Apparently, the owners of 1314 Cortelyou Road - right next door to the Picket Fence - see no aesthetic value to keeping the old tin ceiling that had graced the store for a good part of a century. This was ripped out of the store last week and was hauled off by someone with better taste...Pigeon just stood next to the dumpster and cried.
On another note, I asked the owners who or what will occupy the store and they told me that they are hoping to attract another restaurant to the area. Great news! (I wonder if they new tenants would have liked a tin ceiling?)
7 comments:
What a freaking waste. Would have been perfect for a restaurant. Now they'll have to pay extra to inject some "character."
Typical. Most landlords and commercial renters don't care anything at all about history, asthetics, character, or craftmanship of vintage decor. All they care about or understand is the false notion that everything must be made brand new to attract a renter and/or customer. It's a real shame, but it's not uncommon.
They just don't get it, or worse, they do but they don;t care.
Hey everyone, to set the record straight, the new owners did not want to take the tin ceiling down but the ceiling was not up to fire code. In addition, there were several parts of the ceiling that were really damaged.
But the question would then be: What would it have taken and how much would it have cost to make it up to fire code and/or replace fix the parts that were damaged? Was that considered or even addressed?
Sometimes developers, landlords, occupants, tenants, etc. use a technicality like "not up to fire code" as an excuse to simply get rid of something they don't want when to bring it up to code would be a simple issue. They don't even go the next step to investigate what would be involved in keeping the old fixtures, etc... because what they really want to do anyway is to get rid of it.
Like when Guiliani declared the old classic historic but dormant Thunderbolt Rollercoaster "Unsafe" and had it illegally torn down to appease the Mets Corporation and their new next door stadium.
The simple fact that it was a tin ceiling doesn't automatically mean it could not have been brought up to fire code and has to be removed completely and replaced with a modern ceiling.
Is that PS 139 in the background?
My old school...
Sure is, Rap.
oops!!! that is what we call being ignorant! the ceiling was made from "French brass material," I wish I´d known when and where these guys were about to perform a "criminal architecture demolishing act", If I had the chance I would have picked up the pieces, take them home, and start thinking where to place them!!! I am a visual arts student!!! people out there if you have the chance of seeing these precious invaluable fragments of art thrown out, please make yourself a favor, take it/them home!!!
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