From The New York Shitty Inbox, Part III: Gratitude

March 26, 2012 ·
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic

A personal we’ll call “D” writes:

Hi Miss Heather,

Thanks to your coverage I was able to avoid renting at 239 Banker. I was very close to moving in when I saw your posts. So after some savvy DOB research and a couple calls I decided it was not worth it. These folks are shady! Here are some bullet points as to why.

1. On the phone they had me meet at another location instead of giving the address. None of the advertisements for this place show the address anymore. Because it’s not a legal building.

2. They are advertising 2-3 bedrooms but even if the building were legal the spaces cannot be legally be divided up to be more than 1 bedroom without a window in each.

3. They say they will build out the space for move in, but there is no toilet, no heat, no stove, no appliances, the windows are unsealed, the doors don’t have locks, floors unfinished. Getting all that work done in a couple weeks is doubtful. Finishing floors alone can take a week with all the fumes and dust.

4. The place is full of unfinished apartments. Who wants to live in a construction zone? Not me.

Don’t get me wrong. We all know folks who inhabit work lofts with a wink-wink nudge-nudge agreement. And I’m okay with that. But this is masquerading as an apartment conversion and charging near market rates. I don’t want these people to end up on the street all over again!

Take care

Thanks for the kind words, D! On a lark I headed over to Craigslist (which is apparently where a number of advertisements for this space are to be found) to see what’s shaking. Follows is one I found:

As you can see this place is apparently for rent by owner. Fascinating. Those of you who desire to do so can view this advertisement by clicking here.

Posted by missheather 12 Comments

New York Shitty Day Ender: What A Difference A Stop Work Order Makes!

August 26, 2009 ·
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic

foodiej81 writes (in regards to this post):

This weekend as we were walking by 239 Banker my partner and I noticed that the door was unlocked so we decided to take a stroll through our new neighborhood “hotel”. Well there are definitely people living there, there is mail being delivered and I saw a man taking his dog out for a walk. The “apartments” are still under construction though. We have an acquaintance that put money down on an apartment but is now waiting for a refund because they were told the place will not be ready for another month. Word is they are renovating one dwelling at a time because they have run out of money and won’t be able to finish the project till 70% are rented.
I also saw two men waiting outside the building at around 730 on Monday night; two traditionally dressed Jewish men pulled up in a minivan and met them to show an apartment. I don’t know if anyone has been there recently but the message on the door is asking for “max” to get them a real front door…

Regardless I called 311 yesterday and sent in 3 anonymous complaints regarding the building at 239 Banker. It’s a ridiculous project and I wish the DOB would be more proactive in following up on the stop work order.

He (or she) is not the only who feels this way. Follows are a few photographs I received just this evening (in an email entitled “Stop Work Order In Action!) from an anonymous tipster which show just how seriously Max and his funky bunch are taking their recent visit by the Department of Buildings (and the $5,000 fine they were issued as a result).