DOB disapproves plans for former East Village Farms

According to the Department of Buildings (DOB) website, city officials have disapproved initial plans last Thursday to renovate the former East Village Farms at 100 Avenue A.

Here's the all-cap job description filed on Feb. 21, as we reported:

TO RENOVATE EXIST. HIGH TWO STORY BUILDING INCLUDING THE EXPANSION OF THE CELLAR FLOOR, THE RAISING OF THE ENTIRE SECOND FLOOR AND INSTALLING A NEW STOREFRONT. 2) TO ADD A NEW PARTIAL THIRD AND FOURTH FLOOR FOR ONE DWELLING UNIT WITH A ROOF GARDEN ON THE 2ND FLOOR ROOF ACCESSORY TO THE DWELLING UNIT.

The DOB files have Flushing-based Paul Mok as the architect engineer of record. According to the DOB, Mok was one of 20 NYC-based architects or engineers to find themselves on the "Voluntary Surrender of Privileges" list.

Mok's name also turns up in The New York Times archives. He was associated with the so-called "Leaning Tower of Flushing," a problem-plagued 15-story condo at 143-51 Roosevelt Ave.

As the Times reported on July 14, 1998, "there were constant leaks, and residents in the corner apartments started to complain about cracks appearing in their floors. Complaints to the condominium board, which was dominated by the developers, went largely unheeded. In 1994, a new board was elected and complaints were filed with the State Attorney General's office, along with lawsuits against the building's developers and builders. The Attorney General has a lawsuit pending against Paul Mok, the engineer and architect who designed Vista."

The Times noted that city inspectors found that the building "had been built as though it were a low-rise structure and that it had no steel structure for bracing."

Meanwhile, workers have removed most traces of the former East Village Farms, which closed last month.

[Bobby Williams]

Now, the place sits mostly empty... waiting for whatever the revised plans are...

Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

What's happening next to the former East Village Farms at 100 Avenue A

[Bobby Williams]

After a rather long goodbye, East Village Farms closed for good on Feb. 9. (The flower guys stuck around until last Wednesday.)

There were all sorts of rumors about this space that included a not-so-secret old movie house. The employees of East Village Farms had said the building's landlord would demolish the building.

However, there weren't any work permits to back up these claims.

But there are now.

There's a permit pending — dated today — at the DOB. According to the all-cap job description:

TO RENOVATE EXIST. HIGH TWO STORY BUILDING INCLUDING THE EXPANSION OF THE CELLAR FLOOR, THE RAISING OF THE ENTIRE SECOND FLOOR AND INSTALLING A NEW STOREFRONT. 2) TO ADD A NEW PARTIAL THIRD AND FOURTH FLOOR FOR ONE DWELLING UNIT WITH A ROOF GARDEN ON THE 2ND FLOOR ROOF ACCESSORY TO THE DWELLING UNIT.

So, no demolition. But, if approved, the landlord plans to renovate the existing building, including the storefront, and add one doozy of an apartment (3,000 square feet in total) with an outdoor space.

We'll have more on this later.

At first glance, though, this sounds like the $4.8 million "owner's triplex" above Sunny and Annie's on Sixth Street and Avenue B...


Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

Asbestos abatement continues at 98 Avenue A, Ben Shaoul's latest East Village trophy

[Bobby Williams]

Developer Ben Shaoul is the new owner of 98 Avenue A, the former theater-turned market at 100 Avenue A. Public records show that an entity called Partners Vii/98 Avenue A Owner LLC purchased the property last month for $15.5 million.

While the name of Shaoul, president of Magnum Real Estate Group, isn't listed on the records... his name appears as the owner of the property on the asbestos abatement flyers that went up this past week.





East Village Farms at 100 Avenue A between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street closed Feb. 7, 2012. Since then, not much of anything has happened inside the space, though the sidewalk does serve as a makeshift shelter.


