Brooklyn, NY – Lander Maps Stalled Development Sites

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    stalled development site in Borough ParkBrooklyn, NY – The borough’s real-estate bust is now a booming Web site.

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    Councilman Brad Lander (D-Park Slope) unveiled a searchable online database called stalleddevelopment.com to show off all the vacant, stalled or abandoned development sites in his district, which sprawls from Borough Park to Cobble Hill.

    Lander said that he and other staffers traversed the district and photographed many of the half-done, quarter-done and completely un-done sites — a relic of the boom gone bust.

    “These developments cause real hazards for their neighbors — fences falling down on sidewalks, loose construction debris that can become deadly in high winds,” he said in a statement. “We need to get a better handle on these sites, and to take action to convert local blight into community benefit.”

    Each site on the map is labeled “existing building conversion with stop work orders,” “vacant buildings in derelict condition,” “demo/vacant development site” or “stalled site.”

    The last category is the biggest subset of busted properties. It includes such long-stalled sites as 340 Court St., the former longshoreman’s union health center that was torn down in 2008 by the Clarett Group, which had plans for a spiffy new seven-story condo. Lander’s Web site lays bare the pain: “Stalled,” it says.

    Another area of concern is Fourth Avenue, the once-booming new western edge of tony Park Slope. Lander’s site shows four residential towers that are similarly stopped dead.

    There are also several stalled projects on Caton Place in Kensington.

    Lander said he plans to develop legislation that would keep these sites “safe, address the hazards and nuisances to neighbors.”

    Such a bill could include a new surcharge on vacant properties that have a “severe blighting effect on their surroundings”; greater city’s power to force property owners to perform emergency repairs; and a resolution to encourage the state to change the law so that only “responsible, credible” bidders can make multiple purchases at foreclosure auctions.


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    11 Comments
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    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    MR LANDER, Whose fault is all of this?

    Maybe if it didnt take a month just to get a demolition permit things could have moved qiuicker. There is so much red tape in the city causing delays, slowdowns, etc.

    Remove red tape, and half these blights are gone

    heshy
    heshy
    14 years ago

    “new surcharge on vacant properties that have a “severe blighting effect on their surroundings”; greater city’s power to force property owners to perform emergency repairs;” Great! If the developers didn’t have enough problems paying the mortgage without any income, charging them more money will really help. What an imbecile! Thank You Dov for this typical liberal!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Yes, it is true especially for us high taxpayers!
    We too are working on getting permits to build for almost two years now.
    We want to do it the right way, yet we are being penalized. Each time the architect submits, there are new requirements. Yet, people who submitted after us are either building or already living in the new structure….and they got away with the so called requirments demanded of us. Yes, in the same type of zoning!
    Yes, there is alot of bribery and red tape which is against the Torah and we and B”H others will not do.
    As i say if we would dare do illegal things, Murprhy’s law would play against us and we would be caught!!

    Liepa
    Liepa
    14 years ago

    This supposed fix will result in worse problems then they now cause.

    Unemployed Computer Programmer:
    Unemployed Computer Programmer:
    14 years ago

    Dear Mr.Lander, If you want to help your constituents, please create jobs for the multitudes in your district who are jobless, bring in some dollars for help with tuition payments, help the elderly etc.etc. In these tough economic times there are unfortunately many incomplete construction development for many reasons either the banks reneged on financing or few if any pre-construction buyers etc. So please place your energy on real day to day issues and don’t look for miniscule ‘narishkeit’.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Mr. Lander, it seems you have no clue of today’s reality. I believe you’re better off remaining in your little hole from where you came from. You have no idea of what’s going on in the real world. 1- there does not exist a property under construction that did not receive a violation or stop work order for some idiotic reason. 2- every time you present a plan to the bldg. dept. and try to do things right, there will be a million objections until you get things right. 3- every job that you see stopped without exception, is as a result of unreasonable obstructions and delays by the the DOB or by a lender who has reneged on funding a project that was started with commited financing and due to delays of the DOB and ridiculous obstructions placed in the way of a developer or contractor from continuing the project.4- the economy???? Remember??? This city is notorious for imposing rediculous fines and penalties on non-real violations i.e. Having an expired fence permit, will set you back a cool $5,000.00 bucks. If your fence swings the wrong way another $5k. If a beam is not at the same inch as the plans call for $3,000.00, construction debris on the site $2500.00.
    Mr. Lander I don’t know if anything will ever become of you, and I sure hope you don’t get in, but by chance if you do, how about setting some normallcy in the bldg. dept? Or some legislation that will force the lenders to continue funding a project that was started and commited to. I guarantee you that there will be no stopped construction sites. No eyesores . And I guarantee you, that you have absolutely no construction knowledge. Instead of trying to gain brownie points on a developer that is having a hard enough time paying property taxes or supplier or trade, you’re trying to make their life even harder. I think you should be running on the “SADISTIC PARASITE” ticket, that’s probably the right party for you.
    Youre are out of touch with reality.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Reply to #11 . What exactly is this dumb behaima accomplishing. Posting pictures on a website? Technology? Showing how projects cant be completed in beurocratic NYC? Where a contractor or developer has a million obstacles put in their way that make housing and condo prices and construction costs higher than any other major city in the world? What a nut case. Let him go out and get a wheel alignment to get his head straightened out. How can you be proud of an idiot representing your interest???.