CB3 committee meeting tonight includes discussion on storm-proofing East River Park

[East River Park as seen last month]

A CB3 committee meeting that wasn't on anyone's radar is now receiving attention.

This is the third item for discussion during tonight's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront, & Resiliency Committee meeting:

• Rebuild By Design proposal RFP for stewardship of East River Park.

It's not exactly clear what is being discussed tonight. (This 6sqft piece from the summer is a good primer on the RFP process.)

In any event, one neighborhood activist is sounding the alarming to help raise awareness in an email sent last night:

This is a devastating NEW PLAN that the City wants to shove through regarding the East River. After a carefully studied plan, The Coastal Resiliency Project, since 2014, after Hurricane Sandy, with Millions of dollars committed by the City...The Mayor's Office in October 2018 wants to scrap that plan, instead will close the East River Park for 2-3 years, trashing all plantings, trees, and wildlife habitats to "raise" the park up 8 feet in land fill. The cost is $1.45 billion. This is an expedited "plan" because there is money to spend — however it is thoughtless, in the end won't work, and will destroy the East River Park as we know it.

The email included a wrinkled flyer...



As previously noted, the city's new resiliency plan calls for "lifting" East River Park by up to 10 feet from Cherry Street to 13th Street when work starts in March 2020.

However, to do this, the city will need to close East River Park for up to three and a half years, bulldozing all the current amenities, including the recently unveiled new running track and soccer field, according to multiple published reports. (The Post and CBS 2 had stories on these plans.)

The meeting starts at 6:30 tonight (third agenda item) at the BRC Senior Services Center, 30 Delancey St. between Chrystie and Forsyth.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: The reality of storm-proofing East River Park in 2020

More conversation about a Special Retail District for the East Village

Plans to adopt a proposal for a Special Retail District, which would limit the size and location of chain stores in the East Village, continue to move forward.

Tomorrow night, CB3's Economic Development Committee will discuss the following item: "Special district update and start framework for boundaries and restrictions."

The proposal for a East Village Special Retail District dates back nearly two-plus years.

As previously noted, a special district is an overlay used as a tool to supplement and modify the underlying zoning in order to respond to distinctive neighborhoods with particular issues and goals.

You can read more about special districts in this Q&A on the CB3 website here. In 2015, the East Village Community Coalition issued a report on "Recommendations for Formula Retail Zoning in the East Village."

The Committee meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. (this is the second item on the agenda), at the Lee, 133 Pitt St. at Houston. The meeting is open to the public, and you can sign up to speak for (or against) the proposal.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Public forum set to discuss special business district in the East Village

Black Emperor slated for 2nd Avenue

A group of applicants whose résumé includes bars and restaurants in the Bowery Hotel and Arlo NoMad Hotel are looking to open Black Emperor at 197 Second Ave.

The applicants, including David Massoni and John Bush, will appear before CB3's SLA committee tonight for a new liquor license for the former Schoolbred's space between 12th Street and 13th Street.

According to the detailed application at the CB3 website, Black Emperor would include nine table for 35 patrons as well as a 10-seat bar and a four-table sidewalk cafe. (Shoolbred's was also licensed to operate on the sidewalk.)

The food is described as "Asian fusion tapas," and here's a look a the menu via the application...



Black Emperor would open at 5 p.m., with a closing time of 2 a.m. Monday through Wednesday and 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. (And 1 a.m. Sunday.)

Massoni and Bush have opened several establishments via their Three Kings Restaurant Group, starting with Thistle Hill Tavern in Park Slope as well as the above-mentioned hotel spots. (East Village residents may know Bush from his days bartending at 2A and Niagara.)

Shoolbred's closed in June 2017 after nearly 10 years in business.

Tonight's SLA committee meeting takes place starting at 6:30 in the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton.

Webster Hall alum withdraw application for former Lovecraft space on Avenue B

The Webster Hall alum have withdrawn their application for 50 Avenue B/238 E. Fourth St.

