Pols Back Hasids in Bike Lane Fight

The Brooklyn Paper engages in a little sensationalist headline writing over David Yassky’s letter to DOT regarding the Kent Avenue bike lanes. While Yassky’s letter does talk about the impact of the bike lanes on local residents, the emphasis of the letter is clearly on the economic impact. Which is as it should be – as I’ve said before, the Kent bike lanes are a failure in planning because of the impact they have on local businesses, not because we are losing parking spaces. So the headline should read “Pols Back Local Business in Bike Lane Fight“.

(If Yassky, Markowitz et al want to do something for the residents who are most impacted by the greenway, they should be pressuring Shaefer Landing to revoke it exclusionary access policies and let all residents use the driveway for pickups and drop offs. That is just a shameful policy.)

Officials Backpedal on Kent Avenue

Councilmember Yassky and others have sent a letter to DOT asking for changes to the Kent Avenue bike lanes. The basic thrust is not too different from what I have said in the past – bike lanes are important and therefore its important that DOT implement them well. They haven’t done that on Kent Avenue, and it is hurting Kent Avenue business owners.

Yassky et al are proposing that DOT eliminate (paint over) the northbound bike lane until “DOT and the community have developed a collaborative plan”. That is a bad idea, in that once the bike lane is gone, it will be difficult to get it back. If DOT is going to do any repainting, it should repaint the street right – shift all the lanes to the west side of Kent, or install parking on the east side while retaining a northbound bike lane, or do something else that fixes the problem. (Parking is not the problem – economic viability of businesses is. That’s one problem – fix it.)

Also, it should be noted that even though the letter is signed by Evan Thies of CB1, it does not represent official CB1 position. The Board already voted (twice) to support the Greenway, and (once) to ask that DOT come up with a solution that makes both bike traffic and vehicular traffic work on Kent Avenue.

BSA Gives Williamsburg the Finger

BSA has apparently voted to allow the Finger Building to go forward, in all its 200′ glory. Details as they become available…

(I mistakenly reported that the hearing was yesterday; it was this morning.)

As the Finger Turns

It may be done by now, but today is (final?) judgement for the Finger Building at BSA. Things are not looking for the anti-Finger crowd – according to an email from supporter, HSBC has bought the development project AND the air rights buildings. The fear now is that with the building and the air rights in hand, BSA will deny the opposition motion and let the full 200′ building go up.

Just so we’re clear on this – the developer probably did not have the air rights to permit the building, but DOB granted the permit anyhow (on the basis of the fact that the developer “thought” he had the air rights). Now, four years after the fact, the air rights and the development are actually in the same hands (for the first time in the project’s history). So BSA will validate the original DOB permit, even though it was clearly faulty.

Brownstoner has more here.

A Problem Rises to the Surface in Greenpoint

The Times on the Meeker plume and difficulties getting homeowners to open their buildings to inspectors:

But while fixing the problem is relatively easy, agency officials said, getting some residents to cooperate is not… [Many] homeowners — worried about a blow to their property values or even being forced from their homes — have ignored letters asking for access to their buildings, or have refused to answer the door for investigators.

Boarding Up the Sales Room

Halstead will also halt sales at the Steelworks Lofts, an 88-unit condominium in a former steel warehouse on North Fourth Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a few blocks from the waterfront.

Broadway Triangle: Build it Taller

The Broadway Triangle saga continues, with the coalition of outsider groups calling for larger buildings. BTC is calling for buildings up to 20 stories, but what does that mean in terms of density? The current proposal is a mix of R6A and R7A – pretty dense by neighborhood standards.

On a related note – does anyone have a report on the BTC charrette that was held last Wednesday? If so, drop me an email (I had family obligations that I couldn’t shift on short notice).

Tenants Continue to Battle Landlord

After three and a half years, the saga at 202 Franklin continues. According to the News, the current owner bought the property (post-fire) for $610,000 and is trying to sell it for $900,000. While the owner can afford to offer the tenants $100,000 buyout packages, he has done nothing to make the repairs required to get the tenants back into the building.