By COLlive reporter
A group of Jewish residents in Brooklyn are hoping to halt the construction of new apartment buildings that they say aren’t suitable for large Chassidic families.
The International Food Plaza grocery store at 824 East New York Avenue is being developed as a 7-story apartment building with 64 residential units and commercial space, and only 33 parking spaces for both residents and customers.
The 26,373-square-foot property, located between Troy and Schenectady Avenues, will have apartments sized at 781-square-feet, which Jewish neighbors say isn’t adequate for a typical Jewish family looking for housing in the Crown Heights vicinity.
“They are very small apartments and are not livable for a frum family,” says Rabbi Michoel Chazan, Director of Chaplaincy Services at the nearby Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center.
“It’s a big problem that prices have gone up and our own can’t afford houses in close proximity to 770,” says Chazan, who served as chairman of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council (CHJCC).
He said young Lubavitch families have found fair priced housing near the hospital, a mile away from Lubavitch Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway, “but even those prices are going up.”
Speaking about the developers, a group of frum Jews from Borough Park, Chazan told COLlive.com: “They are not caring about the community. They are not expecting Crown Heights (Jewish) families to move into a condo…”
The developer is Judy Wolcowitz of Aview Builders, and Karl Fischer will handle the design, New York YIMBY reported.
A project manager who spoke with Jewish neighbors admitted that the architectural plans weren’t drawn for Jewish families, but pointed out that the property is located in East Flatbush.
But the Application Details submitted by Wolcowitz to the NYC Department of Buildings names the Business Name as “East Crown Heights Holdings LLC.” The company is registered at 1368 38th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11218. Their phone number is 718-360-5902.
“There is a parking problem in our community and there is no affordable housing, thus this project is of no benefit to the existing community,” stated one resident familiar with the details of the project. “Building such a building with so little parking is a clear violation of city laws.”
It was reported that NYC Planning Commission was considering waiving parking requirements in exchange for affordable housing in the building, even if it’s just a few units in a mixed-income building. Food Plaza will occupy the ground floor.
The group of residents trying to halt the development told COLlive.com that they have spoken with a member of the Crown Heights Beis Din who said that trying to stop the project isn’t considered Mesirah – snitching on a Jew that is against halacha.
The Zoning Challenge and Appeal Form to the NYC Department of Buildings to contest the project based on the owner’s Application Details can report about the lack of local affordable housing and parking opportunities. The form must be sent by Monday, January 4, 2016 to
[email protected].
Other new building projects in the Crown Heights neighborhood that pose the same issues:
800 Empire Blvd, between Toy and Schenechtady Avenues, owned by Simon Lichtenstein from 4414 10th Avenue, Brooklyn (917-662-1263 / [email protected]). Plan and permit details: 16 1-bedroom apartments with no parking spaces.
512 Maple Street, between Brooklyn and Kingston Avenues, owned by Moshe Gross of CRG Holdings LLC at 3811 13th Avenue, Brooklyn (718-854-3388 / [email protected]). Plan and permit details: 9 mini apartments with no parking.
“The Chabad community in Crown Heights is bursting at the seams,” another young Jewish resident said. “Housing prices keep rising, it can take you a full hour to find a parking spot at night, and all that’s built is housing for yuppies who are moving here instead of Park Slope or Manhattan.”
The very same ones complaining about high prices, are the same ones that are selling their properties for high prices. Bear in mind that construction costs have doubled, operating costs have doubled, somehow the gap has to be filled. Imagine if nothing would be developed, who would you complain to? Do you complain as much when your tolls are going up? What about your cholov yisroel or meat, do you complain? What about your matzah going up every year, what do you do about that? A developer is entitled to build and charge what the market will support and is… Read more »
Please don’t fabricate stories and bring up false equivalets. Firstly, the people living up in those towns around Monroe have been there for many, many years, and they are most certainly NOT Yuppies. They are a mix of middle-aged and elderly people. Secondly, while I’m sure that there might be some element of anti-Semitism involved, it’s perfectly understandable to me why they are opposing these projects. People choose to live in country neighborhoods specifically so they can avoid the traffic and noise of the city. This expansion completely deprives those neighborhoods of that. In Crown Heights, the Yuppies are replacing… Read more »
Are you guys aware that the Mayor has two new upzoning proposals that will remove parking requirements for senior housing, affordable housing, and mixed housing developments (affordable / market rate mix) with a special BSA permit, in all of Crown Heights ( Community District 9) ? Ready for musical chairs with cars ? If not, show up at the Community Board meeting this January 26 at 7 pm at the Empire Street School (400 Empire Corner of Empire & NY Ave across from NYPD Precinct.)
