Report: Sheldon Silver found guilty in corruption trial

Assemblyman #SheldonSilver was found guilty Monday of selling his office for legal fees https://t.co/2jIzzNAM0H pic.twitter.com/jsICVP0see

— POLITICO New York (@politicony) November 30, 2015

In case you missed the news this afternoon... let's go to the Times:

Sheldon Silver, an assemblyman who rose from the Lower East Side of Manhattan to become one of New York State’s most powerful politicians, was found guilty on Monday in a federal corruption trial, ending a case that was the capstone of the government’s efforts to expose the seamy culture of influence peddling in Albany.

The 71-year-old Silver faced seven counts of honest services fraud, extortion and money laundering ... and he was convicted on all counts. He now faces up to 130 years in prison.

To Twitter for some reaction...

We'll be convening a conference of imprisoned New York state legislators at the earliest opportunity. I believe we have enough for a quorum.

— Fake Sheldon Silver (@ShellySilver) November 30, 2015

Noted

OK, who keeps doing this?

Photo by Derek Berg

Previously on EV Grieve:
Strategically placed trash bags raise suspicion of hijinks on Avenue A

Someone placed free handmade scarves in Tompkins Square Park

Goggla spotted these this morning by the entrance on Avenue B at East Eighth Street...



The tags on the scarves read:

I am not LOST!
I was made with you in mind.
I am yours to keep.
Stay warm with my hugs!

Updated: Bagel Belly coming to 3rd Avenue

You may have noticed some activity at 114 Third Ave. near East 14th Street, home until May of Delicacity (aka Robin Raj!).

Now there are posted signs about the new tenant...



... 114 Bagel & Grill Inc.



The applicants are on CB3's SLA committee meeting docket on Dec. 7 for a beer and wine license. There isn't any other information about the place online just yet.

The place is described as a restaurant ... Maybe they will grill — and not toast! — their bagels?

Updated 7 p.m.

The questionnaire (PDF!) from the applicants is now online at the CB3 website.

The deli/cafe will be called Bagel Belly. And the proposed hours are 6 a.m. to midnight seven days a week. The proprietors also own Namu Deli & Grocery at 252 Third Ave. between 20th Street and 21st Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
More Robin Raj intel (and what about those cartoon hams?)

Oh no! Robin Raj is no longer Robin Raj!

Robin Raj finally makes the move, though there's no sign of the cartoon ham

Live above Robin Raj

Reader report: Rent hike KOs Delicacity (RIP Robin Raj) on 3rd Avenue

New plywood for the empty lot where the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office once stood

This past Friday, workers removed the sidewalk bridge from outside where the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office once stood at 438 E. 14th St. near Avenue A...





... and a view from the East 13th Street side via EVG regular Greg Masters...





Workers then put up a new plywood fence...


[GM]


[GM]

... and by Saturday...





An 8-story retail-residential building featuring 114 units is on tap. (Waiting for the rendering via SLCE Architects to appear on the plywood.)

The residential entrance will be on East 13th Street, as previously reported ... a short walk to the incoming Avenue A L train entrance.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office slated to be demolished

The former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office will yield to an 8-story residential building

New residential building at former 14th Street PO will feature a quiet lounge, private dining room

... and one last time...


[Photo by Gian G. via Yelp]

Encouraging signs at Nino's

[EVG photo from Nov. 11]

Nino's on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place had to close on Oct. 21 due to a gas leak in the building, according to a sign on the door. (There was a similar sign a storefront away at Yoshi Sushi, 131 Avenue A.)

On Nov. 17, the pizzeria was hit with an eviction notice.

Nino Camaj, the owner of Nino's, told Bedford & Bowery last week that the gas was shut off in the building without any notice to him or the residents.

"Now they want us to pay rent for the month we have been closed, and I’m not paying that, that’s their problem." Camaj’s lawyers are currently in conversation with the lawyers of the landlord, Citi Urban Management, to dispute the rent charged for the month during which Nino’s was forced to remain closed.

