Apparently City Planning Commission Approved Toll Brothers Gowanus Development On February 17th

City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden

(Pardon Me For Asking, but how come we did not hear about this sooner from our Community Board and our Councilman?)
Per an email I received last night from Kevin Parris, Land Use Coordinator for Borough President Marty Markowitz, the Toll Brothers mega project at 363-365 Bond Street has been approved without conditions.

Surprise? No! Land Use Chair Amanda Burden and her board seem to rubber stamp most everything that is put before them. They make a great show of listening to the community members who take time off from work and family to give testimony, but then they decide as they please anyway. Most probably, the decisions are foregone conclusions and an exercise in futility if one opposes a development as a New York City resident.

I suppose we should not feel as though our voices are the only ones being ignored. Our own Borough President's recommendations were not taken into account. Because you know, none of that matters to Ms. Burden and her fellow Board Members. They just do what Mayor Bloomberg wants them to do: rezone the entire city for even MORE development.

Below is the email from Kevin Parris which landed in my mailbox yesterday.

Hello,

Borough President Marty Markowitz has asked me to reply to your email regarding the proposal by Toll Brooklyn to develop 363-365 Bond Street. The borough president appreciates you taking the time to provide him with your comments. On November 19, 2008, the borough president conducted a public hearing on the Toll Brooklyn application. Prior to the hearing he also met with residents that presented a worthy alternative plan for the Bond Street site. Several dozen emails were also submitted to the borough president.

On December 17, 2008, the borough president submitted a report to the City Planning Commission and the City Council recommending approval with certain conditions; most notably, a reduction in the height of the project. The borough president’s recommendation also addresses other issues. This includes the need to strengthen the affordable housing commitment by Toll Brothers as well as the condition of the Bond Street sewer interceptor and issues of sewer backup and flooding experienced by neighboring residents. This recommendation was based on the borough president’s review of the Toll Brothers proposal; a review of the alternative plan; and, consideration of the oral and written testimonies received. A copy of his recommendation is attached.

On February 17, 2009, the City Planning Commission approved the Toll Brothers proposal without conditions; disapproving the borough president’s recommendations. The borough president is most appreciative of the time you took to share your views with him. He believes that his recommendation would have made for a better proposal, and he hopes the City Council will realize that it would serve the project best while at the same time addressing the concerns expressed by the community. Feel free to contact me if you have specific questions pertaining to the attached report. Thank you for sharing your concerns with the borough president. The subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises is expected to conduct its public hearing on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009.

Kevin Parris
Land Use Coordinator
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz
209 Joralemon Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201

Related Reading:

Last Day To Comment On Toll Brothers' ULURP Application

CB6 Wants To Make Sure That Toll Brothers Don't Weasel Out Of Gowanus Affordable Housing Component

Toll Brothers Show Up With Usual Crew At City Planning Hearing

Will City Planning Actually Hear Community At Today's Toll Brothers' Gowanus Development Hearing?

Marty Markowitz Hears From Both Toll Brothers And From Residents
Read more

From Condo To Rental: The Lightstone Group Presents Its Gowanus Project To Community Board 6

363-365 Bond Street 

CB6 Landmark/Land Use Committee meeting last night

Committee Chair Peter Fleming

Lightstone Representative 

Steven Lenard and Aline Fader representing New York City Planning

David Von Spreckelsen, senior vice president at Toll Brothers

After seven weeks in France, the last place I wanted to be last night was at the Community Board 6 Landmark/ Land Use Committee meeting, but The Lightstone Group was presenting its plans for 363-365 Bond Street on the shores of the Gowanus Canal. And well, it was too important to miss.

As many of you probably know by now, Lightstone is reviving the former Toll Brothers project. Back in 2009, after a Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP) that was set in motion by Toll Brothers, the property was successfully spot re-zoned from manufacturing to special mixed-use by the City of New York despite the protests of many members of the community who pleaded with city officials to first clean the Gowanus Canal thoroughly before rezoning the area.

Shortly afterwards, however, the Environmental Protection Agency came to the community to inform residents of the toxicity of the Canal and declared is a Superfund Site.
It did not take long for Toll Brothers to abandon its plans, stating that the Superfund designation made it impossible to go forward with the 447 unit condo project.

