Monday, February 12, 2007

Whole lotta crappin' going on

These houses at 71-36 to 71-44 58th Avenue in Middle Village* were a disaster from the very beginning. First, the company excavated without a permit. Then they were caught building contrary to approved plans. Originally there were ramps leading down to garages in front. However, the ramps were too steep and cars could not safely be placed on them, so the builder was forced to fill them in and now the cars are simply parked on the sidewalk. The house design is lovely to look at as well. These crappy things replaced civil war era detached homes.

Just up the street, at 73-07 to 73-11 58th Avenue, Middle Village.* Building contrary to zoning, water leaking and damaging neighbor's property, working with no plans at job site, fence falling down - this is everything you could possibly ask for in a crappy builder.

(Russ is right, these homes are technically in Maspeth, not Middle Village. Middle Village starts 3 blocks east.)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The TLC cars with the garbage on a paved over front lawn is indeed, the iconoclastic image of Queens these days.

Can you not see the white balconies, soon hanging junkyards, soon rusted and each one painted a different clashing happy color in a few years? Again, the essence of Queens.

It just seems this is now a borough with no pride, no taste, no class. A few decades ago it was a great place.

What the hell happened?

Why do people put up with this?

Anonymous said...

That address is actually Maspeth, not Middle Village. Now, to see some good Middle Village crap (and give it it's proper due), check out 66-53 to 66-65 69th street. Not only are the attached "fedders" style homes ugly (with stuff hanging from the balconies) but the owners regularly park their graffiti ladden, commercial vehicles up against the fronts. The even better news is that 2 doors down from 66-53, they just recently knocked down the last 1 family home and are building a newer monstrosity. Have to love it!

Russ

Anonymous said...

Another homage to brick and concrete with not a tree in sight. Only a "putz" would want to own one of these, I'm sure, overpriced bad excuses for architecture!

Anonymous said...

People put up with this because those that are to represent them, be it the politicians, the community boards, and their handmaidens, the newspapers, tell them this is good.

The question is when they lose credibility with the people, what will happen.

Queens should be a very interesting place over the next decades ...

Anonymous said...

Well one thing is for sure, anyone who is involved in forecasting knows that numbers never inexorably progress in a staight line into the future.

I think that we will start to see some big changes in Queens over the next decade or so.

And yes, go ahead, you can starting using the other 249,999 words in the English language to describe our fair borough.

The 'i' word is about to get some company.

Anonymous said...

More examples of the Art Crapo style. Are you writing a book, with a forward written by Melinda, etc?

Give it 25 years and the Manhattan crowd will fall over themselves trying to landmark 'classic Queens architecture' setting in stone the identity of tastlessness and Queens.

Anonymous said...

Yes, truly "craptastic". However, my favorite examples of the uglification of Queens are in the once beautiful Cord Meyer section of Forest Hills. People there paid big money to make their homes look like slums.

They aren't putting up with it, they like it that way, I think.