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From The New York Shitty Inbox: A 239 Banker Street Update
An anonymous tipster writes:
UPDATE, 6:35 p.m.: I have been asked an interesting question by a reader. A person we’ll call ‘S” writes:
The complaint status says ‘resolved’. Does that just mean that a violation was issued?
Here’s the 411 from a person in the know:
Resolution of DOB complaints is either no action or a violation. They wrote a violation in 09 for occupancy contrary to CO (which has an unpaid 25K penalty). This is just a repeat violation for not curing the first one. Nothing will come of it as far as vacating the premises. Owner probably just ignores it. Looks like this owner is well seasoned in shady dealings: http://therealdeal.com/blog/2011/07/12/israel-perlmuter-known-as-sam-perl-and-menachem-stark-face-51m-in-property-suits-over-williamsburg-and-greenpoint-developments/
So there have you.
Reader Comment du Jour: An Agent Speaks About 239 Banker Street
CitySlicker24 writes in regards to this post:
I am a real estate salesperson and I just started working for a broker that’s representing the property owner, leasing out the building’s top three floors as residential units. I had not heard anything about this building being illegal until a couple of my prospective clients cancelled on me, citing your website.
A couple of things I wanted to raise with you: Oasisnyc.com shows that this is zoned as an office building, not as a manufacturing facility, as your article claims. Also, you fail to mention that the building was issued a certificate of occupancy in 1930, permitting up to 225 occupants on the upper three floors, though you do allude to the fact that NYC Department of Finance has this building classified as a hotel.
Furthermore, an application for legalization under the NYC loft law is pending, and indeed the building has undergone modernization, including new windows, floors, and fire sprinklers installed throughout each unit. I was in the units two days ago and saw that there have been significant projects intended to make the building appropriate for dwelling use.
Obvioulsy your efforts to keep everybody informed are laudable, and now that this story has been brought to my attention, I have the legal duty, which I will uphold, to advise my prospective tenant clients that the building is zoned as a commercial space, that the legal status of the building has yet to be determined, since the DOB has not yet resolved the active complaints, and that an application for coverage under the loft law is pending. And I will try to get the company’s listing agent to bring these issues up with the owner and the city in order to find out whether I should even be dealing with this property at all.
While I disagree with some of Cityslicker’s analysis, for example:
- the building in question is permissible as a hotel per the Department of Buildings because it is located in an Industrial Business Zone and
- of course there’s the fact this building is not legally allowable as residential property in the first place but is being represented as such
I’ll be very interested to see where this leads.
To be continued…?
New York Shitty Day Starter: 239 Banker Street, Continued
As yesterday’s “Day Ender” suggests there were clear signs of (yet more) activity at 239 Banker Street. More specifically: there were not one, not two, but THREE young men waiting to be shown apartments therein. I know this because I asked them. Not wishing to see these nice fellows ending up on the street like their predecessors, I gave them a warning— and my card. I asked them to tell me what they saw. Guess what? One did! Via comments in the previously-mentioned post:
I’m actually one of the young gentlemen photographed above, and I got the opportunity to view the apartments within this afternoon.
We specifically asked the realtor whether the building was residentially zoned and he lied to our faces. When we pointed to the fluttering pennants affixed to the light posts in front of the building which read “Greenpoint Industrial Zone”, he told us that they were old and that the zoning has been changed. There seemed to already be several units which were occupied on the third floor where the heating was on, but the second floor was freezing cold and seemed to be generally still under construction.
Fascinating!
New York Shitty Photo du Jour: 239 Banker Street
It would appear the mysterious resident (caretaker?) of 239 Banker Street has installed a second air conditioner.
Miss Heather
Spotted At 239 Banker Street: Signs Of Life
Despite its rather drab appearance Banker Street is proving to be rather lively of late. Yesterday I observed that 259 is in the process of being reverted (back) to an “eating and drinking establishment”. This is a development which undoubtedly bring its neighbors (especially those familiar with Studio B) much joy. Well folks, the fun doesn’t stop there! If the above footage (which was shot July 10th) is any indication, it would appear that someone has taken residence next door at 239 which, as some of you might recall, was vacated by the Department of Buildings almost two years ago for conditions imminently perilous to human life.
This is in and of itself quite interesting. It gets even more so when one considers:
1. A group of residents who were evacuated from this buildings have filed a class action suit to get their security deposits back.
2. The owner of this property (fairly) recently tried— and failed— to get it re-classified as residential.
To be continued…?
Miss Heather
Spotted At 239 Banker Street: Pure Love
Taken May 1, 2011.
Miss Heather
P.S.: On a related note I recently received an email which would suggest someone is living here. Anonymous writes:
I was past 239 Banker this morning when I saw one of the secondary doors (one of the ones between the main door and Meserole) open, and a gentleman walk out, carrying a plastic bag and wheeling a bicycle. When I walked by the door, I saw someone had taken that blue painter’s masking tape, and cut pieces to mark the door with a “239”…
If it was someone living there to make sure the place wasn’t vandalized, I could almost be sympathetic, but the number on the door makes me feel like something else is up.I called it in to 311 (who just hands it over to the 94th, and I will call the non-emergency number later myself), and asked them to transfer me to DOB to file that complaint as well. According to BIS, Full Vacate still exists on that property.
Some of you might recall this Vacate Order was served back in 2009. If not, this might refresh your memory. As far as I know none of the former tenants of this building have received their security deposits back.
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