The 47 E. 3rd St. protest in video

Here are some short clips from the protest at 47 E. 3rd St. tonight. I was there for the first leg of the protest tour. (UPDATED: Jeremiah and Bob Arihood have in-depth coverage of the evening.)











Earlier:
At the 47 E. 3rd Street protest

Reminder

At the Bowery Wine Bar protest

What's doing at the Economakis dream mansion on East Third Street?

Scoopy has an update this week in The Villager.



Take it away Scoopy....:

Lower East Side activist Susan Howard told us that a friend of hers who lives near 47 E. Third St. — the East Village "mass eviction" building — hasn't seen evidence of any work going on there for a while and thinks construction has ground to a halt.

Howard urged us to call Alistair and find out what’s up. "Work is progressing..." He said he doesn’t have a specific completion date for when the building will be ready for them to live in as their luxurious, single-family mansion. He said he and his family recently moved out of the place, and are temporarily living in Brooklyn until the job is done. "It came time we had to move out of there," he said of 47 E. Third St. "Our bedroom's gone — it was relocated to a different spot. The steps are being relocated. It was much simpler to just open everything up and build everything at once." Economakis said all the building’s windows are boarded up on the inside, not because no work is going on, but to protect the windows while work is going on.

[EV Grieve file photo]

Previously on EV Grieve:
And Economakis gets the whole building for his dream mansion

The 47 E. 3rd St. protest in video

At the 47 E. 3rd St. protest

Conspiracies: Where are all the fliers?

Dumpster marks the beginning of the end of 47 E. Third St.

As The Villager reported in its current issue, on Aug. 27, tenants moved out of 47 E. Third Street -- home of the infamous, longstanding battle with building owner Alistair Economakis.

According to the paper, Economakis may have also moved out -- at least temporarily. Pr maybe not.

And now a dumpster is in place in front of the building for collecting the remains of the renovation that will turn the tenement into the family's Mansion.




And check back with the paper later this week: There will be more of an interview with Alistair Economakis -- his longest to date with the media.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Alistair Economakis is suing his cousin Evel for libel

And Economakis gets the whole building for his dream mansion

The 47 E. 3rd St. protest in video

At the 47 E. 3rd St. protest

Conspiracies: Where are all the fliers?

At the 47 E. 3rd Street protest

Here are a few photos from the protest at 47 E. 3rd St. tonight. I was there for the first leg of the protest tour. It was fairly calm and orderly. The protestors were fenced in by the police, roughly a building and a half away from No. 47. (By the way, the police could not have been nicer. At least while I was there.) UPDATED: Jeremiah and Bob Arihood have in-depth coverage of the evening.

Inside the Economakis dream mansion on East Third Street

In this week's issue of The Villager, Scoopy gets a tour of the renovations at 47 E. Third St., where the Economakis family is making their 11,600-square-foot dream home from the former 15-unit tenement.

To some excerpts!

Except for the areas that the family is still using, the place has been completely gutted in the past month — with just the floors, the stairs and the building’s brick shell remaining. The old roof is still on, but will be replaced soon. With peppy enthusiasm, Catherine Economakis led the tour, first showing us her “dream kitchen” she had installed on the second floor, complete with a fully stocked stainless steel refrigerator, adjacent to their combination living room/dining room. Moving into the freshly gutted areas — where nothing at all is left of the former apartments — Catherine showed where they will blast through a wall to create a new doorway so that she won’t have to make the “50-yard dash,” as she put it, between the kitchen and the new dining room proper — that is, once they build the dining room in the rear of the building where one of the tenant’s apartments used to be.

And!

The Economakises also proudly note they have even restored the building’s cornice, which had been removed, and have cleaned and pointed the old tenement’s front brickwork. Catherine stated they intend to live there their whole lives. Alistair, saying one can never know what the future holds, assured they’ll stay there at least 10 years — if not 20 years, and yes, maybe even forever.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Alistair Economakis is suing his cousin Evel for libel

And Economakis gets the whole building for his dream mansion

The 47 E. 3rd St. protest in video

At the 47 E. 3rd St. protest

Conspiracies: Where are all the fliers?

On second thought, there is a garage at the Economakis Dream Mansion

Just on Tuesday, we had given up on the gossip about a new garage at the former 15-unit tenement on East Third Street. However! A well-placed tipster says it's all true, possibly.

First, some paperwork from the DOB to install a new curb cut. (Notice it is in audit to revoke — which means??)

Per the tipster:

"The garage is already built. I haven't seen behind the plywood since the structural work was done so I don't know what it looks like exactly. There is a vandal and graffitti resistant (maybe tactical nuclear-strike proof) garage door which does not roll on a track like a typical door, but rises in one piece vertically through the floor above and stops behind the windows of the floor above."

