DEMOLITION: 303 WEST 137TH STREET

A Bespoke reader sent in the above photos of 303 West 137th Street by the Strivers Row neighborhood which appears to be a demolition of the existing townhouses.  Most developers have realized the value of preserving facades and adding on top of existing brownstones to keep the integrity of the block but some apparently are still behind.  Harlem has its fair share of bland buildings that rose up in the mid century but fortunately a large portion of the brownstone blocks still remain.

This is pretty much why many are taking the extra efforts to keep the neighborhood attractive in the decades to come but those with more basic sensibilities might think otherwise.  West 126th Street is a prime example from last year where increasing the size of existing homes by top floor additions have made sense in so many ways: LINK