CRACKED HOUSE

This week the Board of Standards and Appeals voted unanimously to grant the developer's financially based hardship appeal for 400 15th Street. This means that the developer, despite a community mandated down zoning of the neighborhood, will be allowed to continue their project under the old 1961 R6 zoning laws. What is the surprise? Doesn't the BSA have a past history of siding with the builder against the wishes of the community? Why should the Board go out and buy another RUBBER STAMP when the one marked "APPROVED" has been working just fine for all these years?
The change from R6 to R6B took effect on November 16th, 2005. The property has been under a DoB issued Stop Work Order for most of the time since. The Board took pity on the fools and decided to reward them for their ham-handed design and contruction work that resulted in, now brace yourself, just one ECB violation with a staggering, hardship inducing, $1,000 fine! Granted, they had to crack the adjacent property, 396 15th Street, down the middle like a big mellon in order to get penalized. Word to all you real estate speculators out there. If it looks like your property site is about to be rezoned before you can finish your foundation, make sure you have some serious F*ck-ups to fall back on when making your hardship appeals. To begin with, you should claim to have paid way too much for your property. I reccomend the following plan of action. It has a proven track record.

Remember, a "hole in the ground" counts as a half-finished foundation! Start digging that hole without a serious foundation plan on how to secure your neighbors property. Foundation work is pretty much like hanging wall paper. Start in the corner and go around the room. Make sure you leave a good amount of water sitting in the hole for a couple of weeks. Don't get bogged down in underpinning details. Boring soil test samples? You don't need no stinkin' soil test samples!

Oh shit! Nice! Now you are finally getting the DoB's attention. It only took three "311" complaints about your questionable building practices to get noticed. Remedial shoring of adjacent property with I beams...Priceless!

How about adding another zero to that figure. People might think your mother works for the DOB.







Don't bother making friends with the neighbors...litigation costs get figured into your hardship appeal. Like the saying goes, "You got to break some eggs to make some scrambled eggs".













































Disregard those Stop Work Orders. Go ahead with the 'remedial' foundation work. It's all good in the end.




















I didn't know you could get an order of protection against a contractor? Looks like someone's pouring salt in the wounds of this poor developer. Just another Domestic Dispute.












Congratulations! The place looks just bad enough so someone from the B.S.A. will feel sorry for you.

Meenakshi Srinivasan, the chairperson of the B.S.A., describes their goal as "working with City government to interpret the regulations wisely and with an understanding of the needs of the citizens and developers alike to create an environment where everyone can flourish, where business finds its needs met and residents can find reasonable housing in a safe, pleasant and healthy environment." Where is the wisdom in rewarding a developer and his building team for its unsafe, disruptive, constuction practices, and well, just plain poor business sense? The needs of the community seem to be irrevelent when compared to the wants of the developer to make a substantial profit. In the end the real question should not have been whether the building might be vested under the old zoning, but whether it should be allowed to be built at all.

June 17th, 2006

All quiet on the Western Front. Work continues on the Eastern lot line that borders on the Memorial Baptist Church's side garden.

Storm Studies June 1st 2006

Spectacular thunderstorm as witnessed over the roof top silhouette of the 8th Avenue (14th Regiment) Armory. Using a digital video camera I was able to isolate the exact frame as the sky became illuminated with the lightening's flash. A weird purple haze in some. A super white bright daylight in others.

Foundation Works?

I am not an engineer. I really don't have any experience designing building foundations. The sum of my knowledge has been gleaned from a handful of internet searches. My longtime marriage to a Foundations Designer, in this case, seems to be of little value. Though I can rattle off the bra sizes of many of my wife's friends, the design and construction of supportive undergarments (bras, waist nippers, body briefers and the like) doesn't have very much in common with building an underground parking garage. I have not seen the actual building plans, but comparing steel pilings to underwires is a little bit of a stretch. Speaking of the "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia" an interesting side note. In 1688 Sir Isaac Newton, an infamous cross-dresser for his time, created an alternative theory specifically dealing with corsetry, gravitational attraction, and terrestrial bodies, but it was never published. One of sciences little known "Theories in Crisis" theories. Wern't we talking about parking garages? It's amazing how all my conversations somehow end up in discussions about women's underwear.