Meanwhile, this past weekend, Nino's posted help wanted signs...





... perhaps a good sign that the business will be up and running soon enough.

2 'modern jewel box retail spaces' for rent on Lafayette

The new building construction phase has (mostly) ended here at 372 Lafayette on the southwest corner of Great Jones.

And the retail-for-rent signs on the ground floor of the residential building are now in place...



We checked the listing via Sinvin for more details on the two spaces on the market (dubbed "NoHo's Newest: Small Spaces, Big Presence"):

Two gorgeous modern jewel box retail spaces located in one of the trendiest areas in downtown Manhattan. Impressively high ceilings with huge showcase windows. Where sophisticated shopping meets downtown cache, this part of NoHo is quickly becoming the east side’s answer to Bleecker Street.

And why does "this part of NoHo is quickly becoming the east side’s answer to Bleecker Street" sound more like a threat? Anyway! No mention of the asking rent. You need to ask. But possession is immediate.

The last business on this corner was ZP Auto Repair Shop.

Previously on EV Grieve:
New skyline for Lafayette Street?

Another corner still primed to fall on NoHo

Demolition starts on former garage and lot; new developments coming for Lafayette Street

Looking at the future luxurious corners of Lafayette Street

New, improved inflatable Santa arrives on East 14th Street tree lot

[Happier days in 2013]

JUST when we though that the tree stand on East 14th Street and First Avenue would go another holiday season without a Santa Claus...


[Saturday morning]

... an EVG reader let us know that a new, [maybe] improved Santa inflatable now adorns the trailer...





Maybe by Dec. 25 this st. Nick will look as grubby as the previous one... maybe we will witness a Christmas miracle...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Another year without grubby ol' St. Nick on East 14th Street; what to tell the children?

Week in Grieview

[Morning in Tompkins Square Park]

City council members talk up new L train entrance coming to Avenue A (Monday)

Former dorm being pitched as Luxury Renting 101 (Tuesday)

Gas work in building temporarily shuts down Hot Kitchen on Second Avenue (Saturday)

Someone threw black paint bombs at the naked women condo ad along 100 Avenue A (Friday)

The revamped Dunkin' Donuts reopens on First Avenue (Thursday)

How about some more 99¢ pizza for Avenue A (Monday)

The Alamo has been away from Astor Place for one year now (Wednesday)

The Gerber Group responds to criticism over Mr. Purple (Tuesday)

234 E. Seventh St. is for sale (Wednesday)

Pinche Taqueria has closed on Lafayette (Tuesday)

115 Avenue C is for sale (Monday)

Report: Letter claiming to be from terrorist group found at East Ninth Street boutique (Wednesday)

East Sixth Street switcharoos: Another name change for La Esquina Burritos and Bar; Spice Cove exits (Monday)

26 Avenue B getting its high beams on (Tuesday)

Former Vegtown-Chubby Mary's-Led Zeppole space for rent on East 14th Street (Monday)

First Bitcoin ATM arrives on the Lower East Side (Tuesday)

That photogenic Ford F-Series pickup truck from 1961 is for sale (Wednesday)

... and a look at some of the murals that recently arrived at First Street Green via the Centre-fuge Public Art Project...





... and an EVG reader let us know that a new deli/cafe called Stuyvesant Organic has opened in the former Kennedy Fried Chicken space on East 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B... don't know too much else about the place at the moment...

Mixing politics and free standing lamps

The sign reads: "I work ... unlike Trump's immigration strategy." And it's written on the back of an immigration form.

Photo on St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue by @katblomberg

Pushcart Coffee closes East Village location

An EVG reader stopped by Pushcart Coffee on Third Avenue at East 12th Street in NYU's Third North dorm retail property this morning... only to find a sign that the place closed for good after service yesterday...



The sign simply says "unfortunately, we had to close our doors." This location opened on July 1. The other Pushcart locations remain open.

