Sitting helpless as damage continues

BY BRIAN KATES
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER 

 

Monday, May 28, 2007, 4:00 AM

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Work next-door has heavily damaged his property, Anthony Ciccone says.

See also:

• So many ways to beat the system
• A rare victory for residents over shameless deception
• Building Boom-Doggle Part 1

Anthony Ciccone's Ganmar Electronics has been at 224 16th St. in south Park Slope, Brooklyn, since 1972. With a condo going up next-door, his building shows cracks in the brickwork and stains from flooding in his basement.

"It was like a faucet coming through the wall," he said. "There was half a foot of water on the floor. I had to move all my equipment out."

Ciccone has sued the new condo's developer for $1 million, claiming sloppy work on that foundation "weakened and undermined" his property and allowed water to leak in.

Louis Tufino, who owns a house at 232 16th St., said his basement has "an inch gap in the floor and a big hole in the backyard where it's sunk." He also blames work at 226 16th St.

Back on Feb. 15, 2006, two construction workers at that address were rushed to New York Methodist Hospital when a 10-foot wall collapsed on them during demolition.

Last year, the city Buildings Department cited the developer, 16th St. Development Corp. LLC, for failure to comply with a stop-work order and for working without a permit. Twice, it issued violations for failure to safeguard public and property.

Department records also show $10,000 in unpaid fines at the site.

The agency concluded that the demolition work was being done in "an unsafe manner" by MMG Designs, a Staten Island-based company that has a record of violations in the neighborhood.

For example, at 166 16th St., MMG employee Alfonso Cruz fell from the roof and was injured. His employer was cited for "failure to carry out demolition in a safe and proper manner." The violation noted that there was "no fall restraint system."

The company also was cited for illegal demolition at 182 15th St., a condo that was cut to half its planned size after a massive neighborhood campaign.

MMG owner Maria Grasso did not return a call for comment.

 

Daily News Reporter Brian Kates has written extensively on Brooklyn's construction boondoggle.

South Slope Shake Down

"So many ways to beat the system"

And few places have witnessed it more often than south Park Slope

BY BRIAN KATES
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER


Mr. Kates and the Daily News have begun an in depth, 4 part series of reports entitled "Building Boom-Doggle" that look at how NYC's "biggest building boom in more than 30 years has spawned a cadre of scofflaw developers in every borough who routinely violate building codes, flout zoning regulations and ignore basic construction safety".


1504 8th Avenue v. scofflaw developer

Arnold Rosenshein, the owner of the severely damaged and now vacated 1504 8th Avenue building, has sued the LoCiceros' business, their architect Henry oh no c of o Radusky of Bricolage Designs, Inc. and construction companies working on the project. The LoCiceros have countersued, insisting that cracks in the building existed before work on Armory Plaza began. For a quick reminder of how the cracks first started just click on the picture below.

























-Rev. Stephen Christopher on the recent damage to the Memorial Baptist Church.

"The pounding has undermined our property," he said. "They have ruined our fence. We have had several cave-ins in the yard. The stoop steps are beginning to crack. The driveway is cracked, and there is a crack in the wall of our auditorium."

What's shaking, and who's really doing it.

According to the Daily News, the LoCiceros' lawyer Mr. Ravi Batra, has called the complaints a "shakedown attempt".

A little reminder of the kind of "construction work" that went on and on for weeks less than 5 yards from both Mr. Rosenshein's property and that of the Memorial Baptist Church.

Inside the Mind of Mossad

Information Paradox

This past Saturday, The Armory Plaza Gang was able to bend the time space continuum by simultaneously securing an After Hours Work Variance Permit while still under a DoB sanctioned Partial Stop Work Order that was to prevent any work within 25 feet of the Eastern lot line. The spiralling Black Hole on 15th street threatens to suck the DoB along with all surrounding properties into its vortex of shame.


Balancing public safety against public sanity
Property owners on 16th Street can't understand why a scofflaw developer should be rewarded with extended working hours at the expense of the neighborhood's quality of life. We only get 8 days of mechanical excavation-free peace and quite per month over here. Was this some kind of emergency response that couldn't wait until Memorial Day? Are the pilings moving Mr. Mossad? Are the neighboring properties in danger? Because that would start to explain all the recent settlement damage to our properties. The damage that DoB inspectors can't, no won't, see.

