A bid to protect the integrity of 315 E. 10th St.

On Friday, we reported that Ben Shaoul's Magnum Real Estate Group bought 315 E. 10th St. from The Educational Alliance. Renovations are currently taking place to convert the building into residential use. There is also a pending permit to add an extra floor to the existing structure.

Area preservation groups had already been alerted to this possible development. Leaders from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, the Historic Districts Council, the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative and the East Village Community Coalition sent a letter dated Dec. 6 to Robert Tierney, chair of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). The letter reads, in part:

It has come to our attention that a permit application has been filed with the Department of Buildings to add a 5th floor to a 4-story building at 315 East 10th Street located within the calendared East 10th Street Historic District. We urge the Landmark Preservation Commission to intervene to ensure that these permits are not issued prior to designation.'

As you know, this block north of Tompkins Square Park was selected by the LPC as an historic district due to its high degree of intactness and distinctive architecture. This mid-block building is very much intact and such a modification would certainly negatively impact its character and the defining features of this building, which research completed by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation indicates dates to 1847. The level of architectural integrity for this 160-year old building at 315 East 10th Street is incredible, with details including an ornate galvanized iron cornice, window hoods and doorway frieze and entablature still intact.

Per the GVSHP, because the proposed district has been calendared by the LPC, the city has the power to stop the permits from being issued if they act quickly enough.

So far, though, the LPC has seemingly been unsympathetic to East Village architecture. Witness the demolition of, among others:

• 326-328 E. Fourth St.

• 316 E. Third St.

• 35 Cooper Square

• 331 E. Sixth St.

Click here for a petition to help save 310 E. 10th St. from further development. And this about more than simply saving one building... this is about preserving the integrity of the entire north side of East 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. If the city allows this addition, then there won't be much stopping any developers from doing the same to other buildings along here in the future...

So where's that horrible-looking hotel coming to 347 Bowery?

Of late it seems that all we do around here is chronicle buildings being demolished. Such as:

• 51 Astor Place

• 9-17 Second Avenue

• 74-76 Third Avenue

• 185-193 Avenue B

• 326-328 E. Fourth St.

• 316 E. Third St.

• 35 Cooper Square

• 331 E. Sixth St.

So what's left next?

Our money is/was on 347 Bowery at East Third Street, where that French guy is going to build a boutique hotel at the site of the Salvation Army's East Village Residence. Let's refresh your memory:

Oh, yeah — come to daddy!

On Jan. 12, the Post first reported that France’s Louzon Group bought the former Salvation Army building for $7.6 million with plans to turn it into a boutique hotel with one of their restaurants on the ground floor.

So, nearly 11 months later, we took a look at the DOB to see if Louzon had any permits on file for sidewalk sheds, complete demolition, etc. There is nothing on file. With the exception of someone removing the big Salvation Army sign a few months ago, the place looks pretty good for being vacant for three years.

(Off topic: Is there any address in the area that Wacky Wok hasn't left a menu?) In any event, awfully quiet here. Perhaps the French were scared off by the incoming 7-Eleven next door? To be continued.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reactions to new Bowery hotel: 'It would be cheaper and more useful just to blow up the building and leave a 30-foot crater'

Why do the French hate us?

Almost working around the clock on developing 326-328 E. Fourth St.

An EV Grieve reader who lives near the formerly historic townhouses at 326-328 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D reports that work is happening here at a rather frantic pace... including during evenings and Saturdays and Sundays...

The reader/resident is finding all this weekend work annoying. We walked by ourselves yesterday morning around 10 ... complete with a newspaper for authentication purposes...



Regardless, all the required After Hours Variance Permits are on file with the DOB...

More upscale housing is coming here with two new floors courtesy of developer Terrence Lowenberg and Ramy Issac, the controversial penthouse king of the East Village.

