The
Story Behind PlanetPLG and
205 Parkside
Avenue
When
Planet PLG first launched
in April I spent a morning
handing out flyers in
front of the Parkside
Avenue Q. I was trying to
raise awareness of the
Planet's campaign to get
the MTA to fix the station.
A young woman stopped and
asked me why I didn't try
to get something done
about the nasty building
at the end of Parkside
Court. "I live there
and it's a great block but
all everyone sees is that
horrible looking
building". I walked
down the block to took a
look - she had a point:
"Everything
Changing Real Soon"
One night, a short
time later, I was walking
home from the CD11
Congressional Forum when I
happened upon this sign
posted in front of the
building:
The
site of this sign gave me
some hope (although in
retrospect it almost
certainly had nothing to
do with 205 Parkside).
Here is my post from that
day:
A
Sign Appears on Parkside
Avenue
"Everything
changing real soon"
promises an unusual
"public notice"
When
did it first appear? Who
wrote it? Does it refer to
the neglected building
behind it or to the
Second-Coming? Can it be
believed? The building,
which wraps around the
corner onto Parkside
Court, could be very nice
with a little help.
Parkside Avenue has shown
signs of new economic life
with the opening of the
Jamaican restaurant Exquisite,
the supermarket and
Maverick comic book and
video game store. Add to
that a renovation of this
building and the soon to
be repaired Parkside
Avenue Q stop and this
block would be in pretty
decent shape. Two
residents of Parkside
Court have told me that
their short block is great
but they both wish that
this building wasn't in
such sad shape. The Planet
is trying to track down
the owner for a comment.
Tracking
down the owners
The sign made me curious
so I tried to find the
owners. The
internet, combined with
NYC Government's relative transparency, is an
amazing combo. By
searching around I
was able to find the
name of the owner and the
fact that they had appeared
before our local Community Board
9. Another post
from PlanetPLG:
UPDATE:
It appears that something
is indeed happening with
this building. The owner, Prince
Parkside, LLC (ooh, royalty!),
appeared before our local
community board #9 in
March. Here is what the
minutes say about that
appearance:
"3/28/2006 - A
variance application on
205 Parkside Avenue was
sent to the Board of
Standards and Appeals. At
the September meeting
members learned that the
building would be put into
SRO. The developer could
not give an account of
what he wanted to do after
developing the
building."
Very mysterious indeed -
and what's up with the
intention to put the
building "into
SRO" (Single Room
Occupancy)? Is it to
become a rooming house?
Generally the trend has
been towards turning
former rooming houses into
condos.
We dug further and found
that the variance
application is "to
allow an enlargement of an
existing non-complying UG
2 residential building in
an R7-1 district"
against existing zoning
regulations (hence the
need for a variance).
Enlargement? It looks
pretty spacious as is.
The Board of Standard and
Appeals is considering the
request and will announce
its decision on 6/6/06
(yes, that is "6/6/06",
coincidence?). If anyone
has an idea as to what all
of this means please share
- Email
PlanetPLG
A
conversation with
Harold Weinberg
On the Board of
Appeals and
Standards website,
I was able to find
the name of the man
representing the
owners of 205
Parkside at the
upcoming hearing on
the owner's request
for a variance. A
few calls to a
couple of unrelated Harold
Weinbergs later
(sorry guys) and I
was speaking to the
correct "Harold
Weinberg PE".
Here's my report:
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PlanetPLG
Exclusive:
205
Parkside
Avenue Update
Owner
wants to turn
building into
an
"Apartment
Hotel"
We
spoke with
Harold Weinberg
P.E.
(Professional
Engineer)
mainly in
English, but
also a bit in
Yiddish and
Italian. Mr.
Weinberg, a
colorful
gentleman with
a strong old-school NYC
accent, is
representing
the owners in
a bid to get a
variance to
skirt certain
local zoning
regulations.
When asked
what an
"Apartment
Hotel"
is, Mr.
Weinberg
"guaranteed"
that the
owners would
not turn it
into a
homeless
shelter (I
hadn't asked)
and referred
us to
"resolution
12 dash
10" for
the
definition.
When we
confessed our
ignorance he
presented a
picture of an
apartment
building with
"certain
amenities"
such as
cleaning and
towel services
and a
concierge who
monitors
people
entering the
building.
We're still
not clear on
who the target
audience is -
the city does
in fact
subsidize many
S.R.O.
buildings to
house the
homeless but
Mr. Weinberg
says that is
not the
intention of
the owners.
The question
may be moot as
Mr. Weinberg
is not
optimistic
that the
variance will
be granted;
"My
clients would
love to fix
that building
up because
they and I
believe it
would be an
excellent
anchor... it
would be an
ideal place
and they would
invest a lot
of money to
keep it
well-maintained." |
The Hearing is Delayed - Another Talk with Harold
Weinberg
Although we were confused about this project, we did not necessarily
oppose it. We just
didn't quite get
what the owners were
after. When the BSA
hearing was delayed
I gave Mr. Weinberg
a call for an
update.
NEIGHBORHOOD
UPDATES
- 205
Parkside Avenue
We
spoke with Harold
Weinberg today, the
engineer
representing 205's
owners in their
attempt to get a
variance to turn 205
into an
"Apartment
Hotel". He says
the owners have
brought in a new
attorney to try and
satisfy the Board's
concerns. They are
turning in new
documentation on
7/15 and expect a
decision on 7/17.
When I asked why
they wouldn't just
convert the building
into apartments if
the variance is
denied, he said the
income from 14 units
would not offset
heating costs and
taxes. He was not
optimistic that the
board would grant
the variance.
|
PlanetPLG
EXCLUSIVE |
BREAKING
NEWS
"Hooker
Hotel" and
205 Parkside - Same
Owners?
Both
LLCs share same
Avenue J address in
Brooklyn
"Prince
Lefferts LLC",
the owners of the
controversial
"hooker
hotel" on
Lefferts Place in
Clinton Hill, share
the same Avenue J
address as the
"Prince
Parkside LLC"
ownership group
which is attempting
to convert 205
Parkside Avenue in
PLG into an
"Apartment
Hotel". While
the Planet has
consistently
supported affordable
housing, we weren't
referring to low
hourly rates. |
7/19/06
PARKSIDE SHOCKER:
Is This Like Nixon
"Resigning"?
205
Parkside Avenue variance
request is
"withdrawn" at
7/18
BSA hearing
Did the Prince Hotel Group
prefer a graceful exit to
a denial? Do they have
other plans for the
building that the
community can embrace? We
have a lot of questions
and we will try to get
some answers. In the
meantime thanks go out to
PLUS, Ocean by the Park
Block Association and
Yvette Clarke (who sent a
letter and spoke with the
BSA) for applying pressure
against this variance
request. See
this page for the
background on this story.
205
Parkside Avenue Update -
7/25/06
We
spoke with Harold
Weingberg who mysteriously
keeps taking our calls
According
to Harold Weinberg PE, who
unsuccessfully represented
the owners of 205
Parkside Avenue before
the Board of Standards and
Appeals, the decision to
withdraw the variance
request was made because
they were told the request
was going to be denied
(yep, a Nixon). When asked
what the owners intend to
do now with the property
he replied "I imagine
something, they're not
going to let it just
rot". He agreed to
relay a message from us to
the owner and fax back an
answer. There are also
signs that Council Member
Yvette Clarke's office may
be considering applying a
little friendly pressure
on the owner to do
something positive with
the building. We'll keep
you posted.
Comment
on this issue on ATP.
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