We hear from people who are either a) sad to see the onetime hotspot in such a state or b) happy to see the onetime hotspot and early 1990s Bowery gentrifier going down.
Either way, here's a look at the demolition about a month in (and NOT sponsored by Boss or Pinko) ...
... and through the blogger portals...
And next UP: a 21-floor office building. We got a first look at the Midtown-friendly monstrosity here.
The B Bar (b 1994) never reopened after the PAUSE in March 2020.
I don't have feelings one way or another about B-Bar, but I am depressed to see that whole corner of sky go. It was bad enough when the tower on the NW corner went up, but now there will be a wall of building there blocking the sunset. The graffiti on the wall below the rendering says it all.
ReplyDeleteThat's the big difference between the East Village and everything from 14th St up to the lower East 90's; we still have sunlight and sky. Those areas - not so much.
ReplyDeleteWhile progress is inevitable, it's a shame to see how the MIDTOWN height insanity is very quickly ruining those things that made the EV a more pleasant area to reside in.
It seems that there's no accounting for taste with most of the recent and present construction. Short term building conjured up by short term developers.
Another disgusting tower is what the sadness is. A nice low key walled spot was nice. Get me outta this hellhole.
ReplyDeleteI don't really care about the bar that was there I feel bad about the six great Honey Locust trees that were in the open-air courtyard and were cut down and discarded by the contractor doing the demolition there. I had put in a NYC 311 complaint to have the City try to save the trees only to have my complaint closed after the NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation inspected the location and wrote to me that they had no jurisdiction over the trees because they were on private property. The loss of those trees is a tragedy.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, miss BBar immensely. It was a lovely space that felt airy and had tons of roomy booths and tables. The outdoor space with the fireplace in the winter and the lush trees overhead in the summer was rare around here. Overall this establishment felt more "family-friendly" and just refreshingly chill when compared to the rowdy unlimited mimosa brunches that happen almost everywhere else. You could actually meet up with a large group of friends, get seated pretty quickly, and hear each other while you were speaking. Their prices weren't terrible, and I enjoyed their free banana bread with brunch (also their mint lemonade which was the best I've had anywhere and I don't understand what magic was in it). If it were a choice between BBar and a lifeless glass tower monstrosity that makes zero sense now that work is mostly remote, I'd choose BBar any day. Sad for the longtime staff who lost their jobs, too.
ReplyDeleteThere is a huge glut of office space in Manhattan; why this tower is going up has more to do with money laundering than the necessity for more commercial space.
ReplyDeleteBefore it was BBar, it was an excellent local gas station and car repair garage...the type that is now gone from lower Manhattan. I guess one day we will have charging stations on the streets, but for now.....carry your own gas can just in case.
ReplyDeleteIf it was housing it would at least be worth it. What a hideous tower, could you imagine being the developer/buyer that thought that looked good? Seems like most NYC architects got C’s in school.
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