Brooklyn Heights Blog » Search Results » riverside+apartments

NYT on Long Time Riverside Apartments Resident

Homer Fink — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 01:23:31 +0000

The New York Times writes about long time Riverside Apartments resident Brad Smith:

New York Times: Mr. Smith, who turned 79 on Thanksgiving, has lived at Riverside since 1960, when he rented a three-room apartment for $68.33 a month. His quarters, for which he now pays about $365, are extremely modest in size. Yet he counts himself fortunate, and not simply because his apartment is so inexpensive.

“When I moved in,” he said, “I did it just because the place was such a good deal. But given the history of these buildings, I find it incredibly moving to live here.”

Mr. Smith moved to New York from Kalamazoo, Mich., in the late 1950s to pursue a career as a classical singer. A baritone with a full-throated speaking voice, he studied at the Manhattan School of Music, and though the career never materialized — “I didn’t have the fire in my belly,” he said — he sang at every church that would have him. The list included St. Bartholomew’s on Park Avenue, a Baptist church in New Jersey and a Greek Orthodox church, where the words to hymns were transliterated because Mr. Smith couldn’t read Greek.

Riverside Trees in Their Youth: Early 1900s

Claude Scales — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 05:10:44 +0000

To counter allegations by Pinnacle Group, which seeks to remove the trees in the courtyard between the A.T. White Riverside Apartments and the BQE to build an underground parking garage, that the trees are of recent growth, Bill Ringler, President of the Riverside Tenants’ Association, has done some sleuthing and found this photo, dating from the early 1900s and published in Hayes Historical Journal — A Journal of the Gilded Age, Volume IX, Number 1 (Fall 1989).

According to Mr. Ringler:

The photo was taken from the South of the fountain facing North to the rear of 24 Joralemon Street. The buildings on the left were demolished in the 50′s to construct the BQE. These trees are the same ones that exist today. It is evident by the limbs on the trees.

The photo is of the teachers and students of the Willow Place Chapel Kindergarten of the First Unitarian Church.

Addendum: Below is another photo taken at the same occasion, as it appeared on the cover of the Journal:

The flag has 45 stars, a configuration which lasted from 1896 to 1907.

Riverside Garage Proposal Raises its Head Again

Claude Scales — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 19:31:11 +0000

Over three years ago, we noted that the proposal by landlord Pinnacle Group to build a parking garage in the courtyard between the A.T. White Riverside Apartments and the BQE, which would entail destruction of a grove of mature trees (see photo) as well as disruption of tenants’ lives, was “proving harder to kill than Rasputin.” Just over a year ago, the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal denied Pinnacle’s request to re-open its previously denied application for permission to construct the garage. Earlier this year, a court upheld the DHCR’s decision. Now, it seems, Pinnacle’s ba-a-a-ack.

Ben Bankson, President of the Willowtown Association, has received a message from Bill Ringler, President of the Riverside Tenants’ Association, reporting that Pinnacle’s attorney, Ken Fisher, has persuaded the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to allow a modification to the permit for the garage which would relocate the entrance to the garage, and that the modification was allowed without any public hearing (though Pinnacle asserts that ther was one), and Pinnacle is now reapplying to the DHCR, seeking a third bite at the apple. The Riverside tenants have until Wednesday, October 26 (two weeks from yesterday) to respond to Pinnacle’s petition to the DHCR, and they are considering how to proceed and exploring options as to legal representation.

Bankson contacted Judy Stanton, Executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, who said she was not notified of the application to the LPC for modification of the permit. She is looking into the matter further.

Update: I’ve amended the text above, based on Bill Ringler’s comment below.

Flash: Court Upholds Order Barring Riverside Garage Construction

Claude Scales — Sun, 15 May 2011 18:35:23 +0000

Bill Ringler, President of the Riverside Tenants’ Association, has advised us that the court hearing the appeal of the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal’s decision denying Pinnacle Group, landlord for the A.T. White Riverside Apartments, permission to destroy a courtyard and several mature trees that lie between the apartments and the BQE to build a parking garage, has decided to uphold the DHCR’s decision. Pinnacle, represented by Heights resident and former City Council member Ken Fisher, has filed an appeal.

Squadron Urges Extension and Strengthening of Rent Regulations, End of Vacancy Decontrol

Claude Scales — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 03:12:54 +0000

The Emergency Tenant Protection Act, the state statute under which residential rent regulation in New York City is authorized, expires on June 15. Governor Cuomo’s Executive Budget amendments released earlier this month do not provide for its renewal. This is a matter of concern for many Brooklyn Heights residents who rent instead of own, including tenants in the Alfred T. White Riverside Apartments on Columbia Place between Joralemon and State streets. In response, State Senator Daniel Squadron has written a letter to the Governor urging his support for extension of ETPA, as well as measures to strengthen tenant protection, including the elimination of vacancy decontrol. His letter was signed by 23 other state senators, and by 63 members of the State Assembly, including Assembly Member Joan Millman. The full text of the letter follows the jump.

Dear Governor Cuomo:

On June 15, 2011, the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA) expires. If the State does not act, millions of working and middle class New Yorkers will be at immediate risk of losing their homes. Even if the ETPA is renewed in its current form, the loss of rent-regulated units through vacancy decontrol and the reduction in the number of affordable units in Mitchell-Lama and project-based Section 8 developments will continue unabated. The abuse of the Individual Apartment Improvement (IAI), Major Capital Improvement (MCI), “vacancy bonus” and preferential rent systems, which enable landlords to levy illegitimate rent increases, will persist. If current laws are not extended and strengthened, New York City and surrounding counties will become even more economically stratified and long-time tenants will be priced out of their own neighborhoods. The younger generations of people who have historically given New York City’s five boroughs their dynamism, creativity and continuous sense of reinvention will not be able to afford to move here. The City will become a place for the very wealthy and the very poor and no longer within the grasp of those of moderate means.

