E Village Buildings To Be Demolished For Affordable Units

EAST VILLAGE, NY — More than a decade after tenants were forced to relocate from two crumbling buildings in the East Village, the two sites are set to be demolished and rebuilt with below-market-rate cooperative buildings.

The two city-owned buildings have been vacant after tenants were forced to relocate due to structural issues at the buildings more than a decade ago.

Now, following public review through the city's uniform land use review procedure, the buildings are set to be torn down and replaced with affordable co-ops through a program overseen by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

Demolition permits were filed June 4 for the buildings, which are located at 535 E. 12th St. and 204 Ave. A.

Ten former residents at the buildings will be able to relocate back into the co-op building on Avenue A, with an opportunity to purchase the co-op, according to City Planning Commission documents.

On Avenue A, the existing four-story building will be replaced with a seven-story building with 10 one- and two-bedroom units and retail on the ground floor. Units will be affordable for people with incomes of 40 percent of the area median income, or about $29,880 income for one person, according to Community Board 3's resolution in support of the plan.

Future prices would be set for residents with incomes of 80 percent AMI, or $59,760 for one person.

A five-story building on East 12th Street will be replaced by a six-story building with 11 one-bedroom units. Those units will be rent-stabilized for people making 130 percent of AMI, or $97,110 for one person.

CB 3 voted in support of the project last November, writing in a resolution, "the residents of these two buildings have been displaced for more than ten years awaiting a satisfactory resolution of the issues surrounding these properties ... [and] the past and present councilmembers have worked with residents and the designated developer to reach a satisfactory solution."

The redevelopment of the site is overseen by HPD through the department's Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program — the same program under which buildings in Chelsea will be redeveloped as below-market-rate co-ops.

"This project includes critical elements that should be included in all housing developments in New York City: housing preservation, the creation of homeownership opportunities, and additional unit construction that provides quality affordable housing for various incomes. I understand this was not an easy task and was a lengthy process where 10 families were relocated for far longer than expected," Borough President Gale Brewer wrote in her recommendation to approve the project in November. "As this site will also assist in subsidizing the construction of the cooperative building, I understand why higher incomes were needed and I appreciate the efforts of HPD to maintain the income levels at this site as low as possible."