Down, but not OUT!

Over the past month we have been regrouping, reexamining where we are, and looking at various strategies to keep the dream of Redhook Green alive.   Luckily there has been a huge out pouring of creative ideas, support, and advice in response to my last post “Buyer Beware”.  I have gotten emails from city officials (confidentially of course), architects, lawyers, real  estate developers, members of the Redhook community, and readers from as far away as Australia, all overwhelmingly supporting the project and offering their views and expert advice to help me find a way to align my building with the City of New York’s plans, policies and procedures.

Of all of the various emails I’ve received, the most interesting were from other neighborhood leaders, communities and towns (some out of NYS) asking me to consider changing my venue from Redhook to another that would embrace my vision and support it in many ways that Brooklyn has been unwilling or unable to, some including offers of land grants and tax subsidies.  Did you hear that Mr. Brooklyn Borough President?  All I was looking for were some permits. My enthusiasm has been routed in not simply creating a building, but one that could serve as a proof of concept for a net zero energy structure in an urban setting.  

Redhook Winery

One of the key issues facing me is that much of Redhook has been designated an Industrial Business Zone (IBZ) by Mayor Bloomberg.  The Mayor’s Office of Industrial and Manufacturing Businesses website says “These areas foster high-performing business districts by creating competitive advantages over locating in areas outside of New York City”.  Sounds great, I run a business, where do I sign?  But they went on to say “The IBZs represent areas in which the City provides expanded assistance services to industrial firms in partnership with local development groups.  In addition, IBZs reflect a commitment by the City not to support the re-zoning of industrial land for residential use within these areas.”  What about mixed use?  Why wouldn’t that work?  Interestingly, my land is on the very edge of the Redhook Industrial Business Zone, not sure why it begins there, since much of my block is and has been residential for decades.  

I love NYC and I fully support Mayor Bloomberg’s vision for it, but I think we should consider expanding the definition of “modern” manufacturing.  Redhook, like many of the other 16 IBZ’s are already experiencing what I would consider  a renaissance in manufacturing.  I am not speaking of the kind of manufacturing that once called NYC home, but of the new and highly specialized “manufacturing” such as software/web development companies, wineries, boutique distilleries, coffee roasters, bakers, furniture makers, and jewelry designers just to name a few.  The city has developed an impressive plan to attract business “Protecting and Growing New York City’s Industrial Job Base” but I think that  a modern live/work strategy should be able to fit into this vision.  

Interestingly, at the same time the city published it’s plans for attracting new business, a New York based think tank, The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, disagreed with the City’s premise in it’s report “Up From the Ruins: Why Rezoning New York City’s Manufacturing Areas for Housing Makes Sense”, it said that “Because New York City has space for 500,000 more manufacturing jobs than actually exist, we propose to rezone some of this manufacturing space for housing and for mixed use. By rezoning the five areas suggested in this report, the city would increase its tax revenues, raise its employment rate, and substantially alleviate its long-standing housing crisis.”  One of those areas pointed out was Redhook.

I say lets all just get along!  One of things that I love about Redhook is the true “mixed use” nature of the area.  I want to clarify that I am not asking someone in the city to allow me to break or change a rule, but rather exercise the discretion they have on the narrow interpretation of that rule so I can build something good for Redhook, for NYC and myself.   I have not given up, I believe there is a way to make this happen.

Keep those emails coming, I love hearing your thoughts and ideas.

Buyer Beware

As of yesterday, my dream of building the first net Zero-Energy work live building in Brooklyn seems to be officially DEAD!  Thanks in part to the never ending bureaucracy and stale thinking at the NYC Department of Buildings.  I think its best for us to go back to the beginning of this project to understand the roots of my current predicament.  

On November 10th of last year, in my post “How To Become A Land Owner”, I discussed the land situation in Brooklyn, specifically as it refers to zoning .   There are three general classifications of zoning here in NYC: C=Commercial M=Manufacturing and R=Residential .  Since I was planning on devoting a large percentage of space to garages, a workshop and offices, it seemed I could justify building on manufacturing or commercially zoned land.  Actually, I later discovered another classification MX=Mixed Use, which would actually have been perfect for my use as it was precisely design for the I envisioned.  While life would have clearly been simpler if I could have purchased a plot that was designated “R” or "MX", nothing that met my need was available on a corner (optimal for solar power).  I was advised that given my particular use, I could  make an “M” zoned plot work.  What that means is that given the majority of my structure was to be dedicated to commercial use, the living quarters would be an ‘accessory’ to the true function of the building.  Therefore we would request the building department grant us permission to live in what would is called a “caretakers apartment”, which would be incidental to it’s primary use.   Jim Garrison assured me on the advice of a former NYC Building Commissioner and “a careful and correct reading of the zoning law”, that this was very common and would “sail through the building department” without incidence.  

