Mystery car arrives in the 35 Cooper Square lot

Perhaps someone is there to see about putting a tarp on the roof of 35 Cooper Square?

Please cover me

On April 14, we noted that that the DOB had taped up a new "notice of violation and hearing" outside 35 Cooper Square... According to the DOB:

BOTH ROOFS HAVE BEEN STRIPPED OF ROOFING MATERIAL TO SHEATHING SECTIONS OF LOWER ROOF ARE EXPOSED TO JOISTS ALSO NOTED

On Thursday, the Local East Village followed up and reported that developer Arun Bhatia just paid about $16,000 in fines related to the violations.

Meanwhile, the roof is still unprotected, now with a weekend of heavy rain to help it continue to rot.

David Mulkins, co-founder of the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, wrote a plea to protect the roof last Friday at the Local EV. Per the article:

[T]he roof and dormers as essential structural elements and character-defining features, are currently compromised by partial demolition and exposure to the elements. Any effort to save this building, at this point, needs to start with the basics: putting a tarp back on the roof.

A friend of EV Grieve said this is like visiting a loved one at the nursing home, and seeing him or her without a blanket.

In any event, Arun Bhatia's nonaction should tell you all you need to know about the developer's interest in possibly saving this building.

The roof at 35 Cooper Square looks really bad

Last week, we noted that the DOB had taped up a new "notice of violation and hearing" outside 35 Cooper Square... According to the DOB:

BOTH ROOFS HAVE BEEN STRIPPED OF ROOFING MATERIAL TO SHEATHING SECTIONS OF LOWER ROOF ARE EXPOSED TO JOISTS ALSO NOTED

EV Grieve contributor Bobby Williams took a photo of the roof yesterday... doesn't look good, especially with so much rain on the way...

Will 35 Cooper Square get the St. Ann's treatment?

What if developer Arun Bhatia decides to placate members of the community by keeping part of the structure intact? Much like NYU did by incorporating the façade of St. Ann's into the entrance of the 12th Street dorm.

Goggla mentioned this yesterday in the comments about 35 Cooper Square: "I wonder if something similar could happen here where the façade (or some replica of it) gets 'preserved' purely for decoration."

Would this be a victory? Or is it worse to see the daily reminder of what was entombed around a soulless, glassy tower?

Or, better, 35 Cooper Square could remain, and the mystery project is built around the historic structure... similar to how the Cooper Square Hotel went up next door to the home of Hettie Jones...

[Image via Jeremiah's Vanishing NY]

[Top image via]

Also at 35 Cooper Square: A 'failure to comply' notice

We spotted this new "notice of violation and hearing" taped up to the plywood...

Per the notice:

So from this document, it appears that people can still access the building at "lower roof of property" (That's YOU, Cooper Square Hotel!), just like Runnin' Scared noted two months ago.

Plus! That ongoing issue: the roof is exposed to the elements. A hearing on the matter is set for June 1, according to the document. Just six more weeks of spring rain.

Arun Bhatia reps listen, but make no promises about the future of 35 Cooper Square

Yesterday afternoon, developer Arun Bhatia met with concerned members of the community about the fate of 35 Cooper Square. It was an invite-only meeting closed to the media.

I asked Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, one of community members slated to speak, for his quick take on hour-long discussion with Arun Bhatia representatives:

They expressed openness to considering our suggestions that they explore ways of integrating 35 Cooper into a development on the site, but made no promises. There are some considerable financial and physical hurdles that would have to be overcome. They said they would think about it and get back to us. They gave no details as to what they are currently planning.

Previously.

DNAinfo has more here.... The report from The Local East Village is here.

One other question about 35 Cooper Square

A few readers have brought this up about the empty lot adjacent to No. 35 at Sixth Street:

How do you build on a sinkhole?

The lot certainly does appear to, uh, sag a bit...

Perhaps this could be used as a new skateboard park for Cooper Union?

