Rakes Progress: 325 20th Street

Thinking of a career in Forensic Engineering?
It's quite common for the NYC Buildings Department to issue Stop Work Orders and then immediately turn around and down grade them to Partial Stop Work Orders so that remedial repairs can be made to the injured property before the situation can deteriorate any further. The DOB usually specifies that this is the only work that is permitted... The temporary shoring to stabilize adjoining properties. This appears to be what's happening on the construction site 325 20th Street right now. I'm actually a little surprised that an emergency vacate order wasn't issued for the building. The southeastern corner of the foundation looks seriously compromised. I'm not sure I would want to wait around and see. The cracks seem to be getting wider over the last week.
You can find additional permit information and photos of the damage to 321 20th Street right here.

The operation of propping the sinking wall with shores has been completed?
The old original rubble stone foundation of 321 20th Street is visible in this photo below.





















Raking Shores consist of one or more timbers sloping between the face of the structure to be supported and the ground. The most effective support is given if the raker meets the wall at an angle of 60 to 70 degrees. A wall-plate is typically used to increase the surface area of support.







Some of the more memorable examples of emergency or "remedial" shoring performed by contractors after neighboring buildings were damaged during faulty excavation/foundation work in South Brooklyn.

400 15th Street Brooklyn Early excavation work at 400 15th St. results in major shifting of adjoining property 396 15th St. Multiple cracks occur running throughout the walls and floors of this two story commercial building. Eventually the entire eastern masonry wall pictured below and the front facade had to be completely removed and rebuilt from the foundation on up. This project is still under construction. For more details.

















289 13th Street Brooklyn Excavation work results in cracks running the full height of the front facade of 291 13th St. A Stop Work Order remains in place. For more details.


















406-408 15th Street Brooklyn While boring and installing 60' deep hollow steel tube piles for a three story underground parking facility, the neighboring building, 1504 8th Avenue begins to sink and crack. Emergency Vacate Order Issued by Buildings Department has 8 families out on the street. This building remains vacant as construction continues on the Armory Plaza.

Lowered Prospectations: 377-379 Prospect Avenue Demolition

Development Watch: "Prospect Views"

DOB Property Profile Overview 377-379 PROSPECT AVENUE

Architectural Voyeurism #12

FifthAvenueTechnoRooftopProfiles

Architectural Voyeurism #11

South Slope Satellite Dish

187 23rd Street demo: MMG Contracting draws DoBs fire once again.

187 23rd Street before wrecking crew.




























CONSTRUCTION -CONTRARY/BEYOND APPROVED PLANS/PERMITS



Description of Violation:
SEC. 27-1026 (C) (D). FAILURE TO WEATHER PROOF ADJ BLDG. UPON INSPECTION AT
187 23RD ST ADJACENT PROPERTY 189 23RD ST FACADE IS EXPOSED TO PROTECTION OVER THE WOOD SIDING THAT REMAINS TO PREVENT WATER PENETRATION


Description of Violation:
FAILURE TO SAFEGUARD PUBLIC & PROPERTY AFFECTED BY DEMO OPERATIONS. UP
ON INSPECTION AT 187 23RD STREET DEMO CREW ON SITE DEMOING 3 STORIES BLDG BLDG IS DOWN TO 1ST FL W/HUGE AMOUNT OF COMBUSTIBLE DEBRIS ON SITE & ALSO

This week in history: Armory Plaza turns three, Titanic hits iceberg.

that treacherous brown iceberg
This week in history, April 15th 1912, Titanic hits iceberg and sinks.



April 16th, 2008 Three years and counting: The "unsinkable" Armory Plaza prepares for its maiden voyage.




"Our first ever meeting with the contractors" April 16th 2005

"The terrible two year anniversary"

391 14th Street: Skull and Crossbones

Looks like demolition time for 391 14th Street. The brick and wood frame house is located across the street from the Park Slope Armory Sports Facility between 7th and 8th Avenues.
This is a strange property. The house itself is only 23' deep. The dimensions of the lot are 25' x 100'. At sometime (1940?) in the life of this little house a driveway pass through was carved out of the cellar to allow parking in the rear yard.
The R6B zoning allows for a 5 story or 50' tall building. Depending on the front and rear set backs they still might be able to keep their curb cut and garage space. No building permits up yet.

Show us your hole!

The time has come for our avid readers to show us their holes again. Our operators are standing by, ready and willing to accept your submissions. Don't be shy. Why not sneak a pic of your neighbor's underpinnings and send it to: IMBY@NYC.RR.COM















This weeks gaping chasm comes from Mrs. Edward S. Bruberry of a 15th Streeter in South Brooklyn. Thanks, Mrs. Edward S. Bruberry in South Brooklyn!

House of the Day: Why downzonings hurt development.

Sometimes we don't always get what we want. Sometimes when we reach for the stars, we miss and land in Greenwood Heights. What we at IMBY like to call aspirational renderings of what might have been built, if not for the overly restrictive, self-serving R6B zoning regulations, fascistically imposed on developers and homeowners alike.