So on November 16th, 2009 I posted “It’s A Deal”  announcing my purchase of a 5,000 square foot plot of land, zoned M2-1 in Redhook, Brooklyn and began developing plans confident that I would be allowed to use the land to realize my dream.  We filed the permits and with them a ZR § 12-10 (“Accessory use”) request (July 21st), continuing to believe that we were doing something great for the community, building a state of the high performance, energy conserving building in the place of an weed infested lot.  Beyond that I was clearly and regularly communicating our dreams, ideas, progress and even actual plans to the community  and beyond through this blog. 

After two months, I received an email from Garrison Architects with an update  “Our expeditor has just received word that the "reconsideration for caretakers apt" review has been performed by the borough commissioner.  This was a review required in addition to the general documentation”.  Days later I was advised that “The Brooklyn Borough Commissioner denied the caretakers request.  As expressed by the expeditor, reasons for refusal are “bogus”.  A resolution (basically an appeal, see link) form has been drafted to present to a higher power.  It clearly lists all restrictions and how our building complies.  This will be submitted first thing Monday morning to technical affairs”.  It looked like we had crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's.

That brings us to where I am today (basically screwed)!  After a telephone hearing last week, the all knowing, politically charged and narrowly minded men and women of the NYC building department capriciously determined “that the proposed living or sleeping accommodations for caretakers in this case is not incidental to the principal use”.  To quote James P. Colgate; Assistant Commissioner of Technical Affairs and Code Development “ The request to have a living or sleeping accommodation for caretakers as per ZR 12-10 as an accessory use to this new office building is DENIED.” 

How can they say that, when a former commission basically said it was usual and customary?  What is it that these underpaid public servants could possibly be protecting the “unsuspecting” public from in this case?   It seems like the DOB no longer exists for the individual, but only for the largest developers and their deep pocket political contributions.  I wish I could let our Mayor (who thankfully does not need those deep pockets) know that a prime example of his green vision PLANYC 2030, died on the table of HIS Building Department.  If this bothers you, please HELP!  I am running out of ideas.

The only options left to me as I see them are:

1. Build a green office building - It’s too small and off the beaten path to make a sound business case for such a structure in the next few years.
2. Apply for a zoning variance - 60 to 100K in professional services expenses, one year and no guaranty that it will be successful.
3. Walk

None of these seem particularly appealing.  Any thoughts, ideas, recommendations, contacts or kind words of encouragement would be appreciated.  I will think about this a bit and keep you posted on my progress.

Oh, by the way, we did figure out a way to build it very close to budget, but alas that seems to be a bit of a moot point.  More later.


Jay

ZRD1: Zoning Resolution Determination Form

Breaking Radio Silence

Sorry about the increased time between postings, we had been waiting for additional feedback from the team before we presented you with these two views of the finalized design.  Changes have been made to respond to suggestions from the structural and mechanical engineers, to simplify construction, reduce cost and generally hone the design.  

Some specific changes you may notice include: 

We decided to open the second floor south wall to expose the steel substructure and sheath it in translucent glass to provide overall protection, shading and privacy.  Our thermal modeling showed that it would not change the temperature balance in the heat or cold, so we thought it looked great and it added to the consistency between the second and fourth floors.

The fourth floor canopy was modified to allow the overall design to provide a more symmetric relationship with the lower structure and simplify the construction process.  Instead of having a separate canopy (as provided in earlier drawings) to fabricate and install separately, it will now be integrated as part of the modular structure.

The schematic diagram below is the visualization of the power generation and HVAC system I described in my post "getting to zero" a few weeks ago.  While it might look like a plate of spaghetti, this diagram actually has been simplified to leverage the combination PV/thermal solar collectors to provide electrical power to the POWER TO LOAD  (better know as the house) and hot water to the thermal storage tank.  That hot water will be used to heat and cool (via the absorption chiller) the house with fans blowing over the coils.  A small electric powered boiler and demand hot water heater will provide backup.

Last night I presented the vision for Redhook Green as well as these renderings to a group of my new neighbors in Redhook at the The Redhook Economic Development Association meeting.  Steve LaMorte, a RHED board member wrote me today, "As you can see, there is a good deal of interest coming from the neighborhood for your respective projects (the other being the Beautiful Earth Group). There's a palpable level of excitement that is growing around the changing face of Red Hook. We believe your projects are going a long way in helping us define the new identity of Red Hook and we're hopeful that they will aid in galvanizing other like-minded environmentally conscious entrepreneurs to also find a home in this very special and unique neighborhood."  I am glad to be part of this great community!

