Documentary on photographer Jay Maisel's life at 190 Bowery opens today

As a reminder, "Jay Myself," the documentary about photographer-artist Jay Maisel's time living in 190 Bowery, opens today (July 31) for a two-week run at the Film Forum on West Houston.

Maisel bought No. 190 Bowery at Spring Street in 1966 for $102,000. He sold the six-story, 72-room building where he lived with his wife and daughter to Aby Rosen in early 2015 for $55 million.

The sale of No. 190 — the circa 1898 Germania Bank Building — was the biggest, and most interesting, downtown real-estate transaction in recent years (and maybe ever).

Here's the official trailer...



So far the reviews have been positive.

Find ticket info at this Film Forum link.

Previously on EV Grieve:
This documentary takes you inside Jay Maisel's move from the legendary 190 Bowery

This documentary takes you inside Jay Maisel's move from the legendary 190 Bowery

[EVG photo from 2016]

The sale of 190 Bowery — the circa 1898 Germania Bank Building — was the biggest, and most interesting, downtown real-estate transaction in recent years (and maybe ever).

Prolific photographer and artist Jay Maisel bought 190 Bowery at Spring Street in 1966 for $102,000. He sold the six-story, 72-room building where he lived with his wife and daughter to Aby Rosen in early 2015 for $55 million.

According to legend, only a handful of people had ever been inside it while Maisel, whose photography credits include the Miles Davis Kind of Blue album cover, was still a resident.

On July 31, interested parties can learn more about Maisel's time in No. 190 and his subsequent move to Cobble Hill when the Film Forum debuts the documentary "Jay Myself" for a two-week run.

"Jay Myself" chronicles Maisel’s monumental move out of his 72-room home following its sale, the largest private real estate deal in NYC history. With humor and awe, Stephen Wilkes captures Maisel’s half-century of collecting – having had the room to save and exhibit every last thing he found beautiful, strange, or (potentially) useful.

And here's the official trailer...



Supreme is the temporary retail tenant on the ground floor of No. 190 these days... while the upper floors house a consortium of creative agencies.

Report: Supreme leasing temp space at 190 Bowery

Streetwear brand Supreme will lease the retail space at 190 Bowery until mid-2019, Crain's reported yesterday.

A temporary home is necessary as Supreme renovates its 24-year-old storefront on Lafayette near Bleecker.

Per Crain's: "Leasing short term to a tenant like Supreme could be a savvy move by RFR Realty to boost the building's profile as a retail destination and attract other stores that might be interested in leasing the space long term."

No. 190's retail tenant is currently the fashion emporium Totokaelo, who was said to be only taking the space short-term. The Post reported last year that the asking rent for the ground floor, mezzanine and basement was $2 million a year. Or roughly $166,000 a month.

RFR Realt's Aby Rosen bought the landmarked building from photographer Jay Maisel for a reported $55 million in 2014.

Previously

Retail rent at 190 Bowery is $2 million a year

The news yesterday was that fashion emporium Totokaelo has signed a lease for 8,918 square feet at the landmarked 190 Bowery.

Totokaelo, which sells designer lines such as Acne Studios and Jil Sander, plans to open a pop-up shop from this fall to March 2018. A rep for owner Aby Rosen’s RFR said that he hoped it would turn into a longterm deal.

Whoever the tenant will be needs deep pockets. According to the Post: "the asking rent for the retail space on the ground floor, mezzanine and basement was $2 million a year." Or roughly $166,000 a month.

Rosen bought the landmarked building from photographer Jay Maisel for a reported $55 million in 2014.

Previously

[Updating] 190 Bowery's roof is on fire

The FDNY alert went out just before 8 p.m.

190 Bowery is on fire
:(@evgrieve @boweryboogie pic.twitter.com/FBYJAfCwDc

— Patrick Cappiello (@patrickwine) August 9, 2016

Aby Rosen's RFR Realty owns the the historic Germania Bank Building at Spring Street, and his crews are renovating the space for new tenants, including a creative fashion entity called Great Bowery.

