Pardon Me For Asking: Robert Scarano

Showing posts with label Robert Scarano. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

It Took A Long Time, But Warehouse Conversion At 333 Carroll Street Getting Closer To Completion

It has taken a very long time and quite a few twists and turns, but it appears as though construction on 333 Carroll Street, between Hoyt and Bond Street, is getting closer to being completed. A few windows have been installed, and now that some of the netting has been removed from the scaffolding, it is easier to imagine what the building will look like when it is all done.

Permits to convert the lovely old brick manufacturing building into residential condominiums were first filed in 2005. Owner/developer Isaac Fischman of AMI Development, LLC, had hired bad boy architect Robert "Mezzanine" Scarano to convert an old brick manufacturing building into 30 units. As part of the plans, a two story, 40 foot steel addition was erected on top of the old structure.

Alarmed by the size of the addition, residents asked the NYC Department of Buildings to review the plans, which revealed that Scarano had been more than creative with the floor-air-ratio (FAR) calculations. The Building's Department confirmed in March 2008, that the architect has lied on the application, claiming that the cellar was a basement. Scarano intended to use the "habitable" basement for parking and had transferred the square footage onto the roof. A stop-work order was issued on March 4th 2008 and the developer fired Scarano.

Eventually, Fischman replaced Scarano with another controversial architect, Karl Fischer, to resolve the floor-area-ratio problem. Fischer, the architect behind the 11 story 'finger' at 100 Luquer street, filed for an amendement, which he self-certified. The DOB accepted an audit in October 2009 and new permits were issued.

However, by then, the neighborhood had organized and, with the help of the Department of City Planning, was able to down-zone Carroll Gardens. Unlike the neighborhood's original R6 zoning, the new R6B zoning has a 50 foot height limit. The City Council voted the re-zoning into law on October 28, 2009.

As with any re-zoning, all construction projects were served with a stop-work-order and were re-visited by DOB to see if construction was far enough along to be vested under the old zoning. In the case of 333-335 Carroll Street, DOB determined that only 15% of the work has been completed and therefore needed to comply with the new 50 foot hight limit. Another stop work order was issued.

Finally, in April 2011, the steel structure, which was so hideous that many in the community had begun referring to 333 Carroll Street as the 'hunchback' building or "hell house", was taken down. Work on the actual building finally resumed under Nicholas Scire-Chianeta of NSC Architecture, P.C. a few months later.

Since construction began, the site has raked up 60 complaints and 22 DoB violations (of which 9 are still open). I bet neighbors will be happy to see this project completed.

A reminder of what it looked like:

The building at 333 Carroll Street in 2011 with the illegal addition

Many Questions Surround West 9th Street Building Slated To Become Homeless Shelter

As the community is getting ready to attend Wednesday's informational meeting regarding the proposed 170-bed homeless shelter at 165 West 9th Street in Carroll Gardens, more disturbing details about the ownership of the building slated to house the shelter are coming to light.

Capital New York reporter Andrew Rice has done an outstanding job investigating the many players behind Tunnel Condos LLC., the private corporation in whose name the building is held. Some of the 'owners' seem to have rather cushiony ties to Housing Solutions USA/Aguila Inc., the Bronx-based non-profit organization that is proposing the shelter.
Read his article here.

In addition, there seem to be a fair number of open questions regarding the building's Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) issued by NYC Department Of Buildings.
The 10-unit building was originally designed and self-certified by architect Robert Scarano, who subsequently was stripped of his self-certification privileges for violating zoning and building codes on projects in Brooklyn. Though the West 9th Street building was completed in 2002, a C. of O. was not issued until 2010.

Some of these issues concern the lot-line windows of the property. Unless the owners of 165 East 9th Street purchased the air rights of the neighboring buildings, these lot line windows are not legal sources of light and ventilation for habitable rooms.

According to NYC's Building Code, habitable rooms must have window area at least equal to 10% of their floor area. If any room in this building relies on lot line windows to meet the light and ventilation requirements, that room would not be legally habitable.

The original zoning for the site was R6 in a C2-C3 local service district. Even with the bonus Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for community facilities (doctors offices) on the basement cellar and mezzanine levels of the building, the maximum FAR for the building should have been 4.80. The existing FAR on record is 5.61. How then did a building that is so out of compliance get a Cof O?