It's Out In The Open

At 8:00 AM today, this release hit the wire, unveiling our very ambitious project to a larger group.  The reaction has been great and I have been getting a bunch of press inquires.  

New York City’s First ‘Zero Energy Building’ Coming to the

Red Hook Section of Brooklyn

Innovative Facility To Be Completed by Summer 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New York, NY – December 03, 2009 Designs for New York’s first sustainable zero-energy, live/work building are nearing completion, with ground-breaking scheduled for February and completion planned for summer 2010.  This structure is expected to become a distinctive new addition to the Red Hook section of Brooklyn.

As defined by the US Department of Energy, “a net zero-energy building (ZEB) is a residential or commercial building with greatly reduced energy needs through efficiency gains such that the balance of energy needs can be supplied with renewable technologies.”  Basically the ZEB concept is the idea that buildings can meet all their energy needs from low-cost, locally available, nonpolluting, renewable sources such as solar or wind power.

This approximately 4,000 square foot facility will house a studio/workshop, offices for a digital business, garages and an apartment, as well as outdoor green space. The form of the house is inspired by the shipping containers stacked along the adjacent waterfront. Modular units, proportioned similarly to shipping containers are stacked and shifted to create a variety of terraces and overviews to take advantage of the areas amazing harbor views.

The project, called ‘Redhook Green’ is the brainchild of New York technology and media entrepreneur, Jay Amato. 

“I’m thrilled that Redhook Green will become a very visible symbol of the continuing reinvention of one of New York City’s oldest neighborhoods,” said Mr. Amato.  “But I’m even more excited that I could practically illustrate the movement towards zero-energy building to the world’s greatest city.  Bringing to bear exciting new building materials, improved wind and solar technologies and more energy-efficient HVAC and home appliances, as well as state of the art sustainability strategies, Redhook Green will be a powerful answer to the question of what urban centers can do to reduce our dependency on foreign oil via renewable resources and to significantly reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

With a long history as a shipping port and industrial district, Red Hook – not quite two miles across from the Battery at the tip of Manhattan – is thoroughly urban. In the evenings, however, it is as quiet as a remote and leafy suburb, bounded by water on three sides and the elevated Gowanus Expressway on the remaining side.  While other Brooklyn waterfront neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Dumbo have developed an image of youthful urban chic, Red Hook remained a gritty industrial district until the recent addition of Fairway, IKEA and the New York Water Taxi. Now, Red Hook's eclectic mix of artists and industrial businesses has created a neighborhood dubbed "Residustrial" in 2008 by artist and resident John P. Missale.

Award winning New York firm, Garrison Architects, located in Dumbo, Brooklyn, is the chief designer overseeing Redhook Green. Garrison has assembled a unique group of designers, engineers, and manufacturers to innovate for this project.

"Jay Amato’s Red Hook project draws from several promising trajectories – abstract modernism, modular construction, and zero energy consumption.  By combining state of the art approaches to all three in one structure we have moved the potential for affordable, ecologically sound, urban dwellings several steps forward," said James Garrison, Principal in Charge of Garrison Architects.

Simple and cost effective sustainability strategies are used to conserve and produce energy, conserve resources, and create a healthful environment. This sustainability approach was developed though an extensive research project that included digital energy modeling, detailed life cycle cost analysis of construction components and their related maintenance and replacement costs. Here are a few of its features:

·       8kw annual photovoltaic generating capacity, grid connected.

·       8kw annual comprehensive household energy budget including heating and air conditioning.

·       High performance building envelope that eliminates thermal bridging and achieves an average thermal resistance of R50.

·       Wall and roof systems vented to eliminate moisture build up and use “smart” moisture barriers to allow air movement in warm months.

·       Integrated south facing thermal solar wall generates warm air that is fed to the building ventilation system.

·       Heating and cooling provided by high efficiency electric heat pumps.

·       Whole house heat exchange ventilation system insuring air quality and recovering energy from conditioned air.

“In my entire career building and leading businesses, nothing has given me more satisfaction than developing this project,” added Jay Amato. “We are transforming what is essentially an empty space into a structure that can serve as an example of how we can live and work responsibly. This is truly gratifying.”

