?The conditions are due to the recent storm and water had gotten in through the gutters and came down into the apartments,? building owner Lawrence Perlaki said last night.

Yeah, black mold grows in a day. Riiiight!

Echoes of 111 First...not that this building necessarily merits saving but looks like similar tactics to get approval to tear it down

If the mold and other safety issues have been ignored for all this time by both the owner and building management this also becomes a liability issue. Sounds like they were well aware of the problems, having repeatedly and insufficiently addressed them in the past. Have the residents suffered respiratory problems? This is a serious health issue.

Quote:

yawn

Landmarking is a red herring. This is about kicking out people who've lived here 30+ years. No one thought twice about that building until fancy condos appeared.

Why is that building land-marked?

Quote:

You don't get it - that building is landmarked. There won't be any new building there, livable or otherwise. Awhile back, there was a developer willing to sink money into a serious rehab of that building along with developing the adjacent empty lot into a mixed-income building (the current residents would get to stay). Those plans went out the window when the market nosedived and financing fell apart. To make that place livable and still conform with the exacting preservation standards would take way more money than the place could pull in from rents or even a resale. The current owner would probably be happy sell, but I doubt there'd be any takers - even for such a prime location - so long as the owner is forced to maintain that landmarked dump.

Quote:

They'll love Easton, PA.

Once that 'unlivable' building is out of the way the new condos across the street should experience a boost in sales. There wouldn't be a connection between that and booting folks out of their homes who've lived there for 30+ years? Funny how the interest in building safety suddenly becomes an issue when it gets closer to pay-off time.... bet the new 'livable' building won't house the old tenants.

Quote:

I couldn't agree with you more. I really hate the dogmatic stance of preservation nazis and their tendency to over-romanticize the past. Sometimes an old piece of crap is just that - an old piece of crap.

my guess would be a resounding yes. That dump should be torn down. Sure it was grand 100 years back, but there is no historical value to that place...

Does anyone know if these are the "historic" gray shacks on the northeast corner of Wayne & Barrow?

'Unlivable' building in Downtown Jersey City has black mold, water damage, holes in ceilings; six families ordered to evacuate

Published: Wednesday, August 31, 2011, 3:00 AM
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal


Six families were evacuated from a Downtown Jersey City apartment building after city inspectors yesterday found black mold and other dangerous conditions inside.

?It was unlivable conditions without a doubt,? said Fire Director Armando Roman of the building at Wayne and Barrow Streets where eight adults and six children lived.

The building is owned by Five Star Realty and managed by Del Forno Real Estate. The companies are relocating the residents and Roman said the owners have been very cooperative.

?The conditions are due to the recent storm and water had gotten in through the gutters and came down into the apartments,? building owner Lawrence Perlaki said last night.

?We have made arrangements for all of the families to be relocated until the building can be inspected by an architect and engineer and all violations the city will issue will be corrected,? Perlaki added.

Yesterday afternoon, Elsa Valdez sat crying inside the first-floor apartment where she had lived for 36 years. There were gaping holes in the ceilings of two rooms and fuzzy black and stringy mold on the wet wallboard ceiling.

?They just told me now (that I have to leave),? she said in shock.

Her son, Fernando Valdez, said mold and leaks have been recurring problems at the building for decades.

?They just patch it up, that?s all they do,? Fernando Valdez said. ?They just cut the Sheetrock and put up new Sheetrock, and it comes back.?

Perlaki said he had no knowledge of prior problems in the three-story building.

Roman said the building?s roof was also unstable. In the musty basement, beams over the gas meters and gas lines were sagging.

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... building_in_downtown.html