While Atlantic Yards holdout Daniel Goldstein put up a pretty epic fight against Bruce Ratner's megaproject, he won't go down in history as the most stubborn NYC property owner of all time. That designation should go to the two little townhouses that survived the city's original megaproject: Rockefeller Center. Nick Carr of Scouting NY shares the history of the two buildings, which flank 30 Rockefeller Plaza along Sixth Avenue.
The grey house at 1240 Sixth Avenue, where Magnolia Bakery now operates, was owned by three Irishmen who ran a pub. When Rockefeller started buying up land to build his skyscrapers, the men announced they would only leave if they were paid $250 million?the original estimated construction cost of the entire Rockefeller Center.
The house at 1258 Sixth Avenue also refused to sell, and thus Rockefeller Center rose up beside them. The buildings are easily missed among Midtown's towering buildings, but they should serve as a hopeful reminder to all anti-developer Nimby holdouts: sometimes David beats Goliath.
· The Little Townhouse In The Shadow Of 30 Rock [Scouting NY]
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