3 Upper East Side Buildings Face Demolition, Permits Show

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Three walk-up buildings on the Upper East Side are set to be demolished, months after a developer shelled out millions of dollars to purchase them, according to new permits filed with the city.

Two five-story tenements at 1305 Third Ave. and 1307-1309 Third Ave., plus the building around the corner at 202 East 75th St., will all be torn down, according to the permits filed Wednesday.

"We are still working through definitive plans for the site, but wanted to move forward with the demolition of the vacant buildings in the interim," said Ted Segal, president of developer EJS Group, in an email to Patch.

In March, EJS paid $32 million to purchase the buildings at 1303-1309 Third Ave. — a site that the broker called "a unique development opportunity with extraordinary potential." (The East 75th Street building was not mentioned in the original announcement).

The developer told Patch at the time that it had no "definitive plans" to redevelop the site.

No demolition permits have been filed for 1303 Third Ave. because residents still live in the building, Segal said Wednesday. It was not clear whether they are being relocated.

Just down the block, a vacant lot at 1297-1299 Third Ave. is up for sale by another firm, also marketed as a development site.

The buildings being demolished were formerly home to the Jowny Market grocery store as well as Candle Cafe and Bistro Le Steak — both of which closed permanently at the end of 2020.

EJS's other recent projects include 150 East 78th St., a luxury high-rise near Lexington Avenue.

Correction: an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that EJS Group owns the site at 1297-1299 Third Ave.

Previous coverage: Developer Buys Chunk Of Upper East Side Block For $32 Million