Rego Park storefronts to be demolished for large apartment building

From Forest Hills Patch:

A number of stores located on the corner of Queens Blvd and 65th Road are about to face the wrecking ball to make way for a eight-story mixed use building.

Bahar Corp., the developer, filed documents with the Department of Buildings on Nov. 30 seeking to install a side walk shed in preparation of bulldozing the structure. The company filed for a demolition permit in October.

The new building will carry a 98-02 Queens Blvd. address. It will include 59 apartments, ranging from one-bedroom to three-bedroom, with balconies, 7,000-square feet of medical office space as well as retail on the street level and a parking garage for 59 cars.

Dutch Kills hotel causing big problems

From the Queens Chronicle:

After more than a seven-years-long construction process, residents of Dutch Kills, a neighborhood whose older family homes now share space with tall hotels, are once again frustrated by one developer.

Representatives of one project in question, a nine-story hotel located at 39-35 27 St., were present at a city Board of Standards and Appeals hearing Feb. 10, where it was acknowledged that self-performed work on the site, such as improperly poured concrete, damaged nearby homes.

Ashley Haelen a representative for Baharestani — who goes by Steven Bahar — acknowledged the building’s plans had changed from those originally submitted, increasing by around 62 square feet.

“You’re not allowed to play around with floor area and get more floor area,” said Margery Perlmutter, BSA chairwoman.

Alex Matthew, another representative for developer Steven Baharestani appeared before the BSA confirming that work such as lighting and rebar were also done by unlicensed workers.

He also addressed a big violation: a cracked and unstable wall of a shed on a neighboring property. Matthew said engineers for both property owners, as well as Baharestani and the home owner, had met to assess the situation but needed to meet another time to determine if it was stable, and, if not, come up with a cure.

There was a stop-work order on the property as of press time; it is one of several received on the address.

“It’s obvious the damage has been done to the property,” he said, adding there’s a sense of cooperation.

Developer looking to unload Dutch Kills hotel

From the Queens Courier:

The owner of a controversial, partially constructed hotel in Dutch Kills is selling the structure.

Residents protested and even sued to stop construction of the nine-story boutique hotel on 39-35 27th St. in the Long Island City neighborhood in 2010, according to published reports.

But now, with more than 20 new hotels opened over the last five years, the area has become a hot hotel market, and owner Steven Baharestani of Dutch Kills Partners LLC is hoping to sell the yet-to-be completed hotel to the highest bidder.

You lose some...

From the Daily News:

Angry Dutch Kills residents vowed to keep fighting after a judge tossed out their lawsuit to stop a controversial developer from building a boutique hotel on a residential block.

Neighbors of the proposed nine-story hotel at 39-35 27th St. sued Steven Baharestani, who also goes by the name Steven Bahar. They charged that his company, Dutch Kills Partners, failed to meet key deadlines before the neighborhood's zoning was changed to prohibit taller commercial buildings.

They also sued the city Board of Standards and Appeals, which had grandfathered in Baharestani's project under the old zoning in May.

But the neighbors lost the case last month after missing a deadline. However, they only learned why the case was thrown out on Friday due to delays from the Queens County Clerk's Office.

Their lawyer Stephen Harrison called the loss a "hypertechnicality." He plans to appeal the case.

Barbara Lorinz, president of the Dutch Kills Advocacy League, a group of local residents, said they are "not giving up until the very, very end.

"The hotel will be surrounded by one-, two- and three-family homes and a church across the street. It's really out of place," said Lorinz, 52, who lives directly behind the hotel.

The local zoning was changed in late 2008 to make the area more residential. But then developers swooped in and started buying up property.

Dutch Kills Partners, plagued by stop-work orders, was unable to pour its building foundation before the new zoning took effect. Neighbors said their properties were damaged during construction. And Baharestani blamed his acrimonious relationships with them for the delays.

And also from the Daily News:

DUTCH KILLS residents thought new zoning laws passed last fall would end a barrage of high-rise hotel construction in the area.

They thought wrong.

Two developers have recently gotten around the new zoning, even though they failed to meet a construction deadline to qualify under the old guidelines.

One of those projects, a Marriott Hotel planned for 29-27 40th Road, was granted an exemption by the city Board of Standards and Appeals this year.

The board agreed with the developer's argument that the $7 million it had already spent on the project gave it the legal right to build under the old zoning rules.

The new zoning capped height limits between three and five stories in parts of the neighborhood where 16-story hotels had previously been allowed.