They were to appear before CB3's SLA committee tonight for a new liquor license for a venture that featured a pizzeria and live music. Applicants included Stephen Ballinger, the head bartender and bar manager at the now-closed Webster Hall from 2014-2017, and Adam Ballinger, who served as the venue's marketing manager.

According to a tipster: "They withdrew completely and are not interested in that space at all."

That space previously housed Lovecraft, which was inspired by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. That bar-restaurant closed in early 2018 after three-and-a-half years in business. The other piece of this parcel, the slice joint Johnny Favorite's, shuttered in August 2017 after debuting in April 2015.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Lovecraft has not been open lately on Avenue B

Webster Hall alum proposing new venture for former Lovecraft space on Avenue B

Webster Hall alum proposing new venture for former Lovecraft space on Avenue B

Updated 8/20: The applicants said that they are no longer considering this space.

Applicants who are family members of the previous Webster Hall ownership will appear before CB3's SLA committee this month for a new liquor license for 50 Avenue B and 238 E. Fourth St.

The addresses include the former Lovecraft, the two-level bar-restaurant between Third Street and Fourth Street, and the Johnny Favorite's pizzeria around the corner on Fourth Street. (The two spaces are connected.)



According to the questionnaire for the public posted to the CB3 website (PDF here), the still-unnamed establishment will serve "American fare in Avenue B space and pizza on Fourth Street, both American and pizza in the basement." The applicants are seeking a sidewalk cafe for the Avenue B side as well.

The paperwork also notes that "there will regularly be live music performances." (The type of live music isn't specified. The questionnaire includes a noise- and traffic-mitigation plan.)

The proposed hours are 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. on weekdays; with a 10 a.m. opening time on weekends.

Applicants include Stephen Ballinger, whose résumé posted with the questionnaire lists him as the head bartender and bar manager at Webster Hall from 2014-2017, and Adam Ballinger, who was most recently the marketing manager at Webster Hall.

The Ballinger family (brothers Lon, Steve and Doug Ballinger) owned Webster Hall from 1992 to last summer, taking over the venue on 11th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue in 1989 when the Ritz was ending its time here.

In the spring of 2017, they reportedly sold the now-landmarked building to Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment and AEG Presents for $35 million. (Steve Ballinger is also listed as one of the applicants in the Avenue B venture along with his sons Stephen and Adam.)

The August CB3-SLA meeting is Aug. 20 at 6:30 p.m. in the Perseverance House Community Room, 535 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Lovecraft, which was inspired by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, closed in early 2018 after three-and-a-half years in business. Johnny Favorite's shuttered in August 2017 after debuting in April 2015.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Lovecraft has not been open lately on Avenue B

On the CB3-SLA July docket: Szechuan cuisine for Avenue A; No Reservations on Avenue C

[171 Avenue A]

CB3's SLA committee meeting tonight ... you can find the full rundown of applicants at the CB3 website.

Here's a look at two potential new ventures:

• 171 Avenue A

A restaurant serving Szechuan cuisine and dim sum is in the works for this space between 10th Street and 11th Street.

The applicants, who have not been licensed previously, are looking for a beer-wine license.

Proposed hours are noon to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; until midnight on Friday and Saturday. The PDF on file at the CB3 website includes a sample menu.

Chao Chao, a contemporary Vietnamese restaurant, closed here without any notice to patrons in May 2017 after six months in business. Chao Chao evolved from Soothsayer, which opened in January 2016. Soothsayer, from the same operators, also closed without any notice to patrons at the end of September 2016. The applicants had hoped to secure a full liquor license, but couldn't make the space work with just beer-wine.

171 Avenue A was also the onetime home of Rat Cage Records and 171A, the illegal club-turned-rehearsal studio that produced records by Bad Brains and the "Polly Wog Stew" EP by the Beastie Boys.


[129-131 Avenue C from 2017]

• 129-131 Avenue C

A venture called No Reservations is being proposed for 129-131 Avenue C between Eighth Street and Ninth Street. (Not sure if the No Reservations name is some kind of tribute to Anthony Bourdain.)

