Obviously the "Jane Jacobs" fine grained scale is not what we're debating. Most of these corner properties are going to be eventually redeveloped, and would have been years ago had the original subway plans been constructed before WWII.
More specifically, architecturally speaking, the two walkups on the left are good looking structures but the rest of the corner, aside from being desirable from a intimate scale urban planning POV as stated, is banal dreck.
I do have a complaint though that many large new residential projects that anchor these formally low-rise corners along avenues are being built with one or two monolithic commercial/retail spaces instead of the high density, small shop form you see in that photo and all around the city. I completely understand from the standpoint of the developer and lender that they find signing one or two large corporate chains as being less-risk and more stable than offering smaller retail spaces to a diverse assortment of small businesses, but it certainly is better for the city and neighborhood to not dispose of the kind of small business vitality you see in that photo.
I think the solution may lie in a zoning code reform that specifically prioritizes small retail units in the bases of these new developments over the large spaces geared towards chains as a mandate, but I unfortunately don't see that happening.
__________________
Everything new is old again
Sic semper tyrannis
|
NEW YORK | 1382 Second Ave. | FT| FLOORS
Linear Mode
