All Forum Posts by: Robert Palladino

@Troy Sheets 1140 was a typo. 1440 is the correct number

To know what you can have legally, divide the property area by the following:

Property area less that 1140 sq.ft.: Divide by 360

Remaining property area over 1440 sq.ft.: divide by 480

Round down to the nearest whole number

 Our office is already seeing the influx of projects with all of the developers thinking the same way. 

@Troy Sheets I know nothing is set in stone yet with regards to the abatement, but I’ve been told by a few in the know that potentially multi-family new construction will be considered “commercial” real estate, and not be affected by the new tapered tax abatement. 
It’s just rumors at this point, but that’s the word on the street. 

@Marc Possoff, YES

The parging looks to be in pretty good shape. I would not recommend removing it. It looks like there may be chimney there. Typically those are built on both sides of the party wall with a single wythe of brick separating them. If you have an old chimney, it can be removed. You would just have to parge the exposed brick that is left behind. 

You would be, but unless it’s falling off, you’re better off leaving it. I’m not sure it’s worth the effort to gain 3”

@Marc Possoff, does that resolve your issue?

@Clay Tolbert, that's what I thought. Regarding the egress well, you're going to need an architect or engineer to design the well. This is the only way that the city will give you a permit for the new well. If you want the well to open onto the sidewalk, you will be required to submit a site plan to the Streets Department for their approval. They will typically allow a 3'-0" encroachment onto the sidewalk. I would be weary of installing a prefabricated egress well because the rubble foundations are jagged, making it difficult to secure and seal. I've seen it done, and it's rarely pretty. There are size and height requirements for an egress window. Most window manufacturers can tell you which window sizes meet the egress requirements. The construction is pretty straight forward. Most residential contractors in the city have done this before. feel free to reach out with any questions.

Hope this helps,

Rob 

@mark possoff,
This is pretty standard with regards to row homes. Most early row homes were constructed using 8” masonry party walls with 16” rubble foundations. These walls were centered on the property lines. These walls also have about 1.5” of plaster on them. When these homes are torn down, the exposed side of the party wall would typically get parged which would be another 1.5” on each wall. Essentially, you and your neighbor share joint ownership of the party wall. 
Taking all of this into account, a property with a 14’ deeded width, would actually only have  roughly 12’-10” to 13’-1” clear width between the buildings. 
Is this close to what you’re measuring?