Demolition permits have been filed for a five-story, 41,358-square-foot structure at 70 Mulberry Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown. According to the filing, the site is owned by the City’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services. 70 Mulberry Street made headlines in January when the historic building was destroyed in a five-alarm fire.
The city determined that the damage was irreparable and plans to demolish what is left standing of the structure and rebuild. On Tuesday, June 25, from 6:30-8pm, the City of New York will co-host a Zoom town hall discussion, alongside Community Board 3 and local elected officials, about the future of 70 Mulberry Street.
Built in 1900, the building once housed PS 23, the first large-scale public school in the city, but more recently was home to several non-profits displaced including Chinatown Manpower, a senior center run by the Chinese-American Planning Council, the United East Athletics Association, and H.T. Chen & Dancers company. It was also home to the archives for the Museum of Chinese in America.
Located at the intersection of Bayard Street and Mulberry Street, the corner lot is within walking distance of the J and Z trains at Canal Street subway station, and the B and D trains at Grand Street station.
H&O Engineering is listed as the applicant of record.
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I won’t tell anybody, I can’t read Chinese: Hello New York YIMBY.
After the fire, DeBlasio vowed that PS 23 would be restored and rebuilt. Another lie and empty promise from our thoroughly ineffectual and worthless mayor.
The façade of this structure needs to be preserved and it is something that is totally achievable. Just look at the at the old sugar house @ domino park. An eleven story building stripped and gutted down to only a brick façade will be reconfigured and transformed into a modern office bldg. within the brick frame of the old structure. Absolutely no reason it can’t be done in this instance.
City is pulling another fast one on the community for profit. Shades of Rivington House – a community facility stolen from the public and sold to private developers for millions. Or like the SPURA site that sat vacant for decades. Chinatown is doomed. Developers and profiteers has it in their crosshairs and the City is willing to sell it out.
Of course the building could be saved: only some of the upper part was gutted by fire. It’s a gorgeous old building, but owners and developers salivate over the prospect of brand new construction.
Who was responsible for the fire?