One of the largest real estate developers in the country has submitted plans to demolish a row of five Beaux Arts-style tenement buildings in the East Village to make way for a luxury hotel specifically branded to draw millennials, despite the a push from local preservationists who argue the buildings should be given landmark status.
Opponents to the planned Moxy Hotel also find it suspect that demolition permits have been submitted by Lightstone Group, which is headed by David Lichtenstein—a developer who has made sizable donations to New York Democrats and was recently appointed by Mayor de Blasio to the NYC Economic Development Corporation’s Board of Directors. In defense of their case that the tenements should be protected, opponents note that the Landmarks Preservation Commissionrecommended the block of East 11th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues as a possible historical district as recently as 2008. Continue reading “Activists Fight Demolition Of East Village Tenement Buildings To Make Room For ‘Millennial-Focused’ Hotel”