The homeless shelter is being authorized by NYC Department of Homeless Services under an “emergency contract” rule. It seems evident that under the contract some basic building requirements, such as maximum occupancy, may be lifted.

However, one really has to wonder how NYC DoB could have legalized a building that obviously violated quite a few rules.

More disturbing is how this city has privatized social services and how homelessness has become so lucrative that it seems to have attracted some very shady players and may have compromised the Buildings Department.

I encourage everyone to attend the Community Meeting tomorrow, Wednesday October 24th, 6:30 PM at PS 58. Hopefully, we will get some answers to these questions.

Homeless Shelter For Scarano-Designed Building On West 9th Street In Carroll Gardens?

2012-10-04 Aguila 165 West 9th Street copy

Late last week, Craig Hammerman, Community Board 6's district manager distributed the letter above that was sent to his office from Housing Solutions USA/Aguila Inc., a Bronx-based non-profit organization that provides services to homeless families in the Bronx as well as in Manhattan.
The organization intends to submit a proposal to the Department of Homeless Services to house 170 single adults at 165 West 9th Street right at the corner of Court Street near Hamilton Avenue.

The 7-story building in question was built in 2002, but its 10 residential units and commercial space have remained mostly empty to this day. (According to a resident of West 9th Street, some of the upper apartments have been occupied off and on for the past few years.)

Why the units at 165 West 9th Street have never been rented or sold at market value may have to do with some problems with the construction. The project appears to have been self certified by Robert Scarano** of Scarano & Associtaes Architects. Long the darling of Brooklyn developers for his creative floor-area calculations and use of illegal mezzanines to maximize building height, floor area, and lot coverage, Scarano eventually lost his license after he went too far. In permits filed in 2001 for this particular building, there is mention of mezzanines. It is interesting to note that a final Certificate of Occupancy has only been issued in 2010.
Recently, construction work has been performed on the interior.

Daniel Kreitzman, owner of Fat Cat Wines at 538 Court Street, just around the corner from this building, expressed his concern to Community Board 6 in an email. He writes: "We were all expecting a free market rental building to open in that space to really increase business and revitalize the neighborhood. Instead this is the worst thing that could possibly happen to businesses with an already fragile economy. There have been so many positive changes in the neighborhood because hard working people have been willing to put there life savings and heart and soul into opening businesses here at the bottom of Court Street."

Acording to a response from Craig Hammerman: "We are in the process of setting up a public Informational Meeting for the Community Board and community to learn more about this proposal firsthand, and will be sending out a followup announcement as soon as the meeting details are confirmed."

**Carroll Gardeners may better remember Scarano for the 'tumor building at 333 Carroll Street and the mezzanines at the Satori Building on Bond Street.

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Friday, April 08, 2011

The De-Construction Of 333 Carroll Street's Illegal Addition: Part 2

You better believe I will be chronicling the taking down of the illegal 40 foot addition at 333 Carroll Street, a beautiful old brick building. Since 2008, the Carroll Gardens and Gowanus community has been fighting to have architect Robert Scarano's steel 'birdcage' taken down. It has become a symbol of the greed of some developers, of the corruption of some architects and the problems with New York Buildings Department's self-certification program, which allowed architects to sign off on their own plans. In the case of 333 Carroll Street,

Robert Scarano had lied on the initial application to D.o.B., and tried to cheat the zoning resolution.

This project also illustrated to the community in the most graphic way the need to protect and to down-zone the neighborhood. After much work and commitment by community activists, and with the help of the Department of City Planning, the area was contextually rezoned on October 28, 2009 to R6B, which imposes a 50 foot height limit.

In 2010, after years of back and forth with the D.o.B., Issac Fischman, the developer of 333 Carroll Street, has been forced to take down the addition.

So be prepared for more photos of the de-construction, as I will be taking my camera down to Carroll Street between Hoyt and Bond frequently in the next few days. I am looking forward to the day the last piece of steel is taken down.

Read more about 333 Carroll Street here.

