Here are the latest pix from the Mansion. 13 months of "construction" and my photo coverage.
According to the "Steinway Park" site, 4 warehouses are "in contract":
One of them is on the 41st Street side where no work has been done for almost 2 months. This is 18-27 41st Street - right at the foot of the Mansion. Strange that someone would enter into a real estate deal with nothing built there yet? (See the middle photo of my post.) And why is there no work being done there - 41st Street - at all?
PLUS, why don't Loria/Lucchese go up to the tower and close the damn door?
At the front,
GtheA
36 comments:
Preservation through neglect, in addition through environmental damage from neighboring construction.
Not only does that door being open will attract wildlife, possibly red tail falcons, since they are disturbingly multiplying (do we live in the mountains or is this still a metropolis?). It will certainly draw in any toxicity from any digging and construction from the sites. Causing further internal damage.
Therefore it will give these ghouls the excuse and justification for tearing Steinway down, despite it's landmark status, for it will be deemed too unsafe for inhabit or visit. As they did to that police station in Sunset Park weeks ago.
Truly shows you that elected officials in Queens and all the Borough Presidents, do not give a shit and are completely neglected of their actual duties as a public servant.
And where is the media really asking the hard tough questions on this issue and the others.
But the problem lies within in the people, who continually put these destructive, useless, inept and crooked clowns in office over and over again.YOU ARE TO BLAME FOR THIS DESTRUCTION for not standing up and fighting.
So sad to see the condition of the beautiful mansion close-up ... Demolition by neglect is more like it...
The Friends of Steinway Mansion posted this on their Facebook asking the community to do something about this at least by calling the developers' friend Costa who told the community that they are great guys.
The community is doing nothing. Not a peep.
This is not the fault of the developers, or even of the nit-wit politicians that are elected.
THIS IS THE FAULT OF THE PEOPLE OF ASTORIA WHO HAVE NO PRIDE IN THEIR COMMUNITY AND REFUSE TO TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE. CANNOT THINK OF ANY OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
Plug up the gutters. leave the windows open and the door ajar. The developer has contracted Mother Nature LLC to demolish the Steinway Mansion. Sure it will take a few years, but it's free and best of all, requires no permits.
I can understand the old guard staying peering out at the real world behind their blinds but what about the new people that is bringing new "spirit and excitement" to the community?
They should understand and grasp the word 'Steinway.'
Folks, this magnificent edifice was built in 1858. That's BEFORE Abraham Lincoln was President. Do you understand the historical import of this? Maybe you'\re too dumb to understand this. Obviously, the developers do not since they are leaving the tower door open. What's the big deal in hauling your ass up there and locking the damn door - and fix the shingles too!
A year ago, June 17, I posted photos of the quick repair that the Loria/Lucchese developers did to a neighboring property when their backhoe smashed into the brick wall of same.
Check that out here.
Two days tops and that brick wall was repaired. However, the landmarked Mansion's tower door has been open for almost a week now.
To Joe Morettti and the last Anonymous post: I have been reading your comments for years now. You are always blaming the people of Queens in specific neighborhoods that it's their fault for re-electing the same clowns and do nothing politicos.
As the current national presidential elections have shown:
IT TAKES BOATLOADS OF MONEY, AS WELL AS BACKING BY THE PARTY TO GET ON THE BALLOT, AS WELL AS A COMPLICIT MEDIA AND PRESS.
Now that you know, here are the steps to follow:
1. Stop placing blame on the voters of Queens. They are unable to change the voting rules. They don't have scads of money for an election campaign. The electeds know this. You should know this. Now you've been informed.
2. If you are not willing, or if you are unable to get your name on the ballot, or, if you cannot get the backing of your party, or if you cannot raise the millions needed for a campaign to unseat the current electeds, or cannot control the press and media, then
3. STOP BLAMING THE PEOPLE OF QUEENS, or
4. FIND A WAY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT YOURSELF.
With all due respect, I am,
A current Resident of Queens.
