86 University Place Seemed Doomed
Reports are coming in that 86 University Place is likely doomed. More condos ahead? Here’s some history on the lovely old building:
“The structure, built as a single-family house ca. 1840 with alterations in the 1880s and 1919, captures some of the great currents of New York and Greenwich Village history. One of its earliest owners and occupants was one of the 19th century’s great philanthropists, involved in founding, expanding, or managing the New York Public Library, the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Historical Society, the nation’s first chronic disease hospital, and the city’s first library for women. Later it was the residence and business place of one of the city’s most prominent and successful German immigrant families, when NYC had the largest German-speaking population of any city outside Berlin or Vienna. And in the 20th century it was home to The Royalist operated by “Mayor of Greenwich Village” Barney Gallant, the first New Yorker prosecuted for violating Prohibition, and The Bagatelle, one of the most prominent pre-Stonewall lesbian bars, frequented by writers Audrey Lorde and Ann Bannon.”
Here’s the plan:
The proposed 193-foot-tall development will yield 16,806 square feet, with 15,213 square feet designated for residential space and 1,593 square feet for commercial space. The building will have seven residences, most likely condos based on the average unit scope of 2,173 square feet. The concrete-based structure will also have a cellar.
There’s much more about the history HERE.

