The remaining members of the Hells Angels moved out of their clubhouse at 77 E. Third St. at the end of March.
As previously reported, No. 77 has new owners (Better Living Properties), who plan to convert the building between First Avenue and Second Avenue into luxury rentals following a $2 million renovation. Preliminary renovation work is apparently underway at No. 77, which the Angels had in their possession since 1969.
The other day, EVG contributor Stacie Joy took a quick tour of the mostly-empty (and rarely seen by outsiders) building.
Stacie said that she saw many of the accessible rooms in the 6-floor building (some spaces were closed off for pending construction). The stagnant air in the building — unoccupied for nearly three months — had a whiff of cat urine and rotting food, she noted.
Here's more from Stacie:
It was also quite dark. A lot of the rooms were heavy on dark drapes and dark wood furniture. Some rooms were painted purple or turquoise, and it seemed like each floor had two bedrooms — like an old-style tenement building. Every floor had multiple portable fireplaces.The Post previously reported that the building had 16 apartments and that the rooms were used more as "crash pads" for visiting members rather than full-time residency.
The ground-floor garage space was being used to store demolition trash and contracting supplies, but the main space on the ground floor was a bar/lounge with wood paneling and boarded-up windows.
Behind the bar, there had been what looked like surveillance equipment from camera monitors outside. There was also a doorway to a small patio/garden with a picnic table.
The tour starts in the bar/lounge...
And up the stairs...
... into some of the individual apartments, where discarded furniture remained in some rooms...
... and out back...
There haven't been any reports on where the Hells Angels plan to relocate in NYC. No. 77 reportedly sold for $7.75 million (other reports put the number at $10 million). They first bought the building in the 1970s for $1,900.
Previously on EV Grieve:
After 50 years on the block, the Hells Angels appear to be selling their 3rd Street clubhouse
The Hells Angels have left the East Village
This is what the Hells Angels building sold for
Report: Former Hells Angels HQ will become 22-unit residential building with retail
[EVG photo from early June]
Very cool! Thanks for sharing Stacie!
ReplyDeleteVery cool peak. If those walls could talk...
ReplyDeleteWay to go Stacie!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like Webster Hall before the renovation. This place is the very definition of the phrase, "It could use a woman's touch."
ReplyDeleteDid they really misspell their own name in that concrete picture?
ReplyDeleteIt's written in pencil. You best believe that a patched member would NEVER misspell his club's name. Also, there is an apostrophe in Hell's, in the picture. There is no apostrophe on the club's colors.
DeleteIs that at the entrance to the house? Did someone do it to mock them ? Or was it just a joke on the way out, since it’s no longer their property ?
DeleteWow, thanks, Stacie!
ReplyDeleteSooooooo cool to see inside this building! Thank you Stacie Joy + evgrieve
ReplyDeleteoh man, this is super interesting! I would really like to know what is inside that taped up mattress, or maybe I'm better off not knowing.
ReplyDeleteDuct taped mattress probably fixing up a few knife slices! Yeah, maybe someone had their stash in there, taped, hidden by a mattress cover?
ReplyDeleteGood pictures thanks for posting. I walked by that place so many times (very quickly) and always wondered what it was like inside. It looks like a real clubhouse for the members to chill and relax when they are not on the road riding their hogs. Now it will just be more high price rental apartments for those who can afford them...another step in the never ending gentrification of the LES/EV.
ReplyDeleteSo cool!
ReplyDeleteLoved this! Thanks a million!
ReplyDeleteA dream fulfilled. Thanks, Stacie and Grieve!
ReplyDeleteWhenever I walked by the clubhouse, and Big Vinnie was outside, he always said 'Howya doin'!' to me. I never stopped to ask him why.
ReplyDeleteThat's because he was just being politely social. They're not "larger than life" super villains, they're just people like me and you.
DeleteGreat capture
ReplyDeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteScuzzy.
ReplyDeleteNo matter how you slice it,a serious piece of NYC is gone. But in my heart and mind never ever forgotten.Men,stand up men, BROTHERS from all over the world would make a pilgrimage to 77 East 3rd St NYC . The bench that damn bench. NYC has lost a part of it's grass root history, a block that at one point in time family's raised and friendships made, as far as I'm concerned NYC IS A LESSER PLACE WITH THEM AND THE HOUSE THEY OCCUPIED GONE
ReplyDeleteI lived on E. 8th St. in the 70s. The house was famous. You didn’t mess with their bikes or their women. It was the safest block to be on if you were a woman
ReplyDeleteGood morning,
ReplyDeleteThis particular entry caught my attention because there were a number in Hells Angels clubhouses the organization owned and operated in the State of Washington. I wished the organization left the wing and the skull logo intact so that the now owners could have a piece of history!
Good article.
E.D.
Vinnie's Place
ReplyDelete