE DESIGN OF AMERICA, P.C

This is a grandfathered, BSA approved R6 - GENERAL RESIDENCE DISTRICT.










New Plug Puller @ DoB
Derek Lee, R.A., is our new Brooklyn Borough Commissioner replacing Magdi Mossad, who replaced Susan Hinkson, who replaced Manher Shaw, who replaced Tarik Zeid, who replaced Joseph Trivisonno....

Mr. Lee, who is a New York State registered Architect, joined the Department in 2000 as a Plan Examiner and was later promoted to Plan Examiner Squad Leader. In September 2002, Lee was appointed Deputy Queens Borough Commissioner and has served as Queens Borough Commissioner since 2006. He helped assess the buildings in the Financial District following the September 11, 2001 attacks and the impact zone of the jetliner crash in Belle Harbor, Queens.

All Labels: construction southslope brooklyn Fourth Avenue Park Slope McD's New Sunset Park High School construction IMBY Park Slope construction Prospect Park Hawk IMBYblogspot.com

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16th Street will be closed...

Don't believe everything you see. The street closing is actually Saturday the 17th.

1 BIG CRANE@ 212 Prospect Park West

"INSTALLATION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT, RELATED DUNNAGE, AND RELATED ANTENNAS ON ROOF. ALL WORK IN CONFORMANCE WITH TPPN #5/98. NO CHANGE IN USE, EGRESS, OR OCCUPANCY"

411 17th Street Sells for $2,372,000

Condos on their way?
Is this the first step towards making this long time vacant shell ready for new inhabitants? The new owner/developer, Thomas Realty Associates, LLC has pulled permits for the "REMOVAL OF INTERIOR NON LOAD BEARING PARTITIONS, and to CAP AND REMOVE PLUMBING". Sounds like so far, only the inside is to be demolished, and that's good news. You can see this 45' tall, four story neighborhood standout on 17th Street between 7 and 8th Avenues right down the way from PS 10.

Nice Bones Grandpa
I'm thinking it must be way over the FAR limitations for the current R5B zoning and probably couldn't get built as-is today. At 35 feet wide X 90 feet deep, this bulky building, with its 12 dwelling units, takes up almost the entire lot. Will be interesting to see how, and when, and if, this rehab/ renovation turns out.

United Industries & Constructing Co. is the General Contractor.






















United Industries was also the G.C. for this new development at 252 18th Street.

South Slope Wood

House Parts.













































































































































































































































IMBY's MISSING LINKS:
Tuesday, October 24, 2006 "South Slopes Got Wood"


Friday, December 07, 2007 "Scrap Aluminum"

Two Trees from Prospect Park.

Hubris on 20th Street.

274 20th Street in Greenwood Heights.

Brooklyn Department of Buildings has done their best to catch South Slope scofflaw developers who characteristically build according to a Higher Law... Their Own!
But does it actually do any good in the long run, as years pass and still no corrections are made while fines go unpaid?

Old Dogs and still older tricks. Repeat performances.
First demolition without permits... Then after obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy for their 4 story building with 8 apartments, they go a step further and build an additional apartment in the building's storage cellar, against code. Can you guess who's handy work this is? Hint: This time it's not Henry Radusky or Bricolage.

























10/04/2006 Developer demolishes entire building prior to inspection and with out proper demolition permits in place.
Buildings Department BEST Squad issues VIOLATION # 34538720Y
"WORK W/O PERMIT. UPON INSPECTION AT ABOVE PROPERTY BLDG WAS DEMOLISHED PRIOR TO INSPECTION ONLY FRONT GATES STILL IN PLACE & DOB RECORDS SHOWS NO DOB DEMO PERMIT HAS BEEN ISSUED. REMEDY:OBTAIN DEMO PERMIT."

11/01/2006 UNITED CONTAINER & CONSTRUCTION files for Demolition Permit to provide for "on site fill".

12/04/2006 Buildings Department signs off on demolition work.
























Status: VIOLATION ACTIVE OVERDUE COMPLIANCE
"WORK W/O A PERMIT NOTED IN CELLAR. A CLASS "A" Apartment IS BUILT W/ FULL HEIGHT PARTITION WALLS CONSISTING OF 1 KITCHEN W/ GAS STOVE SINK ONE SINK ONE 3PC BATHROOM 2RM REMEDY: OBTAIN PERMIT IF FEASIBLE OR/TO RESTORE TO PRIOR CONDITION."


























Specific Violation Condition(s) and Remedy:
"RESIDENCE ALTERED FOR OCCUPANCY AS A DWELLING FOR MORE THAN LEGALLY APPROVED # OF FAMILIES NOTED CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY #302226614F ON 04/10/2008 INDICATES BLDG OCCUPIED AS DWELLING 4FLOOR / 2 FAMILY PER FLOOR & ORDINARY"























266 22nd Street Violation History

Hint #2 Considered the poster child for everything that went wrong with the recent South Brooklyn building boom and the frightening motivation for the record setting, fast tracked, Community Board 7 down zoning of the South Slope, this 9 story monster building was permitted with the understanding that it would be used as a yeshiva faculty dormitory with a child care center on the ground floor. That never materialized. Instead the building's apartments were rented to Methodist Hospital interns. As for the ground floor space designated for the community facility daycare center, that ended up being divided into additional apartments in violation of the original C of O.