I think we lost our way after my mentioning my lack of knowledge. But the lack of knowledge, in general, has never stopped the vast majority of building contractors working in Brooklyn today. Hyperbole? Let's not get our undies in a bundle. Excavating, building forms, bending re-bar and pouring cement goes on all the time. What about pilings being bored the depth of a four story building? Now that's something different for our neighborhood. Here goes my attempt at explaining the process that I have been observing for the last few months.

There is a constant whirling hum in the space between my ears. Every few minutes the hum stops for a few seconds and then there is this bone jarringly loud Ca Chang, Ca Chang sound of rotating metal machine parts being violently forced to stop, as if against their will, and then run in the opposite direction. The whirling/whining hum is actually that of the spinning drill shaft of the IMT AF80 Drilling Rig boring holes some 60 feet deep in anticipation of the placement of the hollow steel tube foundation pilings.


The pounding thud that interrupts the hum comes from its auger, a cork-screw like device with extended horizontal plates. The auger is bored into the ground, collecting soil like a spiral shovel, and then raised up and out of the hole. The thud is the noise the drill shaft makes as it is rotated in the opposite direction at the surface and then stopped, rotated again and stopped, not unlike the actions of a giant hairy robot dog exiting a body of water. Sometime the soil sticks to the blades and then you hear Ca Chang, Ca Chang, Ca Chang, Ca chang, Ca Chang, until the excavated material finally gives up its hold.
This symphony goes on 5 days a week, 7am until 6pm each week day.

Accompanying these noises is a what I can only describe as an Earth shaking shudder. A house shiver. The glass of water on the table vibrates like a scene from the movie Jurassic Park. We see the tiny waves in the puddle, moments before we see the 7 ton backhoe jump from the jungle and smash the steel pile into the Earth,.
It's a predictable little Earthquake: The cracking sound after the lightening flash. The Shoc-o Loc-a, Loc-a, always follows the BOOM by a second or so. A half dozen of my neighbors all feel it. Some have complained. I am amazed at how my baby can now nap right through it.

Bored pilings, according to the "literature" are more desirable in city areas because driven piles require heavy equipment and hammers that produce a level of noise and vibration that is simply not tolerated close to where people live. I remember the summer they used pile drivers at the 1638 Eight Avenue development site. Needless to say the neighbors on Windsor Place were not happy.

In general, construction methods depend on the geology of the site. Glacial sands, heavy clays, and the presence of water make a difference. So what type of foundation system are they using for the Armory Plaza? It doesn't look like a SECANT WALL. Maybe it's some modified form of a secant wall.

Secant foundation walls consist of overlapping primary and secondary pilings. The overlap or interlock acts as a barrier to prevent the migration of ground water between the piles as there is no space between the pilings at all. Usually before one starts to bore holes for Secant Walls, a ground level cement template is constructed in order to maintain perfect spacing and alignment. The wall is constructed by drilling alternating shafts and then backstepping to drill the intervening shafts in order to interlock the two adjacent shafts. Every second shaft is reinforced usually with wide flanged steel sections or rebar steel cages. The reinforced shafts are called the primaries or king piles. The alternate shafts, which are not reinforced, are called secondaries. The drilling sequence typically calls for the intermediates to be drilled first, so the reinforcing of the primary piles will not be compromised by subsequent drilling. The concrete used for the secondary piles is usually lean concrete; to remain soft enough for the drilling and interlocking of the primary shafts. The primaries are usually poured with hard structural concrete.


