You may not know that the rather nondescript West 28th Street was once the site of Tin Pan Alley, the row of music publishers to composers like the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, and Johnny Mercer. Now, five of those buildings — a total 111,000 square feet — are on the market for $44 million, with the recommendation that they be demolished and replaced with a garden-variety high-rise. There’s no landmark status to protect them. Hmmm. And one of the buildings housed Mother Earth, the magazine started by Emma Goldman. It’s one thing to hear a phantom roller piano play “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise” at all hours of the day and night, but do developers really want to fuck with a feminist anarchist’s ghost? [Lost City via Loopnet]
