Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The last house on the block

On this block in East Harlem, one house remains on the east side of Lexington Avenue between 117th and 118th Streets. I noticed it earlier this summer on a day that I was tooling around town in a rental car.

A search on Google Maps shows that two houses were still standing as of one year ago.




Now, only 1889 Lexington Ave. remains. And there's construction going on behind it and next to it.




Next door, there are 29 residential units -- with a community space on the ground floor -- under construction. It's sponsored by the Bluestone Organization and Hope Community, Inc.

Meanwhile, the lone house remains. I'm curious about its fate. And its history. (I did find the Certificate of Occupancy dating Nov. 12, 1953.)




Rooms are available for rent.



Related:
Activists Arrested After Occupying East Harlem Lot (The New York Times)

Cops Stop Occupation of JPMorgan Chase's Vacant Lot, Arrest 9 or More (The Village Voice)

Developer Bows Out of East Harlem Megaproject (Curbed)
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2 comments:

  1. Ken MacAugust 18, 2009 at 9:54 AM

    i would love to shoot photos of classic architecture in Spanish Harlem but am concerned about those unpleased folks. That area is full of 50s neon, old delis, and simply beautiful buildings...

    ReplyDelete
  2. EV GrieveAugust 18, 2009 at 10:22 AM

    Hi Ken,

    On second thought, I removed the "unpleased" comment from my post. I didn't mean to give the impression that it was unsafe.

    I took other shots on other visits. But this block really stood out: the stark contrast between the old and new.

    ReplyDelete

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