Greenpoint
Cafe Cito Bogota
Quicklink: Who’s Behind The Blight?
Those of you who have been following this site of late have undoubtedly noticed yours truly’s renewed interest in 239 Banker Street. After seemingly no activity whatsoever for about a year since being vacated by the Department of Buildings it appears to have a resident. For those of you who are wondering, this is not only dangerous but it is also quite illegal.
Needless to say when this was brought to my attention by my buddy over at Brooklyn11211 I found it quite informative. Want to know who is behind a number of derelict construction sites and nondos hereabouts (including 239 Banker Street), gentle readers? Look no further: The Real Deal has the answer! Do take a moment to give this read.
Miss Heather
Spotted At 239 Banker Street: Signs Of Life
Despite its rather drab appearance Banker Street is proving to be rather lively of late. Yesterday I observed that 259 is in the process of being reverted (back) to an “eating and drinking establishment”. This is a development which undoubtedly bring its neighbors (especially those familiar with Studio B) much joy. Well folks, the fun doesn’t stop there! If the above footage (which was shot July 10th) is any indication, it would appear that someone has taken residence next door at 239 which, as some of you might recall, was vacated by the Department of Buildings almost two years ago for conditions imminently perilous to human life.
This is in and of itself quite interesting. It gets even more so when one considers:
1. A group of residents who were evacuated from this buildings have filed a class action suit to get their security deposits back.
2. The owner of this property (fairly) recently tried— and failed— to get it re-classified as residential.
To be continued…?
Miss Heather
Spotted At 239 Banker Street: Pure Love
Taken May 1, 2011.
Miss Heather
P.S.: On a related note I recently received an email which would suggest someone is living here. Anonymous writes:
I was past 239 Banker this morning when I saw one of the secondary doors (one of the ones between the main door and Meserole) open, and a gentleman walk out, carrying a plastic bag and wheeling a bicycle. When I walked by the door, I saw someone had taken that blue painter’s masking tape, and cut pieces to mark the door with a “239″…
If it was someone living there to make sure the place wasn’t vandalized, I could almost be sympathetic, but the number on the door makes me feel like something else is up.I called it in to 311 (who just hands it over to the 94th, and I will call the non-emergency number later myself), and asked them to transfer me to DOB to file that complaint as well. According to BIS, Full Vacate still exists on that property.
Some of you might recall this Vacate Order was served back in 2009. If not, this might refresh your memory. As far as I know none of the former tenants of this building have received their security deposits back.
Greenpoint Street Seating du Jour: Buckle Up!
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Street Furniture
From Banker Street.
Miss Heather
New York Shitty Day Ender: From Banker Street With Love
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Street Art
Taken February 20, 2011.
Miss Heather
From The New York Shitty Inbox, Part II: Signs of Life at The Sweater Factory Lofts?
The tipster who took the above photograph writes:
Open? Vacate notices removed and door propped open. There’s even someone shoveling sidewalk out front.
New York Shitty “glass half full” analysis:
At least they are cleaning the sidewalk.
New York Shitty “glass half empty” analysis:
There is still a Vacate Order on this property.
Miss Heather
New York Shitty Day Ender: Oh Sh*t!
From the Sweater Factory Lofts.
Miss Heather
From The New York Shitty Inbox, Part I: A Question About 467 Troutman
J writes:
Miss Heather:
I’m apologize in advance if I am wasting your time, but you seem like you might be able to shed some light on a certain amount of confusion I have around 467 Troutman.
I’m looking to move into a 3 BR loft in the area and have been shown several decent options. We were recently shown a space in 467 Troutman – I went in with very low expectations resulting from some internet research and a landlord/manager that I (think) I respect telling me the following:
Eeks! 467 troutman st has no certificate of occupancy, same landlord as 260 Moore street + 315 siegel .I don’t recommend living in that particular landlords buildings-besides the dept of building violations the buildings has bedbug issues and shanty build out of the building…Anyway, the space I saw was the nicest I’ve seen so far – kitchen/bathroom seemed relatively new and clean, the hallways clean, the buildout seemed better than most I’ve seen, etc…. the overall vibe seemed good – and the the tenant who currently occupies the space told us she’d been there 4 years and had nothing negative to say about the landlord.
