Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Mansion (of Death) Sold?

I recently reported that the Stuyvesant Polyclinic on 2nd Ave between 8th and 9th returned to the market as a single family. Today, the “Buy This Mansion” signs have been taken down from where they were (illegally) bolted to the landmarked, 124-year-old, carved terra cotta façade, and demolition men are hard at work on the interior.

Unless it's been rented out for another TV show, apparently, someone heeded the signs and bought this mansion. The demolition guy I talked with believed it had sold and said, "I don't know what they're gonna do with it, but they can't do much--it's a landmark." So who bought it?



The broker's listing hoped a rock star like Lenny Kravitz would buy the building for $13 million and install an “indoor/outdoor saltwater swimming pool exiting to your gigantic organic garden” along with other whimsies. I got very curious about what’s inside and while the place was being shown last week, I sneaked in to take a few interior shots.





It does look impressive. But I don’t know where Lenny's swimming pool and garden is going to go, because there is no backyard. A quick peek through the windows of the neighboring Ottendorfer Library reveals a weird outbuilding connected by a passageway taking up the entire rear space.



Maybe this was the electroshock therapy room. Or the leeching room. As a century-old medical clinic, this building’s got some very special amenities--though the broker failed to mention the full-service mortuary (they've since ripped down this sign). Forget Kravitz. My money says Marilyn Manson's moving in.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

J, I'd love to think of the yunnie owners showing off the place, pointing out granite counters in the kitchen, flat screen TV's for the bath, a conversation pit, and an electroshock therapy room! What one- up-personship! Trump's hair would curl, realizing he'd left this amenity out of his buildings. And a leeching salon to boot, OMG! Patrick Bateman could have such fun here.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps you can answer this. When I attempt to comment on a Curbed item, I periodically get this: You Can't Comment Again So Soon. My comments aren't frequent or personal and are free of purple invective. Is their system down or what? Perhaps you can ask them. They are carrying your "Mansion" story. BTW, Leech and Electro would make arresting names for new condos, no?

Anonymous said...

according to DOB records, a permit was filed for interior demolition, with the owners listed as "Jenny Jengana" of 135 Second LLC and "Joel Schreiber" of Lower East Side Equities LLC. Both of these corporations have the same address- 252 w37th St. Interesting there is no filing for a certificate of occupancy - yet.

Richard Nickel, Jr. said...

Wow... I'd really, really like to have been able to see it before any reno started going down - cool on getting in there for some shots though!