But the most recent case involving a project at 38-30 28th St. has baffled residents of the low-rise haven in Long Island City where at least 14 hotels are being built.

That was one of six hotel construction sites - including the Marriott - where the Buildings Department halted work when the City Council passed the new zoning in October.

In each case, the agency determined that foundation work had not been completed - a threshold for projects to be grandfathered in under the old zoning.

But last month, the agency lifted the stop-work order it had issued in October for the 38-30 28th St. site, where plans call for a one-story garage to be turned into a nine-story hotel.

CB1 says no to C of O extension for hotel

From the Queens Gazette:

Members of Community Board 1 voted last week not to approve an application by controversial developer Stephen Bahar, to renew a building permit for a term of two years, for the completion of a hotel at 29-11 39th Avenue in Long Island City.

Bahar, who was not present at the December 21 meeting, applied for extension of a Certificate of Occupancy at the site of the nine-story hotel, despite claims by community activists that he has not complied with rules and regulations of the city building code.

In a written statement to the board, Bahar’s attorney, Marvin Mitzner said, “such extension is warranted in light of the substantial construction completed and substantial expenditures made in furtherance of this project.”

A spokesperson for the city Department of Buildings (DOB) said Bahar has a history of more than 50 complaints lodged against the project since 2007, including a $5,000 fine for ignoring a Stop Work Order issued as the result of a January 2010 inspection of the site.

Bahar was also cited for failing to provide elevator service for work performed 75-feet from street level and for operating a derrick without a proper certificate of approval.

Results of the community board vote were forwarded as a recommendation to Borough President Helen Marshall for her consideration. Community boards in New York City only posses powers of recommendation. Therefore, their vote cannot determine the final outcome of any issue that comes before the panel.

The application approval process will culminate with a vote by the city Board of Standards and Appeals.

People pissed at pols

They don't like Ackerman
Or Stavisky.
And, in what may be a first, a developer's pissed at Maloney!

Dutch Kills Advocacy League files suit vs. hotel developer

From the Daily News:

A GROUP OF Dutch Kills homeowners are going to court in their quest to stop a developer from putting up a nine-story hotel on a residential block.

They are suing developer Steven Bahar and the city agencies that granted him permission to build the hotel at 39-35 27th St. - even though Bahar missed a vital zoning deadline.

"We're not against development," said Barbara Lorinz, president of the Dutch Kills Advocacy League. "We just don't want or need these big high-rises next to one-, two-, and three-family homes."

Her group met with an urban planner yesterday to discuss ways to preserve and improve the community.

"Already, our neighborhood is out of character," Lorinz said of the glut of hotels that have popped up in recent years. "We have to set an example."

Lorinz is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed June 25 in state Supreme Court against the developer and city agencies, including the Board of Standards and Appeals. The suit claims the BSA should not have given Bahar permission to build the hotel because he failed to finish pouring its foundation before the zoning was changed in October 2008.

The current zoning restricts the height of new buildings unless they are grandfathered in under the old zoning.

Bahar declined to comment yesterday on the suit because he said he had not seen it.

"The BSA decided in my favor, and the BSA's decision is final," he said in an e-mail.

BSA gives green light to another Dutch Kills hotel

From the Queens Gazette:

Officials at the Dutch Kills Civic Association had requested that the BSA block further construction of the hotel at 39-35 27th St., arguing that developer Stephen Bahar’s request for the variance to continue the project lacked proper foundation.

Bahar filed for a city variance for permission to move forward with plans to build the $3.8 million hotel on 27th Street, claiming he used his life savings for the project and he has suffered grievous financial losses, in part, because he was unable to lay the foundation before the new rezoning took effect.

Bahar’s attorney, Marvin Mitzner, argued before the panel at a January meeting that his client has also suffered financial setbacks as a result of Stop Work orders issued by Department of Buildings inspectors for unsafe working conditions and on other grounds, including other adverse conditions and circumstances.

Civic leaders and homeowners went on record stating their opinion that Bahar was not vested in the project prior to the rezoning because he failed to lay the required percentage of the building foundation before the new rules went into effect.

In a decision released last week, the BSA ruled that Bahar met the requirements by completing the required percentage of the foundation before the new zoning regulations went into effect and grandfathered the project into the old zoning, giving the developer a green light to go ahead with construction of the hotel.

Dutch Kills resisting hotel variance

From the Daily News:

A group of homeowners in Dutch Kills are speaking out against a developer's appeal to build a hotel between a pair of two-family homes, noting that he missed a key zoning deadline.

