Second Avenue Subway construction still decimating residential rents, shuttering businesses

Rents are falling even further on Second Avenue on the Upper East Side as the ongoing construction for the Second Avenue Subway has made residing there less desirable and doing business there substantially more difficult, Our Town reported.

Businesses between 62nd and 96th streets on Second Avenue report decreased sales and some have closed, Andre Soto, director of management at Salon Realty, a property manager, told the paper. Soto said two of the four businesses in buildings his firm manages have closed up shop. The remaining businesses had their rent lowered by 40 percent to account for plummeting sales due to construction and blocked frontage signs on the blighted avenue.

Italian restaurant Tony’s DiNapoli, at 1606 Second Avenue and 83rd Street address, was one Second Avenue business that closed, as The Real Deal previously reported.

Soto also said that on average, a one-bedroom apartment in one of his firm’s buildings affected by construction on the Upper East Side would go for $1,100 to $2,200, and a two-bedroom would go for anywhere between $1,800 and $2,800, a decrease of about 30 percent since complaints about construction began. The first phase of construction began in 2007.

Sales and rental prices have been affected in the area between 82nd and 87th streets between First and Third avenues since August, according to numbers provided to The Real Deal by Streeteasy.com.

A Lawsuit From 86th Street residents, claiming that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority did not properly perform environmental impact reporting was dismissed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations in December. [Our Town]