P.S.
And how long will the couch/mattress stay in the lot? Swear that combo has been there for more than a year...

3 things we hope to learn today about 35 Cooper Square's future

Today, developer Arun Bhatia will meet with concerned members of the community about the fate of 35 Cooper Square. Per the developer's wishes, the meeting is not open to the public... and no press. Sources said the meeting will last an hour. Speakers will include Kent Barwick, president emeritus of the Municipal Arts Society, Kerri Culhane, architectural historian, Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Simeon Bankoff, the executive director of the Historic Districts Council, and Victor Papa, president of the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, among others including some local politicians. David Mulkins, chair of the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors (BAN), will also be there. BAN was instrumental in getting this sit-down in the first place.

Perhaps after today, we will have a better idea of the following:

• What the plans are for this space.
• If the plans may include a portion of the original 35 Cooper Square structure
• What the developer thinks of the community support for preserving the building.

It's likely that the developer will just be there to listen, but we can hope for more...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Something 28,998 square feet or so coming to Cooper Square (and goodbye Cooper 35 Asian Pub?)

Doom and doomer: More of Cooper Square primed for development

Cooper 35 Asian Pub part of development deal on Cooper Square

New hope for 35 Cooper Square

During the weekend, workers arrived at 35 Cooper Square to begin removing the sewer and water from the property...

[Photos by Bobby Williams]

...the next steps in the demolition of the historic building... However, there is some positive news about the home via David Mulkins, chair of the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors (BAN). City Council member Rosie Mendez's office has brokered a meeting between developer Arun Bhatia and BAN members to discuss possibly sparing the building.

Meanwhile, as we pointed out five weeks ago, workers have left the roof exposed to the elements. You may write to the developer's rep, Jane Crotty (Jane@gacnyc.com), and ask them to put the protective covering back on the rooftop.

Updated: DNAinfo reports the meeting is set for April 12.

Next step in the demolition of 35 Cooper Square

Yesterday, we noted the presence of rodent control signs at 35 Cooper Square... today, crews are on the scene to remove the water and sewer lines... all necessary steps that the developer needs to complete before demolition can commence...

New signs for 35 Cooper Square

One reader fretted, a sure sign of imminent demolition? No. It's difficult to say what's happening here of late. The city approved the demolition of the historic 35 Cooper Square on Feb. 14. However, the city hasn't issued the permit for demolition... stay tuned...

Another view on why 35 Cooper Square must be saved: For the area's new buildings

Here's the take from Fred A. Bernstein, writing a post for the The Design Observer Group:

[T]here’s a reason to save the building that has nothing to do with its past, and everything to do with the present.

The house is all that stands between two angled, glass-and-steel buildings (one of them, Thom Mayne's academic building for the Cooper Union, a masterpiece of contemporary architecture). Those buildings wouldn't be the same without their modest, gable-roofed companion.

Contemporary buildings feed on historical context. When that context is removed, even the best of the new buildings fall flat.

And!

New buildings depend on context if they're to be become architecture, not just site-specific artworks competing for attention in an architectural petting zoo. Greg Pasquarelli, a principal of SHoP, one of the busiest firms in the city, recently described his firm's idea of contextual design: “Making sure that the building looks nothing like the buildings around it.” He was referring to his penchant for placing new buildings among the old, but what about ensuring that old buildings remain among the new?

When deciding what to preserve, the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission should think of some buildings — like the house on Cooper Square — as buffers, essential elements in making sure new buildings live up to their potential (to enliven, not entomb, the city).

Read his full post here.

Is 35 Cooper Square really worth saving?

The fight to save 35 Cooper Square continues. As we noted the other day, both Community Board 2 and 3 will discuss stopping demolition of 35 Cooper Square and preserving other Federal houses on the Bowery. Both boards will also discuss nomination of the Bowery to the State and National Register of Historic District. (CB3 passed a resolution on it last night. BoweryBoogie has more here.)

