[Photo from yesterday]
An EVG reader passed along word that the two makeshift memorials inside the empty lot on Second Avenue and Seventh Street were removed some time late on Tuesday.
It is not immediately known who took away the memorials for Moises Locón, 27, and Nicholas Figueroa, 23, the two men who died in the gas explosion here on March 26, 2015. The memorials first arrived in the fall of 2015, created by the Figueroa family.
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Updated 10:30 a.m.
An EVG reader shared this:
The Figueroa family removed the makeshift memorial. They were asked to because they were told construction on the site will start soon. They took the angels to Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens and placed them there.
In addition, EVG regular Lola Sāenz created this sign and placed it along the Second Avenue fence this morning...
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In early August, the development team behind the proposed 7-story condoplex at part of the explosion site (the former No. 119 and 121) received approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission for a high-end residential building with ground-floor retail. (The new building will include a commemorative plaque that honors Locón and Figueroa.) However, the project is still waiting for final approval from the Department of Buildings.
Shaky Cohen's Nexus Building Development Group paid $9.15 million for the empty lots.
The owner of 121 Second Ave., Maria Hrynenko, her son Michael Hrynenko (now deceased), contractor Dilber Kukic and their plumber Anthanasios Ioannidis illegally tampered with the gas line then failed to warn those in the building before the blast, according to the Manhattan District Attorney.
According to public records, Hrynenko, who owned No. 119 and 121, and the other defendants will appear in court again on Jan. 8. Records show that Hrynenko and the other accused have appeared in New York County Criminal Court 21 times since February 2016... and the outcome was the same — "adjourned/bail continued" — since their initial appearance.
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Above photo of Nicholas Figueroa's father tending to the memorials from October 2015 by James and Karla Murray. Posted with permission of the Figueroa family.
Previously on EV Grieve:
RIP Nicholas Figueroa
RIP Moises Ismael Locón Yac
A memorial on 2nd Avenue
Birthday wishes for Nicholas Figueroa on 2nd Avenue
A family continues to feel the loss on 2nd Avenue
Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street
how could they sell the lots with pending criminal cases -
ReplyDeleteand didn't the families sue?
now they can afford fancy attorneys!
There are going to be people out there who think that the entire lots should be turned into a memorial garden for the two young lives that were so violently ended. Those people should not be shunned or condemned for being good people.
ReplyDeleteHowever, we all know that good is not always enough. There are laws which need to be obeyed and so the lots were legally sold, as they should be, so that new buildings can be constructed and make the community more viable.
Unless of course the good people would like to buy the land and turn it into a park for the community?
"Records show that Hrynenko and the other accused have appeared in New York County Criminal Court 21 times since February 2016... and the outcome was the same — "adjourned/bail continued" — since their initial appearance."
ReplyDeleteI don't get it.
Victim's attorneys should have filed liens against the property
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lola Sāenz, for making that sign. My heart still breaks walking by this block. RIP.
ReplyDeletethis has nothing to do with good people
ReplyDeleteit has to do with selling assets that are part of a law suit
could be a divorce
could be damages
coud be murder
could be multiple owners
etc
doesn't matter
the propertiea are assets that could be awarded to litigants
If you want to know how they could sell a building involved in a criminal case you have to follow the money- "Shaky Cohen's Nexus Building Development Group, Inc., paid $9.15 million for both lots
ReplyDeleteSearch Acris for Tax Block:463 Tax Lot:34. It looks like it transferred from the owners to CHICAGO TITLE INSURANCE Not sure how Chicago Title Insurance gets to be on the certificate, maybe I missed something? It seems that Premier Equities is listed as "Holder of option to purchase" the lots in July of this year, and in September and "Option Holder" made an acquisition loan to to Avenue Second Owner LLC for $8mil.
If they aren't starting construction yet it seems cruel to not leave the memorials up through the holidays.
ReplyDeleteRe the literally YEARS of postponements the owner & her "plumbers" have achieved: JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED. Clearly they're hoping by the time this comes to any kind of REAL legal action, people will have forgotten (NOT GONNA HAPPEN!!), or maybe Mrs. Hrynenko will be dead and then it's even harder to get any $$ from her estate.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, the "progress" (or more accurately, the lack thereof) on this as a legal issue is shameful and an affront to the entire population of this area.
Could still be liens put on it, they are trying to sell the ground floor retail as a condominium.Where are the elected officials that clamored for a street change to actually help on this?
ReplyDelete