Mr. Junkersfeld on Pineapple Street

By on January 20, 2010 10:27 pm in Brooklyn Heights, Real Estate

BHB contributor Karl Junkersfeld delivers another report, this time on the progress at 73 Pineapple.  The formerly vacant lot has made much progress in the last year, rising more than halfway towards the five-story residential property it will become.

Information is still slim on the proposed lounge next door, on the ground floor of 71 Pineapple Street. The owners of the space will make a presentation supporting their liquor license application at the February 3 meeting of CB2’s Health, Environment and Social Services Committee, which will be held at 6 p.m. on the third floor of Brooklyn Hospital (DeKalb Avenue at St. Felix Street).

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  • Andrew Porter

    World’s crappiest renovation job on 71 and 75 Pineapple. Same old tired and broken down windows, facade not cleaned, place where birds were nesting over entrance to former restaurant sealed with a naked 2×4, old phony stone facade painted gray and not removed, etc.

    People living there I talked to are treating it as a short term rental, moving in and out ASAP.

  • AEB

    Thanks for this, Karl.

    Yes, watching the “renovation” of 71 Pineapple was a study in how little could be done and still get humans to rent space within. An invitation to the transient young (a redundancy?).

    There seemed to be tenants living in the building while it was being “fixed up” who are, presumably, still there.

    Or did I hallucinate?

  • AAR

    There have been signs posted on Orange Street informing residents that the proposed lounge garden may/will bring noise to the rear of apartment buildings and houses that face Orange.

  • my2cents

    Is 71 Pineapple rent controlled?
    That could explain the neglect.

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    No, it is rent stabilized. The two buildings at 71 and 75 Pineapple, which contain 23 vacant apartments and 13 occupied rent stabilized apartments in March 2007.

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    Found this via a google search:

    A mixed-use building, vacant lot and multifamily building at 71, 73 and 75 Pineapple Street in the landmark district of Brooklyn Heights were sold by Massey Knakal Realty Services in an all-cash transaction valued at $7,400,000. Combined, the properties offer almost 80 feet of frontage on Pineapple Street. 71 and 75 Pineapple Street currently have 23 vacant apartments, one vacant retail space and 13 occupied rent stabilized apartments. In total, the two existing buildings contain approximately 17,800 square feet. All three properties contain approximately 24,415 buildable square feet. The site is near the subway and blocks from the entrance to the pedestrian path on the Brooklyn Bridge. The properties sold for $303.09 per buildable square foot. All were purchased by a New Jersey developer. Massey Knakal Realty Services was the sole broker in this transaction.

  • my2cents

    The fact that there are so many vacancies suggests the landlord is using neglect as a way to get rid of his/her remaining stabilized tenants so he/she can charge market rent after a total renovation or -gasp- a teardown. To have 23 vacancies in Brooklyn Heights is an obvious red flag in a city with a rental housing shortage. Let’s hope they don’t end up like the building on Clark and Monroe!

  • nabeguy

    my2, if Im not mistaken, the landlord can do renovations on an individual apartment basis to achieve market rent. Given that there are 23 empty spaces in these buildings, the teardown angle sounds more likely. It’s unfortunate that the enforcement arm of the DOB seems to be powerless when it comes to non-compliant owners beyond tacking on more violations. It leads to situations exactly like 1 Monroe Place, which was more of an emergency mercy killing than a teardown.

  • Andrew Porter

    The landlord of these buildings held onto them for years —treating them like they were in the worst slum in Brooklyn — as her health deteriorated. Think of it, for more than 50 years the 71 Pineapple site was a vacant, trash-strewn lot. Could have been anything, even a parking lot. 69 Pineapple bought itself out of the situation and is a separate co-op. Eventually the owner went into a nursing home and when she died, the properties finally went into play.

  • nabeguy

    Sounds like her mental health was the first thing to go.

  • concerned neighbor

    I agree with the comments above on the Oragne St. poster. For people who live on Orange and Pineapple St. the proposed bar/lounge on 71 Pineapple sounds like there will be resonating sounds from the open backyard at all hours. Given the tall buildings that surround the backyard space, any noise will be reverberated like an ECHO CHAMBER!!! THIS NOISE SITUATION MAY NOT ONLY GET RID OF THE REMAINING RENT STABILIZED APTS, BUT ALSO EMPTY THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD APTS AS QUALITY OF LIFE WILL NOT BE THE SAME!! I SUGGEST PEOPLE COME TO THE COMMUNITY BOARD MEETING ON WED. FEB 3RD AT 6 PM AT BROOKLYN HOSPITAL, LOCATED AT 121 DEKALB AVE. (CORNER ST. FELIX ST.) ROOM 1A & 1B.