Troubled East Broadway Modular Development Still Stalled
A long-stalled Lower East Side modular development remains in a perpetual state of decay. Resumption is looking even more on the horizon.
Based on a Department of Buildings visit dated April 11, inspectors reportedly discovered that the new building at 201-203 East Broadway began life with “partial structural dependence” on the adjacent foundation wall of 205 East Broadway. That discovery resulted in a stop-work-order for the project site.
And yet another instance of potential destabilization for the latter HDFC building, which has been negatively affected by the development from the get-go.
According to public records, Department of Buildings initially sent the BEST Squad (safety enforcement) in July 2019 and determined that the adjacent 205 East Broadway had been undermined. This particular building dates back to the 1840s and is listed on the Federal and State Historical Register. The project site was later shut down by the city for not protecting the adjoining property, and remains in a state of arrested development.
Owner-developer Daniel Wise, who purchased the double-wide properties of 201-203 East Broadway in 2015 for $8.5 million, had planned to construct a seven-story modular housing development. In the short time since groundbreak, however, destabilization scares, collapsing sidewalks, and falling plywood have previously plagued neighbors. There are apparently a handful of active lawsuits levied against him, too.
Meanwhile, the development area is an overgrown mess of steel.
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