Rockaway zombie courthouse coming back as a wework imitation

 

THE CITY

A long-shuttered former courthouse in Queens that the city sold for just $50,000 nearly a decade ago to build a medical facility can now be used for commercial and office space instead.

The board of the city’s Economic Development Corporation voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a change to the deed with the former Rockaway Courthouse, which has now been closed for 60 years.

The move allows the owner, Uri Kaufman of The Harmony Group, to lease the space to commercial tenants — a request he made for years. 

The city approved the transfer of the courthouse building to Kaufman in 2013, and he officially purchased it in 2015 for $50,000, according to an EDC spokesperson. The low price was meant to allow for major renovation of the 1931 building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Construction and asbestos abatement was completed by 2020. Overall, Kaufman has spent around $11 million in repairs, he told THE CITY.

Kaufman said the courthouse was “one of the toughest buildings we ever did,” noting it originally had only one exit — so they had to construct an additional wing out the back for fire safety.

No movement on Rockaway courthouse project after 5 years

From The Wave:

Concrete plans for the long-dormant courthouse on Beach Channel Drive hang in the balance as the back-and-forth between local residents and developer Uri Kaufman continues.

At a special Sept. 28 Rockaway Beach Civic Association (RBCA) meeting regarding the courthouse, members of the civic tore into Kaufman, president and CEO of The Harmony Group, as well as New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) reps in an effort to clarify future uses for the space and vent their frustrations about the deplorable conditions of the site and adjacent lot.

The historic building, which formerly served as a Municipal and Magistrate’s court, was built in 1932. Save for a brief use by an arts group in the 70s, the 24,000 square-foot building at 90-01 Beach Channel Drive has remained dormant since 1962.

NYCEDC stepped in in 2012, issuing a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for the adaptive reuse and redevelopment of the Rockaway courthouse. According to NYCEDC, the RFEI aimed to assess options for the reactivation of the site that were “compatible with the existing neighborhood in order to ultimately improve the overall quality of life for the community.”

As reported by The Wave in 2012, “a proposal for the development of the courthouse into an ambulatory surgical facility was approved by Community Board 14, which allows the developer [The Harmony Group] to move forward with negotiations to obtain the property from the city.”

Fast forward five years and the space, to the surprise of some but not many on the civic board, has yet to go into construction or finalize tenants.

Rockaway Courthouse reconstruction still not underway

From Rockaway Times:

Construction on the Rockaway courthouse will not begin before the end of the year, as originally planned, according to Uri Kaufman, the CEO of the Harmony Group, the Albany-based development company chosen to do the work.

Kaufman said in July that work would begin before the end of the year.

As of press time, Kaufman was in Israel and could not provide any other details about the status of the project.

At the time of the initial announcement, the project was expected to cost more than $10 million and be completed before the end of 2015.

Piss poor planning leads to parking nightmare

From the Daily News:

The city shuttered the decrepit Queensboro Hall municipal parking garage a week early on Wednesday after tagging the half-century-old structure a safety hazard.

But local leaders said the Department of Transportation has no concrete plan to accommodate hundreds of people — including jurors and court personnel — who use the roughly 500-space facility every day.

Workers handed out flyers to confused drivers Wednesday, outlining nearby private garages and bus routes.

The lot serves both Borough Hall and the Queens Criminal Court facilities in Kew Gardens.

Transportation officials originally planned to close it Oct. 1 but announced late Tuesday it would shutter the next day.

“This came fast,” said Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, who fears frustrated drivers will spend hours circling nearby streets, adding heavy traffic around nearby Public School 99.

“What we need right now is for the city to give us alternatives where people can park,” she said.

One of those options could be to shuttle people from Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and nearby colleges, Katz said.

The borough’s criminal justice system is also expected to take a big hit, a spokesman for District Attorney Richard Brown said.

“The garage’s closing will be extremely burdensome on crime victims, witnesses, jurors and defendants, as well as the surrounding neighborhood,” he said.

Office space $ could be better spent

From DNA Info:

The city has spent nearly $40 million over the last 12 years on office space for Queens prosecutors and other law enforcement officials while a city-owned building attached to the borough's courthouse sits empty, DNAinfo New York has learned.