While we were disappointed that the 30-day Executive Budget amendments released on March 3 did not include language extending and strengthening the ETPA, we believe that with your leadership it is still possible to accomplish this objective through the budget process. The repeal of vacancy decontrol and other reforms offered in Assembly and Senate bills A. 2674-A / S. 2783-A are essential to safeguard our stock of affordable housing. These reforms will allow the residents of rent-stabilized apartments, whose median household income is $36,000 per year, to remain in the city, and will preserve the diversity of this city—where more than half of all rent stabilized tenants are members of communities of color. We ask that you act boldly on tenants’ behalf by requiring these reforms to be a part of any budget agreement. In a difficult economic time, this issue has no fiscal implications for the State. Under your leadership, the solutions that have eluded tenants in previous years are within reach.

The primary purpose of rent regulation in New York City and the three suburban counties of Nassau, Rockland and Westchester, has been to ensure fairness and affordability in an overheated market when vacancy rates are so low that landlords are no longer subject to competitive pressure to keep rents affordable or to renew the leases of tenants who assert their contractual or legal rights during their tenancy. Rent stabilization can exist only during a housing emergency, which is defined by law as a market where the vacancy rate has fallen below 5%. Today the vacancy rate is 3%. New York City first declared an emergency in 1974. This emergency has endured throughout the years, but the crisis, which had been chronic, has become acute. Because the vacancy rate is so low, tenants have nowhere to move and no affordable
apartments to rent, and landlords are in a position to engage in price gouging and other practices that are unacceptable even in a free market economy.

Repealing vacancy decontrol must be the first step toward protecting our shrinking stock of affordable housing. The system of vacancy decontrol has served as an incentive to some landlords to harass tenants out of their apartments, has become rife with fraud and has been plagued by a complete lack of enforcement. For the 15+ years that vacancy decontrol has been in effect, many landlords have simply treated vacant apartments as deregulated, without spending
the necessary funds to reach the $2000 decontrol threshold, thereby achieving de facto decontrol. New tenants are not offered rent-regulated leases and are not given histories of apartment rents. Since the State’s rent regulation system is entirely complaint-driven, there is no enforcement unless the tenant files a complaint (and within the four-year look back period). As your representatives recently testified at a hearing of the Assembly Housing Committee, landlords are basically on an “honor system” when they choose to deregulate apartments, and that system, quite frankly, has been a boon for those landlords that choose to violate the law.

No one knows how many apartments have been illegally deregulated by dishonest landlords, but the best estimates are that more than 300,000 apartments have been lost since 1994. The ability of landlords to include MCI costs as well as unverified IAIs in the permanent base rent has enabled vacancy decontrol to proceed unchecked. Most landlords simply do not report to New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) when they remove apartments from the system. While some have suggested “indexing” the $2,000 decontrol threshold to the rate of inflation or other economic indicators, it is immaterial to the concern of illegal deregulation whether the number is $2,000 per month or higher. Dishonest landlords will continue to remove apartments from regulation through the back door, knowing the odds of getting caught are about the same as winning the lottery. If we believe in the basic premises of the rent-regulation system, there is simply no reason to permit apartments to be deregulated on a piecemeal basis.

For the foregoing reasons, repealing vacancy decontrol is the central element of any bill that would genuinely strengthen the law. However, as mentioned above, there are other objectives that are also essential. We must reduce the monthly increases permitted under the MCI and IAI systems, and ensure that they are subject to proper HCR oversight and approval and only endure as long as is necessary to cover the costs of bona fide improvements. We must reduce or
eliminate “vacancy bonuses” and ensure that any such bonuses are not available for the same apartment multiple times over a short period. We must ensure that any of the 70,000 units currently in the Mitchell-Lama and Project-Based Section 8 programs will be subject to rent regulation if they are removed from these programs. We must ensure that landlords who offer a “preferential rent” that they claim is below the legal limit cannot later raise the rent beyond the percentages permitted by the Rent Guidelines Board for the duration of a tenancy. And, finally, we must not offset the benefits of the above measures by meaningfully weakening the law in other areas; this includes refraining from creating new loopholes for landlords or overriding well-reasoned judicial decisions like Roberts, Cintron, Grimm and Thornton.

In prior years, the renewal of the Emergency Tenant Protection Act has been addressed on the precipice of or immediately after these protections had been allowed to lapse. This has resulted in chaos, panic and the adoption of amendments to our housing laws that have not served the public interest. Allowing a similar outcome to occur is unacceptable and an inappropriate method of legislating an initiative that affects 2.5 million New Yorkers. As we work together to restore our constituents’ trust in State government, the inclusion of long-sought tenant protections in an on-time budget would dramatically further this objective.

Riverside Tenants’ Association Receives BHA’s Community Service Award

Claude Scales — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:05:24 +0000

Naturally, we’ve been kvelling about the Community Service Award the Brooklyn Heights Association gave to BHB at their annual meeting Monday evening. Ours was not, however, the only such award given. The other, very deserving, in our view, recipient was the Riverside Tenants’ Association, honored for its work to preserve the Riverside Apartments, on Columbia Place between Joralemon and State streets, and, in particular, for the ongoing struggle to save the courtyard between the building and the BQE, and its grove of mature trees. Karl recorded the proceedings and added his usual enlightening context; video after the jump.

Willowtown Association to Present “Alfred” Awards

Claude Scales — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 02:26:41 +0000

Brooklyn Historical Society

This in from Ben Bankson, President of the Willowtown Association:

The restorer of a long neglected brownstone in Willowtown in Brooklyn Heights, Jonathan Marvel, and the retiring chair of the tenants association at the Riverside Apartments also in Willowtown, William “Bill” Ringler, will become the first recipients of a new award, The Alfred, established by the Willowtown Association.

