Construction watch: 270 E. 2nd St.

Foundation work recently commenced at 270 E. Second St. between Avenue C and Avenue D.

This will be a new state-of-the-art facility for Barrier Free Living (BFL). This project has been on hold for a few years. 

We got the first look at the new 12-story building with a twisting façade back in December 2018. The rendering on the plywood shows a very similar structure — designed by JCJ Architecture — in the works here...

And here's a full view ... from our December 2018 post...

And here's more from the 2018 news release about the new building for the nonprofit, which provides services and support for survivors of domestic violence with disabilities

The new 65,000-square foot facility will provide permanent housing specifically to meet the needs of this population and will include 74 apartments, administrative offices, a rear garden, an elevated outdoor recreation area, and community and support spaces.

The building will challenge assumptions about the aesthetics associated with supportive housing and create a more direct and engaged relationship for residents with the surrounding environment. The new facility is intended to efficiently serve the needs of BFL’s clients, to provide a sense of pride, place and home for residents, and to create a unique architectural presence in the rapidly changing neighborhood where the East Village and Lower East Side converge.

January 2025 is the new completion date. 

Workers demolished BFL's previous structure here in 2020.

Demolition watch: 270 E. 2nd St.

That's all for the four-story 270 E. Second St. here between Avenue C and Avenue D.

This is what's left of the former home of Barrier Free Living (BFL), the nonprofit that provides transitional housing for survivors of domestic violence with disabilities.





As previously reported (dating to December 2018), BFL officials unveiled plans for a new state-of-the-art facility called Freedom Village to replace the now-demolished building.

Coming soon, a new 13-floor structure designed by JCJ Architecture ...



And here's more from the news release about the new No. 270:

The new 65,000-square foot facility will provide permanent housing specifically to meet the needs of this population and will include 74 apartments, administrative offices, a rear garden, an elevated outdoor recreation area, and community and support spaces.

The building will challenge assumptions about the aesthetics associated with supportive housing and create a more direct and engaged relationship for residents with the surrounding environment. The new facility is intended to efficiently serve the needs of BFL’s clients, to provide a sense of pride, place and home for residents, and to create a unique architectural presence in the rapidly changing neighborhood where the East Village and Lower East Side converge.

Inspired by the parameters of Mayor de Blasio’s Housing NYC Plan, this project will provide affordable housing and support services for a grossly underserved population. The project team will work alongside agencies and stakeholders including NY State Home and Community Renewal, ESSHI and NY City Board of Standards & Appeals. Funding for related services and rent support will come from the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative.

BFL closed here in April 2018 after 28 years in service. The project was originally expected to be complete in late 2021. New building permits were filed on May 8 with the city.

Demolition watch: 270 E. 2nd St.

Workers have prepped the four-story 270 E. Second St. for demolition here between Avenue C and Avenue D.

This is the former home of Barrier Free Living (BFL), the nonprofit that provides transitional housing for survivors of domestic violence with disabilities.

In December 2018, BFL officials unveiled plans for a new state-of-the-art facility to replace its current building.

As a reminder, here's a rendering of the new 12-floor structure, designed by JCJ Architecture ...



And here's more from the news release about the new No. 270:

The new 65,000-square foot facility will provide permanent housing specifically to meet the needs of this population and will include 74 apartments, administrative offices, a rear garden, an elevated outdoor recreation area, and community and support spaces.

The building will challenge assumptions about the aesthetics associated with supportive housing and create a more direct and engaged relationship for residents with the surrounding environment. The new facility is intended to efficiently serve the needs of BFL’s clients, to provide a sense of pride, place and home for residents, and to create a unique architectural presence in the rapidly changing neighborhood where the East Village and Lower East Side converge.

Inspired by the parameters of Mayor de Blasio’s Housing NYC Plan, this project will provide affordable housing and support services for a grossly underserved population. The project team will work alongside agencies and stakeholders including NY State Home and Community Renewal, ESSHI and NY City Board of Standards & Appeals. Funding for related services and rent support will come from the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative.

BFL closed here in April 2018 after 28 years in service. The project was originally expected to be complete in late 2021.

Here's the new facility for Barrier Free Living on 2nd Street

Officials at Barrier Free Living (BFL) have announced their plans for a new state-of-the-art facility that will replace its current home on Second Street between Avenue C and Avenue D.

Here's a rendering of the building, designed by JCJ Architecture ...



And here's more from the news release about the new building for the nonprofit, which provides services and support for survivors of domestic violence with disabilities

The new 65,000-square foot facility will provide permanent housing specifically to meet the needs of this population and will include 74 apartments, administrative offices, a rear garden, an elevated outdoor recreation area, and community and support spaces.

The building will challenge assumptions about the aesthetics associated with supportive housing and create a more direct and engaged relationship for residents with the surrounding environment. The new facility is intended to efficiently serve the needs of BFL’s clients, to provide a sense of pride, place and home for residents, and to create a unique architectural presence in the rapidly changing neighborhood where the East Village and Lower East Side converge.

Inspired by the parameters of Mayor de Blasio’s Housing NYC Plan, this project will provide affordable housing and support services for a grossly underserved population. The project team will work alongside agencies and stakeholders including NY State Home and Community Renewal, ESSHI and NY City Board of Standards & Appeals. Funding for related services and rent support will come from the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative.

The $30 million project is anticipated to break ground in the fall of 2019 with completion planned for January 2021.

Report: Settlement reached with family of man stabbed to death at Barrier Free Living

The operators of Barrier Free Living at 270 E. Second St. agreed to settle with the family of Ronal Garcia, who was fatally stabbed by another resident inside the facility between Avenue C and Avenue D in December 2009, the Daily News reports.

The $1.2 million settlement came toward the end of a month-long trial. The family of Garcia, who was 24, sued Barrier Free Living, arguing the city-contracted nonprofit for people with disabilities failed to protect the victim. Felipe Rivera-Cruz, who, like Garcia, uses a wheelchair, is currently serving a 25-years-to-life prison sentence.

Before the fatal encounter, the two men got into a fistfight after Garcia made a comment about Rivera-Cruz’s manhood, authorities said. They knocked each other out of their wheelchairs and on the floor during the melee before staff broke it up. The men were then separated and cops were called.

At the trial, Barrier Free Living officials claimed they lost incident reports filled out by staff during the attack. And they couldn’t find the portion of a video showing Rivera-Cruz ride past the security guard on the main floor.

Image via Google Street View