The applicants were previously involved with The Grayson, the sports bar at 16 First Ave. The sample menu at the CB3 website shows comfort foods such as burgers, wings and... hot dog sliders.

The proposed hours are pretty varied — 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday to Wednesday; to 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday (with an 11 a.m. open on Saturday and Sunday)... the applicants are also looking to license the rear garden, which has a different set of proposed hours. You can find the application (PDF) here.

This space was last home to the hookah hotspot Babel Lounge.

CB3's SLA committee meets tonight at the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton. The proceedings start at 6:30.

Grey Lady owner looking at new venture for the old Out East space on 6th Street

A co-owner of Grey Lady on Delancey Street (and Grey Lady East in Montauk) is among the applicants vying for a new liquor license for the former Out East Space on Sixth Street, according to documents on the CB3 website.

There's not much information about what type of restaurant applicant Callum McLaughlin tends to open at Out East, which closed without any notice after eight months in business last December here between Avenue A and Avenue B. CB3 describes this as a sale of assets.

Presumably the new venture will be a seafood-centric spot similar to the Nantucket-style food served at Grey Lady. (McLaughlin is a Nantucket native.) New York magazine says the Grey Lady's "brief menu is a pleaser." Out East aspired to have a (new) Montauk beach vibe.



The CB3 questionnaire shows proposed hours of 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday, with an 11 a.m. opening on Saturday and Sunday. The bi-level space has room for 38 tables — seating 96 diners. (There are also two, 10-seat bars on each floor.)

McLaughlin previously looked at opening an oyster bar and restaurant on the Upper East Side in early 2017. Those plans apparently never materialized.

CB3's SLA committee meets Monday night at the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton. The proceedings start at 6:30.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former Out East space for lease on 6th Street

Incoming: Gala on 3rd Avenue, Nunoodle Noodle + Bar on 1st Avenue

Here's a quick look at two more of the applicants on this month's CB3-SLA meeting agenda...

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A Chinese restaurant called Gala is in the works for the former Blue 9 Burger space at 92 Third Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street.

The applicants are seeking a beer-wine license. The questionnaire (find it at the CB3 website here) lists 15 tables accommodating 30 guests along with a five-seat bar. The proposed hours are 5 p.m. to midnight Sunday-Thursday; until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The CB3-SLA meeting is tonight at 6:30 in the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton.

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We got a partial reveal back in April at what's coming to the under-renovation 130 First Ave., the former Rainbow Music just south of St. Mark's Place.



According to the application on the CB3 website (PDF here), the owners of Nunoodle Noodle + Bar on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst are opening an outpost on First Avenue.

The paperwork shows a restaurant with seven tables seating 20 guests with proposed daily hours of 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The applicants were on the agenda for the June 11 SLA committee meeting (a beer-wine license), though they were not required to appear before the board.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former Rainbow Music shop will be a Chinese restaurant

Bushwick-based chef looking to bring Short Stories to the Bowery

Looks as if one of the recently vacated bar-restaurants on the Bowery will have a new tenant.

Applicants are on this month's CB3-SLA docket for a new liquor license at 355 Bowery, the former Wise Men space between Third Street and Fourth Street.

According to the materials (PDF here) posted on the CB3 website, the applicants for the proposed Short Stories include Danny Teran, who runs several businesses in Bushwick, including Wheelhouse out on Wilson Avenue. (He is apparently known as "The Wolf of Wilson," per this Brokelyn feature.) Williamsburg Pizza investor Ashwin Deshmukh is also listed as one of the applicants.

The menu at Short Stories will feature "a mix of American, Cuban and Mexican fare." (Teran, a Cuban-American, specializes in Cuban cuisine. He also previously ran Millie's Cuban Cafe on Wilson Avenue.)

The application also shows six tables seating 12 diners as well as a 10-seat bar. (There appears to be some additional seating on benches.) The proposed hours are 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. during the week, until 4 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

Wise Men closed last November after five years in business.

