The Future is Grand
Keeping Community Character in Williamsburg
By Marc Amigone
"While we're sitting here they're out pouring concrete." Those are the words of Tom Burrows, a deeply concerned Williamsburg resident whose sentiments echo those of the community.
Tom's words echoed the consensus at the January Community Board 1 public hearing, where the primary topic of discussion was the rezoning of thirteen blocks of Grand St. in Williamsburg.
The resolution in front of the board for review is a proposal by the Department of City Planning to rezone thirteen blocks of Grand St. bounded by Berry, North 3rd St., Fillmore Pl., Hope St., Marcy Ave. and South 1st St., from R6, with C1-3, C1-4, C2-3, and C2-4 commercial overlays, to R6B (see sidebar for explanation) for all blocks along Grand St. and north of Metropolitan Ave., and R6A for the entire block bounded by Berry St., Metropolitan Ave., Bedford Ave., and North 1st Street. In other words, the city would be imposing height limits to protect against real estate developers erecting tall apartment buildings that would ruin the character and consistency of the neighborhood.
The meeting room of the Swinging 60s Senior Citizens Center was packed with Hasidic Jews, hipsters, activists, angry citizens, rabbis, priests, students, lawyers, and journalists. Board members and bystanders alike, over a hundred people filled the room to capacity. There was a solidified consensus of outrage and resolve as community members took the microphone one after the other to voice their concern for the future of their neighborhood. The angry citizens weren't opposed to the passing of the resolution. They were angry it was so limited.
Williamsburg is, and has been, one of the most sought-after areas in the city for developers and builders. Last year alone in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, nearly 1,400 permits for new buildings, alterations, and demolitions were issued, a 46% increase from 2002. The increase in development has coincided with a steady increase in construction-related complaints: 784 emergency 911 calls involving mishaps in Greenpoint and Williamsburg were logged last year - a 300% jump from 2003. Calls to the city's 311 hotline more than tripled as well, with 1,662 construction complaints recorded last year, up from just 487 in 2003.
Nancy Wechter, a long time resident of Williamsburg, is concerned for the future of her community and is encouraged by the action being taken. "I'm very disgusted with the changes that are going on in the neighborhood. The whole fabric of life is being ripped apart. I applaud city planning for doing the right thing, and I feel that as a community, and a community board, seeing this small change go through quickly is one of the only things we can do to restore any quality of life in the neighborhood." Wechter is fed up, and the cheers her words garnered from those in attendance let her know she wasn't alone, "I'm just tired of things being done for the benefit of one or two developers at the expense of the entire community."
Elizabeth Hynes, a representative of Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who represents Bushwick and Williamsburg, spoke on his behalf, "We would like to applaud the Department of City Planning and Community Board 1 on their effort in putting forward this proposal. We feel this goes a long way towards addressing the issues and concerns the residents of the neighborhood have about height density and a design concept; however the resolution doesn't go far enough. For the rezoning to stop just north of Grand St. presents a problem for us. We feel south of Grand St. would like height restrictions and be a good fit for contextual zoning as well. We look forward to working with the Department of City Planning and Community Board 1 on expanding this proposal and having a healthy dialogue moving forward."
Several other community members spoke at the meeting all delivering the same message, "This is not what we want for our neighborhood."
Ken Fisher, an attorney with Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP representing a real estate developer in the area, was the only one to voice opposition to the rezoning. Fisher represents principal Michael Lichtenstein, and points out that the developer's current plan “only calls for 40 units.”
“I think my basic point was that the rezoning only addresses the height issue and not the need for affordable housing or environmentally sound design,” Fisher wrote in an email following the CB1 meeting. “For example, the zoning requires parking in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood. In other words, it's usually not a good idea to do down zoning around one or two buildings in isolation.”
Community members are concerned the time needed to complete the review process will allow developers more than ample time to circumvent the zoning changes-and rightfully so. The rezoning legislation is in the midst of a five-step public review process. After the Community Board 1 review is over, there are 30 days of Brooklyn Borough President Review, 60 days of City Planning Commission Review, and 50 days of City Council Review. If developers can get a shovel in the ground and make enough progress in their project before the new rezoning laws are enacted, they will not be subject to the changes-a practice that leads to a lot of rushed construction and shoddy planning.
