Riis Park only improved the beach for the bazaar and boardwalk and not for the picnic area

 

Impunity City


Well another summer has departed and the belated autumn solstice has arrived today after the climate change influenced unusual warmth of last October, so this would be the right time to document and review this years spring and summer season spent at Riis Park. And it’s not good at all and it has not ended well, as the dramatic changes that came forth with certain and way overdue (and selective) renovations took place

 As the days of May got later, there actually was a itty bitty slither of hope for the people’s beach. The Riis Park Bathhouse renovation attracted more concessions and restaurant fare, as well as new food stands on the end of the boardwalk by the abandoned hospital and both were supplied with live laptop DJ’s. More food trucks were added to where the heart of the Brooklyn Night Bazaar Riis Park Beach Bazaar takes place, probably for people who do not care for the upscale foodie concept fare being sold in the restaurant inside and the stand by the pitch-and-putt course. There was also the return of the ludicrous high end slum camping concept Camp Rockaway in the dirty chigger infested backyard of the bathhouse. Volleyball courts were also added right in the next yard too for adventurous players and camp guests to play on the hard concrete. It was quite a sight to behold this year on every weekend, as people gathered to enjoy the summer breeze, sharing the company of diverse races and cultures, and extravagantly overpriced fast food, beer and cocktails. Vibrancy in action I believe it’s called.

 

 


But something was missing from all the free market vibrancy going on the boardwalk. Somehow all the restorations and renovations and all the upscale prices that went into providing a venue for the bazaar did not transfer to a very essential part of beach and parkland that was already a big attraction. In fact it was the only vibrant destination spot before the natural disaster of a category one hurricane and the unwelcome appearance of gentrifiers hit the people’s beach (yes, I’m aware of the irony that gentrifiers are people too) and that is the picnic and grilling area.

Before that bitch Sandy came, it was arguably the best and most spacious grilling area in the city. Despite how small it looks, it had ample space and plenty of tables and grills for anyone that showed up anytime. It also had a lot of wind swept trees from the powerful Atlantic Ocean winds that gave the picnic area a cool presence and a visual wonder of nature.

 

 



But where are the goddamn tables? This is a federally tax payer subsidized picnic area.

Judge rules that homeowner must fix up landmarked house

From the Daily News:

A Staten Island judge on Thursday ordered the owners of one of the city's oldest houses to fix it immediately or run the risk of having to pay fines of more than $8.5 million — 20 times the property's fair market value.

In a colorfully written, 22-page decision, Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Philip Straniere said the owners knew in 2009 when they bought the historic Manee-Seguine Homestead that the house and surrounding acres were landmarked and they would be responsible for maintaining the building.

Instead, he said, they adopted a policy of “demolition by neglect” and ignored prior court orders to make repairs and post bonds that could be used to fund fixes.

Straniere added that the owners never filed a hardship application with the city to get out of the landmark designation for the house, which was built starting in 1690 and designated a landmark in 1984.

Under the designation, the owners were allowed to build residential units on the two-acre, ocean-view parcel as compensation for maintaining the historic home — one of the six oldest houses in the city. But they did not do that, either.

"(The owners) do not have to take any steps to develop the property; that is their choice. But they are required by the statute to maintain it. They have not done so," the judge wrote.

He said the city's request for an injunction to block the owners permanently from “continuing their policy of ‘demolition by neglect’... is granted.”

Steinway Mansion update (get up and bar the door!)

Hello Crapman:

Here are the latest pix from the Mansion. 13 months of "construction" and my photo coverage.

According to the "Steinway Park" site, 4 warehouses are "in contract":

One of them is on the 41st Street side where no work has been done for almost 2 months. This is 18-27 41st Street - right at the foot of the Mansion. Strange that someone would enter into a real estate deal with nothing built there yet? (See the middle photo of my post.) And why is there no work being done there - 41st Street - at all?

PLUS, why don't Loria/Lucchese go up to the tower and close the damn door?


At the front,
GtheA

LPC sues homeowner over building neglect

DNA Info/James Fanelli

From DNA Info:

The city is suing the owner of a dilapidated landmarked rowhouse in order to hammer home a message — fix it.

In a rare move, the city Landmarks Preservation Commission filed a lawsuit earlier this month against Nina Justiniano to compel her to rehab her red-bricked home on historic Astor Row in Central Harlem.

The interior floors and walls of the 133-year-old three-story home have collapsed and most of the roof is missing after years of neglect.

The commission, which has only filed 13 lawsuits like this in the past 12 years, took the unusual step after repeatedly requesting the work since 2012. City law requires landmarked homes to remain in good repair.

The lawsuit asks a judge to fine Justiniano $5,000 a day until she renovates the home.

Fort Totten falling apart!

From the Queens Courier:

Fort Totten’s history is slowly fading away.

The historic Bayside park is home to several dilapidated and historic buildings that have been sitting vacant and in need of repair, according to the Bayside Historical Society. The oldest among these is the Willets Farmhouse, built in 1829, making it the oldest building in the area.

Despite the deteriorating conditions none of the buildings will be repaired anytime soon, according to city records.

A Parks Department spokeswoman said that the farmhouse was worked on in 2013 to stabilize it but the area is completely fenced off and no one is allowed inside to check the building’s condition. Abandoned NYC, a website devoted to decaying sites, published a photo tour of some of the buildings in 2012.

The Parks Department is in the planning phase of a $2.1 million restoration project, of the roofs of two historic buildings: the Chapel and the Commander’s House, both of which were built in the early 1900s, a parks spokeswoman said. But construction won’t begin until next year, leaving the two historic buildings exposed to rain and other natural elements that will eat away at the building.