Here's how it's shaping up ... with a view from East Third Street...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

City doesn't give a shit about these historic East Village townhouses

Enough is enough: 316 E. Sixth St. was the fourth pre-Civil War townhouse to be destroyed in the last year

While on the topic of 331 E. Sixth St., which is between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... as the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) noted, this is the fourth pre-Civil War building in the East Village to be demolished in the past year.

The others: 326 and 328 E. Fourth St. and 35 Cooper Square. Meanwhile, 316 E. Third St. is next on the kill list to make way for a luxury apartment building.

So let's send it right to GVSHP:

Enough is enough! The demolition of 331 East 6th Street only highlights the urgent need for landmark protections in the East Village. Several months ago the Landmarks Preservation Commission proposed two historic districts in the East Village, a critical first step in preserving the neighborhood's significant historic architecture. However, the Commission has given us no information as to when they will hold a public hearing on the proposed districts (the second of three official steps in the landmarking process). While we wait, more and more of the neighborhood's complex and colorful history is being destroyed.

How to Help:

Send a letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission urging them to hold a public hearing on the East Village Historic Districts and calendar 316 East 3rd Street. A sample letter may be found HERE. Please send copies of all letters to gvshp@gvshp.org.

Stop work order at 328 E. Fourth St.

On Friday, the city issued a partial stop-work order here at the formerly historic townhouses at 326-328 E. Fourth St. ... photographed on Saturday...

According to the DOB, there was a complaint that the debris on the new top floor wasn't secured... thanks to a tipster for passing along this photo...

More upscale housing is coming here with two new floors courtesy of developer Terrence Lowenberg and Ramy Issac, the penthouse king of the East Village.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

City doesn't give a shit about these historic East Village townhouses

Historic East Fourth Street townhouses now just brick and bones

Every few months we'll check in on the formerly historic townhouses at 326-328 E. Fourth St. ... and every time we look, there's less and less of the original buildings remaining...

The houses are now essentially just the brick and some bones.

Soon, though, the building will rise again as something completely different, and with two new floors courtesy of developer Terrence Lowenberg and Ramy Issac, the sausage penthouse king of the East Village.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

City doesn't give a shit about these historic East Village townhouses

Maybe Robert Tierney doesn't hate the East Village after all

A few people were beginning to wonder anyway in the aftermath of the failed attempts to get the the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission to protect 35 Cooper Square or 326-328 E. Fourth St.

As the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) noted yesterday, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has agreed to expand the boundaries of their proposed East Village/Lower East Side Historic District study area to include additional streets and buildings called for by GVSHP, the Historic Districts Council, the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, and the East Village Community Coalition.

The additions to the study areas include buildings along Avenue A, East Sixth Street, Second Avenue and East Second Street. Among the items of interest per the GVSHP: "101 Avenue A, an 1876 tenement of striking architecture which has housed everything from a German Social hall in the 19th century to a drag performance art space (the Pyramid) in the 1980s."

Read more from the GVSHP here.

Here is a letter from Tierney, chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, on the matter.

Previously.

326-328 E. Fourth St. now a shell of its former self

Not much left of the addresses here between Avenue C and Avenue D.... You can see right through 328 to the buildings on Third Street...

As the Times noted back September, the houses date to around 1840 ... "That these houses have remained virtually unchanged in the past 170 years is miraculous and noteworthy..."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

City doesn't give a shit about these historic East Village townhouses

East Fourth Street's new luxury row

We've been focusing our attention of late on the preservation efforts at 35 Cooper Square... Meanwhile, we haven't checked in at the scene of another battle — 326-328 E. Fourth St. — in several weeks.

Despite a lot of outreach and awareness by a variety of local politicians and preservations groups, the historic townhouses here between Avenue C and Avenue D continue their journey toward the luxury condo apartment afterlife with the addition of two new floors.

Since we last looked, workers erected the sidewalk sheds...

And you can see right through now... not much is left inside. Workers have removed the guts.

However, the work on this block isn't limited to 326-328. There's also a sidewalk shed in front of 322.