Two other items of business:

1) Per a commenter: "If you look on the DOB website at job #110412232, Schedule A, it has a proposed 'community facility' where the storefronts are. Isn't this supposed to be a single family mansion?"

2) Predicting a move-in date...

Previously on EV Grieve:
And Economakis gets the whole building for his dream mansion

The 47 E. 3rd St. protest in video

At the 47 E. 3rd St. protest

Work more prominent now at the Economakis Mansion

It just occurred to us that we haven't checked in on the Economakis Dream Mansion on East Third Street since last May... On Jan. 5, Curbed made a return visit, noting a new cornice and new windows ... Still, hasn't really seemed like much is happening... until now... Workers recently put up construction netting and a sidewalk shed...

A look at the DOB permits issued a few weeks back don't reveal too much... However, there is the permit approved on Jan. 11 ... according to the DOB, workers will be installing a new curb cut. The DOB originally disapproved the curb cut, as Curbed noted on Jan. 5 ... Now it seems to be OK. As Curbed noted: "Maybe the old storefronts are being eyed for a private garage?"

Previously on EV Grieve:
And Economakis gets the whole building for his dream mansion

The 47 E. 3rd St. protest in video

At the 47 E. 3rd St. protest

Conspiracies: Where are all the fliers?

The other side of the story: the Alistair Economakis Web site

Alistair Economakis, owner of 47 E. 3rd St, has his own Web site called the other side of the story.

Here's what he has to say about his building and his family's plans for it.

In April 2007 my family and I moved into the space available to us and have made 47 East 3rd Street our home. Unfortunately, however, due to tenants remaining in apartments, our living space is not contiguous and we are required to go through the public hallway to get from one part of our home to the other. Despite the awkward set up of our living space, we are thrilled to finally be living in our building and we love our neighborhood.

For the rest of the other side of the story, go to his site.

[Photo via Flickr by trickydame]

Here are more details on East Village Homes, the affordable housing set for 2nd Street

[Pre-construction look at 302 E. 2nd St.]

As we first reported this past Friday, a 14-story affordable housing complex is in the works for the long-vacant, city-owned parcel on Second Street between Avenue C and Avenue D.

On Friday morning, various officials kicked off the construction phase during a ground-breaking ceremony. Asian Americans for Equality is developing the long-empty lot after the Department of Housing Preservation and Development selected the organization in 2017.

Officials also released more information about the project — called East Village Homes — at 302 E. Second St., which will feature 45 affordable apartments and a ground-floor community facility.

From the news release:

Leroy Street Studio designed the building, which includes sustainable elements and meets Enterprise Green Communities Criteria. The project includes 13 studios, 19 one-bedroom units, 12 two-bedroom units and one apartment for an on-site super.

The building’s facade features a layered system of stucco panels that play off of an array of metal panels with custom-perforated designs. Integrated active design principles include bike storage, easily-accessible outdoor green space and visible stairs and circulation pathways.

Building amenities include a shared roof terrace, a meeting space off of the main lobby and a laundry facility. The project features a resilient design with no basement, water-conserving plumbing fixtures and high-efficiency lighting fixtures.

[Via Leroy Street Studio]



Here's a detail via Patch that wasn't included in the press materials:

Eight apartments will be for formerly homeless people under Section 8 for incomes up to 20 percent of area median income, seven apartments at 47 percent of AMI, 14 apartments at 77 percent of AMI and 15 apartments at 120 percent of AMI — which ranges from annual incomes less than $15,000 to about $90,000 for a single person. It will also have a 1,000-square-foot community facility, roof terrace, and green space.

In addition, officials announced that there's a second phase of the East Village Homes project, which is creating 10 additional affordable rental apartments on a separate site at 276 E. Third St. just east of Avenue C...


[276 E. 3rd St.]

The Villager tours the Economakis mansion on East Third Street

In an article last week at The Villager, Lincoln Anderson wrote about his recent tour of 47 E. Third St., the former tenement that Alistair Economakis renovated for his family. (This after clearing the five-story rental of its residents.)

We meant to link to it ... this week, the post also appears at The East Villager. So here's another chance to revisit the article in case you missed it... no photos, though. (The family thought "this would be an invasion of their privacy.")

Anderson offers highlights from the home, which includes a wrestling room ... he also tracks down a few of the building's former tenants who took buyouts ... as well as gets comments from City Councilmember Rosie Mendez.

