The opposite is true, IMO. The Zabars building is very generic “anywhere USA”. A replacement building would be unique to NYC, as no other place in the U.S. has such buildings (fully urban midrises/highrises with no parking as is typical on UWS).
As usual the NIMBY and BANANA (Building Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) crowd strikes on the UWS. If they were around 80 years ago there would be no UWS.
I don’t want to carry on this discussion too long. But crawdad–I think you are incorrect on at least two scores. First, the Zabars store is really weird for NYC and for most other places. The architecture is simply not generic. It may not be a great piece of art, but it is unusual. And, second, not all opposition to construction in the UWS or other areas of New York is knee jerk. Some is thoughtful and even well taken. Height, density, and bigness is only a part of what makes for a thriving city. You need character, humane environments, and active street life twenty four hours a day. If you haven’t read Jane Jacob’s classic land use planning book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, a tome now read by everyone studying land use planning, you should. Sure she was opposed to redeveloping Greenwich Village, but many of her observations about how cities retain vitality are right on the money. It’s simply a must read. Thanks.
Great updates all around Chused
I concur.
Nice shots, Tec!
I love the UWS.
I don’t know what it is but I just enjoy walking around the UWS while I try to get out of the UES asap. I like shooting Park and 5th, that’s about it.
I agree. Fifth, Madison, and Park are amazing. Parts of Lex and 3rd are nice, but east of there, the UES sucks. The UWS is very appealing by contrast.
Nice shot, Chused!
Nice shot, Chused.
Idea that this was going to be a typical Stern stone or pre-cast building is now gone. Most of the facade will be a brownish brick. Some windows will have stone or pre-cast framing and the sixth floor will be decorative. It might end up being a nice upper west side type of building. Here are some shots of the facade being installed along with the posted rendering which will give you a pretty good idea of where the decorative elements will go.
As the facade grows it gets a bit more interesting. The brick color picks up the same color that’s used on Zabar’s next door and the apartment building to the north. And the precast stuff around some of the windows also mixes nicely with the Zabar’s stucco and the apartment building to the north. The clutsy bottom floor of Zabar’s will probably end up looking like it needs a redo. Have a look.
Nice shots, Chused.
I think this tower is stunning.
This one didn’t seem to have any problems. Structure went up fast, and now the facade is doing the same. There should be plenty more of these.
