Councilman Bill de Blasio Drafts Down-Zoning Resolution for Carroll Gardens

We would like to echo the post on Brooklyn Streets, Carroll Gardens, which announces that Councilman Bill de Blasio has drafted a resolution calling for an immediate down-zoning of Carroll Gardens. This is very positive step by de Blasio and one that the Union-Sackett Block Association endorses and supports. We thank Mr. De Blasio for his efforts. This resolution reflects our requests of the Clarett Group.

The draft of the resolution is as follows:

Res. No.

Resolution calling upon the Department of City Planning to commence immediately a downzoning study of Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn and upon the Department of Buildings to not issue permits that would allow any new construction or alteration to an existing building to exceed a height limit of 50 feet until the Carroll Gardens neighborhood downzoning is complete.

By Council Member de Blasio

Whereas, Carroll Gardens is a charming neighborhood defined by its tree-lined streets, beautiful 3-4 story brownstones, and atypical setbacks that create deep front yards; and

Whereas, The architecture and layout of Carroll Gardens creates a village-like character, which is not commonly found in New York City; and

Whereas, Currently, Carroll Gardens is zoned R6, which does not provide a restriction on height; and

Whereas, With the recent state of hyper-development in Brooklyn, there is widespread concern that large scale new constructions pose a threat to the fabric of this historical Brooklyn neighborhood; and

Whereas, According to a 2006 survey by Brooklyn Community Board 6, 91% of neighborhood residents surveyed responded that they were either very concerned or concerned about the height or size of new buildings in the neighborhood. Further, 83% of those surveyed indicated that they favored stricter limits on the height, size and/or overall bulk of new buildings; and

Whereas, A neighborhood downzoning by the Department of City Planning would be the most effective long term solution to the problem of over-development in Carroll Gardens; and

Whereas, A 50 foot height limit will protect the neighborhood from over-development while also providing time for the Department of City Planning to perform the necessary study and analysis that would precede the downzoning of Carroll Gardens; and

Whereas, A height restriction of 50 feet, to be implemented immediately, will cap the height on new building construction or alternation to existing buildings to prevent the construction of buildings higher than 50 feet over the next several years; now, therefore, be it.

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Department of City Planning to commence immediately a downzoning study of Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn and upon the Department of Buildings to not issue permits that would allow any new construction or alteration to an existing building to exceed a height limit of 50 feet until the Carroll Gardens neighborhood downzoning is complete.

Union Opposes the Clarett Group's Asbestos Removal at 340 Court St.

As reported on Curbed, Brooklyn Streets, Carroll Gardens and other blogs, Laborers' Local 78 has put up an inflatable rat and distributed flyers around the 340 Court St. site. The union is protesting Clarett's choice to use non-union workers to perform the dangerous asbestos abatement project. Their flyers encourage members of the neighborhood to call Veronica Hackett, the co-founder of Clarett Group, and urge her to employ union workers in order to ensure that such projects as asbestos removal is done safely and legally.




Neighbors of the site also question Clarett's apparent illegal use of a nearby fire hydrant. Some of their waste bins are also taking up parking space on Union St.

A complaint was put into 311 last night because work on the asbestos removal was being done after 12:00 AM, conflicting with Clarett's promise to work only during acceptable, legal hours. Here is a copy of the complaint as posted on the DOB website:

We have been trying to keep a controlled response to The Clarett Group's efforts at 340 Court St. in hopes of having a productive dialogue about safety and the outcome of the development. The Union's protest today has raised new levels of fear about the asbestos removal and general construction safety, along with all the issues around proper notification.

We have received many emails and calls about this important asbestos removal, along with numerous complaints about the open fire hydrant and blocked parking spots without proper permits on Union St. We know many calls were made to 311 today.

We are currently drafting a letter to Clarett requesting direct meaningful dialogue between USBA and Clarett Group about all these issues. Today's event highlight the immediate need for this dialogue.

Thank You

Thank you to those who attended the meeting on Saturday. We may have underestimated the amount and degree of concern in the neighborhood about the 340 Court St. development. 37 new members signed the attendance list and in total, there were over 50 concerned atendees.

Using the varied talents of Union-Sackett Block Association members, we have formed three important committees that have already begun to work towards our collective goals. We have established a Core Committee, which is responsible for shaping our goals and message, a Safety Committee, which will directly address issues of demolition and construction at 340 Court St., and a Communications Committee, which will help keep the neighborhood and media informed.

If you have an interest or want to make a contribution to these committees, please email the USBA at union.sackett@gmail.com Check the blog for updates from each commitee over the next few weeks before our next meeting on February 9th.

Reminder: CGNA Meeting Monday Night

The Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association meeting will be held this Monday at 7:30 PM in Scott's Funeral Home, on the corner of Court St. and First Place.

Also, please sign up for the Carroll Gardens CORD (Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development) newsletter. To do so go to http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?Sub=301391. Also check out their website at carrollgardenspetition.blogspot.com and sign the petition, which demands a "MORATORIUM OF ANY BUILDINGS OR ALTERATIONS WHICH WILL EXCEED A HEIGHT OF FIFTY FEET (50')UNTIL LANDMARKING OR A DOWN-ZONING IS DECIDED. WE WANT OUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS TO KNOW THAT NO MORATORIUM MEANS NO VOTES."