if all the realtors, geverim, CHJCC in CH would get together and buy ALL the available properties, fix them up and then sell some units at a ***reasonable*** profit (just enough to cover their permits, construction, financing etc), and rent the rest at a decent affordable price, without looking to get richer, many of our young families would really benefit. They can consider it as a free loan that will be paid back.
If our own won’t do this, we have no right to complain about outsiders coming in.
We need to buy any empty spot and make it frum condo….
Big question who can buy , built and then sell for lowest market price ? Only some phylantropist – go find one
This is holy task do expel these greedy developers.
Crown heights for crownheights’rs!
I am a developer, the only way to fix this problem, is that the communty c. Should buy the empty lotes and development site around ch and slowly develop one by one and sell them to the community.
Prices will go up, if not now latter.
Construction cost going up.
Zoning Challenge
and Appeal Form
1 Property Information
Required for all challenges.
BIS Job # Number BIS Document Number
CH need to find money to invest here in CH and make affortable /reasonable condos to the young frum families …. Look around , avarage CH young family can pay maximum 2,000$ monthly payments ….. But nothing is avaloable for them , so they all moving to outside CH communities …..
One day CH will be lost ….
Prices close to 2,000,000 per house are insain and in reality are not affortable by anyone
Silly, don’t you realize if “they” (btw, whoever used the term “yoelis” shame on you!)don’t build, someone else will?Most likely a secular jew or gentile.Do you want to go back to the ghetto , riot days where nobody wanted to move in?Yuppies are much better than ghetto and when moshiach comes you”ll have affordable housing in a decent neighborhood.Till than, either you want to live in a high crime ghetto or you pay more.Or you move out of new york
and I’m willing to bet that these so called frum people are the same one that left crown heights to the wolfs in the early seventies, and now they have the gall to try to come here to cash in and at the same time ruin the neighborhood even more. No rotten deed goes unpunished and they ought to be careful of the consequences to their own lives and those of their families.
33 Parking Spaces???? Are we NUTS??? Already there is no parking anywhere in the hood anymore!!! Either everyone has to agree to give up their private vehicles, or stop this thing from being built!!!
These buildings with tiny apartments are just inviting NEW groups of people to come live here and compete over the limited supply. –
This just increases the demand and hikes up prices.
Supply and demand does not work with housing in NYC – since there will never be enough.
The more buildings (=supply) – the more people flock in and prices go EVEN higher!
Virtually every single place with more supply and high buildings – is unaffordable.
Every Yuppee building that goes up will just attract MORE o the millions looking for an area to live in.
-When the Jews upstate tried expanding Monroe – their Yuppee neighbors stopped it and said ‘go live in Brooklyn” -When those Jews tried to build a bigger sewer pipe to build more houses IN MONROE – those yuppes stopped it and said “go live in Brooklyn” -When those Jews tried to build a community near Monroe out of an EMPTY LOT (not near anything) – those yuppeis stopped it and said “go live in Brooklyn” (until Cuomo vetoed and allowed to build) The yuppes used the following tactics: *Court proceedings *Public protests *Media propaganda *They even got the State Assembly… Read more »
Please site the regulations to be listed in the forms
Also – the info for S.John’s property
The law of supply and demand says that if there is lots of demand but limited supply, prices will go up. In our community that means that since there is a high demand for housing but only short supply, we see that prices are rising rapidly. The solution to such an issue is to either reduce demand or increase supply. It is very difficult to reduce demand, thank g-d we have built a beautiful flourishing community that is now attractive to ‘outsiders’ as well. But we can increase supply, so we must build new housing and encourage developers to come… Read more »
Some people ALREADY own buildings and it is tempting to rent to YUPPIES for a few extra dollars – I understand.
