There's a long, ugly history here... which has been thoroughly documented by Bob Arihood at Neither More Nor Less through the years. (This link will take you to all the history here... the address, of course, was once home to the Mosiac Man.... and known as The Cave.)
In any event, we looked at the public records on this address via the Department of Buildings... according to the site, there is a "closure/padlock" order for the address...
In addition, according to the DOB, the address doesn't have a Certificate of Occupancy ... not even a temporary certificate of occupancy...
The most recent Certificate of Occupancy, a temporary order, expired in November 2008.
Also, there are complaints about "illegal hotel rooms in residential buildings."
In total, the DOB has 84 complaints listed here since June 2006.
Meanwhile, we took at look at recent rental listings for 120 St. Mark's Place.
In July, a one-bedroom unit on the sixth floor rented for $2,600. Per the description:
VILLAGE DUPLEX WITH EMPIRE STATE VIEWS and Terrace!
UNIQUE EAST VILLAGE GEM! DUPLEX one bedroom PENTHOUSE apartment features NEWLY RENOVATED KITCHEN and Bathroom, OUTDOOR SPACE with EMPIRE STATE BUILDING VIEWS, and washer and dryer in the unit! Act Fast...
According to StreetEasy, agents rented a three-bedroom unit here for $4,500 in July 2009. This apartment was described as:
LIVE IN A BRAND NEW THREE BEDROOM DIRECTLY ON SAINT MARKS. Apartment Features: Washer/Dryer Stainless Steel Appliances Marble BathroomNew Fixtures Balcony and Terrace Spacious Bedrooms CALL NOW TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT! THIS IS A GREAT DEAL AND DEFINITELY WILL NOT LAST LONG!
Finally, if you're new to this story, here's a little more background. As Bob Arihood noted, in exchange for renting two-and-a-half floors in the building to a community facility (a nonprofit, or doctor's office or religious organization), the DOB reportedly would give the OK to the landlord to create an addition that would be larger than normally allowed at this location.
In the last few years, the groundfloor business has been leased to a tattoo/piercing salon.
For more background:
St. Marks Squatters Getting the Boot (Curbed)
Rent Wars: Boy Emperor Gets In On East Village Harassment (Curbed)
Boy Developer Ben Shaoul Wants to Live Forever (The Observer)
Cave collective collects buyouts as Buildings tries to stop cave-in (The Villager)
Stop-work still in effect at former artists’ squat (The Villager)
the DOB is not diligent about enforcing their rules and orders. the mosque on east 11th street had a vacate order, then limitations on allowabale TEMPORARY use. repairs were ordered, compliance to the CofO etc. not done yet.
ReplyDeletethe east 7th street the hotel (or whatever it was) is another example. there was a big vacate sign on the full and active building for a very very long time.
it sort of explains how city government could come to the standstill it appears to be at now.
we're full and broken. can we be fixed?