First sign of the new 7-floor condo rising above the Jehovah's Witnesses on Avenue C

There's now noticeable progress at 67 Avenue C near East Fifth Street… where a 7-story, 7-unit residential building is going up at the former Kingdom Hall that was owned by the Jehovah's Witnesses.



Approved permits with the city show plans for 1,843 square feet of commercial space and 7,451 square feet of residential space. The building will be topped off by a duplex penthouse.

We haven't seen any renderings just yet. We're curious how this luxury housing will look in between the corner laundromat and the Jehovah's Witnesses, who continue to use the adjacent space at 63 and 65 Avenue C.


[EVG file photo]

Previously

Council member Chin's office providing new funding for the Bowery Mission

[The Bowery Mission at 227 Bowery]

Last month, officials at the Bowery Mission reported that their food pantry is in dire need of donations.

According to DNAinfo, the Bowery Mission's food supply has dwindled while demand for meals has increased.

To help provided some relief in the year ahead, Council Member Margaret Chin will be allocating $9,000 in City Council funding to the Bowery Mission tomorrow.

As part of the Food Pantries Initiative included in the City's 2015 fiscal budget, the City Council's Manhattan Delegation is able to allocate $237,600 to food pantries. (There are 10 members of the Manhattan Delegation, which means each Council member has $23,760 to allocate to food pantries within their district.)

Aside from the $9,000 for the Bowery Mission, Chin is allocating $9,000 to the New York City Rescue Mission (90 Lafayette St.) and $5,760 to Cabrini Immigrant Services (139 Henry St.).

Now at Ideal Glass, 'Every Mother's Son'

[Photo by EVG reader Daniel]

Ideal Glass is now now featuring a new mural by Brooklyn-based artist Sophia Dawson titled "Every Mother's Son."

According to the Ideal Glass website, the mural features "portraits of mothers who have lost their children to police brutality."


[Image via]

The mural will be up through November. Ideal Glass is at 22 E. Second St. between Second Avenue and The Bowery.

The former Joselito space for rent on Avenue D

[EVG file photo]

Back in June, Joselito, the inexpensive and delicious Dominican restaurant, moved from 125 Avenue D to a smaller space at 172 Delancey.

Now that space between East Eighth Street and East Ninth Street is on the market.

According to the Miron listing:

This is an affordable rent for a restaurant that had a full liquor and seats approx. 56
Great opportunity for the right operator.
Approx. 1,200 sq ft + basement
10 year term

Note: Additional 1 story building in the rear. Approx. 500 sq ft (included in the package)
Condition: This space need work!!!

The current asking price is $6,000.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Joselito Restaurant has left Avenue D

You'll never drive on this section of Astor Place again

Just noting another phase of the reconstruction of Astor Place — the closure of the street between Lafayette and Cooper Square...


[Michael Paul Photography]

... which is yielding to an expanded Alamo plaza, as the rendering shows...



Last Wednesday, workers boarded up the Alamo to protect it during the construction phase...


[Michael Paul Photography]

Cops nab so-called albino bank robber

Cops have arrested the man wanted for a string of bank robberies in the city, including a holdup at the Chase branch on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place on Oct. 4.

Let's send it over to Lisha Arino at DNAinfo:

Dennis Nemirovskiy, 27, of Brooklyn, robbed banks in the East Village, Greenwich Village and Midtown by approaching tellers with a note demanding money, police said. In total, he made off with $8,480, police said.

Police finally caught Nemirovskiy after a witness saw him get into a cab after his last heist on Oct. 17, according to the NYPD.

I'm new to bank robberies, though I have seen "Point Break." Is leaving a bank robbery in a cab such a good idea?

Anyway, after the Chase robbery, the NYPD released the following description of the suspect: "white male (possibly albino), 5'10", mid to late 20s..."

Today's hawk

... in Tompkins Square Park... looking focused.

Rejected headlines:
Hawk says leaf me alone

[Updated] Report: Police make an arrest in attempted Stuy Town rape

The NYPD has arrested a suspect wanted for the attempted rape of a 20-year-old woman in an elevator at 600 E. 14th St., the Town & Village Blog reported.

Juan Scott, 26, who lives at 544 E. 13th St., has been charged with attempted rape.

The incident occurred around 4 a.m. this past Friday. The victim reportedly screamed and struggled with her attacker, causing him to flee. Security cameras showed the suspect escaping from the building by climbing down a tree to street level.



The NYPD are investigating the suspect for other crimes as well, according to DNAinfo.

Updated 5:40 p.m.

The Villager reports that Scott is a cousin of Rosario Dawson. Her mother and father and other relatives still live at 544 E. 13th St., The Villager points out.