Rosen bought the landmarked building from photographer Jay Maisel for a reported $55 million in 2014.

We'll update when more information is known...

Updated 8:23 p.m.

Social media reports say that the fire is contained to the roof...

Live from the #bowery #fdny #nyc #190bowery never a dull moment

A video posted by joseph brentano (@brentanos) on Aug 8, 2016 at 5:09pm PDT

MAN ALL HANDS 190 BOWERY, VACANT COMMERCIAL FIRE ON THE ROOF, UNDER CONTROL

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) August 9, 2016

Inch by inch, 190 Bowery is losing its graffiti

[Photo from Sunday]

A few weeks back, we read a piece by Bucky Turco in Mass Appeal reporting that the landmarked 190 Bowery would be relieved of its graffiti — with one exception — here at Spring Street.

The first few photos in this post are from Sunday, showing the circa-1898 Germania Bank Building with its art intact...







On Tuesday, workers covered a small section of the south-facing wall ... as the buffing process began...



... and more arrived yesterday...



However, one tag will remain on the building: The "NEKST" on the front. Here's Mass Appeal with more:

Sean “NEKST” Griffin, a world renowned and respected writer, passed away unexpectedly in 2012. The prolific artist painted his name in cities all across the United States and is believed to have tagged the high profile Bowery spot sometime in 2007.

Aby Rosen's RFR Realty owns the building, and his crews are renovating the space for new tenants, including a creative fashion entity called Great Bowery.

Rosen bought the landmarked building from photographer Jay Maisel for a reported $55 million in 2014.

Rosen had said that the new tenant would have the final say on if the graffiti remained or got buffed out.

Mass Appeal reached out to creative house Great Bowery, the building’s main tenant to get their take on Rosen’s decision to buff the piece. “We would have much preferred the graffiti stay,” writes COO Melissa Kelly, “however we are really grateful that the landlord agreed to save the culturally significant NEKST piece.”

Previously

In case you were wondering what the inside of 190 Bowery is looking like these days

[EVG photo from last week]

The last time we walked by 190 Bowery last week, there was all sorts of activity going on in and around the historic Germania Bank Building on the corner of Spring Street. Hard hats were coming and going from inside the building. Arrows were trying to knock over workers. And a few men were filming a rap video on the front steps.

So what's going inside? Aby Rosen's RFR Realty owns the building, and a company made up of agencies representing creative professionals had previously reported signing on for some of the office space.

Bucky Turco, the editor of the now-defunct Animal, recently got a look inside the under-renovation building ... and shared those images with Curbed.

A few observations from a look around the interior per Curbed:

• "Some of its historic elements, such as an original 19th-century elevator, are now preserved behind glass."

• "The basement is still in disarray, with the old bank vault still intact (though there's a crack in the glass)."

Check out the photos at Curbed.

The retail space is still on the market.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Take a last look inside the mysterious 190 Bowery

Missing you

Just noting a tribute that arrived this week at 190 Bowery (at Spring Street) ... in memory of Prince and David Bowie, with an inscription "You will be missed" ...



The work is by @citykittystreet ...

Meanwhile, the conversion of the historic Germania Bank Building continues. Aby Rosen's RFR Realty owns the building and it's not known exactly what's going to happen to the landmarked building...



Previously

Sidewalk bridge work continues at 190 Bowery

Workers continue to erect the heavy duty sidewalk bridge at 190 Bowery, where developer Aby Rosen is converting the former single-family home into office space and maybe some high-end condos.

BoweryBoogie first spotted the scaffolding going up late last week, and not much progress has been made since then, it appears.

So what's going to happen outside here at Spring Street? As Curbed reported, the plans approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission back in May call for keeping the graffiti on the exterior. Plus! "The exterior will have entrances restored to their original 1898 state, and all of the windows will be replaced."

And as for the interior of the Germania Bank Building, a company made up of agencies representing creative professionals had previously reported signing on for some of the office space.

Rosen bought the landmarked building from photographer Jay Maisel for a reported $55 million last year. And no — it's not for sale again.

[Updated] Hey, you can buy 190 Bowery again (again)!

