This morning in photo shoots on Avenue A

Near East 11th Street. Photo by Shawn Chittle.

TBT — Purple Rain on Avenue A

From June 9, 2014... when Prince was featured on the roll-down gate at Mikey Likes It, 199 Avenue A near East 12th Street.

The mural, created by Bronx-based artist Andre Trenier, was in honor of the shop's Flavor of the Month: Purple Rain (double blueberry ice cream with cheesecake chunks).

And in case you haven't heard the news... Prince has died. He was 57.

Top Nails is moving next door on Avenue A

Renovations continue inside the former Sustainable NYC storefront. Several tipsters have told us that Top A Nails will be moving here from their current space next door. The husband-wife owners confirmed the move, likely happening in another month.

Meanwhile, there is a small for lease sign now on the salon's front window here between St. Mark's Place and East Ninth Street...



Per the listing, the asking rent is $6,800.

Sustainable NYC, the eco-minded general store and café, closed for good last summer after seven years in business.

Avenue A sinkhole no longer sinking (for now)

[Yesterday! Wednesday!]

Nearly two weeks after its debut on Avenue A and East Third Street... the city has filled in the sinkhole, as EVG reader John Iz has dutifully noted (he documented it for us here) ...



No official word just yet about how many pylons were swallowed lost during these two weeks.

Oh hi, there's a hole here

[Last Sunday]

Last Sunday, we noted the sinkhole in the works on Avenue A at East Third Street. It had already eaten a pylon, and was on its way to becoming a rare 5 Pyloner and potential film franchise for Dwayne Johnson.

Anyway, EVG reader John Iz shared these photos showing the developments here this past week... and the DOT's various attempts to warn vehicular traffic of the hole in the Avenue...

Tuesday!



Wednesday!



Thursday!



Friday! (Yesterday!)



What else might the DOT place here to warn motorists of the sinkhole?

Updated:

John shared photos from the hole from Saturday...



...with bonus shot of the can of spray paint used to mark the perimeter...

Strong start for sinkhole season; more pylons on the way

This one is developing quickly on Avenue A at East Third Street... Also: pylon down. Repeat, pylon down.

Anyway, not to play favorites, but I think I prefer the sinkhole that's on First Avenue and Seventh Street a little more. For starters, that one has better effects, like smoke/steam/CHUD.

H/T ‏@thee_thomtobias

East Village Smoke Shop & Grocery now open on Avenue A

The small shop is up and running at 89 Avenue A near East Sixth Street... aside from the smoking-related supplies, they sell the usual deli fare (sodas, gum, snacks, etc.)

The former tenant here, D-Lish Pita, closed last summer.

H/T EVG reader Perri Silver

Another smoke shop for Avenue A

Several readers have told us that a smoke shop is opening in the former D-Lish Pita space on Avenue A at East Sixth Street... we haven't been by when anyone has been working on the space... though the gate is partially open, revealing some of the items that will be for sale...





The store is next door to 99¢ Pizza, which opened in late December. As for smoke shops on Avenue A, Smoke & Beer opened between East 13th Street and East 14th Street earlier this month.

Anyway, it's nice that some new retail shops are opening ahead of the residential developments going up ... like this one... and this one.. and this one ... and this one.. and this one.

This block of Avenue A is awfully quiet, and why is Lucy's closed?

Not much happening on Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and East Ninth Street... as far as storefronts are concerned..

Nino's and Yoshi Sushi are entering the third month of closure, apparently due to a gas leak in the building. (And the landlord previously issued eviction notices.)

The space between these two restaurants remains vacant. The 10 Degrees Bistro closed back in August. (The team behind Shoolbred's and Ninth Ward got the OK last month from CB3 for a beer-wine license to open a cajun-style restaurant here.)

Continuing north... EVG regular Peter Brownscombe shared these photos from last Wednesday night... Lucy's has been closed...



... and the note on the door isn't the most comforting — closed until further notice.



