Paperwork dated March 28, 2014 says another proposed detail is a perimeter wall of 34 feet in height.
There are also DOB applications, most filed on July 30 of last year, to demolish existing structures on 11 sites in the mansion’s vicinity and construct two-story buildings; most have a representative from Caliendo Architects and either Loria or Lucchese listed. In some cases, such as at 18-30 42 St., 18-36 42 St. and 18-27 41 St., the same Steinway Mansion owners are not listed, but someone appearing to be of the Loria or Lucchese family is.
The owners listed for the proposed new buildings record the same address as that listed on the paperwork for the Steinway Mansion, while the business names are not identical.
The Friends of Steinway Mansion, which advocates for placing the building at the heart of a potential cultural district, speculated on its Facebook page that the warehouses could be rented.
Lucille Hartmann, district manager of Community Board 1, said that they have been receiving calls from residents asking, “What’s going on?” but stressed that the board knows nothing. She noted that as the mansion, while beloved, is a private property, owners are under no obligation to share with the public.
30 comments:
"...perimeter wall of 34 feet in height."
Fortress Steinway?
Nothing the city can do? Ask the guys over at Willets Point.
The old story, the old tired story, in that community board is that it is perfectly fine for a property owner to hack something apart the rest of the community can go hang over it.
People are slowly coming to realize that this is the exception in the city.
Costa, Vallone, and Gianaris all are to be blamed for what is going on here - the Friends (and others) tried repeatedly to get their attention on other courses of action. They ignored them.
Campaign donations? Well lets all take a look some time, eh?
The location has nothing to do with it - people come from all over the world to tour the Steinway Piano factory and if accommodated, they would not have time to make pianos.
A block away is a bus that goes to midtown every 15 minutes mid-day.
These developers need a lot of city approvals to get the condos (which is what they are building) in place.
Costa can easily stop them.
As to interest, many people feel that it is no use talking to Costa. Others have said that, like Vallone before him, they have called his office and have not got a call back.
On the other hand, the Friends tell me that their Facebook entries are going off the charts with upwards to 600 people viewing posts and 'likes' rapidly approaching 1000.
"Officials stress the gem still needs key help to meet community wishes"
Yes, but they sure the hell ain't gonna lift a finger.
I am worried about the mansion. There are still no announced plans for the building (but boy oh boy they are going hammer and tongs trying to remove the hill around it supporting its foundation).
If things blow up with the developers (and from what I hear there are some serious questions being raised) would they take their revenge on the mansion?
Its full of paper to a degree that is very odd, especially when we consider that the previous owner's son ran a book shop. We would have assumed that he would have emptied the mansion.
There are litterly 1000s of books still sitting in its bookcases, many under the central skylight dome. This would make a perfect flue during a fire.
The pictures of the inside of the mansion already show careless water damage from a burst(?) pipe above the library.
Costa has been stonewalling efforts to make it safer by cleaning it out. This is very unsettling.
This has not stopped a serious effort underway to try to convince him to go after the owners to empty the place of flammable material.
It chilling that he, and they, refuse to listen.
To be continued...
"Officials stress the gem still needs key help to meet community wishes"
yes and "he wants to work with the community" and "they are working to find a use for it"
remember "the building is landmarked and protected to the highest degree so nothing can happen to it"
I really hate when you get a line of crap from those people and they talk down to us like this. They must really think everyone is stupid.
They have complete concern for the rights of the developers and no interest in concern for the building or loss to the community on not creating the arts the district.
A dozen foundations for a few 'local guys' and the rest of us can go to hell.
Perhaps what the mansion stands for is something that is beyond their little world.
We need outside adults to step in.
This is too important to leave in the clumsy hands of local politics.
What does one think, when thinking about Astoria?
Astoria Park, Greek Food, and the word Steinway.
The Steinway Company helped build Astoria. The Steinway family built a factory and homes for their workers developing the area and for this a street was named for them. They also left a home that still stands today albeit till recently was untouched. That sadly has changed. This spring the surrounding property that was filled with trees was cut do
wn with the intention of developing it for commercial use.
Why, one asks themselves is the surrounding property being developed? For the quick payoff in a hot real estate market, the cynical of us will say.
Where has the altruistic spirit gone? The giving back to the neighborhood one has grown up in and loves.
Progress is a wonderful thing, old things that are not functional are torn down to build new and better; however, is there not enough of this all ready in Astoria? Does everything need to be torn down and developed? Especially land that once was tree filled.