The groundskeeper for the park said that if something isn’t done soon, the buildings would be damaged beyond repair. And as winter approaches, groundskeeper Mac Harris knows that the buildings will suffer.

“The roofs are not being repaired,” Mac Harris said. “The buildings are slowly being decayed.”

Staten Islanders trying to rescue sad landmark

From DNA Info:

The Friends of Abraham Manee-Seguine Homestead started a petition this month asking Mayor Bill de Blasio to buy the home — which has a large hole in its roof and a crumbling chimney — from owner, Leonard Tallo, in order to restore it.

"It's in relatively good condition, it just needs some work," said Nick Matranga, 43, who started the group and petition. "It needs somebody to invest money to shore up the structure."

Tallo was sued in April by the Landmarks Preservation Commission because he failed to repair the historic home at 509 Seguine Ave., which was built in the 1670s. He blamed part of the damage on Hurricane Sandy, according to court papers.

Tallo said several engineers have told him that the house cannot be repaired and would need to be demolished, and the majority of the damage happened before he bought the structure in 2009.

"The damage didn't happen on my clock," he said. "They really put the whole burden on me."

Tallo's lawyer, Anthony Lenza, found an emergency declaration filed in 2008 by the Department of Buildings that said the house needed to be demolished. That was later rescinded.

Tallo said that was hidden from him when he bought the home.

"I bought it with a set of plans and it was to restore that house and build three houses," Tallo said.

Landmarked Bronx school is coming down

From the Daily News:

The Castle on the Concourse will face the wrecking ball — even though the city Landmarks Preservation Commission tried its best to save it.

Panel members said Tuesday they did not agree with the city’s plan to tear down the old Public School 31 building on the Grand Concourse in Mott Haven, but they could not stand in the way.

“It’s distressing,” Robert Tierney, the commission’s chairman, said at the hearing. “I do not see a solution. Right now, our options are severely limited.”

His fellow board member, Elizabeth Ryan, agreed.

“From a community point of view and an architectural point of view, I cannot condone this demolition,” she said.

Despite their reservations, they were unable to save the shuttered 114-year-old Gothic-style academy.

The Department of Buildings’ emergency order to wreck the structure, issued on Nov. 8, overrides the Commission’s advisory report.

City officials said Tuesday that the building was a public danger and would cost too much to shore up.

Beautiful building to be restored

From DNA Info:

A long-neglected Hell's Kitchen landmark — which was covered in scaffolding for decades and had become home to squatters and vagrants in recent years — is getting an overhaul to become a boutique hotel, its owners announced.

The Windermere, a landmarked Queen Anne-style building at West 57th Street and Ninth Avenue, is set to be transformed into a 175-room upscale hotel with an outdoor rooftop space, according to owner Mark Tress, who purchased the property in 2009.

In addition to the hotel rooms, Tress also plans to build permanent affordable housing, which would take up 28 percent of the building, plus retail spaces on the ground floor, the developer said.

"We find the proposed work for the most part praiseworthy and welcome, especially after the building’s long history of neglect and decay," Community Board 4 wrote in a largely positive letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission after a meeting last week.

However, CB4 objected to the ninth-floor rooftop extension, and hoped that a handicapped access platform would be changed so it blended into the building.

Old house looking for some love

From Brownstoner:

The oldest house in Crown Heights North, the freestanding wood frame Susan B. Elkins house at 1375 Dean Street, built in the mid-19th century when the area was still mostly open farmland, is back on the market. This time the ask is $1,100,000, and the building looks to be in worse condition than when it last changed hands in 2011 for $194,000, according to PropertyShark.

At the time, buyer Real Properties Group said it planned to restore the exterior to its 1939 tax photo condition and turn the interior into apartments. In recent months, the Crown Heights North Association reported the owner for “demo by neglect” because neighbors saw gaping holes in the roof.

Unfortunately, the building was left open and looted over the years. Now the current owner appears to have gutted what little remained of the interior. The listing says “Delivered vacant and with an interior that has been completely cleared, you can project your fantasy home and build out to suit your individual tastes and desires.”

LPC goes after owner of neglected landmark

From DNA Info:

The city is suing the owner of one of Staten Island's oldest houses for letting the property fall into disrepair and then blaming the damage on Hurricane Sandy.

The historic Manee-Seguine Homestead at 509 Seguine Ave., which was built in the 1670s, has a large hole in its roof and a crumbling chimney that the owner has failed to repair, the Landmarks Preservation Commission said in papers filed April 22 in Staten Island Supreme Court.

Leonard Tallo, who owns Intrepid Construction, bought the building in 2009 and told the LPC that he would get the building into shape. But the court papers claim he's failed to do so.

“Defendants have failed to maintain this building in a condition of good repair, despite repeated requests to do so over the past three years by Landmarks,” the suit said.

“Because of the neglect... the structural integrity of this landmark building has been compromised and there is an on-going significant deterioration of its important character-defining architectural features.”

Andrew Lenza, Tallo's lawyer, told the city that the homestead was severely damaged by Sandy, that it was “red-tagged” by the Department of Buildings and that it was slated for demolition, the court papers said.

But when workers from Landmarks went to see the destruction, they found no evidence that the storm surge even reached the historic home, the suit said.

Nick Matranga, 43, who started the Friends of Abraham Manee-Seguine Homestead, said his group has tried since 2010 to coordinate with Tallo to help restore the dilapidated home, free of charge, but Tallo was unresponsive.