If Toll Brothers got cold feet, the Lightstone Group is ready to charge ahead with a 700-unit rental building. The developer came in front of CB6's Land Use Committee last night as a "courtesy" since the "relative minor alterations" apparently do not need a new ULURP nor a new Impact Statement.
CB6 Land Use Chair Peter Fleming was quick to tell board members and residents that this was an 'informal presentation' by Lightstone. "They are looking for input from the community, so try to be productive with your comments."

 Lightsone's project looks very much like what Toll Brothers had proposed. The "minor modification" are reflected in the massing to allow affordable apartments to be distributed throughout the buildings and 'to accommodate the addition of the NYC waterfront Sponge Park at the end of 2nd Street."
However, the new plan will "reflect the current economic conditions and real estate market." It is a mixed-use, all-rental development with fully integrated affordable and market components.
There will be 560 market rate apartments, 140 affordable apartments. There will be two small retail spaces on Bond Street, community spaces on the Canal and on 1st Street as well as open space along the Canal. There will also be parking for 316 cars.
The buildings will range in height from 6 stories to 12 stories, with the higher buildings on the canal front.
The affordable component will be affordable in perpetuity and will be managed by the Fifth Avenue Committee.

It did not take long for CB6 members and local residents to address the environmental issues affecting this particular site during the question-and-answer period. According to Ethan Geto, Lightsone's public relations person, "the EPA has responded positively to the development project" and "supports remediation of the site by Lighthouse" because the proposed steel pile along the bulkhead, storm sewers and other site work will reduce pollution in the canal.

Steven Miller, Committee member and EPA Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group (CAG) member urged Lighthouse to set up a meeting with members of the CAG and representatives of the EPA "as soon as possible".

The community also reminded Lighthouse representatives that the Gowanus area used to be marshland and that it is prone to flooding. In addition, the sewer infrastructure is totally inadequate. "I have had 5 feet of raw sewage in my basement, "Richard Beanman , who lives on Carroll Street at the corner of Bond Street, stated. "I welcome you to come to my house when it rains. Before you build. Not after."
Another resident added: "You are increasing the sewer load by 700 units in the area."

It is interesting to note that Lighthouse has retained the services of both Lee Weintraub of Lee Weintraub Landscape Architecture and of AKRF a leading environmental, planning and engineering consulting firm. Both had previously worked on the Toll Brothers Project.

It was also strange to see David Von Spreckelsen, senior vice president at Toll Brothers, in the audience. Longtime resident Celia Cacase asked directly if Toll Brothers still had any involvement with the project.  A Lighthouse representative was quick to deny. "Toll is neither directly involved or indirectly involved."

Also, when asked if Lighthouse had already purchased the site or had an option to buy, their representative said that because of confidentiality, he could not answer the question, but that 'an option to buy would not be a misrepresentation."

Read more

Toll Brothers' Toxic Towers On The Gowanus: Is It A Deal Or No Deal?

COMPLAINT AGAINST TOLL BROTHERS, INC

to read entire complaint, click here

(If you have difficulties accessing the documents, please email me at pardonmeinbrooklyn at gmail dot com and I will gladly send you pdf)

Toll Brothers, Inc. Gowanus Development
above photo credit: Toll Brothers


Gowanus Landowner Claims Breach Of Contract Against Toll Brothers, Inc.

This, dear Reader, is the latest in the saga of Brooklyn's highly polluted Gowanus Canal, Toll Brothers and the proposed listing of the canal as an EPA Superfund Site.

Toll Brothers' proposed luxury housing development on the shore of the Gowanus Canal was always a highly risky endeavor. After all, everyone knew how very polluted this once thriving industrial waterway was. And it was no secret that its banks had been contaminated by the former manufactured gas plants, tanneries, paint, and chemical plants which once operated there. It was also commonly known that New York City's antiquated sewer system discharged raw sewage into the canal after a heavy rainfall.

