In the kind of quick victory rarely seen in New York, preservation activists have been able to save the Kentile Floors sign. Kind of. It’s still coming down from its present location on Ninth Street and Second Avenue, but instead of being thrown into the scrap heap of history and into a literal scrap heap, it’s being donated to the Gowanus Alliance, who will find a new home for the sign, according to the New York Times. Where exactly? Hey, how about on your roof?
Just kidding, there’s no public auction of anything allowing people to get a crack at hosting the sign. Instead, the sign will be given to nonprofit the Gowanus Alliance, who will then work to find a new home in Gowanus for it. There are still questions of how exactly the sign will come down in a way that allows it to be put back together, with Lander suggested that instead of being dropped down a garbage chute, the letters will be taken down by pulleys, leaving the door open for more exciting permitting decisions by the Department of Buildings.
The owner of the building that the Kentile sign sits on at the moment, Elyahu Cohen, claims he’s taking the sign down because rust and damage from Hurricane Sandy make it too expensive to restore. He has a textile factory in the building though, so maybe this can clear the way for him to put up his own giant neon sign that people will love.
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