Lucy tends to take several breaks during the year, though she always leaves a sign with a reopening date. She has randomly closed for a short period of time without any explanation (here and here). Anyway, not sure what is happening here.

And the rest of the block... Top A Nails is open... the former Sustainable NYC is for rent... and Doc Holliday's anchors the corner at Ninth Street... for now there are just two of seven businesses open on the block...

Tonight in car fires on Avenue A

Car on fire at E 4th and Ave A in East Village. Looks like battery caught fire. @FDNY in the scene. @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/lJdZOm2uxF

— Cecil Scheib (@cecilscheib) January 8, 2016

And there's a video clip here.

[Updated] City council members talk up new L train entrance coming to Avenue A

As we posted earlier this month, an observant EVG reader looking at the 237-page PDF of the MTA's 2015–2019 Capital Plan noticed there was money budgeted (and approved!) for a second set of entrances for the L stop at First Avenue.

Now our local City Council members have issued a joint statement about the new L train entrance coming to Avenue A:

The MTA 2015-2019 Capital Plan, which was approved by the MTA Board on October 28, includes $71.9 million for a new entrance to the overcrowded First Avenue stop on the L train. The funding is part of the MTA’s $300 million Core Capacity program, and will improve both safety and accessibility for straphangers who use this station every day.

Council Members Dan Garodnick and Rosie Mendez, who represent the area, had pushed for the MTA to allocate sufficient funds for this improvement.

The current entrance creates significant bottlenecks, which lead to safety issues and can make entering and exiting the station extremely difficult. The station has also been identified by the MTA as one of 100 “Key Stations,” which experience heavy traffic or have critical connections between train lines and neighborhoods. Because of this designation, the planned new entrance will also comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and be accessible to individuals with disabilities.

“This station has gotten crowded beyond its capacity, and straphangers need relief,” said Council Member Garodnick. “A new entrance is going to make a huge difference, and will make the station infinitely more safe.”

"I applaud the MTA and I am grateful that it will be moving forward with our request for an alternate entrance/exit at Avenue A for the First Avenue L train stop. This train stop is so overcrowded that it is unsafe. Everyday individuals arriving and departing from the 1st Avenue confront a huge crowd of people rushing from or to the bus. This new entrance is needed now more than ever since there are several nearby residential development projects that will increase the neighborhood population." – Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, District 2

Not sure where exactly this new entrance will be…



In September 2014, an EVG reader spotted a crew doing a little soil sampling at this spot on the north side of 14th Street along Stuy Town … perhaps this might be the location for the entrance/exit…


[Photo from September 2014]

Updated 6:28 p.m.

Sen. Brad Hoylman's office also released a statement earlier today. It reads in part:

With the approval of its 2015-2019 Capital Program, the MTA is finally set to begin construction on a new entrance for the L Train First Avenue stop. Construction of the new entrance at 14th Street and Avenue A is an effort by the MTA to alleviate congestion and overcrowding that has long affected riders at the First Avenue stop. Senator Hoylman's statement on construction of the new entryway is below:

“I am pleased that the MTA has included a new L Train entrance at the 14th and Avenue A stop in its 2015-2019 capital budget, setting aside $40 million for improvements on the L line and an additional $59.1 million to make the First Avenue station ADA compliant.

“The western end of the platform has become a serious safety concern as straphangers mass near the station’s only entrance, creating dangerous overcrowding at the platform’s edge and potential obstruction of egress during emergencies.

“In light of Extell Development’s planned construction on the block of 14th Street between Avenues A and B, I wrote to Extell in February 2014 urging them to contribute to the construction of a desperately needed second entrance at the First Avenue stop. The MTA’s full backing of a new point of entry and exit for this station is particularly welcome news, and I encourage the MTA and Extell to work collaboratively to ensure that the construction is completed in a timely manner."

Previously on EV Grieve:
A Davey Drill and a dream

Is an Avenue A entrance for the L train in our future?

