Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Soon-to-be-demolished Rockaway crap

A Rockaway eyesore will soon be no more - but it will cost taxpayers $5 million to tear it down.

The city has acquired more than a dozen abandoned buildings at 311 Beach 104th St., which is next to a waste treatment plant on Beach Channel Dr. It plans to bulldoze the decrepit structures in early 2009.


City to pay $5M to tear down eyesore near Rockaway sewer plant

The Department of Citywide Administrative Services tried to buy the property from owner Yehuda Cohen between February 2005 and May 2006 but negotiations stalled, an agency spokesman said.

The former condo project, drafted by architectural firm Bricolage Designs, was never completed and became an eyesore in the neighborhood.

"The condos will be demolished and the land will be used for storage of plant equipment, such as large pipes and spare pumps. The land will also serve as a buffer between the plant and the community," said Mercedes Padilla, a spokeswoman for the city Department of Environmental Protection, which runs the sewerage plant.

"We paid a little over $5 million for the site, which was the fair value based upon two appraisals" by the city Law Department, she added.

The Buildings Department repeatedly slapped the construction of the two- to three-story condos with stop-work orders. But locals said they regularly saw laborers flouting the orders. The city finally condemned the property on March 23, 2007.


Sounds like eminent domain used for a real public purpose!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

so THIS is an eyesore and Willets Point is not?????

Anonymous said...

Willets Point is another issue completely. The Rockaway site is progress in the ideal. Positive eminent domain alas! Way to go, NYC!

Anonymous said...

So market economics really does work after all. No eminent domain, no waste of taxpayers time and money, just a straight up land sale. Let's see if the developers come rushing in to develop the place now.

Unknown said...

When will DOB file administrative charges against Radusky, and when will the Dept. of Ed revoke this fraud's license? As someone who works in "the industry," I'm appalled by Radusky's flagrant disregard for even the most straightforward Building Code and Zoning Reso regulations. This jackass isn't fit to hammer a nail, let alone design a building. /.CA