Toll Brothers Inc., the national high-end home builder, knew as well. But in September 2004, Toll Brothers, Inc. entered willingly into a sales contract with Joseph B. Phillips and Citibank, N.A. (as Trustee Of The Trust under the will of David Phillips) to acquire the property at 365-379 Bond Street, which covers an entire city block and abuts the Gowanus Canal. Together with two adjacent properties, Toll Brothers hoped to market and develop the site into condominium units consisting of high and low rise residential buildings. Toll Brothers made a down payment amount of $5.75 million of the set purchase price of $21,500,000 (later the sum was adjusted to $20,636,836). As per the agreement, the actual sale of the property would be contingent on the re-zoning of the site by New York City from manufacturing to residential.

After a Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP) set in motion by Toll Brothers, the property was successfully re-zoned by the City of New York in March 2009. According to the agreement between the Seller and the Toll Brothers, the parties could now proceed to close the transaction. However, in April 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was proposing to include the dangerously toxic Gowanus Canal on its Superfund list.

By May 2009, Toll Brothers, Inc. notified the Seller's council that it had concerns about the EPA's announcement and sought to delay closing on the property to await the outcome of the Agency's designation process. The Seller, however, refused to a consensual delay and scheduled the closing for August 17th, 2009. In response, Toll shot back a letter stating that the company was under no obligation to close the transaction because , as a result of the EPA announcement, a "windfall lien", which arose prior to closing, now encumbers the property and makes it unmarketable. Therefore, Toll refuses to close until the lien is removed. This prompted the Seller to file a suit against Toll Brothers, Inc.

Though Toll Brothers conducted both a Phase I and Phase II environmental study of the property, which confirmed that hazardous substances and petroleum products were formerly stored on the site, the company believed that "the cleanup methods necessary to remediate the Property would be routine practice, not overly burdensome, and could be completed at a reasonable cost and within a reasonable time frame that would not frustrate or interfere with the timely residential development and marketing of the Property as planned and contemplated by the parties."

Toll Brothers now claim that as a result of the Superfund designation, "a monumentally costly and lengthy process has commenced" which would hinder development and which was not foreseeable at the time the parties executed the contract. (It is of course important to note that the EPA has not yet listed the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site.)

In October 2009, a counterclaim was filed by Toll Brothers, Inc.

Common sense would have dictated that the shores of the Gowanus Canal was no place to build approximately 460 residential units. But what seemed like common sense to most was overlooked by Toll Brothers in their eagerness to make a profit. Their biggest mistake was that they simply chose to ignore the level of toxicity.

One has to wonder about the Toll Brothers' business acumen.

TOLL BROTHERS, INC. COUNTERCLAIM

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

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REMINDER! Important Public Meeting: This Thursday, CB6 To Review Lightstone Group's Application For 'Minor' Modifications At 363-365 Bond Street, Gowanus

363-365 Bond Street 

REMINDER! 

THIS MEETING IS TONIGHT

Mark your calendar! There is an important public hearing coming up.
Brooklyn CB6 Landmarks/Land Use Committee will be reviewing The Lightstone Group's application for "minor modifications" to the previously approved land use actions at 363-365 Bond Street. The meeting will be held at 6:45pm on Thursday, September 27th and it will take place at P.S. 32 Auditorium, 317 Hoyt Street (between Union/President Streets), Brooklyn.

As many of you probably know by now, Lightstone is reviving the former Toll Brothers project on  Bond Street in Gowanus. Back in 2009, after a Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP) that was set in motion by Toll Brothers, the property was successfully spot re-zoned from manufacturing to special mixed-use by the City of New York despite the protests of many members of the community who pleaded with city officials to first clean the Gowanus Canal thoroughly before rezoning the area.

Shortly afterwards, however, the Environmental Protection Agency came to the community to inform residents of the toxicity of the Canal and declared is a Superfund Site. It did not take long for Toll Brothers to abandon its plans, stating that the Superfund designation made it impossible to go forward with their 447 unit luxury condo project.

The Lightstone Group doesn't seem to share the same concerns and is charging ahead. Though the project is basically the same as the one proposed by Toll Brothers, Lightstone has asked the New York City Planning Commission to modify the special permit granted to Toll Brothers back in 2009. City Planning considers these changes "minor" modification,s which are subject to review and approval only by the Commission, rather than 'major' modifications, which would require the initiation of a new ULURP.

