Possible Parking Lot Sale Causes Commotion at Village View
The co-op leadership hopes that selling the lot could rebuild reserve funding after a multi-million dollar shortfall. Some residents are unhappy with the plan.
| 11 Sep 2026 | 06:00
If sold, the area that now serves as Village View’s Parking Area 7 could become a new building. (
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One of seven Village View buildings at 40 1st Avenue. (
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Parking Area 7 at Village View on September 11. (
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A seven-building Mitchell-Lama cooperative in the East Village has been a topic of continued controversy amid a potential parking lot sale.
While co-op leadership thinks selling a parking lot on Second Avenue could save the complex from further financial strain, some residents worry about losing more than 100 parking spaces.
The Village View co-op, located just south of Tompkins Square Park, has been operational since the 60s and like many Mitchell-Lama properties, has been financially struggling to keep up with maintenance demands of an aging complex.
Legal representatives for Village View said the co-op has seen a $2 million budget shortfall over the past four years which has forced the co-op to rely on its reserve funding.
Using reserves for capital expenses has brought what started as an $18 million fund in 2021 to shrink to under $3 million today.
According to Jodi Stein, an attorney representing Village View, discussions about a parking lot sale started two years ago as the board looked for ways to cover the budget shortfall without having to raise maintenance fees.
Although the intention behind dipping into reserve funding was to avoid raising costs, the co-op implemented a Department of Housing Preservation and Development approved 29 percent maintenance increase over three years.
Still, the shortfall is expected to continue.
“If they continue to go at this rate, there will be no reserves left in about one to three years,” Stein said.
As part of an ongoing sales process, Village View has received bids from three developers in the mid to high $30 million range for the property. Based on active bids, Stein estimates that Village View would be left with at least $30 million after a taxes and fees.
Revenue from a successful sale would go into a trust as a conservative secure investment with a four percent interest rate and $1.2 million roll off. Stein compared this to a nine percent increase in maintenance every year.
Despite promises of increased revenue that could cover increasing costs, not everyone is optimistic about the idea.
Several Village View residents told Straus News on Sept. 11 that they have heard complaints from neighbors worried about the sale.
One went as far as to say “it all seems like a lot of noise, but without transparency there is conspiracy.”
Another said his son has been parking in the lot since 2011 and isn’t sure what a sale would mean for him.
Teresa Szewczyk, who has lived at Village View since 1993, doesn’t park in the lot that could be sold, but said her heart goes out to those who do.
“It’s very sad for the people parking there,” Szewczyk said. “They’re also going to take the trees, we want to breathe over here.”
She added that she’d much prefer open green space rather than another building.
An early September meeting with Village View leadership, local electeds, shareholders and residents served as an opportunity to publicly voice frustration.
Top concerns included exploring other ideas, building multi-level parking and parking retention for residents who would lose spots.
Village View is said to be looking into ways to increase parking availability at other lots and has asked each bidding developer to come up with possible parking solutions.
“We’re moving forward listening to what the community has to say, what the shareholders have to say, listening to what the bidders could do, and seeing how we could meet somewhere in the middle trying to make everybody happy,” Domenic Michael Recchia, another legal representative for Village View said.