Small builders face big fines

In a move to curb fly-by-night contractors, the City Council passed a bill yesterday requiring small home builders to register, disclose corporate officers and prove they are making a profit.

Pols nail down shady builders

The legislation requires general contractors to disclose the names, addresses and telephone numbers of their owners and all corporate officers, prove financial solvency and have no less than $1 million in liability insurance for each job.

East Side synagogue pulling a fast one

...the synagogue’s development is especially worrisome because of the precedent it could set in a city where every nook and cranny is becoming fair game for development.

Neighbors to Synagogue: Enough With the High-Rise

Zoning isn’t the only issue with the project that irks the neighborhood.

The timing of the application’s submission to the community board seemed suspicious to a number of people. One neighbor at the July 11 meeting, where the application was presented, said the general feeling was the synagogue did it then so that the board wouldn’t have time to review it before it went to the Board of Standards and Appeals.

According to Landmark West executive director Kate Wood, the Landmarks Commission told Shearith Israel that because there was no preservation purpose to their project, it did not merit special permits for construction.

“Now, as an alternative, they are taking the design to the Board of Standards and Appeals in hopes of getting variances to begin construction,” Ms. Wood said recently. “The thing is that they could easily build a building within current zoning restrictions, but the residential component is a moneymaker.”

Photo from Property Shark via NY Observer

Retaining wall collapses on UWS

Hundreds of residents of an Upper West Side high-rise were evacuated last night after a retaining wall at an adjoining construction site collapsed, threatening the apartment building's stability.

W. SIDE WALL COLLAPSE ENDANGERS HIGH-RISE

The collapse of the wooden wall at 7 p.m. exposed part of the foundation of the building at 784 Columbus Ave. near 97th Street, which is part of the Park West Village complex.

Residents evacuated after Manhattan retaining wall collapses

Residents Evacuated After Retaining Wall Collapses

Manhattan Building Evacuated After Wall Collapses

Photo from NY Post

Pinky plays in the park

Wednesday evening around 7:30pm, Councilman Dennis Gallagher was spotted at Principe Park in Maspeth playing basketball with a team comprised of men half his age. The park is in close proximity to O'Neill's, another Pinky hangout.

Earlier in the day, the NY Post reports that he checked in at City Hall:

He sits on the Finance Committee, but didn't appear at a hearing there.

'RAPE' POL IS BACK

Multicultural crap

Hi Queens Crapper,

I actually don't think this building is all that horrendous. I should say that it is horrendous, just by being a condo off Steinway, but I've seen worse, LOTS WORSE. so I'm thankful it's not as bad as what's going up in Williamsburg or elsewhere. but I'm amused by how it is being marketed: European kitchens, Italian mosaics, Brazilian floors, Zen gardens, Manhattan views.
What about the Japanese light fixtures? The Swedish toilets? The Hungarian doormats?
It's nice to know Zen gardens are a commodity you can pre-fab into housing units now. Noguchi would be proud (barf!).

Cheerio,
Nick Normal

The tale of Vernon Jackson

"These are petitions," Vernon explained. "Would you like to sign?"

"Petitions for what?" I calmly asked.

"Petitions to secede. If the congestion pricing plan goes into effect, then I want Queens, Brooklyn, The Bronx and Staten Island to secede from the City of New York. After all, we didn't become a part of New York City until the Act of Consolidation in 1898. Before that, New York City was nothing more than the island of Manhattan."

The Road To Secession

"Just think about all those wealthy Manhattanites who drive those gas-guzzling SUVs out to the Hamptons or the Jersey shore or the Berkshires. How are they going to get there without driving through one of the other boroughs? And why shouldn't we be allowed to reduce the auto emissions in OUR air and the traffic congestion on OUR parkways and expressways? Why should we be discriminated against? Think of all the Manhattan yuppies and celebrities who spend their weekends partying in the Hamptons. Think about all the corporate big shots who use our roads to get to the airports. If we have to pay to enter Manhattan, then they should have to pay to leave it. What's fair is fair."

Fare hike next year

Prepare yourselves to soon pay more for bad service, filthy stations, rats, bums, leaks, malfunctioning air conditioning and packed subway cars:

It's the news transit riders have been bracing for, as MTA officials announced today plans to increase fares on subways and buses in an attempt to close a budget gap.

MTA Announces Plans To Increase Fares

The fare increases will take effect sometime next year, but officials have not yet said how much they will be.

Photo from NY1

Pinky proclaims innocence - on camera

Councilman Dennis Gallagher is no longer hiding behind closed doors anymore, folks. He just continues to make deals behind them.

Queens Councilman Speaks Out Against Rape Allegations

Notice how he says "in the long run". Expect a mug shot soon.

Photo from NY1

Goo from above

For shopkeepers and apartment-dwellers on Jamaica Avenue, it is an old summer enemy: the warm, viscous drizzle of creosote dripping down from the elevated J line.

Drips, Squeals and Patience: Life by the El

This year, a few activists in this drowsy commercial strip have marshaled evidence to present to New York City Transit, which treats wooden ties with creosote, a coal tar derivative, as a preservative. They protested that creosote can cause skin damage or even cancer. In response, the transit agency has identified eight dripping areas and promised to wrap those ties to prevent further leakage.