Developer Aby Rosen of RFR Realty bought the landmarked 190 Bowery from photographer Jay Maisel for a reported $55 million last year.

Back in November, Rosen was ready to flip the property, according to the Commercial Observer. However, that apparent re-sale never transpired ... but! It looks as if the historic Germania Bank Building on the corner of Spring Street is back on the market, Curbed reported earlier today.

Here's part of the Cushman & Wakefield listing:

The open floor plans combined with the property being delivered vacant, offer an unusually large blank canvas for a developer or user to execute a myriad of potential visions, including a boutique residential condominium, a retail flagship, or a truly historic and one-of-a-kind single family residence. Regardless of the strategy, the end result will change the landscape of the Bowery for years to come and will be a project unmatched in the price premiums it obtains.

There isn't any mention of the asking price (presumably it's higher than $55 million). No word on what happened to the previous tenants (a company made up of agencies representing creative professionals) who reportedly signed to lease part of the space.

Meanwhile, maybe there will be time for another art show here.

Updated 7-15

Oh, never mind! Reps told Curbed the building is NOT being resold...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Let's buy this building! 190 Bowery apparently back on the market

Take a last look inside the mysterious 190 Bowery

If you'd like a look at the art show inside 190 Bowery

[Photo last Saturday by Scuba Diva]

Last Saturday afternoon, a lot of people turned up at 190 Bowery for the Aby Rosen/Vito Schnabel-backed group exhibition titled "First Show/Last Show."

Unbeknownst to most people, though, the public opening was no longer public. The exhibit was now by appointment only.

So Joanna Purpich at Gothamist made an appointment… and paid a vist this past week.

While inside, I spoke with fellow patron Kiki Falconer who said, "I really like the state of the building as a gallery, The tiles are broken, the wood is bare and it's elegant, ancient. So it's a really nice juxtaposition to the modern art." But the gallery offered limited access to the mansion. Only four rooms were on display—three cavernous and bright rooms on ground level, and a short, windowless, half floor room that was jarringly oppressive in comparison.

You may visit Gothamist here to see photos of the work. And there are no lines.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Art show turns into a shitshow at 190 Bowery

Art show turns into a shitshow at 190 Bowery

A lot of people turned up last evening for the chance to see the inside of 190 Bowery and look at the Aby Rosen/Vito Schnabel-backed group exhibition titled "First Show/Last Show."

However, the whole thing was called off before the show even started … much to the surprise of people who arrived at the landmarked building at Spring Street.

@evgrieve the #germaniabankbuilding isn't open to the public today - they're saying invite only. Lame!

— Gillian (@GillianEK) May 16, 2015

#190Bowery is a total fiasco. Hundreds of art fans getting stuffed by 6 security guards letting in about a dozen middle-aged Art snobs

— Scott Heins (@scottheins) May 16, 2015

According to artnet, the show "has been abruptly closed to the public for reasons unknown."

Now what?

"The show will be open by appointment May 18 – 29, Monday through Friday from 12-6 p.m. Closed Memorial Day. Please respond with your requested time and we will do our best to accommodate you."

You have to RSVP here.

Per artnet:

The original invitation didn't even require an RSVP, so it's not surprising that Rosen, Schnabel, and their coterie of rich and famous friends got a little spooked by the prospect of the unwashed masses showing up to rub elbows with the art elite.

As for the exhibit, the Observer pointed out:

Titled “First Show/Last Show,” Schnabel’s exhibition brings the work of seven auction-approved white male artists together under the cryptic rubric that their art “immediately conveys its significance,” a super power that is obviously absent from any artwork authored by a woman or a person of color.



Photographer Jay Maisel bought 190 Bowery in 1966 for $102,000. He recently sold it for a reported $55 million. A still-unnamed creative agency has leased floors 2-6. The groundfloor retail remains on the market.

Photos by Scuba Diva … H/T Gothamist

Previously on EV Grieve:
Take a last look inside the mysterious 190 Bowery

[Updated] A group exhibition at 190 Bowery opens Saturday

[That same photo of 190 Bowery that we always post]

If you ever wanted to see the inside of 190 Bowery, then here's your chance.