Meanwhile, in an opinion piece published yesterday afternoon, a writer for the Local East Village (the NYU-Times collaboration) wonders why we're fighting it. He admits that he is 22 years old and a resident here for only eight months — and "more privy to this neighborhood’s prolific bar scene than its historic past."

So, from his perspective:

The days of Diane di Prima living upstairs have long since passed. Over time, 35 Cooper Square evolved, from a residential haven for poets and writers, to – like it or not – a cheap watering hole. Over time, 35 Cooper Square’s become little more than an eyesore next to its surroundings. And somewhere over that time, 35 Cooper Square lost its history.

And, moving forward:

The East Village skyline will shift, and shift again. It always has. Who’s to say this is a bad thing, or that tomorrow’s residents won’t include the next di Prima, Hendrix, or Madonna? As East Villagers, it’s our duty to remember the past. But when we reflexively cling to our past, when we use 35 Cooper Square as a scapegoat for fear and uncertainty of an unseen future, we become something altogether different.

You can read the whole post here.

Community Boards to discuss fate of 35 Cooper Square and the Bowery

Here's more information on the flyer we posted last night...

A rep from the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors sent us an update to upcoming community board meetings that now include agenda items on preserving 35 Cooper Square and the Bowery.

Community Board 3's agenda for Thursday night now includes:

Parks, Recreation, Cultural Affairs, Landmarks, & Waterfront Committee
Thursday at 6:30 pm — BRC Senior Services Center - 30 Delancey St. (between Chrystie and Forsyth Streets)

1. Review of 2010 goals and accomplishments/committee goals for 2011
2. Peter Cooper Park—potential RFPs for food carts in park
3. Request for support by BAN to stop demolition of 35 Cooper Square and for preservation of other Federal houses on Bowery

And at Community Board 2:

LANDMARKS & PUBLIC AESTHETICS 1st APRIL MEETING Sean Sweeney, Chair

March 28 at 6:30 p.m. — Church of Our Lady of Pompei, 25 Carmine St. Father Demo Hall

*Nomination of the Bowery to the State and National Register of Historic District.

[Photo courtesy of EV Grieve correspondent Bobby Williams]

Efforts continue to save 35 Cooper Square

Flyers are up outside 35 Cooper Square... Interested parties may attend the CB3 meeting Thursday evening....

March 10 at 6:30 pm — BRC Senior Services Center — 30 Delancey St. (between Chrystie and Forsyth)

Photo courtesy of EV Grieve correspondent Bobby Williams

City issues new work permit for 35 Cooper Square

Back on Feb. 15, Runnin' Scared reported that the city issued Stop-Work Orders on 35 Cooper Square... The notices cited the site's failure to "safeguard public and property affected by construction operations." They needed a fence.

So it was really just a matter of getting the correct permits... and yesterday, the DOB issued the necessary permit...

Previously on EV Grieve:
35 Cooper Square, 'this much-beloved little building,' dies at age 186

The roof at 35 Cooper Square is probably rotting now; and will work start up again today?

We've been following the drama at 35 Cooper Square, of course... There are currently Stop Work Orders on the building... And the workers have left... and no one decided to throw a tarp over the 186-year-old-roof to protect it from the winter elements...

In fact, several people have called the DOB to complain about this... Three people filed complaints about the holes in the roof/lack of a tarp this past Friday.

Not that any of this may matter: A tipster claims that demolition work will resume today; that the issue involving the original Stop Work Order has been resolved.

Spotted at 35 Cooper Square

Not sure if this was leftover from last night's vigil ... [Photo by RyanAvenueA]

'Keep 35 alive'

A few more photos from this evening's vigil at 35 Cooper Square... courtesy of Lisa R. Estimates put some 60 people in attendance, including Pete Hamill ... There were chants of "Keep 35 alive!" And some twits with yoga mats drifted by as if the group wasn't even there ...

Previously.

At the vigil for 35 Cooper Square

Photos by EV Grieve contributor Bobby Williams. More later...