Named for pioneer neighborhood developer Alfred T. White, the new Alfreds will be presented to Marvel and Ringler at the potluck dinner and annual meeting of the Willowtown Association on Wednesday evening, November 17, at the community center on Willow Place that also bears White’s name.

The evening will begin with a “happy hour” at 6:30 at which complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served followed by the always delicious potluck dinner and the meeting.

The evening’s special guest will be Assemblywoman Joan Millman, just reelected as the area’s representative in the New York State Assembly. She is a lifelong Brooklyn resident and former schoolteacher and librarian who has served in the assembly for the past 13 years. She has been asked to give a basic civics lesson in how the state legislature is supposed to work and its relationship to a neighborhood such as Willowtown.

The new Alfred Award, says Willowtown Association President Ben Bankson, is a way to recognize significant contributions made by residents to the quality of life in the neighborhood and express appreciation to them.

Jonathan Marvel, who was born and grew up in Puerto Rico–”a Brooklyn outerborough,” he calls it–is a founder of the Manhattan-based firm, Rogers Marvel Architects. Last year he bought the brownstone at 25 Willow Place that the descendants of the last residents finally agreed to sell after it stood empty for more than four decades. He has restored and enlarged it as his own residence with a rental unit on the basement floor.

Ever since moving into an apartment in the historic Riverside complex built by A.T. White in 1889-90, Bill Ringer, a copywriter and printer, has been active in the tenants association and was its chair since 2007. He spearheaded the successful fight with the landlord to block his plan to build an unwanted commercial parking facility on the property.

Haunted Follow-Up

Heather Quinlan — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 09:54:18 +0000

A reader tipped us off to a New York Times article from August 7, 1899 that reports the death of five-year-old William Foster, who tragically fell from the balcony at 20 Columbia Place. Could this be the ghostly presence recently reported? (Or there may be more than one?) Interestingly, according to Property Shark the building we know now at 20 Columbia Place was built around 1900 (Ed. Note: it’s the “B” building of the Riverside Apartments, built in 1890,more Willowtown history here.- HF)—does anyone know what it looked like before then?

Last Gasp for Riverside Apartments Parking Lot?

Homer Fink — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:03:25 +0000

A BHB tipster informs us that the NY State Division of Housing and Community Renewal has denied the Pinnacle Group’s appeal to reopen the case for a parking lot in the Riverside Apartments’ courtyard. Basically, he reports that the landlord was attempting to “restore retro-active tenant rents without making any improvements or restoration to the courtyard.”

Pinnacle’s reps still have one day to file an appeal. The landlord lost a similar appeal back in May of a July 2009 DHCR ruling.

Willowtown Fair Celebrates Preservation Pioneers and Present Day Advocates

Claude Scales — Mon, 17 May 2010 04:26:14 +0000

BHB photo by C. Scales

At yesterday’s Willowtown Fair, local residents and politicos praised those who, in the past and today, have worked and are working to preserve the neighborhood’s character and scale. In the photo above, William Ringler, a member of the Board of Directors of the Willowtown Association, as well as President of the Riverside Apartments Tenants’ Association, speaks about the struggle to preserve the Riverside Apartments courtyard, which the landlord has sought to effectively destroy in order to build an underground parking garage. Listening are, at left, Ben Bankson, ~~Secretary~~ President (sorry, Ben, I was looking at an old organization chart) of the Willowtown Association, and, at right, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Borough President Marty Markowitz, and Heights preservation pioneer Otis Pratt Pearsall. (More photos and text after the jump.)

Afterward, Mr. Pearsall, who was instrumental in getting the Heights designated New York City’s first historic district, spoke of the great contributions to the preservation effort by this year’s Fair honorees, the husband and wife architectural team, Joe and Mary Merz (photo at left). In the early 1960s, Pearsall said, Willow Place was “very fragile”, with several vacant lots and some buildings in disrepair. Joe and Mary, then living on Grace Court Alley nearby, noted that Willow Place was, in Pearsall’s words, “an architecturally conspicuous block, boasting multiple houses on the Municipal Art Society’s 1957 listing of buildings that should be preserved.” At the same time, Pearsall said, it “came under the baleful eye of the Housing and Redevelopment Board and fac[ed] the imminent threat of a fateful ‘Urban Renewal Study.’” Pearsall then said:

I hope that Mary and Joe will write up and document the dramatic story of how, along with another former Edward Larrabee Barnes [the architectural firm with which they were previously associated] colleague, they were able to purchase the vacant lots on Willow Place at City auction and, with help along the way from Mrs. Darwin James, to complete in 1965 their meticulously scaled, award-winning houses in a startlingly appropriate modern idiom.

BHB photo by C. Scales

The photo above shows one of the three Merz-designed townhouses, this one at the corner of Willow Place and State Street. The others are farther north on the west side of Willow Place. Pearsall then continued:

And what’s more, their Modernist idiom directly inspired the [Brooklyn Heights Association] philosophy, welcomed by the early Landmarks Commissions, that to continue contributing to the treasure trove of Heights architecture each new building should represent the finest architecture contemporary with its date of construction.

He concluded, “Mary and Joe are indeed role models for all seasons, and we are both humbled and inspired by their example.” Update: Thanks to reader and Willowtown Association Director Seth Murphy for giving a link to the complete text of Pearsall’s talk Also, historian and preservation activist Anthony Wood, author of Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Protect a City’s Landmarks has kindly given us a link to his post on Landmarks45, which tells of the work of Mr. Pearsall and others, including BHB friend Martin Schneider, in preserving the architectural heritage of the Heights. It includes a link back to the video “Brooklyn Is Our Neighborhood”, made by Schneider and BHB’s own Karl Junkersfeld and first presented here on BHB.

