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Demolition on Hold at 460 Washington
Northwest Tribecans got a rude awakening this morning when demolition started at 460 Washington—the 10-story Related project (on Ponte Equities land) bringing 107 rentals to a big plot bordered by Washington, Watts, and West. It was grab-the-baby-and-get-out time in 288 West as the building shook so badly that residents thought an earthquake was underway. When cracks started appearing in the south-facing brick walls, they called the Fire Department, which called the Department of Buildings, which immediately issued a stop-work order on the site.
Until things get sorted out—including the issuing of construction contracts with the two buildings adjacent to the north—workers can do nothing but clean up.
The resident I spoke with said that 288 West dates to the mid-1800s, and that they’re concerned about hardcore demo and construction happening so close to the water table. They’re faced with development to the north, too—a VE Equities project (290 West) that has been upfront with residents, putting the treatment from the south in stark relief.
7 Comments
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Nice article… we are right across the street… The ground is very fragile in that area as it is ALL landfill! I know Truffles had to drive some major piles in during construction and assume this will be the same type of situation.
You would think the city, looking out for the best intere$t$ of it’s denizens, just might consider the impact to surrounding buildings prior to issuing a Demo permit?
Right?!? This is more than a bit scary.
I assume the PONTE brothers will (not ) be ensuring the local infrastructure and educational can support another 107 rental units. Keep up the good work fellas.
The residents at 288 West have repeatedly reached out to Related Companies to try to discuss this project and ensure proper safety measures are taken. To date, Related is still yet to respond.
It’s funny how less than 5 months ago, 288 West Street received a class 2 violation for failure to maintain cracks in their facade.
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/ECBQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=2&ecbin=34926025R
It’s also funny how the last crack pictured has a “tell tale” monitor on it, which means it was already being watched before the demolition started.
Even better is that I took pictures of the site before they demolition started so I could see the before and after and the cracks on the facade are in those pictures.
I just want them to get the job over with so my business can continue uninterupted. I have yet to see a contruction project stopped because of neighbors; only delayed for some time… And having a new building would be a nice boost for my business.
@Frustrated: It didn’t seem worth mentioning at the time, but I was told that the crack monitor was put there as a result of the 460 Washington demolition, not before it.
@Frustrated: To clarify a few things on your comment:
1) There WAS NO LL 11 violation on the south side of our building facing the demo site. 288 West had a LL 11 violation, true. But the violation was entirely on the north side of the building — NOT on the south side which is now showing new damage.
2) 288 West is not trying to stop, or even slow construction. We want it over as well. What we will do is everything within our power to ensure that construction (from Demo to the last drop of paint) is done in a way that conforms with permits, laws, regulations — and most importantly, does not recklessly damage the neighboring properties. This is why the DOB put a stop work order on the job.
3) There are new cracks and/or widening of existing cracks since demo started last Friday morning. The crack monitor mentioned was placed there years ago for the Truffles building construction. It was not placed there with the intention of monitoring damage from the 460 West project.
If you have pictures that show the vertical crack in our building existed in its current size prior to the demo last Friday, we’d love to see them. Please let us know how we can get a copy.
@288 West: Thanks for clarifying re: crack monitor. Got to start taking better notes. And you all are welcome to use me as a conduit for photos. I guarantee total anonymity. tribecacitizen@gmail.com.