Would not it had been better to donate the Steinway house and its surrounding land to the Astoria community for everyone to enjoy?
The one time payoff may not be as big as developing it into commercial property, but the community payoff would be perpetual with every festival, musical event, and a child’s laughter as it echoes in the air of the grounds.
The JP Morgan’s, Rockefeller’s and the Vanderbilt’s of a long gone age knew the benefits of giving back to the community and preserving a community’s history. The question is does the new generation know it.
Renata Pavosevic Pestic
Of course. Look at all that land around it. Yummy!
Another Vallone betrayal, and now he can hide in a cushy cozy judgeship. As if he did any work as a councilman besides taking money from developers like the rest of his political family.
We . Shall . See . . .
Lucille Hartmann, district manager of Community Board 1, said that they have been receiving calls from residents asking, “What’s going on?” but stressed that the board knows nothing. She noted that as the mansion, while beloved, is a private property, owners are under no obligation to share with the public.
So lets get this straight.
They can either be for(1), neutral(2), or against(3) something.
So lets see ..
The board could either be for(1) or neutral(2) towards the idea of a special arts district, tourism, education and performance space, housing, dining, and capping the sewage plant,
or they could be against(3) all that and for a "couple of local guys" putting in a dozen foundations for some condos(?).
Maybe its best they just say "no comment" or perhaps suggest callers just reach out to the Friends.
Goddamit. Why doesn't the Steinway factory lift a finger?
"Lucille Hartmann . . the board knows nothing"
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There you have it.
That is correct. The Steinway mansion is an EXTERIOR landmark on private property. View it from the road. That's all folks. If it were an INTERIOR landmark, only then would it have to be accessible to the public.
It wasn't open when Mike Halberian owned it, except by invitation.
Goddamit. Why doesn't the Steinway factory lift a finger?
Because the politicians have done nothing in reaching out to them. Steinway would certainly take a look at this but they know that you need a private public partnership.
Anonymous said...
That is correct. The Steinway mansion is an EXTERIOR landmark on private property. View it from the road. That's all folks. If it were an INTERIOR landmark, only then would it have to be accessible to the public.
It wasn't open when Mike Halberian owned it, except by invitation.
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He used to invite people in if they were looking at it through the fence. The fact is that its a public place in all but name and 1000s of people from around the city have walked though his door.
Key people are watching Astoria to see what it will do. Steinway is going to be dragged into this one way or another and it ain't gonna a be pretty if that happens. Not pretty at all....
The Steinway factory was going under until the guy who gave The Central Park Conservancy their $100,000,000 donation bought it.
You are lucky that Steinway is still in business....and in Queens...rather than being offshore operated in China.
When I was still a trustee at the Queens Historical Society, we met with Michael Halberian, Steinway mansion's owner.
He said that he was being taxed out of existence and would like to find a buyer who would keep up the mansion in it's historic nature.
I asked him, "What about the Steinway company"?
He replied that they were not interested. I offered, "Go to their competitor, Yamaha. They might be interested in maintaining it as a music study center and archive".
It's rather remote location was more suited to that than its use as a museum. There was luke warm response.
Mike thought that QHS might be interested in buying the mansion at , I think it was, two or three million dollars. They never had those kind of resources. So here we are today.
Shame on that District Manager. She should tell people to at least look at the Department of Buildings' site...or refer them to the Friends of Steinway.
As for all of the messages posted here...start your writing campaign for the support of this mansion! Has anyone even called the elected officials or is everyone just saying, "It's no use"? You can't be more wrong! You CAN move mountains but whining will get you no where.
Is there no architect or lawyer willing to take this on? It always stymies me that architects seem to be like doctors ... they won't "tell" on another architect even when the mistakes are blatant!
"Because the politicians have done nothing in reaching out to them. Steinway would certainly take a look at this but they know that you need a private public partnership."
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I don't get it. The mansion is so close to the factory and vice-versa, you can spit at either. You'd think the Steinway factory folks would want to save maybe on their own their own legacy? Or at least in the interim use the property for utilitarian purposes (Store piano wood there, nuts and bolts, lacquer, etc.) Maybe develop the historical aspect on their own? A historical "anteroom" to then a tour of the factory?
I just don't get their reticence and silence.
I hope the mansion can be saved and repurposed, but no, it's not public in all but name. It's private under the law. To make it public would cost millions, I hope someone can find them. I have no such resources.
Ok, lets clear up some things here.