The Fair included a table displaying photos of many buildings and interiors designed by the Merzes. Other tables offered various wares, including clothing, books, CDs, and toys. Iris Cafe offered a choice of grilled sausage with onion and mustard or ham and cheese, both on baguette. Your correspondent tried the sausage, and found it full of Yum-O Goodness. Another table offered baked goods and bags of delicious popcorn, lightly drizzled with caramel sauce. At the silent auction table, one could bid on art works, bottles of wine, restaurant meals, scale model cars, and a mink stole.

BHB photo by C. Scales

The inflatable blue structure seen in the background of the photo above is a fun space for kids. One father, buying a ticket for it at the entrance, was heard to say to his young daughter, “Unlimited bouncy-bounce!”

Update on Class Action Against Riverside Landlord

Claude Scales — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:10:53 +0000

As a follow-up to our earlier story about a class action suit, charging, among other things, tenant harassment, brought against Pinnacle Group NY, LLC, owner of the Riverside Apartments, we received the following today as a comment to the prior post:

At a press conference held at the Dunbar Apartments yesterday, Pinnacle tenants in the class action RICO suit announced a “Class Action Classroom”, seminar and forum open to all 60,000 tenants who currently live in Pinnacle buildings in all Boros, and all others who have lived in a Pinnacle building between July 2004 and the present, including all those who have been harassed or driven out of Pinnacle Buildings. The goal is to educate tenants about their rights and how to obtain relief and damages as part of the class. Date: May 23, 2010. Place: Oberia Dempsey Center 127 West 127th Street, Manhattan. information? Call Scott Stringer’s Office, 212-669-8300 or the the law firm of Jenner & Block at 212-891-1600.

Riverside Landlord Loses Garage Appeal

Claude Scales — Sun, 02 May 2010 23:55:17 +0000

Last July, we reported that the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal had turned down the application of Pinnacle Group, Inc. landlord of the historic Riverside Apartments on Columbia Place, to build an underground parking garage between the apartment buildings and the BQE. Construction of this garage would require removal of mature trees that shade the courtyard and shield the west-facing apartments from noise and pollution from the BQE. Pinnacle filed a petition for administrative review of the initial DHCR ruling, but last week Leslie Torres, Deputy Commissioner of the DHRC, issued an order and opinion denying Pinnacle’s petition.

Pinnacle still may further appeal this decision, but the residents of Riverside are grateful to have reached this stage. In particular, they thank the Brooklyn Heights Association for its support, especially for enlisting renowned Brooklyn architectural historian Francis Morrone to write a paper in support of the tenants’ position.

Cobble Hill Towers Going Condo or If Alfred T. White Were Alive Today, He’d be Rolling Over in his Grave

Homer Fink — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:28:28 +0000

Cobble Hill Towers, built in 1879 as an example of better housing for the poor, will soon be converted to condominiums:

Brooklyn Paper: Tenants in the landmark building will be offered the chance to buy their apartments at insiders price such as $230,000 for a studio and $595,000 for a three-bedroom apartment. Owners would then be free to set their own re-sale prices, though residents in the rent-stabilized apartments will not see any changes if they want to go on renting.

Still, the plan will result in the building’s transformation from moderate-income rentals to luxury condos. As a result, it has frightened residents, who are unsure whether they’ll be able to buy, even at the insider prices.

“It’s ridiculous,” said longtime resident Cindy Nurullah. “Some people are going to have to pay more money [to buy their place].”

Hudson Companies’ Principal David Kramer called the concerns misguided, as there is no plan to evict any tenants.

“I think change can be scary to a lot of people,” he said. “We are giving people the best deal in town.”

Editor’s note: Before Homer had his coffee this morning, he incorrectly identified this as a story about Riverside Apartments. Sorry. Now, please carry on.

National Grid Contractors Likely to Blame for Joralemon Blowup in Brooklyn Heights

Homer Fink — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:15:52 +0000

Weegee photo

A Joralemon Street resident told reporters at the scene of this afternoon’s manhole explosions that a neighbor’s home renovation crew may be to blame. Reports claim that work was being done near 25 Willow Place. [Bklyn20 reports that contractors working for National Grid -- possibly to run a gas line into the home -- may have caused the accident. The Brooklyn Paper reports that Con Ed was working in the area.]

Weegee photo

BHB’s Weegee adds this dispatch:

Looks like contractors doing excavation work in front of the MTA substation at 25 Willow Pl. hit a gas line, which caused the initial blast at Willow Pl. & Joralemon St. The electrical lines affected are all MTA, apparently. Power was supposedly out at Clark St. and Borough Hall for a short while, but was restored quickly. They were checking surrounding homes for carbon monoxide and gas. The paving stones on Joralemon around the manhole are upheaved. The manhole right next to the excavation site cooked off while crews were next to it. No injuries.

Riverside Apartments resident Andy sends in this dispatch and photos:

Here are some photographs I took from the roof of the Riverside Apartments on the corner of Joralemon and Columbia Place around 1:45. I live above Iris Cafe, halfway down Columbia Place. I heard a loud noise that sounded like a truck hitting a bump on the BQE behind my apartment, but it was odd since it echoed through my front door more than the back.

photo by Andy Holz

And BHB tipster Irene sends in this shot of buckled cobblestone on Joralemon Street:

Irene Carroll photo

Gothamist has a blow by blow of today’s events.

Nabe resident Dan offers this Flickr slideshow.

Headline revised on 1/19/10 based upon additional information

Tipster: Iris Cafe Coming to Willowtown Thursday

Homer Fink — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:08:06 +0000

BHB newshound “AW” sends us this tip:

I was walking home tonight down Columbia Place and noticed that one of the formerly empty storefronts was no longer empty. I stopped and talked to the person there. Apparently it’s going to be a coffee shop and will be open this Thursday. It’s called Iris Cafe. As a resident of Riverside Apartments, I for one am very excited!

