Non-Profit To Build Units For People With Disabilities In Village

EAST VILLAGE, NY — A non-profit wants to bring 74 units of housing for people transitioning out of nursing homes and domestic violence survivors with disabilities to the East Village.

Barrier Free Living is planning to tear down a dilapidated four-story structure that previously housed people with disabilities experiencing homelessness and replace it with a 12-story building of 74 apartments.

Demolition permits for the old building, at 270 E. Second St. between avenues C and D, were filed April 26, Department of Buildings records show.

The $30 million project is expected to be completed by 2021, the head of the non-profit, Paul Feuerstein, said. Some funding sources are expected to be finalized in the coming weeks, he said.

The building would include 74 apartments, administrative offices, a rear garden, a terrace and community and support spaces, according to the non-profit.

Of the 74 apartments, 30 units will be for people transitioning out of nursing homes and 44 units will be for domestic violence survivors with disabilities backed by the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative, a state program aimed to bring thousands of units of supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness and have disabilities.

All units will be wheelchair accessible, Feuerstein said.

"We know that the number one issue of people with disabilities in New York City is the lack of affordable, accessible housing," he said.

Previously, the site was a transitional housing facility for 48 people with disabilities.

The building was renovated in 1986, but by 2013, it would have taken some $4.4 million to renovate the building, according to the non-profit, which also owns the property.

A Community Board 3 resolution dating back to 2016 in support of the funding expressed concerns the building would have to close if not repaired, which ultimately happened last April.

A grant to pay for the repairs never materialized, however, Feuerstein was able to secure backing from from the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative for a new program with permanent housing.

"The fact that we own the property is a major bonus — that we are not having to spend tremendous amounts of money for a piece of land," Feuerstein said.

The design is currently a modern take aimed to "change the perception and mindset of what an supportive living facility ought to look and feel like," according to the firm behind it, JCJArchitecture.

A finalized design is still in the works with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Feuerstein said.

CB 3 voted in support of the project last November.