Demolition Prepped for Historic Bowery Buildings, Including One from 1790

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Today, the bell tolls for three of the oldest buildings on the Bowery, including a butchered Federal-style row house dating back to the 1790s.

The wrecking ball has admittedly been expected for many months – demolition permits were filed last May, in fact – but the welcome mat was finally rolled out yesterday. A mess of scaffolding for 138-142 Bowery signals the inevitable.

It didn’t matter that the three buildings were sold as part of the five-property, $47 million portfolio last month (total assemblage is 134-142 Bowery). Nothing stands in the way of that kind of money. Plans for the development area remain active; it seems the new ownership – Emmut Properties – is proceeding with the condo-hotel idea.

As previously reported, the 44,000 square-foot replacement will be divvied up between commercial hotel (30,825 square-feet) and residential use (13,859). In plain English, that means 64 hotel rooms and 21 apartments. A retail tenant and rooftop “recreation area” are also included in the pending plans.

Since the five-parcel tract resides in the Special Little Italy District, zoning caps heights at a mere 85 feet, and requires significant masonry.

Meanwhile, 134 and 136 Bowery – historic in their own right – are both spared for the time being; there are no demolition permits on file at the moment. These were built around 1798 for Samuel Delaplaine and during their long history housed the Carmel Chapel of Reverend Dooley, the New York City Mission and the art studios of Eva Hesse, Billy Apple and Gilda Pervin.