April 6, 2007
Chumley's Building Sticking Around - For Now
After reports of an unstable wall and possible demolition, it looks like the Bedford Street building that houses the bar Chumley's is staying up. But the Department of Buildings must determine whether the building is secure. The owners' construction contractors were doing illegal work: Though they applied for permits, the DOB hadn't approved them yet.
The NY Times reports that the workers had been "repairing a wall at...Chumley's when an attached chimney collapsed at 1pm." Luckily, no one was hurt, but the wall is still considered unstable. The contractors were issued work violations as neighboring buildings were evacuated. Power and gas were also cut off. And neighbors expressed concerns about their buildings; one told amNew York, "It worries me because a lot of these buildings were constructed in the same way."
FDNY Division Chief John Bley tells the Post that it's unlikely the building from 1831 will collapse, but the area has been blocked off. The Red Cross set up a Disaster Relief van nearby as Office of Emergency Management and other officials inspected the scene.
Check out the Department of Buildings on 86 Bedford Street. A Curbed tipster says the owner, Margaret Streicker-Porres, has a spotty history, and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn who represents the area issued a statement saying," A number of residents and advocacy groups have raised strong concerns about Margaret Streicker-Porres' practices as a landlord at several sites in my Council District. We have encouraged tenants to contact my district office if they have any complaints regarding their living conditions."
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Margaret Streiker-Porres has way more than a "spotty history." The NY Times pointed out a year or two ago that she's made a career out of buying buildings full of rent-stabilized tenants and then making the situation inside the buildings so unbearable that the tenants either accept her pay off, or, as in the case of one disabled man, drop dead. No matter what your feelings on rent-stabilization are, it's law and she's a criminal. Perhaps now that her illegal and immoral practices are threatening a yuppy watering hole, someone will hold her accountable.
I'm ashamed to have Margaret streiker as a Princeton Alum. That's what we get for having Brooke sheilds there. I'd rather have Matthew Fox as an alum than both of those people.
Maybe it's not NPV positive for her to make the necessary investment into the building because it's full of $200/month apartments. You get what you pay for.