Some Improvements at Boerum Hill Nightmare Post Office?

It just could be that the way to get improvements at a Brooklyn Post Office that everyone’s unhappy with is to start a campaign of collection complaint that make their way into online, print and television media. So it is with Boerum Hill’s Times Plaza Station, aka the Nightmare Post Office. (A couple of weeks ago, we featured some details of the problems here and here.) There was also a News 12 story on the issue. There are actually signs that things may be improving, including an email on the Boerum Hill Group that says things are better:

went to the post office last week to mail packages. you can tell that they are very aware of the complaints. every teller was working, they’ve cleaned up the forms table and i could hear construction going on in the back. the manager was out front helping people with the self-postage machine and answering questions. two days later, a package was delivered when i was there and handed to me with a smile. its working!!!!

Meanwhile, some neighborhood representatives met with postal official last week (Archie Warner, the Manager of Customer Service Operations from the Brooklyn Postmaster’s Office and Andrea Burrows, the Customer Relations Coordinator). Here’s some detail about that get together, in which the postal officials noted that “frustration was evident” from the community, but that managers in the postmaster’s office weren’t always aware of service problems. They said a search is underway for a better space for the station and also promised to look into problems with package delivery. As for bitter complaint about the service offered by clerks at the post office they said “The Brooklyn Postmaster has personally spoken with each clerk about this issue, and there will be job-related repercussions if no improvements are made, or if improvements turn out to be of a temporary nature.” Also:

An agreement was reached that the entire community will look for the promised changes in the post office, and will promptly report any problems. Such a report should contain the name of the clerk (all clerks are required to wear name tags) and/or the clerk’s ID from the receipt. By the same token, exceptionally good service should also be reported, with the clerk’s ID…It was furthermore understood that if improvements fall short of expectations, or are not maintained indefinitely, this matter will be brought before the press, the politicians, and the Postmaster General in Washington DC.

We know there will be follow up on this one.

Beat the Downzone: Grand Street Olympics Edition

On Tuesday, we ran an item about weekend work that developers hoping to build a 14-story Karl Fischer building at Grand and Driggs have been doing. Presumably, they are working to get out in front of a downzoning that would allow a four-story building on the site. If a foundation is complete before the downzone, the taller building can go up. In most neighborhood, such situations have led to significant amounts of after-hours and weekend work as well as charges of forged documents and other practices to try to get projects approved. In any case, photos of work that took place on Sunday were forwarded to us yesterday and are above. (The photo below is from a different day and is included as some demolition porn.) Here is bit of the email that came with them:

These are photos taken by a number of people on with different views of the construction site. They show the dust, a wrong way truck on the street, work on Sunday before 9am and lack of hardhats for workers…

All indications are that it will be a long few months on Grand Street. Residents are working to try to speed the approval process on the downzoning, but they’re also hoping for honest enforcement (or just-plain enforcement) of building rules. We look forward to an array of photos and videos from residents documenting any illegal or unsafe work. As always, readers are invited to send photos and information about this or any other development site to thegowanuslounge (at) gmail (dot) com.

Bklink: Burg School Tensions

The city’s plan to put a school that would serve people moving into upscale Williamsburg housing has created a lot of tension with Latino Williamsburg residents in whose school it would have been housed. “The new institution at Public School 84, on Berry St., would have catered to the neighborhood’s growing group of white families, the Hispanic families charged – an arrangement that smacked of segregation, they said. City school officials backtracked on plans for the new school this week, saying there was no final approval, and they denied the Hispanic parents’ characterization. Still, the incident exposed an ugly side of Williamsburg’s fast-paced gentrification.–NYDN

Details on Tragic Clinton Hill Construction Worker Death

There was a fatal accident yesterday at a 13-story building under construction at 525 Clinton Avenue. A worker plunged 13 stories to his death when scaffolding collapsed and another was seriously injured. A third worker was unhurt. Brownstoner had both an early report and a follow up yesterday. An early eyewitness report said a worker had been blown through a window, but the Department of Buildings later reported a scaffolding collapse. The accident happened at 10:15 AM and the victim, Jose Palacios, was a resident of Astoria. He and other workers were applying stucco to the building. There was a high wind advisory in effect during the day and the Department of Buildings had issued an advisory to building projects in the city to take appropriate safety measures. Here is DOB’s email about the accident:

Earlier today, Buildings inspectors and engineers responded to emergency calls about a pipe scaffold collapse at 525 Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn. Upon inspection, Buildings engineers and inspectors determined a three-frame pipe scaffold installed on the roof of the new building under construction had collapsed. Sections of the pipe scaffold collapsed onto the 2nd floor and 12th floor setbacks of the new building under construction.

