Work Back on at 713 43rd

After a Stop Work Order was issued on October 5th, 2009 for working without a permit, we had about six weeks of a lonely crane sitting on top of the building.  Now that the SWO has been rescinded, it seems that everyone is ready to get going.  Or, at least, the gates are open and materials are waiting.

 During the six week no-work period, the graffiti on the neighboring structure has been building up.  Farther down the street, another house is for sale and the demo/construction of the oversized lot at 765 has been in-process since their SWO was rescinded.  It will be an 8-unit dwelling.  A nice balance to this 10-unit dwelling.  Bookends, really. 

Cinderblocks and the Promise of Orange Bricks

This building (at 713-715 43rd Street) is going to grow up to be a five floor, ten unit building. A year ago, the two one-family houses that stood here were torn down. The thing is, there isn't anything posted about building something. There's only something posted about a sidewalk barrier. The application is in, but it seems nothing has come of that yet. (As always, I could be reading these things incorrectly.) The lack of necessary paperwork hasn't stopped the preparations for quintupling the amount of residents, however! The above photo was take at the beginning of April, 2009. The photo below was taken on the last day of April, 2009.
True, it's not a whole lot of work that's getting done, but the brickwork has begun! If anyone has the time, could you chime in about whether or not this building is being built with proper go-ahead? The 713/715 addresses have two different sets of "job filings." The primary structural system also is claimed as wood. Is there any wood going on here?

18 Wheelers, Front Loaders, and Broken Glass on 43rd

Want to buy a former SRO on 7th and 43rd? It's right on the park. The For Rent signs were quickly changed out for For Sale signs once the mistake was noticed. Makes a lot more sense, and the wind storm last week tore up one of the For Rent signs anyway.

Something is definitely up. There was a man (whose face was covered with a bandana) inside the side door sweeping up the nastiness that builds up in a semi-abandoned building that's left on its own for months and months. See below for what has collected outside the 43rd Street door so far. Mmmmm. Lots of broken glass! And right across from PS 169, too!


Next door, the activity was heavier and louder.

There was a lot of excavation going on at 713 43rd Street yesterday. One 18-wheeler was pulling away with a full load of dirt and detritus while another waited to take its place. This CAT front loader was busy filling up the trucks, and all the workers at the site actually looked busy. All of them!

"For Rent" but Not Really on 43rd and 7th

It's a mistake. The signs (one of which seems to have blown away in the last windstorm) that say this "former SRO, current canvas for taggers" is For Rent are wrong. According to the friendly agent at Century 21 Block and Lot, there will be a "very nice building there," but the signs are a mistake. Does that mean someone new has purchased it? Nothing's on file yet. Does it mean that the friendly B&L agent didn't want to share more? Could be. It would be great to see SOMEthing happen at this location. It's been a magnet for graffiti and vandalism and broken windows for far too long.

Plans for over a year ago were to convert this SRO to a six-family. We shall see. Considering the slow progress next door, I have my doubts.