According to a newly renewed work permit:

Interior renovation of existing apartments, including addition of one floor and penthouse; including structural, plumbing and mechanical work.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

City doesn't give a shit about these historic East Village townhouses

326-328 E. Fourth St. quickly gutted

And work continues at 326-328 E. Fourth St. ...



Got a quick look inside yesterday.... the space is already gutted... not much left...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

City doesn't give a shit about these historic East Village townhouses

Workers arrive to chop down trees at 326-328 E. Fourth St.

EV Grieve reader Ileana sends along these photos, noting the activity in front of 326-328 E. Fourth St. ... which is being prepped to become luxury housing...



"Tree service company came today to start cutting down the townhouse trees. As of this afternoon, they had not yet gotten to the mulberry trees in front that are growing out of the steps and provide East 4th street residents with delicious berries in June."



Previously on EV Grieve:
Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

City doesn't give a shit about these historic East Village townhouses

Sign marks start of renovations at 326-328 E. Fourth St.

Despite a lot of outreach and awareness by a variety of local politicians and preservations groups, the historic townhouses at 326-328 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D continue their journey toward the luxury condo afterlife... EV Grieve reader Steve sends along photos of new signs up on the property...



The DOB issued work permits here back on Nov. 16 — the same day that the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), the East Village Community Coalition (EVCC), Councilmember Rosie Mendez, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, the Historic Districts Council, and the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy held a rally and press conference to try to preserve these buildings...

As the standard sign reads, this project "will improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers." And later... "Here on 326-328 E. 4th Street a new apartment building is being built that will contribute to the lively community."



Two floors will be added here to create more luxury housing... Will this addition "contribute to the lively community"?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

City doesn't give a shit about these historic East Village townhouses

Read more abou tthe preservation efforts here.

The future of 326 and 328 E. Fourth St.

On Friday, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) noted that he city had already issued permits to develop the historic townhouses at 326 and 328 E. Fourth St.



Here's a look at the approved work plans...




The plans show that two floors will be added to the existing structure. The architect is Ramy Issacs, who New York magazine dubbed "The controversial penthouse king of the East Village." DOB records show that Terrence Lowenberg owns the buildings. Lowenberg is also behind the renovations at 147 First Avenue, as Curbed reported.

Per the GVSHP: "This was a tragic mistake by the city, allowing these wonderful pieces of the East Village and the city’s history to be destroyed, especially given the very poor track record of the architect in this case."

They continue: "In spite of this tragic loss, GVSHP is moving forward with our project to thoroughly document the history of every building in the East Village as part of a broader effort to push for expanded landmark protections in this historic, under-protected neighborhood."

The Times has more on the history of the buildings here back in September ...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

At the rally to save 326 and 328 E. Fourth St.

Today at noon, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), the East Village Community Coalition (EVCC), Councilmember Rosie Mendez, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, the Historic Districts Council, and the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy held a rally and press conference ... You can check out more photos at the GVSHP Flickr page...

Per the GVSHP:

These houses were the first and only structures ever built on these sites and retain a remarkable level of original architectural detail. Having evolved from shipbuilding merchant’s homes to multi-family tenements to a synagogue to the home of an anarchist utopian arts collective, 326 & 328 East 4th Street capture New York and especially the East Village’s evolution over more than a century and a half. With all-too-few buildings in the East Village enjoying much-needed landmark protections, we must save 326 & 328 East 4th Street before it is too late!

You can read more about the ongoing conservation battle here.

And, um, any word on this from the Landmarks Preservation Commission?

Rally today to save to East Fourth Street townhouses

We've written about the historic townhouses at 326-328 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D destined for the wrecking ball and condo afterlife... Today at noon, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), the East Village Community Coalition (EVCC), Councilmember Rosie Mendez, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, the Historic Districts Council, and the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy are holding a rally and press conference .... Read more here. And check out some photos at Untapped New York.

Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Back in March, we wrote about the side-by-side townhouses for sale on East Fourth Street near Avenue D....



