Tuesday, May 03, 2011

More Indignity For Brownstone At 132 2nd Place

oo
132 Second Place in 2008
132 Second Place back in 2008


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In late March 2011, after the stoop was removed

And now...
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Granted, the old brownstone at 132 Second Place was never one of Carroll Gardens' grandest homes. It had lost its cornice, but after more than a hundred years, it still had some original details above its windows and above the front door.
That, however, changed in 2005. And things have gone downhill for this century-old row house ever since.
A major vertical and horizontal enlargement of the building quickly turned into a comedy of errors. Numerous DOB violations and stop-work orders were issued. Add to that a change in ownership and a time in limbo after the Carroll Gardens Wide Street Text Amendment and Contextual Rezoning, which all contributed to long delays.
But more than anything, it was the shoddy work that dragged this construction out so long. First,in 2006, the structure's back wall collapsed into the neighbor's yard. After some stop-work orders, work resumed and a fifth floor was added to the existing structure.

New permits were approved in March 2011 and work resumed in ernest. By that time, the building's stoop was removed to make an entrance on the lower garden level. In addition, some of the façade's details have been hacked off. I am sure the rest will be removed as well.

In the last week, the fence surrounding the front yard has been removed and workers have been erecting a very high, unsightly cinderblock wall, which interrupts the lovely flow and openness of the street's signature front yards. One of my reader calls it "the wall of shame."
I couldn't agree more.

Could things get any worse for this 'former' brownstone?


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13 comments:

Anonymous said...

maybe they want to ask their neighbors next door for reno tips-they're the kings and queens of shoddy

Anonymous said...

A few questions about this wall:
What does the city code or law says about front yards? Is this wall legal? Looking at the DOB BIS, a complaint was made on April 25th. a week after, no inspection was made by the DOB. Will they wait until the work completes?

Anonymous said...

We need landmarking for the Place blocks ASAP. Looks like 360 Smith got a curb cut and made part of the garden courtyard a driveway. Piece by piece we are losing the gardens, setting precedent for future development.

Anonymous said...

proof that the effort to landmark needs to be focused on the place blocks

Anonymous said...

HOLY CRAP that's awful.

Anonymous said...

Osama's dead. They can stop building a bunker.

Kelly said...

That's too funny. I'll tell the workers next time I walk by. On second thought, maybe I better not.

Anonymous said...

If one resident cannot build under the front garden, because it is technically owned by the DOT, what can this owner tear down the stoop

Anonymous said...

The permit here is: RENOVATE EXISTING FIVE(5) FAMILYRESIDENCE. ERECT FOUR (4) STORY & BASEMENT EXTENSION AT REAR. NO CHANGETO EGRESS, USE OR OCCUPANCY.

This is for work within the building and they are building masonry walls in the open court which they don't even own?
Where is the city on enforcement here?
Hay why don't we all go out and put up buildings in the middle of the streets, since the city doesn't stand up for public property any more.

celia said...

Don't you people have better things to do than to read what DOB permits are being adhered to? Spend time on joing a committee to impose landmark status to the rest of carroll gardens.

Anonymous said...

landmark status? Maybe time for a reality check here - we aren't talking Brooklyn Hts here. The place blocks are a mish-mash of buildings-many destroyed by residents that have no interest maintaining the historical integrity of these buildings. Unfortunate.

Anonymous said...

There are also plenty of older concrete walls up and down 1st and 2nd Places.

Anonymous said...

True. There is not a row of brownstone homes on any of the four block places-so with that I see no point in landmarking. We have brick, do over cement patching, gray,etc colored brownstones- or which were considered original brownstones but are not anymore. Some have erected stone walls up. If you look at the old pictures of the late 1890's, their were iron fences with beautiful balladeer decors on iron hand rails iron fences that had open beautiful rose gardens. That look is far gone. So take your photo lens that are for landmarking and start counting. See how far your count will lead you to??