A look at the all-new 356 E. 8th St.

We've been curious about the status of 356 E. Eighth St., a long-vacant four-story townhouse that has been undergoing extensive renovations in recent months, mostly behind heavy construction netting and plywood. 

Work permits show a horizontal enlargement featuring seven residential units (plus a penthouse) and one retail space here between Avenue C and Avenue D.

The property sold as a development site to an LLC in Bayside, N.Y., for $2 million in March 2024, according to public records. 

The building arrived on the market two years earlier with a $3 million ask, with a listing: "Property is a teardown. Existing structure is unsafe." DOB records indicate a partial demolition, and permits were issued to address existing on-site safety concerns. 

No. 356 previously sat vacant for nearly nine years. On Dec. 24, 2015, a worker — 33-year-old Luis Alberto Pomboza — fell three floors to his death inside the building undergoing renovations for a previous owner. 

The death of Pomboza, a father of five, prompted then-Mayor de Blasio and Department of Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler to announce in February 2016 that they were going to quadruple the penalties for serious construction safety lapses, conduct a wave of more than 1,500 enforcement sweeps, and require new supervision at construction sites citywide to protect workers and the public amid the building boom. 

No. 356 had been on and off the market for years (here and here). The listings pitched the space for "high-end apartments or a luxury home."

In the fall of 2015, work permits were approved, indicating that the building would receive two new floors and a mezzanine. 

After Pomboza's death, the DOB issued a stop work order and a full vacate order on the site. Ten different violations were reportedly uncovered at the worksite, including "failure to safeguard all persons and property affected by construction operations." A construction superintendent was to be present at 356 E. Eighth St. at the time of Pomboza's fall, but there wasn't one on site. 

We have not spotted any listings for the new units here just yet. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• A tribute to the construction worker who died at 356 E. 8th St.