Happy development news is so rare these days, let's treasure this one for a moment. Yesterday, we wondered what the arrival of massive machinery on East 4th Street portended for the lot next to the Merchant's House Museum. A Curbed correspondent writes:
Just talked to the Merchant's House, which is one of my favorite residences in New York City. They told me that the machinery has been placed there by the city, which is working on some sort of a water tunnel. This is NOT a new mini Sculpture For Living, thank god! The Merchant's House told me that the city has special monitoring equipment installed in their basement in order to monitor vibrations with the intent of not harming the old house. Ditto for the Skidmore House (the shell) on the other side of the construction zone. Furthermore, according to the Merchant's House, the city owns that land and has said that they will build a park there.Soon after, we heard from Pi Gardiner, executive director of the Merchant's House, who told us that the lot is the site of Shaft 31b. That's part of the third water tunnel the City is building to deliver water from upstate to our parched lips. Pi also asked us to relay an invitation for Curbed readers to stop by the Merchant's House, which is open to the public. If you've never been, it's worth the trip.
· The Third Water Tunnel [pbs.org]
· Merchant's House Museum [merchantshouse.com]
· Revenge of the Machines on East 4th [Curbed]