Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Cold War-inspired architecture


Here's a great Queenscape photo for you. 69-08 and 69-10 37th Road in Woodside. A total of 8 dwelling units. There used to be a 2-story business here.
The exposed meters lend an artistic touch to the place.
And around the corner...
it feels like the Cold War all over again!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

As cramped as some of the old law NYC tenements and flats were, at least they exhibited brilliant craftsmanship on their facades. What do these initiate? Pure greed!

Anonymous said...

And Manhattan-centric critics call that Verizon tower the "ugliest in the city."

www.forgotten-ny.com

Anonymous said...

Human barracks in plain sight with the politicans, community boards, newspapers, and preservation community all with their heads up their asses.

Bastards.

Anonymous said...

Some of my pet peeves:

DOB needs to prohibit Fedders, period - they're not only ugly, they are are magnets for mold and drafts.

I think they also need to increase the minimum window size, and decrease the minimum distance windows are from the floor. They probably use standard fire prevention code minimums, but in such a dense city, the standards should be higher.

Ideally, they'd be required to install ceiling fans and provide for cross ventilation.

They also need to prevent developers from slapping electric meters and other infrastructure from front facades. They do this so utility workers can easily get to them - there's no reason they can't be at least somewhat concealed with by a cove, cover, etc.

And there should be design standards for balconies - most of them are placed in illogical places (such as along an elevated train) or are too small to be usable. They just end up being storage spaces.

Oh, I could go on and on.

IMBY said...

The meters on the left could be your new animated mascot Queens...

Anonymous said...

anyone else see the symbolism in the elements of this building? notice the Chinese 'red dragon" symbol at the top of the facade? The "horns" formed by the top of the center roof gutter rain collectors?

Queens, nay, New york is fucked....
my NRA membership is my only solace...

Anonymous said...

The photo with the electric meters looks like an Otis elevator control room.
DOB is out of its mind, They dont need to put all that outside the building.

They can use a small box a data port. This is 2008 isnt iy ?

Anonymous said...

Well, let us not forget that Queens Civic Congress spends too much time worrying about gardens and the like.

Maybe they should get out of eastern Queens and get more involved in the poblems facing the rest of the boro, and address the issues displayed on this thread.

Anonymous said...

"Maybe they should get out of eastern Queens and get more involved in the poblems facing the rest of the boro, and address the issues displayed on this thread."


What exactly has the QCC done for eastern Queens?