Construction is complete on 419 East 91st Street, an eight-story homeless shelter on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Designed by J Frankl Architects and developed by Kasra Sanandaji of Apex Investments, the structure spans roughly 16,000 square feet and yields 92 short-term beds for adult men and women. The property is located between First and York Avenues.
The structure features a straightforward massing with setbacks on the seventh and eighth floors. The exterior is composed of a gray cementitious façade and a grid of rectangular windows surrounded by etched geometric patterns that give the illusion of depth. The first story is clad in black metal paneling, and the seventh-floor setback is lined with a tall fence. The structure culminates in a mechanical bulkhead positioned against the blank western party wall.
419 East 91st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
419 East 91st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
419 East 91st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
419 East 91st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
419 East 91st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
The site was formerly occupied by a derelict three-story brick building, as seen in the following Google Street View image from before its demolition. Apex Investments purchased the property from Bayrock Capital for $14.9 million.
419 East 91st Street. Image via Google Maps.
The project originated in 2021 as Safe Haven, with plans to offer full medical and psychiatric services, case management, and more under the management of nonprofit Goddard Riverside. The development was targeting a 2022 opening date but was derailed by opposition from the local community and restauranteur Eli Zabar, who owns some of the adjacent properties.
The facility will have up to eight beds per level, and short-term stays are expected to last no more than 30 days. Amenities include a children’s gymnastics studio, an adjacent toddler play zone, a 1,000-square-foot roof deck, a bike storage room, and 24/7 security.
In addition to 419 East 91st Street, Kasra Sanandaji also purchased a former school building at 160 West 74th Street on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with the intent to convert it into an additional homeless shelter.
The nearest subway from the development is the Q train at the 96th Street station to the north along Second Avenue.
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Gorgeous
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J Frankl is clearly taking a page from Gene Kaufman here. All his buildings look like homeless shelters.
Replaced by ugly.
Needed..good.
PTAC 😡
This is certainly a needed facility. I can think of more attractive treatments for a flat surface.
seriously? did the developer try to give some sort of visual illusions around the windows? that looks so gimmicky
Or worse than gimmicky. Gimmicky can still be high quality and aesthetically appealing.
This looks like hot garbage and the whole building barely qualifies as architecture.
It surprises me how many 2 story buildings remain in Manhattan. They were worth lots of money 40 years ago!
A homeless shelter across from a girls school-what could go wrong? Also wondering why the Landmarks Commission approved the destruction of the red brick building.