Here on East Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...
There's a sign dated yesterday on the gate about a cat named Lucy living back here somewhere...
The person who wrote the sign would like to rescue Lucy, who, in the aftermath of the last week's blizzard, "was not able to eat for 5 days. She was very weak and meowing a lot..."
The gate is between the newish residential building at No. 532 and No. 536 (where Minca Ramen Factory remains closed for repairs). Anyone know who oversees this space? Is it part of No. 532 or 536?
Several residents who live on East Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B have told us about a group of people — anywhere from three to 12 at times – who have been sleeping on the sidewalk along the Con Ed substation this summer… according to residents, they pack up and leave early in the mornings.
One resident said that they have worn out their welcome, though declining to go into details on what this meant exactly. (The reader did say the EMTs have had to pay several visits in the morning.)
So perhaps this is why workers earlier this week installed new lighting on the substation (new lights actually went in all around the structure on A and East Sixth Street)…
There are three new lights in total (only two in the reader-submitted photo below) on the East Fifth Street side …
However, as of Thursday night, only one of the three lights seemed to work on East Fifth Street …
If the lights were put up to deter anyone from sleeping here, then they didn't work. Several people still spent the night under the new light in the middle the past few evenings.
Police are on the scene in the courtyard behind 536 E. Fifth St., where residents awoke this morning to news that a young man either fell or jumped to his death from the roof of the 6th-floor building.
Detectives in the building told a resident that the victim was "stripping off his clothing as he went up to the roof, and that he was most likely high" at the time, estimated at 5:15 a.m. Police have not said if the young man intentionally jumped or fell.
According to the building resident, the victim was a recent college graduate who did not live at the address here between Avenue A and Avenue B.
"Not sure what exactly he was doing here, but the kids in the building often have parties — though we didn’t hear anything last night," the resident told us. "It's really sad."
OK, back in October we pointed out that S & P Liquor & Wine at 300 E. Fifth St. just east of Second Avenue had reopened after the city closed the business for a structural issue in one of the apartments in the building above…
Unfortunately, they had to close again for further repairs in October.
But! EVG readers Steven and Moe both told us that S & P reopened last Friday … in total, they missed about four months of income due to the city-mandated closure.
While this is good news for S & P, Jamie the check-chasing guy next door is still operating from the van outside while waiting for repairs to be completed in his storefront.
Goggla tells us that the liquor store has returned … they haven't fully restocked the shelves just yet (the landlord made them move their stock from the basement to a warehouse). However, they are still able to make deliveries.
Unfortunately, Jamie the check-chasing guy is still operating from the van outside his storefront. (Today's Cut hair salon remains closed too.)
What happened was there was some construction being done [in the building] and a person put their foot through the ceiling. The person below them had enough and finally called the fire department and police department. Because of the condition of the place, the fire department looked, didn’t like what they saw, didn’t see any permits, and they went around the whole building. By the end of the day, it was everybody out — full vacate.
Updated 8:28 p.m.
Read the comments... looks as if they will have to close again for some repairs...
Today's Urban Etiquette Sign comes from East Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B… where someone is apparently dumping food in this tree pit… not sure if the above buffet arrived before or after the sign did. Regardless, that looks pretty tasty. Maybe a kale carrot slaw that's heavy on the carrots? The rule of thumb is two medium-sized carrots for every cup of kale.
Goggla passes along word of a new store that has opened on East Fifth Street just east of Second Avenue...
We don't know anything about Tinkersphere other than what is on its website:
Tinkersphere Corp. is a high-end retailer specializing in robotics, DIY electronics and toys. All products are hand-selected to ensure the utmost in quality. Based in New York City, Tinkersphere is proud to serve tinkerers of every age and skill level.
Updated:
The folks at Tinkersphere passed along some more info to us...
Tinkersphere officially opened on July 1 at 304 East 5th Street in the East Village. The president, an engineer herself, opened this store to help serve the growing community of tinkerers and makers in New York City. Tinkersphere hopes to inspire, educate and empower tinkerers of all ages by providing a range of toys, crafts, robot kits, and hobby electronic kits for all skill levels. Tinkersphere is preparing little tinkerers for the digital age we live in while giving grown tinkerers a place to entertain their hobbies and gain new ones.