Developer Steven Bahar wants the city to grant a variance to build a hotel at 39-35 27th St.

But angry neighbors cried foul Tuesday at a Board of Standards and Appeals hearing.

The community lobbied to change the zoning in Dutch Kills to allow new homes to be built. At about the same time, hotels began popping up on residential blocks.

Once the new zoning was passed in October 2008, developers had to have their foundations completed to be grandfathered in under the old zoning. The new zoning restricted the height of new buildings.

Bahar said he was unable to meet the deadline because he had been issued a slew of stop-work orders that prevented him from pouring the foundation in time.

Developer messes up, then whines to BSA

From the Times Ledger:

The smoldering struggle between Dutch Kills residents and a hotel builder flared anew Tuesday as the factions clashed over a variance request that could set the stage for further development in the neighborhood.

The Dutch Kills Civic Association and the Dutch Kills Community Advocacy Unit asked the city Board of Standards and Appeals to forbid real estate developer Steven Bahar from going ahead with the hotel under construction at 39-35 27th St. in the section of Long Island City.

The City Council rezoned the neighborhood in 2008, reducing the maximum height manufacturers — and hoteliers — are allowed to build.

Although Bahar’s $3.8 million plan was one of 14 hotels that was approved by the city Department of Buildings, he was unable to lay the foundation before the rezone took effect.

Marvin Mitzner, an attorney representing Bahar, said his client had used his life savings for the project but suffered grievous financial losses because of stop-work orders from the DOB for unsafe working conditions and other grounds as well as from other adverse conditions and circumstances.

Attorney Steven Moffei, representing the Dutch Kills residents, said the problems Bahar complained about “were of his own making.”

The ‘Unit’ Opposes Hardship Claim by Hotel Developer Shut Down By City

DUTCH KILLS COMMUNITY ADVOCACY UNIT: THE UNIT
PO BOX 8070 LONG ISLAND CITY NY 11101

For Immediate Release

The ‘Unit’ Opposes Hardship Claim by Hotel Developer Shut Down By City

Dutch Kills Residents to Defend Community Against Developer at Board of Standards & Appeals Hearing. Press Invited.


Public Hearing: #300-08A (21 of 150 on the agenda)
Date: Tuesday, January 26 2010
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: 40 Rector Street, 6th floor, Hearing Room E.

Hotel developer Steven Bahar is asking the Board of Standards & Appeals (BSA) in an upcoming public hearing to overlook the problems and violations that plagued his hotel project in Dutch Kills on the basis of “financial hardship”, thus allowing continual construction of his hotel even though it will violate the new zoning laws that limit tall buildings.

The NYC Department of Buildings, for reasons ranging from unsafe working conditions to damaging neighboring properties, repeatedly stopped Mr. Bahar’s project, currently under construction on 27th Street in Dutch Kills, Long Island City. As a result of being shut down by the City, Mr. Bahar was unable to finish the foundation of his hotel before Dutch Kills was re-zoned in October 2008 to restrict the construction of tall buildings.

The Dutch Kills Community Advocacy Unit (aka The Unit) urges that this public hearing be covered by the media. We believe that Bahar will be the first of many hotel developers who will cry “hardship” to circumvent the Department of Buildings and the zoning laws to allow their stalled projects to go forward. We are confident that Mr. Bahar’s “hardship” claim will be turned down and the ensuing publicity will discourage other hotel developers from trying the same.

The Unit was formed in October 2009 as an advocate for the needs for the local resident of Dutch Kills. This was in the wake of the re-zoning process that was urged by Dutch Kills residents to preserve the residential ambiance of our neighborhood. The re-zoning was repeatedly delayed. During the delay, permits were issued to no less than 14 hotel projects, including Mr. Bahar’s, thus allowing out-of-scale commercial buildings to invade quiet residential blocks. A large portion of these hotels is in foreclosure; many are now half-built hulks, blocking the light of many Dutch Kills residents.

Our legal counsel, Stephen A. Harrison, Attorney-At-Law, advised us that the claim of financial hardship is often successful at a BSA hearing unless the community makes a good showing in protest of it. Thus we would like to stress again, the importance of the media covering this hearing. The local residents of Dutch Kills have to abide by the law and there is no reason why developers cannot do the same.

For additional information, please contact:

Barbara Lorinz, Director
The Unit
(347) 448-0094

Stephen A. Harrison, Attorney-At-Law
718-745-1797
544 Bay Ridge Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11209