Five of nine developments in Carroll Gardens questioned by the community after the “narrow streets” zoning change was enacted last week have been hit with Stop Work Orders by the Department of Buildings. (The photo above is of 360 Smith Street before work was halted.) This is because they are not complete enough to be “vested” under the former zoning that allowed more density and building height. Community Board 6 District Manager Craig Hammerman writes:
the department identified 9 sites that were affected by the new zoning text amendment. 5 of the 9 sites were not “vested” per the department’s inspection. To be “vested” means that at least 50% of the foundation of the new building was in place at the time of the inspection, which would grandfather the project under the old rules…The department has placed “Stop Work Orders” on these sites. The property owners/developers of these sites will now have the option of seeking relief from the new zoning text via the City’s Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA). The BSA has an Administrative Appeal process, which typically does not involve a public review at the community level, where they hear cases of hardship from owners/developers. Whether or not these individuals choose to go that route, or alter their buildings plans to bring their projects into conformance with the new zoning text, is up to them.
The list of developments with Stop Work Orders provided by DOB are 360 Smith Street, 338 President Street, 120 3rd Place, 16 4th Place and 126 1st Place
5 responses so far ↓
1 Anonymous // Jul 29, 2008 at 10:58 am
This is B.S.
If the plans were approved by D.O.B. and work is ongoing, these projects should be grandfathered in.
2 RM // Jul 29, 2008 at 11:13 am
This is B.S.
If the plans were approved by D.O.B. and work is ongoing, these projects should be grandfathered in.
3 jon // Jul 29, 2008 at 11:41 am
I agree with RM. While I don’t like some of these projects, the fact that they were approved and then halted means small businesses and construction laborers are losing lots of money daily due to DeBlasio and city council incompetence (why didn’t they do this earlier?). Businesses who spent the money getting permits, hiring laborers, renting equipment, etc. should not be punished because they were unwilling to donate to tons of money to DeBlasio’s “campaign fund”/ personal bank account.
It was a mistake to approve many of these projects in the first place, but it’s a bigger mistake to set this sort of precedent to punish businesses that got approval and are now losing money.
4 Anonymous // Jul 29, 2008 at 1:45 pm
blah, blah blah. These projects suck anyway.
5 Anonymous // Jul 30, 2008 at 10:09 am
This is great for the people who live in these neighborhoods and were ignored when they asked for consideration on building height.