Demolition seems to really be in progress at Manhattanville these days seeing that workers have been making good time with the removal of the Shell Station at the corner of Broadway and 129th Street. The site finally got some major work started a couple of weeks ago when the single level building on the lot was leveled and now the remaining gas pump stations and logo awnings have been deconstructed. New scaffolding was also erected last week on the side of the Sheffield Dairy stable which will reportedly have its historic front facade dismantled to be relocated on a new building elsewhere. We have not seen much action on the facade side of this building so it will be interesting to see if the preservation effort will come to fruition as promised. The closest train to this section of town is the 1 at 125th Street. Photos by Ulysses
Demolition seems to really be in progress at Manhattanville these days seeing that workers have been making good time with the removal of the Shell Station at the corner of Broadway and 129th Street. The site finally got some major work started a couple of weeks ago when the single level building on the lot was leveled and now the remaining gas pump stations and logo awnings have been deconstructed. New scaffolding was also erected last week on the side of the Sheffield Dairy stable which will reportedly have its historic front facade dismantled to be relocated on a new building elsewhere. We have not seen much action on the facade side of this building so it will be interesting to see if the preservation effort will come to fruition as promised. The closest train to this section of town is the 1 at 125th Street. Photos by Ulysses
The is great news. The community will benefit greatly from new programs, greener buildings, and more businesses due to this expansion. This project can't get finished fast enough.
ReplyDeleteCU seems to be moving along nicely without the properties that they could not take over. Let's hope they play nice and work around existing businesses that want to stay.
ReplyDeleteThey are "moving along nicely" on the properties they do own, however building the full campus is still contingent on the underground "bathtub" which would house science support facilities, etc.
ReplyDeletelooks like the campus PR people are out in full force this morning.
ReplyDeleteI sure am a "campus PR" person if that means that I think that building the campus as proposed is a good thing for the neighborhood and community. Far more public good comes from building the campus as proposed than housing a storage facility and gas station.
ReplyDeleteSoon Columbia University will acquire the last hold outs via eminent domain.
ReplyDeleteSoon Columbia University will acquire the last hold-out properties vai eminent domain.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope so. Can't the public weigh in on this and vote to get rid of storage and gas station in exchange for after school program, scholarships, jobs, and nicer businesses?
ReplyDeleteThere's petition to prevent building the bathtub. Most of CB9 is against it.
ReplyDeleteMost of CB9 is against everything that doesn't maintain the status quo. Being against the bathtub is just another way to fight the Columbia development in general. Research labs such as those proposed by Columbia already exist all around the city and if anything the bathtub would limit the amount of environmental pollution from idling delivery trucks, etc.
ReplyDeleteI live and work RIGHT THERE! And I agree with the other Anon, the proposed development is preferable to what's there now, which is lots of idling cabs, street dealing, and the occasional stabbing on the deserted streets at night. To position this as "the community" vs. "big bad Columbia" is silly. I certainly agree that the community and the city in general should benefit from this development, not just Columbia. And there's no doubt that there's still debate that should happen about the details of the plans. But I don't know anyone who actually lives in this immediate area who doesn't think this plan would change things for the better.
ReplyDeleteYes, I live right there too and disagree with you pro-eminent domain view as wells as the rest of the community.
ReplyDeleteSo you're saying that you prefer the current scene -- or even the scene as it was a year or so ago before Columbia began: vacant buildings, dead, poorly lit streets at night, trash, illegally parked cabs, random violence (check the 26th precinct police reports!), no street commerce. Strange. I don't see where what I wrote is "pro-eminent" domain. I'm pro-making this a nicer, more productive neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteEveryone knows Columbia caused the blight. That is one of the point in the case that killed it for Columbia. They bought out the property, would not rent it out, let it rot and claim that it was blighted. There are thriving businesses there if you haven't noticed Fairway and Dino.
ReplyDeleteHow long have you been watching? When was this neighborhood non-blighted? I've been here for over a decade, and it's gotten slightly better than it was, not worse.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, there are some restaurants and Fairway on 12th Ave -- none of which are within the proposed Columbia campus area, btw. I remember when the buildings those restaurants are in were full of trash and the many small fires that resulted. But are you really claiming that 12th ave is now a nice place to be/live?
I don't know what you mean by "would not rent it out." Many of the properties were rented out, both before and after Columbia bought them. Now that the construction is proceeding, most of the leases have not been renewed. I know it's easy to see some sort of evil in that, but how would you have them proceed? It's not as if this area was great and then Columbia swooped in and made it terrible. It's been a blighted area for a long time.
I'm not in favor of eminent domain, btw. But I'm tired of people making grand claims about how Columbia is doing this terrible, evil thing to "the community." It's easy to make broad, claims like "everyone knows Columbia caused the blight." I think you need to rethink your understanding of the word "everyone."
