301 East 79th Street
The main plaza space is at the back of the residential building on the north side of East 79th Street east of Second Avenue. Up eight steps from the sidewalk is a barren rectangular area paved in concrete, with numerous small wooden planters scattered about in a desultory pattern. No seating is provided.
An additional public space here is the plaza-like park, a extension jutting northward from the building into the face of East 80th Street east of Second Avenue. As described by the owner’s lawyer before the City’s Board of Standards and Appeals, “Instead of utilizing the fingerlike projection on the south side of East 80th Street as a garage entrance-exit ramp, the lot area occupied by the fingerlike projection is developed as a plaza-type park.” The idea was interesting, but the execution flawed. At a recent site visit, the entrance to the plaza-like park from East 80th Street was fenced off, and the space behind the fence was full of garbage. No record of City approval for any changes to the plaza-like park requirement have been found. The remainder of plaza space is extra sidewalk in front of both Second Avenue and East 79th Street sides of the building.