Preliminary reports indicate three workers on the pipe scaffold were performing stucco work on the exterior of the rooftop bulkhead at the time of the incident. The workers were employed by a sub-contractor, Bell Tower Enterprises, retained by the general contractor overseeing construction of the new building, Clinton Court Development LLC. Buildings forensic engineers are investigating to determine the cause of the collapse. While preliminary reports indicate high winds may have contributed to the collapse, Buildings forensic engineers are looking into whether the scaffolding was secured to the roof and the rooftop bulkhead.

The Stop Work Order on the building indicates the collapse was due to the scaffold not being properly secured and the high wind. The building has had six violations in the past. We posted a video of loud Sunday construction work at the building several months ago. Mr. Palacio’s death was the third fatal construction mishap of the year.

Related Stories & Posts:

• Breaking: Worker Killed at 525 Clinton Avenue [Brownstoner]
• Scaffold in Building Death “Not Properly Tied to Wall” [General Greene]
• Third Fatal Construction Mishap of 08 Sparks Investigation[Sun]
• Blown Away [NYP]
• Scaffolding Falls, Killing Worker in Brooklyn [NYT]
• Wind Knocks Construction Worker Off 13th Story Scaffold in Brooklyn [NYDN]
• High Winds Blamed for Deadly Scaffolding Accident [NY1]

Bkllink: Super Bowl Weekend & Beyond

Here is a long list of options for entertaining yourself on Super Bowl Weekend and beyond, including, but not limited to, possibilities for the game itself. There are sports bars (suprise!), art parties, live music and more.–Brooklyn Based

Yesterday Was "Resolution Day" in Carroll Gardens

Yesterday, City Council Member Bill de Blasio formally introduced a resolution calling for an immediate downzoning study for Carroll Gardens and a halt on construction of anything taller than fifty feet both of which were subjects of a rally on Tuesday. The Carroll Gardens group, CORD said that “for all intents and purposes, he asked for the interim moratorium that we have been hoping for” and that CORD is “most appreciative of this first step. Councilman DeBlasio promised this to us back in September and he has delivered. ” The CORD group also said that “we think it took courage to take this very politically unpopular idea to the Council Chambers.”

A moratorium measure introduced in 2005 by Council Member Tony Avella has languished. That proposal would have banned all development and demolition once a rezoning study started. Mr. de Blasio did not sign on as a supporter of that bill.

“We think that this is the way change begins,” CORD said in an email sent out last night. “It starts with thinking about things differently, challenging what is no longer working and looking for a way to do and make things better. What was introduced on January 30th, in the NYC Council Chambers was a small, but very good first step. We must remember that real change takes determination, purpose, conviction and tenacity. It takes resolve. January 30th was Resolution Day.” It is unclear what impact the resolutions will have. The City Planning Department has said it is committed to a Carroll Gardens rezoning study. At the same time, a significant upzoning of neighboring Gowanus is far along in the process, which can take 18 months or more before plans are submitted to the City Council for approval.

Bklink: Empty Smith Street Storefronts

Like many retail strips in Brooklyn where businesses are facing skyrocketing rent, Smith Street currently has its share of empty storefronts. They come from old businesses being squeezed out and from restaurants that have gone belly up. Is Smith Street “fizzling”? Well, here are photos of ten vacancies.–Pardon Me for Asking

Carroll Gardens Downzoning Rally: The Videos

A volunteer with the Union-Sacket Block Association uploaded videos of Tuesday’s rally on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall calling for fast action on the downzoning of Carroll Gardens. The two vids (Part I is on top and Part II is below it), which show a significant part of the rally, are below:

Bklink: "Crapped Upon"

It’s fair to say that Greenpoint residents aren’t fans of the big sewage treatment plant in their midst that leaves the neighborhood smelling like a toilet at times. The stench will eventually dissipate when the huge project at the treatment is done, but for now, it remains fragrant. “As a community, we are literally crapped upon, constantly,” said Richard Mazur of the North Brooklyn Development Corporation at a public meeting with the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) last Wednesday.–Brooklyn Downtown Star

Upcoming: Domino Plan Presentation

The plans for Williamsburg’s landmarked Domino Plant will be presented to Community Board 1’s Landmarks Committee tonight. The meeting is at the Board’s District Office, 435 Graham Avenue, which is at the corner of Frost Street. It takes place at 6:30PM. It will include presentations by Susan Pollock, Project Director/Community Preservation Corporation and Mr. Michael Wetstone, Architect/Beyer Blinder & Belle. An application for approval of the plans will go before the Landmarks Preservation Committee on February 5. They include removal of all of the interior “structure,” the creation of a courtyard on the eastern half of the building to provide light and air for apartments on the upper floors (with retail and community facilities on the lower three floors and a five-story glass addition to the filter house (the taller portion of the structure, where the smokestack is), with mechanical equipment enclosures on top. Some of the changes, like the five-story glass addition are significant.

The New Domino development would have 2,400 apartments. The preserved factory building would be surrounded by towers up to 40 stories tall. The total project would be 2.86 million square feet–Brooklyn’s largest after Atlantic Yards.