Thursday, October 8, 2026

Vacant 2nd Avenue lot from fatal 2015 explosion hits the market again

Image via BKREA 

The vacant lot at 123 Second Ave., the site of one of the buildings destroyed in the deadly March 2015 gas explosion, is on the sales market. 

BKREA announced yesterday that it is marketing the 25-by-100-foot property, which has remained undeveloped for more than a decade. The listing notes that the 2,500-square-foot lot could accommodate up to 12,525 square feet of development under current zoning. 

According to the listing ...
Because the property sits in a former Inclusionary Housing Designated Area, a developer may purchase off-site certificates within the community board or a half-mile radius, allowing for a fully market-rate project (subject to architect review). With demolition already complete, a buyer can move directly into design and approvals, saving both time and cost. 
This lot's history is important. 

The building that stood at 123 Second Ave., which housed Pommes Frites, Sam's Deli and residential units, was one of three buildings destroyed in the deadly gas explosion on March 26, 2015. Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón were killed in the blast, which originated next door at 121 Second Ave. The explosion also injured over 20 others. 

The owner of No. 123, George Pasternak, had no role in the explosion. He listed the vacant property for $9.7 million in March 2016. Later that year, Ezra Wibowo reportedly bought the lot for $6 million. 

That property was separate from the adjoining lots at 119 and 121 Second Ave., which Maria Hrynenko owned. Those two parcels were sold in 2017 for $9.15 million to Nexus Building Development Group, which eventually developed the condo building now on the corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street. 

Wibowo held onto No. 123. In 2017, a source told the Post that he viewed the property as a long-term investment and had declined an offer to sell it as part of a potential assemblage of all three former explosion sites. 

Nearly 10 years after Wibowo bought it, the lot is now being offered for sale again. 

The current marketing materials do not list an asking price. The materials also do not mention the lot's deadly history.

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