Disgusting Sight On 2nd Place: Raw Sewage Flowing Onto Sidewalk

Just got these rather discussing photos from a reader who reports: "Massive amounts of raw sewage being dumped onto the street from the building on the corner of Smith and 2nd Place. Kids and parents are walking through it. Totally disgusting. And a mystery."
Pretty horrific, for sure.
Usually, we see sewage being dumped into the Gowanus Canal. But on 2nd Place?

Another eyewitness reports that the sewage seems to be coming out of the big garage door at 360 Smith Street, the brand new rental building.
I wonder if this little sewer problem is related to Hurricane Sandy, or just your run-of-the-mill plumbing problem.

If that is not enough of a yuck factor, CORD has some additional photos here.

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Does 360 Smith Street Have A Leakage Problem Already?

If you are the lucky renter who lives in the penthouse of the brand new 360 Smith Street building at the intersection of Second Place, you have spectacular 360 degree views of the surrounding neighborhood. But you may also have a bit of a leakage problem.
For the last few days, workers have been busy digging out and repairing a section of the façade over a window on the 7th floor.
And its not the first time crews have had to come back according to neighbors.  "Every time after a heavy rain, they have to do more work on that place" one of them told me yesterday.  Someone else saw workers re-plastering the ceiling in one of the top units.
How terribly annoying for the residents, especially given the exorbitant rents in that building.
Does anyone know someone who lives there?

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Come On Already! Opening Of The F/G Train Station At 2nd Place Delayed Once Again

Pardon me for asking, but wtf? Plywood is still blocking the entrance of the F/G station on 2nd Place underneath the newly constructed apartment building at 360 Smith Street here in Carroll Gardens.

It had been announced that the entrance would re-open on Friday, June 17th. But no such luck. Instead, Andrew Ingelsby of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, send the following to Community Board 6:

From: "Inglesby, Andrew"

Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2011 10:01 AM

Subject: Carroll Street F G station 2nd Place entrance reopening

Unfortunately, the reopening of the Carroll Street F G station 2nd Place entrance has been delayed until the first week of July (most likely a July 1 safety inspection and then immediate opening if they pass inspection). The problem was in the ordering of the proper staircase treads and their installation by the building contractor; NYC Transit will not allow the entrance to be reopened until the building contractor of 360 Smith Street installs treads which will not compromise the safety of our customers and your community's residents.

Please also note, as I have indicated before, that once the 2nd Place plaza entrance is reopened, the building at 360 Smith Street will be responsible for the daily maintenance of it.

Thanks again for your patience,

Andy

In the meanwhile, Carroll Gardens' commuters continue to be inconvenienced. Unbelievable,isn't it?

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For Real Now? New Date Set For Re-Opening Of F Train Station Entrance At Second Place

First the Second Place F/G subway entrance in Carroll Gardens was supposed to re-open in February, then it was delayed till April and now that it is June, it s still closed. So what's up?

Apparently, about 60% of the stair treads leading down into the station have failed the initial safety inspection by the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Before the station opens, the problem needs to be fixed and the stair treads need to be brought into compliance.

The new date for the re-opening has been scheduled for June 17th. I know many neighborhood commuters have been dying to find out. Lets hope that date will not come and go like the others.

The F train subway plaza and the staircase leading to the station at Second Place were blocked off during construction of the new building at 360 Smith Street back in the fall of 2010 . Since then, riders have been forced to use the smaller, narrower entrance at the corner of Second Street.

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Spiffy Brochure, 360 Degree Views And Steep Rental Prices At 360 Smith Street

Brochure images and renderings via 360 Smith Street

360 Smith Street +70 feet= 360 degree views. Get it?

Someone forwarded me the entire rental brochure for 360 Smith Street, the almost completed, quite controversial 70 foot building at the corner of 2nd Place and Smith Street.

According to an agent, there are no rental fees, the first month is free and utilities, except for electricity, are free as well.

Sounds good, but the rental fees are rather steep.

*Apartment G, a1,092 sf two bedroom, two bath apartment facing Smith Street goes for about $3,800 on the second floor to about $4,150 on the fourth floor.

*Apartment type A, also two-bedroom, 2-bath, is slightly bigger at 1,105 sf. It faces Second Place and costs $3,995 for the 2 second floor and $4,200 for the third floor.

*The J line penthouse at 1613 sf facing 2nd Place will rent from$5, 750 on the second floor to $6,050 on the third floor.

The rest of the brochure offers some photos of the area, some exaggerated renderings of the front of the building and of the rooftop, as well as some platitudes about our neighborhood, including this gem:"A close-knit community of long-time Carroll Gardens residents who warmly greet you from their 19th century garden brownstones."
One neighborhood friend chuckled when I read this last part of the brochure out loud. "Yeah!" she said "We have a special greeting here in the neighborhood. But it takes two hands..." (It's also called the Italian salute)

And one more thing....An eagle-eyed reader spotted someone who looked suspiciously like Bill Stein, the original developer of 360 Smith Street, standing in front of the site. It had been rumored that Stein was out of this deal, but he may still be involved.

