A former Williamsburg matzoh factory turned illegal condos-to-be was raided this morning by the New York Fire Department and officials from the Department of Buildings and the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.
Former Matzo Factory Raided
60 agents from several different government agencies break open doors, seize evidence
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
A former Williamsburg matzoh factory turned illegal condos-to-be was raided this morning by the New York Fire Department and officials from the Department of Buildings and the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.
In 2008, over 150 artists and hipsters were evicted from the building, located at 475 Kent Avenue, in the middle of winer when the city discovered three tons of flammable grain was being stored in the building’s basement. The building also had fire and building code violations and a certificate of occupancy for manufacturing, not residential, use.
It took more than three months, but the tenants were eventually allowed back in the building. But many people believed the building’s owner, Nachman Brach, a Satmar hasid, was behind the 2008 raid because he wanted the hipsters out so he could convert the property to legal high-end condominiums – and make much more money.
But that plan my be impossible now. The Gothamist reports that it overheard two officials from the Brooklyn D.A.’s office talking during today’s raid: "This ain't gonna be condos any time soon,” one said to the other.
“[F]irefighters were seen first bringing in sledgehammers, followed by more serious equipment,” the Gothamist noted. “(One DOB official was overheard marveling, ‘Oh shit, they're bringing in the jaws of life!’) One resident said that Brach was ‘hiding in the loading dock’ and refusing to open the office; another resident, who declined to be identified, told us he saw officials from the tax department at the scene.”
[Hat Tips: Seymour, 613 Enforcer, etc.]