A freshman Brooklyn councilman today said he has set up an interactive map of vacant, stalled or abandoned development sites in his council district (Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, and Kensington).
Councilman Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn) in a press release said the map is available online at www.stalleddevelopment.com and is asking residents to track the status of the sites.
The website currently list 39 sites that filed for construction or demolition permits and then halted work before completion. Seventeen of these buildings have been classified as “stalled” by the city Department of Buildings. Dozens of district residents contributed tips about buildings and relied on DOB records from 311 complaints to create the exhaustive list.
“We need to make these sites into assets for the community,” said Lander. “These developments cause real hazards for their neighbors—fences falling down on sidewalks, loose construction debris that can become deadly in high winds and unsecured sites that are dangerous for children and an invitation to squatting. We need to get a better handle on these sites, and to take action to convert local blight into community benefit.”
The sites in question are a range of half-built structures, abandoned foundations and vacant lots surrounded by plywood fencing. Eleven currently have a stop-work order from the DOB.
Lander said he’s drafting legislation to keep vacant and construction sites safe, address the hazards and nuisances to neighbors, and put them on a path to productive uses that are a benefit to community residents. His proposal calls for:
* Imposing a surcharge on vacant properties (including stalled development sites) that have a severe blighting effect on their surroundings.
* Strengthening the city’s ability to compel property owners to perform emergency repairs, complete them when the property owner is unable to, and to convert the cost of repairs into liens that are more easily foreclosable.
* Discouraging speculation on troubled apartment buildings by changing state law to limit foreclosure auctions of multiple dwellings to responsible, credible bidders.
One site in Kensington, 23 Caton Place, has been a persistent problem in a low-rise, residential area, the councilman said.
The building was planned to be a 102-unit, 7-story condominium, but construction halted in 2008, leaving only the steel and concrete frame of the building.
The building has been foreclosed upon, the equity investors declared bankruptcy, and the bank that made the mortgage loan has been dissolved.
The senior lien on the building was purchased by Starwood Capital Group, a private investment firm. Starwood has taken some action to secure the site, but has not yet indicated their future plans.
“Thanks to local activism, the 23 Caton site is cleaner and safer, but it is still not an asset to the community,” said Mandy Harris, founder of the Stable Brooklyn, the local neighborhood association. “We need Starwood Capital to work with us to figure out how to complete the building in such a way that it will be a welcome addition to our neighborhood. We hope that this new initiative by Councilmember Lander will help us get there.”
Other sites of issue include:
* 333 Carroll Street has a steel structure on top of the existing manufacturing building but no valid building permits. The addition is out-of-compliance with the new Carroll Gardens Contextual Rezoning, which went into effect in 2009.
* Two vacant, half-excavated sites at the corner of 6th Street at 4th Avenue – with construction fences taking up large portions of the block and pools of standing water – have made a moonscape out of a residential block.
