Pork pie hats for East Ninth Street

Meanwhile, a little east of Argosy on Ninth Street, a shop called Pork Pie Hatters is coming soon...

FDNY battles apartment blaze at 309 E. Ninth St.

The FDNY was on the scene tonight at 309 E. Ninth St. just east of Second Avenue ... where firefighters quickly extinguished a blaze that started in a fourth-floor apartment...

No word yet on injuries or the extent of the damage. Firefighters had tossed several charred pillows out on the sidewalk.

Here's a photo a little earlier via @Bincerli

Cat adoption center opens on East Ninth Street

Atomic Passion, the vintage clothing shop on East Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue, closed early last spring.



The space remained vacant until a few weeks ago... after some renovations, it appears the new tenant is ready for business.

It's Ollie's Place, a branch of the Mighty Mutts organization and veteran Murray Hill cat adoption center. A fire knocked them out of their 26th Street location. (No cats were harmed — you can read about it here.) And here's the Ollie's Place website.

They're open 6-8 pm Monday through Thursday, and from 12-6 pm on the weekends.

'For sale' sign snaps, prompts FDNY visit

EV Grieve reader Alex R. passes along these photos from East Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... "A (long time) for-sale sign finally snapped while I walked by today. The wind was sending it swinging wildly. Heavy sheet metal — could have seriously hurt someone if it fell!"

"FDNY showed up and promptly took it down before the other hook could snap. Thanks guys!"

Tonight on East Ninth Street

The FDNY responded to calls tonight at 338 on E. Ninth St. near Avenue A this evening around 7... As a tipster reports, when the FDNY arrived, they found LES Jewels sleeping in the entryway...

...The crew told him to leave and sleep it off in Tompkins Square Park...

Late-night fire at NYU's Barney Building

Several readers passed along word of a late-night (or early-morning) fire between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. on East Ninth Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...

The fire occurred at the former Lucas A. Steinam School of Metal Working, 227 E. Ninth St. It is part of NYU's Barney Building. Here's what it looks like this morning. (Anyone happen to get photos at the scene?)





A worker on the scene sweeping up the broken glass on the sidewalk described it as "a really bad fire. It could have been a lot worse. There was a lot of gas out here." No word on any injuries.

Busy night here for the FDNY.

Yesterday's First Avenue manhole explosion, the movie

Many thanks to EV Grieve reader Jason B. for this video...

A few highlights:

• The onlooker in the beginning eating a banana
• The firefighter dragging the Voice box out of harm's way (32-second mark)
• The young man crossing the street right in front of the smoking manhole and getting yelled at (46-second mark)

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated]: Explosion, fire on First Avenue and Ninth Street

This evening on Ninth Street at First Avenue

Just checking in on the scene on Ninth Street and First Avenue following the explosion this afternoon... There are several ConEd crews on the job... and it looks like a few businesses and residents on the north side of Ninth Street just west of First Avenue are without power...







Here's one comment from earlier...

HippieChick said...
I heard the initial big boom, then nothing until I started smelling the horrible smoke. FDNY made a silent approach, for never a siren did I hear.

Then the lights started flickering on 9th Street. Badly flickering. I turned my computer off at once, and everything else too, and went down to see what the hell. FDNY just standing around and told me Con Ed wasn't expected for 20 minutes, as there continued to be small explosions and lots of smoke.

Eventually Con Ed showed up; there's still trucks on the block at this, but the lights have been steady since about 2 pm.

It's always something.

Indeed.

Craft beer shop coming to East Ninth Street

There's a CB3/SLA meeting tonight and I still haven't written about all the approvals from last month... During last month's get-together, the committee OK'd a beer license for Good Beer to operate at 422 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue...



Good Beer received a blessing from the 9th Street Block Association... and there are some stipulations: GB will operate as a retail beer store, serving food during all hours of operation; the hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturdays, and noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays. And there won't be any standing bar or stools or DJs or club crap.

But there will be some tables inside for a few beers and food.

