8 Comments on Word Of The Day: Craftsmanship

d on Fri, 28th Nov 2008 2:24 pm


I met someone recently who owns a bit of property, some here in Brooklyn, and he was just talking about how low the quality of new condo developments is. Not that it isn’t obvious, but your examples are especially astounding.

walrustaco on Fri, 28th Nov 2008 5:37 pm


The new, sprawling condo that was three+ years in the making has just finished across from me on Eagle Street. Aside from being designed terribly (modern what?) and being three stories taller than anything else on the street, I noticed that they finished the inside of the building BEFORE actually installing the windows. And I don’t know how they received a certificate of occupancy when there weren’t railings on the balconies and there were bare wires hanging down when people were moving in.

superclam on Fri, 28th Nov 2008 8:41 pm


To be fair, the exposed concrete block looks well pointed & it IS a work in progress, so what you see isn’t that uncommon. A sloppy work site, no doubt. At least they have waterproofing around the windows. It is an ugly behemoth of a building. I really hate that metal “vinyl siding” look; I saw it on that building in LIC just over the bridge.
But yes, many of the new buildings are built really poorly, and Owners often don’t find out until the first winter, when they have drafts throughout, their walls leak, and/or their pipes freeze because they weren’t insulated properly.

missheather on Fri, 28th Nov 2008 9:06 pm


superclam: I was eagerly awaiting your analysis! You wrote:

To be fair, the exposed concrete block looks well pointed & it IS a work in progress, so what you see isn’t that uncommon.

Go over to where the entrance to the garage is at dusk or after dark. I shit you not you can see light from the garage peeking through the masonry. Naturally I intend to get photograph of this. Eventually.

You wrote: I really hate that metal “vinyl siding” look; I saw it on that building in LIC just over the bridge.

It should be noted that the wind recently tore this siding off. One would think (hope?) that the brain trust behind this project would have noted:

1. This development is (more or less) one block away from the waterfront
2. Green Street runs almost perfectly east to west (or west to east, take you pick).

Simply put this block (and its brothers and sisters in “alphabet row”) gets/get A LOT of wind. Especially during the winter. I am certain this time next year will hold a host of surprises for the folks who move into this building. And they will not be of the shiny happy variety.

superclam on Fri, 28th Nov 2008 9:26 pm


Ha! I’m happy to be your crappy construction consultant. Your hunches are correct, while you should be able to see through glass, masonry should be pretty damn opaque. I’ll try to get a better look this weekend. When I see this building, my thoughts are usually “who the f**k is going to spend this amount of money to live here?” Granted they started before the economy fell, but is there that much of a market for $500k and up (likely way up) luxury condos in North Greenpoint? Not the Greenpoint near the park, or LIC near the 7, but closer to the Greenpoint Hotel?
Anyway, while I was trying to look on the bright side (at least it’s block and not styrofoam on sheetrock); the wealthy future residents of this gem will likely be facing some problems in the future.
BTW, these cases usually end up in a lawsuit with the Owner’s association suing the developer. The Owner’s get back a fraction on their dollar to make repairs and the developer gets away with it, which is why this keeps happening. There’s just no incentive for builders to spend the money to do it right. I’m hoping that may be the bright spot in this economic meltdown; people may stop buying expensive crap. But I doubt it.

AMOJA on Sat, 29th Nov 2008 1:17 am


I have the same question! Regardless of the economy, who is going to drop that kind of cash for a place in Greenpoint? It’s not THAT accessible to anything that someone with that kind of money would want access to. And the excessive “perks” are just ridiculous for the neighborhood. Miss Heather, please interview the first person you see move into this building. I have to know what went through their minds when they deciding this was the place to invest their money.

I don’t walk past the Viridian monstrosity everyday, but I do the LHaus (that green and now blue-grey (why?) shitstorm in LIC) and it’s construction is equally terrible. That siding is truly lipstick on a pig, except it’s apparently lipstick that comes off easily.

missheather on Sat, 29th Nov 2008 1:38 am


LHaus *shudder*

superclam on Sat, 29th Nov 2008 8:41 am


Is the LHaus the new building just at the base of the Pulaski Bridge to the right side going into Queens? I saw its progress on Thursday, they finally put the exterior finish on. This is a new trend for me; this horizontal “shingle style” metal siding. Yeesh. Making an urban building look like a modern Long Island suburban house, so people moving into “the city” don’t miss their childhood homes?

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