Neil's Final Goodbye: Classic UES Diner To Be Gutted

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY —The last remnants of Neil's eight decades of Upper East Side history are about to vanish.

Property owner Solil Management plans to gut and renovate the space at 961 Lexington Ave., on the corner of East 70th Street, according to recently filed building department plans.

For 84 years, that corner spot was home to Neil's Coffee Shop — a longtime diner mainstay for the neighborhood and the city at large.

Nearly one year ago, Neil's was evicted for owing around $1 million in back rent to its landlord.

Shortly after, the iconic neon sign that glowed over the corner for all those years came down.

Now the owners are looking inward to remove the rest of Neil's, according to plans filed last month.

Building Department records show that at least $30,000 of work to remove interior walls, flooring, finishes, cabinets, and fixtures is underway inside the ground floor and basement, both of which span 1,180 square feet.

That includes the diner's iconic counters and its kitchen appliances — a burner, fryer and two griddles where undoubtedly millions of eggs were cracked over its 84 years — will be removed, too.

The resulting space, according to the demolition plans and construction plans submitted to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, will feature a new, open floor and repaired walls with new sheetrock.

Few other details are known, aside from that the crown and base moldings are "to be specified by owner."

Patch reached out to the Solil agent representing the space to ask about future plans and if there was a new tenant lined up, but he did not respond.

Neil's was a neighborhood diner that also attracted people to its old-world charm, and was a favorite of Hollywood stars — such as Abe Vigoda, Harry Belafonte, Steve Martin, Liza Minnelli and Jack Hanna, according to the frame and signed publicity photos lining the walls — and Hunter College students alike.

The future of all those pieces of diner ephemera — if they're still inside — is uncertain.