204 Avenue A disappears; the all-new 202 Avenue appears

[The former 204 Avenue A]

Workers have completed the demolition of the long-empty 4-story building at 204 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street...



As previously reported, this city-owned property, along with the one at 535 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B, will make way for affordable housing.

When the new construction is complete, No. 204 will rise to seven stories, yielding 10 co-operative units for fixed-income housing. (There are 11 one-bedroom rental units planned for the 6-story No. 535.)

No. 204 and 535, part of the HPD’s Tenant Interim Lease Program, have been vacant since 2008. "Due to deteriorating structural conditions," tenants from both buildings were relocated at that time. The former tenants of each building will be able to purchase the co-op units in the newly constructed building at No. 204, which will include ground-floor retail.

Meanwhile, the scaffolding and construction netting was removed yesterday right next door at 202 Avenue A (H/T dwg!)...



Workers added a horizontal and vertical enlargement of the existing 4-floor structure, doubling the total square footage from 5,334 to 10,920.

There will be 10 residences here, including a duplex penthouse with a private terrace.

Here's a look at the rendering of the all-new 202 — called the Topanga — via Lenart Architecture ...



Highpoint Property Group bought No. 202 in a deal that closed in late 2017 for $6.75 million, according to public records.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Affordable housing planned for city-owned buildings at 204 Avenue A and 535 E. 12th St.

• 202 Avenue A has been gutted on its way to doubling in size to become the Topanga

Demolition watch: 535 E. 12th St.

There's not much left of 535 E. 12th St., the former five-story residential building between Avenue A and Avenue B. (H/T Dave on 7th!)

As previously reported, this city-owned property, along with the one at 204 Avenue A, is being demolished to make way for affordable housing. (No. 204 is still standing.)

No. 204 between 12th Street and 13th Street will be seven stories (up from four), yielding 10 co-operative units for fixed-income housing. Meanwhile, there are 11 one-bedroom rental units planned for the all-new No. 535, which will rise to six stories.

Both buildings, part of the HPD’s Tenant Interim Lease Program, have been vacant since 2008. "Due to deteriorating structural conditions," tenants from both buildings were relocated at that time.

The former tenants of each building will be able to purchase the co-op units in the newly constructed building at No. 204, which will include ground-floor retail. Meanwhile, the all-new No. 535's one-bedroom rentals "will be a middle-income rental building with an income restriction at 130 percent AMI."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Affordable housing planned for city-owned buildings at 204 Avenue A and 535 E. 12th St.

With petition, El Sol Brillante Jr. Garden volunteers hope to protect their green space from demolition next door

[Photos by Steven]

Demolition is expected to commence in the weeks ahead at the long-empty 535 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B to make way for affordable housing.

When this happens, volunteers at the El Sol Brillante Jr. Garden next door are hopeful that officials from the Department of Buildings will revise their plans to cover the 30-plus year-old garden with a larger sidewalk shed.

Gardeners now have a petition — titled "Don't Let El Sol Brillante Jr. Community garden be killed" — in circulation ... in hopes of appealing to the DOB to to adjust their requirement for the size of the protective barriers that will surround No. 535.

Here's the background and proposal from the community gardeners:

A long-awaited moderate-income housing project is scheduled to start Dec. 10 adjacent to our garden. We had a site visit on Oct. 28 with the developer, contractor, Parks Dept and GreenThumb. We were told that although Parks and the developer requested a zero to 10’ encroachment into the garden in the form of an overhead protection aka “shed,” the Department of Buildings refused them.

The DOB is demanding a 25’ wide shed, which basically covers the entire width of the garden. That means all the plants underneath would surely die since they won’t get sun or rain for a projected 6-month period of demolition time starting in December 2019.

We propose a compromise of a 10’ wide shed into the garden, which covers only half of its width. We believe this should be possible because the shed in front of the building, i.e. over the sidewalk, will be only 10’ wide.

If that is considered safe for the many more pedestrians using the sidewalk, then that should be safe for the garden, in which public access will be limited during the demolition period. Dept. of Buildings states the 25’ width is required for safety, but the application of their standards is not consistent.

We ask that you support our request to Dept. of Buildings to grant approval for a 10’ wide overhead protection in lieu of a 25’ wide one.

The Parks Dept and the developer, SMJ Developers, would be in agreement with this change. Our intention is not to prevent the development from going forward. Our intention is to protect our garden from certain destruction due to lack of sensitivity to the requirements of plant life.

Find the petition at this link.



When completed, the all-new 535 E. 12th St.'s one-bedroom rentals will be a middle-income rental building with an income restriction at 130 percent AMI.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Affordable housing planned for city-owned buildings at 204 Avenue A and 535 E. 12th St.

Update on the affordable housing planned for 204 Avenue A and 535 E. 12th St.

[204 Avenue A]

Tonight, CB3's Land Use, Zoning, Public & Private Housing Committee will hear an update (background here) on the two long-empty, city-owned properties at 204 Avenue A and 535 E. 12th St.


[File photo of 535 E. 12th St.]

Seems like a good time to provide a recap here too.

In December, the City Planning Commission heard an application that would allow for the demolition of the existing buildings and the development of 10 co-operative units for fixed-income housing at No. 204 between 12th Street and 13th Street, and 11 one-bedroom rental units at No. 535 between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The proposal calls an additional three floors (from 4 to 7) at No. 204, and one additional floor (from 5 to 6) at No. 535.

The new building permits were filed with the city for No. 204 on March 14 and for No. 535 on March 15.

CityLand, published by the Center for NYC Law, wrote about the plans for the addresses in December.

