A Bespoke reader sent in the above photo yesterday of the demolition crew arriving at 58 East 126th Street. Apparently the owner has failed to maintain the abandon, century-old building and the DOB has now deemed it unstable. The block located between Madison and Park has the distinction of having all of its original brownstones intact on both sided of the street but this will no longer be the case. This area unfortunately is not in a landmark neighborhood so there is not much that can be done at this point if the owner does not step in to rectify the situation.
Wow - guess the land is more valuable to the owner than the brownstone. Sad.
ReplyDeleteI'd assume the owner is an investor who has no attachment to the building, and the prior owner was a slumlord who was renting it out and not maintaining it until it became uninhabitable, then sold it and moved to Florida. This would be the typical story for a building like this, and there's not much anybody can do about that.
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding me?
ReplyDeleteOf course the FACADE can be saved. It may cost a few more dollars, but it is done all the time. DOB and the City and just taking the easy route. Have we learned nothing from past losses (Corn Exchange, and on and on..)
Stabalize the facade and BILL the owner of the property - and force a sale ....
Exactly !!
DeleteWere there squatters in the building?
ReplyDeleteCharlie Rangel show us you actually know whats going on - use your influence for something positive for once...
ReplyDeleteDo something to save the facade of the building. It is important to the block, the streetscape, and Harlem.
What about the neighbors? block association? After today, it will probably be too late.
I wish they would use eminent domain to seize these properties and then sell them at a discount to responsible owners. No one could possibly object.
ReplyDeleteIt's not that these properties cant be saved.The landowner had chosen no too.
ReplyDeleteI have three of these buildings on my block. The owners somehow think that there property is worth millions of dollars so they don't sell and they dont have the money to fix anything.
One such property had the whole cornice come crashing down. No one seems to care and yet I get 200 hundred dollar fines for people throwing garbage on "my" sidewalk.
Who ever owns this place is an idiot. Vacant lots sell for much more then a burn out brownstone.
@DW -- exactly.
ReplyDelete