On our site, hollow metal tubes some 60 feet long are being used without any template before drilling. This is how the tubes are being installed. The drilling rig bores the hole. The on-site crane lifts and then lowers the steel piling into the hole. They are being manually aligned with the previous pile so that it is more or less touching its neighbor. The back-hoe then pounds the piling in the final few feet with the bucket arm. The pile is welded to a previously installed pile before moving on to the next. Is this some modified form of contiguous piling foundation? Contiguous walls often have some open space or small gaps between adjacent piles. The size of this spacing is determined by the nature of the soils and if there is significant ground water present. Cement grout is often injected under high pressure behind the piles to fill in the gaps. Sometimes the steel pipes are only temporary, serving as place holders until the cement can be poured. The steel tubes prevent the bored holes from caving in until they can be carefully removed while the cement is being poured. I don't think that this will be the case. I think the pilings will be left in place and used for both the walls of the basement and as a footing for the building. We will have to wait and see how their system will accommodate the vertical loads for the future building as well as a permanent means of retaining the sides of the basement during the excavation. Recently another back yard garden began to drop into one of the holes as it was being bored. They lost a considerable amount of plantings as well as their cedar fence.

A group of neighbors who live along the building site, sent a letter on June 9th to Magdi Mossad, our new DoB Borough Commissioner containing a list of our worries and objections about what has been going on at the site. Mr. Mossad has extensive engineering experience and it is our hope, that, if there is anything fishy going on he will find it. With the indispensable help of a local architect who has taken our case and many other cases in the area pro bono, we listed several things that seem to be outside of the law. One point our architect found disturbing was that only two borings for SOIL BEARING TESTS were filed with the foundation plans and that they only went as far as 36 feet deep. One boring test is required for every 2500 sq. feet and the lot being a little over 12,000 sq.ft. would require a total of 5 boring tests. Also the depth of the borings should extend below the deepest part of the excavation by no less than 25 feet. Our calculations would then have them testing to a depth of at least 80 feet. Time will tell what affects this 100'x100' concrete "dam" will have on the ground water. There is already evidence that the borings on the Eastern side of the lot have hit water.

How Henry Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life.

Every girls got to have her dreams...crushed! Word has come down from someone who has seen the latest drawings for the future Armory Plaza, that we shouldn't expect much more from Bricolage Designs than the usual, Early 21st Century Fedders School gulag. (Buildings designed according to the "Fedders School" have the obligatory namesake air conditioner vent grill placed beneith undersized windows.) It will no doubt be a twin copy of the Deadwood Heights 9 story beauty built at 266 22nd Street in 2004. In this case the copy is much more dwarf like in appearance. Shorter, with a lot less poise and grace than 266, something not even an intern from Methodist Hospital would want to live in.

The developer, Mr. Locicero, may be more interested in what's built below the surface than what is left standing above it, specifically his three levels of underground parking. There is still hope. Bricolage and Locicero could bring starchitect Richard Meier on board to jazz up the Armory Plaza's cellar space.
A rumor that Meier and Radusky are collaborating on the parking garage has yet to be substantiated.
Area expeditors have pre-filed plans for an underground parking facility featuring glass curtain walls, that will provide 360 degrees of unobstructed subterranean river front views. Prices for condo parking spaces could reach $1200/foot, a first for Brooklyn. According to a Corcoran minion, Gimli, son of Glon, has already reserved a space.

THE DEMOLITION OF THE ROJAS MEXICAN BAKERY @ 406 15TH STREET

EN PAZ DESCANSE Rojas Bakery. No more cinnamon Sundays.


On October 17th, 2005 the Rojas Bakery specializing in traditional Mexican breads and pastries, was sold to the developer Jack Locicero (BERTHA REALTY, LLC) for the asking price of $900,000. For that price he got a single story 2200 SF cinderblock building, with awning, on a 25' x 100' lot. He also got the chance to revive his adjacent Armory Plaza development by refiling his old plans under the newly acquired 406 property address.

Previously the DoB had revoked all permits for the 408 Armory Plaza development back on May 24th, 2005, saying that they had been issued erroneously. There were many problems with the design, including the Floor Area Ratio ( FAR) calculations not being in compliance with the then R6 residential zoning laws. The building's plans should never have passed an audit by the DoB plan examiners. There were problems with the underground parking structure. Carbon monoxide was to be vented to the rear yard at ground level for one example. Also the "Community Facility" use was highly questionable and in fact the DoB had closed that FAR loop hole prior to issuing the permits. So how does one try to explain a non existing Yeshiva being granted a builders bonus of a FAR of 4.8 in a R6 residential zone, not once, but twice? Bricolage Designs, the architectural firm on record, to its credit, simply resubmitted the same plans, and sure enough, they received permits by the DoB for a "new" building at the "new" 406 15th Street address. This oversight after being reassured personally by Brooklyn Department of Buildings Commissioner Susan Hinkson that this architect, developer, and 408 15th building site would be in her words "red flagged” to prevent any future errors. Maybe that is why Com. Hinkson had asked for the community to help the DoB: To be its "eyes and ears" out in the field.

