The Mars Bar awaits its turn

Saturday at 11-17 Second Ave.

Someone to watch over me

Meanwhile, Goggla passes along this photo from the sidewalk shed outside the Mars Bar...

"There is a frog? Pig? Gargoyle thing perching atop the construction ... I like to think it's warding away evil spirits..."

Yes!

Demolition returns to 11-17 Second Avenue

Last Wednesday, a worker at the site of the demolition of 9-17 Second Avenue suffered a leg injury after being struck by falling debris.

The city promptly issued a full stop work order...

Yesterday, the city rescinded the stop work order ... (hope that you can speak DOBese...)

Bobby Williams noted the crews back on the scene yesterday...

Seems to be just a shell left here ...

DOB puts a full Stop Work Order on 11-17 Second Avenue

As DNAinfo first reported Wednesday afternoon, a worker at the site of the demolition of 9-17 Second Avenue suffered a leg injury after being struck by falling debris. Witnesses had said the injury did not appear to be serious.

City inspectors arrived on the scene Wednesday afternoon...

According to the DOB: "Hazardous conditions observed at site."

As you can see, the DOB says that a 16-by-20-foot piece of debris struck the worker. "STOP ALL WORK."

The buildings — including the Mars Bar space — are being demolished to make way for a 12-story apartment complex.

Previously.

[All photos by Bobby Williams on Wednesday afternoon]

Report: Worker injured during demolition of former Mars Bar space

[Yesterday at 9-17 Second Avenue. By Bobby Williams]

A member of the crew demolishing 9-17 Second Ave. was injured this afternoon after debris fell on him, DNAinfo reported. Per their account:

"A worker at the site, located at 11 Second Ave. at the corner of East First Street, suffered a leg injury in the incident about 2 p.m. and was transported to Bellevue Hospital, the FDNY said."

The DOB is apparently on the scene inspecting the rest of the site.

Previously.

Demolition crew: 11 Second Ave. will be gone within the week

EV Grieve reader Spike sent us an email yesterday, noting that workers had removed/demolished the roof over the former Mars Bar along Second Avenue... and how...

Goggla spoke to the demolition crew who's taking down 9-17 Second Avenue brick by brick (no heavy machinery is allowed) ... they told her that No. 11 will be gone within the week. No. 9 will follow and they expect it to all be gone within two months.

Photos yesterday by Bobby Williams.

Demolition work continues at 9-17 Second Avenue; is BFC Partners still involved?

Work continues to creep along at 9-17 Second Avenue... On Friday, workers started erecting the scaffolding for the construction netting needed for the continued demolition... we stopped by for updates ...

Friday!

Saturday!

Sunday!

Meanwhile, Bobby Williams passed along this "Corrected Public Notice" from the Daily News Saturday...

We have no idea what all this legalese is (we welcome your interpretation of this). It looks as if the new development here will include 13 affordable "cooperative dwelling units" and 51 "market rate rental dwelling units" and 6,350-feet of commercial space ... plus 1,677 square feet of open space.

Back during a CB3 Zoning Committee Meeting last December via BoweryBoogie, officials said that nine of the affordable units would be for returning families with the rest would be for new families via a lottery. At the time, officials were unsure if the market-rate units would be rentals or sales.

One noticeable absence in this "Corrected Public Notice" — Any mention of BFC Partners, builders of luxury properties such as 48 Bond on Bond Street and Toren in Brooklyn, who first introduced this idea in December. Something called Jupiter 21 LLC is listed here as the "sponsor." A New York State records search listed Jupiter 21 LLC (formed on Aug. 15) as having the same Myrtle Avenue address in Brooklyn as a high-end custom cabinetry company called Wells Woodwork. We're not sure about any connections between BFC Partners and Wells Woodwork.

Anyone know anything about this?

There's a public meeting on the development set for Dec. 6 at 10 a.m. at 22 Reade St.

Previously.

Your East Village demolition progress report!

First, 51 Astor Place... where we will soon be able to enjoy a Fumihiko Maki-designed 430,000-square-foot Death Star office building...

[Bobby Williams]

And then over at 9-17 Second Ave. ... doesn't appear as if the full-on demolition has started... workers seem to still be focusing on 9 Second Avenue (aka 7 1/2 Second Ave.) ... soon all to vanish to make way for a 12-story apartment building...

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village — the new Midtown?

51 Astor Place demolition begins July 1; 17 months to build new black-glass tower

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...

The Prisoner of Second Avenue

[h/t Neil Simon]

Mars Bar finally gets a sidewalk shed

To be honest, we've been expecting the arrival of a sidewalk shed outside the Mars Bar — and the whole stretch of 11-17 Second Avenue destined for demolition — since August... And yesterday, the sidewalk shed finally arrived, as these photos by Bobby Williams show...

As you know, all this will be torn down to make way for a 12-story apartment building. We're curious how soon demolition will actually happen. The arrival of a sidewalk shed doesn't mean the building will fall anytime soon — just look at 51 Astor Place.

Previously.

New roll-down gates for the Mars Bar

Goggla passes along this information... Workers have installed new roll-down gates at the Mars Bar and the adjoining space here along the doomed stretch of 11-17 Second Ave. (Also, someone painted over the graffiti on the First Street side... where that fresh blank black patch is...)

Anyway, not sure why you'd install new roll-down gates on a building that will be demolished. As for that, the worker told Goggla that he didn't know anything about a pending date for start of the demolition. But he thought "soon."

Previously.

Last rites for Second Avenue buildings

Firefighters were on the scene this morning outside the condemned buildings at 9-17 Second Avenue... one day to become a 12-story apartment building.

They were marking the building with an X. As a firefighter on the scene put it, the X means "to stay out."

And up Second Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street... a crew arrived for testing at the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel.

In June, Off the Grid, the blog of the Greenwich Village Preservation Society, reported that the owners have applied to make substantial changes to the 1937 building. Indeed.

On Sept. 9, the city approved plans to "Remodel the existing three story building and add 3 stories on top." The architect is Ramy Issac — "The controversial penthouse king of the East Village." Per the DOB, the ground floor is marked for commercial use. We haven't seen any renderings just yet... (let us know if you have...) Also looking forward to the marketing materials — "your chance to live in luxury above a former funeral home! Featuring kitchens with granite countertops and high-end appliance packages such as Kohler and Bosch!"

Anyway, pay your respects while you can. And check out the history of the Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel at Jeremiah's Vanishing New York.