UPDATED: Confirmed: People Live Inside 2 Cooper Square: Park Allegedly Coming Soon To Empty Lot Next Door

After some confusion at NYC The Blog headquarters with regard to residents at 2 Cooper Square, namely are there or aren't there, it seems clear now that people do indeed live inside of 2 Cooper Square. This makes sense. After all, The Wall Street Journal reported in June, at that time the building had signed leases for 21 units.

Unable to confirm from the leasing agent or the publicity firm, or from anyone else "in the industry,"—that people have been living there for months as an employee of the building informed yesterday—I resorted to walking by the building to practice journalism peek in the windows and look for clues. As you can see in the photo above, there are tell tale signs of human habitation, including lamps, laptops and plants. UPDATE: Leasing agents for the building confirmed via email this morning: "...people are living in the building and it is fully staffed and functional." He continued:
"I believe the plot of land behind the building is owned by the City of New York. There are talks that it will become a park or garden.  No building will be built on top of it, that I am certain of."

UPDATED: 2 Cooper Square Has Tenants?

A women ready to assist residents in a newly opened lobby of 2 Cooper Square on the east 4th Street side

2 Cooper Square, one of Bowery's most watched residential development, has been the topic du jour for bloggers in the East Village and environs for years, with Lockart Steele's Curbed.com excitedly covering it's development and construction. Everyone seemed to be waiting for the first tenants imminent arrival. So imagine my surprise when the woman at the front desk of Cooper's finished lobby confirmed some apartments are already occupied, as of "a couple of months ago."