Not much happened in the graffiti-covered lot at Greenpoint Avenue and West Street until this summer, when steel began to rise for a new apartment building. Now the structure at 50 Greenpoint Avenue has reached five stories, and YIMBY has photos, thanks to reader Tectonic.
Last week, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held the fourth and final public hearing to deal with the 95 properties that have been under consideration for designation prior to 2010. Among the items discussed on Thursday were three houses, geographically spread from Kips Bay to Murray Hill to the Upper East Side. If designated as landmarks, they’ll certainly be referred to by many as historic houses. If not, their very existence will be put into doubt.
In the summer of 2014, YIMBY revealed renderings of Ian Schrager’s planned residential building at 160 Leroy Street (a.k.a. 357 West Street), in the West Village, and now The New York Times has an update on the project. The Herzog & de Meuron-designed structure will actually stand 15 stories and accommodate 49 condominium units, which will range from 1,100 to 6,000 square feet. A 12,000 square-foot penthouse will top the building. Madison Cox Associates is also designing a 9,750 square-foot courtyard and Christian Liaigre is designing the interiors. The assemblage’s existing buildings are now being razed, and completion is expected by the end of 2016.
The single-purpose commercial district is a staple of the city’s urban patchwork, whether it is the Diamond District at 47th Street and Fifth Avenue in Midtown, the Lighting District along the Bowery, or the former Radio Row in Lower Manhattan. Among these spaces, the Flower District in Midtown South is among the most unique. The concrete jungle meets the green jungle on sidewalks lined with rows of flowers and shrubbery. Yet while the District has been around for over a century, ongoing transformations are shaking its identity to the core.
Developers have been busy in Astoria recently, and last Friday, applications were filed for two five-story residential buildings near the 30th Avenue N/Q stop.