I feel like I'm being creatively strangled.
"One starts out with a dream, a vision really, and then the DoB Examiners, City Planners, and Community Board activistas get their kielbasas on it and you watch Shangri-La whittled down to this... Set backs, height limits, lot line window restrictions, I could go on and on and on and on and on. Just try and get a curb cut approved for a four car garage these days!"

Skipped school today to go coon hunting in Prospect Park.

There's 2 'em.


Might of walked right by if for not my son start a baying and a hollerin...I like to bake em the same way I do opossum and then garnish with candied yams.

Brooklyn's official shrub announces Spring.

Since 1940 when then Borough Commissioner, John Cashmore proclaimed...The Forsythia in all it's flamboyant glory... Brooklyn's official flower, reflected in the shadows... The Lullwater below the Terrace Bridge, Prospect Park.






















Jackie Robinson with Brooklyn Borough President John Cashmore at Ebbets Field in 1947. Cashmore's ill fated "47 Forsythia Day" uniforms.

UniverSoul Circus in Prospect Park

The UniverSoul Circus is in town. Brooklyn's Prospect Park plays host.
Parkside & Ocean Avenue entrance.
They have set up the tent in the parking lot next to The Wollman Ice Skating Rink. You can't possibly miss it. The box office hours are from 9am till 9pm. or you can use Ticketmaster.
You can see them today, Thursday, April 10th through Sunday April 13th.

390 14th Street Ordered to Stop Work

Complaint #3259628 "WORK CONTRARY TO APPROVED PLANS FULL STOP WORK ORDER SERVED" 4-3-08
Comments: "WORK CONTRARY TO PLAN FOR SHORING SWO
EXCAVATION UNIT"
DOB VIOLATION #040208EX02EA







A most imaginative reuse of old timbers...

390 14TH STREET BREAKS... GROUND

325 20th Street: The Tao Construction, Inc./Henry Radusky / Louis Sanchez cluster-kerfuffle, now seeing red, again.

325 20th Street Department of Buildings Property Profile Page.

There's an entire file cabinet's worth of D.o.B. issued paperwork stuck to the construction fence out in front of 325 2oth Street in Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn. The Stop Work Order might have something to do with the large cracks running up the facade of the neighboring apartment building, 321 20th St.
Behind the construction fence almost all traces of the previous excavation work have been erased, the hole has been back-filled with dirt.
There is evidence of what appears to be single poured concrete pier with its rebar sticking out along side 321's now crumbling stone foundation. Underpinning of some aberration or another, I'm guessing?




Another troubled low rise. Will Mosad pull the plug?
Our friends Henry Rudusky, R.A. and Louis Sanchez, P.E. should be given their proper credits.
Radusky and Bricolage Designs filed the building plans for 325, approved in June of 2007. Sanchez of Sanchez Associates, P.C. filed the shoring and underpinning plans also approved in June 2007. Mr. Sanchez is also affiliated with the firm Hertzberg and Sanchez. All three of these professionals are no strangers to controversial projects and have been disciplined by the Buildings Department in recent years.

"Louis Sanchez and Henry Radusky: Where have we heard these names before?"

"Proven Disciplinary Actions from the Department of Buildings."

The New York Times has one of my favorite stories about Hertzberg & Sanchez dating back to February 21st. 2000 that is a must read. Anyone interested in understanding why self certification was doomed from the start, should click on over to:

"CUTTING CORNERS: A special report.; Builders' Self-Policing Failed Before Brooklyn Floor Did" By CHRISTOPHER DREW AND JAYSON BLAIR

So when did the tears start to fall on this project? A rough time line indicates that on February 16th, 2008 a complaint was registered, #3253937, the caller stating that: "THE NEXT PROPERTY OVER HAS AN EMPTY LOT AND HAS DONE SOME DIGGING THAT HAS PUT HIS PROPERTY IN DANGER OF COLLAPSE AND HAS CAUSED SOME DAMAGE FOR THE PAST MONTH OR SO."
The D.o.B responded two days later by issuing TAO CONSTRUCTION INC a:
STOP WORK ORDER VIOLATION SERVED FOR NON-COMPLIANT AFTER HOURS WORK
Comments: DOB VIOLATION ISSUED FOR FAILURE TO CARRY PERMITTED WORK
DOB Violation #021708CNE01GA

Then one month later another complaint, #3257164 and another Stop Work Order on March 17th for: "ADJACENT BUILDINGS - NOT PROTECTED, FAILURE TO PROVIDE PROTECTION TO ADJ PROPERTY 321 20 ST. FOUNDATION WALL HAS CRACKS/BRICK FACADE HAS CRACKS"

This Full Stop Work Order was partially lifted so the contractor could make right what had gone wrong, to exclusively "COMPLETE SECTION ON UNDERPINNING ONLY."

