Friday, October 28, 2011

Transformation Of The Small Gowanus House At 441 Carroll Street

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441 Carroll Street back in May 2011
and the new building, November 2011
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The view of the new building from Nevins Street
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The house at number 441 Carroll Street, between Nevins and Third Avenue in Gowanus, was never the prettiest on the block by any stretch of the imagination.  Actually, the two-story, aluminum-clad building was so crooked, its porch leaning so precariously, that one had to wonder how it held together.  And yet, it had a certain charm all its own.
In May of this year, a permit was filed with NYC Department of Buildings for "proposed horizontal enlargement at rear and front of 1st floor," but instead of enlarging the house, it was entirely demolished.  The D.o.B. eventually caught on and gave the site a violation for "work without permit. Work performed significantly exceeds scope permitted." To date there are two unresolved ECB violations  on file.  A new permit which encompasses the true extend of the work is being reviewed by the agency right now.
Take a look at the large gable on the lot line, facing Nevins Street and the Gowanus.  
What do you think?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't understand how a builder can do work beyond scope, the work is done, and the DOB is now reviewing. Sounds like that very act of the builder should be penalized and demanded to be taken down. Cart before the horse kind of thing going on now. If the DOB allows it, this sets precedent that this methodology builders followed is the way you get what you want. On that basis alone it should not be permitted.

Anonymous said...

I so agree with the first comment! Couldn't have said it better myself.

Anonymous said...

But this happens all the time. ALL. THE. TIME. The DOB has a well-documented history of it's employees taking bribes. There is an active criminal case now against many (former) employees. This agency is a complete joke to anyone who has spent their entire life in NYC.

Anonymous said...

Anon 3 - True, but the community can be vigilant and have impact. Remember 333 Carroll Stree? How the community was outraged by how the Scarano project was adding height that went beyond permissible? Well, the developer did not get away with it, and I think community outrage helped. The developer had to take down everything. It's gone. And it must not have been easy.You can see what they had to take down here.
http://pardonmeforasking.blogspot.com/2007/09/scaranos-carroll-street-building.html

Anonymous said...

Oh well, people trying to cheat the system. Maybe if the buildings department wasn't so difficult to deal with, people would behave themselves. I am not condoning the builder, but there is another unaddressed issue. The building going up, whatever it may be, already looks better than what it is replacing.

Anonymous said...

Maybe the building that existed before the new one was so old that, in the process, collapsed , or it was necessary to take down because it wasn't safe. Either way, I don't understand why anyone is angry about these actions that took place. I don't think anyone has been negatively affected by ANY of this! At the end of the day, an old building is being transformed into something new, and it's good for the area.I lived in the area all my life, and it has changed a whole bunch!! And no one is loyal to their neighbor! This is a building that I'm sure someone is building for people to live in at the end of the day. People are here commenting that it should be taken down, penalized,etc. that's very harsh. I'm sure people put a lot of there savings into this project! People will argue that they are part of the community, but at the same time, the very same people want to cause conflict about a house that is being built that will better the area! It's not that serious people!

Anonymous said...

Mind your own business!!!!!! Why does this concern anyone??? Lol The neighborhood is getting a new house! Which is replacing a shack from the looks of that "before" picture !! Good luck to the owner/ builder . Roof is cool!