We've been watching and waiting for something to happen here at 31-33 Second Ave. since early this year ... we heard rumors, but nothing substantial.
The storefront at 33 Second Ave. is currently empty. If we recall correctly, Urge moved from this space next door to 31 after DTox closed.
According to the DOB, there were eight complaints about work occurring at 31/33 without proper permits between Feb. 17 and Feb. 22. The city subsequently served a full stop-work order on Feb. 23. The issue was later resolved.
[Photo from April 2 by Bobby Williams]
Now, there are new permits pending for the following:
"Remodel existing commercial space at first floor. Remodel existing apartment at 2nd and 3rd floors. Add three (3) stories on top of existing building. New certificate of occupancy will be obtained."
Each floor will contain two apartments. Per the application, estimated total cost is $468,480 ... the city assigned the plan to an examiner on Monday.
The permits show that developer Ben Shaoul is the owner of the property.
I doubt the Cock or Urge are long for their ground-floor spaces once those extra stories go up. I'm glad that I wasn't being spied on by condo residents when I fell out of those bars in the aughts.
ReplyDeletebeautiful space. i'm sure that shaoul, killer of irreplacasble nyc architecture, history, culture, and helpless incapacitated seniors, will swiftly destroy it.
ReplyDeletewhat hell must await that man.
The Cock is going nowhere. long live The Cock
ReplyDeleteI vaguely remember the old (Buen Pastor?) funeral home closing and the gay club (the Urge?) opening and wondering what all those souls who'd passed through that space would be thinking about throbbing house music, pulsating club lighting and grinding hips having replaced the hushed parlor, floral arrangements and backroom formaldehyde. Quite the contrast! I'd love to learn more about the history of the funeral home and the building. Looking through the property records online I see there was some kind of link with the Lutheran Cemetery in Middle Village in Queens, or at least a mortgage arrangement running from 1959 through 1974. Not sure how to read these legal documents http://a836-acris.nyc.gov/Scripts/DocSearch.dll/ViewImage?Doc_ID=FT_1340008536934 but there are dates mentioned back to 1914. Maybe that's when it was built ???
ReplyDeleteI lived on the top floor of 31 from 1959 to 1998. When I moved in, the building was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Lefferts (yes, those Lefferts). He died. His wife tried to manage and my husband helped her with details, dealt with service people (gas, oil, garbage, etc.) and spared her the grief of being taken advantage. of. In gratitude, she did not raise our rent. Then she sold the building to a relative and the relative sold it to John Cox. His wife Rhea did most of the managing. She was greedy, mean-spirited, the landlady from Hell. She doubled the rent. A year later, she doubled the rent again. We organized and successfully fought off her insanity and the city mandated that they could not, under the loft law, raise the rent and then only 15 per cent until they made certain improvements. They didn't do anything, so the rent stayed the same. Then Rhea died. After the party, we tooled along until John tried to sell the building. The deal fell through. I had been widowed. I was about to remarry, so I accepted a buy-out and moved out. The neighborhood has changed. I was there in late April and stayed at 33, courtesy of our former neighbors. I loved being there. My side of the building was gutted -- you can't go home again. I love New York. I am in SW Florida on big water, a nature paradise. I MISS NEW YORK.
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