Tishman Speyer requested tenants to turn off unnecessary lights and appliances to conserve energy, but gives a full glow to a closed and empty Oval Lounge, with even the HD TV set on. Must be part of the sales pitch.
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The Oval Essentials (limited to 1,000 essential paying members) are going to be premiering soon, but two of them--Oval Lounge and Oval Study--are just about done and very viewable through top/bottom glass windows. Despite not being open, all the Essentials are now fully lit and glowing, with even the Lounge's HD flatbed screen turned on to some finance channel. (The Bloomberg Channel perhaps?--and I'm serious.) It seemed just the other day that landlord Tishman Speyer was asking tenants to conserve energy, but as already proven with TS' rental office on 1st Ave, the conservation of power is not something the landlord thinks about as being aplicable to the company. Just the peasants should follow these requests.
In walking around at night, checking out these Essentials, I had several impressions.... Tishman Speyer has permanently removed the oasis-like feel of the Oval by introducing four brightly lit commercial concerns in the heart of Stuy Town, and making the place feel like a condo project in Queens. And, yes, these are commercial enterprises, as there is a charge to enter them, and they will be rented out to interested parties. Their presence is not unattractive, however, at least at this point when they are empty, and each Essential gives a perspective to the length of the Oval that wasn't there before. Problems are sure to rise with use, however. I feel sorry for the tenants who live near these Essentials, particularly the Lounge, as they will have little peace until the Essentials close for the day, which could be as late as 11pm. It's possible that when rented, the Essentials will be open later than that. Each Essential has a patio area, which again means noise for the tenants near the Essential if the patios will be heavy used. (And just think of the horrors that these tenants had to endure this summer with all the construction noise! They really should have gotten a rent decrease during this torturous time.) The Essentials are small, so that, if popular among the select 1,000 members, there's going to be a problem with fitting everyone in comfortably. Oval Study is going to particularly tight, and already one sees how bunched up the four computers are, sitting on a very small round table. Each Essential juts out with a glass roofing, and one wonders if this is ever going to be a safety issue should a branch, or some other object, fall on this glass.
According to Town & Village newspaper, there's going to be an open house of the Essentials from October 11 to 19, excepting October 16, when all Essentials will be closed. I'm not certain if this is accurate information, as there's been an e-mail sent out from the Essentials' crew that the open house will be for guests of Essential members. We'll just have to see what the situation will be. If open to anyone, it may the only time most of us will get a chance to feel the places out. Somehow, I don't think we will be impressed, but I do want to check out that mini-theater at Oval Film.
Below, Oval Study. Note the computers bunched up on the right.
They look very cold and institutional. I've seen doctors' waiting rooms that look more warm and inviting. They definitely don't belong in the Oval and I'm sure they will be a disturbance to people living in the apartments above them. The also look cheap and tacky, but then schlock is the hallmark of Tishman Speyer! They even make Donald Trump look classy - - nd that takes some doing!
ReplyDeleteI also feel sorry for the people who happen to live near any of these Essentials. Up until now, the Oval buildings were the créme de la créme of Stuy Town. Going forward, it will be like residing in Penn Station, but without the charm.
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