Bronx Or Brooklyn?

The one thing even I have to laud Mr. Heather for is patience. Rarely does an afternoon out go by when I don’t feel compelled to stop and expound upon one newly discovered piece of mediocre —if not downright hideous— architecture or another. This weekend’s nugget of fun was found after having dinner on Union Street in Carroll Gardens.

This stunning piece of Friedrichtecture hails from Columbia Street.

Note the outstanding craftsmanship.

Wishing to learn the address for this magnificent edifice, I perused the permits posted on the premises.

According to the Department of Transportation, the address for this building is 169 Columbia Street.

According to the contractor and/or the Department of Buildings, this building resides at 737 222 Street, Bronx. Don’t take my word for it, click on the above image and read the permits for yourself.

When I got home I immediately set about trying to get to the bottom of this inter-borough mystery. Not surprisingly, I came away with more questions than answers.

1. There are permits issued for a new building at 737 222 Street.
2. There are valid permits issued for 169 Columbia Street as well. They are as follows:

1. Two of them pertain to installing a sprinkler system.
2. Two of them sanction installing a sidewalk shed and scaffolding.
3. One is for a new building. It expires next month.

As the photograph gracing the beginning of this post shows, there is no scaffolding or sidewalk shed to be found at 737 222 Street 169 Columbia Street. I was also unable to determine why permits for a building in the Bronx grace the front of this building (which is unequivocally located in the borough of Kings). Was this a colossal bureaucratic mix-up or a deliberate act of deception?

I’ll let you, dear readers, make the call.

Miss Heather