Foundation work is advancing at 219 West Broadway, the former site in TriBeCa of El Teddy's, the tex-mex restaurant whose entrance, topped by a large sculpture modeled after the crown of the Statue of Liberty, was a popular and unofficial local landmark that appeared often in the opening credits of the "Saturday Night Live" television program.
Steve Elghanayan of Epic L. L. C., is erecting a new six-story building designed by Richard A. Cook, on the mid-block site that will contain 6 condominium apartments.
"Liberty's" crown was erected in 1985 and was created by Antoni Miralda, a artist who owned the restaurant, then called El Internacional, with his partner, Montse Gullien, a chef.
The restaurant had previously been known as Teddy's, named after owner Teddy Bartel, who ran it as a German eatery from the 1920s through World War II. In the 1950s, it became an Italian restaurant operated by Sal Cucinatta and in 1984 Miralda and Guillen, a chief, took over the property and created El Internacional, and added the 2,500-pound, 40-foot-wide, steel crown the next year. It was renamed El Teddy's when it was subsequently acquired in 1988 by Christopher Chesnutt, who added a stained glass, Art Nouveau-style canopy beneath the crown in 1992.
After unsuccessful attempts to have the building made a city landmark and to save the crown, the crown was demolished last year. The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission voted not to designate the two-story building, which was built in 1915, in 2001. Elghanyan bought the building in 2000 from Mr. Cucinatta for about $3 million and the landmarks commission approved his new building plans in 2001. Mr. Chesnutt signed a new 10-year lease for the property in 2001 but closed the restaurant in 2004 because of a decline in business following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center September 11, 2001.
Steve Elghanayan of Epic L. L. C., is erecting a new six-story building designed by Richard A. Cook, on the mid-block site that will contain 6 condominium apartments.
"Liberty's" crown was erected in 1985 and was created by Antoni Miralda, a artist who owned the restaurant, then called El Internacional, with his partner, Montse Gullien, a chef.
The restaurant had previously been known as Teddy's, named after owner Teddy Bartel, who ran it as a German eatery from the 1920s through World War II. In the 1950s, it became an Italian restaurant operated by Sal Cucinatta and in 1984 Miralda and Guillen, a chief, took over the property and created El Internacional, and added the 2,500-pound, 40-foot-wide, steel crown the next year. It was renamed El Teddy's when it was subsequently acquired in 1988 by Christopher Chesnutt, who added a stained glass, Art Nouveau-style canopy beneath the crown in 1992.
After unsuccessful attempts to have the building made a city landmark and to save the crown, the crown was demolished last year. The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission voted not to designate the two-story building, which was built in 1915, in 2001. Elghanyan bought the building in 2000 from Mr. Cucinatta for about $3 million and the landmarks commission approved his new building plans in 2001. Mr. Chesnutt signed a new 10-year lease for the property in 2001 but closed the restaurant in 2004 because of a decline in business following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center September 11, 2001.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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