The local paper for the Upper East Side
WEEK OF JUNE
7-13
2018 Summer
2018
GuideP.11
STUBBORN SIDEWALK SHEDS OF THE UES STREETSCAPE DOB data reveals buildings with the longest-standing scaffolding BY MICHAEL GAROFALO
On the 13-mile-long island of Manhattan, roughly 123 miles of sidewalk are covered in scaffolding. Nearly 3,900 sheds line the borough’s sidewalks, making the obtrusive structures a more ubiquitous feature of the Manhattan streetscape than the bus shelter, the Citi Bike station or even the blue mailbox. Community Board 8 is home to 537 of those active sheds, which shadow over 15 miles of Upper East Side sidewalks. It’s not just the quantity of sidewalk sheds that has prompted efforts at reform — it’s how long they stay up. Sidewalk scaffolding, long required under New York City law as a safety measure to protect pedestrians walking near buildings undergoing construction or with facades deemed unsafe, is often temporary in name only. Scaffolding at eight buildings in Community Board 8 were originally permitted more than five years ago, including a shed on Second Avenue near 96th Street that dates to 2009. The average shed in the district has stood for 240 days, less than the Manhattan average of 270 days. While city law dictates when scaffolding must be erected, there are currently no regulations requiring sheds to be dismantled if no work is being done on the building. Legislation sponsored by Upper East Side
A rendering of the new home of the Turtle Bay Music School, which plans to open its doors on September 15 in the Corinthian Condominiums on East 38th Street after it sells the double townhouse it has occupied on East 52nd Street since 1935. Rendering: Turtle Bay Music School / BKSK Architects and Chora Works
Legislation before the City Council would require sidewalk sheds to be dismantled within six months of being erected — or in seven days if no work is performed in that time. Photo: Douglas Feiden
Scaffolding goes up but doesn’t go down — for months, years, even decades — while no work is happening.” Council Member Ben Kallos
Council Member Ben Kallos would change that. The bill, first introduced by Kallos in 2016, would require all sheds erected due to dangerous building conditions to come down within six
CONTINUED ON PAGE 28
OurTownEastSide
O OURTOWNNY.COM @OurTownNYC
Crime Watch NYC Now Voices City Arts
REAL ESTATE PLAY IN TURTLE BAY DEVELOPMENT Music school to exit its 52nd Street home, move to Corinthian on 38th Street, sell building to Israeli developer who plans high-end condos BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN
After 83 years in a single location, the Turtle Bay Music School will open its doors on September 15 in a modern, accessible new home where it will serve thousands of music lovers ranging in age “from age 2 to 102,” the school has announced. The school is expected to close within days or weeks on the sale of 244 East 52nd St. — the three-story, Civil War-era double townhouse it has occupied since 1935 — in a deal that will reap roughly $10 million-plus, real estate sources confirmed last week.
3 6 8 10
Restaurant Ratings 24 Business 26 Real Estate 27 15 Minutes 29
Just in time for the fall semester, the school will relocate 14 blocks to the south. Soon, the sounds of music will resonate in a ground-floor office space it bought and is renovating at 330 East 38th St. in the base of the 57-story Corinthian Condominium complex. By the fall of 2019, Turtle Bay will launch its first music-centered preschool. It is already hiring staff to provide an early-childhood education for dozens of children — a move that’s expected to bolster school revenues and create a “feeder” for other school programs. “Music is the universal language we share as human beings,” said Lorna Jane Norris, the school’s executive director. “By expanding the school, we are increasing our ability to bring music into the lives of all New Yorkers in this global melting pot.” The move is not without consequences for both the block it is leaving and the neighbors who enjoy its free
concerts: The school’s longtime home, which is not landmarked, is likely to be demolished. A preliminary rendering shows ultra-luxe condos rising on the site where Turtle Bay now provides high-quality music education to all ages, skill sets and incomes levels. The property is being acquired by Minrav Development, a Madison Avenue-based subsidiary of Minrav Holdings Ltd., an Israeli real estate investment firm that has been building high-end residences across the East Side.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday, June 8 – 8:07 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com
We deliver! Get Our Town Eastsider sent directly to your mailbox for $ $49 per year. Go to OurTownNY.com or call 212-868-0190