Rag & Bone casting for an apartment with an 'old-school East Village vibe'

We spotted these flyers on East Seventh Street earlier today ... The upscale clothing boutique is looking for an apartment in these parts for a short film/commercial.

So if you have an unfurnished or lightly furnished railroad flat ... on a lower floor or in an elevator building ... with a non-working fireplace ... and "chipped white paint, weathered, worn east village vibe" ... that can accommodate a 20-25 person crew...

Gem Spa shake up puts Zoltar on the outs

Shocking developments to report outside Gem Spa on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

After two-plus years anchored to the right of Gem Spa's front door ... we arrived early this morning to find that Zoltar had been moved... to the left of the to-go window.

Basically Siberia.



Tucked away behind the postcards and Gem Spa chalkboard sign. Where people will be less likely to have their fortune told.

From a symmetry standpoint it sort of makes sense... balancing out the games of chance on either side of the door...



No word at this hour why Zoltar was moved... and if this is permanent... and what this means for your weekend plans...

1st permits filed for renovation of Walter De Maria's former home-studio on East 6th Street

Back in August, news reports confirmed that billionaire art collector Peter Brant bought Walter De Maria’s former home and studio at 421 E. Sixth St. for $27 million.

In May, a tipster told us that The Brant Foundation would use the building between First Avenue and Avenue A as an exhibition space.

While Brant's reps haven't released any further details on what he plans on doing with the address, work is underway on the building. Plans filed with the DOB Friday call for the rather generic "removal of interior non loading bearing partitions and related finishes."

Gluckman Mayner Architects are listed as the architects of record. Among their projects: the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, N.M., the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin, the renovation and expansion of the Whitney and the conversion of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.

De Maria died of a stroke in July 2013 at age 77.

Per artnet: "De Maria is best known for The Lightning Field (1977), 400 stainless steel poles planted in a one-by-one-mile grid in the New Mexican desert. The famously isolated piece can only be visited by six guests per day, each of whom must stay overnight in an isolated cabin."

The property, which includes the empty lot to the west, had been listed for $25 million. It was built in 1920 as a ConEd substation, but had been converted into a photography studio after De Maria bought it in 1980.

Previously on EV Grieve:
About that "giant-robot laboratory" on East Sixth Street

RIP Walter De Maria

What is your East Village dream home?

Walter De Maria's 'giant-robot laboratory' going for $25 million; inside is amazing as you'd expect

Walter De Maria's home/studio on East 6th Street is now on the market for $25 million

Rumor: The Brant Foundation buying Walter De Maria's E. 6th St. studio for an exhibition space (19 comments)

Confirmed: Peter M. Brant buys Walter De Maria's amazing East 6th Street home and studio

The Thirsty Buddha has closed; Taqueria St. Mark's on deck

Paper is up in the windows now at The Thirsty Buddha, the third bar (Saints Tavern! Kamikaze & Co.!) to give 79 St. Mark's Place a whirl.

Coming next: Taqueria St. Mark's, the former Taqueria Lower East Side, one of the restaurant victims who was looking for new home after Ben Shaoul bought that East Houston and Orchard corner space.

As we've mentioned, there seem to be plenty of places in the neighborhood now for tacos... with one more after Empellón al Pastor (bar meets tortilleria) opened yesterday on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Taqueria Lower East Side relocating to St. Mark's Place

A look inside the incoming Momofuko Ko on Extra Place

We took a walk on a very quiet Extra Place on Friday afternoon, where we spotted a crew working on the new Momofuko Ko space...



As you can see, there looks to be quite a bit of work left on the 25-seat restaurant...





The construction at 4-8 Extra Place hasn't made at least one neighbor too happy...



Meanwhile, across East First Street at the former Veselka Bowery, work continues on the incoming steakhouse-oyster bar Bowery Meat Company ...



... a name that conjures up two nearby former businesses — Bowery Wine Company and Bowery Beef...



Previously on EV Grieve:
With new restaurant opening, will Extra Place finally become a dining destination?

Extra Place now officially a Dead End

Extra Place and Heidi currently 'closed for renovation' in Extra Place

Red Hook Lobster Pound in the works for Extra Place

United (States Post Office) we fall

On Saturday, EVG reader Mr. Baggs noticed a worker removing the remaining letters outside the former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office at 432 E. 14th St. near Avenue A.



As we noted last week, demolition permits are on file to bring down the post office and former Stuyvesant Stationery shop next door for some unspecified new development.

Previously on EV Grieve:
First sign of more development on East 14th Street?

