Bowery’s Amato Opera House could be converted to luxe homes

Harriet and Steven Croman and the Amato Opera
Harriet and Steven Croman and the Amato Opera

One of the owners of the East Village’s famous Amato Opera House at 319 Bowery has filed papers to convert the vacant building into commercial and residential space, according to the New York Times.

Steven Croman wants to add 10 feet to the building, empty now for four years, for the addition of a penthouse and three other residential units, according to an application for a construction permit filed last week. The department of buildings is reviewing the request.

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Croman is a member of the limited liability corporation that paid 3.7 million for the building in 2009.

The new owners put the building back on the market for $6.5 million in 2011, after former owner Anthony Amato died. But Croman is not looking to flip the building post conversion Lauren Muss, the building’s broker and senior vice president at Corcoran, told the Times. “The owner is keeping” the building, she said. [NYT]Christopher Cameron