As previously noted, there were already many coffee choices right around here with the Wayside on East 12th Street just west of Third Avenue ... City of Saints Coffee Roasters on East 10th Street between Fourth Avenue and Third Avenue ... Third Rail Coffee on East 10th Street near Second Avenue ... Think Coffee on Fourth Avenue between East 12th Street and East 13th Street… Everyman Espresso on East 13th Street west of Third Avenue… and the newly opened Le Café Coffee at 145 Fourth Ave. between East 13th Street and East 14th Street. Not to mention the recently relocated Dunkin' Donuts on East 14th Street just east of Third Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Pushcart Coffee opening an East Village outpost (20 comments)

Report: East River Park rape suspect now in police custody

A man accused of raping a jogger in East River Park on Wednesday night has surrendered to police, according to published reports.

Surveillance cameras reportedly captured 28-year-old Paul Niles using the victim's credit card at a deli near the scene of the attack.

Police say that Niles was riding a bike when he approached the 26-year-old woman jogging near the FDR Drive and Cherry Street around 7:30 Wednesday night.

According to NY1, after Niles turned himself in at a precinct in Queens, he was charged with rape, robbery and identity theft against the jogger and with forcible touching of another victim, who he approached separately.

Updated:

Per the Daily News: Niles pleaded not guilty to rape, robbery and identity-theft charges. If convicted of the most serious charges, he'd face up to 25 years in prison.

Niles also told investigators that he had been living at a rehab facility and a homeless shelter "and is suicidal."

A guest at the Bowery Hotel lost this heirloom ring

Via the EVG inbox... from a guest at the Bowery Hotel...

Lost Heirloom Ring
Lost on St. Mark's Place and/or the surrounding area
Substantial reward if found or returned, no questions asked.
Please call 310-429-9011
Very much appreciated!

Gas work in building temporarily shuts down Hot Kitchen on 2nd Avenue

Hot Kitchen, the Sichuan restaurant at 104 Second Ave. near East Sixth Street, has been closed this past week.

EVG correspondent Steven passes along a photo of the signage on Hot Kitchen's front door...



The note explains that ConEd has shut off the restaurant's meter "due to the work [the] landlord is doing to the building main gas piping."

The note also says they hope it will take a week or less to compete the repairs. That seems awfully optimistic given how long it has taken gas service to return to other East Village restaurants, such as Second Avenue neighbor B&H Dairy. On Avenue A and St. Mark's Place, Nino's and Yoshi Sushi have been closed for five weeks now due to a gas issue in its building.

And of course, Hot Kitchen sits nearly directly across the Avenue from the site of the deadly gas explosion this past March 26.

When the birds of Tompkins Square Park sound like whales

EVG regular Grant Shaffer picked up on the birds communicating with one another today... and slowed it down...

What happened to Invader's Woody Allen mosaic?

You've likely seen the mosaics that French street artist Invader has placed around the East Village/Lower East Side the past few weeks.

Not sure what happened to the Woody Allen mosaic on East Fourth Street at First Avenue... a good chunk of it is now missing...


[Photo yesterday by Peter Arkle]

At last look, the others that we've spotted, like the Andy Warhol outside the Standard East Village, remain intact...



According to a recent piece in the Times: "Invader's work has become popular with collectors. In March, a large piece sold at auction for almost $350,000 at Christie’s in Hong Kong."

He also reportedly received the OK from building owners to install the mosaics here, which means...

These legal works are likely to be out of reach to collectors and thieves. To thwart those who might take down his work for their own profit, he said, he has sought out sites with natural architectural recesses or filled-in windows. By installing a piece in the exact size and shape of these nooks, he leaves little wiggle room for anyone who might try to pry them out.

In recent years, he has also used larger, thinner tiles: Try to jimmy them off, and they’ll chip apart rather than popping off intact.

Another year without grubby ol' St. Nick on East 14th Street; what to tell the children?

[Happier days in 2013]

For the second year running, it appears that the beloved grubby Santa that has adorned the top of the xmas RV on East 14th Street and First Avenue in years past remains AWOL

The Sidewalk Holiday Tree Stand is now apparently fully operational... and, like last year, some rather generic inflatables (stupid nutcracker) grace this place...