These guys are BUILDING a NEW place for YUPEES – they could do it anywhere else and make the same money.
The answer is we have none we deserve what we have
What many of our own would do for $…as the greedy landlords keep raising and raising . …while the renters r struggling and literally choking….
Tzedaka starts at home- b4 trying to publicly give tzedaka- notice ur own tenants who can’t put food on the table cuz of the absurd prices…. And just because another landlord raised his price -ur allowed to b a mentch and not choke ur tenants too
It’s not just all abt $$$$$
CH had a solution to the housing problem, And CH chased him away. as the saying goes, you made your bed…
in the 60’s the community suffered and when people moved to out now the same peoples grandchildren are back to finish the job. this time with hashems help they wont succeed.
We should make a public list updated , of all the lubavitchers that rent /sell to goyim!
I’m not sure how ppl think that stopping this building will somehow help property prices
#44 say that with your name .. Why go anonymous?? Do you think that’s how the rebbe expects you to talk ?? Let’s all remember one thing – crown heights has achdus issues- if we didn’t, there would be no problem as there would be a board who would help ensure that there is enough housing in Ch for the locals. Don’t go blaming others for trying to make money! Where are you investing your money?? Why aren’t all ch guys with a few dollars investing in the ch real estate ?? Why are they investing in Bushwick and bed… Read more »
Most of your comment is (if you’ll pardon the pun) right on the money. I disagree about your last sentence, though: getting into the real estate business doesn’t require education so much as it does an entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to take risks.
To number 40 I agree,if you don’t belive that the rebbe gave a bracha to this community which he did!Kan tzivah hash es Habra h!!!then move!!!!
The ppl that have the power to help the situation are not doing their job where is the crown heights jewish community council to help make affordable housing they are sitting and watching families in their own community crumbling and falling apart because the rent is so high and apartments are not big enough
building being renovated for yuppies and the store across the street is looking to rent to a bar both owned by Yidden.
Originally Created to Build Affordable Housing In crown Heights
I’d rather have them as neighbors than the people who we co exist with now. I’m not physically afraid of yuppies.
You are 100%
THEY have the right to make a few extra dollarsand ruin our community.
WE have the right to try to stop it and make it hard for them.
-There is a reason they chose to build HERE and not in THEIR neighbourhood.
anyone who rents to yuppie’s for a few dollars extra, should ask Mechila by the Rebbe, for making sure that no other jews can live in the neighborhood, and don’t run to him when you need his brocho,
כל מי שמשכיר דירה לאחד לא מאנ”ש צריך לבקש מחילה מכ”ק אדמו”ר, ולא לרוץ אליו כשצריכים אותו.
הרבי רצה שיהודים יבואו לשכונה ולקנות דירות ולא לרוץ למקומות אחרים וכו’ וכו’ וד”ל.
You guys need to stop complaining like babies, prices aren’t hiked up by individual developers/realtors, thy are driven up by the simple rules of supply and demand, so that the only way to build and not lose money is to build smaller yuppie style units, and rather than being busy harassing other people the askanim should have the rich guys of the community buy properties and build on them for the community And if they can’t get their own guys to do that, then don’t complain when others out of the community do that. This kind of moral outrage needs… Read more »
This is dangerous for our community.
Any late night beer and alcohol locations — even for Yuppies — is not good for our residential Chabad community and our young children and teens.
Yes Kingston and midwood new develpment just for yappys
Going for 3.600 $ a month just for 1 bedroom and half room for the dog. WHERE Will our chidren live in the future at a rate like this.Can someone do something about it.????
What is the big excitement. Last year the city completed a huge Builduing directly avroos from this project. For low income families.
I visited the property it was gorgeous.
With all the vadd hakall connections and with all the photo ops. And with all the visits to sucos NOT ONE apartment when to members of our comunity.
So let’s stop looking to blame others.
חזירים גמור these yoelies
When was the last time you spent any money in buying a building and renovating it? All of you who are complaining about prices, why do not YOU buy buildings and rent it to locals? Put your money where your mouth is! Cars, food, clothing, schools are all expensive. Mabey we should live in Russia where they determine how much money you can make. If you like that go to a comi country and live like that. Right now we live in a democratic country where you are able to be successful if you work hard and provide goods and… Read more »
as well as theor offices and register your feelings. These greedy yidden would not do this in borough park, where they live. They are destroying our neighborhood.Somebody post home numbers.