Updated 7-11
Serena Solomon at DNAinfo has a feature on the store here.
Ahead of that, this sign appeared on its front window earlier last week... (Unfortunately, we never saw it before the Block Association meeting Thursday night...)
This is the first American outpost for the Melotti family, who live in Isola della Scala, in the south of Verona, and who has always produced, processed and sold their rice in Italy. (As we cut-n-paste from their website.) They opened a restaurant near Verona in 2002. (Read their story here.) You can find a menu and see photos of the food here.
So ... Are such notes/signs necessary today in a neighborhood where the thought of a new place serving alcohol sometimes brings about unmitigated hysteria?
Earlier this afternoon, EVG reader prop noted the in-progress murals that Paul Kostabi was creating on East Fifth Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery...
... then the NYPD arrived... who told him to move the canvas onto the sidewalk...
Last night, nearly 50 residents convened at the JASA/Green Residence to discuss concerns the impact that the Cooper Square Hotel has had on the neighborhood. (Jeremiah has been on the story with his must-read Notes from the Backside series.)
The event was organized by the East Fifth Street Block Association. Matthew Moss, principal of the Peck Moss Hotel Group, the developer of the $115 million Cooper Square Hotel, was there to field questions from the audience. Stuart Zamsky, head of the East Fifth Street Block Association, ran the meeting along with Carrie Schneider, whose apartment is a few feet away from the Cooper Square Hotel's much-discussed second-level bar area. CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer was in attendance as was a representative from the office of Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer. (I was a few minutes late, and missed all the introductions.)
The meeting started cordially enough. There was talk about the smoke coming from the fireplace in the ground-floor library. "We will not use the fireplace until we figure out this smoke issue," Moss said. That was easy. Next!
Then the discussion turned to the contentious second-floor outdoor patio (there is no actual bar outside — guests can drink in the space, though). Although the patio officially closes at 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, 10 p.m. on Thursday and 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday [UPDATE: These hours are incorrect — see the comments for the hours of operation], residents have said there are disturbed at all hours. For instance, guests have been able to access the area after hours and hotel employees have used the space as a breakroom to smoke and make cell-phone calls. Moss said that until the hotel can install a permanent gate at the landing of the main stairs leading to the terrace, a security guard has been hired to stand duty to prevent off-hour access. The presence of a security guard has helped curb some unwanted chatter, people thought.
Soon enough, though, things started to change. Maybe it was the increasingly warm community room in need of a breeze, the water fountain in the back that occasionally made a clanging noise...or maybe people were just tired of Moss mumbling. Every few sentences, people had to ask for him to speak up. It didn't help that Moss, an awkward public speaker, acted at times like a fraternity brother being scolded by his housemother for not picking up his dirty clothes.
"It sucks for the people who are here," Zamsky said of all the problems the hotel has created for residents. "It's not good."
Moss, who was prone to squirming, tugging at his lip and — a few times — rolling his eyes, said at one point, "There's nothing else for me to say. The responsibility lies with me... Anything I say is going to sound like an excuse."
Fifth Street residents talked about the lack of parking spaces now available to them and the limos that line up in the evenings. One woman in a wheelchair said their families can't find a place to park when they come to town for a visit. "You have nothing but excuses! You have created another problem for us."
Said Moss, "I don't doubt for a second that the hotel has some negative impact on the community. I'm also of the belief that there is some good that comes from" our presence. He didn't offer what that was.
Moss also said that the hotel has offered to pay to soundproof the windows for residents at 207 Fifth St. who are adjacent to the hotel and have suffered the most since the patio opened last month. "That's not a perfect solution," he admitted.
A representative from Scott Stringer's office, who arrived late, confirmed that Moss met with Stringer yesterday morning and put it in writing that the hotel is willing to pay to soundproof windows. [CORRECTION: The representative from Scott Stringer's office, Greg Kirschenbaum, did not indicate that Borough President Stringer met with Moss: he stated that Moss had reached out to him to offer the soundproofing and that Moss then provided that offer in writing. Stringer did not meet with Moss. We apologize for the error in reporting.] One problem, though: The landlord of 207 Fifth St. is not receptive to such an idea.
