More than four years ago, we first heard about the plans the developers of Avalon Bowery Place had for Extra Place — "a slice of the Left Bank, a pedestrian mall lined with interesting boutiques and cafes."
While we've been documenting the mostly pedestrian-free zone along Extra Place, developer AvalonBay is still hoping for a café society here.
Monday night, Stephen Hutto, AvalonBay's director of retail, told CB3's Economic Development Committee that he is close on a deal to bring a new Mediterranean-style restaurant into an 1,800-square-foot space on Extra Place, Patrick Hedlund at DNAinfo reported.
He also said that "a popular Brooklyn-based coffee shop" is eyeing a spot on East First Street near the corner of Extra Place.
In addition, Hutto wanted the CB's blessing for future tenants to seek new liquor licenses. (In response, CB members said that they'd deal with the licenses on a case-by-case basis.) He also asked for the Board's suggestions for populating the storefronts.
Per Hedlund's article: "Some community board members cited the lack of retail diversity in the neighborhood, as bars and restaurants continue to swallow up area storefronts, recommending that AvalonBay incentivize tenancy for a wide range of businesses by setting their rents below market rates."
Previously on EV Grieve:
Extra Place now officially a Dead End
Meanwhile, Extra Place continues to maintain its proud heritage
Perhaps he just saw Extra Place for the first time in 15 years or so?
Looking at Extra Place
CB3 member, LES bar owner Meghan Joye who used to be on the CB3/SLA Committee is now on the Economic Development Committee. She left the SLA Committee after new policies were approved. They are apparently still not in effect.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, she spent a good amount of time over the years pushing for liquor licenses regardless of residents objections, and also despite the fact that certain applicants were overtly bad applicants.
The Seward Park co-op owner who is also on the Land Use Committee originally said that she would not like to relocate the Essex Street Market.
The preservation of the Essex Street Market, which was agreed on as part of the SPURA plan seems like it was put in place to appease everyone. CB3 Chair Dominic Pisciotta watered down the language for the Essex Street Market in the SPURA guidelines.
At the last Land Use meeting Meghan Joye stated that she was part of the problem in the neighborhoods struggle with the proliferation of bars, as she is a bar owner herself, and that the Essex Street Market should be relocated.
It seems to me that there was never any intention amongst certain CB3 Land Use Committee members, as well as the Bloomberg Administration to ever preserve the Essex Street Market. Once the SPURA plan was submitted to the city it was like overnight that they came up with a whole redevelopment plan for the SPURA sites, Essex Street Market and more.
What is next for Avalon Bay?
Avalon Bay and the whole Cooper Square redevelopment is the WORST thing to ever happen to our neighborhood. It was the initial match that started over the top gentrification and now the community board is going to ask them to lower their rents. do they really have any power to do anything about rents?
ReplyDeleteAnyone know how I can go about getting Extra Place renamed as Kate Millet Place??? What is festering there now has been planned since before Koch became mayor, and she held it at bay for a couple of decades. But now, it is finally coming to pass, but these bozo's don't know what to do with it. I suggest an exorcism, cuz the ghosts of McGuirk's women will haunt this area into repeated bankruptcies.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for Hutto. He doesn't seem to understand that this block doesn't go anywhere, so no one has a reason to go down it. If you're going east-west, you'll stay on Houston St.
It is destine to be an off-the-beaten-path area. There are small, local businesses that could succeed in such an area, but clearly, Hutto thinks it can be something else that tourist will never find. What it will be is a rotating lot of stores that will come and go as the owners repeatedly lose every penny.
Why don't they turn Extra Place into a Chuck E Cheese-you know for the Yuppie kids. Can put a great big bar in it for the parents and maybe a coal oven for pizza.
ReplyDeleteWow Mr. G, 4 years went by in a flash, didn't it.
ReplyDeleteTrue, Jill — very true.
ReplyDelete