Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly films 'Shelter' in Tompkins Square Park today

Crews for the Paul Bettany-directed "Shelter" were back in Tompkins Square today... the film stars Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly in a "love story set among the homeless living on the streets of Manhattan."





... Bettany, her real-life husband, was also spotted minding one of the couple's children... (or, perhaps, just a random kid...)



Meanwhile, crews were also trimming trees in the Park today, as Dave on 7th noted...



And we forgot to ask how the film crew-tree crew battle ended up...

@evgrieve Now they cleared the grass so they can cut trees. THERE IS AN EPIC BATTLE ABOUT TO HAPPEN HERE.
— Eden Brower (@edenbrower) September 30, 2013

Film photos via Bobby Williams.

Why there were a lot of chainsaws and ropes in Tompkins Square Park today

Crews spent a good part of the day in Tompkins Square Park trimming back trees ...



... the high-wire act provided a bit of entertainment today (along with the film shoot...)





...and pieces of the leftover American elm make for nice apartment accessories, according to at least one reader...



Photos by Bobby Williams. (Except for that last one.)

El Sombrero likely to remain open until early December

[Photo by Nick Solares via Facebook]

Looks like you'll have a little longer to take in El Sombrero on Ludlow and Stanton. The release last week of the October CB3/SLA committee meeting agenda showed that Artichoke Pizza has designs on taking over the inexpensive Mexican restaurant that opened here in 1984.

At the time, it was unknown just how long El Sombrero would remain open. (BoweryBoogie, who first reported on the item, noted that the deal wasn't quite finalized.)

Regina Bartkoff, a waitress at The Hat since 1988, passed along word this morning that the restaurant is expected to continue operations until early December. The owner's daughter is going to create a Facebook page with updated details about the pending closure.

Meanwhile, Bartkoff said that last week's news has helped boost business. "All these people are sad that we are closing, but telling me they haven't been here in 15 years."

Rite Aid on E. 14th St. closes at the end of October

Employees at the Rite Aid on East 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B received word last week that the store will close at the end of October. A manager confirmed the closure.

This is the latest business to exit ahead of some new, unspecified development via Extell ... Rite Aid joins Rainbow ... The Blarney Cove... Bargain Express ... Petland ... and the ABC Animal Hospital as former block mates. (The laundromat moved toward Avenue B. ABC Animal Hospital is now at 200 Avenue A.)



As we first reported last December, eight parcels consisting of 222 Avenue A and 504 - 530 E. 14th St. (excluding No. 520) were leased for a 99-year period by the respective owner of East Village 14 LLC. As The Real Deal reported, city property records show that Gary Barnett of Extell Development signed a 99-year lease worth $35.14 million to rent eight Sol Goldman-owned properties.

Workers had been test drilling ahead of the construction in recent weeks... we saw workers pack up the Davey drill last Thursday...


[Bobby Williams]

To date, reps for the developer have yet to file any demolition permits or building plans.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East 14th Street exodus continues

The disappearing storefronts of East 14th Street

[Updated with correction] 8-lot parcel of East 14th Street primed for new development

Bargain Express has closed on East 14th Street

East 14th Street corridor now nearly business-free ahead of new development

On East Houston, work begins on a new 13-floor residential building

Work has started on East Houston and Ridge Street (331 E Houston St. and 161 Ridge St. to be exact), where a demo crew took down the former one-level laundromat ... to make way for a 13-floor residential building with 78 units for this L-shaped parcel of land. The city OK'd plans for the new building on Sept. 17.

EVG Facebook friend Edward Arrocha shared these photos that he took of the property last week.











The site was active on Saturday... perhaps the crew will employ a flagger next time ...







Records show that Stephen B. Jacobs is the architect for the project. (His firm's East Village work includes the Copper Building on Avenue B and the Village Green on East 11th Street.) Jon Halpern of "East Houston Development LLC" is listed as the owner on the DOB permits. (Halpern is a partner and head of Real Estate Investments at Marathon Real Estate Mortgage Trust.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
An L-Shaped footprint ready to make its impression on East Houston Street

An abandoned car in an empty lot that will soon yield a 13-floor residential building

About other 'rooftop ragers' in the East Village

[Also, World War Z is on DVD now]

Yesterday's post on the stairwell collapse at 159 Second Ave. that left "30 collegiate partygoers" ("rooftop ragers" per the Daily News) stranded on the roof brought out a lot of comments/emails about other similar rooftop bashes in the neighborhood... maybe to epidemic proportions? Hard to say!

Per one reader:

I live on 12th Street, and the NYU kids who lives upstairs had their own rooftop rager a couple of weeks ago. My poor super had to come put a stop to it. He estimated there were 100 kids on the roof of our tenement building. Not only are they disturbing everyone, they are risking their lives.

Our building is old, and I am hardly an engineer, but I doubt our roof was made to hold all that weight. Plus, there aren't any railings, and someone, especially someone who is tipsy, could easily fall over the edge, which is probably about a foot or so high.

