EVG regular Ron Z. passed along these photos, noting that an electric meter was added a few days ago ... as well as the plywood.
Also, the building has a name: The Mary Spink Apartments.
Spink, a respected community activist, CB3 member and executive director of Lower East Side People’s Mutual Housing Association, died in January. She was 64.
Here's the rendering of the building...
Our post on this in early October generated 48 comments, many of them negative. Read that post here.
The building it abuts to it's west was the featured slum in the movie "The Super" starring Joe Pesci. A great film for getting a taste of 11 th st & 12 th st in 1990.
ReplyDeleteGreat tip Dave. Watching the movie on YouTube now.
ReplyDeletei used to volunteer at a formerly homeless and mentally disabled residence smack in the middle of the upper east side. it operates quietly and effectively, so not sure why the avalanche of "not in my backyard", if not ours, then who else's?
ReplyDeleteThis is great. I hope there are apartments for families. It feels good to see people get a fresh start.
ReplyDeleteMary Spink. She is sorely missed. What an impact she had in this neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteTall, ugly building. Our block has more than our share of low income housing.
ReplyDelete@ Anon 11;10 - Put it on a block that doesn't already have at least four low-income housing projects and a church with a bi-weekly food pantry.
ReplyDeleteWhy do architects in NYC always make buildings for affordable housing so ugly? It doesn't have to be this way. Plenty of architects in other cities are able to design attractive or sensitive buildings on very tight budgets. Why does this one have to look like a morgue?
ReplyDeleteMary Spink was the Board Chair of The Girls Club. She had problems with the housing component, as she wanted it to be 100% affordable. She was forced off of the board, and insulted.
ReplyDeleteThere is a way to do affordable housing and supportive housing, there's just no real money to be made and it takes a little effort. LES People's Mutual Housing is one of the most prolific affordable housing developers in the area. Mary actually lived in one of the buildings and helped to relocate people who were displaced from the Croman buildings on avenue C when they torched up. This supportive housing building is a great addition to The LES People's Mutual Housing portfolio, and a great addition to our neighborhood.
People who say the only way to do housing is to do 50/50 or less are wrong. They make it sound like it's a last resort when in fact they do everything they can to proliferate gentrification and squash affordable housing. Same thing with the SPURA Plan.
Mary felt badly about that too, but when everyone is coerced, then you scramble to get what little you can get.
Sorry, the Croman buildings that torched up were not on C, they were on Avenue B.
ReplyDeleteThis building coming to the lot across the street from my apartment doesn't bother me -- it looks kinda nice (at least it's not glass and steel, right?) and the intentions are nice, too. BUT I must say the construction noises might make me lose my mind. This morning, it sounded like a herd of Transformers was stomping through...sigh. Earplugs it is, for the next several months, I'm guessing...
ReplyDeleteheard there supposeed to have their own backdoor private entrance into the kids playground Sauer Park .Anyone else heard that?
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