Lemon aid

We've been out of our old place for about 3 weeks now. I'm relieved it's all over. My mood during most of 2004 was sour and acidic, like the lemons we were handed. But now I've added just enough sugar to make life a refreshing lemonade.

In 1940 New York City embarked on an ambitious project: to photograph every single building in the five boroughs as part of its tax assessment. Anyone can order a photo from the city, but it's not cheap. An 8 x 10 print costs $30, an 11 x 14 costs $45. If you don't know the block and lot number it's an extra $5. I ordered the print in early January; it arrived a little over a week ago.


The building in 1940 (left) and today.

The cornice atop the building in 1940 appears to have been shaved off to make room for the stunning (stunningly bad, that is) aluminum siding covering the facade--that'll be the first thing to go. The odd arrangement of windows on the second and third floors was actually built that way. The siding emphasizes the "snaggletooth," as Luis calls it, look. We'll be ripping that off, for sure.

We close on the new building in 3 days. After that we'll embark on another adventure in Wonderland: applying for a zoning variance (which we have to do before renovating). We're optimistic about getting it, but even if we don't, we've decided we can turn around and resell the property, since the neighborhood's getting hot. A major developer plans to build 300 to 400 units of housing on the canal, right across the street, designed by famed architect Enrique Norten. Whole Foods already owns four lots on 3rd Street, so their plans to build appear to be more than just hearsay. Maybe we'll become rich land barons after all.