Avenue A L train entrance closer to a reality … some day

Avenue A, now with fewer trees

Multiple EVG readers came across this scene this morning just before 9 on Avenue A between East Second Street and East Third Street… where workers were mulching up a fallen tree…



Unfortunately, no one (yet!) has passed along what happened to the tree on the west side of the street… How did it fall? Did it crack? Was it struck? Pushed? Bitten? Karate chopped?



Thanks to the EVG reader for the photos!

Updated:
Per the comments, three trees on this block had to be removed...

Avenue A's high-wire act

Several readers have asked in recent weeks what the story is with the wire/line that, in the right light, is very visible above Avenue A between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street (and maybe elsewhere?)… it has been up there for months now… running from the light pole on the northwest corner of Sixth Street to the southeast corner of Seventh Street… and then across to the northwest corner of Seventh Street…



Another view…



… and because of contractual obligations…



… and it also stretches from the northwest corner of Sixth Street to the southeast corner… (and it looks like some wire up at Fifth and A too...)


[Photo by Derek Berg]

Perhaps a clue on Avenue A and East Fourth Street…



Facts and theories welcome…

Updated 9:08 a.m.

That was fast! Many people had the answer... see the comments for the explanation...

Today in flying leaps

Photo outside the Pyramid on Avenue A today by Derek Berg

And how was your Thursday Happy Hour?

From an EVG reader:

This gentleman greeted people on Avenue A yesterday with a special happy hour show. He was fairly pleased with himself. The show ended with a grand finale where the naked gentleman spread his gluteal muscles for those interested in a closer inspection.

Taking the pile driver out for a spin on this gorgeous Saturday summer

A reader shared this photo today from East 12th Street and Avenue A… Not sure which construction site it's going to or from… or if surge pricing is in effect.

A smaller Galleria J. Antonio reopens on Avenue A, 2 doors down

Earlier this year, the store closing signs arrived at Galleria J. Antonio at 47 Avenue A between East Third Street and East Fourth Street.

However, Galleria J. Antonio curator Jesse Gee decided to reopen two doors down at No. 43, where he will continue to sell arts and crafts and custom jewelry and watches…

As he told us at the start of the summer: "I can't stop working because I love what I do and STILL NEED A JOB, but — I must slow down and work fewer days and hours."

And now the new, smaller Galleria J. Antonio is open, as EVG regular Peter Brownscombe reports…





As for No. 47, we hear that the owners of the Essex Card Shop at 39 Avenue A are opening a second outpost.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Galleria J. Antonio is closing on Avenue A

Avenue A storefront shuffle

All photos by Peter Brownscombe

Avenue A is for [construction] Action

Work commenced last Wednesday at the former Mary Help of Christians property along Avenue A between East 11th Street and East 12th Street.

As you've likely noticed, Avenue A between East Sixth Street and East 14th Street is becoming an now an active construction zone. Let's tally it up...

98-100 Avenue A between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street



Work continues on Ben Shaoul's 8-story retail-residential complex ... a project already two years in the making...



438 E. 12th St. (aka 181 Avenue A)



The new plywood and renewed construction activity arrived last week where the Mary Help of Christians church, school and rectory once stood ... where there will be a 6-floor mixed-use building with ground-floor retail and 82 market-rate condos via developer Douglas Steiner.



The rendering on the plywood notes that the project will be completed in August 2017...



500 E. 14th St. at Avenue A



We're two months into the digging and pile-driving here ... the site will yield a 7-floor retail-residential building via Extell Development.

Bonus construction!



Whatever these guys have been doing at East 13th Street in recent months.

Ditto for the wall renovation at the East Side Community School on East 12th Street.

Upcoming!



Avenue A and surrounding side streets should get even more construction at the former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office on East 14th Street. Plans are calling for an 8-story residential building with ground-floor retail here just west of Avenue A. In addition, there are two 6-story condos coming to East 13th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

So Avenue A is for...