One resident said soundproofing windows just wasn't good enough. "You have a public space out there. There are public spaces such as libraries where even homeless people that hang out know you have to be quiet." He mentioned that management should tell the hotel guests to whisper while they're on the patio. Continued the resident, "The other thing about soundproof windows: You're suggesting that the people who live there will never want to open their windows."
The residents had more to say.
Moss looked as if he wanted to shrink inside his blue blazer. He was unprepared. He had no noticeable personality. He lacked the diplomatic skills necessary for the hospitality industry — or any industry. He had no answers to questions about the noise complaints and other quality-of-life issues raised during the meeting. "I don't know...We need to figure out how to make it work," he said. He wouldn't offer a timetable for possible solutions to the noise. "I don't even know what the solutions are going to be."
Someone mentioned the tactics used by residents to retaliate against the noise. "I don't think it's really relevant," Moss snapped. Another resident asked about the secret nightclub that was going to open in the Cooper Square Hotel. "It's not going to be a nightclub," Moss said. He called it a "supper club," which will be in the basement. "I'd be surprised if it happened this year," he said.
At this point, you get the idea. To be honest, so much was discussed during the 75-plus minutes that I was at the meeting. I didn't capture every complaint, every name, every possible solution from calling 311 to the hotel manager on duty. But I had a good snapshot of what has been happening to the residents living adjacent to the hotel. So I left.
I started thinking about the hardships that I heard that night. The woman in the wheelchair whose family can't find a place to park to visit her. The residents being kept up by the party-going hotel guests. I thought about the older man who cared enough to show up at the meeting with a sign of protest against the hotel. Later, he fell asleep in the back of the room near an open door.
So I walked out of the JASA/Green Residence, which faces the south side of the Cooper Square Hotel. And what was there waiting for all the concerned residents exiting the meeting?
Just to spell this out for myself. The co-owner of the Cooper Square Hotel agreed to meet with concerned local residents about noise complaints and quality-of-life issues on the same night that his hotel was throwing a party for a $280,000 sports car.
Guests took turns sitting inside the car for photo opps.
A few of the residents who attended the meeting stood on the sidewalk by the Cooper's outdoor patio with incredulous looks on their faces. One man ran back inside to ask Moss if he was aware there were 200 people partying behind the hotel.
I saw three different people leave the patio and enter the sidewalk with drinks. The security on duty only seemed concerned with the non-guests gawking on the sidewalk. One guest walked east a few buildings on Fifth Street. He hiked his khaki-clad leg up on a railing while holding a bottle of Stella and talking on his cell phone. Meanwhile, chauffeured town cars double-parked on Fifth Street. Other cars idled in front of fire hydrants.
One driver shrugged off the threats of a resident who asked him to move. He continued talking on his cell phone.
By the way, the only time Moss ever offered an apology last night occured after he was asked to speak up so the people in the back of the room could hear him.
For further reading:
Raging Against the Coop: the Developer/Neighbor Faceoff (Eater)
Multiple tipsters pointed out that Goat Town now has an ice cream stand in front of their East Fifth Street restaurant... For the last month, they were one of The Madison Square Eats food stands in Madison Square Park. Friday was the last day for that.
A follow-up on our previous post... There was a water main break this morning on East Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...
Several residents said they have been without water since 11 a.m. There's no word on when the DEP will restore service... signs on doors to the buildings say it will be off for "approximately 8 hours" ... Uh, so that would make it 7 p.m.
A few places are closed... (including Goat Town) If you have plans along here tonight at a drinking or dining establishment, then you may want to call ahead... There will likely be some delays in opening...
And yesterday, we received a comment on our previous post from July titled The Greenpointing of East Fifth Street continues. The commenter, likely the real-estate agent for 532, wrote (slightly edited):
"We would of loved to save the brownstone that was there. The owners would of as well. As a matter of fact, they wanted to. The foundation had serious issues and wasn't economicly [sic] feasible. So we salvaged all we could. The cornice was restored and hung on a building in Staten Island that's built during the same period. It can be viewed on DOORtoDOORrealty website — 60-62 Vanduzer. Please update your photos from those stark images that are posted on this blog. I know its hard to keep all happy. But we do proceed with the enviroment [sic] in mind."
Fair enough... here our some new shots of the work in progress...
