State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery and the shelter at 603 Dean Street

The Department of Buildings filed a demolition permit for an Atlantic Yards building that previously served as a homeless shelter, Brownstoner reported. The city shut down the shelter at 603 Dean Street through eminent domain on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2010, much to the dismay of the predominantly black community the shelter served. The community, led by City Council member Letitia James and State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, held a week-long protest and vigil outside the shelter. Montgomery even vowed to “put [herself] on the ground in front of the bulldozer.” [more]

United Homes head Yaron Hershco and 557 Hancock Street (building source: PropertyShark)[Updated 4:18 p.m.] A group of eight African-American homeowners were awarded a total of more than $1 million last
week, after a nine-member jury found that Yaron Hershco’s United Homes committed fraud — yet
cleared him of discrimination — in a wide-ranging property flipping scheme in Bedford-Stuyvesant,
Bushwick and other Brooklyn neighborhoods.

Hershco, a developer of single-family homes and luxury condominium buildings, had been accused in
the federal district court complaint of luring first-time homebuyers to a so-called one-stop shop, where
appraisers, lenders, lawyers and other officials conspired to sell them homes at over-inflated prices until the buyers were on the brink of foreclosure.

The jury decided that the participants in the scheme, including Hershco, United Homes, Allied
Mortgage Banking, Olympia Mortgage and attorney Benjamin Turner must pay punitive damages to the plaintiffs. [more]

Admiral’s Row at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

The non-profit Brooklyn Navy Yard Development removed PA Associates as a designated developer on its high-profile Admiral’s Row project a day after one of the firm’s founders was charged in a $1 million federal bribery investigation.

The quasi-governmental entity today “terminated the designation of PA Admirals Row LLC as the developer of the Admiral’s Row site,” the corporation said in a statement to The Real Deal. PA Admirals Row LLC is an affiliate of Midtown-based PA Associates, which was approved as the developer to partner with grocery chain ShopRite on the $60 million project to build a grocery store.

Yesterday federal prosecutors charged Aaron Malinsky, a principal and founder of PA Associates, of funneling $472,500 in bribes to State Senator Carl Kruger. [more]

City Council member Letitia James and a rendering of the Barclays Center at Atlantic Yards

The city is handing over an additional $31 million to assist Bruce Ratner in buying land for his Atlantic Yards project, according to the New York Daily News. The additional funding was granted in an updated funding agreement signed in October, on top of the $100 million that the city already gave the developer. The $31 million, however, won’t come from taxpayers, but will be taken from a separate fund that was originally allocated for infrastructure in the neighborhood surrounding Atlantic Yards. Even so, City Council member Letitia James has called foul, claiming that the city’s allocation of funds is fancy accounting footwork. “It’s a government Ponzi scheme,” James said. “I’m offended because they’re using public funds to seize homes and businesses.”
[more]

A homeless shelter serving a predominantly African-American population at 603 Dean Street in Downtown Brooklyn, within the planned Atlantic Yards development area, was shut down yesterday, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, through the use of eminent domain, sparking outrage in the community. Local officials, including City Council member Letitia James and State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, joined neighborhood advocates and Freddy’s Bar, whose outlandish protests of the Atlantic Yards eminent domain seizure have drawn local exposure, in protesting the closure of the Pacific Dean Shelter. The vigil, which began at midnight yesterday outside the recently-closed facility, came on the heels of a weekend-long protest of the shuttering. “I will put myself on the ground in front of the bulldozers,” Montgomery said during the protest Saturday. “I will do anything I can to stop this.” The video above contains footage of the protest. [more]

The Landmarks Preservation Commission last week approved the Prospect Heights Historic District, which includes about 850 residential and commercial Brooklyn buildings. It is the largest historic district to be designated in the city since 1990. In the video above from the Municipal Arts Society, City Council member Letitia James, Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Robert Tierney, historian Francis Morrone, and the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council’s Gib Veconi talk about the survey and promotion process behind creating the new district. Comments

A four-story building collapsed yesterday, injuring four people and
forcing the evacuation of several buildings nearby, officials said. The
building, at 493 Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill, was cited for having a
crack in its facade last month, received complaints from tenants of
shaking and vibrations, as well as a violation for work on the building
without proper permits, according to the Times. The building, which is
owned by William Sang, had apartments on the upper three floors and
Vesper Bar and Lounge occupied the ground floor. City Council member Letitia James, who represents the district, said a four-story building at 491 Myrtle Avenue, which was attached to the fallen building and suffered significant damage, would have to be demolished. [NYDN] and [NYT] and [Post] [more]

The City Council
is expected to vote tomorrow on Jed and David Walentas’ Dock Street
project in Dumbo, a 17-story residential building near the Brooklyn
Bridge that City Council member David Yassky says is too tall. Another
Council member, Letitia James, who is an opponent of the Atlantic Yards
project, has supported the Dock Street project because it will also
house a school. City Council speaker Christine Quinn is reportedly
supporting the project.