New Permits Filed For 19-Story Midtown East Site

MIDTOWN, NY — A two-story commercial structure in Midtown East will soon be replaced with a 19-story mixed-use building, according to new permits recently filed.

Filings show that the site at 656 Lexington Ave., currently home to tourist tchotchke shop 888 Camera Express as well as a number of shuttered business, will include 23 apartments with an average unit size of 2,123 square feet.

The first two floors of the planned 233-foot-tall building on the corner of East 55th Street will feature a health facility, the permit shows, as well as an eatery on the first floor.

On the 11th floor and roof will be recreational facilities available to residents and their guests at no fee, plans state.

Records show that demolition plans for the site were first filed in February 2022, about two months after developer, Brooklyn-based Rybak Development, bought the building for nearly $24.4 million.

About 30 blocks north, Rybak is also at work on a 20-story building on the Upper East Side on East 86th Street between Park and Lexington avenues.