173 Avenue B | Block : 393 | Lot #8

Description & Building Alterations

This five-story Neo-Grec tenement building still retains it original cornice and cast-iron elements of the storefront.  Some of the building’s lintels feature some incised ornamental carving and most of the lintels are also connected by stringcourses.  Of the four bays on the primary facade, one bay on each end projects slightly and has more decorative embellishment on the lintels than the center two bays.  The secondary facade along E. 11th Street also has similar ornament to the Avenue facade while also utilizing corbelling and brickwork to decorate the chimneys.  The building is primarily red brick with grey sandstone features.

The building is the home of Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES). According to their website, GOLES was born in 1977 amid arson, abandonment, and economic crisis. They began from the simple idea that tenants could organize to exercise their legal rights, defend their homes, and preserve their neighborhood. It was also a powerful and expansive idea: people could organize building to block, from block to neighborhood, and from neighborhood to city.

GOLES’ name reflects the hope that the struggle for legal rights and personal security can lead to a struggle for collective security,  and to the preservation of the diverse peoples, cultures, spaces, and institutions that, historically, have made the Lower East Side iconic for its rich cultural, artistic, and political life.

Block : 393 / Lot : 008 / Building Date : 1886 / Original Owner : Maurice Levy / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : Ernest W. Greis