City Throws Loft-Dwellers Into the Streets
It’s about to get cold, but why should that stop the city from booting some 220 people out of their apartments without allowing them to retrieve much more than a few handfuls of clothing? Apparently the building at 1717 Troutman (home of Allen Supply, my favorite bazaar-like Chinese hardware store) is “imminently perilous to life.”
Inspectors said they found various fire sprinkler, exit, electrical and plumbing violations, and determined that residential use was a violation of the property’s zoning for manufacturing.
I’m going to say it was the last one that is pissing the city off. Really, how many complete shitholes in Bushwick go unevicted even though some have intermittent water service, a ruined and dangerous electrical system, and even undermined foundations? But they’re zoned residential, so the city is content with fines and violations.
Yes, these are illegal, and likely somewhat dangerous lofts — you know, that housing type that made New York an art capital, that gave artists a place to starve with at least a roof over their heads, that gave birth to neighborhoods like Tribeca and SoHo. And in the end, they knew what they were getting into, and why the spaces were so cheap. After all, aren’t they adults? Can’t they decide for themselves what risks they will and will not take? This all ignores the plain fact that if the landlord were allowed by the zoning to convert this building into proper residential lofts, he would very likely do it and none of this would be an issue.
I’m sure some of you are gloating, stewing in smug satisfaction at people thrown out on the streets, just because you hate landlords and profit. You’re bad people. Luckily the Red Cross has stepped up to the plate and is finding some temporary housing for the displaced.
October 19th, 2007 at 11:46 am
City of NY is a joke.
October 19th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
I agree that the City should change the zoning and allow these underutlized buildings be converted to residential use.
On the other hand, the owners of these buildings are clearly in violation of both the zoning and building codes. These laws (especially building code) are in place to protect people in the event of a fire or other disaster. Tenants should not have to wonder if a building has a working sprinkler system or proper fire exits. This is the landlords responsibility and the City should be enforcing these rules. I am a landlord and I have no respect with owners that play fast and loose with life safetly regulations.
October 19th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Yes.. nice of the red cross to provide shelter, but how about the City of New York provide the cash for first, last and deposit for a new apartment? I had lived in this place for two days — and I loooved it… I don’t really know why this happened - does anyone know what the city’s agenda really was?
October 19th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
I gotta say… it sucks for the tenants, but if you’re gonna rent a place like that it’s sorta the risk you’re taking. East Village squatters got tossed outta buildings all the time fifteen years ago and they dealt with it and just moved on to the next place. And… if the zoning was changed to residential, how long until our hood is condoed to hell like Williamsburg??
October 19th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Why do i get the feeling that the only ones who won’t get screwed on this are the landlords? Please tell me they are gunna get fucking pounded in the ass with fines.
October 19th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
I’m with the city on this one. A lot of the factories I work with have been forced out of business by skyrocketing rents in industrial spaces. Almost none of the spaces stay industrial after they are vacated. In addition to the loss of business, there is the resultant loss of blue collar jobs. I think the screws should be put to the landlords primarily, as for the tenants: caveat emptor, or however one translates “renter” into Latin.
October 19th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
Hmmm…. well I understand the need for the city to protect the interests of industry. I don’t want to be, even a small piece of a larger problem. Some things located in Bushwick, waste management for example, literally keep the city functioning. Blue collar workers deserve protection and respect. As far as gentrification goes though - I think Bushwick has/had a chance to remain an authentically diverse place that distinguishes itself from Williamsburg. In Bushwick, the fact that industry is entrenched, (and can’t & wont be pushed out much further) combines with the fact that working artists appreciate and understand the area. The dynamic created by that pairing of cultures is unique to New York City and it’s very important. That building was paradise, a real community - and as far as I can tell, brimming with happy tenets who appreciated the landlord. Working artists don’t gentrify - they pioneer, are unobtrusive, and respectful of a neighborhood’s original dynamics. Artists need a place to thrive and lets not forget the importance of Art overall to New York City’s economy, not to mention culture. That’s why I respect my old landlord.
October 19th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Erin, Well said!
October 19th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
The whole situation sucks for sure. I’m glad the city did something because caving in roof, faulty wiring, etc is a death trap waiting to happen. And if something did happen, it would’ve been a major controversy about how it was able to be occupied in the first place. People living in legal lofts should be proactive about getting on city authorities to fix their shit because it is punitive to the landlord/owners and only makes your life better. People should organize that like they organize parties.
But, while I think it sucks that the tenants were kicked out into the street, they knowingly went to a sketchy situation and got a bad roll. I saw a girl who lived there in the bar last night and she was saying that the tenants are planning on joining together to sue. Er, good luck with that…you’d be lucky to get anything.
October 19th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Don’t be surprised if the landlord himself blew the whistle. He might have something bigger planned for the space. This just saved him yrs of court and legal fees.
October 19th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
electricgreek, I wouldn’t count on that. The owners have that building mortgaged for $8 million dollars. The building is zoned M1. They can’t possibly get suffucient rent from a manufacturaing tenant to cover that kind of mortgage. I would bet that landlord is screwed right now.
October 19th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
According to this delightful thread on Curbed:
“Globest.com had a mention yesterday that ZCY Trading Corporation leased 90,000 sq ft in 1717 Troutman for 5 years + 3 year option. ZCY Trading, an importer/exporter of general merchandise, plans to renovate the warehouse to accommodate offices, additional loading docks and a wholesale retail showroom. “This corner property offers unbeatable frontage, access and an incredible renovation opportunity. Ridgewood has long been regarded as a top destination for industrial and warehousing firms seeking location, access and value.””
October 19th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Hmm, You got me there…impressive research! Guess electricgreek was right!
