Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Not so nice: Demolishing XOXO on Second Avenue

The Death Watch continues along the 11-17 Second Avenue, where the low-lying buildings will soon be pulverized to make way for a 12-story apartment building.

[Bobby Williams]

Meanwhile, EV Grieve reader Steve Carter sent us some photos of when workers demolished the other side of East First Street in 1997 to make way for the sterile, glassy hell of Avalon Bowery Place... and back in the day before sidewalk sheds and construction netting...


XOXO at 19 Second Ave. was Julius Klein's performance space and gallery — things that developers don't have much use for...






And today, of course...

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12 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 26, 2011 at 8:18 AM

    Doesn't the recent rezoning limit the height to about 8 stories / 80 feet ?

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  2. ShannonOctober 26, 2011 at 8:27 AM

    Man that's depressing.

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  3. James Campbell TaylorOctober 26, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    Amazing photos. Hard to believe they were taken only 14 years ago.

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  4. abrodOctober 26, 2011 at 10:35 AM

    who even lives in that complex? every time i've been down that street, it's a ghost town.

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  5. chris flashOctober 26, 2011 at 11:06 AM

    STILL vacant, after all these years!

    I remember the night that the OEM (Office of Emergency Management) decided to evict the tenants there and DEMOLISH the building at 2nd Ave + First Street because of a leaking water pipe -- the OEM man on the scene said "we are prepared to absorb the cost of any lawsuits stemming from our actions."

    Now, developer Donald Cappocia, with assistance from the residents of 9-13 Second Avenue, as well as from the city that gave him a variance, gets to build an even larger yuppie ghetto, destroying more old NY buildings in the process.

    Those sell-outs who resided in the two buildings slated for demolition will deserve the betrayal they will experience when they don't get their promised apts in the new building -- that's what you get when you make a deal with the devil!!

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  6. Marty WombacherOctober 26, 2011 at 12:10 PM

    Ugh. The last photo is especially sad.

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  7. DahoOctober 26, 2011 at 12:22 PM

    Why is our neighborhood losing all it's character? This corner could be Anywhere USA. : (

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  8. Laura Goggin PhotographyOctober 26, 2011 at 1:15 PM

    The "Be Nice" sign makes it even sadder. It reminds me of the "All are welcome" painted on Mars Bar.

    No more being nice, no more being welcome.

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  9. AnonymousOctober 26, 2011 at 1:36 PM

    Hey guys- Julius Klein still runs a gallery on East 1st Street between 2nd and 1st Avenue. He's been in the space for years and is open every weekend.

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  10. glammaOctober 26, 2011 at 2:20 PM

    f*cking abominable.

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  11. MelanieOctober 26, 2011 at 4:57 PM

    Very sad.

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  12. starzstylistaOctober 27, 2011 at 8:14 AM

    Many poor families were displaced. Also, the abandoned church on 1st St served as a performance and studio space for many local artists and groups.

    ReplyDelete

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