°°°°°°°°°

Let's Party! Illegal Top Finally Comes Down At 333 Carroll Street

Finally! It took a few years, but finally architect Robert Scarano's illegal 40 foot addition at 333 carroll Street is coming down. A huge crane has been brought in and crews have started working on taking down the steel structure. These photos were taken by reader C. yesterday afternoon.

This is great news.

No building in Carroll Gardens illustrates the need to protect this historic neighborhood better than this condo conversion at 333-335 Carroll Street, between Hoyt and Bond Streets. Back in 2005, owner Issac Fischman hired bad boy architect Robert"Mezzanine" Scarano to convert an old brick manufacturing building into a 31 unit condo. As part of the plans, a two story, 40 foot steel addition was erected on top of the old structure.

Alarmed residents asked the NYC Department of Buildings to review the plans, which revealed that Robert Scarano had been more than creative with the floor-air-ratio calculations. The Building's Department confirmed in March 2008, that the architect has lied on the application, claiming that the cellar was a basement. Scarano intended to use the "habitable" basement for parking and had transferred the square footage onto the roof. A stop-work order was issued on March 4th 2008 and the developer fired Scarano.

The owner replaced Scarano with another controversial architect, Karl Fischer, to resolve the floor-area-ratio problem. Fischer, the architect behind the 11 story 'finger' at 100 Luquer street, filed for an amendement, which he self-certified. The DOB accepted an audit in October 2009 and new permits were issued.

However, by then, the neighborhood had organized and, with the help of the Department of City Planning, was able to down-zone Carroll Gardens. Unlike the neighborhood's original R6 zoning, the new R6B zoning has a 50 foot height limit. The City Council voted the re-zoning into law on October 28, 2009.

As with any re-zoning, all construction projects were served with a stop-work-order and were re-visited by DOB to see if construction was far enough along to be vested under the old zoning. In the case of 333-335 Carroll Street, DOB determined that only 15% of the work has been completed and therefore needed to comply with the new 50 foot hight limit. Another stop work order was issued.

After much maneuvering from the developer, it's great to see the eyesore finally being taken down.

More photos to follow in the next few days.

360 Smith Street Starting To Block The Sky And View In Carroll Gardens

Before...

23987_1243666576603_1377513422_30646077_4067738_n

Now..
A view from First Place
(photo credit: Tim)

KSQ Architects' design for 360 Smith Street

K.S.Q.Architects' rendering of new subway plaza

Reader Tim posted the two photos above of Bill Stein's 360 Smith Street development on Pardon Me For Asking's Facebook page.
He writes:

"Just thought someone might like to see how our view has changed in three and a half months!"

I feel his pain. Steadily, the steel has been going up, blocking the sky and sunlight at the corner of Smith Street and Second Place.

Eventually, the building will top off at 7 stories, so Tim's view will be even more obscured.

The "Oliver House", as it was once called, has been in the works for quite some time now. When Developer Bill Stein first presented his plans to the community, he was met with opposition. Many in Carroll Gardens felt that his building was too high and looked too modern for this brownstone neighborhood and no one seemed to like his architect, Robert Scarano, who has quite an unsavory reputation.
(Just last week, Scarano was barred from filing any more permits with the NYC Department of Buildings.)

Stein eventually switched architects and had the plans (slightly) changed.

Construction at the 360 Smith Street/ 131 2nd Place started, but came to an abrupt halt in July 2008, when developer Bill Stein's "Oliver House" was slapped with a Stop Work Order immediately after the City Council passed the Carroll Gardens Wide Street Zoning Text Amendment, which limits permitted building density in Carroll Gardens.
Developer Stein promptly took his case in front of the Board of Standards and Appeals, that oh-so-contentious board that grants developers exemptions in cases such as this.

In order to be able to continue, Mr. Stein had to prove that a significant portion of the project's foundation had been completed before the Stop Work Order went into effect. Though inspectors from the NYC Department of Buildings determined that only 20% of the foundation had been completed, the BSA gave Stein what he wanted at a hearing in November 2008. The Stop Work Order was lifted. He was now free to proceed. By September 2009, construction resumed.

The eventual inhabitants of 360 Smith Street will forever have 360 views, but all other residents of Carroll Gardens will have to live with a monolithic building and a darkened sky over that corner of the neighborhood.

