279 East 3rd Street; 279-283 East 3rd Street | Block : 373 | Lot #64

Description & Building Alterations

This six-story medical building was constructed in 1973 for NENA Comprehensive Health Service. According to the 2010 version of AIA Guide to New York City, however, the build date is 1976 (it could be that even though the new building application was filed in 1973, construction was not completed until three years later). Page 202 of the AIA Guide says, “the facade of this multistory health center enjoys a monumentality once reserved for cathedrals. Within, the spaces (and the muted color scheme) establish a scale more appropriate to community health care.”

The 1980s tax photo (see sidebar) shows a facade similar to the one we see today, except for curved “canopies” above the ground floor and on one of the upper floors that were

Previously, a six-story old law tenement designed by Bernstein & Bernstein and built in 1902 stood here. This brick residential building with ground floor stores was owned by Jennie Wanderer. In 1972, the building was demolished because it was in danger of collapse.