6 times • NOVEMBER 12, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com Buildings Department issues partial vacate order at Glendale yeshiva dorms BY ROBERT POZARYCKI AND ANTHONY GIUDICE editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com @RidgewoodTimes The Department of Buildings (DOB) issued a partial vacate order Monday at the Yeshiva Godolah Seminary in Glendale after determining the dormitories on campus were illegal. According to the DOB’s website, the order came after the agency issued the seminary located at 74-10 88th St. an Environmental Control Board (ECB) violation for illegally converting classrooms on the first floor and mezzanine into living quarters for some of its students. The DOB had issued a full vacate order for the yeshiva on Nov. 6 before amending it to a partial order on Nov. 9. “During a recent inspection of 74-10 88th St., we discovered the presence of 392 beds on site with little or no required life safety protections, including sprinkler The Department of Buildings issued a vacate order Friday for the yeshiva located at 74-10 88th St. systems that had been disabled or covered over, obstructed building exits, and significant alterations to the building that had been performed without permits,” said Rick Chandler, DOB commissioner. “To protect the property’s occupants, the department took immediate action to vacate the premises last week.” This partial vacate order still allows occupancy of the lecture hall and cafeteria where hazardous conditions have been remediated. “Current enforcement actions include a partial vacate order for portions of 74-10 88th St., as well as the adjacent building at 83-14 72nd Dr., where life safety violations have not been resolved,” Chandler added. “The order will remain in place until the hazardous conditions, and the use of the building contrary to the Certificate of Occupancy, among other violations, are remediated by the property owner. We are working closely with the property owners to address these conditions.” The DOB database also notes that the site also has two open “work without a permit” violations that were originally issued on Nov. 2. Approximately 360 students were residing at the yeshiva, and there are plans in the works to expand the campus that would nearly double its dormitory population. Community Board 5 members and local residents, however, protested both the expansion plan and the existing dormitories, Photo courtesy CB5 claiming that they violated the site’s existing certificate of occupancy and zoning codes. “In addition, we audited the certificate of occupancy for the property, issued in 2008, and found that it was approved in error,” Chandler said. “Auditors found the inclusion of the term “dorm” on the certificate of occupancy was not supported by the submitted plans for the property.” The Buildings Department confirmed those claims late last month, when it served the yeshiva a violation for breaching existing zoning codes at the site. At its October meeting, the board recommended denial of a Board of Standards and Appeals variance permitting the yeshiva expansion. Developer seeks zoning variance for Ridgewood artist studios BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport The owner of a Ridgewood lot is seeking Community Board 5’s (CB 5) support of a variance from the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) to build a new two-story building with artist studios at the location. The site located at 1677 George St. sits in an M1-4D manufacturing zone, with an R5B residential district directly across the street. The zoning regulation requires a 20-foot front yard space to act as a buffer between any manufacturing buildings and the residential zoning area. This variance looks to waive the required 20-foot front yard restriction and allow the owner, George Acquisition LLC, to build up to the front lot line. “The applicant, who is the owner of the site, she is also an artist and she is proposing to develop the site with a twostory building to use for artist studios, three artist studios — two on the ground floor and one on the second floor — a caretaker’s unit on the second floor and on the ground floor, a 395-square-foot small café,” said Frank St. Jacques, from the Office of Sheldon Lobel, PC. The 20-foot front yard space hinders the owner’s ability to build since the lot itself is extremely small, only 46 feet deep. “The 20-foot front yard requirement on a site so small and shallow would essentially cut the property in half in terms of usable space,” St. Jacques said. Currently a one-story building “that’s in a state of severe disrepair” sits on the site, St. Jacques told the board. If the variance is approved, that building would be demolished to make room for the new development, which would be built out to the front lot line. “The proposed development — the two-story development — would not have that 20-foot front yard and it would be in line with the existing character of George Street,” St. Jacques said. “We feel that this variance application is reasonable and would be within the neighborhood character.” The proposal will be turned over to CB 5’s Land Use Committee meeting before being put forth to the full board for a vote. Price reduced on Ridgewood building Photo courtesy Greiner Maltz Investment Properties This industrial building at 48-05 Metropolitan Ave. is on sale for a reduced price of $16.5 million. BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport A large industrial parcel in Ridgewood is still on the market, but now with a million dollar discount. Greiner Maltz Investment Properties has reduced the price on their property located at 48-05 Metropolitan Ave. in Ridgewood. This approximately 63,000-square-foot building sits on approximately 73,000 square feet of land on the north side of Metropolitan Avenue, between Flushing and Woodward avenues in the heart of the industrial district of Ridgewood and Maspeth. The property was originally listed at $17.5 million, but has since been reduced to $16.5 million. The 1 1/2-story building has 53,000 square feet of grade level space with 10,000 square feet of mezzanine offices. It also features 14- to 20-foot ceilings and is located in an M3-1 zone. According to Greiner Maltz, water, sewer, electric and heat are all to be paid by the tenant. For more information, visit http://www.greinermaltz.com/.
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