Construction Incident At 360 Smith Street Yesterday

Did You See This Happen? Man Injured By Falling Construction Fence At 360 Smith Street

2nd Place Subway Station Now History

Last Glance At Old Carroll Gardens Subway Plaza on Second Place

Boom, Boom...Construction Resumes At 360 Smith Street

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Friday, November 13, 2009

Breaking News! 333 Carroll Street Gets New STOP WORK ORDER

STOP WORK ORDER EXISTS ON THIS PROPERTY

Project Not Vested Under Current Zoning

That did not take long. Just days ago, I wrote about the new building permit, which has been issued for 333-335 Carroll Street, the old manufacturing building with the monstrous steel addition.
The owner, Isaac Fleischman, had given the boot to his condo conversion project's original architect, Robert Scarano, when the NYC Department of Building realized that Scarano had lied on the original application and had exceeded the allowable Floor-Area-Ratio or F.A.R.
Scarano had claiming that the cellar was a basement. Scarano intended to use the "habitable" basement for parking and had transferred the square footage onto the roof.

Fleischman just recently brought in Ken Fischer, the architect behind the 100 Luquer 'Finger'.
Just before the neighborhood's down-zoning went into effect on October 28th, 2009, D.O.B. issued new building permits. Apparently, the original issues were resolved. How exactly Fischer has been able to reconfigure the F.A.R. to get the project re-approved is still unclear.

However, the project still should have been stopped on October 28th by the DOB, when the Carroll Gardens re-zoning passed unanimously by the City Council on October 28th.
When new zoning laws are passed, all projects are served a stop-work-order and must be re-visited by DOB to see if they are vested, or far enough along, to receive an exemption, from the new zoning law.

In the case of 333-335 Carroll Street, DOB must have forgotten to stop the project on October 28th. After it was brought to their attention yesterday, they visited the site, determined that only 15% of the work has been completed under the old zoning laws, and imposed a stop work order yesterday afternoon.

Isaac Fleischman will most probably bring this issue to the Board Of Standards and Appeals, that very contentious agency which brings relief to developers in cases such as this.

Related Reading:

SURPRISE!!!!! New Permit Issued For 333 Carroll Street, The Building With The Growth On Top

Something "fishy" going on at 333-335 Carroll Street

Karl Fischer takes over as architect and self-certifies permit renewals

No building in Carroll Gardens illustrated the need for a neighborhood down-zoning better than the condo conversion at 333-335 Carroll Street, between Hoyt and Bond Streets. Back in 2005, owner Issac Fischman hired bad boy architect Robert "Mezzanine" Scarano to convert an old brick manufacturing building into a 31 unit condo. As part of the plans, a two story, 40 foot steel addition was erected on top of the old structure.

Alarmed residents asked the NYC Department of Buildings to review the plans, which revealed that Robert Scarano had been more than creative with the floor-air-ratio calculations. The Building's Department confirmed in March 2008, that the architect has lied on the application, claiming that the cellar was a basement. Scarano intended to use the "habitable" basement for parking and had transferred the square footage onto the roof.

The building's owner fired Scarano and the site was slapped with a full stop work order on March 4th 2008. Since that time, the empty building has been dormant. In the meantime, the neighborhood got organized and with the help of the Department of City Planning, was able to down-zone Carroll Gardens, in order to protect this historical neighborhood from out-of-scale developments such as 333-335 Carroll Street.
Unlike the original R6 zoning, the new R6B zoning has a 50 foot height limit. The City Council voted unanimously for the re-zoning on October 28, 2009. It went into effect immediately.

Unbeknown to local residents, the building's owner hired another controversial architect, Karl Fischer, to resolve his building's woes. Fischer, the architect behind the 11 story 'finger' at 100 Luquer street, filed for an amendement, which he self-certified. The record show an audit was accepted on October 16, just days before the new R6B zoning went into effect. It is still unclear how Fischer was able to solve the original Floor-Area-Ratio problem. The owner may have bought some air rights from other buildings. He may also have added an Ambulatory Diagnostic Health Facility, which may have given him bonus F.A.R. under the old zoning. (Under the new R6B zoning, that would not have helped.)

