The above picture is of a building at 333 Carroll Street in Carroll Gardens. Care to guess who the architect is? Yes, no other than Build-Sky-High Robert M.Scarano. Well, now the New YorkTimes is taking a closer look at this "creative mind". By the way, after lots of protest about the pictured building on Carroll, the Buildings Department slapped the project with a Stop Work order. It has been sitting idle for about 2 months now. A source in the know thinks Scarano may need to take the top story off again. That would be great. The building is so visible that when you look down landmarked President Street from Smith Street, it is all you see.
New York Times April 16, 2006
How Big Is Too Big?
By WILLIAM NEUMAN
New York City's honor system that allows architects and engineers to approve their own plans is put to the test by buildings that may be larger than zoning rules allow.
IT is not hard to spot the buildings that Robert M. Scarano Jr., an architect, has designed in New York City: they tend to be a lot bigger than the other buildings around them.
In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Mr. Scarano's building at 78 Ten Eyck Street is about twice as tall as the modest three-story houses on either side of it. In the East Village, the new building at 4 East Third Street, at the Bowery, rises to 16 stories, far above the other buildings on the block, including a row of 18th-century town houses.
Mr. Scarano has played an active role in the city's current construction boom, particularly in Brooklyn, where he has numerous projects in rapidly changing neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Brighton Beach. His designs have brought him plenty of business from developers rushing to take advantage of rising real estate values.
But the sheer bulk of many of Mr. Scarano's projects has prompted some residents to complain that he ignores the zoning code and puts up buildings that are simply too big, blocking the light and views of their neighbors. And too often, they say, the city has stood by and done nothing.
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New York Times: How Big Is too Big
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2 comments:
That would be so great if he had to dismantle that hideous thing! Maybe he would gain some humility.
The way he just plopped that box on top of the building and has blighted the landscape just has my head shaking with incredulousness.
This man has no thought to what he builds or where he builds, it's all about the almighty dollar. If he ever finishes that "bunker" building on Bond St. I want to see the look on the poor (or shall i say "rich") suckers faces when they smell the Gowanus for the first time as they step out their door and look at the NYC limo service building! It is particularly ripe smelling today with the rain and all, which brings out the sewage. I am soooooooooo glad people are up in arms about this.
Finally, yes. It sure took people plenty of time to get angry. I guess it has something to do with the fact that the attacks on our neighborhood have multiplied so rapidly. We seem to have a momentum going. I hope we can keep the pressure up.
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