He includes gory pics of the destruction, where posted permits state only "interior renovation" and "replacement of non-load bearing brick walls." That must mean all the walls, because behind the shroud, that building is gone. Yet the FOR RENT signs remain. Is it a rush job? This angry neighbor sure thinks so.
Here's a peek inside, through the old door of the Raven, now with "newly installed skylight."
And, as a bonus, a shot of the final corner to fill up and its new tenant, Pappy's (?) Gourmet Corner, which replaces the old Metropolitan Funeral Home. I covered the other corners in a post not long ago. So far, nothing fancy (except for the use of the word "gourmet").
But what's coming to that demolished spot?
I don't know if it was already stated here but the reason the building at 12th and A was demolished was, I guess partly because there was a fire there last summer (or the summer before, can't remember). The fire pretty much destroyed everything including The Raven. Not that I'm not suspicious of this landlord's intentions, but there was at least somewhat of a good reason that the building had to come down. I moved to this neighborhood in 1997 and I live only a few doors down from this building. When I got to this neighborhood the spot that later became The Raven was just a shuttered store front. The disgustingly yuppie bar 'Common Ground' was occupied by the quintessentially East Village spot Star Bar/Z Bar, Rapture Cafe was Korova Milk Bar, and that other lame hooka bar was still Genoa's Deli owned by and incredibly quiet Italian woman who made the best Cappucionos in NYC. Needless to say alot has changed around here. Yeah it sickens me to see all these frat and sorrority types scurrying around here. Then again you see Richard Hell walking around here pretty regularly since he also still lives in the 'hood and keeps. I can only hope that a luxury condo doesn't get built at the corner of 12th and A. Not sure if this is correct, but I don't think the can build a hi-rise on the corner because it would be taller than the other buildings. But you never know with these scum bag developers.
ReplyDeletethere was a fire, in March 2006 in the basement of the Raven. But, the fire damage was not severe and the structure was intact. The psychic in the building even re-opened shop for a little while. The building needed some renovation Im sure, especially to the lower floors, but there is literally nothing left except the shell of the first floor of a five-story building...
ReplyDeleteBased on the signs (Magnum) and the constructions workers around (Rose Demolition), this building is owned by the Shaoul people who are notorious greedy landlords in the neighborhood, or one of their many shell companies. They built that idiotic building The A on 13th Street where the BACK faces 14th street. They will build illegally. I'm sure their permits aren't properly filed. In fact I will call 311 tomorrow and complain so that someone will come inspect it, but they will continue to work whether they have the right permits or not. There is nobody to stop it, certainly not DOB.
ReplyDeletePrior to it being The Raven this store was a bodega that sold bodega stuff on the side to cover for the stolen electronics and number running.
They might have also sold pot, the kind where you pay $5 and another .25 to buy a bag of chips to look legit. Haven't known of that kind of bodega around here since the time they closed in the early 90's but in the 70's and early 80's it was a common way to buy pot, and most of the bodegas in this neighborhood operated that same way.
Yup...You're all somewhat right. These are the facts: The damage from the fire at the Raven was not that extensive, but the building was in pretty poor state before the fire and the landlord had to make repairs. His luck that there was a fire as it is a lot easier to fix an empty building with the help of your insurance company. The rent controlled tenants were removed. The owners of the Raven were told they could get back in there soon, but soon kept being postponed.
ReplyDeleteNegotiations have been going on ever since. The latest they had heard was that the landlord had to "strenghten" the walls and then would start rebuilding the ground floor first so they could start rebuilding the Raven. This was supposed to take around three months. They were never told that the building would be demolished.
Who knows how long it is going to take the landlord to build a whole new building. P.S. The landlord is not connected to the Shaoul people as far as I know, but he is a landlord (in other words: greedy) and I doubt that he cares about what happens to the neighborhood.
It's a real pity that greed has such an impact on a neighborhood. (Remember the Cock, across from the Raven? It was empty for years because the landlord wanted too much money). I remember the "old days" and there was a sense of community, which I find less and less now. It seems more and more people, friends and businesses are moving away.