To view a chronicle of Redhook Green, design plans, technology and project status, visit: www.redhookgreen.com

For more information, contact: 

Laura Landers

PersonalScreen Media LLC

information@personalscreen.com

917-720-8953

Tamara Gruber

Garrison Architects

info@garrisonarchitects.com

718-596-8300

It's Time for Design

Finally, it's time for fun.  After months of bouncing around ideas of what my building might look like, the day had come to review various designs that leveraged the space and light of the lot I purchased and the functionality I have defined.

The design team and I agreed on some basics early on.  First, that the ground floor would be a large masonry rectangle a little over nine feet tall, to serve as the basis of the garage/shop facility on the north end, garden walls in the middle and as the platform for the modular construction on the south end of the facility.   It provides a strong, secure and low cost base for the entire project, with  a virtual Lego set of possibilities on top.  Pictured below you can see just a few of the ideas presented to me.

Design ONE is a three floor version where the living/office space is spread across both ends of the compound, requiring a breezeway of sorts to connect.  It also creates a very cool 1950's "motor lodge"look, with terraces on both sides looking down into the court yard.  On the positive side, it created private living on both ends, but it might 'seclude' my seven year old son, and seems to close in the outdoor space/courtyard.

Design TWO is a four floor version that moves all of the living/office space to the south side, it is exactly the same layout and square feet but shifts two of the 'modules' to allow for a taller structure. The top floor, which will be used as an office/den should have a good view of the harbor and if I am really lucky the Statue of Liberty.   In addition it provides expansion space over the garage/shop for a future apartment or additional office space.  The thought behind this design is that with roll-up doors on both sides of the courtyard, it would create a great 100 feet long living space comprised of indoor and outdoor space.  Very open and flowing.

Design THREE is a five floor version that split the workshop/studio from the garages and shifted the galley, dinning/meeting, living area up to the second floor.  This layout while clearly raising the the office/den to a higher altitude and creating slightly more outdoor space, it did disrupt the concept of that floor through living experience, that I have really gotten to like.

So which one of these do you prefer?  Any one in particular?  Or some combination of all?  Love to hear what you have to say.  Next time I will tell you about what I decided and show you a 3D rendering.  Stay tuned for more details and drawings.

It's a Deal!

Pop the corks!  A major milestone has been reached.  We have completed the deal to acquire a great piece of land on the corner of  Conover and Dikeman Streets.  It measures 25ft wide and 100ft long, it is currently zoned an M2-1 with an F.A.R. of 2.0, that will allow us to build a maximum of 5,000 square feet, perfect for the garages, shop/studio, offices and living space that I am planning for.

The lot faces south/south west providing us with great sunlight for living and powering those solar panels to provide the electricity and heat needed to power this facility.   We are looking at a combination of PV (Photovoltaic Cells) and the more traditional type for heating. Only about 10 to 12 square meters of solar panels are needed in order to provide both the heating and the hot water required in a family home.

The lot is currently being leased out for heavy equipment storage and will be delivered vacant when we close early next year.  The last structure on this land was a two family home with a garage on the ground floor, completed in February of 1939.   It was demolished over 20 years ago and the lot has remained empty ever since.

To the right of the lot there are a few single and multi-family residential homes.  Directly behind me is a brand new build that serves as headquarters for a local HVAC company.

As part of this project we will be replacing all 125 linear feet of sidewalks with at least five trees planned along the way.  Under recent NYC law, any sidewalk replacement calls for the installation of tree pits with one of a few approved trees.

In addition to securing the property, we have complete Site Survey, Borings and Phase One Environmental Study in hand.

Looking forward to sharing some of the preliminary drawings in future posts.

Thanks for your interest. I have added the ability to subscribe via email, it's easy and convenient and does not require an RSS reader, just click here.

Looking in the Rear View Mirror at 90MPH

Let’s look backwards from today on this post.   I have been asked many times, how long I have been working on this Redhook Green Project, so I thought it might be helpful to review the process to date.  With not quite four months from the idea's inception, I feel as if I am making great progress in building a team.  I will be posting more detail on many of these milestones, in the next week or so.

