A couple of commenters on yesterday's thread about the new-look West 12th Street in the Far West Village noted a curious scaffolding-wrapped two-story building on the corner. So too did our Will Femia, who snapped a bunch of photos of the dilapidated building when he was on the block taking in all the luxury development goodness. The crumbling structure, now sandwiched between two buildings from architect/developer Cary Tamarkin and a few feet from Robert A.M. Stern's Superior Ink, is?as those commenters noted?the old Gulf Coast restaurant building at 489 West Street. The late '80s hot spot is caught up in the mess/legacy of late West Village landlord supreme Bill Gottlieb. We asked a neighbor for some input, and here's his response:
It's owned by the gottliebs and they've let it go to hell. It's very dangerous and should be condemned by the city. We've had the DOB look at it several times and I think it may well be condemned soon. Couldn't happen soon enough.Checking in with the DOB, it looks like inspectors checked out reports that the building's stability was in question back on May 12th. No violation was issued. In the gallery above, check out the building in better times, as well as its current sorry state.
· Introducing 397 West 12th Street, If You Can Find It [Curbed]
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