Sticky mess from above

Jail over construction death

A Brooklyn judge yesterday sentenced the owners of a construction company to the maximum penalty of six months in prison for causing the death of a worker who was not equipped with a safety harness when he fell from a scaffold in Bushwick.

2 get 6 mos. in hardhat's fatal plunge

Defense attorney Jerry Bernstein said the defendants had paid for Jabbie's wedding and bought an Acura sedan for him before the June 2005 accident.

"In terms of showing care for their employees, the government wonders why instead of paying for a wedding and an Acura, they didn't pay for a harness and training that would have ensured the safety of their worker," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Coyne.

Pavilion slideshow

More Trees Fall at St. Saviour's

QC has received reports that the few trees remaining on the St. Saviour's property are being cut today.

Interesting how Councilman Dennis Gallagher's staff denies that he sanctioned the tree cutting, but now that he is supposedly back on the job, the trees continue to fall.

Keep up the good work, Pinky. The ghosts of St. Saviours are getting angrier and angrier.

Queens housing 'boom' is really a bust!

While residential real-estate sales in Manhattan continue to hit record levels, the numbers in Queens appear to be mirroring the rest of the nation's housing slump.

HARSH REALTY IN QUEENS

Weakening prices, rising inventory and declining sales were prevalent during the previous 12 months, with only a few pockets of categories posting positive growth, according to a quarterly report released today by Prudential Douglas Elliman.

The median sales price of a Queens residential property this quarter was $469,000, down 4.3 percent from a year earlier.

At the same time, a report by the Real Estate Board of New York says Manhattan apartment prices rose 16 percent in the second quarter.

"It's a tale of two cities," said Jonathan Miller, whose firm, Miller Samuel, prepared the report. "Manhattan and Queens are definitely on two different tracks."

Photo from Forgotten NY

QC dorm developer chosen

Builder Chosen For QC Dorms

Queens College has announced that it has selected a developer for its proposed first-ever dormitory on the Flushing campus, but did so with less enthusiasm than expected. In its two-paragraph release, Queens College said a rendering of the proposed facility is currently unavailable.

Queens College Picks Developer For Dorm

The lack of detail for such an announcement, which has been in the works for some time, came as a surprise. Even elected officials had not been informed.

Dorms: Dream or nightmare?

Photo from Queens Tribune

Queens West Queens Crap

Hi, I'm a poster on Queens West. Read this recent discussion thread to check out a building with stop work orders, violations etc. But the real kicker--look at the architect URL and check out the buildings--especially residential. The finest of the fine in Queens Crap!

45th Ave., between 11th and 21st

P.S. I'm a longtime North Flushing resident moving to LIC.

- D.A.F.

Snapping up the ghetto

The current real estate boom is attracting major investment in some of the most unlikely places. Over the last several years large real estate groups, often backed by the deep pockets of Wall Street firms are buying up blocks of rent stabilized buildings in poor neighborhoods such as East Tremont and Highbridge in the Bronx. Even foreign groups have gotten into the game investing in this cheap stock of housing that’s far from luxurious.

Big Real Estate Firms Buy Up in Poor Neighborhoods

Photo from WNYC.com

Artist seeks people who've been crapped on

I am a photo- graphy fellow working on a project for the Design Trust for Public Space with the ultimate goal of creating a still photographic documentary of views in New York to be published and to be an exhibition. I am examining how development is affecting the skyline of the city. I am looking for interesting people who have interesting apartments with views quintessential to their community.

These views may be great, changing, or ruined by development. The goal is to create a body of work that represents the texture of New York through portraits and through a sense of space. Do you know anyone who has a view that is great or in transition or ruined? I am photographing all types of people and places to get a cross section of the city. Each participant will receive a portrait in exchange and knowledge that they are supporting art and making a piece of New York history. Please help me meet appropriate people. Please do not hesitate to contact me with anything that may be appropriate.

Thanks,

Gail Albert Halaban
newyorkviews@gmail.com

Hiram: Let illegals have IDs

Identification cards would be made available to all New York City residents — including tens of thousands of illegal immigrants — under a proposal by a City Council member from Queens...

“The city of New York is home to eight million people, many of them immigrants and some of them, frankly, undocumented,” said Mr. Monserrate, who plans to introduce legislation tomorrow to create the ID card. “Some of them have been residents of the city for many years, and to give them a basic ID card that’s valid within the city limits only makes sense for our municipality.”

Bill for New York City ID Card to Be Introduced by Councilman

But critics argue that it will entice illegal immigration and undermine border security.

For many city residents, the only state or local government identification now available is a driver’s license or a nondriver ID card. For both, the State Department of Motor Vehicles requires a Social Security card and other documents that prove legal presence in the country.

Ratner's problem

The Bloomberg administration is threatening to pull more than $100 million in city subsidies from the controversial Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn unless a deal providing massive tax breaks for developer Bruce Ratner is drastically revised.

RATNER'S PLAN HITS BIG $NAG

"Pure and simple, it's a giveaway," a high-ranking city official told The Post.

Photo from Can't Stop the Bleeding

Ruining the landscape

People buy homes because they like the neighborhood, schools, nearby parks and easy commute to Manhattan or Nassau County. Buyers like the ambiance of a community, style of houses, trees and grassy spaces. They either tend their own lawns and gardens or hire a landscaper. Today, all this cozy feeling is being eroded house by house, block by block and community by community. Also, in some areas, community facilities tower over residential houses.

Communities ruined by developer tactics