Bing & Bing

Bing & Bing was one of the most important apartment real estate developers in New York City in the early 20th century.

The firm was founded by Leo S. Bing and his brother, Alexander M. Bing. The brothers often worked with the architect Emery Roth[1] on buildings like The Alden, at 82nd and Central Park West, and the Southgate complex of apartment houses on the south side of 52nd Street between First Avenue and the East River. In 1985, the heirs of the Bings[2] sold most of their buildings to a partnership led by Martin J. Raynes.[3]

The firm had a reputation for building "stately, spacious apartments in elegantly detailed buildings that often had Art Deco touches."[4] Bing & Bing buildings, all built for the luxury market, often feature multiple setbacks with private terraces.[4] According to the New York Times, "The Bing & Bing buildings are regarded as among the city's finest prewar properties."[3]

Alexander Bing (1879 – 1959) was also an author, artist, art patron and philanthropist. Bing was the first president of the Regional Planning Association of America, and the primary source of funding for the City Housing Corporation, the organization behind the development of housing landmark Sunnyside Gardens in Astoria, Queens, and the planned community of Radburn, New Jersey. Late in life Bing also started the Friends of the Whitney Museum of American Art, with David Sholinger and Roy Neuberger.

Bing & Bing buildings: a selected list

Upper East Side

Upper West Side

Downtown and Greenwich Village

References

  1. Steven Ruttenbaum, Mansions in the clouds: the skyscraper palazzi of Emery Roth, Balsam Press, 1986, pp. 47 - 49.
  2. Leo Bing's children include Dr. Peter Bing, public health expert in the Johnson Administration, formerly a trustee of Stanford University and father of Steve Bing.
  3. 1 2 Wedemeyer, Dee (1985-06-30). "Bing & Bing Sells Off its Properties". The New York Times.
  4. 1 2 3 "Taking a Peek at Prewar Classics", New York Times, June 9, 2006
  5. James Trager, The New York Chronology: The Ultimate Compendium of Events, People, and Anecdotes from the Dutch to the Present, reprint by HarperCollins, 2004, p. 355; Christopher Gray, "Streetscapes: 903 Park Avenue, at 79th Street; 1914 Apartment House Once Called World's Tallest", The New York Times, 12 May 2002, accessed 1 May 2010.
  6. City Review: 565 Park Avenue
  7. City Review: !000 Park Avenue
  8. Taking a Peek at Prewar Classics, New York Times, June 9, 2006
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