NEW YORK—The recession dried up the funds needed to keep cranes running and construction workers on job sites; leaving the city littered with half-finished projects, scaffolding, deteriorating fences, and obstructed sidewalks and streets. As of July, 645 stalled sites were spread across the five boroughs.
Between August 2010 and August 2011, New York City lost 3,400 construction jobs according to a report released Monday by Associated General Contractors of America.
In a report released on Monday, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer suggested following the example of Dekalb Market, a stalled site turned into a profitable temporary market space; or Lentspace, on the corner of Varrick and Canal streets, which became a pubic courtyard and outdoor art exhibition space after laying vacant for two years.
Community gardeners could green the lots, or a few grills and wading pools could make more “timeshare backyards,” like the one on a stalled site in the East Village. The uses could be temporary, allowing the developer to get back to building as soon as possible.
“Who’s going to pay? It can’t be on our tax dollar,” said Steve Bohnert, a Williamsburg resident who lives near a site that has been stalled since 2009, in response to Stringer’s suggestions.
Stringer hopes to see private investment in the spaces, with government support in the form of streamlined permitting and tax breaks. Real estate and community partners helped pay for Lentspace, reported Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) President Sam Miller. He did not know how much the capital investment was, but reported it would cost $100,000 a year to operate.
Zsolt Zolnai pointed to a half-built structure spanning a couple of blocks in his Williamsburg neighborhood and noted that some stalled sites just can’t be cleaned up for public use.
“It’s ugly and it makes life more difficult for everybody,” said Zolnai. “We don’t have sidewalks, parking conditions are bad, South Ninth Street has been closed for two years.” A corrugated, sheet-metal fence sprayed with graffiti stretched along Kent Street behind him, encircling one of several halted developments along the waterfront.
Williamsburg and Greenpoint saw a pre-recession development boom. Since 2009, approximately half of the city’s stalled sites have been located in these neighborhoods. Currently, 92 sites are inactive in the area, compared to 129 in all of Manhattan.
Even if sites cannot be feasibly put to better use, Stringer hopes to see better maintenance. When his office surveyed the conditions at stalled sites in Manhattan, it found 60 percent had vandalized or broken fencing and 37 percent had litter problems. While the Department of Buildings (DOB) keeps track of complaints about the sites, it does not regularly monitor their condition.
If the fences and scaffolding must remain, at least make it pretty, says Stringer. The city’s urbanSHED contest aimed to do just that.
The winning design, the Urban Umbrella, is due to appear at construction sites around the city soon, but Stringer points out that beautification programs already in place are rarely used. He suggests better outreach and grants to community groups to create art projects on construction fences.
In lucrative neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, things are starting to pick up again. Condos are rising from once-stalled sites with increasing frequency.
City and state agencies have developed programs to help get building going again quickly—tax breaks, easy permit renewals, and large refinanced loans in exchange for an affordable housing commitment—but developers are not using some of the programs, and many are still struggling to gather adequate funds.
The DOB began tracking stalled construction projects citywide in 2009. In July of 2009, the DOB counted 395 stalled sites across the five boroughs. The number peaked in November 2010 at 709, followed by a decline to 645 as of July 2011.
Between August 2010 and August 2011, New York City lost 3,400 construction jobs according to a report released Monday by Associated General Contractors of America.
In a report released on Monday, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer suggested following the example of Dekalb Market, a stalled site turned into a profitable temporary market space; or Lentspace, on the corner of Varrick and Canal streets, which became a pubic courtyard and outdoor art exhibition space after laying vacant for two years.
Community gardeners could green the lots, or a few grills and wading pools could make more “timeshare backyards,” like the one on a stalled site in the East Village. The uses could be temporary, allowing the developer to get back to building as soon as possible.
“Who’s going to pay? It can’t be on our tax dollar,” said Steve Bohnert, a Williamsburg resident who lives near a site that has been stalled since 2009, in response to Stringer’s suggestions.
Stringer hopes to see private investment in the spaces, with government support in the form of streamlined permitting and tax breaks. Real estate and community partners helped pay for Lentspace, reported Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) President Sam Miller. He did not know how much the capital investment was, but reported it would cost $100,000 a year to operate.
Zsolt Zolnai pointed to a half-built structure spanning a couple of blocks in his Williamsburg neighborhood and noted that some stalled sites just can’t be cleaned up for public use.
“It’s ugly and it makes life more difficult for everybody,” said Zolnai. “We don’t have sidewalks, parking conditions are bad, South Ninth Street has been closed for two years.” A corrugated, sheet-metal fence sprayed with graffiti stretched along Kent Street behind him, encircling one of several halted developments along the waterfront.
Williamsburg and Greenpoint saw a pre-recession development boom. Since 2009, approximately half of the city’s stalled sites have been located in these neighborhoods. Currently, 92 sites are inactive in the area, compared to 129 in all of Manhattan.
Even if sites cannot be feasibly put to better use, Stringer hopes to see better maintenance. When his office surveyed the conditions at stalled sites in Manhattan, it found 60 percent had vandalized or broken fencing and 37 percent had litter problems. While the Department of Buildings (DOB) keeps track of complaints about the sites, it does not regularly monitor their condition.
If the fences and scaffolding must remain, at least make it pretty, says Stringer. The city’s urbanSHED contest aimed to do just that.
The winning design, the Urban Umbrella, is due to appear at construction sites around the city soon, but Stringer points out that beautification programs already in place are rarely used. He suggests better outreach and grants to community groups to create art projects on construction fences.
In lucrative neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, things are starting to pick up again. Condos are rising from once-stalled sites with increasing frequency.
City and state agencies have developed programs to help get building going again quickly—tax breaks, easy permit renewals, and large refinanced loans in exchange for an affordable housing commitment—but developers are not using some of the programs, and many are still struggling to gather adequate funds.
The DOB began tracking stalled construction projects citywide in 2009. In July of 2009, the DOB counted 395 stalled sites across the five boroughs. The number peaked in November 2010 at 709, followed by a decline to 645 as of July 2011.
