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

The Word On The Street: Green Point Beach

March 24, 2012 ·
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, The Word On The Street

This rather amusing bit of vandalism hails from 239 Banker Street; AKA: the ~~Sweater~~ Factory Lofts. And if what I saw this afternoon is any indication this building is— beyond any shadow of a doubt— being quite illegally pressed into service as residential space. Let’s review my findings, shall we?

For starters, you have a very residential throw pillow propping open a window and this rather stylish lamp. Not convinced yet? No worries, gentle readers. I am just getting warmed up.

There were not one— but two people— waiting to view apartments therein. Naturally I took it upon myself to give them a very general run-down of the history of this building. E.g.: it was not legally permissible to reside at 239 Banker Street (by virtue of it being located in an Industrial Business Zone); it had been pressed into service as residential space previously; and this ended with a Vacate Order as issued by the Department of Buildings— and a class action suit filed by a number of tenants (who are, to my understanding, still waiting to get their deposit money back). Were they happy to hear this? No, they were not.

Just as I was not happy to watch this couple (tenants, presumably) exiting said building…

and this family moving their son into it. Naturally I took a moment to speak with them. They, as did everyone else I chatted with on Banker Street this afternoon, had a number of questions for me. Follows are a few:

Our lawyer saw nothing wrong with the paperwork, so what makes you think this building is illegal to live in? My answer: check my site.
If this building is illegal to live in, why are they leasing it as residential space? My answer: Excellent question. (But if I had to hazard to guess, I’d say greed.)
If the Department of Buildings has been alerted that this space is being illegally leased as residential space, why aren’t they doing anything about it? My answer (once again): Excellent question…