3/19/2007 Failure to comply w/the commissioner's order to file a certificate of correction w/the dob for violating condition cited in notice of violation #34463597y. Remedy: Correct the violating condition & file C of O

3/19/2007 Failure to comply w/the commissioner's order to file a certificate of correction w/the dob for the violating condition cited in notice of violation #34473984n. Remedy: Correct the violating condition & file C of O

8/15/2006 Failure to comply with the commissioners order to file a Certificate of Occupancy with the dob for violation # 34473984n. Remedy: File C of O

8/15/2006 Failure to comply with the commissioners order to file a C of O with the dob for violation# 34463597y. Remedy: File C of O

4/28/2005 Occupancy contrary to that allowed by the certificate of occupancy. Noted: Building is occupied by tenants affiliated with New York Methodist Hospital which is contrary to C of O #301318438.

Last, but certainly not least, your final hint.


























For the Answer, click on the New Building Permit below.

300 20th Street nears completion.

Here's another little 4 story condo project in Greenwood Heights that had a very rocky start. Brooklyn Buildings Forensic Engineering Swat Team jumped all over these guys, issuing a Stop Work Order in October of 2007. Poorly executed foundation work led to their neighbor's rear wall falling off. Violations followed for an improperly maintained site with a crappy construction fence. Surprisingly, the architect on the job, Sandor Weiss, got hit with two ECB violations of his own.

This one for violating: SEC-157 FOUNDATION PLANS ARE NOT ADEQUATE IN THAT THE PLANS ARE NOT COMPLETE OR OF SUFFICIENT CLARITY TO INDICATE THE ENTIRE NATURE & EXTENT OF PROPOSED FOUNDATION WORK.

This one for violating: SEC-132 FAILURE TO CARRY OUT CONTROLLED INSPECTIONS. RESPONSIBILITIES IN APPROPRIATE MANNER TO ENSURE WORK WAS PROCEEDING SAFELY,PROPERLY & IN ACCORDANCE W/APPROVED APPL.NB JOB #302231270(PLANS,NOTES,SPECS)UNDERPINNING



Looks like the job is just about finished. For what it's worth, the building isn't so bad looking. They certainly reigned in their use of the front balconies. Something that most other Brooklyn Architects have been unable or unwilling to do.


The Community Preservation Corporation is a nationally recognized leader in helping developers finance and build affordable multi-family housing. They provided $1550,000 in construction financing for this job.

"To CPC, no loan is simply a financial transaction. Each project reflects CPC's commitment to help developers succeed at strengthening communities. CPC serves as a borrower's ally and "one-stop shop," guiding the project from deal inception to project completion. Throughout the challenging process of developing or rehabbing a property, CPC provides useful technical assistance at every step. Financing with CPC is an easier, client-friendly process that borrowers welcome."

The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) is a Private, Not-For-Profit Corporation sponsored by more than 90 Commercial Banks, Savings Institutions and Insurance Companies. Sponsors contribute capital, participate in lending activities, and provide governance to CPC by sitting on the Board, the Mortgage Committee, and other policy making bodies.

The Mission of The Community Preservation Corporation is to Stabilize, Strengthen and Sustain Low and Mixed Income Communities.

CPC will achieve its Mission by developing and distributing products and services for and by providing leadership and advocacy in the following areas and activities.

1. Provide mortgage, construction and other lending for the housing needs and the ancillary commercial activities that are necessary for achieving sustainable communities.
2. Build a positive environment for investments in these communities that often lack borrower sophistication and a credit infrastructure.
3. Work with governmental agencies to remove regulatory impediments to investment, and to create public/private financing programs that support these efforts.
4. Create an infrastructure of primary and secondary financial markets that are tied into the National credit markets and that are positively predisposed to supporting and participating in these investments.
5. Develop and package products and services that are tailored to these areas, and that eliminate the problems these borrowers often encounter with standard financial products.
6. Develop a distribution system for these products that takes advantage of the capabilities and the needs of our Member institutions.
7. Assist our Member institutions in providing Community Development Financing.
8. Encourage community self-sufficiency by improving the skills of the community based developers and contractors, as well as those community groups interested in achieving neighborhood stabilization.
9. Bring together public, private and community-based resources to create, support and sustain these activities.
10. Engage in those "enabling" financial, marketing, advocacy,consulting, educational, and organizational activities necessary to achieve the Mission and sustain its impact.

325 20th Street Update... Still A Five Legged Goat Roping Clown Show.

Crackfestivus.
We continue our end of the year Survey of the South, State of the Slope Site Tour by heading over to Greenwood Heights and checking in on one of our more troubled projects. . Last time we ventured out across the Prospect Expressway, things were not going so well. Both neighboring buildings, 319 and 327 had suffered collateral damage during earlier excavation attempts. Currently their foundation hole has been back filled and a large scaffolding shed has been installed over the sidewalk. It looks like remedial repairs are being attempted on the cracked and sagging front facade of 319-321. However, Stop Work Order Violations are taped to both the front door of 319 and to the construction fence of 325.

The Brouhahahaha, it seems, began at 325 20th Street as soon as the backhoe operator switched on the ignition. Undermined foundations and damage to adjacent properties ensued. Throw into the mix an illegal basement apartment conversion, a half dozen stop work orders, failure to maintain violations, a sinkhole garden cave in, and some $68,000 in unpaid active DOB violations/ECB fines for the builder, and you have The Ultimate Shit Soup Sandwich Storm All You Can Eat Buffet.

This past year it's been like watching... A Dozen Monkeys Screwing a Football... Cuisinartists Herding Feral Cats Down a Flesh Funnel... A Fourth Dimensional Quagmirian Clusterkerfuffle... A Late Night Incestuous Drunken Double Brown Bagger Debacle... A Snafu'ed Douche Nozzle Circle Jerk... Watching this construction site has been like... having front row season tickets to a A Five Legged Goat Roping Clown Show.


The "I just threw up in my mouth" photo essay, behold.