92 Eighth Avenue Ravaged By Superstorm Sandy ─ What’s Next?

By Brian J Pape, AIA

92 Eighth Avenue, center, was a victim of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Its front façade, above the second floor windows, collapsed in the night exposing the illegal interiors. Credit: 6sqft NYC.

A Village View reader asked us to report on 92 Eighth Avenue just north of 14th Street, which has been a trash-strewn empty lot since 2015.

We knew that 92 Eighth Avenue had been a victim of Hurricane Sandy which made landfall near Atlantic City, New Jersey on Oct. 29, 2012, with the expectation of wind gusts over 58 mph. Later on Long Island Sound, sustained winds reached 75 mph, according to Wikipedia records. The timing of the storm surge coincided with the normal high tide, as well as a full moon, which added to the increase in water. A storm surge of 9.40 ft. was recorded. Eighth Avenue is far from any flooding ─ nevertheless, the four-story walk-up, dating to about 1910, experienced the collapse of its 3rd- and 4th-floor front façades onto the sidewalk during the stormy night. High winds can create a suction on the face of a building and any aging weakness can rupture the connections of the façade. This may have been the cause of the damage.

As reported Dec. 29, 2014, in 6sqft NYC, “With all of its similarly furnished rooms exposed to onlookers, it was soon discovered the building operated as an illegal hotel catering to European travelers. Its interiors looked like “an open doll house.” It went on to say, “Demolition permits filed earlier this month are a sure sign workers will soon begin dismantling the building. The construction permit notes that the new building will be approximately 12,000 square feet “with commercial on first floor and residential units above.” C3D Architecture was listed as the architects of record and Big Apple Properties as the owner.

Then on April 17, 2015, Nikolai Fedak wrote in YIMBY NY, “YIMBY now has the reveal for the new building designed by C3D Architecture. Permits list the developer (since 2013) as Maxine Gilbert of GO 8th Ave. LLC.” Per C3D’s website, “The 6-story building occupies a roughly 26 feet wide and 93 feet deep lot, and provides 10,000 sq. ft. gross area above ground. The ground floor provides commercial retail space which extends into the cellar. The upper floors accommodate 9 rental units of approximately 500 sq. ft to 1,000 sq. ft each. Most of the units have their own private terrace or balcony. The rooftop features a generous terrace shared by the tenants. At the front façade, a fully glazed curtain wall spans over the entire height of the building, extending into the sky. A patterned print on the glass at each floor level provides privacy for the apartment and lends the façade lightness and rhythm. The side walls are clad in metal panels, setting the building apart from its neighbors and giving the all-glass façade a strong framing.”

Prior to Hurricane Sandy, 92 Eighth Avenue, center, had been a four-story, mixed-use walk-up built around 1910. Credit: Apartments.com.

The YIMBY report continued, “Permits for 92 Eighth Avenue were submitted for examination in March (2015) per the DOB, and pending their approval, construction should begin shortly.” It was not to be.

The 92 Eighth Avenue rebuilding, center, as proposed by the owner and architect in the 2015 DOB filing. It was never built. Credit: C3D Architecture.

Village View contacted C3D Architecture who told us that there has been no activity since the DOB filing, perhaps because of the death of a Gilbert family member around that time. Since that occurred prior to any COYNY code changes, the architects do not feel that recent conditions will affect the site. GO 8th Ave. LLC is still listed as owner of the site on city records. Perhaps only a change of ownership will restart the project.