Despite their location in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village Historic District, two side-by-side rowhouses on lower Fifth Avenue were razed last year.
The real losers, though, are the residents two doors down.
Digging for a planned condominium on the vacant site undermined the ancient structure at 10 Fifth Ave. — a modest, 14-unit rental building on the corner of West Eighth Street.
The building started cracking — and the tenants who call it home were forced to flee.
Now they are in limbo, pushed from their apartments and facing an uncertain housing future.
The construction on the block’s 19-story, 14-unit condo is stalled, at least for now.
The “ground-up ultra-luxury condominium development,” designed by the renowned architect Robert A.M. Stern, is being developed by Madison Realty Capital. “The building is a unique offering that blends the elegance of Uptown traditional living and the youthful spirit of The Village,” the website says.
Madison Realty Capital bought the lots for $27.5 million in 2015. Half of the 20 units were rent-regulated. Typically, to empty such a building, people are bought out or given other apartments — and many sign confidentiality agreements, said Andrew Berman, the executive director of Village Preservation, whose group sought to save the buildings.
As excavation proceeded, the five-story rowhouse two doors down started breaking.
The building — where, decades ago, the fashion designer Stephen Sprouse lived — contained four regulated units and 10 market-rate units. The market-rate dwellings, which had been renovated, included dishwashers and washer/dryers. One-bedrooms there recently rented in the $4,500 to $5,500 range.
In mid-December, two months before their building was declared unsafe, tenants notified management of interior cracks. “The corner of a wall was separating and you could feel a draft,” one tenant said.
Twice, representatives of the owner and the developer came to view the cracks — and they took photos but no action, according to tenants.
A spokesperson for Madison Realty Capital said the developer placed vibration monitors in the building and detected no issues.
The situation worsened, residents say.
On Saturday, Feb. 18, “the building was raining little brownstone chunks,” one tenant said. A passerby alerted authorities.
Early that morning, the buzzers buzzed. Tenants awakened to find the building swarming with firefighters and building inspectors.
By nightfall, residents were given two hours to pack and leave. Most went to nearby hotels. Ten-day hotel stays were funded by Madison Realty Capital, according to the spokesperson. When the payments stopped, tenants scattered among friends, relatives and other temporary options for housing.
Some tenants with renter’s insurance said their policies didn’t pay for additional living expenses, since “imminent collapse” was not a covered peril.
The commercial tenant on the ground floor, the bakery and eatery Le Pain Quotidien, closed its doors — with no signage remaining.
A representative of the landlord for 10 Fifth, Reda Holdings, declined to comment.
“The construction at 16 Fifth Avenue has been conducted in full compliance with all required Department of Buildings and Landmarks Preservation Commission permits and supervised by licensed professional engineers and contractors,” Madison Realty Capital said in a statement.
“We are working closely with DOB and LPC to ensure the safety of the construction site, and to that end, have received permission to restart certain remediation efforts. We look forward to further identifying effective solutions that ensure the safety of the site and completing construction at 16 Fifth Avenue.”
Over at 10 Fifth, two doors down, cracks on the facade ran from the first floor to the parapet, and the building suffered from “separation of brownstone lintels” and “floor deflection,” according to the DOB website.
“An approximately 3-inch separation had formed at the fifth floor level” between 10 Fifth and its neighbor at 12 Fifth, said Andrew Rudansky, a DOB spokesman.
Temporary shoring was installed inside the building. On two occasions, tenants were allowed to enter briefly to gather belongings.
“The way they treated us is egregious, callous and irresponsible,” one tenant said. “We warned them back in December and they didn’t put shoring in until we were evacuated.”
Security deposits were returned and February’s rent was prorated, according to market-rate tenants. Some found new apartments elsewhere. To retain their tenancies, the four stabilized households pay rent of $1 a month.
“We are in contact with the owner’s engineer regarding plans for permanent repairs,” Rudansky said. “We will continue to follow up with the property owners during this process, so that residents can get back in their homes as soon as it is safe to do so.”
So far, there has been no reason to issue an emergency declaration to demolish the structure, he said.
“It is both deeply disappointing and infuriating to witness such reckless disregard for the safety and well-being of residents,” the area’s councilman, Erik Bottcher, said in a statement.
“This blatant prioritization of profits over people reflects a concerning lack of responsibility, and there must be accountability for the distress and danger that has been caused in our community.”
The buildings that were razed were historic though nondescript. After a fierce, three-year dispute among preservationists, the Landmarks Preservation Commission granted permission for their destruction.
The block was once a series of 19th-century rowhouses that all leaned on one another, said Berman, of Village Preservation.
The original rowhouses sat on rubble, “which means they were built on piles of rocks and stones,” he said. “Those 19th-century rowhouses have certain unique vulnerabilities. There are thousands in New York City and hundreds in Greenwich Village. Precautions should have been taken.”
The block also sits atop Minetta Creek, an underground stream — another factor that weakened the building.
Any damage to 12 Fifth — directly adjacent to the construction site — was not bad enough for a vacate order. That building dates from around 1900 and is more structurally secure, Berman said.
The DOB found no immediately hazardous conditions there, but it still must be assessed by an engineer.
Meanwhile, the stabilized tenants of 10 Fifth are awaiting word about their homes, uncertain when, or whether, they can return.
“I’ve always felt for homeless people,” one tenant said. “May this never happen to you in your lifetime.”