One other tidbit: Alistair Economakis commissioned the Mosaic Man to create a border above the basement's basement-level storefront ... which Economakis hopes to rent out to a medical facility.

Read the whole article here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
And Economakis gets the whole building for his dream mansion

At the 47 E. 3rd St. protest

More coverage here.

Details about the the 3rd annual Lower East Side Pride Bookstore Crawl

The third annual Lower East Side Pride Bookstore Crawl takes place tomorrow (Saturday) from noon to 7 p.m.

Here's more info via the EVG inbox:

Celebrate the diversity and resilience of the neighborhood's indie bookshops by spending a day shopping discounts, special giveaways and curated selections of queer books. 

This year's crawl features seven unique indie bookstores: 

• Book Club Bar (197 E. 3rd Street & Avenue B) 

• Pillow-Cat Books (328 E. 9th S.) 

• Village Works (12 St Mark's Place) 

• Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks (28 E. 2nd St.) 

• Bluestockings Cooperative (116 Suffolk St.) 

• Yu & Me Books (44 Mulberry St.) 

• Sweet Pickle Books (47 Orchard St.) 

Each bookstore will offer discounts and perks (such as free merchandise or snacks) throughout the day. No reservations are required...

Rally Monday for East Third Street residents facing eviction

The flyer is pretty self-explanatory...

We were first to report on the looming evictions back on March 15... You can read more via the links below...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Three apartment buildings sold on East Third Street

Know your rights: Help with understanding NYC rent laws

More about the lease renewals at 50, 54 and 58 E. Third St.

Tenants at 50, 54 and 58 E. Third St. banding to together in face of building sale

Related:
And Economakis gets the whole building for his dream mansion

At the 47 E. 3rd St. protest

And Economakis gets the whole building for his dream mansion

The New York Post reports:

Eight holdout tenants who fought for five years to keep their millionaire landlord from turning their Lower East Side tenement into a mansion for himself agreed to be bought out yesterday.

The last rent-stabilized tenants of 47 E. Third St. said they gave in because they weren't confident they would beat real-estate baron Alistair Economakis in the Manhattan Supreme Court trial scheduled to begin yesterday.

Economakis, the son of a Greek shipping magnate, bought the six-story building for $900,000 in 2003 and said he needed it as a home for himself, his wife and two children.

He reached deals with seven of the 15 tenants but the others fought until yesterday.

The tenants will each receive $75,000 under the settlement, except for one elderly resident, who will get $175,000.

Here is the Web site for Alistair Economakis -- The Other Side of the Story: 47 East 3rd Street

Previously on EV Grieve.

Week in Grieview

[Photo in Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg]

Posts this past week included...

• Native Bean wraps up 20 years on Avenue A (Monday)

• Cults classic: East Village-based duo on the release of their fourth record Host (Thursday) 

• A moment from the march for Breonna Taylor (Thursday) 

• Sen. Hoylman responds to anti-Semitic graffiti on 1st Avenue; "Go to Hell, Nazis" (Friday) 

• A visit with Urban Russian Doll NYC (Wednesday) 

• Caffe Béne now selling South Asian-inspired groceries and snacks (Tuesday) 

• Save the date: Help clean up Tompkins Square Park on Oct. 10 (Thursday) 

• Renovations underway on the new Foxface Commissary on Avenue A (Wednesday) 

• Eliza's Local has closed on St. Mark's Place (Thursday) 

• More tributes to RBG (Wednesday) 

• This week's NY See panel (Friday) 

• Comedy Club owners get serious about plans to allow them to reopen (Wednesday) 

• Tats Cru pay tribute to Bittman "Bimbo" Rivas on 2nd Street (Friday) 

• Save the date: The 9th annual Lungs Harvest Arts Festival is Oct. 3-4 (Friday) 

• La Mia Pizza debuts on 4th Avenue (Monday)

• SLA temporary suspends the liquor license at Black Emperor (Wednesday) 

• Shoegazing: The life aquatic on 13th Street (Tuesday) 

• "Project Stun" at the F stop on 2nd Avenue (Monday) 

• 47 St. Mark's Place is for sale for the first time in 50 years (Tuesday) 

• Construction watch: 139 E. Houston St. (Tuesday) 

• The Dolar Shop bringing hot pot to 3rd Avenue and 11th Street (Monday) 

• Closings: Brazen Fox, the Nugget Spot, Hu Kitchen, Mancora and Apna Masala (Monday)

 

• Has Saxon + Parole closed? (Tuesday)

... and from this past week, this small tree just fell on over along Avenue A outside Tompkins Square Park... something rotten...

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Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

Week in Grieview

Posts from this past week included (with a photo on St. Mark's Place by Derek Berg) ...

