Signage alert: Sushi Fan on St. Mark's Place

Photos by Steven

Signage is up now for a new omakase spot at 120 St. Mark's Place called Sushi Fan...

You can find the new Sushi Fan Instagram account here. (Not much info there yet.)

The business takes over for the craft beer bar Proletariat, which moved to a larger space at 21 E. Seventh St. last June.

Squish Marshmallows signage arrives at 120 St. Mark's Place

[Photo by Steven]

A worker today unveiled the signage at 120 St. Mark's Place, where Squish Marshmallows is opening in the long-empty storefront between Avenue A and First Avenue.

This is the first retail outlet for Katherine Sprung, the creator behind Squish Marshmallows. (They are available online and at Abigail's Bake Shop in Brooklyn.)

Per the Squish website:

The goal of Squish Marshmallows is to make a quality, delicious product, using natural ingredients in the marshmallow base, that makes people happy and changes the way they view the humble marshmallow. Whether you choose to enjoy the marshmallows by themselves, or use them to make the most decadent and whimsical s’mores, the idea is to simply eat them and be happy.

pretty in pink 🎀 reminder that a portion of sales during October will be donated to breast cancer research! also, we're HIRING! (site link in bio-info-jobs)

A photo posted by squish marshmallows® (@squishmarsh) on Oct 25, 2016 at 2:20pm PDT

The previous tenant, Addiction Ink, left in 2014.

And as you may recall, 120 St. Mark's Place was once the artists collective known as The Cave. (Among other people, it was the home of the Mosaic Man.) Developer Ben Shaoul took over the property in 2006, where he earned his "sledgehammer" nickname from Curbed.

Addiction Ink space for rent on St. Mark's Place

Several readers have pointed out that the 7-year-old Addiction Ink is no longer in business at 120 St. Mark's Place… not sure exactly when they left, but there is a for rent sign up in the window. There isn't a mention of rent on the Ripco website.

And as you may recall, 120 St. Mark's Place was once the artists collective known as The Cave. (Among other people, it was the home of the Mosaic Man.) Developer Ben Shaoul took over the property in 2006, where he earned his "sledgehammer" nickname from Curbed. Read more history of this address here.

[Thanks to EVG reader Andy for the photo]

Here's what's in store for Campos Plaza under the city's land-leasing plan

More details are emerging about the city's controversial plan to lease playground and community-center space to developers within public housing areas.

Via The Lo-Down, we've learned that the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) finally posted details on the spaces that will be earmarked for private development.

Here's what's planned at Campos Plaza (image above) via the NYCHA website:

East 12th Street Site

Site Area: 26,122 SF (Approximate)
New Construction: 90,000 SF of Residential Floor Area (Approximate)
Note: 20% of proposed residential units will be available to households at or BELOW 60% of Area Median Income (AMI)*

Current Uses on Land Lease Site(s)
• 45 Parking Spaces
• Compactor Yard
• Basketball & Handball Courts
Note: NYCHA will continue to provide parking spaces for all NYCHA residents with a current legal parking permit.

Benefits for Campos Plaza Residents
• Central Plaza redesign with resident consultation
• Preference for new low-income apartments
• Emergency power generation for critical building systems
• Temporary and permanent job opportunities
• Enhanced security for development

According to the Lo-Down, the plan would see "a total of 2,026 new apartments on the Lower East Side — about 400 of them designated as permanently affordable."

Of course, all this info arrives with about a month to go before the city will issue Request for Proposals for eight NYCHA properties in NYC.

Meanwhile, tonight, Smith Houses reps are boycotting the "public information" meeting about the plan. Per their news release:

“The Tenants’ Association Exec. Committee asked NYCHA to reschedule the meeting in order to give residents at least a 10-day notice and opportunity to review the proposals, but NYCHA is deciding to go ahead anyway. The Authority is making it seem as though their plan is a done-deal and residents just have to put up with it.”

As the Daily News first reported in February, the NYCHA expects to generate $31 million to $46 million in annual lease payments, "all of which will go toward fixing up deteriorating buildings. The agency currently has a backlog of 420,000 repair orders and faces a $60 million budget gap annually."

