An EVG reader shared an email with the subject line: "New tenants for 89 1st Ave?"
A bit of a misleading title, but it's rats, rats and rats galore. This "fence" (especially in quotes compared to the former grand one) is an invitation for garbage dumping, and the rat situation in the courtyards behind the building is dire.
This is just the sidewalk; the lot is a mess. Do readers have suggestions or tips for how to get the lot better secured from dumping and trespassing? Or who to call to come to issue a fine? Or how to get this turned into a community garden for the time being? It's only been what, 40-plus years?!
There are development plans here ...
last May, another set of new building permits were filed with the city for the lot between Fifth Street and Sixth Street.
According to
the DOB, the proposed building is six floors with eight residential units and ground-floor retail. In total, the structure is 8,183 square feet. The project is still awaiting approval.
This is the second time in recent years that plans have been filed for a new building for the address.
In 2017, the city never approved plans for a similar-sized structure — eight units, six floors.
As previously reported, Florence Toledano was the owner of this lot. In 2013, public records show that the deed for the property was transferred from the Florence Toledano Living Trust to 89 First Avenue LLC. The DOB permit lists Daniel Toledano as the manager of the property. (We do not know the relationship between Daniel Toledano and Florence Toledano. One reader said Daniel is a nephew of Florence.)
Daniel Toledano is still listed as the property owner and developer of the project. (Toledano is also
listed as the owner of the lot that housed the 2Bn2C sculpture garden at 231 E. Second St. between Avenue B and Avenue C. More on that space in another post.)
In December 2017, workers dismantled the sculpture fence that had lined the First Avenue lot for years (since the late 1980s, per one estimate). The fence was created at
the former Gas Station (aka Art Gallery Space 2B) on Avenue B and Second Street by Claire Kalemkeris and Johnny Swing in collaboration with
Linus Coraggio.
[
EVG photo from 2017]
Previously on EV Grieve:
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Will this long-empty lot on 1st Avenue yield to affordable housing?
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Drilling and soil testing commence at the long-empty lot at 89 1st Ave.
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Workers remove the sculpture fence and prep lot at 89 1st Ave.
There was an initial report on the Citizen app that a person was "trapped underneath a pole after an auto-collision." There weren't any follow-up alerts. 
A search of the car's license plate revealed a variety of recent traffic offenses...
