November 22–28, 2019 Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 AWP 11
The incredible bulkhead
Slopers hate Third Street condo’s humongous addition
By Ben Verde
Brooklyn Paper
Talk about bulking up!
Park Slopers absolutely
hate a new luxury condo
development that features a
massive three-story rooftop
bulkhead, and claim builders
mislead the community
about the building’s unsightly
addition.
“They just kept going
higher and higher,” said
Third Street resident Sarah
Unruh. “They were deceptive
the whole time.”
The five-story building at
497 Third St. near Seventh Avenue
stands only one residential
floor above the four-story
edifices surrounding it, but
the structure’s rooftop elevator
bank and mechanical room
protrudes well beyond its living
quarters, making the building’s
actual height roughly double
its neighbor’s.
The eyesore has not gone
unnoticed among locals.
“It’s kind of obnoxious,”
said local community board
member Eric McClure. “By
and large, the front facades
tend to be consistent. So, for
them to build out beyond, and
block light, and block views
— that’s not a very neighborly
approach.”
Ahead of construction, developer
Kaito Management
presented renderings to to the
community that intentionally
Locals say the huge bulkhead on a Third Street development
is an eyesore, but the developer says it
was necessary to stay up to code.
Photo by Ben Verde
downplayed the height of the
bulkheads, according to one
Park Sloper, who accused the
builder’s of pulling a fast one
on locals.
“The new building on
Third Street off Seventh Avenue
in Park Slope is almost
done, and it’s one ugly structure
whose too-tall elevator
tower looks nothing like it did
in the rendering. How was
this OK’d?” David Herman
wrote on Twitter.
Locals have complained to
the city, but the condominium
and its garish bulkhead fall
within the scope of the area’s
zoning restrictions, leaving
officials powerless to obstruct
the development, according
to Unruh.
“It’s really scary,” she said.
“If they can do that, what’s
going to keep the next guy
from just tearing down their
brownstone?”
A rep for the developer
claimed they were actually
adhering to the city’s regulations,
which require stretcher
access in the event of first responders
using the elevator,
when they erected the massive
bulkhead.
“The rendering in reference
was drafted in advance
and completed prior
to our plans being changed
with larger bulkhead,” Stephen
Baker said. “The building
complies by all codes and
approvals would have been
granted regardless of neighborhood
disapproval, as of
right.”
The Department of Buildings
confirmed the section of
buildings code that requires
buildings five or more stories
tall to have at least one elevator
big enough to accommodate
a stretcher.
The lot where the Condo
now sits hosted a boarded
up brownstone that sat vacant
for decades, according
to locals.
Crown Heights rezoning stalled
By Ben Verde
Brooklyn Paper
Crown Heights civic gurus
voted to oppose a rezoning
scheme that would make
way for a nine-story mixeduse
building on Grand Avenue
on Nov. 14.
Members of Community
Board Eight voted 27-to-1 to
withhold support of the proposal
until they get a binding
agreement to dedicate
a portion of the building’s
9,000-square-feet ground
floor for either light industrial
use or a community
room, with one community
member saying the developer
needs to pony up some concessions
to merit the windfall
in building rights.
“What you’re doing is actually
making an exchange
that gives the developer significantly
more than what the
community is getting,” said
Prospect Heights resident Peter
Krashes.
The developer is seeking
construction of a building
near Pacific Street, which
would house 64 residential
units — including 16 units
of affordable housing.
The vote reflects the ongoing
efforts to upzone parts
of Crown Heights in an effort
to promote the creation
of industrial manufacturing
jobs. The proposed neighborhood
rezoning would allow
developers to build higher,
but require them to set aside
some space for light industrial
use.
The development scheme
as proposed by Pariente would
exceed the maximum building
envelope envisioned by
board members in their larger
rezoning proposal, and one
civic guru expressed concern
that approving this application
without altering the density
would invite other s to
do the same.
“You’re setting a precedent
for how you’re doing
this,” said Krashes.
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