Stein once told the Carroll Gardens community that he would occupy the penthouse apartment of 360 Smith Street because his wife "loved" the neighborhood.

Well, if that is still the case and he is moving in, lets all remember to greet him warmly (not) from our brownstones. Remember! Use two hands...

Is this Bill Stein (gray hair) standing in front of 360 Smith Street?

******UPDATE*****

Just got some additional plans and details for 360 Smith Street from a PMFA reader.

He writes:

Here are the renderings for the penthouses. They are all priced north of $7m per month.
The apartments are nice but not too well thought out. The bedrooms are on the smallish size (with the last bedrrom begin tiny) and there is an oversize a/c unit that takes up a lot of space. I did not think they were nice enough for the rents that they are asking. It will be very interesting to see if the Carroll Gardens residents will be willing to pony up these kind of $’s.

There are storage units on each floor. They are ridiculously priced @ $200 per month
There is indoor parking available, which is a pretty awesome feature

The roof deck has stellar view. Literally 360 views that take your breath away. However, the idea of a playground up there is probably not too well thought out.

Brochure images and renderings via 360 Smith Street

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Exaggerate Much? Rendering On 360 Smith Street's Brochure Not Quite Reality

Take a look at the huge front garden depicted on the brochure for the controversial 360 Smith Street, the new 70' apartment building at the corner of 2nd Place here in Carroll Gardens. Someone forwarded it to me and commented on the fact that the rendering bears little resemblance to reality.

Though the area in front of the building was planted late last week, it sure doesn't look like the huge park depicted in print, now does it?

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360 Smith Street Gets Landscaped

Yesterday afternoon, a crew was busy planting trees, shrubs and plants in front of 360 Smith Street, the new 7 story building at First Place. The greenery does make the building just a bit more palatable.

The subway plaza to the F train station which is slate to reopen is looking almost done now. The plaza has been paved with slate and planters have been installed to separate the entrance to the building.

Miraculously, some of the plaza's original trees have survived. If I am not mistaken, they were mimosa trees. Does anyone remember?

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For Real Now! Second Place Entrance To F Train Nearing Completion

The Second Place subway entrance to the F train here in Carroll Gardens was supposed to re-open at the end of February, but there have been delays. (Aren't there always?) Since then, there has been some visible progress. On Monday, a new concrete sidewalk was poured. When asked, two of the workers said that the entrance will re-open in two weeks.

The F train subway plaza and the staircase leading to the station at Second Place were blocked off during construction of the new building at 360 Smith Street back in the fall of 2010 . Since then, riders have been forced to use the smaller, narrower entrance at the corner of Second Street.
And for those who forgot what the plaza used to look like before the construction, here is a photo.

photo credit: Bob Guskind

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360 Smith Near Completion... And F Train Subway Entrance Is Almost Done

360 Smith Street

Building and subway entrance

The F train subway entrance at 2nd Place

Almost completed

360 Smith Street as seen from Smith and First Place

Hannah Senesh School is in the foreground.

The view from Carroll Park at Carroll Street

And as seen from the backyard

(photo credit: Tim)

360 Smith' web site

Ironic isn't it?

'360 Smith' the new, non-contextual building in Carroll Gardens, advertises with photo of historic, land-marked Cobble Hill carriage houses on its web site.

In the last few days, part of the construction fence at 360 Smith Street came down on the Second Place side, revealing not only what will be the building's main entrance, but also the long awaited entrance to the F train station which has been closed since construction on the building started in September 2009. Delays made a February re-opening of the station entrance impossible, but it now looks as though it really won't be long any more. I bet many commuters will be very glad about that.

As for the 360 Smith Street building itself, it is as imposing on the surrounding street scape as many in Carroll Gardens had feared. At over 70 feet, it towers over the neighboring brownstones. The white stucco'ed back of the building, as seen from First Place, is especially uninspiring and non-contextual.

'360 Smith', as it will be called, now has its own web site as Brownstoner noted two weeks ago. The site announces an opening for Spring 2011, but doesn't contain any other information yet. Strangely enough the photos on the site include a shot of the beautiful carriage houses at Veranda Place in Cobble Hill. What joke.

Rumor has it that the much discussed building went rental. It will be interesting to see how much the apartments will go for.

Take a look at a series of photos of the building slowly rising over the last two years from one of the rear-facing buildings on First Place. They were taken by reader Tim.

Click here: It Ain't Pretty: Checking In On 360 Smith Street

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