In the above Property Shark photo, the 406 building is seen on the left, 404 15th on the right, although the actual bakery occupied both buildings. The Rojas retained the three story building known as the "Belmont" with its two apartments.

One week after acquiring the property, tear down demolition permits were applied for by the Xingilan Construction Corporation. The Rojas Bakery had sprinkled its last shell shaped Conchitas.

October 28th the large excavator parked for weeks in the adjacent lot revved up its engine. The demo commenced at 8am as the giant orange Cat began using its boom arm and bucket to eat the building, awning and all.









Seeing that this past week was the the NYC Department of Buildings Construction Safety Week, I thought we could look back at how ineffective the DoB was in maintaining its own rules and regulations when it comes to safe-guarding the public. Let us look back at how the 311 complaints were handled by the DoB in the specific case of the demolition of 406 15th Street (The Rojas Mexican Bakery) by the Xingilan Construction Corporation.

The first thing that caused concern during the demolition was that there wasn't any construction fence or safety netting at the rear of the property. The bakery was built out so that it went all the way to the rear property line with no setback. Basically, an 18’ section of fence was missing. The entire deconstruction was performed mechanically using the boom arm of the excavator. The rear wall of the building was demolished using the bucket to grab it at its top and pull it over. At one point the teeth of the bucket actually bit a piece off a small wooden storage shed located at 387 16th Street. At 9:01am a complaint was made to 311 stating that there was no fence at the rear of the construction site.


How was complaint # 317-4405 addressed?


You can see in the photos that there was clearly no protective fence.




The complaint was “Resolved” that same day by an inspector Miguel Padin who sited a previous complaint number #317-3197 for his decision. That complaint, ”Working against a Stop Work Order” was made earlier in the day at 8am. Inspector Padin states “No action necessary based on physical observation” and “No Stop Work Order in effect”. What this has to do with the 18’ missing section of fence I do not know. It was enough to dismiss both the Stop Work Order and the missing fence complaints. Painting with a broad brush? Maybe a giant DoB issue Pink Pearl erasure.



Another concern was that there was never any DUST CONTROL implemented during the entire process. In the photos you can see the dust clouds blowing every which way as the tractor trailers were being filled with the debris. In the background you can see the arched windows in the 15th Street facade of the 8th Avenue Armory. These windows are to the dormitory space used for the sheltering of homeless women. There were no complaints made to 311 about the dust. Dust can be controlled by simply hooking up a hose and spraying the pile down with water.

The next group of complaints began shortly after 6pm as it became apparent that the demo team had no intention of stopping until the job was finished. Construction hours end at 6pm unless a special afterhours permit has been acquired.

Complaint number #317-4096 "After Hours Construction" was made at 6:34pm.






Complaint # 317-4098 "After Hours Construction" was made at 7:15pm.







Complaint #317- 4100 After Hours Construction was made at 7:26pm.








Complaint #317-4101 "After hours Construction"was made at 7:28pm.







The 311 operators have an unofficial policy of not taking duplicate complaints for the same issue. After awhile they refused to record any more complaints about after hours construction even though the demolition went on past 9 pm.

After the sun set the demo continued. You can see from these still photgraphs taken from a half hour digital video just how dark it was. The only light was from the headlight of the excavator. No additional lighting was provided for. The tractor trailers, one after another, would pull up past the site and then back into the lot. No traffic control measures were taken to protect the safety of pedestrians on 15th Street. There was no flag man. This headlight did, however, illuminate the dust clouds escaping each time the bucket dropped its load into the back of the truck.

Finally, the job was shut down by a patrol car from the 72nd precinct, responding no doubt, to quality of life/noise complaints made by several neighbors. But by that time they had already finished most of the job. Several phone calls were made to Com. Hinkson's personal answering machine filling her in on the progress of the late night work.