• July 20 – I have been noodling the idea of how to live a more "green-ish" lifestyle for a while, this project 'hatched' while visiting my cousin Armand’s country home in Roxbury, NY.  The concept was to construct a factory-built country home in a place like Reinbeck, NY.
• July 24 – Met with friend/restaurateur/real estate developer Andrew Glassberg to discuss Brooklyn real estate and development projects.  After thinking through the country home idea, I thought it a better idea to build a 'country home' in Brooklyn.
• July 24 – Ran into a friend, Marc Koch the resident manager of my former loft building.  We chatted about my new passion and he offered to introduce me to Redhook “land baron” Greg O’Connell to assist in my search for land.
• August 5 – Letter to Modular ‘friendly’ Architects in NY area requesting a meeting to discuss my ideas and to understand their experience.
• August 10 – First meeting with ‘modular focused’ architect in SoHo
• August 10-27 Phone calls with various Tri-State ‘modular focused’ architects
• August 27 – Greg O’Connell meeting yields little tangible results, but conversation does confirm find the right site at the right price will not be easy.
• September 9 – First meeting with Jim Garrison Principal; Garrsion Architects.  Felt confident we would work together on this project.
• September 10 – First meeting with Hank Widmaier; Helmsley Spear Real Estate to assist in the search and represent me in a transaction
• September 13 – First discussion with Brooklyn landowner/builder to discuss his lots near the Fairway in Redhook.
• September 16 – During one of many scooter recon missions, I found a corner lot on the corner of Conover and Dikeman in Redhook.  Meets basic requirements, but Van Brundt lots wider.
• September 18 – Meeting with seller to discuss two Van Brundt lots, deal not possible based high cost of acquisition by seller.
• October 13 – Executed agreement for home design with Garrison Architects
• October 13 – Made Offer on Conover Street lot & Offer accepted pending contract
• October 22 – Long time friend and blogger Ellis Posner recommends I chronicle this project on a blog.  
• October 26 – My first blog www.redhookgreen.com launched
• October 20 – First Schematic Designs reviewed for  – 3 different options presented with Jim Garrison and Mathanki Kalapathy.
• October 27 – Basic Design Agreed upon with additional square footage; a hybrid of earlier versions
• November 6 – Site Survey, Test Boring, Environmental Testing and title reports all in hand with satisfactory results.
• November 09 – Conover Street lot purchase contract completed and executed.
• November 13 – Modular homebuilder selected.

Thanks for your interest, look forward to your thoughts, questions and comments.

How To Become a Land Owner

A long time ago Shakespeare said, "I would give a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of barren ground." Luckily he never had to buy land in the City of New York in the 21st century. Vacant lots are a rare commodity, especially following the recent building boom.  So my search began.  If I was desinted to be a landowner, I would have to fight hard to find the right place.  Would it would be like the land race in the 1992 movie "Far and Away"?  I love an adventure!


I have always loved Redhook and it was to be on the top my list, but I wanted to open up my search to include a few of my favorite neighborhoods in Brooklyn; Vinegar Hill, Dumbo and the Columbia Water Front.

This interactive map outlines the four key search areas.

View Redhook Green Land Search in a larger map

Searching for development sites is nothing like looking for an apartment or house, many lots are not actually listed for sale, and in fact are not actually on the market at all.   It requires a bit of detective work to get a better sense of true availability. In emerging areas like Redhook, it seems like most of the available land is owned by a few significant developers or families who have owned the land for years and are fighting over what to do with it. Either way, it's not easy.

So at this point you might ask, exactly what was I looking for.  Good Question!  I was looking for an empty lot, no less than 20' wide by 90' long, preferably a corner on a quiet street.  In NYC as is the case with many municipalities there are zoning guidelines that govern what you can build, how big and how high.  There are three general groups of zoning here in NYC C=Commercial M=Manufacturing and R=Residential .  I am planning on devoting some large amount of space to garages, workshop and office and could justify the M status.  BTW, M tends to be cheaper than R too ;-)

I started with a street by street search of each of these areas, visually looking for lots wedged in out of the way places, some with for sale signs, others just empty, gathering addresses and other data to begin to ascertain ownership, value and whether they were for sale. I must applaud the City of NY for having amazing web tools to help with this research. ACRIS (Automated City Register Information System) is an award-winning property document online search and registration system with decades of digitized data including deeds, liens, mortgages, assignments, etc. In addition I utilized a subscription based real estate website loopnet.com which helped track down opportunities not easily found on other sites.

Round and round I went, along the way I picked up a real estate agent, a few interesting meetings a good working knowledge of zoning and a few sites that might fit the bill.

Going Green

How do you live a more ‘green-ish’ existence, while being practical about it? That’s a good question.   My name is Jay, I have been thinking about that and some other interesting life-style questions lately.  I decided to share my thoughts and experiences leading to my objective of building a green, sustainable, home in Redhook on the Southwest shore of Brooklyn. I will attempt to step, you the reader through the daily challenges and rewards of this project  I call “Redhook Green”.

So how did I get here?  Read on.