After the three-alarm fire wiped out the businesses on 14th Street and Avenue A, some residents began speculating about what might happen to the prime block of East Village real estate... The area here also falls outside the East Village/Lower East Side Rezoning ...
A reader says that the same crew who was doing work at Pete's-A-Place, where the fire started, has also been working on renovating Apt. #12 at 542 E. 14th St. at Avenue B. However, there are no permits on file with the DOB for this address.
According to the reader, the DOB has tried to get access to Apt. 12 without success. The workers allegedly don't answer the buzzer or door. There have been six complaints filed with the city since April about this unit. Among other things, the complaints include that the construction in the unit is causing the entire building to shake.
The 542 E. 14th St. building has had problems in the past... In August 2007, Curbed noted that workers ripped out the entire kitchen and bathroom in one unit and left a 12' x 6' hole in the floor in which the tenant could see into the apartment below.
Empire Properties owns 542 E. 14th St. as well as most of the rest of the block, including the fire-stricken businesses. Empire's holding company is the infamous Solil Management, which is the estate of famed real-estate investor Sol Goldman.
[Photo by EV Grieve reader Sergey]