The changes requested by Lightstone include "variations in the base height of the project, building heights and footprints of portions of the buildings, relocation of parking entrances, changes to the location and design of the open space, and changes to the number of residential units and size of non-residential portion of the proposed development."

Many Gowanus residents would not consider the change from 447 condo units originally planned by Toll to 700 rental units proposed by Lightstone quite so minor, especially on a site next to a Superfund which also happens to be in a flood zone. Besides, the project will increase the strains on the already overloaded, antiquated sewer infrastructure on Bond Street.

The community will have an opportunity to voice its concerns at Thursday's CB6 Land Use Committee on Thursday. Make sure you are there.

To read more on Lightstone's project , click here.

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Not So Fast, Toll Brothers!

CGNA meeting at Hannah Senesh

Chris McVoy and John Hatheway, architects

Carroll Street Bridge as it is now, sans Toll Brothers development

Toll Brothers' rendering, according to local architects
Hatheway and McVoy is deceptive and out of scale, making their 125 feet
building look more like 85 feet.

President Street
with outline of proposed Toll development

How Smith Street would be altered

If Toll Brothers build 12 stories on one side, it would set the standard for the rest of Gowanus development.  In addition, Toll Brothers' illustrations never fully show the entire height and bulk of their buildings.  This 'corrected' illustration by Carroll Gardens architects Hatheway and McVoy

shows how 125 foot buildings would turn the shores of the Gowanus canal into a canyon.

Last night at the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association general meeting, architects Chris McVoy and John Hatheway presented their very well thought out alternative to the Toll Brothers Development on a two block area along the Gowanus Canal. After studying Toll Brothers plans, the two local architects are urging Community Board 6 to reject the developers application for re-zoning and special permits. Here are their reasons:

-The Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) is incomplete. It does not provide the analysis needed.

-The Toll Brothers' application is premature. It sets a precedent before the re-zoning of the Gowanus area has been analysed, reviewed and approved.

-The proposed 12 story scale dwarfs the Gowanus Canal and towers over Carroll Gardens' historic core.

-A 7 story alternate design, in scale with the context could provide similar area and affordability.

Hatheway and McVoy told the audience that Toll Brothers' development includes 4 to five story townhouses close to Bond Street, but that along the canal, the height will rise to 12 stories or 125 feet. This is "exactly the same height as those new buildings on 4th Avenue."
Mc Voy reminded local residents that right now, Toll Brothers can not build anything until the zoning for the two blocks is changed by the city from manufacturing to residential. This gives the community lots of leverage. " The developer jumped the gun." McVoy stated.
It was clear from the discussion that followed the architects' presentation that the community continues to have grave concerns about this project.
Residents were urged to let their elected officials know how they feel by writing letters and emails.
Spontaniously, a residential task force was formed to start a petition and to help organize opposition to the development.


Related posts:
Toll Brothers Spent $365,000 On Lobbying For Gowanus Rezoning
Toll Brothers Come To CB6 Complete With Union Entourage

Read more

CB6 Wants To Make Sure That Toll Brothers Don't Weasel Out Of Gowanus Affordable Housing Component

At Wednesday evening's Community Board 6's general meeting, the board adopted a supplemental position on the ULURP application for the Toll Brothers' proposed Gowanus development at 363-365 Bond Street.
Chairperson Richard Bashner drafted a letter to City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden to address the possibility of Toll Brothers' weaseling out of building the affordable housing component of the project.
I applaud CB6 for this action.
Below is said letter.

Amanda Burden
Chairperson
City Planning Commission
22 Reade Street
New York, New York 10007


Dear Chairperson Burden:

I am writing to advise you that at its February 11, 2009 general meeting, Brooklyn Community Board 6 resolved, by a vote of 31 in favor, 2 against, with 1 abstention for cause, to supplement our previous position on the above-referenced applications for the Toll Brothers, L.P. development in the Gowanus Neighborhood of our district.

