444 Graham Avenue
Photo: Curbed

Yesterday, the City Council held its first hearing on the Greenpoint/Williasmburg Contextual Rezoning. That rezoning would eliminate, once and for all, finger buildings in most of North Brooklyn.

But there are a few sites that are trying to get in under the gun. One of those is 444 Graham Avenue, the former Marino Tile building. The owner would like to erect a 14-story 69-unit building on a site that, under the new zoning, would only allow a 4 to 6 story building. (The block, by the way, is mostly two and three-story row houses.)

You would think, with a stop-work in order in place since July 15 that 444 Graham would have a tough time beating the clock (which could ring any day now). But the SWO is only partial – the owner is allowed to dig test pits, load-test an existing beam and remove a “non-load bearing CMU wall by hand”. According to neighbors who have been watching the site, this allowed work requires numerous trucks going in and out of the site with stacks of cement mix and many, many, many workers.

DOB, for its part, says that they are inspecting the site a few times a week, and that all work is in compliance with the SWO.

We’ll see when the vesting application comes through.