Last March, I wrote about 343 E. Fifth St., the apartment building between First Avenue and Second Avenue that inspired the novel "East Fifth Bliss" (and coming soon to a theater near you...).
The gut renovations of the former railcar apartments are apparently done, and some of the
To help attract the usual high-paying, quick-turnover renters in the market for three- and four-bedroom apartments, they'll even toss in a free month's rent.
There are all sorts of stories about the tenants — many of whom lived here for decades — being forced out here. A lot of it was hearsay, of course.
Last March, "East Fifth Bliss" author Douglas Light, who lived at 343 E. Fifth St. for several years, told me in an e-mail:
"My wife actually ran into an old tenant from there ... and he was telling her some wild stories about $250k buy-out offers (which he turned down, of course), arson by the building owner (to flush-out the remaining hold-outs), and the police cuffing and perp-walking the owner out of the building. As for the validity of the stories I can't say. This is the same guy who believed my wife was a spy that the owner planted in the building to keep tabs on everyone."
Anyway, speaking of the movie — starring Michael C. Hall, Lucy Liu, Peter Fonda and Slum Goddess — it's done. You can watch a trailer for it on Facebook. The dramatic comedy was filmed around the neighborhood, so there's plenty of locations to recognize...
Previously on EV Grieve:
About the building that inspired the novel "East Fifth Bliss"
Q-and-A with 'East Fifth Bliss' author Douglas Light
