Architectural Eyesores Aren't Just for Brooklyn
We bitch and moan about the ugly crap that has been, and continues to be, put up in our home borough of Brooklyn and in general try to stay focused on our side of the East River. The other day, however, we were walking past an eyesore in Lower Manhattan that has bothered us ever…
We bitch and moan about the ugly crap that has been, and continues to be, put up in our home borough of Brooklyn and in general try to stay focused on our side of the East River. The other day, however, we were walking past an eyesore in Lower Manhattan that has bothered us ever since we lived near it 12 years ago and couldn’t resist commenting on it. The object of our disgust? The former car dealership turned frat-boy bar hell at 180 West Broadway/34 Leonard Street. As best we can tell from deciphering the records on Property Shark, the 30,000-square-foot property consists of two portions–an older building dating to 1900 and a newer cinderblock addition put up in 1987. Does this place bother anyone else as much as it bothers us? GMAP
i work by this eyesore and think it should be relocated to the suburban mall from where it came. 😉
i hate hockey.
I love this place! Sure, it’s a bit cheesy and trashy, but what great sports bar isn’t? Buster’s owns the college football scene in Manhattan and is breath of familiar air to those who long to take part in tailgating on game day!
I used to spend a lot of time in frat boy bars. They are lots of fun when you are that age.
Obviously Anon 6:08 hasn’t spent much time in Brooklyn — there are many, many young, attractive women here, just maybe not as desperate as the types (often B&Ters BTW) you’d encounter in such an establishment. So maybe it’s just that he’s more successful in that environment.
I wish there were were a BrownstonerManhattan website!
This building is slated for new condos:
R Squared LLP, of which Gregg Rechler is a principal, submitted a revised design a proposed residential building at 180 West Broadway in TriBeCa to the city’s Board of Standards & Appeals yesterday.
The new design by Beyer Blinder Belle is a shorter and a cantilever over an adjoining property has been eliminated. The F.A.R. (floor-to-area) ratio of the new design is 6.28 as opposed to the previous design’s 6.75.
An even larger proposal had been submitted to the board last December and then withdrawn and Community Board 1 indicated last June it was not enchanted with the 6.75 F.A.R. scheme.
The previous proposal had involved cantilevering part of the proposed building about 16 feet over an existing garage on the site that will remain on the site, according to Ross Moscovitz of the law firm of Stroock Stroock & Lavan, which represents R Squared.
Mr. Moscovitz told the board that the revised plan has reduced the number of apartments from 34 to 30 and that the 13 stories have been lowered to 12. The initial proposal called for 60 apartments.
R Squared LLP is a joint venture of Gregg and Michael Rechler, who are former executives of Reckson Associates Realty Corporation where in their 20 year tenure they directed the management, acquisition, development and disposition of over 25 million square feet of commercial property. Reckson is one of the pre-eminent commercial real estate developers on Long Island and in recent years it has also been acquiring properties in New York City.
The board closed the hearing and will issue a decision January 10, 2006.
The site has been leased from Louis Provenzano. The building is between Leonard and Worth Streets and is very near the large Western Union Building on West Broadway that has a F.A.R. of about 20. The F.A.R zoned for the 180 West Broadway site is 5 and Mr. Moscovitz said that a project could be advanced at that F.A.R., where it not for the fact that soil conditions and proximity to a subway create financial “hardships” for any project there.
The developer are also seeking variances from regulations relating to street plantings, lot coverage, street wall height, and overall height. A subway runs under part of the site, which creates problems for tree plantings on the sidewalks.
The site has been one zoning lot for more than 50 years, according to Moscovitz, who told the board that because part of the site was an active gas station from 1950 to 1985 there are a “host of environment issues” that could impact “neighboring sites” if not remedied.
The proposed building would have an entrance on Leonard Street.
The site is now occupied by a garage and Buster’s Garage, a large sports bar.
i just couldn’t believe i was seeing it the first time i passed it. thought for sure i fell through a black hole back to the suburbs. i feel there is a place for affordability, much needed, but design should not be thrown out so you can afford a pint!
It is horrible, used to pass all the time when we lived in the neigborhood…I believe though Buster’s (the sports bar) is moving as the building is being torn down for a new condo development…progress I suppose?