All those who are saying that we need 3 or 4 bedroom apartments for young families are not thinking ahead. Already we are seeing where people bought condos and after a few years the families doubled in size ka”h, and are now overcrowded, with no room for the children to play. A four bedroom apartment doesn’t compare to a 4 bedroom private house, or even a 2 apartment house with a basement. More practical to have smaller units for the elderly and let the younger people buy their own homes. Condos may be cheaper to buy, but without an income… Read more »
Move out guys! I did and never looked back!
What is the attraction to CH? ! Place is a dump ppl living like rats on top of each other , schools huge … I really don’t get it!
Yeh it’s getting out of hand!
There are MILLIONS of Yuppees in Manhattan that are looking for cheaper rent. Most don’t like living in dominant African American communities.
The More white people move here – the more attractive it is for more & more & more to come. –
An all YUPPEE building all the way down there like this – significantly speeds up the process
Since they are able to pay much higher rent than us – WE ARE OUT!
My school fees go up – so my tenant’s rent goes up.
Who is foolish???
You are totally out of conception. Every New YUPPEE Building hikes up the prices.
Look at Manhattan – more buildings ==higher prices.
Areas less Yuppees and Less Populated == Lower Prices.
Hundreds of units are in the plans to be built and not one for our community. Not sure I can blame them I hear the new building on Franklin and eastern parkway is getting rents over 5k a month for a small 2 bedroom. No Lubavitcher young couple can afford that.
I guess when fremde do it it’s a big deal, ober when the eigene mena lim mashpiim do it we say, kadosh kadosh kadosh
I would look to a dayan who is god fearing and who understands all the ramifications as well as the actual halacha and how a shaila like this can only be paskend by a beis din. And nothing good will come out from this mesira for anyone in ch anywayd.a load of garbage
I’m not sure how ppl think that stopping this building will somehow help property prices
it will bring crime down,and slowly become a more safer area
Are you kidding?
One place?
Merkos had been working on that for 76 years!b
ut not one location,oh no. That wouldn’t do!
Hundreds and thousands of locations. Now we’re taking!
Why oppose the new buildings? If they don’t get their own buildings they will take ours, as they are already, if someone will make yupee friendly buildings, they won’t compete with us. Additionally, if we make it difficult for developers to build in our community they will not build and the prices will skyrocket, if someone wants to build, leave them alone and let them build so they can ease some of the extreme demand for housing. And anyway, since when do we stop other people from building just because it doesn’t suit us, aren’t we suffering from the fact… Read more »
Mesira is against a person, prohibited if he will sit in jail. But there is no mesirah involved against voting against a project, that hasn’t even been built yet!
So Many Satmar residents of Williamsburg are being driven out by the high pricing that came with the YUPPEES and are flocking to Monroe.
Think what they would do to us if we dared build such developments in their communities!
Was thinking about it today….. It’s really ridiculous to have all this condo popping up on maple street with NO parking spaces….. What ppl r planning to do? Also the prices won’t go down. Because a solid 2/3 bedroom apartments will be in BIG depend. Because all this new modern looking apartment are NOT suitable for Jewish couples….. Just very, very SAD situation and I am happy that there are ppl in this community who r trying to protest.
come join 91st and 92st prices are still low!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it’s all about the money they can put in their pockets & Crown heights residents won’t & can’t. they can attract a much better paying & affluent clientele this way as their is nothing in Manhattan I do have a solution In my neighborhood there are plenty of good condition houses low price(under 500,000) & not small either etc( My house is 3 bedrooms plus a basement nice size liing 7 dining room semi attached If we get 8 or 10 families to be co pioneers We can wildly succeed.There are at least 2 houses for sale onmy block &… Read more »
Leaders busy fighting with each other.
Some members just care about making an extra dollar.
In the meantime these organized rich liberal yuppies are flocking in.
Soon they will convert all the streets into their bike streets. They will open their … Stores on Kingston. For all I know – my kids might be watching tv in their houses.