That tower's door is pretty flimsy to begin with. Looks like it's cut down from a 4x8 sheet of plywood.
Mr H How
Its people like you that is the problem for you always tell the public that what they want doesn't mean squat and if they raise their head like mushrooms they will get it cut off, while, like mushrooms you feed them shit.
The focus on this building is directly the product of the current elected officials OF THAT ASTORIA COMMUNITY ONLY) and indirectly the legacy left by the Vallones.
The Friends were more than ready with support of every possible type to raise the money for that building for the benefit of the community, and it was a handful of 3 or 4 officials FROM Astoria that did this.
There is NO EXCUSE to treat the community like this! They should be ashamed of themselves!
The press is following up on this.
Should be interesting to see how the Queens Press handles this and makes the politicians and developers look like heroes.
Only in Queens.
FoSM posted an interesting point: it is perfectly fine to open the door and window in summer.
"But the mansion really needs a clear future in the near future."
Once the birds, rats, raccoons, wind and rain get into the building, that will be one vibrant and diverse place, baby.
They could be leaving it open so somebody can shoot water inside at night to speed things up. In the coming heat beams will rot fast with a little water, mold, tremendous irreversible damage to the floor support structures and walls etc.
Sad how that great building that's survived over 100 years will no longer exist soon.
it would make a great minaret tower
The windows were leaking in the tower and Mike was repairing them the year he died.
How brazen.
Who can we ask to get things moving?
Vallone Sr?
Yea, lets hear what he has to say.
Mr How
What a twisted sense of American government you have. But that doesn't matter.
All that bullshit carefully built over decades can now be swept away in months over the internet. This election is a game changer - just a hint of what will follow.
Look you are already on our blog - in our forum. Watch the earth shift beneath your feet.
All this buying of elections and "we put in front of you what we want you to elect" is fast drawing to a close. You have no idea what is going to hit you when the pubic finally finds its level.
Enjoy the Machine while its here.
How about all those hundreds of books mysteriously on its shelves under that dome.
Hope they are gone.
Make that building's age over 150 years.
Where's the local councilman? Constantinides?
Where's the Borough President? Katz?
Where's the Borough Historian? Dr. Jack Eichenbaum?
Where's the local press? Courier, Gazette, Chronicle, Tribune, Times Ledger, Queens Ledger, ad infinitum?
Where's the local piano factory whose namesake lived in this building? Steinway and Sons?
Why does George the Atheist have to do all the heavy lifting all the time?
WHERE IS THE ASTORIA COMMUNITY? IF IT GETS DESTROYED IT WILL ME THEM, NOT THE POLITICIANS WHO ARE THE CULPRITS, BUT WILL BE QUICKLY FORGOTTEN OVER TIME, WHOM WILL HAVE THE BEAR THE STAIN IN THE FUTURE.
This is Queens. Get over it. Preservation is a low priority tanks to our low life politicians on the take of developers.
Paul Vallone is on the take. He represents his real estate developer clients. His constituents get the shaft.
Why does George the Atheist have to do all the heavy lifting all the time?
Just "heavy" lifting? I seems like George is doing (and has done) ALL the lifting.
This is Queens. Get over it. Preservation is a low priority tanks to our low life politicians on the take of developers.
Paul Vallone is on the take. He represents his real estate developer clients. His constituents get the shaft.
I think preservation is a "low priority" because our politicians are trying to ram this down our throat as they destroy our communities. The fact is they are at odds with the people.
People are starting to talk with each other. That should scare the shit out of them.
Just wait till the fear the pols place over us is shown to be a paper tiger. Then the fun begins.
A real problem in the community is Give Me Astoria, We Heart Astoria, and the Western Queens Gazette are not supporting the community - sure they run ads for restaurants but that helps the owners. Sure they run copy on events that feature pets or kids, but that helps the politicians.
Shame on them!
[Ow, my back is getting sore.]
MADE IN QUEENS: the Orlando gunman, the Raimones, Donald Trump . . and last but not least: billionaire hedge fund manager and philanthropist John Paulson.
