Going deeper and deeper at the big Second Avenue sandbox

Every so often we like to jump the fence here at the former 9-17 Second Avenue... to check in on the progress of the hole... (Has it really been one month since our last look?)

[Monday]

[Saturday]

[Saturday]

Making its way below street level... as you were.

Also, we heard this story that, when people were cleaning up the Mars Bar, someone found a series of old tunnels below the bar that dated to the Civil War... We asked a few people who may know these kinds of things, and they chalk this one up to an urban legend.

Previously.

Here's the hole in the ground where 9-17 Second Ave. was

...and on the plywood outside the construction site ...

Previously.

Wood from the Mars Bar lives on — in a furniture design competition

[Photo by Goggla]

After reading one of our 3,897 Mars Bar-related posts the other day... a reader noted that some of the bar's wood will be used in a design competition titled 12 x 12, in which 12 designers create pieces of furniture out of reclaimed wood from different sites around New York.

Per the 12 x 12 website:

12 x 12 supplies twelve contemporary furniture designers with the reclaimed wood of 12 demolished New York City buildings. The exhibit, planned for the Spring 2012 Design Week, celebrates some of the city's best furniture design, supports wood shop job training in under served communities and advocates for increased lumber reclamation at demolition sites in New York City. Through the exhibition, the material culture of a lost building is renewed by contemporary design that sustains the historical culture of a specific site.

The site gives a rundown on all 12 properties where the wood originated, ranging from a horse stable on East 75th Street that belonged to Joseph Pulitzer to the Coney Island Boardwalk to Atlas Meats in the Meatpacking District. (Find that direct link here.)

From the Mars Bar, the site notes that someone rescued the following: "Antique Eastern Spruce and Vintage Yellow Pine flooring."

Ah, yes. Vintage.

[Photo by Slum Goddess]

There's now a pile driver where the Mars Bar was

Friday afternoon. Photos by Bobby Williams.

A farewell to Mars

Earlier today, we looked back at the Second Avenue of 1997, a photo journey that began with the Mars Bar.

Workers have demolished most of the block that included the Mars Bar. The last brick from 9 Second Ave. is likely being carted away right now. So it seems like a fitting time for a tribute. Goggla paid her final respects at the Gog Log yesterday.

She has stayed in touch with many of the former patrons, "but there has been nothing to replace that tiny, grungy room that brought everyone together and embodied such fun and chaos."

[Photo by Goggla]

She has hundreds of Mars Bar photos at Flickr documenting the bar right up until the very end.

[Photo by Goggla]

The last remnant of the Mars Bar on East First Street

The sidewalk art of Mars Bar owner Hank Penza is fading away from the wear and tear of the demolition of 11-17 Second Ave. ...

As seen last July ...

[Photo by Goggla]

Where 11-17 Second Avenue used to be

We'll see this through to the end... no matter how depressing...

The take down of 9 (71/2) Second Ave. is happening now...

Read Jeremiah's history of 9 (71/2) Second Ave. here.

Photos yesterday by Bobby Williams.

And that's it for what used to be the Mars Bar

A look inside the demo site at 11-17 Second Ave. yesterday morning showed that just a crumbling section of the Mars Bar's north wall remained... workers were busy bringing down that portion ... By now, we're assuming that it is all gone...

And here are a few shots from Bobby Williams taken yesterday... 9 (71/2) Second Ave. is next for extinction...

Read Jeremiah's history of 9 (71/2) Second Ave. here.

All that's left of 11-17 Second Ave.

Saturday outside 11-17 Second Ave. Bobby Williams notes that only part of the western wall of the building is left standing...

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 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.

Do you want to see photos of the Mars Bar being demolished?

After our post Monday showing the workers putting up scaffolding over a three-day period outside the Mars Bar ... a reader sent along an email, basically asking if we could cool it on the demo shots. The reader compared it to seeing photos of a loved at the end of a life, and that the photos on various blogs and news site had become a macabre sporting event.

Hmm. We explained that we weren't doing this with any woo-woo. Just a matter of following the story.

Let us know if you have an opinion on the matter.

Because the netting is in place. The chutes are ready. There are porta poopers. There's even a construction shed now on East First Street. As these photos from Bobby Williams yesterday show...

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.

[EVG Flashback] Mars Bar regulars get in the way of a Drew Barrymore photo shoot

Originally posted on Oct. 19, 2009...

Over the weekend, we had a very important post about some guy from "Gossip Girl" going to the Mars Bar for one of those "A Night Out With" features in the Times.

And the conversation turned to Drew Barrymore's recent photo shoot at Mars Bar for the new issue of Nylon. So here are the shots from that Mars Bar photo shoot in the magazine. (Dunno why the guy in the newsstand got so annoyed when I did this!)





Um, you can't even tell it's the Mars Bar. As EV Grieve reader ak commented, "still trying to decide if i believe that the background was photoshopped out of the others." And Goggla said: "I was there for the Barrymore shoot and the weird thing is they used white backdrops for the photos. If they wanted to block out all the graffiti, why go in there in the first place? (they also made sure to block out all the regulars)" And Jeremiah found some outtakes from the shoot here:







Since Goggla was there, I asked her more about the shoot...:

There were about 14 regulars in there and they just had the ones sitting at the end of the bar move out of the way. They shot back by the bathrooms and up front by the windows, but put backdrops up in both places. They didn't even hang around to drink, so I really don't know why they bothered.