The Iris Cafe is one of the new restaurants revitalizing the Riverside Apartments strip. An Italian restaurant is planning to open soon in the old River Deli space.

No parking at Riverside Garage?

Sarah Portlock — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:00:56 +0000

Updated Thursday at 4:50 pm

BHB just got word that the state Division of Housing & Community Renewal has rejected the landlord’s proposal to build a garage at the Riverside Apartments at the westernmost end of Joralemon Street.

Ken Fisher, the attorney for landlord Pinnacle Group, told BHB, “While we are disappointed, this is only the first level of administrative review at DHCR and we are confident that eventually our Landmarks Commission-approved project will move forward and will meet the needs of both area residents for parking as well as the tenants.”

The Pinnacle Group will file an appeal with the state “shortly,” Fisher said.

We now have the state’s full decision, in which rent administrator Lilia Albano ruled that the landlord’s proposal for a green roof on top of the 100-car underground garage would not adequately replace the courtyard and thus return proper building services to its tenants. It also noted that the trees once saved by the 1950s construction of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway would be demolished, thus affecting noise and sight reduction by tenants who overlook the busy roadway.

“It is found that the proposal set forth by the owner to modify services would in fact result in further reduction of services to the tenants,” Albano wrote. “This proposal is in direct conflict with the intended use of this area and the increase in vehicular traffic would be a further negative impact on this service.”

Here’s a PDF copy of the decision.

Riverside Tenants Association Chairman William Ringler said he’s happy with the decision, and confident the landlord’s appeal will be rejected, as it is a rare occurrence that decisions in favor of tenants are overturned.

“This decision is good for all city rent-regulated tenants who have garden areas that the owners may want to remove for the owner’s profit. It is also good for tree preservationists, and ecologically-minded citizens,” he said.

Ringler vowed to keep fighting Pinnacle Group against the proposal, but noted that the tenant’s organization is in debt $11,000 to its legal counsel. “If there’s some Daddy Warbucks out there who would like to send us a few bucks, we could really use it,” he said. If interested, Ringler said to send donations to:
Riverside Tenants Association
Brooklyn GPO, Box 6841
Brooklyn, NY 11202-6841

He added, “Our primary legal representative for this DHCR action was Jon Lilienthal of Collins Dobkin Miller, we were also helped by attorney Joel Kupferman of the NY Environmental Law & Justice Project, and pro-bono counsel Frank Ciaccio. They all did a wonderful job.”

Pinnacle filed its decisions with DHCR to recognize their designs as a “restoration of services,” parallel to its application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. In its decision, DHCR determined that the proposal did not fit that criteria. In November, LPC ultimately approved the project.

Garage Project Dead at Riverside Apts?

Homer Fink — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:35:40 +0000

A BHB tipster sent us this photo of a notice posted at Riverside Apartments. It suggests that the landlord’s proposed garage project is dead. DEVELOPING….

Fish ‘n’ Chip Paper 5/18/09

Homer Fink — Mon, 18 May 2009 05:19:09 +0000

Here are some of last week’s headlines you may have missed:

Only on BHB

Willowtown Fair Draws Local Dignitaries

Scaffolding Finally Gone from 65 Montague

Parking permit proposal on table

New sidewalks in the Heights

Park Progress: Pier 1 (Eleventh Report)

The story with use of Cadman Park

CB2 full board meeting recap!

Roebling Descendant Lends Voice to Dock Street Opposition

And in other news…

B’Paper: Levin Promises to Attend His First 33rd District Debate

Knitted cozies up on Montague Street

Aniston’s Baster Begins in Brooklyn Heights

Recap of BQE triple cantilever meeting

Brooklyn Heights Players Slain by Brooklyn Paper

Squibb Skate Park?

From Cobble Hill Blog:

Maine Crustaceans Invade Red Hook! (Get ‘em Before They’re Gone)

Chocolate & absinthe… mmm

One Year Ago on BHB

Brooklyn Bridge Fireworks – Super Fantastic!

LPC: No Parking Lot for You, Riverside Apartments

Two Years Ago on BHB

Blue Pig Opening In Manhattan

BHA House Tour 2007

Willowtown Fair Draws Local Dignitaries

Claude Scales — Sun, 17 May 2009 02:58:29 +0000

Riverside Apartments resident Brad Smith (at right in photo) opened today’s Willowtown Spring Fair with a short speech about the life and accomplishments of Alfred T. White, the Heights resident and philanthropist responsible for the building of Riverside and of other affordable housing complexes in Brooklyn. Listening were (right to left) State Sen. Daniel Squadron, State Assembly Member Joan Millman, City Council candidate Jo Anne Simon, and City Council Member (and Mayoral candidate) Tony Avella.

Following his speech, Smith led those gathered for the fair on a short march down Joralemon Street from Willow Place to the courtyard between the Riverside buildings and the wall below the elevated BQE, where a grove of trees and garden is threatened by the plan of Riverside’s owner to build a parking garage. There, several neighborhood residents spoke against the plan, and a panel honoring White was hung around the trunk of one of the threatened trees by Willowtown Association Board member Jean Campbell (at left in photo above) and Riverside resident Amanda Trees.

Later in the day, incumbent City Council Member, and City Comptroller candidate, David Yassky, and City Council Candidate Ken Baer, also visited the Fair.

BHA Annual Meeting Full Recap

Sarah Portlock — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:37:19 +0000

Brooklyn Heights in 2009 will be about preserving the neighborhood’s landmarks and property values, and it’s fair to say everything the community hoped and wished for in 2008 did not always go as planned, Brooklyn Heights Association President Tom van den Bout told a packed crowd last night.

