Friday, November 2, 2007

The demolition of the LIC Savings Bank

I must apologize to the readers and the person who sent this in on October 15th for forgetting until now to post this.
I took these pics this morning of the building being demolished at Queensboro Plaza, where many older structures are being renovated or else swept away entirely, all in the name of luxury apartments, of course. Everything for the rich, who have reinvented NYC in their own bland image.
The building being torn down at QBP looked like a bank with big Doric columns out front and I have been seeing it for years from the N train. Most of this time it has been closed but recently it looked like a night club was operating there. At any rate the impressive facade is lost. A faint painted advertisement or sign has reappeared on the neighboring building.
Queensboro Plaza is now a hotbed of luxury development. The whole place is just going to be an extension of Yupperton.

:(

- Native New Yorker

Here's a story about murals that were stolen from the bank in 2000.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

says in the article that the artist Aderente also did a mural for the Flushing Post Office. Wonder if that one is still on display? His LIC Savings Bank mural is...was awesome.

Anonymous said...

It's sad to see LIC Bank building go, I especially liked it's clock as millions of folks passed it on the 7 line.

Now that the building is down, there would be nothing better to see idiots buy million $$ condo here. The ambiance of listening to the #7 scheeching noise and hobnobbing with newly freed Rikers inmates on the streets at night make this area a real treat. This area is chock a block full of Times Square delights, the streets are well patroled by the Crips and Bloods insuring everything remains protected. No where else duplicates the air quality save for the Holland tunnel area downtown. This is a unique opportunity to live in an ultra-sensory environment at half the price! Closet spaces start at 1M and up.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry, this will be another immigrant dorm or SRO or a homeless shelter in a few years.

Only a few minutes from mid-town!

Great place for the Manhattan's troll-like work force to lay their head for a few hours before another 16 kitchen tour of duty.

Anonymous said...

Queens does not need murals telling them of their history, or a grand space that tells of a bright future. If the politicians tell them they don't need it, then.... they don't need it.

Look how the other LISB building on 30th Ave was mutiliated by a local with 'good connections.'

After all, this is CB1, the community board from hell.

Unknown said...

No, it was not a night club, it was a strip club where prostitutes, drug dealers and organized crime made their money.
Yuppies are a huge improvement.

Anonymous said...

We have a major work by Adarente in our city. I can across this reference while doing research on this project.

Adarente is considered one of the finest masters of the mural medium in the country - with major works at the Denver mint and the Chicago Museum, in addition to other works like ours in Salt Lake City where we got a grant to restore his works.

I do not understand why Queens has little or no respect for its heritage. He was a native son. You even tore down his house in Bayside.

What sort of mentality would do this to itself? Considering the reputation that New York has in the art world, it is inexcusable, with organizations like the New York Munipical Art Society and the like, that no one seems to either care, or make any effort to recover what should be in the public domain.

No excuse.

georgetheatheist said...

"I do not understand whyn Queens has little respect for its heritage."

That's because the powers-that-be (the pols, the CB members, the community pross, er, press, ad nauseam) are basically indifferent assholes, idiots, and morons. Queens is a cesspool of intellectual mediocrity.

verdi said...

"Ken".....
the Flushing Post Office mural
is still intact.

Anonymous said...

that's cool. Will have to go check it out. :)

Anonymous said...

The condos on Queens Plaza do not have Queens in mind. Consider the View59 condos- Nobody in Queens refers to the bridge by its street number, only Manhattanites do.

Anonymous said...

I have lived in Queens my whole life, I sometimes refer to the bridge by its street number, that's just the way I roll.

Anonymous said...

In 1959 I registered for the military
as our local draft board was in the
Long Island City bank building.
Many teenagers who were killed in
WW2 and the Korean conflict were
on the way to there demise after
being drafted there.
So the LIC bank building had sme tears in there!.

Anonymous said...

these luxury high rises have us all ROTFL.
all this construction,renovating,conversions and how many NOW remain basically empty ?
how will they unload these apartments / condos ?
section 8 comes immediately to mind.
lmao !
but hey,they're here. joggers sighted at queens plaza and there's a bicycle shop ! wow.