Well, the saga is almost over. NYC and Queens government officials are about to let slip into private hands, the greatest historical relic of the 1800's in Queens. And what could have been - and could still be - one of the greatest historic sites / historic tourist attractions of Queens.
It's not that Queens and NYC government officials haven't had a chance to save it. The historic mansion, which was landmarked for its historic signficance decades ago [landmarking prevents changes to outside of the structure], came on the market in August of 2010. The asking prices has been between $2 and $4 million, which given that far smaller homes with no significance are already selling for over $1 million in the Astoria neighborhood, it seemed like a reasonable asking price.
But no ... or rather nobody stepped up to lead the city in the direction of preserving this historic relic / legacy.
Government officials in the prior administrations could easily find tens and hundreds of millions of dollars for development projects, but they couldn't seem to find a penny to preserve a jewel of our historic past.
11 comments:
What say you Vallones?
Terrible news !
Wait until the Chinese developers get a hold of it! More nice landmarks turned into crap or not preserved propertly! Let's see if one of Huangs family members or friends follow in his footsteps....
IF this place survives, it would be DESPITE the Vallones.
They wanted it a catering hall on city parkland.
That would make an empty lot ready for development fast.
sheeesh.
Constantinides! Get your ass in gear!
Vallones all suck.. they need to be more educated in history and architecture. I hope the owner decides to do the right thing and cherishes and appreciated this magnificent piece of architecture and the gorgeous details inside. Too bad good taste and quality hasn't been trending in NYC lately.
If it gets destroyed blame the Vallones AND their hangers on in the community - they had many opportunities to save this place.
Time for a major overhaul.
Pandering at it's best
That's how Queens got to where it is.
Asians? Hassidics? Whose going to take over?
“The Steinway Mansion is an integral part of Astoria’s rich cultural history,” said State Sen. Michael Gianaris. “I join my neighbors in hoping that whoever made this purchase will keep the Steinway Mansion’s importance to the community in mind going forward and find a way to allow public access to this neighborhood landmark.” - See more at: http://astoriapost.com/#sthash.RPGsly3K.dpuf
IF YOU HAVE TIME TO HELP DEVELOPERS WITH STOP SIGNS WHERE IN THE HELL WERE YOU FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS? IF THE STEINWAY MANSION GETS MUTILATED OR TURNS INTO SOMETHING STUPID YOU CAN BLAME THE POLITICIANS. THIS IS QUEENS, AND UNLESS THE POLS ARE FOR IT YOU ARE PISSING INTO THE WIND.
AND THE POLS WHOSE DISTRICT THIS BUILDING SITS DID JACK SHIT.
Wondering if this entire exercise is a canard to get the politicians off their asses.
The place was under contract once before to a restaurateur who could not find finding.
Funny how its leaked in something like Queensbuzz which takes lots of advertising from the broker.
Was the entire parks scheme simply to help St Michaels, a client of Vallone's daddy, expand? You decide dear reader.
Cry no tears for the family spending a fortune in taxes and maintenance in the past 3 years.
That the Halberians starting with Micheal put their trust in the Vallones did nothing for them. The spurned the entreaties by everyone else - other brokers, community groups etc.
If they hadn't the property would have been unloaded a year or two ago and well on its way to being made open to the community.
A treasure and point of pride is now another Queens farce with something unnecessary , stupid, and tragic a real possibility.
The dog?
The politicians, yes, but the local community that is stupid enough to elect and support them as well as passively keeping their mouth shut as this farce unwound around them should also be slapped as a big part of the blame.
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