May 12, 2008
Goodbye Alphabet City Toy Tower
The farewell party for the famous "Toy Tower" at the Avenue B and 6th Street community garden took place yesterday. Vanishing New York estimates about 100 well-wishers were in attendance to eulogize the found object art tower, which rose to a height of 65 feet over the course of two decades. The eclectic structure is the work of the colorful East Village character Eddie Boros, who passed away one year ago this month.
Adrian Benepe, the city’s parks commissioner, told the Times that "parts of the tower were rotting and inspectors had become concerned that a piece of it could fall or that somebody might be injured while trying to scale the structure." Workers will begin dismantling the Toy Tower piece by piece from a cherry picker this week. Benepe added that some of the pieces would be handed over to community gardeners as mementos. It's unclear what will become of the six garden plots in the tower's footprint; one option under consideration is to use the space for a rotating series of sculpture exhibits.
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It's unclear what will become of the six garden plots in the tower's footprint; one option under consideration is to use the space for a rotating series of sculpture exhibits.
Let's consider this: is the total space large enough to build condos on? If not, is it large enough to be worth seizing an adjoining lot through a hellacious use of eminent domain in order to build condos? And if not ...
Look, let's be honest, they'll find a way to build them some condos.
"It's unclear what will become of the six garden plots in the tower's footprint; one option under consideration is to use the space for a rotating series of sculpture exhibits."
maybe they could be used for, i dont know, gardening??
I believe it's been zoned for a disneyland sleeping beauty castle.
It's the ridiculous stuff like the toy tower that makes this city great. Somebody comes up with something and does it. Now it's, ONLY somebody with a gazillion dollars comes up with something and does it no matter how much we try to go through the system to stop it.
I'm gonna miss it. Kinda cubist futurist.
I used to live at 4th and B and would pass this sculpture every night. After awhile I never even noticed it anymore unless my eye happened to catch sight of one of the moldy stuffed animals. Another lost piece of NY.
Of course this was way before Starbucks and all the trustifarians moved in effectively forcing all of the artists and junkies out of the 'hood.