200 Smith Street In October 2010
Gone by November 14th 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Local residents were more than a bit surprised back in mid-November, when the three-story structure at 200 Smith Street/325 Baltic Street that once housed Jessie's Brooklyn Kitchen was entirely demolished. From start to finish, the demolition only took a few days, especially since construction crews worked late into the evening and threw the debris right into a waiting dump truck that carted everything away immediately.
No wonder crews worked so quickly: it turns out that the demolition of the building was illegal.
The NYC Department Of Buildings had only issued permits for a "proposed horizontal enlargement of the 3rd floor", not a complete demo. After several 311 calls were made by local residents, the agency issued a complete stop-work order on December 6th. The violation reads:
"Existing three-story building approx. 23'x30' has been demolished to grade level without required permit. Stop work order issued pursuant to 28-2072 and posted at site."
Of course, the former building at the site, with its vinyl windows and red siding, had lost its dignity long ago. However, one can only imagine what will be built in its place. Stay tuned.
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4 comments:
SWO is too little, too late. The building is gone and will never come back. Maybe they get a fine, then they go ahead and build whatever they wanted to in the first place. The city is not serious in enforcing its own rules. What a farce.
If you look on the wall of the building to the right, you can make out the outline of what used to be a smaller building, more of a house, with a pitched roof. I wonder if that building was added onto to create what was torn down, or was it an even earlier occupant of the lot?
What exactly is the farce? They tore down a building, they'll build a new one. They tried to get away with just an ALT-1, they got caught. And??????
The farce is that the stop-work order is a gate closed after the sheep escaped.
Buildings dating from the early 1900s (lost dignity aside) are not a renewable resource. They have intrinsic value and are not interchangeable with a new building. Of course they will build a new one, and it will be more or less what they wanted in the first place. Meanwhile those of us who care about history and the fabric of the neighborhood have suffered a loss which is not replaceable. The rules which are supposed to protect in such a case become meaningless.
I think such an egregious violation should not be rewarded by allowing them to build anything! Or that the fine paid should be to CORD instead of the DOB.
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