October 19th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
But, on the other hand, it’s a 425,000 square foot building. If ZYC Trading is taking only 90,000 sq. ft., the loft tenants and their rental income might still be important to the landlord. The loft tenants take the non-retail level space and probably pay a good rent per square foot.
October 19th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Its lame thing to say, but these folks should understand the deal. They were living illegally. That space is for manufacturing and jobs. “The Artists” are the first sign of the condos to follow…
October 19th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Wow, those people over at Cubed sure like to fight a lot…
What I don’t get is what makes a place so much more dangerous to live in then to work in. I mean I understand if a place is subdivided up way more than it was intended, or has way more occupants than it should. But none of those are specific to residential vs. commercial use.
October 19th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
P.S.
Any idea why I couldn’t submit a comment using Firefox? I keep getting a error to “Please enter the letters as shown in the image” which I”ve done. Seems to work fine in IE and I know I haven’t had problems in Firefox before.
October 19th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
Wow. How truly American some of you are: your voracious appetite for punishment and pain knows no bounds.
If you’re going to say that you hate hipsters and are happy when they’re thrown into the street, you’re an asshole, but fine. But to make pathetic attempts to justify your loathing using economics is…god, I can’t even look.
Chris(#6), what is the intrinsic value of manufacturing space staying in Bushwick? Because clearly it has no market value. I’m not sure of the cultural value, either — not many people wax nostalgic about, for example, smelling industrial solvents in their living rooms.
And I love all the “caveat emptor” talk — if they’re white and upwardly mobile, fuck ‘em! They know what’s up! Toss ‘em out in the street with no notice whatsoever! But if they’re brown and never lifted a finger to help themselves in the 30 years they lived in their apartments and were given months of notice for rent increases, the whining industry (the most lucrative one still in business in Bushwick) shifts into high gear.
Sick.
October 19th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
The apartment round up, and commercial round up this week would may have helped with all these issues.
October 20th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Now that is the load of shit. Never lifted a finger to help themselves? Who do you think kept Bushwick from burning to the ground and worked to rebuild to keep it enough of a neighborhood to attract the so-called “upwardly mobile” there? And yeah whining about unfair, illegal rent increases on your home of 30 years from a landlord who wants to push you out for some paler sucker that can pay obscene amounts of money for a shithole is sure a waste of time.
And the value of manufacturing is jobs! Not everyone works in Manhattan or can afford to idly paint their day away. Some people need jobs like working in Boar’s Head to support their families.
October 21st, 2007 at 7:01 pm
I walked by there today (sunday) and there were several moving trucks parked in the street and many twenty and thirtysomething people taking furniture out of the building.
Very Sad..
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:51 am
Re:
“Globest.com had a mention yesterday that ZCY Trading Corporation leased 90,000 sq ft in 1717 Troutman for 5 years + 3 year option…”
I believe that is referring the ajoining lot, also included in the “1717″ address, recently vacated by Allen Supply.
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:57 pm
the building is for commercail use? yes for sure the tenants in building are artist they live and work that mean commercail. i do not think the building is unsafe the owner did permit to divide it. and did all inspections required has been done and sign off ,if the building unsafe why the city did not vacate the warehouses. i have good expriance with city .if you look in dept of building website the city put new complain on that building saying they have issued the vacate order on 10/2005 about two years ago (two years ago they issued violation for illiagle use ,in court was dissmised the city they want to show they have vacate orders two years ago they are lier they did that to cover there ass) let me tell you something very simple every word i said they have it in dept of building website.
October 24th, 2007 at 11:13 am
#20:
Who do you think kept Bushwick from burning to the ground and worked to rebuild to keep it enough of a neighborhood to attract the so-called “upwardly mobile” there?
You think people are attracted to Bushwick by the extant community? Yeah, please, send me to an awesome hood where everyone hates white people and muggings are commonplace. *snort* This place is CHEAP and CLOSE to the city. Period.
And yeah whining about unfair, illegal rent increases on your home of 30 years from a landlord who wants to push you out for some paler sucker that can pay obscene amounts of money for a shithole is sure a waste of time.
Nobody said anything about illegal actions. I’m talking about rent increases, period. At least half of the apartments in Bushwick are NOT rent regulated. Raising the rents to follow the market is not illegal, and it’s not wrong, either.
And the value of manufacturing is jobs! Not everyone works in Manhattan or can afford to idly paint their day away. Some people need jobs like working in Boar’s Head to support their families.
Wow, how embarrassing to not have understood my comments on manufacturing at all, and to still have replied. Ouch.
November 14th, 2007 at 12:46 am
Unfortunately, the issue is that landlords are playing games with the city, but the city should not evict people who 1) not aware or should not be aware of building code violations that existed prior to places that are rented as partments. It is not a secret that it is often not dislosed to renters until it’s time to sign the lease, and a landlord gives a “business space” lease agreement, not a renatl agreement when people are already moved in, and there is no way they can argue with that, because initial understanding was that the place is legal. It is NOT the same illegal apartment as some landlords rent basements out - the issue with the city that is not flexible enough to re-zone areas that de-facto became mixed use. I live in a similar situation, and the building actually looks like an apoartment building, and the only problem is that until the city re-zones my block, it is a cat and mouth game between landlords and the DOB. THERE MUST BE A WAY TO FIGHT THIS. We should get an attorneys on our side. The morel issue is that buildings were purchased as manufacturing with certain tax breaks, etc.- so landlords are at fault, and instead of evictions, the city should fine them, not put people out.
September 5th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
[…] Councilwoman Diana Reyna argues that illegal occupancies of loft buildings should not be tolerated and landlords should not be rewarded by granting applications for a change of use. Their office believes that a conversion could set a detrimental precedent for commercial buildings, that the landlord knew what he was doing and that tenants knew they were signing commercial leases. Sound familiar? […]