Brooklyn Community Board 6 (CB6) has not changed its position on the Toll Brothers application; we remain conditionally supportive, subject to the conditions expressed in our November 17, 2008 correspondence to you (copy enclosed). However, we want to emphasize how important it is to make sure that the affordable housing component of this project actually is built, in return for giving the applicant permission to build higher and with more bulk than otherwise would be acceptable to this community.

CB6’s approval of the expanded height and bulk limits for the Toll Brothers project was based largely on representations made by the developer promising the creation of substantial affordable housing as an integral component of the project, including the following statements from its “Frequently Asked Questions about the Proposed Gowanus Mixed-Use Development”:

• “Toll Brothers is committed to providing affordable housing as part of the proposed zoning.”
• “The affordable housing units ... [will be] in attractive buildings that will be constructed at the
same time as the market-rate units.”
• “Approximately 140 apartments will be provided, as permanently affordable on-site housing.
This number represents 30% of the total number of residential units – well above the standard
affordability ratio in 80/20 developments.”
• “Our affordable housing program will offer varying levels of affordability, with some units designated for those marking not more than 80% of the HUD Income Limit for New York City ($61,440 for a family of four) and some units targeted to those making not more than 60% of the HUD Income Limit for New York City ($46,080 for a family of four).”


When we voted in favor of such application, we were under the impression that the affordable housing component would be required by the deed restrictions that the applicant had agreed to place on the property.

Instead, we recently learned that Toll Brothers has not agreed to place the affordable housing requirement in deed restrictions; and that, therefore, there is a possibility that they (or a future owner of the property) could build the full height and bulk allowed by the proposed rezoning without including ANY affordable housing.

This is unacceptable. If it turns out that the affordable housing component will not be built as promised, then Toll Brothers should be required to seek fresh zoning approval for the project, especially its height and bulk.

Accordingly, we respectfully ask that either the affordable housing requirements be confirmed in the deed restrictions, or in the rezoning (by conditioning the relaxed height and bulk limits upon the inclusion of the promised affordable housing, similar to the Department of City Planning’s upcoming Gowanus Rezoning and Related Actions, CEQR # 09DCP015K), or in some other suitable mechanism for ensuring that tall or bulky buildings not be built without the promised affordable housing.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

Richard S. Bashner
Chairperson

Related Reading:

Last Day To Comment On Toll Brothers' ULURP Application

Toll Brothers Show Up With Usual Crew At City Planning Hearing

Will City Planning Actually Hear Community At Today's Toll Brothers' Gowanus Development Hearing?

Marty Markowitz Hears From Both Toll Brothers And From Residents

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking Read more

Toll Brothers' V.P. Von Spreckelsen Submits His Testimony To The EPA!

I am sure that the EPA will be super impressed by a developer such as Toll Brothers calling its reputation into question and urging the federal agency to refrain from listing the Gowanus Canal on their National Priority List as a Superfund Site.
But that is exactly what David Von Spreckelsen, Toll Brothers V.P. is doing. Von Spreckelsen submitted the testimony below to the EPA, as part of the agency's public submission process on the Gowanus nomination.
In his submission, he is urging the EPA to let the City go ahead with its rather shaky alternative clean-up plan.
No surprise there!
The Toll Brothers' VP has been working hard to move the developer's condo project at 363-365 Bond Street forward. First, Von Spreckelsen spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying the New York City Council, the City Planning Commission, the Brooklyn Borough President, Brooklyn Community Board 6, the Mayor's Office and the State Assembly, to facilitate the rezoning from manufacturing to residential of the two blocks along the Gowanus Canal on which the Toll Brothers' wanted to build.

Not surprisingly, the spot-rezoning was approved at every step during the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (U.L.U.R.P.), despite the protests of community members who pleaded with city officials to first clean the Gowanus Canal thoroughly before rezoning its shores. To no avail. The New York City Council approved the spot-rezoning in March, 2009, ahead of a general rezoning of the Gowanus area.

But just when it looked as though the last hurdle had been removed and that the Toll Brothers' Bond Street project could get started, the EPA stepped forward and announced that the Gowanus Canal was one of the most polluted waterways in the country. In April, the federal agency proposed placing the canal on its list of Superfund sites. That was welcome news for most local residents.