“I hereby officially call for a ‘do-over’ [of 2008],” van den Bout said. “Not that last year was a total disaster, but let’s just say it did not quite go as planned.” [PDF of the minutes from the meeting]

We spoke with van den Bout after the meeting last night to get his full thoughts on what lay ahead:

What will 2009 bring for Brooklyn Heights?
“I think that the economic crisis and that sort of downward pressure of the value of everything, and the money that people have, will have an effect on their ability to maintain their house, or do renovations. We already have a number of properties in the Heights that have been neglected for years for a number of reasons and those aren’t going to get any better. And some of them are in pretty bad shape. So, I think that’s going to be one of the main things from a preservationist standpoint, but we’ll see what happens.
“I don’t think we have any development proposals within Brooklyn Heights as a district itself that are on the way, but you never know what the next day brings.”

Van den Bout also discussed the ramifications of a situation in the West Village in which St. Vincent’s Hospital is proposing to demolish a landmarked structure because of financial hardship.

“It sets a precedent for any nonprofit that’s under financial strain — which many of them are — and they can bring forward that hardship and potentially demolish the building [because] they have a precedent to base that on. Suddenly all things that we recognize as landmarks today — churches, museums, concert halls — those become our softest sites.”

At other points in his report at the meeting, van den Bout vowed that the BHA will keep searching for a new middle school site within the district, despite the fact that the controversial Dock Street mixed-use development project — which would include a public middle school — is halfway through its six-month public review process.

Also noted was last year’s concern of the steep rise in land values and development pressures in the neighborhood. “That problem, through a series of very unfortunate events, seems to have solved itself,” he said, as the audience chuckled.

Van den Bout also pointed to the NYC Waterfalls exhibit, which, while the manmade waterfalls were exciting, the city “sadly underestimated the power of wind” and the salty spray damaged plant life along the Promenade. The fate of those plants will be known in the spring.

In the year to come, van den Bout noted the BHA will unveil a newly-designed Web site and listserv. In terms of advocacy, van den Bout said he hoped this would be the year to see a pilot residential permit parking program, and that the BHA landmarks committee is “keeping a close eye” on developer’s plans for the Riverside Apartments near the corner of Columbia Heights and Joralemon Street.

Several residents were also honored with BHA Community Service awards last night, and newsstand man Mohammed Afrahim received the “living landmarks” humanitarian award for his friendly attitude and smiles from his stand at the corner of Montague and Henry streets.

Lastly, the New York Times Chief Financial Correspondent, Floyd Norris, spoke candidly about the financial crisis and how the solution is to create a new financial system with better regulatory oversight. And, that he is confident that our current government will make sure of it.

Squadron Sworn into Senate, Swipes Serph’s Chair

Homer Fink — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:08:26 +0000

Our new man in the NY State Senate, Democrat Daniel Squadron, was sworn into office today in Albany. It was announced that Senator Squadron would take over the helm of the Cities Committee a post formerly held by Republican Senator Serphin Maltese.

BHB’s Claude Scales is in Albany and will be filing a report later. For now, here’s the unexpurgated press release from Squadron:

Albany, NY: State Senator Daniel Squadron took his oath of office on the Senate floor today, ceremonially beginning his term in the New York State Senate. Squadron was sworn in with his new colleagues at the start of the 2009 legislative session; he then voted to usher in the first Democratic majority in the State Senate in 40 years.

“There could be no greater honor than serving the people of Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn,” said Senator Squadron. “In this moment in our state’s history, there is no greater challenge than leading our neighborhoods and our city through tough times. As a member of the Democratic majority and chair of the Cities Committee, I look forward to working with my colleagues and the community to deliver change that makes a real difference for my constituents.”

At 29, Senator Squadron will be the youngest member of the State Senate and, unofficially, the second youngest member in history.

*The Democratic majority will be the first since 1965.

*Senator Squadron will replace two-decade incumbent Senator Serphin Maltese as chair of the Cities Committee.

*The 25th Senate District does not just include the mainlands of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn; it also includes the Williamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges, as well as Governor’s Island.

*There are six major languages spoken in the district (English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Yiddish, and Polish) as well as scores of other language communities.

Though only now officially beginning his term, Squadron has been working full-time for constituents of the district since winning the primary election in September. Among other community initiatives, he has advocated for a comprehensive legislative package to address the MTA budget crisis, called for a rational City/State division of funding responsibilities for Medicaid, education and jails, testified before the City Council about the Lower East Side rezoning and school overcrowding, asked the MTA to offer a rationale and a comprehensive community process before cutting the M8 or other bus lines, protested the planned reopening and expansion of the Brooklyn House of Detention, won a commitment from the owner of Riverside Apartments in Brooklyn Heights that proposed construction would not lead to rent increases for tenants, and petitioned the Department of Transportation to address community concerns about parking changes on Kent Avenue in Brooklyn.

He has also attended countless community meetings in Brooklyn and Manhattan, met with more than 100 constituents about neighborhood issues, and forcefully advocated for Albany reform while developing a comprehensive legislative agenda for the new session.