There's a new listing for two townhouses at 326-328 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D... 12 bedrooms in the two homes... and both buildings are going for $4.6 million... According to the listing:

Extraordinary Opportunity. Two side by side townhouses that have 46 feet of street frontage and a 46 foot by 50 foot rear garden await your vision, dreams and renovation. Extensive original details throughout the townhouses. These properties will be delivered vacant, are currently over 7,000 square feet and come with an additional 10,000 square feet of air rights. Beautifully located across community gardens and on a charming block. This could also be a development site or for institutional use.

As the Times reports today, this is home to "an artists’ collective and burial society called the Uranian Phalanstery and First New York Gnostic Lyceum Temple, was started in the East Village in the late 1950s by the artists Richard Oviet Tyler and Dorothea Tyler."

Per their article by Colin Moynihan:

For decades, the East Village has been home to countless avant-garde organizations and collectives, drawn to the area by its cultural vitality and low cost of living.

Those days of affordability, however, appear to have largely vanished, and over the last decade or so many of the creative groups that once had a home in the East Village have moved or become defunct.

Faced with tax liens, the group is selling the two old brick buildings on East Fourth Street near Avenue D that it has owned since 1974. The group is also beginning the complicated process of cataloging the contents.

The Times also notes that the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) and the East Village Community Coalition are working to to get landmark status here. "In letters to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the groups said the houses dated to around 1840 and retained original cornices, molded stone sills, windows and ironwork, among other features. 'That these houses have remained virtually unchanged in the past 170 years is miraculous and noteworthy,' the preservation groups wrote. 'That they could be lost to irresponsible development would be nothing short of tragic.'"

Read more about it at the NYPress.

Speaking of development, the campaign is well under way to sell the buildings. Per Blumstein at Corcoran:

Deep in the Alphabet lies a potential Gem of an investment. Two buildings, old and in disrepair, are on the market as a set. Just recently the price was reduced from $4,300,000 to $3,950,000.

What makes them so special is the air rights that come with the buildings – 17,630 buildable square feet. At the current asking price, that is $224 per square foot to buy. Even with good quality construction you could put up condos at under $700 a square foot, and the lowest condo (a resale) is on the market in the Alphabet for $800 a square foot with the average at $1,051 and the highs around $1,700 per square foot (The Copper Building is selling at 215 Ave B with the remaining units averaging around $1,256 a square foot). Given the 2-3 years minimum before completion, the fact that it would be new development and a likely upturning real estate market, a buyer/developer could be poised for considerable returns.

Anyway, the GVSHP has documentation showing "the house’s original owner built the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean (nearby Avenue D was the East River’s edge, which in the early 19th century was full of working piers before shipping activity shifted to the wider and deeper Hudson); that in the late 19th century these houses were transformed from homes of successful merchants into tenements to house the waves of immigrants moving into the area; that in the early 20th century 326 and 328 East 4th Street were converted to house a Hungarian Synagogue."

Per the GVSHP:

YOU CAN HELP! Please write a letter to the city today urging the Commission to consider landmark designation for 326 and 328 East 4th Street right away, and to protect these remarkable survivors which capture so many important aspects of the evolving history of the East Village and New York — CLICK HERE for a sample letter and contact information.

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

There's a new listing for two townhouses at 326-328 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D... 12 bedrooms in the two homes... and both buildings are going for $4.6 million... According to the listing:

Extraordinary Opportunity. Two side by side townhouses that have 46 feet of street frontage and a 46 foot by 50 foot rear garden await your vision, dreams and renovation. Extensive original details throughout the townhouses. These properties will be delivered vacant, are currently over 7,000 square feet and come with an additional 10,000 square feet of air rights. Beautifully located across community gardens and on a charming block. This could also be a development site or for institutional use.

So, original details aside, someone will buy these to develop some high-end housing for that 10,000 square feet of air rights... and what about the current tenants...?