Wednesday, October 26, 2011

A real cliffhanger in the Bronx

From the NY Times:

In late September, residents of 5 of the 17 apartments at the idyllic Villa Charlotte Brontë cooperative in the Bronx were waiting for permission to go home after Tropical Storm Irene caused a landslide at the building.

They are still waiting.

Although there is no visible structural damage to the idiosyncratic assemblage of eight buildings that sits atop the cliff at Spuyten Duyvil, there is concern that the landslide destabilized the foundations of the two westernmost buildings overlooking the Hudson River.

The remedial plan, presented to the Department of Buildings by the co-op’s engineering firm, Birdsall Services Group in White Plains, calls for at least $500,000 in repairs to stabilize the cliff and shore up the affected foundations.

The tentative return date for the displaced tenants is early December. Until then, they are allowed to enter their homes to pick up or drop off belongings, but they must do so on the honor system: lingering is against the rules.

In the meantime, the displaced tenants are living in borrowed apartments or staying with friends. One of the affected, Richard Sime, said he found it puzzling that there was no mechanism by which he and the other displaced tenants, including the superintendent, could absolve the city and the co-operative of liability.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

when one risks it all choosing to dwell on a hazardous cliff, one should not expect the rest of society to be liable for your loss.

ask john stoessel ?

Anonymous said...

Next time build on bedrock.

Too bad Shulman doesn't live in an apartment within that complex.

Anonymous said...

LOL....is it landmarked?

Anonymous said...

This building going down-- one way or another. Too bad, yes, but it probably had a pretty good run, right? 1920s or 30s at least? C'est la vie!

Anonymous said...

T-I-M-B-E-R!!!!!!!!!

Gary the Agnostic said...

You should see the front of them. Very unique and attractive buildings/

Anonymous said...

GORGEOUS!! never knew about these before!

Gary the Agnostic said...

If you want to see this in person, take Metro-North to the Spuytin Duyvil station, go up the stairs, turn left and go to Palisade Avenue. They're about two blocks from the station.

Anonymous said...

Anon No. 1: I don't see where anyone from those apartments are asking anyone for anything besides permission to go home. If you live in that neighborhood, you certainly have the money to pay for repairs or for a home insurance policy that would pay for that.

Anonymous said...

Beyond that, you have a lot of Metro-North, Amtrak and freight trains running at the bottom of the cliff. Regardless of what happens to those houses, the cliff has to be maintained.

Anonymous said...

i hope that the tenants had a home owners policy that covered this type of damage. read the fine print very carefully.

some weather catastrophe policy claims are paid for by the government. (you and me with taxes).

ask John Stoessel and the long island "DUNES" property owners after the hurricane damage occurred.

people love to build close to beaches ,cliffs,rivers and mountains until MOTHER NATURE proves that they made a mistake.

Anonymous said...

Yeah. It only took 85 years for Mother Nature to decide that these houses were in the wrong place. You know for a fact that tax money will be used here? I don't.