Unfortunately, on March 24th, another complaint, #3257942, "NO APPROVED PLANS FOR UNDERPINNING, CONSTRUCTION -CONTRARY/BEYOND APPROVED PLANS/PERMITS"

Inspectors were not pleased with what they found.
"FULL STOP WORK ORDER SERVED"
Comments: "NO APPD PLANS FOR UNDERPINNING WITH DETAILS FOR ADJ BLDG FOUNDATION AND FOR COLUMN FOOTING SWO EXCAVATION UNIT"
DOB Violation #031808CEX01NDC

Then, what may be the final nail in their coffin, the dreaded "BOROUGH COMMISSIONER HAS ISSUED A 10-DAY LETTER OF INTENT TO REVOKE APPLICATION NUMBER 302331616 ON 03/27/08. ISSUE DOB STOP ORDER & NOTE THE PERCENTAGE OF WORK COMPLETED."

On February 14th, 2008 another set of plans was filed and approved for:
PROPOSED UNDERPINNING AND SHORING IN CONJUNCTION WITH NEW BUILDING APPLICATION No.302331616 AND FENCE JOB APPLICATION No. 310057906. The engineer, Jamal Muzaffar P.E. is self- certifying his work. Was he brought in to finish the job? For those who keep track of this sort of thing, Louis Sanchez is no longer allowed to file engineering plans in NYC. I imagine the new engineer will have his hands full seeing to it that his plans are correctly followed by the foundation contractors.




























































One warning to property owners who have buildings damaged by neighboring construction work... Make sure that when you invite DoB inspectors inside your property to view the damage, there isn't an illegally converted cellar apartment, as the owner of 321 20th Street found out. You may be served a little "salt in the wounds" Vacate Order.

It cost $50 for a D.O.T. Permit to legally place a container on a Brooklyn street for 90 days.

Street Obstruction

"It is illegal for anyone to place or leave any box, barrel, or other movable property (regardless of ownership) upon any public street or public place. This law applies to construction or demolition containers, which may only be placed on the street with a permit from the Department of Transportation."









The Office of Permit Management of the Bureau of Permit Management and Construction Control receives all permit applications and ensures that the necessary documents are included so they may begin the review process. The Office reviews applications, issues construction permits and applies appropriate fees. Permits are then issued to all utilities, plumbers, contractors, homeowners and other governmental agencies'; contractors, enabling them to work on the City's streets, which includes roadways, curbs, and sidewalks.

Learn the Status of Street and Sidewalk Construction Permits

Now you can learn the status of street and sidewalk construction permits throughout New York City. Use this application to find permits currently issued for street construction.

Just fill in the Borough... Brooklyn in our case, and fill in the Community Board... CB#7, and the Street... Let's say 16th Street, and click the "Search Permits" button at the bottom of the page. If you know the permit number or the contractor you can fill that in as well.























Presto!
In our particular search of 16th Street, 8 permits came up. You know what, I don't see any DOT permits for 224 16th Street or MMG Contracting showing up on the search page. I do however, see that China Perfect, who is doing alteration work up the block, did spend the extra $50 to take out a DOT permit for their container to be placed on the street. MMG what's up?

390 14th Street breaks... ground.

BK Developers Inc. /390 SIM Development LLC/ Mark Zeldin

Another infill development is under way on 14th Street just below the brand spanking new Park Slope Armory Sports Facility in Brooklyn's far South Slope. The proposed 47' tall, 4 story+cellar+attic masonry building will have 6 dwelling units contained within 7,000sq.ft. This is a R6B zoned, 25' wide lot between 7th and 8th Avenues.






































That's it.
The off-white house with the 2nd floor deck, and large tree was recently demolished by MMG Contracting, Inc. The tree was also removed in the process.
Here are two "before" photos taken of the now demolished unattached wood frame home in all its glory. You can see that the back yard of 390 14th runs perpendicular and behind several 7th Avenue properties. These unattached frame houses sitting on 25' lots are very attractive to developers looking to build luxury condominiums. When it comes time to clear the way MMG Contracting is the "go to gal" for the Zeldin Empire.
























Complaints?
Excavation, of some sort, has begun. There are already a few complaints from the neighbors who find the contractors a little careless. Inspectors from The Department of Buildings are having a difficult time gaining access to the construction site to witness the damages first hand. Maybe the DoB's Forensic Unit will have an easier time at it later on down the road.
The red brick building in the background? That's 359 15th Street of course, in its more concentrated form.

Just for the hell of it... Not that it matters... $7,500... Two defaulted E.C.B. violations from our old friends at MMG Contracting.

IMBY.BLOGSPOT.COM is 2 years old today!

Build your Dream Home at....534 17th Street!

Listed at: $695,000.




Park Slope?

Build your Dream Home at....
534 17th Street Brooklyn New York 11215

Located between Bucolic Prospect Park West and 10th Avenue.

General Information
Block : 877 Lot : 25
Lot Size : 20 x 100.17
Building Size : 20 x 30
Zoning : R5B
FAR as built : .58 Allowable FAR : 1.35

You can build an additional 1540sf or.....You can build a 2700sf home...Not including the basement... WHAT EVER YOU DO, FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T GO IN THE BASEMENT!!!!
Offered at $695,000.

Curb Appeal: Field of Dreams Home

Some photos of the front yard when Boo Radley still lived in the house. Just think, all of this green fits neatly into those plastic bags left behind in the front yard in the realtor's photo above.


























Related Posts on IMBY:
"Absent Mindfulness Tuesday"