And before the Wise Men...


[Photo from 2011]

... there was Osaka Vibe/Orange Valve — aka, that kind of weird sushi place on the Bowery.

The CB3-SLA meeting is Monday night at 6:30 in the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton.

Previously on EV Grieve:
An appreciation of sorts: That kind of weird sushi place on the Bowery

Former kind of weird sushi place on the Bowery is now home to the Wise Men

The 7 restaurants that have closed on the Bowery in the past year

[Updated] Double Chicken Please vying for former Shoolbred's space on 2nd Avenue

[Photo from July 2017]

This item has now been withdrawn from tonight's agenda.

Restauranteur Huey Cheng is the applicant of record behind a venture called Double Chicken Please for the former Shoolbred's space at 197 Second Ave.

Cheng, who currently operates Raku on Sixth Street and Kura on St. Mark's Place, is on this month's CB3-SLA docket for a new liquor license for the storefront between 12th Street and 13th Street.

According to the questionnaire (PDF here) on file ahead of tonight's meeting, Double Chicken Please will feature a menu specializing in "pan Asian" fare. The restaurant would accommodate 65 diners via 10 tables, plus a bar with 15 stools ... with proposed daily hours of noon to 2 a.m.

Last month, Cheng was the applicant of record for two spaces. CB3 approved his takeover of 304 E. Sixth St. but not 117 Avenue A. (Among other reasons for the denial on the former Black Rose space on A: "there is insufficient public benefit in the approval of a full on-premises liquor license for a business with a mixology concept with food in an area well-served with licensed businesses furnishing food and cocktails and in a location which is now unlicensed."

As for 197 Second Ave., Shoolbred's, the upscale, Scottish-style pub, closed last June after nine-plus years in service.

The CB3-SLA meeting is tonight at 6:30 in the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton. Other applicants this month include for 2 St. Mark's Place and 136 Second Ave. You can find the full list of applicants at the CB3 website.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Shoolbred's is signing off on Father's Day

About the bar-restaurant proposed for 2 St. Mark's Place

Looks like Bull McCabe's may have some bar company on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. (RIP Grassroots.)

Applicants are on this month's CB3-SLA committee docket for a new liquor license for 2 St. Mark's Place at Third Avenue/Cooper Square.

The questionnaire on file at the CB3 website (PDF here) shows that the applicants are involved with Draught 55 Bar & Kitchen on East 55th Street, a six-year-old establishment offering more than 40 craft beers.

The applicants describe the menu for the new space as a "spin on classic pub food with contemporary American offerings." The proposed hours are 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday-Wednesday; until 4 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. The seating chart shows 19 tables for 65 guests (that includes a bar with 10 stools).

No word yet on the name of the bar-restaurant for 2 St. Mark's Place.

The CB3-SLA meeting is next Monday at 6:30 p.m. The location: the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton.

2 St. Mark's Place was most recently Ayios Greek Rotisserie, which closed at the end of 2017 after 16 months in business. Previously, the address was the St. Mark's Ale House, which had a 21-year run until July 2016. (And once upon a time it was the second location of the Five Spot Cafe.)

CB3 to hear City Council report 'Planning for Retail Diversity'

Tomorrow (Wednesday) night, CB3's Economic Development Committee will hear a City Council report titled "Planning for Retail Diversity: Supporting NYC’s Neighborhood Businesses."

Brian Paul, the author of the City Council report, is presenting. CB3 hopes to support actions from this report. (You can find a PDF of "Planning for Retail Diversity" here.)

The meeting is open to the public... it starts at 6:30 p.m. (Wednesday, April 25) in the University Settlement at Houston Street Center (273 Bowery).

Cafe in the works for 2 St. Mark's Place, previously Ayios and St. Mark's Ale House

[Photo yesterday by Steven]

CB3 hasn't listed the dates yet for its committee meetings in May. However, one eager applicant has posted notice of a new liquor license application for 2 St. Mark's Place.