Asbestos abatement to begin at former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office

Davey drill arrives ahead of rumored development at former East 14th Street post office

Former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office slated to be demolished

Noted

bros kicking dropped wings at the bodega employees & calling them terrorists. guess this is east village now pic.twitter.com/P2IeQf9TT3

— C A M P B E L L (@MountWuteverest) October 19, 2014

Avenue B between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street

Week in Grieview

[Chewie, Avenue B]

Former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office slated to be demolished (Monday)

Boarding up the Alamo on Astor Place (Wednesday)

Out and About with Wasim Lone of GOLES (Wednesday)

An appreciation: Raquel's garden on First Avenue (Thursday)

Q-and-A with Richard Ocejo, author of 'Upscaling Downtown: From Bowery Saloons to Cocktail Bars' (Tuesday)

The former La Vie prepped for the condo afterlife on East First Street (Tuesday)

Never-ending construction at 185-193 Avenue B continues to never end (Monday)

Gutting the former Odessa Cafe and Bar (Tuesday)

Checking in on the Tuck Shop (Friday)

A look at the first East Village apartment building named after a secondary character in an Ayn Rand novel (Wednesday)

Your chance to become a gypsy (Wednesday)

98-100 Avenue is now the pits (Monday)

Parmys Persian Fusion becoming Ravagh Persian Grill (Thursday)

The guy with the kids-in-the-car line is back (Sunday)

From Five Points to Vic's on Great Jones (Friday)

Korilla BBQ soft opening on Third Avenue (Wednesday)

Important post about Halloween costumes (Friday)

Researchers discover rats grosser than originally thought (Wednesday)

Wash House space for rent (Friday)

Empellón al Pastor is now open on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place

Empellón al Pastor, the third restaurant from Alex (Empellón Cocina, Empellón Taqueria), is now open.

The doors opened at 12:30… or at least that's what the signs promised… that and football...



Here's a look at the menu… four of the five menu panels are devoted to alcohol …





There's also delivery via Caviar.

And Stupak said this about the space to WWD:

His choice of venue drives home the point: in the Eighties, it was a punk dive bar called Alcatraz. Stupak tapped several artist friends to re-create graffiti on the inside to look weathered.

“At the end of the day, I wanted it to feel like a quirky dive bar that someone happened to inject a taqueria into,” he says.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Chef Alex Stupak vying for former Sushi Lounge space on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place

As the for rent signs turn on Avenue A

Here are a few scant details about chef Alex Stupak's new venture on St. Mark's Place

CB3 OKs liquor license for Alex Stupak's new restaurant on St. Mark's Place

More about Empellón al Pastor, opening this fall on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place

You might be seeing more of these Amazon Fresh trucks on East Village streets in the weeks ahead

EVG reader Michael Hirsch spotted this Amazon Fresh truck on Avenue A and East Third Street yesterday afternoon.

On Friday, Amazon launched its grocery delivery business on the East Coast with service for now to Park Slope.

According to Re/code, who first reported on the service here:

Amazon Fresh customers in the city who place orders before 10 am will receive deliveries later that same day; orders placed after that time will be delivered the following day. The service is known mainly for groceries, but also offers thousands of other items such as electronics and toys that are available for same-day delivery as well.

A spokeswoman declined to say when the service might be available in other parts of New York City, including Manhattan.

The driver told Michael that the service would begin in the East Village in the next few weeks.

Re/code noted that the company is storing Amazon Fresh food in a new warehouse in Avenel, N.J.

EVG Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought...

Noted

Spotted by Dave on 7th outside Tompkins Square Bagels on Avenue A...

Report: Police searching for suspect in attempted Stuy Town rape

Stuy Town tenants received the following alert:

At about 4 a.m. on Friday, October 17, a 20-year-old woman was assaulted by a would-be rapist who followed her into the elevator of her Stuyvesant Town building on the 600 block of East 14th Street. She fought him off, and he fled. The man's image was captured on security cameras in the Terrace and Main lobbies, the elevator, and then later in the street. He was seen climbing down a tree to get to street level.

Per CBS New York:

The suspect is wearing a dark hoodie, a dark t-shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers and carrying a white plastic bag, perhaps filled with groceries. Police said he is Hispanic.

Here is video via Gothamist...



According to the Stuyvesant Town Report, "The woman was badly injured and treated at Beth Israel Medical Center."

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.

Two weeks ago, a man with the same general description was spotted by a neighbor trying to attack a young woman on East Eighth Street at Avenue B. The neighbor who intervened placed these flyers around the neighborhood.

