Last Friday,
we reported — via a reader tip — about workers cutting down a tree that had managed to survive the construction the past three-plus years for the office building going up on the NE corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place (aka 1 St. Mark's Place).
For starters, workers removed two trees from the north side of St. Mark's Place.
However, the developers had permission to do so — thanks to two city agencies.
A spokesperson from Councilmember Carlina Rivera's office, who looked into the situation, told us that the NYC Parks Central Forestry confirmed these removals were approved by the city.
According to the spokesperson, the DOT and MTA would not allow the placement of a crane on Third Avenue during construction. So the developers need to use the St. Mark's Place side for the staging and placement of the crane. Unfortunately, the two trees were in the way.
"The applicant [developer] will be planting four trees on-site, and they also paid Parks to plant three offsite trees," per the spokesperson.
The developer, Real Estate Equities Corp. (REEC), picked up the 99-year leasehold for the corner lot for nearly $150 million in November 2017. The previous assemblage, which included retail tenants such as Korilla BBQ, the Continental and McDonald's, was demolished in 2019.