Do you know of any good reason to not live there? My feeling is that the building had issues in the past but things are better now… Am I missing something? It seems like Max Starck and 467 Troutman come up often enough on your website in a negative light… so I thought I’d ask you for your opinion.
Thanks so much for any info you might be able to provide, and thanks for doing what you do. It’s an invaluable resource.
Aside from having walked by 467 Troutman (and knowing that Max Starck) is its owner I know very little about this building. For this reason I am putting your inquiry to my readers, J. This having been written I am familiar with a number of Mr. Starck’s other buildings. For the purposes of this post I am going to narrow my focus to two: the Sweater Factory Lofts and the Greenpoint Hotel. Both are located in Greenpoint.
As you have probably learned by perusing my site, the Sweater Factory Lofts were vacated by the Department of Buildings last year for harboring conditions dangerous to human life. Among the violations cited were uncapped electrical wires and sprinklers being sealed over with sheet rock. A rather appalling fire safety hazard if you ask me. It should also be noted that the space in question (239 Banker Street) was zoned to be a hotel but Mr. Starck and his partner were marketing it as residential property. This may seem trivial but the fact of the matter is there are different safety requirements for transient and residential properties. See where I am going with this?
Now let’s consider the Greenpoint Hotel for a moment. Until fairly recently it was owned by Mr. Starck. The new owner (whom I have met and it should be noted acquired this property at a public auction— it was seized) is spending a lot of money to get this facility back to code. Among the violations being corrected are a sagging wall, an inoperative bathroom and, drum roll please, repairing a number of inoperative sprinkler heads.
These are but two examples be they are enough to establish a pattern of neglect and general disregard for tenant safety. I have little doubt if you were to search his other properties (like 315 Seigel Street, for example) you will find similar such stuff. While I applaud your due diligence for talking to a tenant of 467 Troutman Street I have to go with the landlord/manager on this one: keep away from anything this chap owns.
This having been written does anyone— preferably tenants of Mr. Starck’s properties— have any advice for J? If so please leave them in the comments or email them to me at: missheather (at) thatgreenpointblog (dot) com. All tips/anecdotes will be kept anonymous if you so desire.
Thanks!
Miss Heather
New York Shitty Day Ender: Turn Out The Lights
Filed under: 11222, Bloomblight, Culture War, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic
(Or, 239 Banker Street Revisited)
Today on a lark I decided to swing by 239 Banker Street (formerly known as the Sweater Factory Lofts) to see what’s shaking. I was not disappointed.
After I shot the above photograph a gaggle of hipsters took notice and stopped. One of them (who I would presume to be their leader) initiated contact:
I’m guessing you broke that glass because the landlord ripped you off?
I turned around, pointed to the plywood gracing the entrance and replied:
Like I would live in a place like this? I don’t think so.
There was a pregnant pause and then my new friend told me about how the former tenants of this building were ordered out of the building, screwed out of their security deposits and so on and so forth. Although I know of all of this already I listened attentively as he gave me the whole run-down. After he concluded his speech out rolled the corker: he was one of the tenants vacated from this building! There is undoubtedly a life lesson to be had here, dear readers. I will leave it to you to ascertain what it is. But I digress.
When this gent finished his tale of woe I brought it to his attention that he and his neighbors were not the only people Max and his funky bunch owe money to:
(Insert punchline here.)
Miss Heather
P.S.: In (somewhat) related news it would appear that someone has egged the entrance to the Pencil Factory Lofts.
New York Shitty Day Ender: 239 Banker Street
Taken March 6, 2010.
Miss Heather
NYS Flickr Pool
