475 Kent Avenue in Brooklyn. Image credit: Google Maps.

New owner of a Brooklyn loft building demanded that resident vacate his parking space. Andrew Ohanesian, an artist, is the tenant of loft Unit 709, located at 475 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn.  Ohanesian signed a one-year lease with the building’s prior owner in February 2009 and has lived in the building ever since.  The prior owner verbally agreed that Ohanesian could use a designated parking space in the loading bay area of the building for an additional $180 a month.  Ohanesian included the $180 parking charge in his rent payment each month from February 2009 through February 2017.  All the invoices he received from the prior owner reflected the charge for $180. (more…)

75 Stewart Avenue, Brooklyn. Image credit: CityLand

Tenants sought loft law protection by claiming that two attached structures on one zoning lot were two separate buildings. A two-story building was constructed at 538 Johnson Avenue in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn in 1916 using timber and wood planking. A four-story building was constructed adjacent at 75 Stewart Avenue in 1919 using concrete columns, beams and slabs. The four-story structure abuts the eastern wall of the two-story structure, and the stairwell in the two-story building was extended to reach all four floors. Both buildings were owned by Goldberger Dolls for 50 years, and were used in the production of dolls. In 1997 Goldberger sold the buildings under a single deed to Brocho V’Hatzlocho Corporation. (more…)

329 Greenwich Street in Manhattan. Image Credit: CityLaw.

Loft tenant filed a petition to annul a New York City Loft Board’s amended final determination that the fourth floor consisted of two separate and distinct apartment units, claiming he was the occupant of the entire floor. SMC Associates, the owner of a loft at 329 Greenwich Street, filed plans to legalize two units on the fourth floor of the building. Longtime tenant Stephen Grant challenged the legalization plan, claiming that the space on the fourth floor was actually only one unit, not two. (more…)

Tenants in loft law units sought rent regulation protection based on 2010 amendments. 59 Crosby Street in Manhattan was an interim multiple dwelling covered under the 1982 loft law. This law required an owner to convert an interim multiple dwelling building into legal residential premises and obtain a certificate of occupancy. The owners of 59 Crosby in 1984 purchased the rights and improvements to the fifth-floor interim multiple dwelling unit from the then-current tenant. In 1992 the owners purchased the rights and improvements to the second-floor interim multiple dwelling unit, also from the then-current tenants.   (more…)

Morris Adjmi design wins praise from Commissioners. On September 9, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony on three applications for certificates of appropriateness with respect to adjacent properties at 414-422 Greenwich Street and 401-411 Washington Street in the Tribeca North Historic District. The applications propose the demolition of a 1956 garage, the construction of a new six-story building with a penthouse, and a penthouse addition to an existing 1906 loft building adjacent to the garage.

Architectural historian Bill Higgins testified on behalf of the owner that the 1906 Neo-Renaissance loft building had been built as a storehouse for coffee and tea. Higgins noted that the original terra cotta detailing had suffered significant water damage and would be restored as part of the development. Additionally, the brick facade would be cleaned, and eroded mortar joints repaired. As for the garage, Higgins testified that it was the last building constructed in the district before designation, and did not contribute to the district’s character. (more…)