Mary Spink Way

[Reader-submitted photo]

Local elected officials, including City Councilmember Rosie Mendez, City Comptroller Scott Stringer and Senator-elect Brian Kavanagh, were on hand this afternoon for the Mary Spink street co-naming ceremony on the southeast corner of Avenue A and Second Street.

Spink, a longtime resident of this block, was an advocate for affordable housing. She died in January 2012 at age 65. During her years on the Lower East Side, she owned several businesses and served as a member of Community Board 3 and as a board member of the LES Peoples Federal Credit Union, among many others. She was also executive director of Lower East Side People’s Mutual Housing Association.

You can read more about Spink in this obituary published in The Villager.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Street co-naming set for Public Theater founder Joseph Papp and community activist Mary Spink

Street co-naming set for Public Theater founder Joseph Papp and community activist Mary Spink

There are two street co-naming ceremonies to note...

Tomorrow morning at 8:30, the intersection of Lafayette and Astor Place will officially be co-named Joseph Papp Way, in honor of late Public Theater founder Joseph Papp ...


[Image via Playbill]

The ceremony takes place on the Astor Place plaza. Playbill has more on the story here.

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Saturday at noon, the southeast corner of Avenue A and Second Street will be co-named in honor of community activist Mary Spink...



Spink, a local business owner and member of CB3, later served as executive director of Lower East Side People’s Mutual Housing Association. She died in January 2012 at age 64.

Construction watch: 535-537 E. 11th St.

The scaffolding and construction gear recently came down at 535-537 E. 11th St. near Avenue B.

Subsidized by HPD's Supportive Housing Loan Program, the 8-floor Mary Spink Apartments will feature 46 units of affordable housing for formerly homeless and mentally disabled East Village residents. The studio apartments "will allow the residents to learn to live independently in a nurturing environment," according to a description of the building at the website of Edelman Sultan Knox Wood Architects.

Per the site:

In a response to the needs of the community, a connection between E. 11th Street and Joseph Sauer Park, located on E. 12th Street and abutting the rear yard, has been incorporated into the design. During the day, the public can access the park from 11th Street via a passageway running along the east side of the building. Additionally, a public toilet has been located at the rear of the first floor and can be accessed by both the building residents and community members visiting the adjacent park.

Spink, a respected community activist, CB3 member and executive director of Lower East Side People's Mutual Housing Association, died in January 2012 at age 64.


[Photo by Bobby Williams]

Previously on EV Grieve:
East 11th Street lot prepped for the Mary Spink Apartments

Empty East 11th Street lot will yield to 8 stories of affordable housing (49 comments)

Big crane work at the incoming Mary Spink Apartments on East 11th Street

Your guide to construction hell on East 11th Street

Just in case a precast concrete plank gets loose

[From July by Ron Z]

The big crane returns to East 11th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B today to work on The Mary Spink Apartments. And, once again, residents next door have to be out of their homes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ...



Also, watch out for the Hole. (You were warned!)

The Mary Spink Apartments will one day be home to eight stories — 46 units — of affordable housing for formerly homeless and mentally disabled East Village residents.

Spink, a respected community activist, CB3 member and executive director of Lower East Side People’s Mutual Housing Association, died in January 2012 at age 64.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East 11th Street lot prepped for the Mary Spink Apartments

Empty East 11th Street lot will yield to 8 stories of affordable housing (49 comments)

Big crane work at the incoming Mary Spink Apartments on East 11th Street

Your guide to construction hell on East 11th Street

Big crane work at the incoming Mary Spink Apartments on East 11th Street

EVG reader Ron Z. shares photos from this morning... A crane has arrived for the second installment of pre-cast concrete floor planks for the incoming Mary Spink Apartments on East 11th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...



He notes that the planks are hoisted over 539-541 E. 11th St. and lowered onto the steel superstructure that workers have put into place.

"All residents on the 4th and 5th floors have to vacate their apartments until later this afternoon — in case a plank decides to land on top of the building," Ron says.







There were three trucks with planks waiting along Avenue A...





The Mary Spink Apartments will one day be home to eight stories — 46 units — of affordable housing for formerly homeless and mentally disabled East Villager residents.

Spink, a respected community activist, CB3 member and executive director of Lower East Side People’s Mutual Housing Association, died in January 2012 at age 64.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East 11th Street lot prepped for the Mary Spink Apartments

Empty East 11th Street lot will yield to 8 stories of affordable housing (49 comments)

East 11th Street lot prepped for the Mary Spink Apartments

In recent days, workers have been prepping the empty lot at 535-537 E. 11th St. near Avenue B... the space will one day be home to eight stories — 46 units — of affordable housing for formerly homeless and mentally disabled East Villager residents, as Curbed first noted.

EVG regular Ron Z. passed along these photos, noting that an electric meter was added a few days ago ... as well as the plywood.

Also, the building has a name: The Mary Spink Apartments.

Spink, a respected community activist, CB3 member and executive director of Lower East Side People’s Mutual Housing Association, died in January. She was 64.

Here's the rendering of the building...

Our post on this in early October generated 48 comments, many of them negative. Read that post here.