The weekend variance issued to Immobliliara Builders Corp. specifically details cellar work to "prepare matte foundations in sub levels of job site to stabilize the foundation walls". The extra eight hours of backhoe noise accomplished little more than the spreading of a few inches of gravel over a plastic mat along one side of the pit. A few inches of gravel is not going to make those 36 foot deep walls any more secure. Some pictures of the recent remedial work.

Attacked From Below and Now From Above.

That's one dusty mother fucker...One of many fuckin' loads-o-gravel delivered into the 3 story deep pit as they get ready to "construct" the concrete base. What ever happened to that Partial Stop Work Order restricting all work within 25' of 1504's backyard?

"Twentyfive feet, I couldn't see twentyfive god damn inches!"

If you are a gluton for aural punishments, in the video below I left in the sound of the gravel hitting the metal I-Beams on the way down. Yikes!

City Planning Commission Supports Affordable 575 5th Ave. Housing Plan

Media Advisory: CITY SAYS “YES” TO AFFORDABLE SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

City Planning Commission approves Fifth Avenue Committee’s plan for affordable, supportive housing at 575 5th Avenue.
New York, NY May 24, 2007 – The New York City Planning Commission voted in favor of Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC’s) plan to build 49 units of affordable, supportive housing for low-income community residents and formerly homeless individuals at 575 5th Avenue in South Park Slope, Brooklyn. The apartment building was designed to integrate into the neighborhood through a contextual and environmentally friendly design; it will contain studio-efficiency apartments with on-site social services, 24 hour front desk security and a garden. As a result of input from local elected officials and the community and in response to community concerns the project has evolved over the past several months - target populations were modified and the residential entrance was moved from 16th Street to 5th Avenue.

Twenty four (24) of the 49 units will be for formerly homeless individuals living with mental illness, five (5) units will be for formerly homeless individuals living with HIV/AIDS, and the remaining twenty (20) units will be rented to low-income community residents. In order to qualify for tenancy, prospective tenants must earn at or under 60% of Area Median Income, currently $29,775. FAC has also committed to target senior citizens and youth aging out of foster care for opportunities to live in the building.

Today’s victory is an especially heart-felt one for FAC, its supporters, and the large majority of the project’s neighbors after the project faced opposition from some local residents and businesses. The City Planning Commission’s vote in favor of the project is an important step in preserving the diversity in our Park Slope community and ensuring that everyone – regardless of race, income or medical history – can live with dignity in the neighborhood. The vote in favor of the project advances the City’s commitment to build over 9,000 units of affordable, supportive housing over the next 12 years as part of the NY/NY III agreement between the City and the State to provide housing and support services in the community to individuals who are formerly homeless with special needs.

FAC’s Executive Director, Michelle de la Uz, thanked the Commission, stating “The City Planning Commission was diligent and thoughtful in its role. The Commissioners listened intently as an unprecedented number of supporters - numbering over 100 – waited over 5 hours to testify in favor of the project. FAC is certainly pleased that this project is advancing on its merit and we are confident it will not only provide much needed affordable, supportive housing to 49 future residents but will also be a true asset to the local community.”

The next step under the City’s Uniform Land Use and Review Procedure (ULURP) is a hearing before the New York City Council’s Land Use Committee. If you would like to voice your support or get more information on the project or other FAC services, please see our website: www.FifthAvenueComm
ittee.org, or contact us at 718 237 2017.


Michelle de la Uz
Executive Director

Fifth Avenue Committee, Inc.
621 DeGraw Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217

(718) 237-2017 ext. 116 office
(718) 237-5366 fax
(646) 285-2978 cell
mdelauz@fifthave.org
www.fifthave.org

**********

Partial Partial Stop Work Order for Armory Heights, L.L.C.

Excavation work on the Armory Plaza has been restricted for the second time with a new and improved sloppy seconds Partial Stop Work Order imposed on May 22nd. This DoB order prevents any work within 25 feet of the backyard of 1504 8th Avenue. The previous Partial Stop Work Order was rescinded just 20 days ago on May 2nd after the building was stabilized with iron T-bracing. Despite these precautions new cracks have continued to form in the side wall. The next new engineering problem on the horizon- What to do about the ground water that's been seeping in through the piling walls?




