We recently got an inquiry from a reader concerning the scaffolding at 65 Montague, shown above, which has now been joined by similar scaffolding in front of the adjoining Heights Casino, resulting in about two thirds of the sidewalk on the north side of Montague between Henry and Pierrepont Place being covered. Our interrogator was particularly puzzled because no work on the facade of 65 Montague has been evident for some time, while the scaffolding has remained. As can be seen from the photo, the building was originally issued a permit for scaffolding that expired on April 1, 2007, but has now been extended to December 31 of this year. Curious ourselves as to what might be going on there (your correspondent lives on the same block of Montague), we contacted Judy Stanton of the Brooklyn Heights Association, who in turn made some inquiries and provided us with the following:
I learned from residents of 65 Montague that the scaffolding at 65 Montague and 20 Pierrepont is still up as they expect to (soon) begin a major project to replace the windows. The replacement project was scheduled to begin shortly after their masonry project finished (which was the first initiative to require scaffold) but there were some issues with contractors and the bidding process which delayed the window replacement. They expect the work to begin late summer/early fall. It is considerably more economical for the coop to leave the scaffolding in place than to take it down and re-install it a few months later.
The reference to 20 Pierrepont indicates that it and 65 Montague are entrances to the same building.
Much, though not all, of the scaffolding seen in front of Heights buildings is a result of Local Law 11, which requires all buildings six stories or higher to have their facades periodically inspected and, if needed, repaired in order to protect pedestrians from falling masonry. Others, for example at 82 Remsen, are because of major rehabilitation of a building, and tend to stay up much longer than for Local Law 11 inspections.