Really, forget about Columbia for a minute. You think it'd be better to just leave this area as it is? Or you think that somehow "the community" would get together and make something wonderful out of those blocks?
The point is that the guys that won the lawsuit should keep their properties. Fair and square. Lee Bollinger was quoted as saying that this project will move forward regardless.
ReplyDeleteA legal matter is not fully decided until the last appeal is heard or thrown out. Why is it "fair and square" that Columbia should accept this specific ruling and not challenge the decision? Why was it ok for the property owners to challenge the previous decision? Just because you are satisfied with this particular outcome doesn't mean that all is resolved and that it is "fair and square"
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Lee Bollinger said that one specific building which will be located where the current demolition is happening would happen regardless of the outcome of the legal case, not that the entire campus would move forward regardless. Big difference there.
I wish there were a way to tell who's who here (other than the obvious -- we come out of anonymity!)
ReplyDeleteThe point for me is that there are good, important, potentially really productive discussions to be had about this development. It's a chance to transform an area that is in need of transformation. It's not going to happen by itself, as evidenced by the fact that it did not happen by itself for many years. I'd rather Columbia be the main sponsor of that transformation than say, Trump.
But so much noise has been made about "Columbia is bad, Columbia is evil, they will ruin everything, boo Columbia" that the interesting discussions get drowned out. Of course Columbia's plan's not going to be 100% prefect, and of course we, the community, need to be able to be a part of the discussion. But just screaming "NO!" as loudly as you can is childish and wastes an opportunity to be involved in something that will have a long-lasting impact on the area. It's a lot easier to scream "NO!" than it is to actually try to solve problems and find compromises.
The long responses do sound like Pr or lawyers.
ReplyDeleteWell, I've written a couple long responses and I'm neither a lawyer or a PR person. Could it be that this is a complex issue and that complex issues often require more than simple answers? How about addressing some of the points you disagree with, rather than just dismissing them?
ReplyDeleteThankfully I'm neither a PR person or a lawyer; I live in the neighborhood and am very much in favor of Columbia developing the property.
ReplyDeleteAnyone can go to the cb9 community board meeting and see what people really think.
ReplyDeleteCommunity board meetings are hardly representative of anything except the opinions of the most vocal attendees who typically shout down or ostracize those who do not possess the "correct" viewpoints. Vocal attendees typically have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo and view opinions in support of the Columbia development as pro-gentrification and pro eminent domain and will shun those who express those views. Therefore, the average person who supports the development is unlikely to stand up and express that support and face the condemnation. One cannot determine true majority opinion based on how vocal some are at a CB meeting.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, I'm not a PR person or lawyer. I highly doubt that they would waste their (expensive) time commenting on blogs.
ANONHARLEM - That is how I am identifying myself. It is ridiculous to say that Columbia ignored the area. Columbia brought in Dino BBQ in one of their buildings! They are the landlord and a few years ago completely renovated that building to house dino bbq. Columbia should not be blamed for blight.
ReplyDeleteI do not understand the community's opposition to this. You people are crazy. Do you not respect higher education? How about jobs? How about programs for your children that would otherwise sit on a street corner and get recruited by a gang.
Seriously - think about it. You would want a runned down gas station here than money for after school programs. After school programs from an IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL!
Get real and stop fighting this amazing expansion.
(I am not PR or legal for Columbia) I am a resident perplexed by the opinions of the community here.
if you are going to just repeat the same thing over and over again then let's just leave it at that. Still think your message is a big PR ploy. community board meetings are usually very divided in opinions with many vocal factions involved. Opposition to the Columbia using eminent domain is one of the only things the CB9 board is unified against. This is about eminent domain. period. Columbia owns most of the space and they can building all the amazing things they want to on it. They just can not take away property from owners and force them to sell. period.
ReplyDeleteFolks, can’t you take the time to decide on a screen name? All this Anonymous stuff is just lame. Y’all sound like intelligent people with informed views. Own them!
ReplyDeleteColumbia is not "taking away property." The *state* is enacting eminent domain (or rather will) for two holdout property owners (who will be compensated), as a result of an agency ruling that the action is in the public interest.
ReplyDeleteThe public interest seems obvious enough to me. And people seem to be ignoring the fact that eminent domain is nothing new.
Quibble all you want over the technicalities of this particular case (as their teams of lawyers clearly are), but the principle is sound enough. I'm really not sure why the CB9 people are so worked up over eminent domain per se -- perhaps they think they'll get cut out of similar processes in the future.
Nothing has gone on thus far to change the court's verdict. So far, Columbia is at fault for causing the blight based on the current ruling. CB9 and the court wins this round.
ReplyDelete