785 Eighth Avenue - 40-story Condo - Theater District - by Ismael Leyva Architects

[ZippyTheChimp]

Consider the ugly tenement on Union Square East; that alone detracts from the whole square.

Yeah, it's like shark repellent. Everyone stays away. The square is a failure.

[lofter1]

However, I don't think that the building on the north corner will ever be cleaned up unless the owner is holding out for rent-controlled tenants to leave it. It's a disgrace to have a building with plywood over the windows.

Seems you might be right ...

NYC HPD shows that 787 Eighth / 300-304 W 48th is an SRO and from the C/O [pdf] dated 1942 it has been that way since WW2 (and at that time it was shown to be a 4-story building, rather then a the 5-story structure it is now -- an Application for a Vertical Enlargement was DISAPPROVED in 1997 -- which Disapproval the owner seems to have ignored). The building currently has 72 Housing violations. They range from illegal wiring, to broken lock cylinders, to improper conversion (possibly the illegal addition of the top floor). Basically the whole gamut of the types of things one sees in a building where the LL would just as soon run the residents out through deferred maintenance and illegal actions rather than keep the building up to snuff as is required by law.

DOF records show by a DEED that the property last changed hands in 1982, and for the past 27 years had been owned by "300 W. 48TH ST. ASSOC." and is run by either a couple of brothers or a father / son (at least the lead officers shown at HPD have the same last names). Clearly the building was an SRO when the current owner bought it.

Could it be that these guys would prefer to flout the law in the hope of clearing the building? Should they be termed "Landlord Scum" as some might refer to those who choose to act in this manner?

A real problem in NYC is that such behavior is not properly punished. And that such people are even allowed to maintain ownership of a building that is intended to house the citizens of NYC.

[londonlawyer]

A further problem with NY's lack of aesthetics is that buildlings that are nice and require only rehabilitation are razed and replaced with utilitarian boxes. Here are some examples on 8th Ave. right near this mess:

[lofter1]

LL: You're singing an old song. We've been through the woes of all those properties, and done it with you -- and now you're telling us the same story we've heard before.

The powers that be have decided that Eighth Avenue was better off rezoned for bigger / taller. It's a done deal. At the same time they set aside the blocks just to the west as a (Low Rise) Clinton District, where properties such as those you show will be preserved / rehabilitated.

Either folks can sit here and cry about it or they can start writing letters / requesting landmarking designation / zoning changes to save specific properties / neighborhoods.

With all due respect to a fellow forumer: To say the same thing here over and over and over doesn't really accomplish much of anything.

[londonlawyer]

My initial point, Lofter, involved my good-natured disagreement with our esteemed fellow forumer, MTG, and it specifically involved the corner building north of 785 8th. I'd like to see it renovated but recognize that that will not occur. Therefore, I'd like to see it razed. He, in turn, responded that it houses a great establishment and should stay. I commented that, as per our usual exchange, I'd like to see dumpy buildings razed and he likes to see them remain if they house restaurants, low-cost housing, etc. I prefer London's polish, and he prefers NY's rough and tumble. We recognize our mutual disagreement.

My prior post re: the loss of nice properties simply related to NY's indifference toward aesthetics. The nice buildings on 8th (and elsewhere) are razed, and the junk remains. Only in NY would people oppose the Torre Verre. Anti-aesthetes reign supreme in NY.

[lofter1]

But despite them the Torre Verre will be built, just wait and see.

There are plenty of smart NYers. Maybe not enough to counter all the philistines. But that's the way it is in this part of the world.

[londonlawyer]

I hope you're right.

I also hope that the pigs that bought the beautiful old brick building on 57th Street don't raze it and replace it with the POJ posted on Cetra Ruddy's website. That would be another huge loss.

[londonlawyer]

This particular corner just happens to lie within the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District (at the NW corner of Broadway + Canal); note the brown street signs that designate a NYC landmarked district. This is one of the few little patches in Soho that didn't get up-graded during the last boom (that era is now over, if you haven't heard). Nearly everything else on this particular block has been restored in the past 3 years, including the 5-story building at the far left and the two 5-story buildings on the far right.

Attached is a stereoscopic view from the NYPL Digital Library showing the same corner, circa 1860; the view is the north side of Canal running west from Broadway. Note that almost all the 1860 buildings are still there, save for the larger 4-story brick building directly on the corner.

By the way, I've said many times that Canal Street has the potential to be stunning. If pockets of junk (like the stuff in the middle of the photo (under the awnings)) were removed, it would be a street with stunning Federalist-era and Cast Iron structures. The little red building just north of the junk appears to be from the 1820's.

The fake merchandise hawkers and auto sound system shops also need to leave.

I also would like to widen the sidewalks, add trees to the sidewalks and add a center median filled with trees and flowers.

Nevertheless, when I've repeated my mantra, others have repeated theirs and argued that the city doesn't need to consist of all nice areas and that "grunge is good." We agree to disagree.

[BrooklynRider]

By the way, I've said many times that Canal Street has the potential to be stunning...

One litter free block on Canal Street would be stunning, if not out right shocking enough to kill a man.

[ZippyTheChimp]

How many times have we seen these same photos, posted over and over again, in how many threads?

This is getting spammy.

Posting Guidelines:

a) Do not quote an entire post – only relevant part. Remove any links to images in quotes.

[Derek2k3]

A further problem with NY's lack of aesthetics is that buildlings that are nice and require only rehabilitation are razed and replaced with utilitarian boxes.

Yet you ignore the thousands of buildings in NYC that have been restored and renovated over the last 10 years. Have you been to Harlem, The South Bronx or Brooklyn lately?

[ablarc]

^ They need to find strategies to make the commute from those places faster, so they're perceived more as part of the inner city. Halving the headway on subway trains would go a long way.

[ZippyTheChimp]

^
That would increase the capacity (which is good), but not really cut down commute times. During rush hours, wait times between trains from most places in the outer boroughs averages 6-10 minutes.

And the commute times aren't bad at all. End of the line runs into Manhattan:

D (Stillwell Ave): > 34th St 52 min

Q (Stillwell Ave): > Canal St 45 min, > 57th St 1 hr

R (95th St): > Whitehall 32 min, > Times Sq 50 min

7 (Main St): > 42nd St 27 min

2 (Flatbush Ave): > Chambers St 32 min, > Times Sq 40 min

3 (New Lots): > Chambers 35 min, > Times Sq 45 min

The places that are isolated don't have subway access at all (Canarsie, College Pt)

[Alonzo-ny]

^ They need to find strategies to make the commute from those places faster, so they're perceived more as part of the inner city. Halving the headway on subway trains would go a long way.

Problem is Manhattan is an island. The outer boroughs will never really feel part of the inner city.

[Derek2k3]

It's only 15 min on the A, 4/5 train from Harlem to Midtown. There needs to be a sizeable business district up there for these places to not feel like the fringe.

Low-scale neighborhoods like the Village feel part of the inner city because they're located between Dtwn and Midtown.

Anyway old photo but shows how slender the tower is.


Deo.Dato