Recent photos of the rear facade of the building show how extensive the damage is.






































































A quick check of the side stairwell leading to the basement of The Memorial Baptist Church reveals that very recent, significant ground movement has occurred there as well. The masonry has completely separated from the building's foundation by more than 4"in places. The Church falls within this 25' restraining order, yet I don't believe the DoB is watching the deterioration of this property closely enough. You can see clear through to the other side of the wall. A large section of the concrete driveway in this same corner has also been damaged. It's actually "floating" after the ground beneath it disappeared.

April 16th "It begins"
























May 23rd.
















































The Church's next door neighbor, 399 16th Street is also reporting new movement in their patio. Cracks are beginning to form in their basement floor as well. Cracks are continuing to grow in severity 100' feet to the West at 389 16th Street.

I would say it's time for the DoB inspectors to include everyone else in their investigations, not just 1504. Simple questions. Is this new damage resulting from the previous boring work, or from the current excavation work? If they believe it's from the current work and the piles are "moving", then shouldn't the public be warned of the danger?
I also see that survey cross marks have been applied to the facade of 1502 8th Avenue. Checking for movement? It's important to keep a very close watch on this occupied apartment building. The last time I looked, there appeared to be new cracking over the masonry arch leading to the cellar. A nearby window shows the same kind of surface "popping" of the brick that predated the massive failure of 1504. We don't need another emergency vacate order.

31 Brooklyn condo residents reach $235,000 settlement.

A group of owners in a Williamsburg condominium complex, The Williamsburg Mews, are to receive $235,000 after settling a lawsuit with its developer, architect and contractors.

Condo owners settle with developers. By Elizabeth Stull of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Crack on Crack Action

1504 8th Avenue has new cracks as of today. Some "before and after" shots for the folks at the Department of Buildings.



April 29th, 2007

























May 18th, 2007























Detail of the parapet wall. Yep, that's new.

Natural Sound

Almost every morning as the sunlight pours over the Armory's crenelated parapet walls, way before the 7am permitted NYC construction start-time, before the tractor-trailer dump trucks can cue up, before the jack hammers start a hammerin', even before the gas powered generators are switched on to power the welders arc, there is the powerful sound of a single wood pecker pecking, identity unknown, working in the gigantic oak a few yards down. I believe it's a woodpecker. The rapid pounding sound is very convincing. It could also be one of many Mocking birds in the area who have taken to imitating the beep, beep, beep, sound that a truck makes when it backs up. In any case this is one excavation related sound I honestly enjoy waking to.

Department of Buildings Special Investigation Unit said "No Danger"

"No danger to adjoining properties"























On April 23rd, just one month after the Internal Affairs investigation was completed, 1504 8th Avenue took a turn for the worse. Over night new cracks formed and the existing cracks widened causing the Department of Buildings to issue a new Stop Work Order and to impose a forced evacuation of The Memorial Baptist Church's parking lot. What happened? Why was the excavation allowed to continue before 1504 8th Avenue had been stabilized and steel bracing installed? How could it even be possible to stabilize and underpin the damaged buildings rear foundation wall if the surrounding soil has been disturbed to the depth of some 60 feet? Surely the entire rear foundation wall is no longer resting peacefully on solid ground. Why no additional steel bracing on the damaged rear facade? There are at least a dozen cracks between the many windows.

Certainly the people living in the attached building at 1502 8th Avenue deserve some reassurance that someone is looking out for their well being. I don't think I could continue to live just 10 feet from the precipice knowing my life rested in the hands of the Armory Plaza Gang. The Partial or let's say Half Assed Stop Work Order barely in place for a week would have been a good time to reflect on every one's future. I am not sure if these IAD investigations are part of the public domain, but I think the information would be helpful in understanding what went wrong. Are the engineering conditions at this site so unpredictable that no one can really know for sure what's what? In this case we are being told to rest assured that 1504 is being monitored, yet its safety is now and has always been in doubt. No tiny plastic crack monitor will change my mind. We should hope that the investigation would be reopened.