Developer (and art collector!) Aby Rosen, who purchased the landmarked Germania Bank Building at Spring Street from photographer Jay Maisel for $55 million, is putting on an art show that opens Saturday night here along with Vito Schnabel.

Per the invite:

Vito Schnabel is pleased to announce the opening of First Show / Last Show, a group exhibition at 190 Bowery on May 16, 2015. Featured artists include Joe Bradley, Dan Colen, Jeff Elrod, Ron Gorchov, Mark Grotjahn, Harmony Korine, and Julian Schnabel.

“The artists included in First Show / Last Show are seven of my favorite painters. I have had the privilege of living with some of their works and have long wanted to show them together. There are very few artists whose work immediately conveys its significance, like each of these seven. They represent three generations of great American contemporary art, ranging in age from 35 to 85.

I grew up in New York City, walking by the former Germania Bank countless times. I always wanted to go inside, thinking it might be a perfect place for an exhibition. This is the first time this 1899 landmark building will be open to the public since the bank closed in 1966 and it became a private residence.

The show runs through May 31. (We updated the post because we had it completely wrong!)

As previously reported, some sort of still-unnamed creative agency has leased floors 2-6. The groundfloor retail remains on the market.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission — or a group pretending to be them — recently praised the owner's decision to keep the exterior graffiti, according to Curbed.

Updated 5-17

The opening was cancelled … it's now invite-only…

H/T The Lo-Down!

Report: 190 Bowery's new tenant will keep things the way they are, graffiti included

[Via Wikipedia Commons]

Apparently the happy new tenant of 190 Bowery — the former Germania Bank here at Spring Street — "will keep all of the building’s historic touches from its marble wash basins to the graffiti covering the lower part of the facade," The Wall Street Journal reports today. (Subscription required for article.)

Per the Journal:

A company made up of agencies representing creative professionals in the industry of luxury and fashion image-making has signed an 11-year lease for almost 30,000 square feet of office space on floors two through six at 190 Bowery.

“We’re a very visual company and all the employees are very visual people,” said Matthew Moneypenny, the chief executive of the yet-to-be-named limited liability company that includes agencies such as image-licensing firm Trunk Archive as well as CLM and Streeters, which represent photographers, hair and makeup artists and set designers. “Companies like ours tend to thrive in places that have a soul and a history.”

Photographer Jay Maisel bought 190 Bowery in 1966 for $102,000. He recently sold it for a reported $55 million.

As for the current state of the building's exterior, we haven't walked by in awhile. How much graffiti and what not is left?

From September 2014...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Take a last look inside the mysterious 190 Bowery

Adventures in trespassing at 190 Bowery

[Via Wikipedia Commons]

In case that you haven't seen this video making the rounds today ... Bucky Turco, editor-in-chief of ANIMAL New York, made his way inside 190 Bowery, the historic Germania Bank Building on the corner of Spring Street.

He was able to breach security several different times to document the mysterious (and now mostly empty) six-story, 72-room, 37,000-square-foot building as it awaits its likely condo fate. Aby Rosen of RFR Realty purchased the place from photographer Jay Maisel for a reported $55 million. (RFR is currently marketing the building's first and second floors for retail use.)

Check out the result of Turco's expedition inside in this video...



... and over at the ANIMAL website here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Take a last look inside the mysterious 190 Bowery

The Post helping sell the landmark 190 Bowery for prime retail use

A reader shared this with us from yesterday's Post … a full-page ad for 190 Bowery, the historic Germania Bank Building on the corner of Spring Street.

Aby Rosen of RFR Realty purchased the six-story, 72-room, 37,000-square-foot building from photographer Jay Maisel for a recently reported $55 million. (Maisel bought the property in 1966 for $102,000.)

RFR is currently marketing the building's first and second floors for retail use. Maybe something that might appeal to Post readers.