To facilitate the proposed development, the applicant team requested approval for the disposition of the City-owned lots and designation and approval of the lots as an Urban Development Action Area Project.

Both buildings, part of the HPD’s Tenant Interim Lease Program, have been vacant (save for squatters on 12th Street) since 2008. "Due to deteriorating structural conditions," tenants from both buildings were relocated at that time.

The former tenants of each building will be able to purchase the co-op units in the newly constructed building at No. 204, which would include ground-floor retail. Meanwhile, the all-new No. 535's one-bedroom rentals "will be a middle-income rental building with an income restriction at 130 percent AMI."

And details about all this via CityLand:

The project was proposed as an Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program (ANCP) project. ANCP is an HPD program where developers are selected to rehabilitate distressed City-owned properties managed by the Tenant Interim Lease Program, in order to create affordable cooperatives for low- and moderate-income households. Under the program, developers receive low interest loans in the form of City Capital subsidy, in addition to construction and permanent financing sources provided by private institutional lenders and New York State Affordable Housing Corporation programs.

As an Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program project, following the construction loan closing, the 204 Avenue A building will be conveyed to a Housing Development Fund Corporation cooperative with unit purchase requirements, income restrictions, and resale requirements. The projected maintenance for the cooperative is expected at 40 percent AMI.

In addition, although the entire building will be affordable, two of the units are going to be permanently affordable as required by the Inclusionary Housing Designated Area bonus, which gives an applicant a higher residential Floor Area Ratio in return for 20 percent of residential units being designated as permanently affordable.

CB3 and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer have already signed off on this project.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Affordable housing planned for city-owned buildings at 204 Avenue A and 535 E. 12th St.

Affordable housing planned for city-owned buildings at 204 Avenue A and 535 E. 12th St.

[Reader-submitted photo of 204 Avenue A]

Plans are moving forward to demolish two long-vacant, city-owned properties — 204 Avenue A and 535 E. 12th St. — to erect new buildings for fixed-income housing.



CityLand, published by the Center for NYC Law, has a post with all the details.

Earlier this month, the City Planning Commission heard an application that would allow for the demolition of the existing buildings and the development of 10 co-operative units at 204 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street, and 11 one-bedroom rental units at 535 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. The proposal calls an additional three floors (from 4 to 7) at No. 204, and one additional floor (from 5 to 6) at No. 535.

Per CityLand:

To facilitate the proposed development, the applicant team requested approval for the disposition of the City-owned lots and designation and approval of the lots as an Urban Development Action Area Project. The application was brought by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), along with the selected developer for the project, Juan Barahona of SMJ Development.

Both buildings, part of the HPD’s Tenant Interim Lease Program, have been vacant (save for squatters on 12th Street) since 2008. "Due to deteriorating structural conditions," tenants from both buildings were relocated at that time.

The former tenants of each building will be able to purchase the co-op units in the newly constructed building at 204 Avenue A, which would include ground-floor retail. Meanwhile, the all-new 535 E. 12th St.'s one-bedroom rentals "will be a middle-income rental building with an income restriction at 130 percent AMI."

And details about all this via CityLand:

The project was proposed as an Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program (ANCP) project. ANCP is an HPD program where developers are selected to rehabilitate distressed City-owned properties managed by the Tenant Interim Lease Program, in order to create affordable cooperatives for low- and moderate-income households. Under the program, developers receive low interest loans in the form of City Capital subsidy, in addition to construction and permanent financing sources provided by private institutional lenders and New York State Affordable Housing Corporation programs.

As an Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program project, following the construction loan closing, the 204 Avenue A building will be conveyed to a Housing Development Fund Corporation cooperative with unit purchase requirements, income restrictions, and resale requirements. The projected maintenance for the cooperative is expected at 40 percent AMI.

In addition, although the entire building will be affordable, two of the units are going to be permanently affordable as required by the Inclusionary Housing Designated Area bonus, which gives an applicant a higher residential Floor Area Ratio in return for 20 percent of residential units being designated as permanently affordable.

CB3 and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer have already signed off on this project. The City Planning Commission will be next to vote on the application at a later date.

EVG readers spotted workers taking soil samples at both buildings this past February.

Gut renovations are currently taking place next door to 204 Avenue A, where a condoplex conversion will see 202 Avenue double in size.


[Photo of 202 Avenue on Nov. 26 by Steven]

Activity at the long-vacant 535 E. 12th St.

[Photo from Sunday]

An EVG reader yesterday reported that a crew with a Davey Drill was outside the city-owned 535 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.



This is the second city-owned building within a block now that has shown signs of development life. Earlier this week, workers were spotted taking core samples outside the vacant building at 204 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street.

Last week at 535 E. 12th St., someone posted two eviction notices on the front door...



... telling the residents in Apartment 7 and Apartment 8 that they owe a few thousand dollars...





As far as anyone can recall, no one has lived in this building (save for some squatters) in nearly 10 years.

The NYC Housing Preservation and Development owns both 204 Avenue A and 535 E. 12th St. There's nothing official just yet about what's going to happen to these buildings.

Here's an EVG commenter from Tuesday's post on No. 204:

Here's the story about this building and another section 8 building 535 E 12th street which also had drilling for soil samples this week. Both 204 Ave A and 535 E 12th will be demolished presumably later this year for new housing. The residents of 535 which were displaced due to severe structural problems will move into the new (I believe 7 story building on A, they will be able to purchase these apartments for a very very low cost. A new somewhat market rate building will be built at 535 12th, it will be 6 stories tall. The same company which remodels the former squat on 13th Street btw A and B will be devoting these 2 buildings.