In a borough of stalled condo projects, the Williamsburg area is ground zero, according to a recent report.
The report, which analyzed the city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) inspection records, and was conducted by the New York Building Congress, found that Brooklyn leads all the other boroughs in stalled condominium development projects.
The borough is home to 237 developments on which work has stopped, or 46% of the 531 total of stalled projects citywide.
Further, eight of the 10 city neighborhoods with 10 or more stalled projects are in Brooklyn, and 30% of the borough’s idle construction sites are in the Williamsburg, East Williamsburg, Greenpoint and North Side-South Side areas.
This includes some of these neighborhood’s highest profile development projects that have been over 90 percent completed, such as The Viridian (110 Greene Street), which has fallen prey to bankruptcy this year, throwing its future maintenance and occupancy in doubt.
In an effort to jump-start these programs, the Bloomberg administration recently enacted legislation to help re-start stalled sites.
Under the proposal, owners that submit comprehensive site safety plans to the DOB can renew their building permits for up to four more years.
City Council members have also tried to restart stalled construction sites by increasing safety standards while construction is suspended.
In October, Speaker Christine Quinn joined Council members David Yassky (D-Williamsburg), Letitia James (D-Fort Greene) and their colleagues in Williamsburg to draw attention to the new legislation.
“If these sites are not properly maintained, they can become safety hazards to residents and even havens of criminal activity. Our legislation will require enhanced site maintenance while construction is halted and allow projects to avoid delays when economic conditions improve,” said Quinn.
–with Aaron Short
Correction: This story previously reported that Ikon Condominium was bankrupt, which is not the case. We regret the error.
