Beautiful building in LIC awaiting death by impending tower of glass & steel
Old building to be knocked down for Rockrose Tower, Courthouse Sq, LIC
Walking around Courthouse Square this morning with a fellow LIC real estate obsessive, liQcity learned that this beautiful old building (along with the gigantic, adjacent parking lot behind it) at the corner of 44th Rd and Crescent St, right next to the United Nations Federal Credit Union, is being torn down to make way for a 42 story, 704 unit Rockrose rental building. Nice that it’s rentals - wish the price was as nice. Super lux apartments with fancy trimmings (expect any less?) - studios start at $2100/mo.
They’ll be knocking this building down and breaking ground in the spring. Supposedly there is one guy left living there, whose days are obviously numbered.
Incidentally, Rockrose also owns the triangular development site across the street as well. If anyone knows what’s going there, feel free to send us the scoop.
- A shot of the UN building construction in Spring 2006 [liQcity Flickr]
Yes. We forgot to mention that. Retail on the GF.
Oh, so sad! I always called that “the little building that could.”
We used to have family who lived there about 10 years ago. So sad to see it go. A lot of memories in that old building.
Yeah what a shame, that’s a nice building. And the condos are a fucking blight on this neighborhood. On the other hand, that side of Court Square has basically been a write-off since the Citi building went up.
Rumor has it Jackson Ave. Steakhouse is moving to the new rockrose bldg.
That place has good steaks and happy hour
Will they call it the Rockrose Steakhouse then?
And no, they’re not, stop lying.
THIS IS HORRIBLE. That is such a gorgeous building. WTF is wrong with Rockrose?
is there any way to save this building?
Yes, the old building faces the wrecking ball. The supposed lone-resident of the building was actually two residents, my mother and uncle, who have lived at 24-15 for 84 and 80 years respectively (no kidding). Both have now vacated. For anyone who is interested, the building was built in 1905, four years before the completion of the Queensborough Bridge. Its early residents included doctors who worked at the original St. John’s hospital which sat on the site now occupied by the larger Citicorp office tower. During the late ’20s and ’30s the residential makeup of the building started to change–mostly working class Irish and Italians.
It was a fine building and a great place to grow up in. We’ll miss it.
-razor317@yahoo.com
Fucking hell. This would be landmarked in Manhattan, probably. I love that damned building, standing up against Citicorp.
Grew up in the neighborhood and hung out with my good friend Ray (posted above). I lived across the street and spent many a cold evening warming up on the radiators in the hallway. The stoop in front was a meeting place for neighborhood kids and the ground level was a luncheonette that served the factory workers. I have many memories of that building etched in my brain. Sorry to see it go too. My father was right. He said “One day, LIC will be a popular spot.” Too bad he said it in 1960. As I’ve always said, LIC is the only place where you can pay $850,000 for a condo and when you walk outside your building, you see the guy next door spray painting a taxicab.
This is heart breaking.
Yes, indeed. I still miss the Hackett Building.
Just think, more glass & steel and more clueless trust fund kids living in ‘luxury’ with their Saabs lining the streets.
Can you say ‘more blackouts’ Con Ed?
You can kiss any landmarking in Queens of our past goodbye because Helen Marshall spreads her legs for overdevelopers as Mayor Bloomberg looks on and wanks.
Any retail on the ground floor?