Neighbors at Franklin and Broadway have been for months (years?) complaining to the city that the construction fence around the failed project that is 65 Franklin/360 Broadway has damaged their building. It has also resulted in the destruction of two extra buildings — 59 Franklin and 358 Broadway — and blocked the sidewalks there since 2019 — five years!

But finally it looks like *maybe* the city will get the developer to take some action. The Buildings Department, after prodding from Councilman Chris Marte, said it conducted a site visit in June and issued a summons for failure to remove temporary construction equipment, a violation of a building code that states: “Public property shall be left in as good a condition following the completion of the construction or demolition work as it was before such work was commenced.”

That means the construction fence blocking the sidewalk on both Franklin and Broadway must be removed immediately — and that means all sidewalk sheds, fences, guard rails, temporary walkways, material, and other obstructions in adjacent properties. The department told the councilman in its letter that it will do a follow-up inspection — though they did not say when.

Curious if there are any teeth here — fines?

Also, once the sidewalks are restored, we will still be left with a gaping hole in the ground, rather than the perfectly fine buildings that were viable a few years ago. Below, the corner in 2019.

360 Broadway corner

And of course this is my pet peeve neighborhood-wide. Other dinosaur sites that I now can sick Building Code 3307.9 on:
45 Park Place (at West Broadway/Church)
65 West Broadway (at Warren/Murray)
172 Duane (on Duane Park)
21 Park Place (Church and Broadway)

59 Franklin