Speaking of Steinway & Sons. As many of you may not know, local Queens boy and Steinway & Sons - that's in in Astoria, folks - owner John Paulson will be attending a Donald Trump fundraiser this Tuesday evening. (JP even owns 3 Steinway pianos.) How much money will Paulson contribute to The Donald?
Check that out HERE.
But just how smart is money maven Paulson? The Mansion was sold for 2.6 million dollars. The Pinnacle real estate company is selling the 11 warehouses for a total of over 24 million dollars. (Mansion not included.) The George the Atheist organization wrote Paulson an open letter last year on June 28.
You can read it HERE. He should know what's transpiring physically at the Mansion.
If Paulson was so smart why'd he let this millions of dollar profit trickle through his fingers a block over from the factory?
George, QUEENS and no one with any sense wants to have anything to do with this place.
Just look around the rest of the metro area. Now walk around Queens. Talk to its leadership. See what its press touts over and over and over again - diversity - real estate - food - diversity - food - real estate - ad nauseam.
No one of importance in this borough, of 5 of them, has approached him offering help. Unless that clique is involved, you are just asking for trouble in this borough. Just spend a few days on this blog to see those sorry assed losers stumbling through their routines around the rest of the 2 + million clueless to see what we mean.
Is this a place that anyone with other options in life wants to get tangled up in?
People are starting to talk...politicians are getting scared?
B.S! As long as the sheeple voters of Queens still fear their crooked pol's like Vallone...NOTHING WILL CHANGE!
People are starting to talk...politicians are getting scared?
B.S! As long as the sheeple voters of Queens still fear their crooked pol's like Vallone...NOTHING WILL CHANGE!
A classic Queens comment.
(Message: we don't take ourselves seriously, the people we elect to boss us around don't take us seriously and you shouldn't take us seriously.)
The damage this will do to Queens' image is incalculable.
BTW, I spend a lot of time in Manhattan and with the exception of baseball or tennis or Belmont, I cannot think of a single instance that someone has ever said "hey, lets go to Queeens!" - but you hear people wanting to go to the other boroughs and suburbs all the time.
Called Loria's office. Nada.
LOL! The only "image" Queens has is "All In The Family's Archie Bunker"!
His chair is in the Smithsonian. There ya go! Immortalized mediocrity and narrow mindedness!
Do you really think that Paulson, who made his money off of the misfortune of others, gives a flying fuck about the Steinway Mansion?
Grow up! There is no tooth fairy , with bundles of cash , that is interested in preserving Queens' history. They are using it only to destroy it and build. How else do black hearted pirates get their booty?
Steinway is finished. Next cast!
These places are here to be remembered only in period photographs, when life was "better" and times were more "genteel". LOL!
Get over it and move on! If you want history, move to Brooklyn. Queens is the Wild West of development. If the land is "underutilized" it will be built up! Wah....wah...wah! And what are all of tge Queens' various hysterical societies doing to counteract the razing of history? Mounting exhibits...selling books....holding lectures. Bah...HUMBUG! Poor little GAHS, doing their best, but anemic in the face of Goliath!
You're actually expecting a politician to do something right? HA! Good luck on that one! Wave some cash in his face and maybe he will do the right thing. That's if the greedy developers haven't already bought him out which is most likely the case.
The Steinway Mansion and all its glory is now surrounded by warehouses due to greed. It's sitting on top of what once was a beautiful small patch of land that's now been ripped apart to make room for real estate.
The individuals who purchased the mansion didn't buy it for its name, they bought it for its PROPERTY VALUE. They can care less about the mansion as is evident by the recent construction as stated above and the lack of responsibility by the title of this post. They will make their money back 10 fold once the construction is complete and new owners move in to said warehouses.
If they could knock down the mansion and build on said properly they would. It'll happen, just give it time.
This place gets destroyed it will be a black mark to Steinway and to Paulson.
Nice things will not be said about the firm and its image.
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