Avenue D | The Lo-Down : News from the Lower East Side

Avenue D & Houston

A little excitement at Avenue D and eas Houston this afternoon. A van catches on fire, firefighters and cops are there right away. No injuries or collision, we’re told.

Luxury Rental Building Planned at Ave. D and 2nd St.

The area outlined in orange, a total of six lots, is slated for redevelopment as a luxury rental building called Alphabet Plaza. Source: NYC digital tax maps and land records.

Kahen Properties, a Queens-based real estate company, has announced plans to develop a 12-story, 135-unit luxury rental building at the corner of Avenue D and 2nd Street. The new project, first reported last week by The Real Deal, is the latest in a string of large development projects to emerge across the Lower East Side and the East Village.

The new plan apparently replaces a plan by a previous owner/developer we reported on back in 2010, called Houston Dee, which plowed through several rounds of vetting and a lengthy debate about affordable housing back in early 2010 but was never built. The Kahen application filed Jan. 11 with the Department of Buildings lists Avinash Malhotra Architects as the designer and calls for a 120-foot-tall exterior with 99,000 square feet of residential space and about 10,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor.

Assault, Robbery on Avenue D

From this morning’s New York Post Police Blotter:

Two 17-year-old brothers assaulted a couple at gunpoint in Alphabet City and stole their iPod, authorities said yesterday. Michael and Quasem Talbot and a third suspect allegedly pounced on the man and woman on Avenue D near East Sixth Street at 12:38 a.m. Saturday. The cohort pistol-whipped the woman while Michael Talbot swiped the iPod from the male victim, authorities said. Police apprehended the brothers as they tried to flee. The accomplice managed to escape. The Talbots, who live in Brooklyn, were charged with robbery.

LES Rapper “Tru Life” Sentenced to 10 Years

Lower East Side rapper “Tru Life” has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the fatal stabbing of a man outside a Manhattan apartment complex almost two years ago. The former Jay-Z protege, who’s real name is Roberto Rosado, and his brother accepted a plea deal in connection with second-degree murder, gang assault and assault charges.

Prosecutors said 20-year old Christopher Guerrero was killed at the end of a violent evening in June of 2009. The trouble began hours earlier in a Midtown night club after alleged LES drug dealer Michael Slater was shot in the stomach.

The ordeal shook up residents of the housing developments along Avenues C and D, where escalating violence was considered then (and still is now) a growing concern.

Rosado’s brother, Marcus, was sentenced to 12 years. Under the terms of the deal, neither man can appeal.

Luxury Housing on Avenue D – More Debate, and a Decision

Architectural rendering; luxury apartment building planned on Avenue D and East 2nd Street.

Our story last month about a luxury development planned on Avenue D touched off an interesting debate among some of our readers about affordable housing. That debate continued during Community Board 3’s full board meeting last week. As you may recall, CB3’s land use committee had voted 9-4 to approve the sale of a city-owned parcel to a private developer. The developer, whose name was not disclosed, intends to build on the corner of Houston and Avenue D. There would be 166 rental apartments, 34 of them affordable. This past Tuesday evening, CB3 accepted the committee’s recommendation to approve the deal, with 18 voting yes and 11 voting no.

Cops Search For Suspect After Avenue D Shooting

Lottery Opens For 30 Apartments in Alphabet Plaza Project

Firefighters Respond After Van Catches Fire on Avenue D

Luxury Rental Building Planned at Ave. D and 2nd St.

Assault, Robbery on Avenue D

LES Rapper “Tru Life” Sentenced to 10 Years

Luxury Housing on Avenue D – More Debate, and a Decision