A new building permit has been issued on November 5, 2009 for:

Proposed conversion of existing manufacturing building to residential with
additional floors, as per Article 7B MDL, including the removal and
construction of interior & exterior bearing & non-bearing partitions, plumbing fixtures, finishes, cabinetry & casework, complete repiping of building.

If indeed, the audit and the permits were filed and approved before the Carroll Gardens re-zoning on October 28th, the developer got them in under the wire. That would be incredibly unfortunate for the neighborhood.

However, given the history of the site and the willful misleading by the developer to get more building than he is entitled to, it would seem appropriate for the Buildings Department to take a very careful look at all the paperwork.

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Monday, September 21, 2009

Last Glance At Old Carroll Gardens Subway Plaza on Second Place

Last Glimpse Of Old 2nd Place Subway Station by you.

photo credit: Gary Reilly

KSQ Architects' design for 360 Smith Street

K.S.Q.Architects' rendering of new subway plaza

Now you see it, soon you won't!

A last glimpse at the old 2nd Place subway plaza before it is plowed under to make way for Bill Stein's out-of-scale luxury condo development at 360 Smith Street. Mr. Stein had promised to restore the plaza once construction is completed. We can only hope.

The renderings of the building above were presented by Stein to the Carroll Gardens community in February 2008. Back then, Stein had fired the highly controversial architect Robert Scarano and had hired Armand Quadrini of K.S.Q. Architects to redesign the 70 feet condo building.

Construction at the 360 Smith Street/ 131 2nd Place site came to an abrupt halt in July 2008, when developer Bill Stein's development was slapped with a Stop Work Order immediately after the City Council passed the Carroll Gardens Wide Street Zoning Text Amendment, which limits permitted building height and density in Carroll Gardens.
Developer Stein promptly took his case in front of the Board of Standards and Appeals, that oh-so-contentious board that grants developers exemptions in cases such as this.

Mr. Stein eventually won his fight, but construction only resumed a few weeks ago. As of last week, the main subway station has been closed and will only reopen in 2010.

It is unclear, if Armand Quadrini's design for 360 Smith Street has been modified in the meantime or if the building will still look like the rendering above.

* Thanks to Gary Reilly for allowing me to post his photo

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Oh Look...Mezzanines! Open House At Scarano's "Satori"

340 Bond Street

What the sales brochure may have left out!

Open house at the Satori at 340 Bond Street? I couldn't resist. I needed to check it out. Designed by notorious 'Bad Boy' architect Robert Scarano, the building is described on its web site as follows:

The Satori located in Carroll Gardens Brooklyn, marks an awakening of the senses. A new building, fueled by nature and the simplicity it provides to create unique residences originated to enhance, not interfere with, life. It introduces a new living experience, utilizing the art of Japanese design, layering a multitude of textures and an original conceptional facade.

The apartments have been languishing on the market for quite a while. Even after some steep price cuts, only six out of the 34 units are in contract. They are currently priced from $385K to $795K.
Of course, the current economy has slowed sales everywhere, but the Satori has a few strikes against it, most notably its location as well as its use of mezzanine floors. A Scarano trademark, those mezzanines are labeled as storage areas in his blueprints, their square footage not added into the building’s total floor-to-area ratio. However, they turn the apartments into 'faux' duplexes.
When I questioned the Satori salesperson on site at the open house, he said:
"Those storage spaces can be converted into living spaces after the closing."
I guess, Scarano is still at it. But let me give you a tour:

The living rooms have great high ceilings, but..

the stairs connecting floors in the duplexes are dangerously steep. I actually slipped and barely was able to catch myself.

"Faux Duplexes"
What seems like an additional floor....

above the kitchens of some of the units....

is actually one of Scarano's signature mezzanines.

More mezzanines...

this one masquerading as a storage area...

complete with electric and telephone hook-up.

The placement of this sink in one of the bathrooms is awkward, to say the least. One has to press against the wall in order to center one's hands under the faucet.

Nothing beats the view of the 'lovely' Gowanus canal area from one of the windows facing Bond Street...
...except maybe the view of that 'other' Scarano building,
the one with the illegal two story addition at 333 Carroll Street, visible from the back of the Satori.