Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Fait Accompli? The Further Adventures of the Steinway Mansion.


Didn't you know it - Yes you really knew it.  You just felt it in your bones. - that this was going to happen?   Well, guess what?
  
         From the copy of the December 15 issue of the Queens Courier, page 33:

   The Queens Chamber of Commerce hosted their annual Building Awards dinner and networking event on Dec. 7 at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.  Michael Stoler, president of New York Real Estate TV and managing director of Madison Realty Capital, delivered the keynote address.  Chamber President Mayra DiRico and Executive Director Tom Grech PRESENTED AWARDS TO INDIVIDUALS AND FIRMS WHOSE DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS QUEENS HAD A PROFOUND IMPACT ON THE BOROUGH.



Proudly beaming with ear-to-ear photo grins:  (left to right) Steinway Mansion "Park" architect Gerald Caliendo with Steinway Mansion "Park" owners Salvatore Lucchese and Philip Loria.
Then and now:  The Steinway Mansion was once visible from 42nd Street.


For this they get an award?

Boring-looking interior of one of the run-of-the-mill warehouse spaces.

The aesthetic vandalism continues to this day on the 41st Street side.

The movable toilet has more charm and character than the warehouse facades.

The Mansion cries out forlornly: "Get me outta here!"

The cramped front yard - the main entrance - to the Mansion.  Rumor has it that wedding photo shoots will take place here.   How romantic can you get with the surrounding warehouses and a power plant?  The area's permeating sewage smells make for a true romantic experience.   ("Kiss me, darling.   Be mine forever.")

A bird's-eye view of this artistic fiasco.

No future plantings of posies can ever mask the utter disgust of what has transpired here.