Anyway, it sucks for the rest of the us tenants as well as the supers on our block who are basically resident assistants now, forced to get up all hours of the night to babysit these out-of-control children. My building, once full of people who looked out for each other and took care not to disturb each other, is a dorm now, and I don't want to be back in college!

Have any other rooftop rager stories to share? Hit us up!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: FDNY rescues partygoers from 2nd Avenue 'rooftop rager' after stairwell collapse injures 1

Report: Partygoer may have caused stairwell to collapse at 159 Second Ave.

As for that stairwell collapse at 159 Second Ave. ... the Post reports today that a "drunken NYU teaching assistant crashed through three marble landings while trying to jump the stairs," according to unnamed authorities.

“The guy jumped. He broke through a couple of landings,” said a source with the city’s Office of Emergency Management, which had video of the 1:30 a.m. stunt gone awry.

A friend who lives in the building said Niu, a student at NYU’s prestigious Stern School of Business, “was barely moving” after his fall.

“[He] was definitely a little intoxicated and probably stumbled down,” the friend said.

Friends of the NYU TA said that he weighs roughly 150 pounds.

“I have no idea what kind of weight [the staircase is] supposed to sustain,” an OEM source said. “But, obviously, it was not being used normally. It was jumped on by a grown man from 10 to 12 feet in the air.”

Meanwhile, the missing sections of the stairwell stranded about 40 students on the roof. The student reportedly suffered broken ribs and a fractured ankle. Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of the collapse, per the Post.

You have another chance to see Jennifer Connelly play a homeless person today

Crews return today to Avenue A/Tompkins Square Park to film scenes for "Shelter," the directorial debut of actor Paul Bettany ... and starring his wife, Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly.

They filmed in the Park last Tuesday... According to published reports, the drama is a "love story set among the homeless living on the streets of Manhattan."

Incoming: Cork 'n Fork on Avenue A

At 186 Avenue A, the former Kamui Den in is being prepped for a tapas and wine bar called Cork 'N Fork ...

According to paperwork (PDF) filed ahead of the June CB3/SLA meeting, the proprietor is Demetrios Klidonas, who has been in the restaurant business in Manhattan and Queens for three decades ... most notably Isadora's Cafe on East 52nd Street, which he ran from 1990 until 2008 when he sold his interests in the business. (Isadora's is still in operation.)

Plans showed 16 two-seat tables ... and a bar seating 10 people. No word on an opening date just yet...

Alphabet Scoop has reopened on East 11th Street

The seasonal ice cream shop near Avenue B has reopened after a lengthy delay ...

Back on March 19, the store's Facebook page noted the following:

Alphabet Scoop's spring reopening will be delayed due to the need to repair the steps to the store. We had an engineer examine them and they cannot be used until they are either repaired or replaced. They are the original steps, created in 1867 when the building was erected. Please pray that the project will move along quickly.

They finally got those new stairs... and they were just able to reopen last weekend...





They'll be open weekends only this fall... Per their Facebook page: "Already the Pumpkin Spice and Salted Caramel are big hits as well as a long-time favorite, Pistachio! $5.00 for a pint!"

The Father’s Heart Ministries runs the shop that employs at-risk youth in the neighborhood. (You can read an article about it at The Villager here.)

Photos by Shawn Chittle

Week in Grieview

[Photo from Ben's on Avenue B via Stacie Joy]

Neighbors come together for Giuseppi Logan (Tuesday)

Artichoke taking over The Hat on Stanton and Ludlow (Thursday)

An updated look at the Astor Place reconstruction (Friday)

Paint splattering van vandals (Thursday)

Cornell Edwards Way debuts (Monday)

Check out the new penthouses above 7A (Thursday)

"Blatant drug activity" on East Third Street (Tuesday)

A pedicab to Coyote Ugly from Times Square may cost this much (Tuesday)

At the 1st annual Nuyorican Poets Cafe Block Party (Sunday)

Time to repair this hydrant on East 3rd Street (Monday)

Headless giraffe! (Friday)

David McWater resigns from CB3 (Tuesday)

The Russ & Daughters Cafe is going to happen (Wednesday)

Looking at Centre-fuge cycle 10 (Friday)

Looking at "the Grand Canyon of East 4th Street" (Tuesday)

Rent is Too Damn High's Jimmy McMillan drops a new video (Tuesday)

A new owner for 504-508 E. 11th St.? (Monday)

Why Extra Place seems quiet (Tuesday)

Out and About recap (Wednesday)

Report: FDNY rescues partygoers from 2nd Avenue 'rooftop rager' after stairwell collapse injures 1

[Photo by Marc A Hermann for the Daily News]

From the Daily News today:

A rooftop rager dissolved into a rescue mission in the East Village early Sunday morning, when a stairway platform crumbled, leaving one man seriously injured after he plunged two stories and trapping more than 30 collegiate partygoers on the roof, authorities said.

Over 30 college-aged revelers had gathered on the roof of 159 2nd Avenue at E. 9 St. in the lower East Side on Saturday night for a moonlit soiree, witnesses said.

