Lower East Side $10 Apartments
If you are unhappy about the amount you pay for rent, then this article will only arouse jealousy as well. A number of tenants in the 12-story East Village building known as Jupiter 21 and located at 21 East 1st Street will be paying $10 a month in rent. Tenants who are paying market prices, however, are faced with $3,000 to $10,000 a month in rent. So why do these other tenants get a windfall?
The nine tenants paying $10 a month were entitled to purchase into this building under the New York City Asset Sales Program when the building was up for sale. These tenants reached out to Donald Capoccia of developer BFC Partners for a collaboration. Instead of constructing new units on top of the already existing structure, Mr. Capoccia purchased nearby air rights, striking a deal with the current tenants that led to the $10 apartments.
For a brief history of this building and this Lower East Side neighborhood, check out the Wall Street Journal article, which discusses how Jupiter 21 was part of a “moving pictures” theater according to a 1913 permit. The building has also been the home of many artists.
