It’s Another Passover without Streit’s Matzo on the Lower East Side
Remember the Streit’s Matzo factory!
Now four years removed, and with a glassy monstrosity in its place, it’s actually crazy reminiscing that a fully fledged matzo factory operated on Rivington Street for ninety years.
Ninety years until 2015. That year was the final Passover on the Lower East Side for the family-owned Streit’s Matzo. The next summer – in July 2016 – the tenements at 148-154 Rivington Street met the wrecking ball.
With the new condo building operational, there is no longer that sweet smell of baking matzo permeating the neighborhood.
March 2014
As previously reported, the family-owned Streit’s Matzo business sold its original factory at 148-154 Rivington Street to Cogswell Realty in January 2015 for $30.5 million. (A prior deal to sell the properties for $25 million fell through in 2008.) The blinding eyesore of a replacement consists of 45 one-, two-, and three-bedroom condos, including four duplex penthouses on the seventh/eighth floor. Building amenities include bike room, gym, laundry, storage, and rooftop terrace with outdoor fireplace and kitchen.
Matzo Factory operations are now headquartered in Rockland County.
Streit’s history and the move upstate were the subject of the 2016 documentary, Matzo and the American Dream, which recently signed a deal with PBS.
March 2014
Recent Stories
65-Year-Old Man Jumps to His Death from 6th Floor of Seward Park Co-op
A 65-year-old resident of the Seward Park Co-op reportedly leaped to his death early Tuesday morning. According to the police report, the man jumped from the window of his sixth-floor apartment at building 4, west of Clinton. Officers from the 7th Precinct responded at 7:47am, and found him unconscious at the scene. Further investigation into the […]
Open Call for Muralists to Decorate First Street Green Art Park
Centre-fuge, whose popular art trailer was deposed last summer after seven years, is seeking muralists to paint part of the First Street Green Art Park. The group put out the official request for proposals yesterday morning. There are seven fence-canvases available for the taking. Artwork is curated on a rotating basis, so this next batch […]
Mulberry Market Signage Goes up in Little Italy
Months delayed, the forthcoming Mulberry Market finally has something to show for itself. Store signage was installed yesterday above the entrance to the highly-anticipated supermarket (stylized as MulberryMARKET). The new marketplace is apparently a “family business” that is years in the making. It replaces the decades-old MET Food, which was unable to negotiate favorable lease […]
DOT Announces More ‘Asphalt Art’ for Chinatown Seasonal Streets
For the second year running, Doyers Street is the recipient of the alliterative Asphalt Art. The Department of Transportation’s Temporary Art Program (DOT Art) is again joining forces with the Chinatown Partnership to paint the former “Bloody Angle.” Hangzhou artist Chen Dongfan was the first to paint the area last July, imparting a 4,851 square-foot mural […]
Cactus Store Returns Saturday for Third Season on Essex Street
Unless (or until) development takes hold at 5 Essex Street, the annual cactus retail setup will continue. For the third year running, the Los Angeles-based Cactus Store is set to return this season. Ownership confirmed the plans, and relayed an opening date of this Saturday (May 25). All the infrastructure is still in place, including […]
