Greenpoint
Lorven Pharmacy
Culture on the Cheap
From The New York Shitty Inbox: A Grand Opening Ceremony For 400 McGuinness?
If the above missive is any indication it would appear there not only will be one but our Mayor will be present.
Here’s the deal folks: whether or not you are for this facility the fact of the matter is we as residents of this community had a right to know it was open. In fact, the operators of this shelter were required to notify both our Community Board and elected officials when this came to pass. This did not happen. Rather, a temporary Certificate of Occupancy was secured, an emergency was declared and this facility was quietly and conveniently opened while Community Board 1 was on summer break.
The issue at hand is one of transparency. One would hope we as citizens/tax payers would be entitled to this from our civil servants. Obviously this is not the case.
New York Shitty Day Starter: Help Keep New York City Clean
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Urban Artifact, WTF
Yours truly stumbled upon this rather curious find in front of Tommy’s Tavern last night. Another fellow taking shots of it noted:
I wonder if someone stole the baby and simply dumped the stroller?
A woman walking her dog (and noting our interest) found this rather disturbing. Thus, I decided to speak up and mollify her concerns:
That looks like a rather nice stroller. I’m surprised no one has taken it and tried to sell it. As for why it is here, maybe the baby snatchers are to blame? It’s a somewhat obscure Monty Python sketch. Look it up.
They said they would. In the meantime here it is. Skip to 2:33 if you must. The whole clip is worth watching if you ask me.
Tomorrow: Simulated Explosion On Commercial Street
Special thanks goes out to Assemblyman Joe Lentol for passing this along!
LAST GASP: Robbed At Gunpoint On Commercial Street?
Filed under: 11222, Criminal Activity, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic
Yes folks, it would appear this has come to pass. You can review the full list of items stolen by clicking here. Although I am very grateful no one was seriously hurt, yikes!
P.S.: Special thanks go out to Eva and Lisa for tipping me off to this. Thanks!
The Word On The Street, Part IV: Misbehave
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, The Word On The Street
From the India Street Pier.
The Word On The Street, Part I: The Brown Word
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, The Word On The Street, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
Frost Street
Nassau Avenue
South 4 Street
Coming To McGuinness Boulevard: R7 Zoning?
This item was brought to my attention by an anonymous tipster. While methinks we can all agree that 910 Manhattan Avenue (the former location of Club Exit) would be a splendid place to have a health club, this is not what concerns your truly. Rather, it is the first item. Which brings me to the second page of this notice.
To give you all an idea of exactly how large the parcel in question is I have taken the liberty of grabbing a map via Google.
Now let’s review what the city has to say about R-7 zoning (which is what is being proposed):
7 districts are medium-density apartment house districts mapped in much of the Bronx as well as the Upper West Side in Manhattan and Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. The height factor regulations for R7 districts encourage lower apartment buildings on smaller zoning lots and, on larger lots, taller buildings with less lot coverage. As an alternative, developers may choose the optional Quality Housing regulations to build lower buildings with greater lot coverage.
Regulations for residential development in R7-1 and R7-2 districts are essentially the same except that R7-2 districts, which are mapped primarily in upper Manhattan, have lower parking requirements.
Our Land Use Chair (a very nice lady who happens to also be named Heather) has given me a general rundown of what’s up. She writes:
Hi Heather – The proposal is to rezone half the block that is currently M1-1 to R7A/C2-4. FAR = 4.6. The west side of McGuiness Blvd to the north is R6A and to the south is R7A. The applicant only owns the site in the middle of the block
(Le Cue/Blockbuster building). Proposed is an 8 story mixed-use building, approx. 155,000 sf of floor area in total, 141 dwelling units above 23,000 sf of ground floor commercial space. 40 dwelling units will qualify as low income units pursuant to the Inclusionary Housing Program. Of course, that means the developer gets additional floor area for every square foot of affordable housing he builds. Also, 68 residential parking spaces, 23 commercial parking spaces and 9,000 sf of tenant recreation space.to give you a sense of the size, it is the same zoning as the building under construction on Bedford/N. 12th, along McCarren park, only the McGuiness site is half the block in depth, not the full block.
So there you go. Whether or not the previous is your cup of tea, gentle readers, you can view the presentation for this and most importantly of all ask questions soon!
Community Board 1 Land Use/Ulurp/Landmarks Joint Committee Meeting
September 5th, 2012 starting at 6:30 p.m.
203 Diamond Street
Brooklyn, New York 11222
UPDATE, 1:37 p.m.: I have been sent the questionnaire for this R7 request. Without further ado, here it is.
New York Shitty Day Starter: 400 McGuinness Is Open For Business
A person we’ll call “M” writes (via comments on this post):
its open now. boyfriend met a guy who showed him an ID, assured him that the shelter was for people who have jobs. he was rushing back to beat the 10pm curfew. saw him the next night, with another guy from the shelter, a little more drunk than the night before, but still personable. so, not sure about the september opening date, unless i slept through august (which i was trying to do).
After some (somewhat) polite nut-twisting (this) I got an answer from our City Councilman. Here it is:
So there have you. Thanks Mr. Levin.
UPDATE, August 15, 2012: It has been brought to my attention that a temporary Certificate of Occupancy was issued for this property in July.
Looks like someone dropped the ball.
NYS Flickr Pool
You must be logged in to post a comment.