Here come the (unprotected?) East Houston bike lanes

Via a tweet by @felixsalmon this morning ... we see that the long-discussed East Houston Street bike lanes are on the way...

The $60 million Houston Street Corridor Reconstruction started in the fall of 2010, and is to include wider medians, bigger sidewalks, fewer traffic lanes and bike lanes... (Earlier this year, DNAinfo reported that the construction would now last through spring 2014...)

Back in 2009, Streetsblog pointed out that "instead of installing a physically protected path for cyclists, the city plans to paint a buffered, Class 2 lane" on East Houston...

From that Streetsblog article:

Currently, 70 percent of drivers on East Houston Street speed, according to studies conducted by Transportation Alternatives. "It's hard to imagine that paint will offer the kind of protection mainstream New Yorkers will need to feel safe biking on this crucial, yet dangerous corridor," said TA's Wiley Norvell. "The city has innovative physically-protected designs on hand, and to not use them on Houston would be a huge missed opportunity."

Based on the top photo, it appears that the bike lanes won't be protected...

This is the official word on the project via the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center:

To improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists along East Houston Street, DDC will be installing a number of traffic-calming measures. One significant measure is the neck-down. A neck-down is an extension of the curb that shortens the crosswalk distance while at the same time requiring motorists to reduce their speed to turn onto a sidestreet. In addition to the neck-downs, medians will be extended into the crosswalk creating a visible traffic-calming measure and safe refuge area for pedestrians. Other improvements include:

• Dedicated Bicycle Lanes and Bike Racks: The lanes will create a safer environment for bicyclists by calming traffic; while the bike racks will encourage bicycle use by providing users a safe storage option.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Coming soon to East Houston: Construction, hell, rodent control stations

Long-threatened East Houston reconstruction starting this month

120 St. Mark's Place still doesn't have a Certificate of Occupancy

We haven't paid a visit to 120 St. Mark's Place, the former artists collective known as The Cave, since last April. (Among other people, it was the home of the Mosaic Man.) Developer Ben Shaoul took over the property in 2006.

Bob Arihood documented what took place here through the years. (This link will take you to the history.)

In a post dated Aug. 6, 2010, we noted that the address didn't have a Certificate of Occupancy — not even a temporary certificate of occupancy. The most recent Certificate of Occupancy, a temporary order, expired in November 2008, according to the DOB website.

This past weekend, a reader told us about the following documents that the City taped to the front door at 120 St. Mark's Place.

According to the City, the building still doesn't have a Certificate of Occupancy three-plus years later.

The "remedy" per the paperwork: "obtain a valid Certificate of Occupancy." Perhaps this will be the year for that to happen.

For more background:
St. Marks Squatters Getting the Boot (Curbed)

Rent Wars: Boy Emperor Gets In On East Village Harassment (Curbed)

Boy Developer Ben Shaoul Wants to Live Forever (The Observer)

Cave collective collects buyouts as Buildings tries to stop cave-in (The Villager)

Stop-work still in effect at former artists’ squat (The Villager)

State seizes Luca Bar on St. Mark's Place for unpaid taxes: report

This past Thursday evening, EV Grieve reader Patrick was headed into the Luca Bar on St. Mark's Place near Avenue A for a drink... However, he was turned away by a marshal on the scene. He figured the owners would take care of what needed to be taken care of...

However, the Italian bistro remained closed over the weekend...

[Photos courtesy of Patrick]

According to The Local East Village, the owners of the bar owe state tax officials $31,385.49, not including interest and penalties; that the bar has six open warrants for unpaid taxes dating to November 2009.

How the East Village died, Exhibit No. 3,745a

A four-bedroom apartment at 120 St. Mark's Place hit the market on April 11, according to StreetEasy. By yesterday, the apartment — listed at $4,600 — was rented. We'll come back to this.

Anyway, 120 St. Mark's Place was previously home to the Mosiac Man.... and known as The Cave, a colony for artists. In case you're new to this story, here's what the place looked like. Bob Arihood at Neither More Nor Less has thoroughly documented this through the years. These are two of his photos.

