From The New York Shitty Inbox: Apartments For Rent At 239 Banker?

An anonymous tipster writes:

Hello Heather,

I’ve been apartment hunting in Greenpoint and responded to this Craigslist ad about a “newly converted warehouse”:

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/abo/2786376022.html

The agent set up a showing with me today, and told me to meet her at the corner of Meserole and Franklin. When I arrived, she was 10 minutes late, so I called her phone and she told me to come meet her outside of 239 Banker.

Well I know quite a bit about 239 Banker, thanks to your blog. And I couldn’t resist going in and having a look-see.

I asked the agent whether this is the same building where all the tenants were forced out because the building was unsafe/illegal. She tried dodging the question at first but eventually conceded that it was in fact the same building. I then asked her if the building was still owned by the same guy, and whether it was up to code/legal. She assured me it was and that he had fixed all of those issues.

She showed me a number of units on the 4th floor, all priced between $3000 for a moderately-sized studio loft up to $3300 for a larger loft, and apparently all prices are negotiable. In fact when I told her I’d looked at a different loft building on Kent (59 Kent), she pressed me for details on how much they were charging for units there.

I’d say the units seem semi-habitable. Some looked as though they’d recently been spruced up, most did not yet have any appliances, and the laundry rooms did not have any machines in them. One unit still had evidence of the old tenants- a makeshift lofted space still intact, and some artwork left sitting above the kitchen cabinets.

One unit I looked at literally had a hole in the brick wall about the size of a baseball that went straight through to the outdoors. I joked that perhaps there were squirrels living in the unit. The agent did not seem amused.

Many of the floors showed signs of water/environmental damage. They were uneven in many units, and peeling up in others. It’s actually quite sad, because the space could be very nice. The original details are great, and the square footage of the units are pretty well-sized.

Anyways, I thought I’d let you know because I’m VERY curious to know if 239 Banker is legally habitable. Regardless, I won’t be renting there given the history of the building.

To address Anonymous’s question, the answer is an emphatic NO.

239 Banker Street is located in an Industrial Business Zone. Curiously enough, hotels are permissible in such areas (take the proliferation of such establishments on the Northside, for example). Residential property, however, is not. The owners of 239 Banker Street could seek a zoning variance through our local Community Board to make this arrangement legal. (They haven’t.) They can also file paperwork with the Department of Buildings to “convert” this manufacturing property into residential. This they tried…

and it was declined. Inasmuch as I can ascertain work has been conducted on this property without the auspices of any applicable permits whatsoever. Peruse the permits on file and see for yourself. This just goes to show if something strikes you as being amiss about an apartment you are viewing, gentle readers, it is best to go with those instincts (and consult the Department of Buildings’s Building Information System).

Caveat emptor, apartment shoppers.

UPDATE, January 9, 2012: It would appear this tome has come to the attention of a former resident. Here’s what he/she has to say:

Hilarious! Those pictures (well, two of them) are of my former pad pre-vacate order.

Classy.

UPDATE, January 9, 2012; 5:40 p.m.: A tipster found these units listed on Street Easy.

He/she writes:

FYI

All units are up on street easy as available.  I started a discussion at the bottom.  Good looking out.

While this is clearly a listing from the previous owner, it is informative nonetheless. In 2009 these “units” went for $2,100 plus. Three years later you can have the luxury of living in this illegal apartment building at the starting price of $3,000 a month! Nice.

P.S.: In the event the above-mentioned apartment advertisement is removed by Craigslist, you can view a screencap of it by clicking here. Do give it a read. Your truly’s favorite passage is as follows:

Several units to choose from at this point! Some are complete 2 or 3 bedrooms while other are beautiful open spaces.

One has to admire this rather artful spin on an illegal (and unfinished) apartment building. And yes, there are plenty of units to choose from after a building has been, say, vacated by the Department of Buildings for conditions imminently perilous to human life. Genius!

From The New York Shitty Inbox: What’s Up At 259 Banker Street?

I have received a number of inquiries regarding this property. Follows are a few so you, gentle readers, can get the gist:

Hey Heather,

If you get a chance, take a look at the current partial stop work order on 259 Banker.  I was out of town, and am not sure entirely what happened but my upstairs neighbor has been on them like a rabid dog in the past couple of weeks.

She also told me they filed for, and were granted, a cabaret license for their “artist’s studio” but I didn’t have time to find any verification of that myself. She said she was able to find via the paper trail that they have spent over $200,000 on renovations that sound suspiciously like the renovations you’d make to a nightclub.

Maybe the artist living there is only doing so temporarily and was actually planning all along to make it back into a (legal) club? It sounds very, very familiar to me, although this time, they might actually have all the permits in place….

…a stop work order has been issued on this property but there are still doing work I believe they are making this a club again it is zoned industrial only no living

…Just some info a stop work order was issued at this same address recently yet work continues with no care for neighbors in the area or there safety.  This is a indutrial zone area we do not want another studio b it seems thats what is going to happen here

Here’s the deal…

Inasmuch as I can ascertain 259 Banker Street has been issued two permits. One is for a curb cut (Yes, this exciting stuff!). The other, as seen above, is for changing the occupancy of the second floor to an “eating and drinking establishment” and joining it with the first floor. To my knowledge neither a liquor license nor a cabaret license has been applied for. NOTE: both of the previous have to undergo a hearing via the Public Safety Committee of our local community board. Thus far I have seen no mention of 259 Banker Street on their agenda (which can be found online at Community Board 1’s web site). This does not mean the owner of this property does not plan to convert this space into some facsimile of its predecessor, Studio B, it simply means either he/she has not filed the paperwork yet or it has not matriculated through the system. The previous having been written, if/when I see this property on their docket I will post all the details on this site. As for the Stop Work Order…

Make that Partial Stop Work Order.

This was issued for debris falling into an adjacent property. As you can see this has been partially rescinded so the construction company can (ostensibly) erect some kind of scaffolding/protection for its afflicted neighbor. This may or may not be happening because…

another complaint has been filed for ongoing construction despite a Stop Work Order. As you can see, no construction activity was noted.

This is all I know (and probably can be known) at this time. For the time being here’s my advice for the folks who have contacted me (or anyone in a similar such situation):

1. Email ALL complaints to our/your local community board. Be sure to include any all complaint numbers and general description of what happened/is happening. The email address for Community Board 1 is: bk01@cb.nyc.gov
2. Watch the agendas for the Public Safety Committee. Any and all liquor license and cabaret license applications (the latter, I will note, are very rare) will find their way there before being issued.

I hope this has been helpful— or at least informative!

UPDATE, August 18, 2011: I have been contacted by the person residing at 259 Banker! We are in going to meet next week so he can tell me what’s going on!

Miss Heather