Thursday, February 7, 2008

Avenue of Crapitecture

Eighth Avenue is no longer Manhattan’s answer to the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. But now that almost all of its peep shows and pornographic video stores have been eradicated, the open question is, what will this once-seedy part of Midtown become in its next life?

A Tonier Image Is Sought for Eighth Avenue in Midtown

Officials of the Times Square Alliance have begun a campaign to attract distinctive stores and restaurants that they hope will create an atmosphere on the stretch of Eighth between 40th and 53rd Streets that fits comfortably between tourist-thronged Times Square and the gentrifying Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood to the west.

New street-level retail spaces are expanding as new glass high-rises, like the Hearst Tower, The New York Times Building and 11 Times Square, which is under construction at 42nd Street, redefine Eighth Avenue. The new towers have inspired the alliance to coin an immodest nickname: the Avenue of Architecture.


Avenue of Architecture, eh? If the out-of-scale sliver of a building at 785 Eighth Avenue is any indication, it will look more like the "Avenue of Crapitecture". Only 45 complaints to date!

We'll be spending some time in the City over the next few days.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jenga, anyone?

Anonymous said...

WOW, this thing is so thin. I sincerely hope that it is structurally sound. I would have never thought this height was possible without a more robust base.
Reminds me of the building in Astoria.

Anonymous said...

Are you kidding me?

Anonymous said...

C'mon, what are you guys complaining about? You know you rarely leave Queens and never venture into Manhattan.

Anonymous said...

Does this building have a garage that stretches an equal number of floors underground?

Anonymous said...

A sliver building? Approvals by DOB. Great zoning plan for 8th Ave much foresight went into allowing this sliver crap.

Anonymous said...

Somebody please grab a jar of Vaseline
and butter up Bloomberg's bottom.

Set him up on top
and "make book" on how long it takes
for him to reach rock bottom!

Is this to become a portend of NYC 2030 ?

Anonymous said...

I almost think we should keep the curent landmarks law to stop nightmares like this from springing up in the Village.

Almost.

Anonymous said...

You just have a bad feeling about a building like this.

You tempt fate when you do stuff lke this - in an emergency it will be impossible to evacuate, and to some yo yo in an airplane (or more likely with a drone) and you will have a tragic tragic event.

Anonymous said...

Everytime I think Queens is the pits, I see something in Manhattan that makes my jaw drop.

What they refine by experimenting on us out here (while the smirking Manhattanites ignore our crys for help), they show up at Manhattan's front door a few years later.

We need a grassroots city-wide preservation movement. Not calling a meeting to figure out how to cope with 2030, but how to fight it.

Anonymous said...

Call the guys over at Queensbridge.

This is what Suna wants to do with his 'jobs creation public access project' on the East River (where a public park would be if this was Manhattan)

Hell, he wants to be in 5 towers like this for that monster Silvercup thing of his permanently keeping Queensbridge in shadow and noise.

Queens Crapper said...

I have a whole week's worth of Manhattan crap, including one right in the middle of St. Mark's Place. Yes, folks, the crap has arrived at your doorstep!

Anonymous said...

Oh, now that you've brought up "The Village",
let them take their bitter dose of medicine.

These privileged "haves" always want more
at the expense of everyone else.

While we less privileged "have-nots"
seem to always get less and less!

I hope that St. Vincents puts up a structure
that casts a dark shadow
across half of "The Village's" townhouses.

It's ONLY when they find out that they're
in the same boat as Queens
that they'll be sympathetic to our plight
and DEMAND that the landmarks law
be EQUALLY APPLIED and ENFORCED
in the other 4 boroughs of Greater New York!

Anonymous said...

Careful careful fellow 'anon.'

The preservation police are monitoring this board.

We cannot comment on the holy quads: BH, ES, WS, GV.

On second thought, go ahead. This is soooo much fun!!

Considering that working class people and people of color are taking their hard earned money and paying taxes to subsidize their officially protected lifestyle, its ok.

Anonymous said...

looking forward to seeing the St Marks pics, after being kicked out of a cafe on the street years ago for trying to pick up a chick at a table by me.

Anonymous said...

What they refine by experimenting on us out here (while the smirking Manhattanites ignore our crys for help), they show up at Manhattan's front door a few years later.

This poster rings a loud warning bell for all Manhattan residents to hear - a wake up call. Will Manhattan look like Queens in the next few years - crapification?

Anonymous said...

A spot review of 10 complaints shows all were unfounded. Just cause there is a group of crazy people who want the city to look the same in 2030 as it did in 1930 doesn't mean construction laws are being broken.

Anonymous said...

"A spot review of 10 complaints shows all were unfounded."

Yes, we all know that DOB always issues violations when there are problems at a site and they always show up in a timely manner to do so. Get your head out of your ass.