Courtesy of Morris Adjmi Architects

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved on Tuesday a seven-story condo on the site of the 2015 East Village gas explosion. Designed by Morris Adjmi Architects, the project was first presented to the commission in July but was sent back to the drawing board over concerns regarding the windows and gloomy coloring. According to Curbed NY, the firm’s new design features a brighter facade, more traditional windows to reflect the character of the East Village and a permanent plaque to honor the two people that died during the explosion.

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Rendering by Morris Adjmi Architects

Just over three years ago, an explosion from an illegal tap into the gas main destroyed three buildings on Second Avenue and killed two people in the East Village. Last year, two lots of the three at the site were sold for just over $9 million. And this week renderings have been revealed for a new condo building set to rise on the same plot. The images were found by EV Grieve in an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness by the new building’s developer, Yaniv Shaky Cohen’s Nexus Building Development Group.

The plan will be reviewed by Community Board 3’s Landmarks Committee next Monday. (A paper meeting notice was taped to the fence surrounding the property on Monday, according to EV Grieve). Designed by Morris Adjmi Architects, the renderings depict a single 21-apartment, six-story, grey brick luxury building to encompass both lots, with a detailed cornice and ground floor retail.

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Image of the site via Google Street View 

In March 2015, an explosion caused by an illegal tap into the gas main destroyed three buildings and killed two people in the East Village. Last month, Maria Hrynenko, the owner of the wrecked properties at 119 and 121 Second Avenue, sold two of the lots to Yaniv Shaky Cohen’s Nexus Building Development Group Inc. for $9.15 million, according to the New York Post. The third site destroyed by the explosion at 123 Second Avenue sold last year to Ezra Wibowo for $6 million, about $4 million less than the asking price.

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The scene on the day of the explosion, via Uptown Radio

When the Second Avenue gas explosion tore through three East Village buildings in March 2015, George Pasternak lost his property at 123 Second Avenue, which housed the famed Pommes Frites and a deli, by no fault of his own. And when the city demolished what remained, he was charged $350,000. But this past March, he listed the vacant lot for $9.7 million, and now 6sqft has uncovered property records that show he’s made the sale for $6 million, significantly less than the asking price.

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