Every day, some 277 prosecutors, investigators and police officers commute along a five-block stretch of dangerous Queens Boulevard to the courthouse, often lugging sensitive case folders or pushing carts filled with confidential court and investigative reports.

Their trek begins at 80-02 Kew Gardens Road, where the city spends nearly $3 million a year renting 80,000 square feet on four floors for the DA’s team, hate crimes and special victims bureaus, a sitting Queens grand jury and the court officers and police officers who guard them.

But the city also maintains the empty Queens House of Detention, a 10-story jail that's been closed since 2002 and is directly attached to the rear of the courthouse.

A few days ago, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown illustrated the point while standing in his main conference room. He tapped on a wall that literally separates his office from the aging jail — a wall that inmates once tried to crash through to escape to freedom, he recalled.

Brown said the city has been renting space down the street as workspace for about half of his prosecutors and police investigators since before he became the borough’s top law enforcement officer 25 years ago.

It's therefore not surprising that he and other court and NYPD officials want someone to take a sledgehammer to the wall and renovate the empty jail, turning it into a thriving office space for them and other social service agencies.

Rockaway Courthouse to become medical center

From CBS New York:

A historic building which has been abandoned for more than four decades is getting new life in Queens.

Developer Uri Kaufman is buying the old Rockaway Courthouse on Beach Channel Drive for $50,000 and turning it into a medical center, filling a void left when the bankrupt Peninsula Hospital shut down last year.

The courthouse, which was built in 1932, closed in 1962. It was last used by an arts group in the 1970s.

The columns and the rest of the facade of the 24,000-square-foot building will remain while the inside will be gutted...

Now here's something they should have just torn down

This thing is hideous. As Curbed writes, "It's, uh, an interesting look. At least they preserved the facade, right?" Yikes!

Something may finally become of Rockaway courthouse

From the Daily News:

The city has finally agreed on a plan to transform the long-abandoned Rockaway Courthouse into a medical center.

Developer Uri Kaufman, whose Harmony Group has converted other historic structures into modern facilities, will purchase and renovate the 24,000-square-foot building into doctor’s offices and outpatient surgery suites, according to the city Economic Development Corp.

The deteriorating courthouse, built in 1932, sits on Beach Channel Drive near the foot of the Cross Bay Bridge. Despite its majestic exterior, residents have tagged it a decaying eyesore.

In return for pumping $10 million into the project, city officials said Kaufman’s company will be able to purchase it for $50,000.

City seeks savior for courthouse

From the Daily News:

For decades, the shuttered Rockaway Courthouse has served as both an example of urban decay and a symbol of hope.

The stately structure sits abandoned on Beach Channel Drive — an eyesore on an otherwise tidy block of one-family homes.

But it has also captured the imagination of many people over the years who dreamed of it being transformed into a center for education or the arts.

For the first time in almost a decade, the city is seeking proposals from developers interested in renovating the 24,000-square-foot limestone and marble building that was constructed in 1932.

There is little left inside that distinguishes it as a courthouse, other than the high ceiling and cathedral-type windows.

All fixtures and furniture disappeared years ago and years of graffiti scars some of the walls.

An ambitious plan to create a City University of New York facility on the site fell through several years ago.

The city is hoping to find a developer who will keep the distinctive exterior.

Rockaway courthouse redevelopment

From The Real Deal:

The New York City Economic Development Corporation issued a request for expressions of interest for the long-vacant Rockaway Courthouse in Queens, in the Hammels section of the Rockaways, according to a statement from the agency today.

The 24,000 square-foot limestone building is close to public transportation and was weather-proofed by the city in 2007, the statement said. The EDC is seeking innovative ideas for the reuse of the structure that are “compatible with the existing neighborhood,” and can “ultimately improve the overall quality of life for the community.”

The site is currently zoned R4-1, which allows for small residential and community uses. Any zoning changes, and the associated costs, would be the responsibility of the user, the statement said. The building is located at 90-01 Beach Channel Drive.