(post by Dee) Built out of the shell of the former Eagle Electric Company factory, Pistilli Riverview East at 19-19 24^th Ave. co-op building in Astoria (zip 11102) was going to be a challenging conversion. But to fully realize just how challenging is was, and how bad a job can a local apartment company do, one has to walk the hallways, and stairways, and the wasted spaces of this building. No matter how strange the exterior (the stucco, the Star Wars-like giant emblem on the main entrance side - see pics below), how ridiculous the 3^rd floor half-floor windows and balconies (built for little people or as crawl spaces?) are, or how funky are those balconies on the top floor, one must step inside to see the most confusing and wasted spaces of the Pistilli Riverview East. I am not the first one to say that the building is just strange-looking. But we are the first ones in the blogosphere to document it fully in pictures. Located right next to Astoria Park, on the border of Astoria and LIC this co-op is good for those who love to jog or walk their dog, or play tennis (courts around the corner) and not so good for those who want restaurants or a train nearby.

The tenants at the Riverview East are pretty active, talking to each other on the Astorians forum. There is some good (apartments are big – 800-plus s/f 1BRs, or huge – 1200 s/f 1BRs), and there is some bad (Pistilli’s terrible reputation as landlords and as a management company). But we are not here to speak negatively about anyone. Still, we spent some time walking the building’s dim, long, windy hallways, where the HVAC system makes such noise you may think you’re in a wind tunnel or in an airplane. Each wing has front and real elevators, and hallways go in sort of an incomplete circle pattern, with dead-ends, huge empty corners, and areas size of a small apartment just wasted. COUNTLESS corners and nooks, and semi-rooms just left unutilized. There are two exits from the elevator, and some floors have these open rooms (play rooms?) that contain no furniture and are not marked. All this, with no signs helping you navigate through the maze. The fire stairs, well, those are wider and bigger than the main stairs in my high school! Sure it’s a legacy of this being an industrial building, but what a strange feeling to go from the main hallway, which is narrow and dark, to the emergency stairs that are bright and wide, and open. I could not find my way out on two occasions, and finally ended up in the lobby through some side entrance that swings like a saloon door.

The lobby, ah, the lobby! The colors are from the 70’s, and even though it is really big and open and shiny, the paint job and those duck sculptures, and the neo-roman columns, combined with the rest of the funky design, all give it a very dated look. The old guy at the front desk answered “it’s not my job to know” to many of my questions and didn’t get up to open door for even one person, but he did find time to scream at one of the porters to not use the bathroom in the lobby. I would describe him as “rude” and “incompetent” but I am neither his boss, not do I live there. Maybe he is just great to the tenants?

On top of it all, Pistillis went really overboard stamping the building with their name and logo. There is “PRE” etched on all of the frosted windows everywhere, and “Pistilli Riverview East” carved in brass and steel here and there. Must be proud of their work.

Did anyone from the Chamber of Commerce go inside this building before awarding them an award in a Rehab category in 2007? Should these types of conversions be done only by great architects and real developers with great design teams? Hmmm.

There is one aspect of the building that is quite cool. The views at Pistilli Riverview East, from some of the balconies and from the roof top (it’s open but does not look like it’s a common area to use), are AMAZING. The Manhattan skyline and the bridges are breathtaking for sure. And, since the building is right on Astoria Park, the views are guaranteed for life.

Check the pictures of Pistilli Riverview East.