The Sad Remuddling Of 195 Smith Street, Former Home Of Robin Des Bois

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The Former Robin Des Bois at 195 Smith Street back in 2011

Construction Work begins in 2012

Construction continues in May 2013

Still Sisters: 193 and 195 Smith Street in  January 2014

Reconfiguration of inside walls.

Notice metal studs across windows.

195 Smith Street as it looks now

 

Many in the neighborhood will remember Robin Des Bois, one of the "pioneers of Smith Street French bistrodom".  The beloved bar/restaurant called it quits in late 2011.  Since then, the vacated storefront at 195 Smith Street has been empty and the building which housed it had been undergoing a bizarre transformation.

In 2012, it looked as though a brick oven pizza place was going to move in, but that never happened, By September of that year, the NYC Department Of Buildings approved a permit for a horizontal enlargement at rear to change the three-story, two family building with commercial space to a "four family with commercial space. Shortly afterwards, a crew began excavating the backyard. Day after day, workers dumped wheel barrow after wheel barrow of dirt into a dumpster. By November, the NYC Department of Buildings Emergency response team issued a violation for work without a permit.

Eventually, it was lifted and work progressed slowly.

Then earlier this year, a reader commented that it seemed strange that metal studs had been installed in the middle of the windows, suggesting that the inside of the building was being reconfigured in a way that would make it necessary to redo the façade.

Sure enough, a few days later, a scaffolding and netting went up and work on the front of the building began.

Well, the scaffolding just came down to reveal a very changed building.

Gone is the cornice, gone are the old beige bricks and the detail around the windows.

195 Smith Street looked exactly like its sister building next door at number 193.  Now it just looks like an ugly brick box.

It makes me rather sad.