Also, the building is at East 10th Street, not 9th Street per the Daily News.

The injured student is in critical but stable condition at Bellevue.

And the reaction from the assembled revelers?

"We were having a party, just a bunch of people hanging out ... Some guy runs upstairs and says, 'Everyone quiet down, everyone shut the f--k up , someone might have died,'" said Martin Barshai, 20, a film student at New York University.

According to WABC 7: "Officials say the building has a lot of college aged students in the building that do a lot of 'partying.'"

Here is WABC's report:



The Post has a lot of photos here. Their headline: "NYU rager goes horribly wrong after roof collapse"

Updated 9-30

The Post reports today that an NYU student jumped on the landing, causing it to collapse, according to unnamed sources.

The LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival continues today

[The 6BC Botanical Garden]

The second annual LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival in the Gardens continues today in a community garden near you... Here's a detailed schedule (PDF).

One programming note: Jim Power broke his right hand last week when he was thrown from his scooter after hitting a pothole on East Ninth Street and Avenue A ... Regardless, he wanted people to know that his free mosaic workshop today from 2-4 will go on as scheduled at the 6th Street and Avenue B Community Garden. "So everyone who would like to be introduced to the art of mosaics please come on down for a wonderful afternoon," he said.

At the 10th Annual FAB! Festival

FABnyc presented the 10th Annual FAB! Festival yesterday afternoon on East Fourth Street ... our friend editrrix was there and shared these photos... (Find more of her work here)

The Halal Guys are apparently opening their first restaurant in the East Village

Food-cart favorites The Halal Guys expanded to the East Village on Sept. 19 with a cart on the northwest corner of East 14th Street and Second Avenue...

Now, as a few readers noted, the former deli at 307 E. 14th St. (immediately adjacent to the new cart) has new signage noting a Halal Guys restaurant ...We don't have any further details at the moment...

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Halal Guys are now open on East 14th Street and 2nd Avenue

This morning in lines for German beer

Oktoberfest begins today at Zum Schneider on Avenue C and East Seventh Street... and EVG reader John noted a 30-person line at 9:41 a.m. ...



Doors open at 11. First keg is tapped at noon. (And what is German for Woo?)

Noted

East 10th Street and Avenue A this morning. Hurry, this offer won't last...

Noted

@evgrieve someone took a poop in front of Chase at Astor Place this morning & it was certainly human pic.twitter.com/Zw9PNmtmSg

— Bomarr Blog (@bomarrblog) September 28, 2013

Officials confirmed that this is not part of the Astor Place reconstruction.

10th Annual FAB! Festival takes over East 4th Street today

[Photo by Whitney Browne via the FAB website]

From the EVG inbox...

FABnyc will present the 10th Annual FAB! Festival today from 1-5 pm on East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery. This one-day-only arts explosion features FREE performances and exhibits for all ages. Attendees can sample tasty bites from local food vendors while enjoying dance, theater, and music by artists from across the Lower East Side (and beyond!). All performances will take place across numerous indoor and outdoor stages and sites on East 4th Street. Full lineup here

Deceptive perceiving

The Buzzcocks from 1977 with "I Don't Mind."

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Shopping on Broadway via Bobby Williams]

Boutique priced out of the LES finds cheaper digs on Madison Avenue (DNAinfo)

Amy talks about her brief marriage to LES Jewels (The Villager)

Video recap of Portals 10-12 (GammaBlog)

Are these the 10 best restaurants on the LES? (Fork in the Road)

Aren't there enough Chinatown bus services? (The Lo-Down)

Yay? Bloomberg threatens to stop holding news conferences (The Wall Street Journal)

Remembering the Ludlow Street Cafe (Flaming Pablum)

History of The Village Voice (Off the Grid)

Manganaro's Hero Boy is saying put (The Commercial Observer)

RIP the original Blarney Stone (Grade "A" Fancy)

An open letter to The DL from LES Dwellers (BoweryBoogie)

Appreciating the Mayfair Barber Shop (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Williams Burroughs sings! (Dangerous Minds)

... and a reader notes that workers are hoisting some solar panels or something to buildings atop East 12th Street between A and B this morning... You always take pictures of cranes...


[Source: men installing solar panels with crane]

Tonight: LUNGS Harvest Fest Opening Night Party

From the EVG inbox...

Please come to the opening night celebration of the Second Annual LUNGS (Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens) Harvest Arts Festival tonight at LaPlaza Cultural at East Ninth Street and Avenue C. Come and bring your friends, drink and dance and have fun with us.

The schedule for Friday is:

5-6:30 For kids, with Circus Amok

6:30 Tompkins Square drummers

7 Welcome remarks featuring Rosie Mendez, Scott Stringer and Brian
Cavanagh

MUSIC
7:30 to 8:15 Eric and Friends

8:15 Pierre Monney

9:00 Mike Cobb & the Crevulators

Find more details about LUNGS here.