Greecologies-Pure Green combo opens on 2nd Avenue

The Greecologies-Pure Green combo is now open at 152 Second Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

This is the second NYC location for Greecologies, whose menu includes a variety of grass-fed yogurts as well as desserts, coffees and teas.

Pure Green, which has multiple NYC locations, sells cold-pressed juices, smoothies and various bowls of açaí.

The building at 152-154 Second Ave. is the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel, which Icon Realty bought, gutted, added three extra floors and opened as luxury rentals.

H/T Steven!

Previously on EV Grieve:
152 2nd Ave. storefront to yield a combo Greek yogurt and smoothie shop

152 2nd Ave. storefront to yield a combo Greek yogurt and smoothie shop

[Photo by Steven]

Signage went up yesterday for the combo business coming to 152 Second Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street — a Greecologies and Pure Green.

Here's more about Greecologies from a June 2015 New York Times feature:

Yogurt is made on the premises at Greecologies, an airy emporium in Little Italy that offers the thick and tangy strained style of Greek yogurt as well as a sweeter, unstrained variety that comes with a layer of cream on top and whey on the bottom. Both use Hudson Valley milk, as does a lovely cultured butter spread that can also be stirred into strong coffee.

The menu includes a variety of Greek yogurts as well as desserts, coffees and teas. This will be the second NYC location for Greecologies.

Here's more about Pure Green, which has multiple NYC locations, from the company website:

Pure Green's focus is to make it easy to live a healthy lifestyle. Our philosophy is everyone should experience sustained energy throughout the day. Starting your day with our cold-pressed juice, drinking our handcrafted smoothies and nutrient-rich snacks will restore your energy and RECHARGE YOUR LIFE.

This is an ultra-competitive market for juices and smoothies. For starters, one block to the north, there's the well-entrenched Juice Press on 10th Street just east of Second Avenue … and Liquiteria on Second Avenue and 11th Street ... and there's beQu Juice on Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... with a a shop called JuiceGo opening soon directly across Ninth Street. Plus, there's Juice Vitality at 192 First Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street ... and East Village Organic on First Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place sells fresh juice ... as does Commodities on First Avenue between 10th Street and 11th Street. (Added: The Be Juice shop next to Basics Plus on Third Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street.)

152-154 Second Ave. is the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel that Icon Realty bought, gutted, added three extra floors and opened as luxury rentals.

Reader report: Bike room burglarized at Icon's 2nd Avenue residential building

A resident who lives at 152-154 Second Ave. reports that the building's secure bike storage room in the basement was recently burglarized.

Per the resident: "All the locks [were] cut and about seven bikes are gone. You need two keys to access this room. I'm not necessarily saying it was an inside job, but there wasn't any forced entry."

The theft happened some time between Aug. 18 to Aug. 23. According to the resident, several people have access to the bike storage area, including the other tenants (there are 12 units in total), cleaning staff and super.

The resident says that the building has security cameras. To date there haven't been any updates from management about the theft, according to the resident.

Landlord Icon Realty began converting the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street into a residential building with three additional floors in April 2012. The rentals hit the market back in March.

Trees arrives for Icon Realty's newest roof deck

There was a lot of activity this morning outside 154 Second Ave., Icon Realty's new residential building between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street where rentals range from $4,500 to $9,500.

EVG reader Dan Theisen noted that workers were hoisting some trees and bushes up to the landscaped roof deck…







… roughly right here….



Perhaps this will be a more tranquil rooftop experience. There are reportedly an "endless barrage of rowdy DJ dance parties" on the roof deck at the Icon-owned 205 Avenue A, as the Post put it last August.

Former funeral home on 2nd Avenue begins afterlife as rentals with furnished roof deck

[EVG photo from September]

The rentals for the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel arrived on the market yesterday.

The folks at neighborhood favorites Icon Reality are behind the newly six-story structure at 152 Second Ave. between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street. Seems like a long time coming for the building: The demolition work here started back in April 2012.

Streeteasy has 12 listings, ranging from the one-bedroom jobbie for $3,500 to five-bedroom duplexes asking $9,500.

Here's more about the building via the Icon site:

Grand Opening of 152 2nd Avenue. Brand New Luxury Apartments Designed by Paris Forino

All apartments have access to the building's Large Landscaped and Furnished Roof Deck!

All apartments in this Brand New Designer Boutique Building Feature:

Whitewashed Oak Floors
Limed Brick Walls
Private Balconies
Intricate Mosaic Tilework
Oversized Windows
Queen Sized Bedrooms
Central Air
Washer/Dryers in every unit
Bicycle Storage
Free Storage Lockers

(Not mentioned in the amenities: Being directly across the street from the 13th Step.)

Will be interesting to see how the roof deck goes over with neighbors. The roof deck at Icon's 205 Avenue A is well-known to the NYPD, who, according to one resident, come by "almost every weekend" during Rooftop Rager Season.

Oh, and here are some photos of the units and rooftop via the Icon site...











Meanwhile, the retail space at 152 Second Ave. remains on the market.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former funeral home looks to double in size with help from 'the controversial penthouse king of the East Village'

Redeveloped funeral home looking for a few live retail tenants

The walls come tumbling down at 154 Second Avenue

Friday night's rooftop party at Icon Realty's 205 Avenue A (49 comments)

At 205 Avenue A, where the NYPD stops by 'almost every weekend'

Here's how 152 Second Ave. looked in the summer of 2011…

[Via Off the Grid]

Here's what the address looked like in the 1940s, via Vanishing New York...

Full reveal at 154 Second Ave.

Workers yesterday removed the plywood from the ground-floor space at 154 Second Ave. … now finally providing a full view of the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel.

