More than two years after a gas explosion leveled several buildings on the corner of Second Avenue and Sixth Street in the East Village, two of the sites that fell as a result of the blast have sold.
The New York Post reports that the empty lots that were once home to buildings at 119 and 121 Second Avenue sold to Nexus Building Development Group (which has properties in the Lower East Side and East Village), with city records showing that the two properties went for a combined $9.15 million. It was speculated that they could nab as much as $12 million earlier this year. An adjacent site not owned by the Hyrenkos at 123 Second Avenue (once home to East Village late-night institution Pommes Frites) sold for $9.7 million last year.
According to the Post, the two sites were, before the sale, still owned by Maria Hrynenko, who is currently awaiting trial on manslaughter charges related to the 2015 explosion. As we previously reported, “Manslaughter charges were brought in February [2016] against several parties involved with and privy to the illegal gas line, including against the owners of the building at 121 Second Avenue, Maria Hrynenko and her son Michael Hrynenko.”
But lawyers for the victims of the explosion—there are dozens of lawsuits, including one from actress Drea de Matteo brought against the city, Con Edison, and several other companies—have expressed concernthat a sale could make it harder for their clients to see any financial remuneration from the Hyrenkos. “Let’s say she sells the property and takes the cash and stashes it away in the Canary Islands, there’s no way for us to recoup that,” one lawyer working on a case against the Hyrenkos told the Post.