A Bank of America is checking into the corner of 2nd Avenue and 7th Street

Interior storefront renovations are underway at 119 Second Ave. (aka 45 E. Seventh St.) ...

According to work permits on the front window, Bank of America will be the new (and first) tenant of this newish condominium complex ... (H/T Adam!)

This branch arrival comes at a time when banks are reportedly closing neighborhood locations. (Plus, there's a BoA branch three blocks south on Second Avenue and Fourth Street.)

The corner building was ready for occupancy in mid-2021... six years after the deadly gas explosion destroyed this corner in March 2015 and took the lives of Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón. 

Figueroa, 23, who had recently graduated from SUNY Buffalo State, was at Sushi Park, 121 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place and the site of the fatal blast, dining with a co-worker. Locón, 27, worked at Sushi Park.

The explosion injured over 20 others and leveled 119, 121 and 123 Second Ave. 

The previous corner building housed vintage shop Love Saves the Day for 43 years... closing in January 2009 after their rent was tripled. (Their location remains open in New Hope, Pa.)

Previously

The 2nd Avenue gas explosion — 8 years later

Yesterday marked the eighth anniversary of the deadly Second Avenue gas explosion.

Yesterday was about remembering the victims. Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón died on March 26, 2015. Figueroa, 23, who had recently graduated from SUNY Buffalo State, was at Sushi Park, 121 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place and the site of the fatal blast, dining with a co-worker. Locón, 27, worked at Sushi Park.

The explosion injured over 20 others and leveled 119, 121 and 123 Second Ave. A condominium complex at 45 E. Seventh St. (above) sits on two of these three lots.

Here's some background about what was happened to date.

In November 2019, a jury found landlord Maria Hrynenko, who took over ownership of the buildings after her husband Michael died in 2004, contractor Dilber Kukic and unlicensed plumber Jerry Ioannidis were found guilty of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and related offenses for their role in the explosion.

Prosecutors said that Hrynenko, driven by greed, and her cohorts rigged an illegal system to funnel gas from 119 Second Ave. to 121 Second Ave. to save money.

In January 2020, they were each sentenced to four to 12 years in prison. Hrynenko remained out on bail for two more years as she awaited an appeal of the case. 

During the sentencing, where defendants faced a maximum of five to 15 years each, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Michael Obus told the courtroom, "What the defendants did, in a matter of speaking, was roll the dice with the lives of many people. The results, as we know, are catastrophic."

However, Obus said he gave the defendants a break on their prison time because they were older and "did not intend to blow up the building." 

"It's not enough. It’s a joke," Nixon Figueroa, father of Nicholas, told reporters afterward. "What kind of justice did you give us? You didn't give us no justice. It's a slap in my son’s face."

As of February 2022, Hrynenko, 63, has been at the Taconic Correctional Facility in Bedford, N.Y. According to public records, she is eligible for parole in November 2025. Her conditional release date is November 2029, and the maximum date is November 2033.  

Kukic, 47, has been at the Wallkill Correctional Facility since his sentencing in early 2020. He is eligible for parole in January. Ioannidis, 66, who's at the Adirondack Correctional Facility in Essex County, N.Y., is also eligible for parole in January.

Michael A. Hrynenko, Jr., Maria's son and a key figure in the gas explosion investigation, died on Aug. 25, 2017. He was 31, according to an obituary posted on the Pizzi Funeral Home website. A cause of death was not disclosed.

Remembering Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón

Today marks the eighth anniversary of the deadly Second Avenue gas explosion, which killed two men, injured two dozen people, and leveled three buildings (119, 121 and 123 Second Ave.).

There is a memorial plaque on site for the two men who died that day — Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón.

Officials dedicated this plaque in May 2021. The Village Preservation advocated for its placement here on the new residential building at 45 E. Seventh St. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• RIP Nicholas Figueroa 

• RIP Moises Locón 

• Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street

Honoring the memories of Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón on 2nd Avenue

Family members of Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón came together outside 121-123 Second Ave. yesterday morning for the dedication of a memorial plaque in honor of the two men who died here during the gas explosion on March 26, 2015.

Retired (2017) FDNY battalion chief John Dunne joined the families ... Dunne, the third-highest-ranking member of the FDNY at the time, was part of the massive response to the explosion that leveled three buildings here at Seventh Street.  

State Sen. Brad Hoylman, City Councilmember Carlina Rivera and her predecessor, Rosie Mendez, who was in office at the time of the tragedy, were also on hand to pay their respects to the family members.

The Village Preservation advocated for the inclusion of the plaque here on the new residential building at 45 E. Seventh St.  

Thank you to Steven for the photos 

Previously on EV Grieve:

• RIP Nicholas Figueroa

• RIP Moises Locón

• Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street 

Unveiling the plaque in honor of Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón on 2nd Avenue

Workers yesterday installed the memorial plaque on the new residential building at 45 E. Seventh St. that pays tribute to Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Locón, the two men who died here during the gas explosion on March 26, 2015. (Top photo by Steven; photo below by Drew Heffron.)

We're told there will be an official unveiling this morning at 11. The plaque is on the Second Avenue side of the Morris Adjmi-designed building, where the residences range between $1.35 and $8 million.

Figueroa, 23, who had recently graduated from SUNY Buffalo State, was at Sushi Park, 121 Second Ave. and the site of the fatal blast, dining with a co-worker. Locón, 27, worked at Sushi Park.

The explosion also injured more than 20 others and leveled 119, 121 and 123 Second Ave. (The new building sits on two of these three lots.)

In January 2020, landlord Maria Hrynenko, contractor Dilber Kukic and unlicensed plumber Jerry Ioannidis were found guilty of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and related offenses for their role in the explosion. They were each sentenced to four to 12 years in prison. Hrynenko is out on bail as she awaits an appeal of the case.

Prosecutors said that Hrynenko, driven by greed, and her cohorts rigged an illegal system to funnel gas from 119 Second Ave. to 121 Second Ave. to save money.

In October 2017, city officials unveiled new street blades that co-name this northwest corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street after Figueroa and Locón.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• RIP Nicholas Figueroa

• RIP Moises Locón

• Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street 

45 E. 7th St. now with its perforated cornice parapet

The perforated cornice parapet arrived this past week at 45 E. Seventh St., the 7-story, 21-unit condoplex on the northwest corner of Second Avenue... it was a prominently missing detail at this high-profile project...

As noted previously, this condoplex is on two of the three lots destroyed during the deadly gas explosion here on March 26, 2015. 

And sales are now underway for units in the Morris Adjmi-designed building. Prices will range from $1.35 million for a one-bedroomer and $1.995 million to $4 million for two and three bedrooms ... with the penthouse asking more than $8 million.

There will also be ground-floor retail. 

A sidewalk bridge remains surrounding the building on the corner, a spot frequented by people setting up makeshift shelters the past few years, which has drawn the ire of the New York Post. 

You can find all the background about this project and its history at this EVG link.