But not for the Toll Brothers. David Von Spreckelsen went into over-drive. Just days after the EPA made its announcement, he was quoted in countless newspapers as opposing the listing. He told everyone who would listen, that the Toll Brothers would walk away from their Gowanus project if the canal were to be listed. He hired a consulting firm and joined forces with a handful of Gowanus property owners to oppose the EPA Superfund designation. The Clean Gowanus Now! Coalition, as they called themselves, printed up slick anonymous fliers filled with misinformation. The Coalition hired a young man, named Daniel, to knock on the doors of local residents to spread more untruths about the Superfund program. Daniel freely gave out a telephone number that could be tracked right back to David Von Spreckelsen.

It is unlikely that the EPA will listen to the Toll Brothers' spin. The agency after all is more interested in science and in protecting the public from harmful chemicals, than in covering up facts to help a developer.











The EPA's Public comment period will end on July 8th. If you have not yet sent in your own testimony, I urge you to do so.

Please help insure that the Gowanus Canal becomes a Listed Superfund Site. You can participate by doing the following:

1. Go to www.superfundgowanus.org and sign the online petition to our representatives.

2. Go directly to the EPA Website and submit your comments under the Public Comment period that runs until July 8, 2009. http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/gowanus/

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

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Save Gowanus Association Ready To Legally Challenge Lightstone Group's Gowanus Project

rendering by Lightstone Group

Last night's Save Gowanus Association meeting at Mary Star Of The Sea

Gowanus Resident Warren Cohen

Debbie Stoller, local resident

Carl Teitelbaum, Gowanus Resident

Lizzie Olesker, local resident

The Save Gowanus Association held a meeting last night at Mary Star Of The Sea on First Street to inform and to organize against the 12-story, 700-unit Lightstone Group's project that is moving forward at 363-365 Bond Street.
The group is composed of Gowanus residents and home-owners living near the site on Bond Street between Carroll Street and 2nd Street, as well as members of civic groups Friends of Bond (FOB) and Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus (FROGG).

Most of those in attendance were all too familiar with the project and had issues with it moving forward, especially in light of the flooding and damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in October 2013.
Gowanus resident Warren Cohen gave a brief overview of the project. He explained how the land was spot-re-zoned by NYC Department Of Planning (DCP) from manufacturing to mixed use. How Toll Brothers, the original developer of the site, walked away when the Environmental Protection Agency declared the Gowanus Canal a Superfund site and how Lightstone took over the project and increased the original number of units from 440 to 700.

FROGG member Marlene Donnelly explained that the Gowanus Canal was originally engineered to drain the upland marshland surrounding the canal in order to keep water away from residences in Carroll Gardens and Park Slope. She explained that Lightstone plans to raise the site of the development by two feet at First Street to address FEMA's recently released post-Sandy Advisory Base Flood Elevations and to comply with changes to the Building Code.
This change in hydrology raises serious concerns about flooding and drainage in the Gowanus area. It may mean more problems for nearby residents, who deal with flooded basements on an ongoing basis.

Before the project goes forward, Save Gowanus Association wants to make sure that the environmental consequences of this project are fully understood.
Since City Planning allowed Lightstone Group to piggy back onto Toll Brothers' project-specific 2009 Environmental Impact Study (EIS) and Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), certain key issues were not considered.  One can make a strong case that a new Impact Study and ULURP are needed in light of several factors:
-New knowledge of the pollution after EPA declared the area a Superfund
-FEMA's amended post-Sandy flood maps for the area
-The proposed change in grade for the property.

There appear to be indications that Lightstone Group is not following the legal process and that NYC Planning has been complicit in moving this through all along.
(In November 2012, Brooklyn Law School Clinic found that City Planning was in violation of Article 78 in regards to Lightstone's 'minor modifications' to the project.)