190 Bowery was designated a New York City landmark on March 29, 2005. As for the rest of the building, no word just yet what might happen to the upper floors. Condos? Hotel?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Take a last look inside the mysterious 190 Bowery

Take a last look inside the mysterious 190 Bowery

[Via Wikipedia Commons]

Photographer Jay Maisel bought 190 Bowery in 1966 for $102,000. He recently sold it for a reported $55 million.

Developer Aby Rosen, the current owner, is apparently marketing the building for a retail-condo combo.

Meanwhile, for a glimpse of what the building is like now inside (and on the roof), we spotted this video yesterday at the Popular Photography website.

You don't see everything in the six-story, 72-room, 35,000-square-foot building… but you get the idea…

190 Bowery from Digital Destinations on Vimeo.

A Curbed tipster spotted movers carting out furniture and what not from the building at Spring Street last week.

In 2008, New York had what was believed to be the media's one and only inside look at the place.

Maisel lived in part of the the 1898 Germania Bank building with his wife and daughter.

Let's buy this building! 190 Bowery apparently back on the market

[190 Bowery via jdx]

Back in September, news broke that 190 Bowery, the longtime home of photographer Jay Maisel, was in contract to RFR Holdings for an undisclosed sum.

Condos were one possibility for the 37,000-square-foot building on the corner of Bowery and Spring Street.

Now, RFR is apparently flipping the building, The Commercial Observer reports.

There are reportedly marketing materials dated yesterday making the rounds via Massey Knakal. The price is not listed. (And the previous sale has yet to be filed with the city.)

Maisel bought the 1898 Germania Bank building in 1966 for $102,000. He and his family have lived there ever since. The price tag of the building had been estimated to be in the $50-plus million.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Coolest building on the Bowery may or may not be for sale

Condos possibility for the coolest building on the Bowery

[Via Wikipedia Commons]

The former Amato Opera is not the only historic building on the Bowery to be heading to the condo after-life.

Those rumors from last month are true: 190 Bowery, the longtime home of photographer Jay Maisel, has been sold, the Times confirms today.

RFR Holdings bought the mysterious, 37,000-square-foot building on the corner of Bowery and Spring Street.

To the Times for quotes from RFR co-founder and principal Aby Rosen ...

“The building is in terrible shape. There’s no heat, Jay lives in just a small area of the building, another winter is coming, and it was time,” said Mr. Rosen, who spent six months cajoling Mr. Maisel into selling the home. “When you own a property for that long, and you are not a real estate professional, it takes a lot of convincing.”

Mr. Rosen, who has yet to close on the purchase and declined to reveal the price, said the building could be converted for retailing at the base with condominiums above, or possibly offices or even an art gallery.

Maisel bough the 1898 Germania Bank building in 1966 for $102,000. He and his family have lived there ever since. The price tag of the building was estimated to be at $50-plus million.

Coolest building on the Bowery may or may not be for sale

[Via Wikipedia Commons]

Yes, that graffiti-filled one at the corner of Spring Street … long a source of mystery!

In 2008, New York had what is believed to be the media's one and only inside look at the place:

The building at 190 Bowery is a mystery: a graffiti-covered Gilded Age relic, with a beat-up wooden door that looks like it hasn’t been opened since La Guardia was mayor. A few years ago, that described a lot of the neighborhood, but with the Bowery Hotel and the New Museum, the Rogan and John Varvatos boutiques, 190 is now an anomaly, not the norm. Why isn’t some developer turning it into luxury condos?

Because Jay Maisel, the photographer who bought it 42 years ago for $102,000, still lives there, with his wife, Linda Adam Maisel, and daughter, Amanda. It isn’t a decrepit ruin; 190 Bowery is a six-story, 72-room, 35,000-square-foot (depending on how you measure) single-family home.

Anyway, Crain's New York is reporting that the circa-1898 building has been listed at RFR Realty. ("The ground and second floors have 18-foot ceiling heights and are ideal for retail use.")

But is it really for sale? Per Crain's: "RFR declined to comment and the photographer, Jay Maisel, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the fate of the ornate six-story, granite and brick building."

Real-estate experts figured the landmarked would fetch $50 million on the open market. And those were 2008 estimates.