[March 2013 via Bobby Williams]

Last year, the landlord — Suh, Yon, Pak Associates, Inc. — was proposing to keep the store on the first and second floor, and then add a third and fourth floor for residential use. For whatever reason, the landlord never got this plan approved. Subsequent plans on file with the DOB showed a proposed addition to the back of the building ... and increasing the size of the store at the first and second floors.

Nothing is on file yet with the DOB to indicate either a demolition or new building for the address. However, a listing for the retail spaces that we noted last month provides an idea of what Shaoul and company have in mind:

Size
9,767 sf - Ground Floor
5,850 sf - Basement
*Divisions Accepted

Asking Rent
Upon Request

Currently
Vacant (New Residential Development)

Frontage
127'5" on Avenue A

Notes & Highlights:
• Landlord will deliver vanilla box space and new storefront(s)
• New residential building will be above the retail (40 units)
• Unique large piece of retail space available in the East Village

Here's is the latest rendering... (apparently the Sidewalk doesn't exist in this future)...



For now, the interior looks like this...


[By Edward Arrocha]

Shaoul is currently putting the finishing touches on Bloom 62, the luxury building on Avenue B and East Fifth Street that previously provided end-of-life care for up to 240 low-income elderly residents in the East Village. As Crain's reported yesterday, "Magnum chose the name Bloom 62 to highlight the large amount of green space in the property, including a 5,000-square-foot courtyard, and a well-planted 10,000 square foot roof."

Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

Another look inside the East Village Farms and the old Hollywood Theatre on Avenue A

[Kevin Shea Adams]

The East Village Farms on Avenue A between Seventh Street and Sixth Street is on the clock... we now understand that the closing date has been moved to Feb. 5, with a sale starting next Wednesday. (The owners will take any leftover inventory to their new store on 48th Street.)

The staff here says the building's owner will demolish the structure. There still aren't any permits on file with the DOB ... and still no official word from the landlord.

Anyway, as you know, the space was originally a theater in operation from 1926-1959. EV Grieve reader Lambert Jack got a look at the sort-of-secret theater a few weeks back ...

Now, East Village-based photographer Kevin Shea Adams shares his photos from a recent trip inside the bowels of the store. (You can read his post and see more photos here.)

Find more of Kevin's photography here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

Last day for East Village Farms

Today is the last day for East Village Farms on Avenue A. A lot of things are on sale. (But not everything — saw some annoyed people who thought their items would be half off.) All the beer is 30 percent off, and they have a pretty good selection. (At 30 percent off, it's now about the same price as Key!)

Anyway, took a few shots of the store's well-worn exterior before it's wiped away...

Employees here have said the landlord plans to tear down the building. But we've never heard this officially from the landlord. And there still aren't any permits of any kind on file with the DOB. So expect the space to sit empty for some time.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

WABC files report on East Village Farms, mentions local blogger

WABC Eyewitness News reporter Lisa Colagrossi has a report this morning on the probably doomed East Village Farms on Avenue A ... as well as a wider look at the ongoing demolition of so many buildings around here... we exchanged emails with her leading up to the report, and we thank her for including EV Grieve in the broadcast.

The piece is online ... and will be rebroadcast during the 4 p.m. newscast...

Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

Going through the roof at East Village Farms

A reader notes a little activity at the now-shuttered East Village Farms on Avenue today... a few people were at the scene along with a box truck... The roll-up door on the south side of the former grocery was open ... Looks like the roof is coming down... or came down...

And is this the owner, Mr. Park?

The city disapproved the first round of plans to renovate the space, including adding a "dwelling unit" and roof garden on upper floors.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

Updated: East Village Farms posts its going-out-of-business signs

[Kevin Shea Adams]

As we first reported on Jan. 6, East Village Farms is closing on Avenue A between Seventh Street and Sixth Street. Earlier today, workers were taking out still-wrapped flats of unopened food and merchandise. (The owners are moving to a store on 48th Street.)

The store closes for good Sunday. And today, as our friends at the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop note, the going-out-of-business signs are on the doors.

While the building's owners haven't commented on the plans for the space, the persistent rumor is a full demolition. There still aren't any permits on file with the DOB either.

And a reader just sent these along from the other night here...

Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

That's it for East Village Farms

The folks at East Village Farms on Avenue A stayed open two days past their original Feb. 5 closing date... and by last night, the store was fairly miserable... workers had pulled most everything off the shelves...

They were just selling off the rest of the beer and soda, really... and anything else that you might want to buy — those lousy deli umbrellas, some dinted cans of Libby's products... the fellow working said they were closing after last night... (though I wouldn't be surprised to find them open today...)

Meanwhile, evilsugar25 passed along this photo of Jimmy from behind the deli counter on his last day on Sunday...

He wasn't sure what he was going to do for work. Take a few days off then start looking for another job...

Finally, the flowers will be on sale outside through Feb. 14...

Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

New Facebook group is advocating for a Trader Joe's on Avenue A

There is a new Facebook group titled "We Want a Trader Joe's at 98-100 Avenue A."

Most recently, the address was home to East Village Farms (RIP February 2012). Developer Ben Shaoul bought the property for $15.5 million. Permits filed with the DOB last December show plans for a proposed building that is 37,042 square feet — 29,881 for residential and 7,161 for a ground-floor retail space ... good for 8 stories and 43 residential units, plus bicycle storage in the basement and an "outdoor tenant recreation space" on the roof.



The new retail space is likely destined for some type of local or national franchise. Or bank branch.

Here is the group's mission statement:

This group is advocating for a Trader Joe's at 98-100 Avenue A, the former site of a great Korean deli. We are witnessing the loss of many neighborhood services, like grocery stores and laundromats, throughout New York. WE ALREADY HAVE A CHASE BRANCH AND A DUANE READE…

East Village resident Bryan Keller (an EVG Facebook friend) created the group. He has lived nearby for the past 22 years and says that the group is a form of "social persuasion to get services like good grocery stores that we need instead of more banks, drugstores and 7-Elevens."

And what about the Trader Joe's on East 14th Street near Union Square?

"[T]he long lines are proof that people really really like Trader Joe's," he says. "I try to go on the off hours. But it's really more about getting a decent grocer [at 98-100 Avenue A]. I really miss the old deli."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

That's it for East Village Farms

Asbestos abatement continues at 98 Avenue A, Ben Shaoul's latest East Village trophy

A look back at 1941, when 98 Avenue A was a movie theater

So we've been monitoring the progress at the former 98-100 Avenue A, most recently East Village Farms. As you know, developer Ben Shaoul is building a new 8-story retail-residental complex with a roof deck.



[2009]

As we've previously pointed out, the address opened as the Avenue A Theatre in 1926 … and remained a theater until 1959.

On Monday, Off the Grid, the blog of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, published two photos when the building was operating as a theater… here's Avenue A between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street in 1941...





Meanwhile, EVG reader Trevor Ristow recently shared some photos of the old theater that he took before crews started to demolish the building…











There's not much of the building left today. At last look, the interior was completely gutted… basically down to four walls…

Here are more photos that we've published of the interior … here … and here.

[1941 images via the NYPL digital archives]

Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

Asbestos abatement continues at 98 Avenue A, Ben Shaoul's latest East Village trophy

Ben Shaoul's proposed new Avenue A building will be 8 stories with a roof deck

Ben Shaoul's proposed new Avenue A building will be 8 stories with a roof deck

The former 98-100 Avenue A, most recently East Village Farms, is a mere shell of its former self as developer Ben Shaoul continues plans to build a retail-residential space here between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street.

And we have a few more specifics now about what's next here.

Permits filed with the DOB last Thursday show plans for a proposed building that is 37,042 square feet — 29,881 for residential and 7,161 for a ground-floor retail space ... good for 8 stories and 43 residential units, plus bicycle storage in the basement and an "outdoor tenant recreation space" on the roof. Ramy Issac is listed as the architect of record.

The rendering on the plywood shows a 7-story structure.




There's also a retail listing (PDF) for the space, which doesn't exactly account for what the new building will look like…



Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

Asbestos abatement continues at 98 Avenue A, Ben Shaoul's latest East Village trophy