Creepy Windowless Medical Building On 71st Street Becomes Bright & Colorful UPK

This dreary building on 71st Street is a windowless dungeon no longer.

Located at 2165 71st Street, right off of Bay Parkway, the grey structure that once housed the ambiguously named and untraceable “Bensonhurst Medical Center” has been under construction for several months now — and what a change indeed!

In May, Mark Cannelos, of National Environmental Safety Company, applied for construction permits to transform the site into a Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) building, including “classrooms and accessory spaces,” according to Department of Buildings (DOB) records. The new building — which was revealed this week as the scaffolding came down — is shaping up nicely, with big, asymmetrical windows, a cheerful and modern color block design, and a crisp, white paint job.

Check it out:

Neighbors living adjacent to the property are not too happy with the ongoing construction; three noise and debris complaints were registered with the DOB this year, but they were all found to be unsubstantiated.

Overall, the building makes for a lively and modern addition to the neighborhood, and improves the appearance of the block. And of course, the neighborhood could always use more UPK seats. We’ll be keeping our eye on this one!