The East Village Community Flea & Market back in action today

A Saturday without rain. Shocker! Which means that the East Village Community Flea & Market returns today to Second Avenue … some details via the EVG inbox…

This Flea Market features several vendors whom you may recognize as veterans of the Flea Market circuit in New York City. For the remainder of October & November, before the typical Holiday hordes descend, you can take the time to try on, ask questions, browse, shop, cruise, and hang out. No chain stores here... Come out & show that DOWNTOWN, New York City can still support local artists, small businesses, and a Flea Market!

The East Village Community Market is located just outside the gates of the St. Mark's Church in the Bowery (and turns the corner, continuing down 11th Street). It takes place every Saturday from 11AM until 7PM.

You can usually expect between 10 and 20 vendors…

Pace yourself

Halloween is still about two weeks away.

Unless there is another explanation for this on Avenue A.

Overnight Citi Bike recap

What's going on @CitibikeNYC? There are a half dozen abandoned citibikes in the east village at 8th at and 1st ave. pic.twitter.com/ujlkpa0idC

— DS (@davidsokol) October 18, 2014

Hooks, line and sinker

Here is Mary Timony's new band, Ex Hex, with "Waterfall." The D.C.-based power-pop trio's first record came out last week.

They'll be at the Mercury Lounge on Nov. 2.

Trees to grow on East 12th Street (and elsewhere)

You've likely seen crews digging up chunks of the sidewalk around some side streets in recent weeks… this morning, EVG reader Greg Masters spotted these workers on East 12th Street just west of Avenue A… they're prepping the plots (which maybe look like fresh graves?) for two new trees along here…





It's all apparently part of the Department of Parks & Recreation's Street Tree Planting program.

This is fine and all, but it is taking up valuable sidewalk space for more docking stations or _______________________.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Tompkins Square Park the other day via Bobby Williams]

State: Airbnb listings mostly illegal (The New York Times)

HVAC Units at relocated Dunkin' Donuts on East 14th Street driving neighbors crazy (BoweryBoogie)

East Sixth Street between First and Second Avenues will be named Miriam Friedman Way (DNAinfo)

Jeremiah Moss on the two marble cemeteries of the East Village (Metro)

In her new showing opening Sunday at Joe's Pub, Penny Arcade confronts a gentrified New York (The New York Times)

Court gives NYU OK on $6 billion neighborhood-gobbling expansion (Capital New York)

So what is the Lowline, and who is it for? (The Lo-Down)

What happened to the Jewish supply stores of Essex Street? (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Christo lets a good meal get away (Gog in NYC)

Support for Siempre Verde Garden on the LES (The Villager)

Hearth and Proletariat teaming up for an Oktoberfest meal Sunday (Details here)

Looking at the former stables in the Village (Off the Grid)

Restaurant apparently not returning to Union Square pavilion (A Walk in the Park via Eater)

"Shadows & Blood," an exhibition of works by the New York artist Richard Hambleton, continues through Nov. 9 at Dorian Grey Gallery, 437 E. Ninth St. (Details here.)

...and we only heard about this crowdsourcing campaign yesterday... longtime East Village residents Adam Alexander and Leslie Sternbergh Alexander are trying to raise money by selling some of their art collection in return for money to pay for rent... (The income challenges followed Leslie's bout with colon cancer.)



Find their IndieGoGo page here.

The Tuck Shop is alive and well on East 1st Street

[Image via the Tuck Shop website]

As noted this week, the Australian-based pie and coffee chain closed six out of its seven NYC locations, including the outlet on Fourth Avenue and East 13th Street.

In the comments, several readers noted how much they like the original meat-pie purveyor here — The Tuck Shop at 68 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Seems like a good time to check in with owner Niall Grant.

We are alive and well and, in fact, had our best month ever in September. October is looking even better so we will be here for a long while to come with the support the community. We've been open for nine years already and will be signing a new lease shortly.

I have been a East Village resident since emigrating from Ireland in 1992 and opened the Tuck Shop in part because I felt there were enough Irish bars in NYC already.

Tuck Shop did close the St. Mark's Place location last July. There is a second Tuck Shop location in the Chelsea Market.

(Every Day Is) Halloween: At the Ricky's Pop-up Shop on East Houston

Given that Halloween is like two weeks away, we stopped by the Ricky's Pop-up Halloween store in the Shoppes of Red Square along East Houston. To see what was what.

There is a lot of crap stuff to choose from.

Like wigs!





And accessories!







And costumes for couples!



And Jedi Knight posers!



A lot of the costumes are pretty much the same as the last time as when it was a Halloween City a few years ago… (except for the Mitt Romney masks)











Maybe buy this to join the crew hanging out across the street from the Bowery Hotel...



And not really sure where to categorize these two...