BY BEN VERDE
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 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.”
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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.
The deed was transferred to
The Homage on Third LLC in
2016, property records show.
One cheeky vandal decided to draw in the bulkhead on a posted rendering
of the building to refl ect its proper height
Photo by Ben Verde
Topping outrage!
Locals hate Third Street condo’s humongous bulkhead
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