Wednesday, August 8, 2018

LPC OKs condoplex for gas explosion site on 2nd Avenue and 7th Street


[Rendering via Morris Adjmi]

The development team behind the proposed 7-story condoplex received approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) yesterday for the empty lot at Second Avenue and Seventh Street — site of the deadly gas explosion in March 2015.

Last month, the LPC had a few suggestions for the Morris Adjmi-designed residential building with 21 condos and ground-floor retail. Chief among the asks: A commemorative plaque to be incorporated into the design that honors Moises Locón and Nicholas Figueroa, the men who died in the explosion.

Curbed has the report from yesterday:

The building’s facade is now a lot brighter than the previous iteration. In addition, the curvy corner windows have now disappeared and have now been replaced by the more traditional windows broken up by masonry that are more common to the East Village. In addition, Adjmi has also designed a plaque that would rest next to the retail space on the front facade of the building, facing Second Avenue.

The defendants in the case, including Maria Hrynenko, the former owner of No. 119 and 121, are due back in court on Sept. 6, according to court documents.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive: 2nd Avenue explosion sites have a new owner

Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street

Soil testing underway at the 2nd Avenue explosion site

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okay, that's... fairly tasteful.

Outside of Astor Place, I've actually been pleasantly surprised by the non-aesthetic-awfulness of the new buildings going up in the nabe. Of course, tasteful new buildings will price us all out of the neighborhood just as well as ugly ones. But I guess more inventory is good in the long run. Even if we're screwed in the short run.

On balance, though, pretty gentrification beats ugly gentrification?

Anonymous said...

Gene Kaufman with a slightly larger budget strikes again! Metal fencing between the brackets is a really nice touch- Downland and Bolombe are the perfect names too! The perfect bathrooms for the crusties charging their ipads!

Anonymous said...

A same they cant impose the same restrictions on the crap that has been going up east of avenue a. Not one of those buildings fit into the nabe. And forget about the Bowery, which has, historically, been a p[art of the East Village -- so why not zoning restrictions there as well?

Anonymous said...

Ticks all the boxes for me, see you can build a new apartment building that is not ugly and completely out of context.

Giovanni said...

At least it’s a brighter, warmer color. That bland neutral grey color that’s mysteriously in style now has got to go. Everyone is using it on their walls and flooring, and it mkes their apartments look like a room in a W Hotel, or maybe a prison cell on Rikers. Even the Landmarks Commission called the originally proposed color “morose.”

The public's sense of aesthetics have certainly declined over the years, along with their general appreciation of art and architecture, and color theory has completely gone out the window. Still, the building should have been done with red bricks, and included affordable housing to replace at least some of what was lost in the explosion.

Meanwhile the Hrynenko trial drags on without any word on what really happened to Maria’s son Michael, the one who ran out of the building without warning anyone right before it exploded, who mysteriously died last year. These days it’s as if you need to call Columbo just to figure out what’s really going on.

Anonymous said...

It good and important to move on from what happened. The two lives that were lost will not and are not forgotten. A plaque is vital, perhaps even a bench? Maybe a little park in between the two buildings devoted to those two young men?

The empty lot is a constant reminder of what was lost. The weeds are out of control. And it resembles a graveyard of sorts. Eerie. I hope for the sake of our neighborhood, the overall construction won't be too distracting or disruptive. In any event, let's hope it is tasteful as well.

:)

Anonymous said...

Marginally better looking, but still: Big money is being made off an illegal action that resulted in the deaths of two young people, and NO justice has been done in regard to those deaths nor in regard to making those who enabled and/or caused this explosion to answer for their actions.

Anonymous said...

Will this condo project include apartments for the rent-stabilized tenants who lived on that corner and were displaced? They have protection under the law and housing for all of them should be included.

Anonymous said...

yes what about the rent stabilized that lived there. utter silence. this new council member is of the obfuscate and spin and ladder climb style already you can see, will reserve her remarks for the spin and what's deemed ok by the power, very very sad, worse than pagan at least we knew where he was the new democratic honky dory point at trump does not bode well locally