Save Gowanus Association has retained Jeff Baker of YoungSommer, an environmental, zoning and land use lawyer. to advise and represent the group.
If you would like to donate towards the legal fees, please write a check to:

Save Gowanus Association
www.savegowanus.org

374 Bond Street

Brooklyn 11231

or donate online at Paypal  here 

The next Save Gowanus Association meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 5th at 7 PM at Mary Star Of The Sea

In the meantime, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has received a Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) application and Remedial Investigation Work Plan (RIWP) from (Lightstone) LSG 400 Carroll Street LLC and LSG 363 Bond Street LLC for 400 Carroll Street and 363 Bond Street, site ID #C224173.

The application is available for review at the Carroll Gardens Library.  Comments regarding this application must be submitted to DEC no later than June 1, 2013.

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Toll Brothers' Gowanus Project Reaches City Council: Come Testify Tomorrow!

above photo credit: Toll Brothers

Over the last year, many Gowanus and Carroll Gardens residents have attended and testified at every public hearing concerning the Toll Brothers proposal for 363-365 Bond Street.
After all these months, City Planning has approved the project on February 17th exactly as it had gone into the ULURP process, thereby dismissing virtually every concern raised by the community as well as the recommendations made by our own Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

This re-inforces the nagging suspicion of many residents that the process is just for show and that approval for most projects is a foregone conclusion before the ULURP process even gets under way.

The last hurdle for the Toll Brothers' Gowanus Project is the City Council.
Tomorrow, the Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee is holding its Public Hearing on Toll Gowanus.
I urge as many people as possible to attend or to send in a written testimony.
Below is the information:

Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee Public Hearing regarding
Toll Brothers at 363-365 Bond St

City Hall
Committee Room (R to City Hall or A to Chambers St.)
March 4, 2009 9:30am

Written testimony can be sent to Tony Avella,
Chairperson of Zoning & Franchises
avella@council.nyc.ny.us

Related Reading:

Apparently City Planning Commission Approved Toll Brothers Gowanus Development On February 17th

Last Day To Comment On Toll Brothers' ULURP Application

CB6 Wants To Make Sure That Toll Brothers Don't Weasel Out Of Gowanus Affordable Housing Component

Toll Brothers Show Up With Usual Crew At City Planning Hearing

Will City Planning Actually Hear Community At Today's Toll Brothers' Gowanus Development Hearing?

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking Read more

If Toll Brothers are "Scared" Of NY Condo Market, Why Develop Along Gowanus?

( photo and map credit: Toll Brothers)

"If we sense any slowdown, we'll take the money and run,
instead of hanging around and waiting"

Robert Toll,
Chief Executive, Toll Brothers

(We, in Carroll Gardens, can only hope, Mr. Toll)

NEW YORK, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Toll Brothers Inc said on Thursday the condo market in New York City is not as strong as it was, and the company is "scared" about the market's future amid deterioration in the financial industry.

"It has felt some of the storm that's come to the residential real estate market in the country," Chief Executive Bob Toll said during the company's third-quarter conference call.

To continue reading article, click below:

Toll Brothers "scared" about NYC condo market (Reuters)

Pardon me for asking, but if Bob Toll, one of the Toll Brothers, is so pessimistic about the New York Condo market, why is his New York V.P. David Von Spreckelsen, still pushing so hard to get the development at 363-365 Bond Street off the ground?
Notice that the interview took place at the beginning of September, shortly before the looming bank fiasco and Wall Street's steep decline .

At last week's Community Board 6 Landmark/ Land Use Committee meeting , at which members voted overwhelmingly to approve the spot rezoning needed by Toll, Von Spreckelsen stated that he had been working on the project for four years. Maybe so, but during that period, things have changed drastically here in the city. Given the new financial reality, why on earth would the development company of luxury McMansions take a chance in adding over 400 condo units along one of the most polluted waterways?
Local residents have been very outspoken against the project, citing health hazards as well as flooding issues in the Gowanus area. All of that has fallen on deaf ears with members of our Community Board as well as with our Councilman.
Hopefully, the financial crisis will accomplish what our representatives have so far failed to do: stop a project that would place its residents in harm's way.

Related reading:

CB6 Land Use Committee Votes Yes To Toll Brothers Project: That's What $365 K Worth Of Lobbying Buys

Toll Brothers Spent $365,000 On Lobbying For Gowanus Rezoning

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking Read more