It’s been one year since China Vanke Co., Adam America Real Estate, and Slate Property Group acquired Rivington House in a controversial deal that stripped the former nursing home of its deed restriction. The community is no less outraged today than it was when news of the transaction first surfaced, and for that reason, the fight to preserve the future of Rivington House continues (h/t The Lo Down).
Though the building formerly owned by VillageCare is now in the hands of developers who plan to convert the non-profit site into a for-profit luxury development, the fight is far from over. Under increased scrutiny, the de Blasio administration announced several changes to the existing process for lifting deeds (though it did nothing to reverse the fate of Rivington House) and investigations are still underway while the site remains under a stop-work under.
Mayor de Blasio has said that there’s nothing the city can do at this point to reverse the transaction, however, local advocacy group Neighbors to Save Rivington House have no intentions to take the blow lying down. Instead, they will hosts two “visioning events” that will discuss ways to return the property to the community, despite de Blasio claiming that it can’t be done, reports The Lo Down.
“Our position is and has been that Rivington House must be returned to public use for the benefit of our Lower East Side community,” states their announcement.
The purpose of the public sessions are to “look at an array of possible futures by offering concrete information and innovative ideas for addressing the care needs...of [the] community” and will encourage input from locals. A two-hour panel discussion will be led by University Settlement House along with experts in public health, architecture, disability rights, and more.
The first session is slated for Sunday, March 12th from 2 to 4 p.m. at University Settlement’s Speyer Hall.