377 East 10th Street | Block : 393 | Lot #47

Description & Building Alterations

This six-story tenement building was designed in the Renaissance Revival style by Schneider and Herter.  Built before 1901, this “old-law” tenement still retains much of its facade ornament including the terracotta panels, string courses and window surrounds.  The building no longer has its cornice and the ground floor has been altered.  The entrance has been lowered to the street level where there would have originally been a stoop.

Known as “The Tenth Door,” this former squat building was occupied and opened in 1989.  The building has a diverse population including a number of Colombian residents as well as a number of veteran squatters. According to “Ours to Lose: When Squatters Became Homeowners in New York City” the building suffered a fire after the 2002 legalization deal and residents had slowly been renovating the building themselves. In 2013 the city sold a tax lien on the building leaving residents open to the possibility of eviction, even as they were supposed to be the homeowners. In 2015 Urban Homesteading Assistance Board negotiated a deal in which Donald Capoccia’s BFC Partners would fund a gut renovation and then obtain inclusionary zoning credits to build more at 196-200 Orchard Street.  Well known squatter and activist and Reverend Frank Morales is a resident here.