UES Corner Creeps Closer To Full Demolition, Records Show
UES Corner Creeps Closer To Full Demolition, Records Show

UES Corner Creeps Closer To Full Demolition, Records Show

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Old ideas die hard.

A plan to demolish much of an Upper East Side block was once largely abandoned. Now it appears the developer is getting closer to achieving his goal of a mostly cleared-out block.

Newly filed demolition permits show that a developer is inching back towards his original plan of demolishing seven buildings on east side of Second Avenue above East 60th Street.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

That plan was downsized last year to include only three buildings on the block, but since December, two more buildings from developer and owner Sean J. Lavin’s original plans, first reported on Patch in late 2021, have been placed back in the path of the wrecking ball.

In December, Lavin filed demolition permits for 1144 Second Ave., the building next to two other buildings where demolition is already well underway on the southeast corner of the block.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Lavin added the building next to that, 1148 Second Ave., to his demolition scheme, according to a permit filed on Thursday.

That means the stretch of 1140-1148 Second Ave. — plus 1152 Second Ave. — will all be empty soon, nearly fulfilling the original plan of knocking down all seven buildings Lavin owns on the block.

One building Lavin owns, 1150 Second Ave., prevents the demolitions from becoming one contiguous space.

According to recently filed plans to reinforce the basement of that building, all five of the building’s residential units are currently occupied.

Click Here: nsw blues jersey

Lavin could not be reached for comment, and it remains unclear what the plans are for developing the site.

City records show that Lavin owns all of the century-old buildings on the block, aside from the northernmost structure at 1158 Second Ave.

In 2021, Lavin originally filed plans to knock down all seven of the buildings between 1140-1152 Seconde Ave.

But a source told Patch that a holdout tenant was delaying his plans.

Over a year later, Lavin had withdrawn most of his demolition permits — except for 1152 Second Ave. — and then subsequently filed new demolition permits for 1140 and 1142 Second Ave. last February, where work began last summer.

Records show he has owned most of the buildings for several years, with the exception of three buildings at 1152-1156 Second Ave., which he purchased back in June 2021 in an $11 million deal, city records show.

1154 and 1156 Second Ave. were not part of Lavin’s original demolition plans, and no demolition permits have been filed since at those buildings. 1154 Second Ave. is now home to the twice-relocated Subway Inn, which prior to their reopening last year, occupied the corner spot at the now-demolished 1140 Second Ave.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.