Already, neighborhoods like Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant are being increasingly populated with young artists, students, and other recent transplants due to climbing rent in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. While moving further out along the L-train may be fine for artists and students, long-term residents of Williamsburg like Nancy Wechter, Tom Burrows, Laura Newman, and all the other angry community members who raised their concern at the CB1 meeting are looking to save their neighborhood while they still have the chance.
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The 475 Kent Avenue Housing Crisis
From 'The Kibbutz' to The Sex Hotel
By Adam Klasfeld
First, the FDNY and Buildings Department unexpectedly locked Rob Swainston out of his loft on one of the coldest nights of this winter. Then, the American Red Cross gave him a two-day voucher to stay at a motel known for prostitution and drug deals. Now, he’s being kicked out of even those accommodations, and he can’t get into his home-office to work at his print-making company, S11 Press. Homeless and unemployed, he can’t get anyone to answer why he’s been evicted from the building located at 475 Kent Avenue and what he should do next.
As reported in the New York Times, Swainston is one of the estimated 200 people who live and work in “the kibbutz,” the affectionate name residents give for the converted Williamsburg pasta factory populated with respected artists, photographers, journalists, and writers. The DOB, however, calls it a commercial space with a long list of code violations, an unauthorized Hasidic school, and a matzo factory in the basement with grain silos – a potential fire hazard.
“The Fire Department has inspected the building numerous times, and they’ve seen the matzo and the basement,” claims Swainston. “I think those fire inspection reports are available, but that’s a question for our lawyers.”
In preparing for a possible lawsuit, the tenants are challenging their eviction in front of the press and their legal counsel. Betsy Kelleher told Block Magazine that the lockout happened just weeks before the courts would have decided on her application for rent-stabilization (the Times misquoted her as saying she applied for “rent control”).
The Paper of Record also reported that the building is zoned for commercial use only, but Kelleher's lawyer asserts that the New York City Planning Commission’s Zoning Map places it in a residential area.
What this means will probably unfold in the courts: an impending showdown between the tenants versus landlord Nachman Brach, owner Sheila Properties, Inc., and New York City’s housing bureaucracy.
In trailing this developing confrontation, most news outlets have not noticed that temporary housing assistance has run out, and many tenants may not have alternatives.
An American Red Cross spokeswoman estimated that a total of eight families accepted temporary assistance, but would not reveal any information about the accommodations “for privacy reasons.” Swainston says that it consisted of a brief stay at a potentially dingy hotel and $50 for food relief.
He was sent to the Golden Gate Motor Inn in Sheepshead Bay, which ranked 7th on College Callgirl’s Guide to Sex Hotels (published by Gridskipper.com). According to the spokes-madam’s review, “it smells, it's dirty, it… might have roaches. The walls are thin, and you can hear hookers honing their craft as well as witness drug deals in the lobby. But you're only gonna be there for an hour or two, right?”
Although Swainston didn’t report any illicit activity at the motel, he described it as “pretty grungy.” Nonetheless, he still wanted to extend his stay because he had no place else to go. His request was denied.
If the evacuated tenants need more housing assistance, he says, they have to prove to the Human Resource Administration that they have a low enough income to receive help, and even then the application process is filled with red tape.
“They said, ‘We’ll mail you a response,’ and I said that I didn’t have a mailing address anymore,” Swainston recalls.
His wife is currently studying at graduate school in Philadelphia, and he has the option to sleep on friend’s couches. However, he knows other tenants that have been forced to move with families into motels, although one friend he mentioned was sent to a place with a better reputation.
"Lee Boroson stayed in the Days Inn," Swainston says. "His wife and his kid had a place to stay upstate." While Boroson's one-year-old son won't be missing school, at least, Swainston said, "I know there are kids that are school age there."
The American Red Cross did not reply to follow-up calls to confirm whether the two-day stay at a randomly selected motel was the standard practice following an eviction.
Meanwhile, the temporary assistance has expired, and the eight families who accepted the aid have to fend for themselves unless they qualify for further help - and even then, only when they manage through another bureaucracy.
