Photo yesterday courtesy of the AAFE
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).