 • City tries again with release of a Value Engineering Study for East River Park (Thursday) 

• Barnyard Cheese Shop returns; Brix Wines moves a storefront away (Monday) 

• Packing up the last of The Pyramid Club (Thursday) 

• At the first East Village Flea of 2021 (Tuesday) 

  A look at Full Tank Moto Cafe, now open on Monroe Street (Tuesday) 

• Easter in Tompkins Square Park (Monday) 

• Reopenings: Indochine, Kindred and Van Da (Wednesday) 

• This week's Gallery Watch looks at "There's the Air" by Clare Grill at Derek Eller Gallery (Friday)

• Halftime at NY See (Thursday) 

• Fresco will not be reopening at 138 2nd Ave. (Tuesday)

• "Diamonds, Razors & Champagne" debuts at 3rd & B’Zaar (Friday) 

• Vinny Vincenz Pizza has closed (Monday) 

• This photogenic East Village wisteria now has its own jigsaw puzzle (Tuesday) 

• Doc Holliday's turns 27 while closed during the pandemic; "We will be back" (Wednesday) 

• The Hayaty Hookah Bar space is for rent on Avenue A (Monday) 

• Rendering watch: 650 E. 6th St. (Wednesday) 

• Report of a balcony fire on 7th Street (Sunday) 

• 45-47 2nd Ave. has a new owner (Thursday) 

• Back to the 1980s (again) for "Russian Doll" (Friday)

• Partial reveal at the 101 Condominium (Monday)

... and William Klayer spotted DJ Mike Márquez at 7 a.m. for an early Twitch live stream in East River Park by the fogged-in Williamsburg Bridge...

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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

Signage alert: Sugar Mouse on 3rd Avenue

Signage for Sugar Mouse is now above the entrance at 47 Third Ave. ... at the NE corner of Third Avenue and 10th Street. 

This game-hall concept has been in the works for the past 18-plus months ... reps for ownership appeared before the CB3-SLA committee meeting in September 2022. 

The bar, offering pizza and snacks, will feature various table games (foosball, billiards, shuffleboard, etc.) Ownership also operates Sour Mouse on Delancey, billed as "the hottest underground social club in the LES." 

As we understand, Sugar Mouse is taking part of the retail space, which was made available when TD Bank downsized in early 2022. A previous listing for the corner storefront noted, "Join Game House/Entertainment Venue and Bar Sugar Mouse." 

No word on a Sugar Mouse opening date.

At the September 2022 CB3 meeting, several residents who live nearby spoke out with concerns about the business,  particularly the proposed late-night closing times. Block association reps wrote a letter and submitted a petition with more than 100 signatures from nearby residents in opposition to the application, per the minutes from the meeting. (At the same time, 61 people residing within two blocks of the location, including 28 residents who live above the premises at 101 E. 10th St., signed a petition in favor of the application.)

CB3 OK'd the application with several stipulations, including a 1 a.m. closing time and entrance on Third Avenue instead of 10th Street.

Beethoven Hall, that $25 million condo for sale on 5th Street, returns to the market

If memory serves correctly, then this unit — known as Beethoven Hall — at 210 E. Fifth St. near the Bowery — is the most expensive home that we recall seeing for sale in the neighborhood.

Here's the suitably breathless listing via Douglas Elliman:

BEETHOVEN HALL.... LIKE NOTHING YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE Situated on East 5th Street just off the Bowery, this unassuming 4 unit condo in an East Village historic building dates back to 1860. Words can not do justice what lies beyond the key locked elevator on the 3rd floor.

Upon entry into this simply incredible jaw dropping floor thru apt you are greeted with over 6700 sq ft of living space which includes a great room measuring 47'x35' with 32' ceilings, exposed brick, and an arched ceiling. Outstandingly unique, there is quite simply nothing else like this in Manhattan. Currently configured as a 4 bed 3.5 bath with loft, laundry room, eat-in-kitchen, heated logia, media room and 800 sq ft of private outdoor space.

Price: $25 million.

The listing that arrived on Wednesday only included the above exterior shot. However, the place was on the market with a different broker back in 2012 (same price!). Curbed posted these photos at the time (they have lots more here)...







The owner is photographer Gregory Colbert "who is professionally obsessed with documenting human interactions with animals," per Curbed. Colbert reportedly purchased the converted space for $6 million in 2004.

Daytonian in Manhattan has extensive history of the circa-1860 building here. In short, the one-time concert hall attracted such historical figures as political activist Emma Goldman and publisher William Randolph Hearst. It later became a TV studio where crews filmed episodes of "The Honeymooners."