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BREAKING: 1043 & 1047 Manhattan Avenue Cordoned Off By Police
After receiving a partial vacate order last September 1043 Manhattan Avenue is continuing to lose its battle with gravity. For those of you who are not in the know the reason this building was deemed hazardous was in part due to structural instability arising from the (illegal) removal of a first floor wall between 1043 and its neighbor, 1047. A violation, I will add, that the Department of Buildings is well aware of; it was dismissed once last year only to become “pending” once again this year. Per a witness at the scene he walked by this building at noon today to find bricks had fallen from the building and landed on the sidewalk. Fortunately no one was in the path of this falling masonry— but that is immaterial— if also very fortuitous, given this came to pass on a Saturday afternoon. This debris could have seriously injured or killed someone.
If you live in Greenpoint I want you to look very carefully at the above photograph. This is what could have landed on your head had you been the wrong person at the wrong place at the wrong time. If this isn’t proof positive that whatever “enforcement” power the Department of Buildings is exercising is not working I do not know what will. Something needs to change.
Or will we have to wait until a(nother) person dies?
Miss Heather
UPDATE, 3:30 p.m.: The tape has been taken down.
More vacate orders and paperwork have been issued.
Life is back to normal at 1043 – 1047 Manhattan Avenue.
My advice to pedestrians:
walk on the other side of the street.
Comments
6 Comments on BREAKING: 1043 & 1047 Manhattan Avenue Cordoned Off By Police
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rutila on
Sat, 9th May 2009 1:05 pm
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missheather on
Sat, 9th May 2009 1:12 pm
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bleibtreu on
Sat, 9th May 2009 1:42 pm
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Duke87 on
Sat, 9th May 2009 3:48 pm
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mbrooklyn on
Sun, 10th May 2009 9:14 am
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NattyonEagle on
Tue, 12th May 2009 11:42 am
I’ve been distracted by that crack you photographed for years as a B61 passenger. Let’s hope this hazard is taken care of quickly and safely — and not treated as an invitation for more “development.”
I wouldn’t hold my breath. The owner of this property has tried to sell it in the past (obviously w/o success). 1047 & 1043 are worth more $$$ w/o those apartment buildings on them than with them.
I wonder where the rats will go if the building comes down. Seriously, I’ve seen four or five of them at a time running back and forth between the building and the garbage at the curb. A week ago a guy was walking his dog down the sidewalk and it suddenly grabbed a rat. The guy got it out of the dog’s mouth, and stomped it on the ground.
That building’s simply going to have to be demolished. If it doesn’t collapse on its own first (Hey, it already happened in Tribeca).
Which is a shame, because it’s guaranteed that whatever replaces it won’t look as good as a nice old brick building. Although with the current state of affairs it’ll likely be an empty lot for a few years…
The construction site several doors down was the scene of something similar 8 or 9 years ago, when the cornice fell off the building and did kill someone. they demoed that building and its been a hole ever since.
Thank you so much for this post Miss Heather! I walk past this spot everyday. I have now been crossing the road to avoid it.
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and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
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