As for what to tell the children. Well, I'd change the subject and try to distract them at Papaya Dog. Look, Twix bars for breakfast!...

-----


[2012]

The roof, 6:44 a.m., Nov. 28

#nofilter

Tonight's sunset

The view (to the southeast) this late afternoon/early evening via Goggla...

Some holiday Cheer

You have several chances to check out Bronx Cheer in the days/weeks ahead... starting tonight at the Bowery Electric and tomorrow at Cake Shop.

The above video features the NYC trio's song "Prism."

[Updated] NYPD releases photos and video of East River Park rape suspect

Anyone have any info on this guy, he's wanted for committing a rape inside of @eastriverpark last night #800577TIPPS pic.twitter.com/u23xHGBIPf

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) November 27, 2015

According to published reports, a man raped and robbed a 26-year-old woman who was jogging in East River Park around 7:30 Wednesday night.

The NYPD has now released photos and video of the suspect, who used the victim's credit card after the attack, which took place in the East River Park amphitheater near Jackson Street, according to media accounts.

Here is the video via Gothamist...


Surveillance of East River Park rape suspect by Gothamist

Emergency responders took the woman to Beth Israel, where she was treated and released.

Updated 7:47 p.m.

Per WPIX...

Thanks to numerous Crime Stoppers tips, the suspect has been identified as 28-year-old Paul Niles who is described as being 5’9″ and weighing 200 pounds.

Police sources tell PIX11 that Niles was last arrested for masturbating in front of a school.

Updated 11/29
Niles is now in police custody. He surrounded to police at a precinct in Queens, per reports.

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.

Someone threw black paint bombs at the naked women condo ad along 100 Avenue A

An EVG reader notes that last night, someone (vandal? folk hero?) tossed a few black paint bombs at the naked-women-clad plywood at 100 Avenue A between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street...



... where developer Ben Shaoul is putting in a 6 8-floor condoplex where prices will range from the high $1,000s per square foot to north of $2,000 per square foot.

Perhaps these real paint bombs are fitting to the whole marketing concept. Broker Ryan Servant recently explained the campaign this way on Instagram:

This is a real model, with real paint. This is my team, my developers, my clients, my friends, my family, my fans. This is for everyone who sells something who does it differently. This is for the kids who wear clothes other kids won't or don't. This is for the the Dad who goes back to school to make his kids proud. This is for the student who turns in 2 pages of a 5 page essay - and aces it. This is for everyone who has been bullied, talked about, made fun of, and pointed at.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Wooing the condo crowd with naked women motif on Avenue A

The retail space at Ben Shaoul's 100 Avenue A is available for $24.5 million; plus, naked model marketing clarification!

Oh Christmas trees, oh...

As you probably noticed, the stockades are going (have gone!) up on sidewalks and corners everywhere, well last in least the usual places where holiday trees are sold, like in front of the Rite Aid on First Avenue and East Fifth Street (above)... and on First Avenue and East 13th Street...



... and we received a news release about Tree Riders NYC, which is launching its fifth season at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery on Second Avenue at East 10th Street today at noon.



Per the release...

Tree Riders NYC – run by local artists and adventurers – offers hand-selected Fraser firs from the Appalachian Mountains in southwestern Virginia, as well as Douglas and Canaan firs from central Pennsylvania.

Tree Riders NYC offers same day cargo bike delivery service throughout Downtown and Midtown Manhattan; post-Christmas tree removal and clean-up service; handmade wreaths, garlands, and mistletoe; Christmas tree stands; and lights.

“We just returned from our annual trip to Virginia where we harvested the trees we hand-tagged at the end of August for this holiday season,” said Joseph Schommer, co-founder of Tree Riders NYC. “Through this careful selection process, we’re able to guarantee our community the freshest, farm-to-home Christmas experience.”

Find more info here.

Anyway, enjoy your tree, should you choose to buy one. And just as an FYI, the city has already released dates for the 2016 MulchFest — Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 9-10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.