Safe and Sound?

Looking back it's actually a good thing that the investigation completed March 23rd didn't include a thorough examination of the surrounding properties . From what I have been told, no one ever looked at the recent cracks inside the Memorial Baptist Church. No one attached to this special investigation unit, to my knowledge, ever came by any of the properties along the rear 16th Street side of the excavation line to check on the cracks or sink holes. In a vindicating way, it may be better to have been overlooked and ignored than to have been inspected and told that there is no reality to your complaints, or worse, that the damage existed long before the construction began.
There exists a well documented history of 311 complaints on the Departments own BIS web page with home owners questioning the safety of the foundation work and its impact on their adjoining buildings. This would have been a good place to start looking. Maybe the inspectors could have stopped by to watch the videos and have a peek at the before and after photos.

ECB

Wouldn't it be nice if there was some kind of government agency in NYC, with the power to impose monetary fines on developers and their contractors when they have been caught breaking the rules?

You would think that might act as an effective deterrent; An incentive for everyone to do the right thing. It should work... Except when all their fines are dismissed as in the case of the Armory Plaza. In that instance I don't really see the point in bothering. If I was an inspector it would be disheartening to see all my hard work routinely ignored.












Description of Violation:
FAILURE TO SAFEGUARD PUBLIC & PROPERTY AFFECTED BY CONST OPERATIONS UN
DER APPLI #301987161 EXP 11/1/06. NOTED: DURING DRIVE PILING PHASE OF
EXCAVATION AROUND THE PROPERTY LINE OF 406 15 ST.THE REAR YARD PORTION

Description of Violation:
FAILURE TO SAFEGUARD PUBIC & PROPERTY AFFECTED BY CONSTRUCTION OPERATI
ONS UNDER APPL. #301987161-01 NB: NOTED: CONSTR. OPERATIONS W/EXCAVATI
ON APPROX. 5 FT DEEP EXPOSED APPROX. 48 OF TREE ROOTS AT ADJ. REAR YD


Description of Violation:
FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH STOP WORK ORDER. NOTED: WORK ONGOING UNDER APPL
. #301987161 N.B., INSTALLATION OF METAL PILES CONTRARY TO STOP WORK O
RDER #111605ZR0706BR ISSUED FOR ZONING CHANGES. STOP ALL IMMEDIATELY


Description of Violation:
FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH STOP WORK ORDER. NOTED: WORK ONGOING APP #30198
7161 NB INSTALLATION OF METAL PILES COHTRORY TO STOP WORK ORDER #11160
5ZR0706BR ISSUED ON 11-16-05 FOR ZONING CHANGES. STOP ALL WORK IMMEDIA

Pool

Unearthed erratics deposited by the Wisconsin Glacier.

South Slope "Terroir"

South Slope Excavation Continues

The foundation wall directly below 1504 8th Avenue. You can see the bracing in place on the building's side wall. Interestingly, there has been no bracing on the rear facade which has quite a bit of masonry cracking between windows. For a sense of scale you can use the wood construction fence. Each sheet of plywood is 4' x 8' in size.


























Rear lot line wall. The SE corner directly behind the Memorial Baptist Church.



















Looks like they have reached the bottom. Looking at the SW corner directly below 389 16th Street. Despite being relatively dry these past weeks, water has been seeping through the foundation piles forming a pool. This week, however, rain has been predicted for Thursday through Sunday. Expect more sink holes and cracking to follow.

sunrise brooklyn 5:30am

Work

That was fast.

Complaint Disposition History

FULL RESCIND OF STOP WORK ORDER 05/02/2007


"ALL WORK UNDER NB APPL TO CONTINUE UNDER CONTROLED INSPECTONS LL BE PLACED TO 10FT BELOW GRADE"

DIY

Corrections?
Recently workers started filling the new sink holes along the fence line. Standing way up high on the concrete piling cap, a worker lowers a bucket down into the pit where another fills it with dirt. It's then hoisted up by hand and poured over the fence to fill in the areas where the ground continues to settle. This is still trespassing. It is not "repairs" or "improvements". The owner of 391 16th Street has told them not to fill in anything, but they always seem to return. If it wasn't so futile, I would find the DIY attempt at stopping the settling using a five gallon bucket amusing, especially in contrast to the vastness of the work going on in the back ground.