But nobody cares…
Kehila Kadisha Satmer places all thier energy they have for housing and Parnasa for thier residents. Maybe we should start worrying about that here instead of the 37 calls I get a day about a Charridy fundraiser for a Chabad house 7,000 miles away.
You wrote: “build until there’s a surplus of housing and the prices come crashing back to earth; because that’s the way this always goes.”
WRONG!
Manhattan/ Downtown Brooklyn and almost all such areas with big buildings – rent is 6x anywhere else.
Build Build Build until it will cost 6000 for a 1 bedroom….
BS”D
since Rabbi Fisher deposed, only problems in this area
ps how will mosering help-they will just fix the violations, what a wasted effort
had absolutely no forsight in preparing for out future. The last twenty years of the council they were snoozing, not building neither rehabbing. Yet they sit in their positions.
If not for the dreaded Fischer our yungerleights would not have where to live.
There are many units in my building rented to Yuppies. You should see what goes on inside and outside this building on Shabbos. This is the Heart Of Crown Heights. Didn’t the Rebbe plead כאן ציוה …… Where is the outcry. All for a few dollars.
We must form a board to advocate for our young families who desperately need affordable housing. Maybe they would be able to convince the builders on properties to build larger units.
Can Mr picture help us with predicting the fall of prices because in the mean time the community is paying very high prices on rent and very little opportunity to buy.
Your business ‘mind’ is some what trained but practically your ‘idea’ isn’t helping the people on the bottom of the chain. Perhaps this might help YOU see the bigger picture.
i know of at least 3 more development in the ch area. that not listed. this developers are lubavicher.
A. ford st and carroll st. from boro park.
B. remsen ave and utica ave
c. lefferts ave bet new york and nostrand
I think its time for Merkaz / Chabad Headquarters to make a division to work out the housing and schooling issue by spearheading a new community for lubavitchers similar to New Squire and Kiryas Yowl
This is so silly and short-sighted. Let them build. Let them build and build and build until there’s a surplus of housing and the prices come crashing back to earth; because that’s the way this always goes. This is a hot area right now, and every developer wants to get in. Crown Heights, along with most of Brooklyn, is very close to a tipping point where supply will finally outpace demand. Let the developers spend their money, a lot of them are going to lose it all and the community that stays here long after the neighborhood stops being “hot”… Read more »
The bottom line: there is a complete lack of leadership in our community. In Williamsburgh the community leaders (with the support of the community) insure that there is sufficient housing with all the zoning rights needed. if anyone needs proof, take a drive through the chassidish part of Willie and you”ll see new apartment buildings one after the other and all of them are large enough for 3 or 4 bedrooms. Crown Heights has got a great community but unfortunately very little unity for working under one umbrella for beneficial things such as housing,voting etc. The solution: The community as… Read more »
Without a pro-active stance taken by the community council to acquire properties, and develop them geared towards our needs, we will continue to see outsiders ( and plenty of our own ) buying up every available lot, and develop them in a manner to maximize profits. Strife and politics among ourselves has cost us dearly in the past ( loss of brooklyn tech -now the site of medgar evers, maguiles hospital-president & brooklyn,, and others ). What effort was expended to try to acquire the armory for our use ? Without cohesive leadership we will be soon outpriced and outnumbered.
Why don’t we team up with non observant and non jewish members of our community who have large families to protest the Lilliputian housing? We would succeed better.
BS”D
maybe Yuppies are coming so Lubabs can put Teffilin on them lol
for many many years countless people here in the community tried to make this place better for ANASH, as per the strong directives of the Rebbe. this was something the rebbe took a strong interest in.
Let it be known: especialy to lubavithers and other frum yiddin:
yes, you may make some money on these projects, but the rebbe blaibed nit kain bal choiv……
think strongly if its worth it.
Chassidishkeit, real estate prices..
So the same goes for the apartments that are being built at the rite aid?
How about the realtorswho are driving the price up in areas where the yuppies dont move.
Isn’t that Masirah? Two wrongs don’t make a right.
There are lubavitchers that are building all over including on eastern parkway all for non Jews.
I’m sure there are other reasons these people have a problem with this project.
Where is the vadd hakall in all this?
I’m glad ch beis din said your allowed to report violations.
Residential buildings require parking for 60% of the number of units. How can they do this legally?