Icon Realty and architect Ramy Isaac added three extra floors here for luxury rentals… with ground-floor retail that's still on the market (the rate is negotiable, according to the Icon website)…



The demolition work here started back in April 2012.

As we've posted before, here's how the building looked in the summer of 2011…

[Via Off the Grid]

Here's what the address looked like in the 1940s, via Vanishing New York...

And here is the rendering …

Sill no word yet on pricing for the units.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former funeral home looks to double in size with help from 'the controversial penthouse king of the East Village'

Redeveloped funeral home looking for a few live retail tenants

The walls come tumbling down at 154 Second Avenue

New building life for former Second Avenue funeral parlor

Workers have removed the construction netting and scaffolding from 154 Second Ave., the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel now with three extra floors. The building will house luxury rentals and ground-floor retail here between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street.



For a little contrast… here's how the building looked in the summer of 2011…

[Via Off the Grid]

Here's what the address looked like in the 1940s, via Vanishing New York...

And here is the rendering …

Thoughts on the look of the new building?

No word yet on pricing for the units. It's from Icon Realty, who's currently peddling 6-bedroom frat houses on Avenue A.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former funeral home looks to double in size with help from 'the controversial penthouse king of the East Village'

Redeveloped funeral home looking for a few live retail tenants

The walls come tumbling down at 154 Second Avenue

Construction watch: 154 Second Avenue

Just a spot check on the progress at 154 Second Ave., the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel that will house luxury rentals and ground-floor retail between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street.

EVG reader Terry Howell provides another update from the building's backside.

"The back view looks pretty much like the front view. Can't see thru the netting for clearer idea of what's inside. Progress is slow but steady."





Still no word on what the concrete deck will be. (Can you technically have a rooftop rager on a party patio?)



Previously on EV Grieve:
Former funeral home looks to double in size with help from 'the controversial penthouse king of the East Village'

Redeveloped funeral home looking for a few live retail tenants

The walls come tumbling down at 154 Second Avenue

Progress at the 'slowly handmade' 154 Second Ave.

We haven't checked in at 154 Second Ave., the former home of the Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel, since the end of January.

Here's an update on the "luxury rental apartments" with ground-floor retail via EVG reader Terry Howell:

"As you can see, this building is being slowly handmade. I have listened to every one of those girders being hammered into place by hand over this winter. You can see a small pile of girders waiting to be placed and pounded together on the flooring. There is a crew of about 5-6 guys who are doing it all!

Meanwhile! It looks as if there is an empty space in the rear... Perhaps a Party Patio? (A reader called a patio where these bros always hang out on East Fifth Street the "Dick Deck.")

Or, preferably, maybe a little green space with grass and what not...



...And a view of the front from Tuesday...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Former funeral home looks to double in size with help from 'the controversial penthouse king of the East Village'

Redeveloped funeral home looking for a few live retail tenants

The walls come tumbling down at 154 Second Avenue

A look at 154 Second Ave.'s steely backside

[November, via Terry Howell]

[Yesterday via EVG]

We had a brief update last week on 154 Second Ave., the former home of the Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel. We looked at the front of the incoming luxury residences with the arrival of some steel beams...

EVG reader Terry Howell now has a few observations from another vantage point...

Terry notes that all this work seems to have been done by a crew of about six guys without the benefit of much major machinery. So it might be some time before we spot any listings for the new residences...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former funeral home looks to double in size with help from 'the controversial penthouse king of the East Village'

Redeveloped funeral home looking for a few live retail tenants

The walls come tumbling down at 154 Second Avenue

Beaming in the steel for the future luxury apartment building at 154 Second Ave.

We haven't noticed a whole lot of activity lately over at 154 Second Ave., the former home of the Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel.

Until Sunday.

Per EVG reader MP, who took the above photo: "Seems to be picking up the pace. Perhaps it took a while to exorcize all the ghosts from the former funeral home."

Indeed.

And how the new building looked yesterday...

The former 3-story building has essentially been removed to make way for "luxury rental apartments" ... and retail space on the ground floor.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former funeral home looks to double in size with help from 'the controversial penthouse king of the East Village'

Redeveloped funeral home looking for a few live retail tenants

The walls come tumbling down at 154 Second Avenue

This car blocked the Second Avenue bike lane for most of the morning

This morning, EVG reader John sent along a photo of a bike-lane obstruction on Second Avenue just below East 10th Street...

Two hours later, the car was still there...

The owner of the car has something apparently to do with the construction job at 154 Second Ave.

154 Second Ave. is missing

[Image from summer 2011 via Off the Grid]

A quick look at the progress at 154 Second Ave., where workers have been gut renovating the former funeral chapel to make way for several new floors for "luxury rental apartments." And retail space.

Gutting is likely a better description. We noticed that the original building is pretty much ... gone.

Can't quite tell in these photos... but the front of the building is down to the original doorways...

And one day...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former funeral home looks to double in size with help from 'the controversial penthouse king of the East Village'

Redeveloped funeral home looking for a few live retail tenants

The walls come tumbling down at 154 Second Avenue

154 Second Avenue starting to show off its girders

Two months have passed since we checked in on the progress at 154 Second Ave., where workers will be adding several new floors for "luxury rental apartments."

Kind of hard to say what's happening behind the scaffolding. EVG reader Terry Howell notes that most of July brought intermittent banging and knocking without much evidence of actual "construction."

Then! In early August, he noticed that workers delivered a pile of girders. Let's take a look at the latest photos that he shared...

Terry also hears that the remaining structure facade will not be kept — eventually it will all be demolished.

Here's what the address looked like in the 1940s, via Vanishing New York...

And one day...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former funeral home looks to double in size with help from 'the controversial penthouse king of the East Village'

Redeveloped funeral home looking for a few live retail tenants

The walls come tumbling down at 154 Second Avenue