Spencer St. Condos still in Limbo Land.

"Builders Gone Wild"
Barbara Nevins Taylor from My9News investigates Mendel Brach and the Certificate of Occupancy "problems" at his shadey over-built Spencer Street Condos in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. Sorry, no mention of our friend Henry Radusky and Bricolaged Designs.

Today from The Pit

Rear wall of The Pit with bracing.






















Looking East. Yellow caution tape marks the "Forbidden Zone"

1504 8th Avenue: Braced and Stabilized

Good as new?

Brennan's Legislative Package

Brennan Announces Legislative Package to Address Shortcomings in Regulation of Construction and Development in New York City.

Assemblymember James Brennan (D-Brooklyn), Chair of the Cities Committee, has introduced a package of legislation designed to address shortcomings in the regulation of construction and development in New York City, following public hearings held in September and November 2006 by the State Assembly’s Standing Committees on Cities, Housing and Codes. This legislation is being introduced at the State level because the health and safety of the population of NYC is a matter of important State concern.

Brennan’s legislation will tighten enforcement of the NYC Building Code and Zoning Resolution during one of the largest and longest building booms in New York City’s history, with residential building permits surging from 5,135 in 1995 to 15,050 in 2000 to 31,600 in 2006. While the current real estate boom provides much-needed housing stock and construction jobs, the enormous profits to be made in the real estate market are a powerful incentive to build quickly and large – leading some to skirt the laws that guarantee safe and sound construction and appropriate neighborhood density through zoning protection.

A 2004 New York City Comptroller’s audit found that 51% of sampled building violations in 2002 were issued for hazardous violations and that there was no systematic Department of Buildings (DOB) process for following up on hazardous violations. OSHA reported 80 deaths from New York City construction accidents between 2002 and 2005. A 2002 review by the NY Trial Lawyers Institute of 2,500 OSHA construction-site inspections found one or more serious safety violations at 2/3 of the sites. A 2003 NYC Comptroller’s audit found errors in 67% of sampled self-certified construction plans. And in 2005, the DOB’s own mandated audits of a fifth of all self-certified plans found 16% of them contained such serious errors that building permits had to be revoked.

The legislative package includes the following seven bills:


• A7745(Brennan)/S5422(Padavan), The Department of Buildings Community Accountability Act, directs DOB to notify community boards and borough presidents of all construction permits and DOB actions in the district; requires DOB to file public reports on all construction accidents, property damage and dangerous buildings conditions resulting from building code violations; prohibits issuance of certificates of occupancy until all adjudicated fines and penalties are paid; and gives community boards the right to request 30 DOB audits annually and receive copies of any requested plans within 5 days.

• A7800(Brennan)/S5223(Padavan), requires timely re-inspection and correction of all hazardous building violations issued by the DOB.

• A7755(Hevesi)/S5407(Padavan), converts into tax liens any unpaid, adjudicated fines levied for hazardous building violations.

• A7746(Brennan)/S4603(Padavan), gives the DOB the power to refuse to accept the filing of any documents by a person who, following a hearing, has been found to have knowingly or negligently submitted false documents to the Department of Buildings, thus expanding the Department’s arsenal for curbing abuse of self-certification privileges. This bill is supported by the office of the Mayor.

• A7744(Brennan)/S5410(Padavan), requires, for the first time, City licensure of general contractors by a Contractors Licensing Board, composed of 13 members appointed by the Mayor. This will allow the City to revoke the licenses of developer-contractors who are willful violators of laws involving safety, workers’ compensation, etc.

• A7748(Brennan)/S5246(Padavan), holds contractors liable for any damage caused by excavation. Currently contractors are not liable for damage to adjacent properties caused by excavation less than 10 feet in depth. This bill eliminates that exemption and in addition requires contractors to carry liability insurance to compensate neighbors for damages caused by excavation. This bill is supported by the office of the Mayor.

• A7747(Brennan)/S5441(Padavan), funds technical assistance grants of $500,000 to a not-for-profit organization in each borough to provide legal, technical and professional assistance in the public interest regarding zoning, planning, and building and construction issues.