Work is humming along at 32 Clinton, the new four-unit residential development on the corner of Clinton and Stanton Streets on the Lower East Side. And when we say humming, we mean humming—it was just over a year ago that this long-empty lot was still on the market after functioning for years as an ersatz greenspace. Now, "four exclusive full floor private homes," in developer-speak, are being prepped; the units range from $1.8 million (1,486 square feet) to $2.5 million (1,891 square feet), per this projected price plan PDF. As the official website indicates, they're pulling out the usual "luxury" amenities, from "clear maple flooring throughout" to Sub-Zero appliances. All well and good.
But, as Curbed regulars may recall, there's more history here than meets the eye.
This site was once home to a century-old tenement building that housed 10 families. A partial collapse at the building on January 24, 1998, left them all homeless. As the NYT reported at the time, the building was demolished by 8:30pm that night, "angering the tenants who said they had been given no chance to rescue pets or belongings." (Per that report, two residents stood near the police yellow tape and pleaded to be allowed to rescue their cats "Please, please," one begged an officer repeatedly about retrieving his cat. "He's all I got.")
Ten years later, the Lower East Side is such that the developer is using this line as part of the sales pitch for 32 Clinton: "ABC No Rio on Rivington is an internationally known collective of art exhibitions, poetry readings, and film and video screenings." How far we've come. —EV Grieve
· 32 Clinton [Official Site]
· All 32 Clinton Coverage [Curbed]
· Collapse on Lower East Side Leaves Families Homeless [NYT Archives]
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