Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The disappearing northeast corner of 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place



Workers continue to demolish the northeast corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place... the building that previously housed Korilla BBQ is about half of what it used to be (the building that housed the Continental next door is still standing) ...



... you can catch a glimpse of what's left behind the construction shroud...



As you likely know, 3 St. Mark’s Place, 23 and 25-27 Third Avenue are coming down to make way for an office building with ground-floor retail.

The size of this new building has yet to be determined. As previously reported, Real Estate Equities Corporation (REEC) wants to transfer the air rights from the landmarked Hamilton-Holly House at 4 St. Mark's Place to add more square footage to their office building, a move that has had its critics.

In June, the LPC ultimately lent its support to the plan, and has issued a report to the City Planning Commission to allow the proposal under a specific zoning resolution.

The City Planning Commission will likely sign off on the project next as part of the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. City Council will have the final say on the size of the Morris Adjimi-designed building.


[The proposed 3 St. Mark's Place as seen from Astor Place]

Meanwhile, as you may have noticed, someone recently wrote an obituary on the west-facing wall of 5 St. Mark's Place...





RIP St. Mark's...



This wall was once home for years to the John Spacely "Gringo" mural... from 1983 to the early 2000s ...


[Image via]

And a view from 1983 via the "Lower East Side: Back In The Days" Facebook group...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Demolition permits filed for northeast corner of 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

End is nearing for the businesses on the northeast corner of 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

New building plans revealed for 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

Concern over potential air-rights transfer for new office building on St. Mark's Place and 3rd Avenue

Developers of 3 St. Mark's Place are looking to increase the size of their proposed office building at 3rd Avenue to 10 floors with air-rights deal

The lobbyists behind the air-rights transfer and zoning variance for 3 St. Mark's Place

Final demolition phase for 1 St. Mark's Place; more questions about lobbyists attached to project

Report: LPC approves transfer of air rights across St. Mark's Place

Live at 1 St. Mark's Place this summer; views of 51 Astor Place are free

13 comments:

  1. Heartbreaking. And that last photo actually brought tears to my eyes.

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  2. Who could ever forget Spaclley

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  3. Will Council Member Rivera again give in to developers and Capalino on the try to build the office tower higher here than they are normally allowed? So far she is a perfect record in line with the mayor and real estate industry on projects around here.

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  4. I sure miss the Gringo mural; I miss the whole neighborhood, actually.

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  5. I sure wish if we are sacrificing our existing city that the replacement buildings weren’t the blandest, cheapest, crappiest designs to come from an architects office. Insult added to injury.

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  6. The building on the corner was a visible landmark recognizable to everyone who ever lived in this neighborhood. I for one am sad to see it go.

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  7. Literally makes my stomach hurt.

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  8. The buildings at the corner of St. Marks and 3rd were the gateway to freedom for generation after generation of pre and post war youth. Now thanks to our "progressives" we will exchange the gateway to freedom for conformity's gate to a bourgeois life.

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  9. At 1:45 PM, Anonymous said:

    The building on the corner was a visible landmark recognizable to everyone who ever lived in this neighborhood. I for one am sad to see it go.

    Not only that, but it was at least 150 years old and in a landmark district—wasn't it? What good is landmarking if it doesn't protect buildings and other structures?

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  10. Have you got the years of that mural right? I moved to NYC in 1991 and believe me, have spent plenty of hours on St. Marks but don't recall ever seeing that mural.

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  11. @Anon 10:30

    I get where you're coming from. It was the drugs.

    I do miss the old neighborhood....

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  12. @Anon. 10:30 PM, the mural was painted in 1982 to coincide with the release of the documentary made about Spacely, a/k/a Gringo, and was painted over in 2000 by the building's then-owner.

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  13. I ate at Continental Dining at 25 when I was there in the mid 80s and still have the T-shirt to prove it

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