The applicant is called 2 St Mark's Cafe LLC ... and is eyeing the former home of Ayios Greek Rotisserie at 2 St. Mark's Place at Third Avenue/Cooper Square. That restaurant closed at the end of 2017 after 16 months in business. Previously, the address was the St. Mark's Ale House, which had a 21-year run until July 2016. (And once upon a time it was the second location of the Five Spot Cafe.)

No other information is available just yet about the applicant. The CB3-SLA committee is May 14, per the flyer.

New restaurant plans for 304 E. 6th St. and 117 Avenue A

Restauranteur Huey Cheng, who currently operates Raku on Sixth Street and Kura on St. Mark's Place, is the applicant of record for two proposed establishments seeking new liquor licenses in front of CB3's SLA committee this month.

Here's a look:

• Entity to be formed by H Cheng, 117 Ave. A (pictured above)

There's not too much information about the unnamed project here between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. According to the questionnaire on file at the CB3 website (PDF here), the establishment will serve "New Age American food."

The proposed hours: noon to 2 a.m. daily. The seating chart shows 14 tables to accommodate 62 guests as well as a 14-seat bar.

The previous occupant, the Black Rose, closed last April after nearly two years in business. No. 117 was the longtime home, until August 2013, of the Odessa Cafe & Bar.

• Entity to be formed by Huey Cheng, 304 E 6th St

Cheng's name is also attached to an application at 304 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. Again, not much information on the questionnaire for view at the CB3 website. (PDF here.)

The food is described as "New Age American/Pan-Asian." The proposed hours are daily from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

This address is currently Mayahuel Mariposa, which was Mayahuel. There was some reported conflict over rent and naming rights after Ravi DeRossi and Co. departed and building owner Keith Siilats reopened the space under the same name. (Eater has a recap here.) Now it appears Siilats has a new team taking over the operation.

The CB3-SLA meeting is tonight at 6:30 in the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton. Other applicants this month include Bubbleology Tea and the team behind Entwine eyeing the former Golden Market.

By the way, this is the second of the CB3-SLA committee meetings this month. Last Monday's meeting at the Perseverance House Community Room on Fifth Street included the license upgrade for Club Cumming.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Black Rose, 'a neighborhood rock and roll bar,' opening in the former Odessa Cafe and Bar space (73 comments)

Team behind West Village wine bar Entwine eyeing former Golden Market space

As mentioned back on March 26, notices for a new full liquor license arrived on the door at 118 First Ave. at Seventh Street — the former Golden Market.

The applicant's questionnaire is now online at the CB3 website ahead of Monday evening's SLA committee meeting.

According to the paperwork (PDF here), the applicants also operate Entwine, a wine bar over on Washington Street (at West 12th) that serves Mediterranean-style menu items. (They were the subject of one of those annoying Boîte features at the Times in 2012.)

The bar-restaurant, which doesn't have a name just yet (TBD!), has proposed daily hours of 11 a.m. to midnight during the week and until 2 a.m. on weekends. The configuration shows 12 tables seating 38 guests and a bar with 14 stools.

There's also a proposed menu, showing a variety of sandwiches and tartines, and entrees that include grass-fed lamb chops, free-range oven-baked chicken thigh and grilled branzino.

The CB3-SLA meeting is at 6:30 p.m. on Monday in the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton.

Golden Food Market closed last July after 35 years in business.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Restaurant in the works for former Golden Food Market on 1st Avenue and 7th Street

Golden Food Market closes on 1st Avenue and 7th Street

Bubbleology Tea seeking full liquor license for the former International space on 1st Avenue

There was a rumor a few weeks ago that a bubble tea shop was moving into the former International Bar space at 120 1/2 First Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

Looks like that might actually be happening. Applicants for Bubbleology Tea (a London-based chain) are applying for a full liquor license for the address, according to the questionnaire (PDF here) on file ahead of this month's CB3-SLA committee meeting on April 16

The proposed hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (9 p.m. for the rear yard) Sunday through Thursday; until 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The specs call for seven tables serving 30 people, per the paperwork.

