R453, the above photo I posted of the entire block, shows the building when Tower Records was still open, you can easily see the dark area on the side of the building where the entrance to co-op is located. This photo doesn't show any 'current arrangements' of the ground floors, that co-op entrance was always there when Tower opened. The middle area of the huge full block building was converted to co-ops in 1982.
There's no point in arguing, especially if you refuse to check out the photo which explains that a co-op entrance has been in the middle of the block since 1982. The co-op entrance is even mentioned in the current info about the building, which I've added below.
"The Silk Building, 14 East 4th Street Between Lafayette Street & Broadway
The Silk Building is a very handsome, Italian-Renaissance-palazzo structureat 14 East 4th Street between Broadway and Lafayette Street that was erected in 1908 and converted to a residential condominium with retail spaces in 1982.
The 12-story building has 56 apartments.
One of the larger buildings in this neighborhood, the building occupies the entire south side of the street between Broadway and Lafayette Streets and the leasing of its entire retail spaces to Tower Records in 1983 signaled a new era in the area’s retailing and significantly bolstered this area of Broadway to a fever pitch.
While the area had long been servicing the ever-growing student population of nearby New York University, Tower Records became a major destination store in New York and part of its success was due, in no part, to the historic cultural explosion of talent that was being exposed and discovered at the time on MTV, the Music Television channel whose videos by Madonna, Michael Jackson and many others was a short-lived but incredibly dynamic high point of Twentieth Century culture.
The elegant renovation of this handsome building was designed by Buttrick, White & Burtis.
One of the premier buildings in NoHo, this elegant building has an impressive entrance and lobby, interesting layouts and a prime retail location close to New York University and SoHo. The building, which has a large cornice and band courses over the first, third and eleventh floors, has a very elegant mid-block entrance flanked by four columns and topped by a pediment. The building has an elegant lobby, but no garage, no balconies and no sidewalk landscaping. It permits protruding air-conditioners.
While the Broadway scene at the corner remains confusingly congested and very busy, the MID-BLOCK ENTRANCE and Lafayette Street end are quite calm and this is one of the prime locations in NoHo close to many landmarks, restaurants, boutiques, theaters and the like."
