Broadway-Flushing wary of construction plans

(This WAS a nice house!)

From the Queens Chronicle:

According to Broadway-Flushing Homeowners Association President Janet McCreesh, the issue of Airbnb home sharers using houses in the neighborhood — much of which has a restrictive covenant limiting houses to single-family usage — is largely over.

“We have managed to get all of the homes, I think, on the Airbnb website,” she told the Chronicle. “We initiated lawsuits.”

But Broadway-Flushing is not without other home-related problems. McCreesh estimates that 10 percent of the Flushing subneighborhood’s houses are illegally used for single-room occupancies or hotels.

In Broadway-Flushing, two houses with unusual aspects of their interiors are being built — though no one publicly contends any illegality could be afoot. Ten bathrooms and eight bedrooms are planned at 33-05 157 St.; seven bathrooms and seven bedrooms are planned at 33-62 159 St. Both buildings’ plans have been approved by the Department of Buildings.

“That is not the layout of your typical Queens single-family home,” McCreesh said, referring to the properties. “The law needs to change for this type of situation. This is not a 10-acre estate. This is a plot of land in Queens.”

“The DOB does not limit how many bathrooms you can have in a house,” she continued. “There’s nothing in terms of protection for architectural design.”

Construction is happening now at both of the locations. According to McCreesh, both of the properties are under the jurisdiction of the restrictive Rickert-Finlay Covenant of 1906, which requires that homes only be used by single families and covers much of Broadway-Flushing.

And the homeowners association president does not necessarily believe that the locations on 159th Street and 157th Street will be used for any other purpose, although she is very concerned.

Civics find Vallone covenant bill's requirements cumbersome

Vallone Ltr Re DOF Covenant Form

DOF Restrictive Covenant Form-final

Avella introduces deed restriction registration bill

From the Queens Chronicle:

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) and homeowner association leaders joined forces in front of his Bell Boulevard office on Friday to promote a new piece of legislation that would help keep the character of Queens’ neighborhoods from diminishing.

Avella is introducing legislation in Albany that would require homeowners whose properties are restricted by covenants to register their homes with the Department of Buildings, which in turn would have to review deed registries prior to issuing building permits.

As some communities in Flushing and Douglaston were being built, city planners and homeowners had a certain idea for how they should look. Covenants are a way of ensuring future developers do not change that vision.

In past years, these restrictions have not been followed and local groups have fought back.

“Why should these homeowner groups be doing the job of the city?” Avella asked. “They’re doing the city’s work.”

Civic leaders praised Avella for his participation, and echoed his concerns.

Celebrating Rickert-Finlay

From Douglaston Patch:

Those who live in Douglas Manor have likely heard the names Rickert-Finlay many times before.

But anyone who doesn't call the peninsula formerly know as Little Neck home will likely be unfamiliar with the work of the Manhattan-based real estate developer that forever changed the landscape of northeast Queens.

Still, just driving around the meandering country roads of Douglaston, which trace the natural contours of the area, it's hard not to appreciate the forethought of Rickert Finlay and Company, the oft-overlooked planners of the Manor.

That's because in an era long before New York City zoning laws, the forward thinking Manhattan-based real estate development company had the foresight to purchase the 175-acre peninsula from William Douglas's estate and develop it in such a way to ensure that each plot sold would carry with it a set of restrictive covenants in perpetuity.

And in doing so, they ultimately preserved the architectural aesthetic of Douglaston's suburban transition in the early 1900s. Today it is a vital study of early 20th century architecture.

Rickert-Finlay wins again

Some smarty-ass bought a gracious old Dutch colonial home on an oversize plot in Broadway Flushing located on the southeast corner of 163rd Street and 35th Avenue.
He planned to demolish it and build two houses there, but the intrepid Broadway Flushing Homeowners Association promptly took him to court to enforce their deed restrictions which only allow one house on that piece of land.

They won their case, as usual.
The judge allowed the demolition of the existing old home but enforced the Rickert Finlay covenants which run with the land in perpetuity.

Now the greedy owner is left holding the bag with an empty lot he has to either unload or build a single family home on.

Hurrah!

Don't-cha just love the smell of victory in the morning?

It smells like the owner's money burning. - The Flushing Phantom

Residents love Westmoreland

From Little Neck Patch:

Bound by Northern Boulevard on the south, Little Neck Parkway on the west, the Long Island Railroad to the north and Nassau Road on the east, Westmoreland is a neighborhood straddling northeast Queens' suburban-urban divide.

Built between 1905 and 1930 on farmland purchased from Mary and Benjamin Woolley by the Rickert-Finlay Company, Westmoreland's bucolic aesthetic is written into every title and deed of the 320 homes included in the neighborhood.

The stipulations, also known as covenants, call for each homeowner to protect the trees that give Westmoreland its leafy character.

It's a look appreciated by many in the Little Neck-Douglaston area, many of whom are enamored by the rolling hills and mixed-style homes peppered throughout the area.

Still, there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to keep the streets of Westmoreland looking as rustic as they do.

“The city cannot enforce the covenants attached to the title and deeds of the Westmoreland home,” said Community Board 11 district manager Susan Seinfeld. “So the onus is on residents living in the community to enforce those rules.”