First, GAHS was born at the mansion, Mike was the first Sargent at Arms and its collection was housed there (and still might be as far as anyone knows). He held Xmas parties there in with the society the 80s. Things soured when those ladies slipped on ice = about the same time he found out from the Vallones that they would not support an organization that was involved in discussing landmarks or community pride or anything that would stand in the way of development.
So he shifted his attention to QHS thinking that its support would be borough-wide. Well we saw how that turned out.
As to Steinway, the historical society tried, on a number of occasions to get Steinway involved with the community. That did not work out too well. Surprise.
When Mike approached Steinway, it was owned by an investor group whose interest was short term - focusing exclusively on stock price. The mansion was not part of their strategy - but they did give a good word about the idea to the next owner.
So the Friends started out thinking that capping the sewage, creating a tourism / learning center blah blah would get traction. It did everywhere - except with the local talent. When your world is comprised of little more than the 'boys in the hood' the stuff that the Friends proposed was completely over their heads.
Steinway was smart. They waited as the outlier of their world got involved - to see what would happen - before they committed.
Steinway affiliates contacted the Friends as well as some minor artists just as the pols became invisible. The Friends stalled waiting for them to appear.
Borough Hall was on board, Queens EDC was on board, Albany (Marg Markey) on board.
Astoria's political 'elite'? Likely hanging out in some gin mill with 'the boys from the hood.'
The Friends, through the historical society have a very close relationship with Steinway. When asked what was going on, they tried to cover it up.
The company knew better and was appalled at what they were seeing. As a Steinway family member said, when hearing of this, 'no wonder no one want to get involved with those people.'
Hopefully Steinway can be convinced to look beyond these few.
Remember, 99% of all concert artists and recording artists use Steinway. Its one of the top 5 or 6 brands in the world. The company is chock full of very cleaver people (and no, there are no plans in the forseable future to leave NYC.)
Generations of talent cannot be sent overseas and an important part of the music culture is to have artists, when they are in NYC, visit the factory to discuss shop. 3/4 of all their pianos are still shipped within a few hundred miles of the factory.
Pianos are not cars. They cannot be made in one place and shipped somewhere else.
The point is that Astoria/Queens needs Steinway, not the other way around. IF borough hall talks to them, and Finkelpearl and EDC make nice, then there is a good chance.
If not, Astoria will get what it deserves. A black eye, a dozen condos next to a sewage plant, and the confidence that some 'local boys' know what is best for all.
That's nice to know. And now it'll be buried in the "older posts" section of Queens Crap.
And we find out about this ONLY on Queens Crap? Where is the press, the 4th estate, in all of this mishegoss?
Thanks for the clarification. Bottom line:
THE VALLONES ARE TRUE ASSHOLES.
Assholes of the highest order. Grade A, prime, stamped with purple grape juice ink "ASSHOLES".
How do you spell "Vallone"?
A-s-s-h-o-l-e.
Senior, Junior, Paulie and Perry. When you look in the mirror, what do you see? A face? N-o-o-o.
An Asshole.
As for all of the messages posted here...start your writing campaign for the support of this mansion! Has anyone even called the elected officials or is everyone just saying, "It's no use"? You can't be more wrong! You CAN move mountains but whining will get you no where.
Is there no architect or lawyer willing to take this on? It always stymies me that architects seem to be like doctors ... they won't "tell" on another architect even when the mistakes are blatant
WRITING CAMPAIGN? POST ON FACEBOOK:
WWW.FACEBOOK/STEINWAYMANSION
Where is the press? I dunno, writing articles like the one you just commented on?
I hope the mansion can be saved and repurposed, but no, it's not public in all but name. It's private under the law. To make it public would cost millions, I hope someone can find them. I have no such resources.
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I understand that someone pretty high up in the culture scene hit Van Bramer, majority chair and head of the cultural committee on city council about this and his general failure to get adequate funding for the Queens cultural scene compared to the other boroughs.
Trundling out the waterfront groups that are there to provide cultural amenities in an otherwise barren landscape for the waterfront developers, or the those bush league money pits in Flushing Meadows do not a cultural scene make.
Look at the restoration of the Kings Theater in Brooklyn ($70 million) or the Tavern of the Green in Central Park ($15 million) while RKO Keiths rots and the Steinway Mansion (could of been had for less than $4 million now to be condo foundations) makes a joke out of everyone cultural/tourism initiative in the borough - and the people responsible for it.
Earth moving equipment around the mansion spotted on Monday.
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