Thursday, June 9, 2016

Christening a new neighborhood

Spotted this morning on the plywood along East 13th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue...



Welcome to Stuyraq!



This is at the site of the former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office. There are currently approved plans for an 8-story, 114-unit (23 affordable, 91 market rate) mixed-use building here.

However, reps for the developers (Benenson Capital Partners in association with the Mack Real Estate Group) are lobbying to receive a zoning variance for a 12-story building. In an analysis of the plot, the developers note that "unusually elevated groundwater levels and exceedingly soft and unstable soil (owing to the presence of an underground stream) ... result in extraordinary construction costs." Read more about this here.

Officials from Stuyraq could not be reached for comment.

Thanks to EVG reader Daniel for the photos!

17 comments:

Michael Ivan said...

Stuyraq is great.

It's beating a dead horse but its annoying to be reminded everyday a few developers are profiting tens millions off a "neighborhood charm and history" but then subsequently ruin it with three years of construction, 6 days a week starting at 7am (which means trucks and equipment start banging around about 6am).

blue glass said...

it's time to stop calling what were once "low income" apartments, now "affordable and say "below market rate" because most of these new "affordable" apartmets in the new luxury buildings are not anything close to affordable.

8-story, 114-unit (23 affordable, 91 market rate) mixed-use building here.

Anonymous said...

Zoning is there for a reason, they can fuck off. They don't need extra height. And they should have tested as is standard.

NOTORIOUS said...

If they don't stop the stream from flooding in at some point soon, someone's going to have to come up with a clever name incorporating Dubai. Or maybe that's the answer. A man made, palm-tree shaped island/inlet at Stuy Cove.

Giovanni said...

Isn't Stuyraq is located right next to East Villagestan?

cmarrtyy said...

There is no leadership in the EV. Our politicians are worthless. They come from one party and they take orders. Oh, they're allowed to take care of small matters... but big issues are the concern of the party. We need to stop voting party line. We need to have people in office who will fight for us... our home... our future... East Village Lives Matter.

Anonymous said...

"We need to stop voting party line."

True but the alternative is the Repubs? I'll give you that the Dems are 2.0 REBNY whores. But the Repubs are 10.00 REBNY whores. And any so called local “Third Party” is doomed form the onset. I really don’t have an answer to this. I’ll fight to the end because it beats rolling over but it's really getting depressing lately especially the revision that the CC rammed in, gutting the NYC Landmarks Law which dB will most not likely veto. Sad.

Anonymous said...

As a resident of Stuyraq, I came home last night to a flyer on my building door in petition of Saturday construction at this site. They had a scan code to directly add your signature and everything. It's heartening to see that people are getting sophisticated about fighting back.

Of course, I say this without having scanned the code myself. Saturday construction, Monday construction, what's the difference? You can't stop these developer beasts.

/resigned

Anonymous said...

NYC's population is projected to swell to 9 million by 2040 -- DEAL WITH IT.

Anonymous said...

Nine million...have fun!

Anonymous said...

I run my own business, when I make a stupid mistake I don't ask the city to make a special arrangement to accommodate my business so my investment is protected. It would have taken 5 minutes on google to see the natural topography of this part of the city but none of the idiots behind this building even thought of doing so apparently.

The building boom, land rush happening here seems to have no end, everything is up for sale to the highest bidder and never ending destruction and construction noise is constant and maddening.

Anonymous said...

@resigned June 9, 2016 at 3:16 PM

Is the petition you are referencing from residents opposed to Saturday work permits? Do you know who is organizing this as I an others would love to sign? If people have concerns about this variance you should attend the CB 3 Land Use Meeting on June 15 is at 6:30 p.m. in the University Settlement at Houston Street Center — 273 Bowery. If people show-up an oppose then CB 3 and our elected officials will have to take notice and if they don't support the community they can be held accountable. If people fail to exercise their right to object to the takeover of our community then we are just laying back and letting them walk all over us.

"the people united can never be defeated"

blue glass said...

anon 3:16pm

"...if they don't support the community they can be held accountable."

they being electd officials have not been responsible to the community for as long as i can remember. money is all they care about. doesn't matter where it comes from.

Anonymous said...

@9:21 AM: I think you underestimate the developers. I think they knew exactly what they were buying, but "gambled" that they would be able to get a zoning change. Of course they have to act like the costs are surprise.

Anonymous said...

@ blue glass - I don't disagree in principal, but I would appreciate you not being so negative in response to a call to action from people who actually are trying to do something positive even if it seems like we are Sisyphus.

Anonymous said...

How do you folks get out of bed every morning to face the unhappiness of every day?

JJ said...

People are always whining about not enough apartments , then when a developer shows up , it's the typical "FU" from the NIMBY's .... laughable