Honoring Puerto Rican freedom fighter Pedro Albizu Campos with a mural on 12th and C

Brooklyn-based artist Danielle Mastrion finished her mural yesterday on the SW corner of Avenue C and 12th Street that pays tribute to Puerto Rican freedom fighter and spiritual luminary Pedro Albizu Campos ... and directly across the street from Campos Plaza...

The mural is the first outside the newly renovated 656 E. 12th St., which the city officially unveiled on Tuesday. The renovation will provide some affordable housing options for the neighborhood.

For several years, the walls outside No. 656 housed the 12C Outdoor Art Gallery, which featured a rotating batch of murals curated by East Village-based artist and speaker Robert Galinsky.

Expect more new murals on the wall in the months ahead.

This work was unveiled via Galinsky Coaching, the Loisaida Center and L.E.S. CommUnity Concerns.

City unveils 3 refurbished East Village buildings with affording housing opportunities

Photo yesterday courtesy of the AAFE

Yesterday, city officials celebrated "affordable homeownership opportunities" in three refurbished East Village tenements at 406-8 E. 10th St., 533 E. 11th St., and 656 E. 12th St. 

The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place yesterday afternoon outside No. 656, the five-floor residential building on the SW corner of Avenue C.

Here's more about the program via the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) ...

The project was financed through HPD's Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program, which selects qualified developers to rehabilitate distressed city-owned multifamily buildings to create affordable co-ops for low and moderate-income households. 

Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) and city officials have worked closely with residents in planning for the $22.3 million renovation. A total of 23 households, longtime residents of the formerly dilapidated buildings, were temporarily relocated during the two-year construction project. An additional 21 apartments will be offered through a New York City affordable housing lottery, which is expected to launch in the coming weeks. 

There is also a retail space in each of the renovated buildings.  

El Rinconcito closed in the summer of 2021 at its home of 27 years at 408 E. 10th St. between Avenue C and Avenue D. Owner Pedro Rodriguez eventually reopened the restaurant at 75 Avenue C. He plans to open a second restaurant at 656 E. 12th St., where he lives with his family. 

For several years, the walls outside No. 656 housed the 12C Outdoor Art Gallery, which featured a rotating batch of murals curated by resident Robert Galinsky.

The Gil Scott-Heron tribute —  with "the Revolution Will Not Be Televised" line — that Chico created after the jazz poet, musician, and author died in 2011 was sandblasted during the gut renovations early last year.

The wall will now feature "Puerto Rican freedom fighter and spiritual luminary" Pedro Albizu Campos. Brooklyn-based artist Danielle Mastrion is creating this mural across the street from Campos Plaza, which is expected to be completed tomorrow (weather permitting).