Asbestos Update / Meeting Reminder

The next meeting with be held this Saturday, January 12th at 11:30 in the basement meeting room of the Carroll Gardens branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. We will be joined by Maria Pagano of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, Rita Miller of CORD, OscarJonas of State Senator Martin Connor's office and Deanna Bitetti from District Representative Yvette Clarke's office.

I would also like to post some follow up information about the asbestos removal at the 340 Court St. site. There has been a lot of discussion about it both here and on the Gowanus Lounge and I would like to share the corespondence I have had with David Lowin of Clarett Group:

Dear Mr. Lowin,

Thank you for your response on the Union-Sackett Block Association blog. I am pleased you read it and have an interest in what the community is doing. I'm confident that you and Clarett, as well as your construction team, are doing the work at the 340 Court St. site correctly and safety. My concern lies in the fact that the information you have given me about asbestos, concerning permits and their placement, does not correspond with the information I have received from the Department of Environmental Protection. This is the response I got from the Asbestos Ombudsman of the DEP in Washington D.C.:

There is an EPA publication entitled Guidance for Controlling Asbestos-containing Materials in Buildings which discusses at length the requirement of constructing barriers completely around buildings in which asbestos containing materials are being disturbed. The barriers usually consist of heavy-gauge plastic sheeting stretched vertically to contain anything that is removed or released. It is also stated that aprominent sign must be posted at all entrances at a distance of at least 20 ft from the entrance.

Another document, National Emission Standards for Hazardous AirPollutants; Asbestos NESHAP Revision (40 CFR Part 61 Subpart M) statesthe requirement for warning signs that must be posted on all trucks that are involved in hauling/removing asbestos material away from the site.The link below is to asbestos rules and regulations published by the NewYork City Department of Environmental Protection. Go to p. 58 where youwill find Subchapter G, Part 2 (Work Procedures), article1-125 (Work Area Preparation), paragraph (a). That paragraph deals with noticesthat must be placed at each entrance to a facility in which abatement isto be done.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/asbestos.pd

The neighbors of the site on the Union St. side of the site were unaware of the abatement. One tenant was unpleasantly surprised, particularly after he spent the whole day raking in his yard. Can you clarify why permits or notices were not posted? There seems to be continual discrepancy about the law and my response from D.C. conflicts with the information I have received from you via the blog.

The purpose of our blog is to make Block Association members and other community members aware of what is going on in our neighborhood, particularly at the 340 site. It would be much more direct if a member of Clarett could communicate to the community directly about what is going on at the site, especially when it is something as serious and of a concern as asbestos abatement. A posted notice, a phone call to neighbors, or even an email would have been appropriate.

If you or member of your team would like the information of the neighboring residents I can forward it to you, along with any other contact information for members of our association.

Please let me know your thoughts.


Sincerely,


Anne Joseph
Member

Union-Sackett Block Association

Mr. Lowin replied:

Anne,

I have just double checked the notification requirements per our third-party monitor. The only entrances that need to have signs are those that are unlocked. As you know, all entrances to the building are locked, except for the rear entrance of the building, which is how our workers are entering the building. That rear entrance has signage on it indicating that asbestos abatement is in process.

Also, I am surprised to hear that anyone has been unaware of the abatement activity. As you no doubt recall the topic of asbestos abatement was discussed at length at our meeting in December. At the time, we indicated that abatement activity would begin right after New Years and would last for about 3 weeks. Therefore I believe we have provided the Association with several weeks notice of the commencement of abatement activity, and we asked that all in attendance spread that word. In addition, I received an email from Tom Gray (from Bill Diblasio's office) requesting an update on the abatement timing, and responded that day, that abatement was set to begin right after New Year's day.

Regarding future communications, I believe that a representative of one of the elected officials who was present (Tom Gray) offered to start up an email mailing list to facilitate the distribution of further knowledge. I have not yet received such a list, but will use it to update the association once it is compiled.

Thank you for your concern,

David Lowin
Development Director
The Clarett Group

We will try to get an e-mail list together for David Lowin and encourage him and others at Clarett to use both that list and the blog to help keep us informed.

See you at the meeting!

Inspired by "Nuts," Brooklyn Squirrels Start Contextual Building in Carroll Gardens

Asbestos Removal at 340 Court St.

I'm sure some of you have not only noticed the garbage at 340 Court St., but also the taped windows and curious device in the parking lot. Deanna R. Bitetti, District Representative of the Office of U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke, confirmed today that this is indeed evidence of asbestos removal. In response to an e-mail sent by Union-Sackett Block Association member, Vincent Joseph, Ms. Bitetti wrote:

Dear Vince,

The response I received was:

Yes, the air monitoring was related to the asbestos abatement. They began asbestos abatement last week and that work will continue for a couple more weeks. Demolition activity should begin after that -towards the end of the month.

Also, on another topic: There was a concern about increased rodent activity during demolition. Their contractor has agreed to put additional rodent baiting in neighboring properties' basements if theyare requested and this is available to any neighbors who might want it.

[...]

Deanna R. Bitetti, District Representative

Office of U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke

Brooklyn District Office

Although word seems to have gotten out about the asbestos abatement, there are no visisble permits posted on the building and I question the legality of this. A phonecall and complaint will be put into 311 tonight and I will post any updates.