According to the listing for the two retail spaces at 141 E. Houston St., this corridor is Sunshine Alley, perhaps a lame nod to the Sunshine Cinema (RIP 2018) that once stood here. (Previous marketing materials called the courtyard Houston Alley.)
The listing notes a "built-in capacity for a commercial kitchen with venting to the roof," so a food-drinks operation is within the realm of possibilities for a new tenant.
One more thing about the listing: it names several of 141's "neighbors," some obvious picks such as Russ & Daughters and Katz's ... as well as some more far-flung spots like Milk Bar (perhaps the mini location on Mott Street?) Not mentioned: The circa-1910 Yonah Schimmel right next door...
Previously on EV Grieve:
• Sunshine Cinema-replacing office building moving forward; demolition watch back on
• Discarded theater seats and goodbyes at the Sunshine Cinema
• The 9-story boutique office building coming to the former Sunshine Cinema space
• The boutique office building replacing the Sunshine Cinema will be 'unbounded by walls' with an outdoor space called Houston Alley
• Discarded theater seats and goodbyes at the Sunshine Cinema
• The 9-story boutique office building coming to the former Sunshine Cinema space
• The boutique office building replacing the Sunshine Cinema will be 'unbounded by walls' with an outdoor space called Houston Alley
Still hideous.
ReplyDeleteStunning! The vertical green thing is a nice splash of color denoting our 'green' commitment to mother earth and all its inhabitants, I think.
ReplyDeleteawful
ReplyDeleteZero interest in this big dumb looking glass box.
ReplyDeleteSo boring. Will anyone every be able to distinguish among all these lookalike glass boxes? I wonder if all the flat, hard surfaces amplify sound instead of breaking it up.
ReplyDeleteAnother new building that has zero relationship to the rest of the LES.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me I need a knish.
ReplyDeleteDitto !
DeleteThis is the type of building I would expect to find on the outskirts of an airport.
ReplyDeleteImagine if you were responsible for this building. When someone on Thanksgiving asks you what you do for a living, do you say "architect" with a straight face or give a 2 second pause first?
ReplyDeleteHow out of place can you get??? Way to blend into the neighborhood
ReplyDeleteI still miss the Sunshine… and now I gotta go get a knish
ReplyDeleteThe building is pretty great for what it is. Simple, minimal buildings of this type have been around for almost a hundred years. High ceilings, flooded with natural light, high end mechanical upgrades. One might like the look of the old brick buildings, as I do, but they they're loaded with lead paint, asbestos, sagging floors, termites and rotten plumbing and electrical systems. Real estate has always been King in NY so anyone shocked by buildings of this type is more than a bit naive.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing is, architects, in reality, have very little to do the the design of the the building's exterior look. The real estate developers dictate to the architect what they want and what their budget is. The architect must work within those limitations. Of course I prefer the old Sunshine but that's not the way things work in NYC.
The Sunshine was a lovely unique building. This screams corporate midtown Ken and Barbie executive lunch.
ReplyDeleteBecause god knows we need another office building since the other ones are so full up these days... And I agree, this building is just another soul crushing corporate midtown dark-box building. A lost opportunity to add to the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteA disgrace to competent architects everywhere!!
ReplyDelete"Simple, minimal buildings of this type"
ReplyDeleteTo me, that seems like an odd description for this mini death star construction with a lower portion that protrudes like middle aged man belly.
It's not exactly a triumph, but the replacement building on Second Avenue at East 7th shows it's possible to at least go some way to accommodating the local context.
Industrial park, developer grade, late stage predatory capitalism, cheapest construction possible with no commitment to, much less acknowledgement of, the neighborhood. In such a nosy location you would think they would at least try to break up the glass curtain to deflect noise and add a little visual interest. Still do not understand why they did not leave the old facade intact, oh wait, nothing to understand, knock it all down, cheaper that way, profit above all.
ReplyDeleteThis place is so awful. I am sick and will be the rest of my life over this. NYC is dead to me now. This is happening everywhere in town and it is killing New York. We now live in Yuckville.
ReplyDelete