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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, NOVEMBER 24, 2019
TOPPING OUTRAGE
Locals hate Third Street condo’s humongous bulkhead
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
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Talk about bulking up!
Park Slopers absolutely hate
a new luxury condo development
that features a massive threestory
rooftop bulkhead, and claim
builders mislead the community
about the building’s unsightly addition.
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BY BEN VERDE
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“They just kept going higher
and higher,” said Third Street resident
Sarah Unruh. “They were deceptive
the whole time.”
The fi ve-story building at 497
Third St. near Seventh Avenue
stands only one residential fl oor
above the four-story edifi ces 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 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 offi cials 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
fi rst 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
confi rmed the section of buildings
code that requires buildings fi ve
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.