In the early part of November, I sent a letter and a DVD with a short movie providing photographic evidence for the complaints to Hinkson and Lancasters offices. A short time later I received a letter back from Com. Hinkson stating that the building in question was being investigated for un safe building demolition practices and that she was turning over all information to the B.E.S.T. Squad. So what happened to the "being the eyes and ears" thing?



The DoB's own Building Information Site (BIS) says it all. The four complaints posted above all resolved with no further action necessary based upon physical observation on the last inspection date...JANUARY 10th, 2006! More than two months after the fact, Inspector James Fleming Badge number 0529 made those final remarks.
DEMOLITION JOB NO. 302023138 SIGNED OFF 3/20/2006

You found it!

You found it!

WHAT YOU DON'T SEE...

Today my good neighbors sent me over the following photo.


If you look closely at the base of the purple backhoe you will see a hole with water in it. My neighbor tells me that no mater how many times the contractors fill in the hole with dirt, everytime they return to dig it back up, it quickly fills with water.
There have always been rumors of underground streams in the area.
Another construction site a block and a half away at 1638 8th Avenue has been sarcastically named by area residents who live upon its shores, "Lake Windsor". Consider this notation from the Official Hunting and Fishing Guide to Brooklyn. "Nestled in a perfectly pristine part of the Southern Slope sleeps Lake Windsor, one of the lesser known Middle Finger Lakes of the Borough of Brooklyn. A wide array of paddling and rowing opportunities await for those who would like to take life a little slower. Now is a perfect time to purchase one of the many vacation homes and seasonal cottages that grace its shores... if you're gosh darn lucky enough! There is even the full service G&Y Marina/Bodega just a block away offering live bait, beer, and seasonal day trips by licensed professional guides."
Locals have been fighting the comercialization of the area for years sighting the recently opened WEEKI WACHEE WINDSOR LIVE MERMAID SHOW with its infamous "underwater topless tuba act" as proof that developers don't know what the area really needs. Been lots of crazy talk go'n round 'bout negotiating the Bottled Water Rights to the underground spring with Snapple, but I hear the water tastes a little bit like mermaid pee.

1638 Eighth Avenue between Windsor Place and Prospect Avenue.


This land had been empty for decades, appearently for a good reason. The current developers, and there have been several in the last years, seem to have more or less given up on trying to address the problems with the site. It has been stagnant for some time.



Closer to home, A similar building excavation just one house away at 400 15th Street had water sitting in it for weeks before they pumped it out. In that case it was really too late as the next door building, 396 15th Street, literally cracked in half and had to have emergency iron work performed to keep it from falling over. The folks at IMBY really need to have a talk with the owner of 396 15th as he has somehow secured an order of protection against the developer of 400 15th street forbidding him from working within 15 feet of his property. I understand that recent testimony at the NY Board of Standards and Appeals(B.S.A.) discussed the financial hardship to the developer that this groundwater is causing. We really need to take more blogging field trips.








As for the land at 406-408 15th Street, the truth of the matter is that if you only do a couple of engineering core/soil samples of what's under the pavement of the parking lot you will never really know what you will find. Samples taken to the full depth of the excavation and beyond, not just below the surface. Water? I am not sure what affect redirecting an undergroud stream will have on the watertable of the surrounding neighborhood. I am no geotechnical engineer, but I wonder who will manage/moniter possible surface subsidence once the three sub cellars have been dug out and lined with cement. What about damage to underground utilities if movement occurs? Shifting foundations? Raising the water table 12 inches in all likelihood will grant me 24 hour swimming privileges to my new basement wading pool. Does anyone at the DoB have any experience with STRIP MINING?

The contractors did however find and remove the large tank(s) located at the front of the lot. This past January they dug up some kind of burried tank, cut it in half, and had it trucked away. By the way, do you need a special demo permit for this kind of work? An environmental study of the surrounding soil, perhaps? Come to think of it, I did see some Giant Asian Long Horn Beetles crawl up out of the hole and scamper over to Prospect Park.