A de Blasio administration official inquired about the fate of a Lower East Side nursing home more than a year before the mayor said he learned of a controversial deal to convert it to high-end housing.
Daniel Tietz, chief special services officer for the city’s Human Resources Administration, e-mailed the facility’s then-owner, Village Care, in January 2015, according to Politico New York.
“I was wondering where things stood with Rivington House,” Tietz wrote to Village Care CEO Emma DeVito on Jan. 15, 2015. “Do you have a plan for the building? If you wouldn’t mind giving me a bit of an update that would be great. Thanks! Dan.”
A month later, Village Care sold the property for $28 million to the Allure Group, which paid the city $16 million to remove a deed restriction limiting the building’s use, and then flipped it for $116 million.
The city’s decision to lift the deed restriction is under investigation by several entities.
Mayor de Blasio has said he didn’t know about the shady land deal until the story broke in March.
HRA said it couldn’t comment “since the entire matter is under investigation.” DeVito did not respond to calls.