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Shoddy Luxury Condo Construction Forces Boerum Playground To Vacate

 The city has barred tykes from playing in Boerum Park, fearing an adjacent building could collapse onto the playground.
The city has barred tykes from playing in Boerum Park, fearing an adjacent building could collapse onto the playground.
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DNAinfo/Caroline Spivack

BOERUM HILL — The city has shuttered Boerum Park fearing a nearby building could suddenly collapse on tykes and their parents, city officials said.

Department of Building inspectors gave the playground a vacate order on July 27 after engineers deemed neighboring 371 Baltic St. is unstable and ordered the owner to raze the precarious two-story home, according to Department of Building spokesman Andrew Rudansky.

Horrified parents whose youngsters frequent the jungle gym rolled up to the park with strollers only to discover gates cordoned off in yellow caution tape and peppered with posts warning parents of the perils of playing in the park, said one concerned parent.

"I was sitting in there with my daughter last week and had no idea — we could have been squashed," said Boreum Hill resident Judy Pierra, who used to take her 3-year-old daughter Lily to the park regularly. "I don't know if I'll feel safe bringing her here again."

Owned by XNV Properties, the building was purchased in 2014 with the aim of converting the townhouse into luxury condos. 

The city approved plans to renovate and enlarge the Baltic Street abode March 1, but issued a full stop work order May 19 after inspectors discovered the construction site was devoid of a required sidewalk shed and other safety measures, according to Rudansky.

Construction sat dormant until July 29 when inspectors rushed to the building after reports of fresh cracks on exterior walls and partially lifted the stop work order for XNV Properties to demolish the unstable structure.

Xavier Guery, who helms XNV Properties, declined to answer questions over the phone on Thursday but confirmed in an email that the group intends to eventually moving forward with the condo construction.

Boerum Park will reopen once 371 Baltic no longer poses a danger to the public, which should be in the next few days, according to Guery.