Aside from a variety of (boozy) bubble teas, Bubbleology Tea will have a menu featuring a "variety of authentic Sweet & Savoury Toasted English crumpets, as well as assorted snacks."

Principal Ben (Haiying) Li has has been a partner in a Gong Cha bubble tea franchise out on Long Island since 2016, according to the SLA application.

The CB3-SLA meeting is at 6:30 p.m. on April 16 in the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton.

The latest iteration of the International Bar closed this past Thanksgiving. (Non-renewal of lease, via landlord Steve Croman.) The bar merged with its sister saloon, the Coal Yard, one block to the south between Seventh Street and Sixth Street.

Cocktail specialist looking to take over Double Wide on 12th Street

Cocktail specialist Greg Boehm is on tonight's CB3-SLA committee docket for a new liquor license for 503-505 E. 12th St. — the current home of Double Wide.

Boehm, the founder of Cocktail Kingdom, a manufacturer and distributor of professional barware, is a partner in the cocktail bar Mace on Ninth Street and Boilermaker on First Avenue.

According to the public documents on the CB3 website (PDF here), the unnamed bar-restaurant would have proposed hours of 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday; until 3 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. (The outdoors space in the back would be open from 5-9 p.m. daily.)

The sample menu on the questionnaire features small plates and "not so small plates," with items like oysters on the half shell, moles frites and a tuna baguette...



... a contrast to the current menu at Double Wide, which serves chicken-fried steak and Frito pie, among other things.

The questionnaire describes this as a sale of assets. If this all goes through, then this would mean the end of Double Wide, which opened here between Avenue A and Avenue B in late 2011.

Two previous bars in this space, Mundial and Totem, were especially problematic, according to nearby residents.

CB3's SLA committee meets tonight at 6:30 in the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Another nightmare bar for 505 E. 12th St.?

Last night's CB3 recap: Residents 1, Bar Owners 0

Here comes the fear again: 505 E. 12th St. back on the market

Illegal work continues at former Mundial space on East 12th Street

Report: CB3 OKs proposal for Union Square tech hub; calls for zoning protections

[Photo via GVSHP]

News out of the Community Board 3 meeting on Tuesday night: The full Board approved a land use application to create the tech hub on 14th Street. In doing so, CB3 also included an amendment in their resolution calling for zoning protection, per published reports:

“Consistent with previous board support for rezoning the Third and Fourth Avenue corridor, including the December 2017 board resolution, CB3 urges the city to commence the process of rezoning this area as well as incentivize affordable housing and exclude certain use groups such as hotels and big box stores.”

According to GlobeSt.com, more than 200 people turned out for the meeting at P.S. 20 on Essex to discuss the proposed 21-floor building that would rise on the current site of the now-former PC Richard complex on 14th Street at Irving Place.

As previously reported, the new building would house a digital skills training center, flex-office space for startups, market rate office space and a food hall. (You can read the city's official release on the project from 2017 here.) City officials say the hub itself would create 600 jobs.

CB3’s vote Tuesday night was the first step in the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. Next stops for the application: Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer's office and the City Planning Commission ... before a vote by the New York City Council later this year.

Following the meeting, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, who has led the efforts behind a rezoning of the area to enforce some height restrictions and affordable housing requirements, issued a statement:

"This sends an important message to Mayor de Blasio and developers that we do not want the East Village and Greenwich Village transformed into Silicon Alley or Midtown South. A Tech Hub on 14th Street which provides training and services to New Yorkers and small start-ups can be a valuable addition to our city; but it must be accompanied by zoning protections for the surrounding residential neighborhood which ensures that tech and other development doesn't push out longtime residents and businesses, or fundamentally change the character of these neighborhoods.

What we are proposing is a win-win – the Tech Hub proceeds on 14th Street, and the Mayor lives up to his rhetoric about preserving and promoting affordable housing by advancing this rezoning for the surrounding area that would prevent out of scale development and encourage affordable housing development and preservation. So far he has adamantly refused, only supporting the zoning changes for the Tech Hub, which is to be developed by his campaign donors. We hope he will now listen."

