Seen & Heard: Goodbye, Old Buildings

••• I got a little emotional yesterday when I saw that this block of buildings is near its end. (Rendering of the new building here.)

••• Tetsu has posted glimpses of its interior and food on Instagram, but this photo sent in by a reader is the first I’ve seen of the entire space.

••• “How do they get away with this at 11:30 at night?” asked a reader about the construction on the Trimble Place of the New York State Insurance Fund building at 199 Church. “They have the street closed off all day but choose late night to bring in a crane and move stuff. It went on until 1 a.m.” When I looked into the work going on there—Governor Cuomo is installing state trooper offices in the building (because he wants to, that’s why)—I learned that property owned by New York State is not required to file construction permit applications with the city’s Department of Buildings. So it’s not a leap to guess is the state can also can flout NYC regulations regarding such construction.

••• Speaking of 199 Church, I don’t think I knew that the marvelous thingamabob on the roof is mainly hollow.

••• This and Tom Brady? All we need now is Lance Armstrong.

••• The Cosmopolitan Hotel’s renovated entrance is coming along. Still curious to see what kind of signage the hotel goes with.

 

8 Comments

  1. That thingamabob is probably the cooling tower, and those louvers probably close. Just in case of another terror attack, the louvers can close and prevent any toxic dust etc. from entering the AC system and recirculate throughout the building. Just a guess.

  2. I still miss Saleya restaurant in the building that’s a goner

  3. How and when are they going to demolish those buildings? Do they use a wrecking ball? Hopefully not explosives!

    • They mechanically dismantle the buildings.
      Implosions and wrecking-balls are forbidden in NYC.

      • I believe the City/State still has the right to demolish with explosives… not applicable here of course as private

      • When they were putting in Water Tunnel #3 on Hudson Street, they used explosives for that. Shook all my dishes, and I was a few blocks north of the explosions.

  4. His construction after hours is driving me crazy!!! Ever since I asked about this construction back in May

  5. it’s a disgrace what they’re demolishing on West Broadway. Those buildings should have been protected, and this is a clear failure of our preservation laws.

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