East Village Karate Academy Moves to Second Avenue
By Rebecca Baird-Remba June 9, 2017 4:25 pm
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The Chinese Hawaiian Kenpo Academy, a martial arts school, is fighting its way west in the East Village.
The karate academy leased 5,000 square feet last month on the ground and second floors at 122 Second Avenue between East Seventh Street and St. Marks Place, according Marc Sitt of Kassin Sabbagh Realty.
It plans to relocate from its current spot at 34 Avenue A between East Second and East Third Streets. The school, which has operated in the neighborhood for more than 20 years, needed to expand beyond its 1,700-square-foot space in Alphabet City, Sitt said.
Asking rent for the Second Avenue space was $80 a square foot.
Sitt and his colleague Abie Dwek represented the tenant, and Sitt represented the landlord, Jerry Lebedowicz, on his own.
Lebedowicz purchased the property for $9.1 million in October 2016. He plans to redo the first two floors and put in floor-to-ceiling glass windows for the karate school, Sitt said. Before him, the Ukrainian Soccer Club had owned the property since 1959. The five-story building dates back to 1920 and includes two apartments and 2,400 square feet of office space above the two floors of retail.