It's a long, ugly story... so briefly, back in 2006, 120's new owner, the sledgehammer-toting developer Benjamin Shaoul, successfully booted all the folks who were squatting in the building... (This link will take you to all the history here via Neither More Nor Less...)

So how about that four-bedroom apartment...

So yes — the one-time artists' colony has become a dorm-like apartment.

And to quote Bob from one of his posts on the matter:

We are not suggesting by showing so many pictures of life at the "Cave" that the "Cave" should have remained forever un-touched at 120 Saint Marks Place. After-all 120 St. Marks Place was not a legally occuppied building and it was a bit unsafe as a structure. There were some very serious structural problems with this building.

We are just trying to show some of the loss of diversity in activities in the East Village due to the irresponsible , wild-west sort of development activity now radically changing the neighborhood forever.

And one day, perhaps 120 St.Mark's Place will even have a Certificate of Occupancy. The temporary CO expired about three years ago, per DOB records.

For more background:
St. Marks Squatters Getting the Boot (Curbed)

Rent Wars: Boy Emperor Gets In On East Village Harassment (Curbed)

Boy Developer Ben Shaoul Wants to Live Forever (The Observer)

Cave collective collects buyouts as Buildings tries to stop cave-in (The Villager)

Stop-work still in effect at former artists’ squat (The Villager)

Looking at 120 St. Mark's Place

The news this week that Benjamin Shaoul must remove "four seventh-story cabinlike structures" (as the Times described it) atop 514-516 East Sixth St. prompted us to take a look at another one of his high-profile properties — 120 St. Mark's Place.

There's a long, ugly history here... which has been thoroughly documented by Bob Arihood at Neither More Nor Less through the years. (This link will take you to all the history here... the address, of course, was once home to the Mosiac Man.... and known as The Cave.)

In any event, we looked at the public records on this address via the Department of Buildings... according to the site, there is a "closure/padlock" order for the address...



In addition, according to the DOB, the address doesn't have a Certificate of Occupancy ... not even a temporary certificate of occupancy...



The most recent Certificate of Occupancy, a temporary order, expired in November 2008.



Also, there are complaints about "illegal hotel rooms in residential buildings."



In total, the DOB has 84 complaints listed here since June 2006.

Meanwhile, we took at look at recent rental listings for 120 St. Mark's Place.

In July, a one-bedroom unit on the sixth floor rented for $2,600. Per the description:

VILLAGE DUPLEX WITH EMPIRE STATE VIEWS and Terrace!
UNIQUE EAST VILLAGE GEM! DUPLEX one bedroom PENTHOUSE apartment features NEWLY RENOVATED KITCHEN and Bathroom, OUTDOOR SPACE with EMPIRE STATE BUILDING VIEWS, and washer and dryer in the unit! Act Fast...

According to StreetEasy, agents rented a three-bedroom unit here for $4,500 in July 2009. This apartment was described as:

LIVE IN A BRAND NEW THREE BEDROOM DIRECTLY ON SAINT MARKS. Apartment Features: Washer/Dryer Stainless Steel Appliances Marble BathroomNew Fixtures Balcony and Terrace Spacious Bedrooms CALL NOW TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT! THIS IS A GREAT DEAL AND DEFINITELY WILL NOT LAST LONG!

Finally, if you're new to this story, here's a little more background. As Bob Arihood noted, in exchange for renting two-and-a-half floors in the building to a community facility (a nonprofit, or doctor's office or religious organization), the DOB reportedly would give the OK to the landlord to create an addition that would be larger than normally allowed at this location.

In the last few years, the groundfloor business has been leased to a tattoo/piercing salon.



For more background:
St. Marks Squatters Getting the Boot (Curbed)

Rent Wars: Boy Emperor Gets In On East Village Harassment (Curbed)

Boy Developer Ben Shaoul Wants to Live Forever (The Observer)

Cave collective collects buyouts as Buildings tries to stop cave-in (The Villager)

Stop-work still in effect at former artists’ squat (The Villager)