Is it Over Yet? 2008 in Review: April – June

Homer Fink — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:14:28 +0000

BHB Photo by Marc Hermann

And now on with the countdown… here are some BHB highlights from April – June 2008:

April

Fire at Henry Street Gristedes
Anna Montemarano, Cranberry’s Mom, Dies at 93
Will Marty Bully Kid Off Ballot?
Riverside Apts Makes Makes Case with Pretty Website
GOP Comes Out with Candidate for Marty’s Seat
Brooklyn Heights: Get Ready for Spring!
Eagle: Gristedes Opening in 6 – 8 Weeks
Still Standing: Mansion House Elm
Otterness: Lousy Artist, Lousy Person?
Marty’s Aide: The Kid is a Paper Clip
Kid’s Kamp Responds to Marty’s Mud
Chuck and the Kid Caught on Tape
P.S. 8 Here Come the Trailers
Bossert on Display for House Tour
Marty’s Kontempt for Kid Kontinues
Windows LIVE!! On Montague Street
84th Precinct is 2nd Safest in the City
Fatality at Problem Intersection
Korres on Montague Opening Soon
Happy 60th Birthday Sahadi’s
Love Lane Condo Construction Moving Along

May

With Gristedes Closed, is Peas and Pickles Shaking Down Brooklyn Heights?
Montague Florist in Same Location Since WWII Moves Across the Street
B’Stoner: One BBP Developer Snags Bossert
Are Brooklyn Heights Coffee Prices Cranked Up?
Gristedes Gutted, Brooklyn Heights Awaits Rebirth
Tazza’s Second Location?
This Year’s BHA House Tour
Waterfall Rising
Microsoft Live Portrait Studio on Montague Shuts Down, You Know Like Vista
New Neighbor: Yoga People
Church Garden for Late Heights Couple
Mommy, Where’s my Cornflower Blue Crayola?Were You Obama’s Neighbor?
The Other BHA House Tour
Burn After Reading, Filmed Partially in Brooklyn Heights, to Debut August 27
Dig that Crazy Bridge Lighting and Stuff
LPC: No Parking Lot for You, Riverside Apartments
Brooklyn Bridge Celebrates Birthday with Fireworks, No Funny Hats
Marty Connor Supported Congestion Pricing…
Hello London, this is Brooklyn
100 Clark Condemned
Penson to Brooklyn Heights: Drop Dead
Watching a Landmark Crumble
LaDolce Doggie or Isn’t that Really Dangerous?
BHA’s Judy: Landmarks Could Have Worked Harder to Save 100 Clark
It’s Elle on the Promenade
P.S. 8 Presents Soldea Island
Eagle: DOB Stops Penson from Demolishing 100 Clark Street
Farewell Lobster

June

Pickle Replaces Lobster
100 Clark Street Keeping DOB Busy
Brooklyn Heights Stars as DC in Burn After Reading
Hit and Run at Cadman Plaza
Two Trees Talks Middle School to P.S. 8 Parents
Eagle: Was Joralemon Garbage Fire Arson?
As The World Turns Films on Clark Street
Robbery Attempt, Vandalism or Hate Crime at Congregation B’nai Avraham
Happy Birthday Paul Giamatti, the Most Famous Man in Brooklyn Heights*
Amanda Green, Restaurateur, Passes
IKEA Sets Up in Cadman Plaza
Montague BID Presents Summer Space
Confirmed! Tazza Adding Clark Street Location
Yassky, Millman, BHA Support Atlantic Yards Oversight
Riverside Parking Proposal Revived
Pooch Poo Showdown on Cranberry
Byrne’s In Treatment Renewed, Moving to NYC
Life is Short, Scaffolding is Long
Waterfalls Officially On Today
Pop Up Park Open All Summer
NYC Waterfalls: Rendering vs. Reality

Is it Over Yet? 2008 in Review: January – March

Homer Fink — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:49:34 +0000

Flickr photo by bettyblade

If it’s the 21st century in America, the end of the year signals the chorus of “is it over yet?” and/or “next year can’t be any worse.” With that in mind (errr sumthin’) let us look back at the wacky year we like to call 2008. Here’s a rundown from Q1 08. Stay tuned to the rest of the year this week:

January

Brooklyn Heights to World: Slump? What Slump?

Markowitz Declares War on Nabe Rats

Busy Chef Opens on Court Street

Parking Placard Flap

Nabe Thesp Byrne In Treatment

Wine Bar at 50 Henry Opens

Damon Dyer Ankles JtH

Obama Hits Downtown

Brooklyn Heights Cinema to Expand

UA Theater: Nightmare on Court Street

Ivanov the Terrible Admits to Hate Spree

Look Out Marty, Here Comes “Kid” Squadron

Montague Money Honey Admits to Fraud

NY Sun Grades Private Schools: St. Ann’s B, Packer C

Bossert for Sale

February

The Supermodel is a Drummer

135 Joralemon: What’s that Thud?

Eamonn’s Not Going Anywhere

Landmark the Lobster!

Farewell Magnetic Field

LPC Approves 73 Pineapple

Meet Dan “The Kid” Squadron

The “Kid” Says Save the Lobster

The Lobster Dies on March 16

BHA Annual Meeting Live Blog

Facebook “Threat” Shuts Down “School”

Swizzle Going Out with a Bang

March

Let the Knocking Begin!

Six Figure Parking Spaces, Record Condo Prices at One BBP

Giamatti is John Adams

Press Cover Up of “Packer Plot”?

New Neighbor: Spicy Pickle

Judi Francis Hearts Obama

Pack Rat Fire on Henry Street

Yassky, Bloomy Talk Parking Permitskys

Such a Deal!: Moonstruck House Reduced

Last Meal at Armando’s

What Would You Do with Magnetic Field?

What’s Going on at Riverside Apartments?

Morrone to Document Every Brooklyn Heights Building

Former Brothel Sells for $10.98 Million

Last Stand for Magnetic Field

Kid to Riverside Tenants: No Garage Related Rent Hike

Homer Fink — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:56:07 +0000

New York State Senator-elect Daniel Squadron has written tenants of the Riverside Apartments assuring them that they will not be subject to garage construction related rent increases. Squadron spoke to the building’s landlord, the Pinnacle Group, who claim that they will not seek an MCI increase for the construction of its proposed garage.

The content of the letter after the jump.

To the residents of Riverside Apartments
Dear Neighbors:
I want to share a quick update with you about my ongoing conversations with the owner of your building.

