West 104th Street Block Association Newsletter - Spotlight - West End Palazzos

Aug 30, 2026

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Community-focused newsletter covering neighborhood history, local events, and board communications for the West 104th Street Block Association. Highlights include a Spotlight feature on West End Palazzos and the rise of high-rise apartment development following the subway’s opening, plus coverage of the 27th Annual Yard Sale and its community-driven activities. Includes board holiday greetings and a financial report table summarizing balances, dues, guard service, and yard sale related items.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Spotlight

West End Palazzos: 905 and 895 Brought “High” Rises to the Block

27th Annual Yard Sale

Celebrates Community Spirit

Holiday Greetings from the Board of Directors

W 104 ST Block Assn Financial Report

West 104th Street BLOCK ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER 􀂜Ûi􀂓LiÀ Óä£È SPOTLIGHT West End Palazzos 905 and 895 Brought “High” Rises to the Block (The latest installment in a series on our block’s history and architecture by Gilbert Tauber.) n March 1900, ground was broken for New York’s first subway, whimeschSwouquareldabnegin at Cd Broadwityay Hall and reaAt that timceh, thepublUppic trearnsWpeosrttSatiidoenvtiaothe Upper West Side consisted of the Ninth Avenue Elevated, which went up Columbus Avenue, and streetcar lines on Central Park West, Amsterdam Avenue, and Broadway. The advent of the subway, which opened in 1904, raised land values all along its route. Builders turned to higher-rise apartment houses, preferably on large corner sites. An illustration in an 1912 issue of Real Estate Record and Builders’ Guide shows a nearly uniform row of 3-story brick and brownstone houses on the westside of West End Avenue between 103rd and 104th Streets. The accompanying article reported that the Paterno Brothers had bought them and would replace them with a 12-story apartment house. It may have taken some time to vacate the existing houses on the site; although its building permit was issued in 1912, the present 895 West End Avenue was probably not completed until 1916. While it was going up, the Paternos were assembling a site at the northwest corner of 104th Street. A 1916 issue of the publication reported that the 905 West End Avenue Corporation, whose president was Anthony Paterno, had acquired the row houses at 901 through 909 West End Avenue plus 303 West 104th Street. The building now known as 905 West End Avenue received its building permit in 1916 and was completed in the fall of 1917. 􀀖􀂓􀂓􀂈}À>􀂘Ì 􀀌iÛi􀂏􀂜«iÀÃ The Paterno Brothers were an immigrant success story worthy of a Hollywood biopic. The family patriarch was Giovanni (John) Paterno, a builder in Castelmezzano, a town southeast of Naples. With his wife and their younger children, [he emigrated to the U.S. in](he emigrated to the U.S. in)[ ](he emigrated to the U.S. in)[the 1880s. John](the 1880s. John), [as he was now known](as he was now known), [reestablished his](reestablished his) construc tion business in New York and his family also grew. Eventually, continued on page 5 27th Annual Yard Sale Celebrates Community Spirit Despite clouds and raindrops at dawn on September 24, the sun shone brightly by mid-morning on the West 104th Street Yard Sale, which had suffered rainouts for the past two years. Heartened by the fair weather, crowds of visitors gathered around some sixty curbside stalls, dug through the piles of merchandise, and uncovered the secret ingredient animating the Yard Sale for twenty-seven years: community spirit unsurpassed on any block in the five boroughs. Earlier that morning, parents and children raced to unpack truckloads of items and arrange displays of vintage clothing, costume jewelry, abandoned toys and games, retired household items, and various forsaken treasures. They watched volunteers wearing navy blue tee-shirts chasing down wind-blown sheets of poster-board, which would serve as signs marking the locations ofthe Bake Sale, Book Sale, Raffle, and Silent Auction. Meanwhile, around the corner under the West End Avenue scaffolding, visitors waited while volunteers at ‘What-a-Bargain’ stocked tables overflowing with pre-owned household items awaiting their next incarnations in welcoming kitchens and playrooms. At the Bake Sale on the opposite corner, volunteers poured hot coffee and smeared bagels with cream cheese, while stocking the tables with every variety of baked delicacy. By 10:00 AM, the first visitors descended to inspect the items on display at stalls lining both sides of the street. The steady breeze invited connoisseurs to admire animated blouses and ties hanging from the vendors’ racks. Infecting the crowd with the headiness of seasonal change, it lured gamers to the raffle table. At the Book Sale

FAQs

What is the Spotlight feature in this newsletter about?

The Spotlight section focuses on West End Palazzos and explains how the introduction of the subway influenced land values and later high-rise apartment development along the block’s history.

What does the newsletter say about the 27th Annual Yard Sale?

It describes the community event held on September 24, noting how visitors interacted with curbside stalls and how community spirit fueled the Yard Sale for twenty-seven years.

What information is included in the board’s financial report?

The report provides opening balances and itemized figures for dues, guard service, plants and related costs, yard sale figures, and resulting totals.

Aug 30, 2026

Upload by Miles