You can read a lot more via coverage at The Lo-Down ... Patch ... and GlobeSt.com.

Updated noon:

Here's a news release from RAL Development Services, one of the partners in the project, via the EVG inbox:

On Tuesday evening, Community Board 3 voted unanimously in favor of a resolution supporting site specific rezoning and a special permit to allow the development of the proposed tech training center at 124 East 14th Street, the former P.C. Richard site, by RAL Companies to proceed.

Community Board approval of the 124 East 14th Street development was not conditioned upon any broader rezoning being enacted. The final text of the Community Board resolution requested the City to consider a broader rezoning in the area, but did not connect that process to the approval of 124 East 14th Street.

“We’re thrilled to receive the Community Board’s unanimous support for our proposal, which is designed to fit within the City’s broader plan to expand and diversify the tech workforce,” said Josh Wein, Financial Director of RAL Companies. “We look forward to proceeding through the ULURP process and are thankful for the opportunity to develop this exciting project with its full community benefit intact.”

124 East 14th Street will be a training and education center for all New Yorkers regardless of race, gender, age, or immigration status. It will establish a new model for inclusive community and economic impact, one that embraces and interacts with its local community, and supports emerging and existing local entrepreneurs and industries, in the heart of New York City at Union Square. The 240,000 gross square foot, multi-level project will include a Public Food Hall, Civic Hall — a communal and collaborative workspace for social change-, an Event Space, a Digital Skills Training Center, Step Up Office Space, and Modern Class-A Office Space.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Behold Civic Hall, the high-tech future of Union Square — and NYC

Speaking out against a 'Silicon Alley' in this neighborhood

P.C. Richard puts up the moving signs on 14th Street; more Tech Hub debate to come

Reminders: CB3 votes on the mayor's proposed tech hub tomorrow night

Community Board 3 is expected to make its final vote tomorrow (Tuesday!) night regarding the Mayor's plans for a tech hub.

Earlier this month, CB3's Economic Development Committee and Land Use, Zoning, Public & Private Housing Committee voted in favor of creating a "workforce development and digital skills training center" at the former P.C. Richard site on 14th Street at Irving Place.

The mayor's 20-floor project requires several zoning changes, and faces many hurdles before getting the final OK. After the full CB3 board, the Manhattan borough president and the City Planning Commission will weigh in before the issue comes before City Council for a vote later this year.

Back on Friday, amNew York explored the ramifications of the proposal in an article headlined Village residents worry proposed Tech Hub could speed neighborhood’s transformation into ‘midtown south’

The CB3 meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at PS 20, 166 Essex St. just south of Houston. Tomorrow's CB3 meeting will be streamed live on YouTube, as the Lo-Down noted.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Behold Civic Hall, the high-tech future of Union Square — and NYC

Speaking out against a 'Silicon Alley' in this neighborhood

P.C. Richard puts up the moving signs on 14th Street; more Tech Hub debate to come

Saluté proposed for 9th Street

Applicants for a new bar-restaurant called Saluté are on tonight's CB3-SLA committee docket for licensing at 214 E. Ninth St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...



The questionnaire on file (PDF here) at the CB3 website for public viewing shows that Saluté will have nine tables accommodating 50 people as well as two bars in the lower level. The proposed hours are 5 p.m to 2 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday; until 4 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

These applicants have never been licensed before, though they do have restaurant experience. (The questionnaire has their résumés.)

The questionnaire also includes a section titled "noise management plan" ... it helpfully notes that the bar portion of the place is in the basement "so any noise will not directly be heard on the ground level"



No word in the plan on what happens when their patrons reach the sidewalk.

There's also a sample menu...



The previous tenant here. Dahlia's Tapas Wine Bar, shut down in December 2016.

Meanwhile, next door... the hair salon Hoshi Coupe II packed up and relocated to Chelsea...





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CB3's SLA committee meets tonight at the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton. The festivities start at 6:30.