Riverside tenants have expressed a few concerns to me: that the proposed garage construction will disrupt life in the building, that it could permanently make the courtyard impossible to enjoy, and above all that the building owner might use the garage construction to seek a Major Capital Improvement (MCI) rent increase for rent-regulated tenants.

I want to let you know that I have personally received an assurance from the landlord’s representative that the landlord will not seek an MCI increase for the work he proposes to do to install a garage. Additionally, the landlord is not allowed to use any garage work as a pretext for evicting any tenants.

This news is an important development and I wanted to share it with you as soon as possible. Of course, it is only the beginning of a longer process. As I expressed previously to tenants in the building, I have serious concerns about the proposed garage, its impact on the quality of life for residents of the building, and the precedent it would set for the Heights Historic District. I look forward to continuing to work with the tenants of the building.

Please feel free to call my office any time with concerns about this or any other issue. I can
be reached at 646-472-5712 or info@danielsquadron.org.

PDF of letter

Riverside Tenants: Garage Flap is Not Over

Homer Fink — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:55:41 +0000

Despite the go ahead yesterday from the Landmark Preservation Commission allowing the Pinnacle Group to build an underground garage at the Riverside Apartments, tenants are shouting “it’s not over until the Fat Lady sings”.

The tenants group has hired the law firm of Collins Dobkin Miller to represent them at New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) to block the landlord from essentially raising rents to build the garage. The NYS DHCR needs to approve the construction before it can proceed.

Pinnacle, according to the tenants, also needs approval from New York State Department of Transportation and the New York State Historic Preservation Office.

The group will hold a meeting tomorrow night TONIGHT to discuss the garage construction. State Senator-elect Daniel Squadron will attend.

Update: Squadron tells BHB, “I was sorry to see the LPC decision about Riverside Apartments. The decision sets a dubious precedent for the Heights Historic District and will cause serious disruption in the lives of residents.”

Report: Riverside Garage Given LPC A-OK

Homer Fink — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:36:39 +0000

Brownstoner photo

The controversial underground parking garage at the Riverside Apartments was given the green light from the Landmark Preservation Commission today according to Brownstoner. The Pinnacle Group’s original proposal was shot down earlier this year. The new proposal decreases the number of parking spaces to under 100 and does not include the original’s plan to place one story of parking above ground leaving current landscaping intact.

Riverside Parking Garage Proposal Revived

Claude Scales — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:23:51 +0000

The proposal by Pinnacle Group to build a parking garage in the courtyard of Riverside Apartments is proving harder to kill than Rasputin. The last time around, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing at which Pinnacle was told that its proposal as presented was unacceptable, but that other approaches might be considered. A new proposal has been tabled, and the review process will begin anew with a hearing before Community Board 2′s Land Use Committee tomorrow at 6:00 P.M., at 6 Metrotech Center (enter from Jay Street), Room RH116.

LPC: No Parking Lot for You, Riverside Apartments

Homer Fink — Thu, 22 May 2008 18:59:52 +0000

The folks at Brownstoner, who have time for “reporting and stuff” bring us this dispatch about the parking lot project at Riverside Apartments:

Brownstoner: Landmarks Rejects…: The Landmarks Preservation Commission still doesn’t like the Pinnacle Group’s proposal to turn Riverside Apartment’s courtyard ino a 134-car, two-level parking garage (for rendering of the proposal, click here). Landmarks spokeswoman Lisi de Bourbon wrote us, “The [Tuesday] hearing took about 2 hours, and the vast majority of people who testified opposed the propject. The Commission said the proposal needed to be substantially reworked, but took no vote. The Commissioners said that the apartment complex represents a significant improvement in affordable housing during the last decade of the 19th century.

Photo: Brownstoner

LPC Riverside Apts Hearing: Rescheduled

Qfwfq — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:48:44 +0000

Riverside Apartment residents take note: The Landmarks Preservation Commission declared today’s hearing on the Riverside Parking Garage “Laid Over”. It looks like it was rescheduled for April 22nd, and is listed as “item 26″ on their agenda. Is The Pinnacle Group reevaluating their efforts?

Flickr photo by dphetteix

Brooklyn Heights Blog » Search Results » riverside+apartments

NYT on Long Time Riverside Apartments Resident

Riverside Trees in Their Youth: Early 1900s

Riverside Garage Proposal Raises its Head Again

Flash: Court Upholds Order Barring Riverside Garage Construction

Squadron Urges Extension and Strengthening of Rent Regulations, End of Vacancy Decontrol

Riverside Tenants’ Association Receives BHA’s Community Service Award

Willowtown Association to Present “Alfred” Awards

Haunted Follow-Up

Last Gasp for Riverside Apartments Parking Lot?

Willowtown Fair Celebrates Preservation Pioneers and Present Day Advocates

Update on Class Action Against Riverside Landlord

More Problems for Riverside Landlord

Riverside Landlord Loses Garage Appeal

Cobble Hill Towers Going Condo or If Alfred T. White Were Alive Today, He’d be Rolling Over in his Grave

National Grid Contractors Likely to Blame for Joralemon Blowup in Brooklyn Heights

Tipster: Iris Cafe Coming to Willowtown Thursday

No parking at Riverside Garage?

Garage Project Dead at Riverside Apts?

Fish ‘n’ Chip Paper 5/18/09

Willowtown Fair Draws Local Dignitaries

BHA Annual Meeting Full Recap

Squadron Sworn into Senate, Swipes Serph’s Chair

Is it Over Yet? 2008 in Review: April – June

Is it Over Yet? 2008 in Review: January – March

Kid to Riverside Tenants: No Garage Related Rent Hike

Riverside Tenants: Garage Flap is Not Over

Report: Riverside Garage Given LPC A-OK

Riverside Parking Garage Proposal Revived

LPC: No Parking Lot for You, Riverside Apartments

LPC Riverside Apts Hearing: Rescheduled