From the Daily News:
The fire watchtower in the middle of Marcus Garvey Park — one of the city’s most spectacular and least-known landmarks — is deteriorating in danger of collapsing, the Daily News has learned.
Bits and pieces of the 47-foot, corroded cast-iron structure have already fallen to the ground — and a strip of sheet metal from the top of its observation deck flew off in 2012 and got stuck in the branches of a tree, residents say.
“We are seeing small pieces of it collapse and fall to the ground — right in front of our eyes,” says Angel Ayon, a local architect and preservationist who notes that urgent action to disassemble and restore the tower cannot be delayed.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uptown/time-ticks-marcus-garvey-park-watchtower-article-1.1232753#ixzz2H2NOgRjb
Parks officials say the long-term solution is to dismantle, salvage, restore and reassemble the tower, a $4.5 million project for which no funds are budgeted.
Until cash for the major reconstruction is available, the city plans a $325,000 stabilization of the highest, most vulnerable level of the tower, an emergency stop-gap approach that will be put out to bid later this year.
7 comments:
I am speaking as a person who has bid for and performed numerous exterior restoration projects on NYC Co-op & Condo pre war buildings. Jobs that are for the record, non-union and competitive price wise when you consider the number of bidders. And for the life of me, I can't get over the $$ needed for the most simplest of NYC gov't agency jobs. $300K to stabilize. $ 4.5 million to renovate.
It's a 3 story steel tower for chrissakes!! Not the Eiffel Tower!
Cart it off to Green-Wood cemetery.
Union always if you want quality work.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uptown/heights-criminal-activitiy-marcus-garvey-park-article-1.1186119
Is it any wonder this landmark has fallen into disrepair? Any contractors taking the bid would need to factor in round-the-clock security for the workers.
Anonymous 1 -
I think you're forgetting the prevailing wage schedule that's required for these contracts. Gets mighty expensive!
Is this merely a "historic" structure, or a legitimate municipal landmark?
Even if they are a cap "L" landmark, the LPC would let it rot. Their attitude would be that it's a low priority.
What about Philip Johnson's New York State Pavilion towers in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens?
It looks like they're suffering the same sad fate!
"New York State Pavilion"
One could only wish to see it restored. The property and structure is all racketeered up with dirty politics
-- I spoke to one of the head engineers doing the theater renovation and extension some years ago.
The price tag then was 80 million dollars with the elevators. He offered to paint it and spiff up some lights but Helen Marshall told him "DON'T LAY A FINGER ON IT.
He then turned to me in disgust asked me the following:
"Do you have $80 million dollars to go up there and look at Queens today" "Do you want be told how to run it and who to hire after spending all the money" "Donald Trump even said f*ck that BS"
"It cost you $80,000 a week in local union people you don't need yet MUST put on salary to get a lease"
The city want the structure to fail or put the Grand Central parkway in danger so Albany money pays for emergency demo that will cost almost (if more)then to restore it"
The same principal apples to that fire tower.
Having structures in Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn go into emergency status gets NYC free STATE $$ money to divert to Manhattan. Don't forget the famous "study" kickback and scams etc.
--To many crooks !!
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