The demolition party for the Hewitt Building at Cooper Square is coming up, so the “I Miss the Old NY” neatly written in olde english lettering is fitting. Once the construction barriers go up, it’s hard not to mourn the imminent destruction of familiar buildings. Serf painted outlines across the parapet on two sides of the building too.
There comes a point after every option is exhausted to throw in the towel and accept your fate. For 120 art students at Cooper Union, that means moving their studios from the East Village to Long Island City. As Cooper Union prepares to demolish its Hewitt Building on Third Ave. and construct a green building of undulating metal screens in its place, The Villager reported students are suffering some serious angst. Fortunately for their own sanity, it seems they are past the stage of mourning and on to the more enjoyable stages of celebration, decoration, and straight up demolition. While some create homages to the doomed building and others recreate Rock and Roll High School, everyone kicks a hole in the wall because it’s just so damn fun.
Continue reading: Cooper Art Students Decorate in Face of Destruction
The Village Voice’s Power Plays reports that Greg Singer, the owner of P.S. 64 near the west end of Tompkins Square Park, has begun stripping the terra cotta facade. As Singer was awarded an alteration permit before the building was landmarked in June, he has the legal right to destroy the landmarked facade by October. With the facade removed he can go to court to overturn the building’s landmarked status.
Check out post demolition renderings from the East Village Community Coalition after the jump.