Chris O'Leary at Brew York, New York has some details:

"Food will be comprised of local, organic and heritage products that pair well with beer so cheese, cured meats, pretzels, hot dogs, nuts and some chocolates," says David Cichowicz, the brain behind the operation. Patrons will have the chance to grab a seat at one of the tables in the store and pair the food with some of the 12 beers they’ll have on tap. The beer selection will be mainly local, sustainable products, but David says they'll occasionally throw in some West Coast, Belgian, English, and German beers as well."

The store is expecting to open in late August/early September.

[Thanks to Neighborhoodr for the link]

Community center and supportive housing coming to East Ninth Street

During the CB3 Zoning Committee meeting Monday night, board members received an update on the community center and supportive housing that's coming to 710 E. Ninth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D... to the Henry Street Settlement Day Care #3 building...



The project includes a community facility space on the ground floor and in the basement... the upper levels will house 46 units (28 studios and 12 one-bedroom apartments). According to the community presenters, the housing will serve homeless young adults and young adults aging out of the foster care system. An additional 12 units will be set aside for young single adults with a child.

The project is a joint venture among Phipps Houses ... University Settlement/The Door ... and Loisaida, Inc. SLCE Architects created the plans...

No word yet on a start date for renovation of the building, which was erected in 1876. Currently across the street, work continues on the Dona Petra Santiago Apartments. Plans call for an eight-story, 57-unit facility for seniors.

The former Atomic Passion space is for rent

As Jeremiah pointed out on Friday, Atomic Passion on East Ninth Street has closed... and the space has quickly gone on the market...




I'm curious what happened to the two cutouts who adorned the wall above the store for so many years...


[Bottom photo via Jeremiah]

Atomic Passion has closed

The Web site for Dirt Candy on East Ninth Street brings the news that its neighbor, Atomic Passion, has closed after 17 years.

They just couldn’t make the numbers work anymore. We all know that life isn’t fair, and anyone who expects the good guys to win is living in a dream world. But it’s a loss to the block for Atomic Passion to go, and losing my neighbor makes me feel like it’s not Atomic Passion that’s wrong here, it’s the world where their numbers aren’t the ones that work. Most people didn’t notice Atomic Passion close, but if you were on East Ninth Street last week you would have seen part of the city die. Because when Atomic Passion closed, New York City became just that much colder, just that much of a tougher place to live.

I learned of the news via Jeremiah. He has more on it here. Terry Richardson wrote about it here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village vintage stores doomed?

Tree used for missing persons flier now missing

For several weeks now, there has been a "missing persons" flier attached to the tree right on Avenue A at Ninth Street. I don't recall all the details — a young man had not been seen for some time. Very sad.

Walking along A the other day, I saw that the tree with the missing persons flier was now missing too.

"The Jerry Garcia of the sintir" behind Sintir

New York has the scoop on Sintir Restaurant, Cafe & Lounge on East Ninth Street near Avenue A. As the magazine reports:

Unless you are an aficionado of world music, you may not have heard of the Marrakech-born Hassan Hakmoun, but he is something like the Jerry Garcia of the sintir — a long-necked, three-stringed wood-and-camel-skin lute. He’s also somewhat of an authority on good Moroccan food: “In New York, there is none,” he says matter-of-factly. To rectify that sorry situation, he opens his own place this weekend in the East Village. Unlike his distinctive sound, which fuses Western influences with the music of Morocco’s Gnawa people, Hakmoun’s kitchen specializes in straight-up traditional fare (couscous, bisteeya, harira), and is run with an iron fist by his sister.

On Feb. 9, Sintir went before CB3's SLA Licensing Committee. Bailly Roesch was there to cover the meeting for Eater:

Sintir . . . met some opposition from nine members of the Block Association. They collected a petition with 109 signatures trying to block the restaurant and cited ads the owners had apparently posted on their MySpace pages advertising upcoming live music performances. After a half an hour struggle, the ap was denied, the owner was in tears.

Still want to know more about this sign.

P.S. Here's Hakmoun in concert.

On the edge

You probably saw the news accounts yesterday about the Mercedes SUV that plunged three stories from the parking garage at 12th Street and University Place. According to reports, the attendant accidentally threw the SUV into reverse by mistake. Amazingly enough, no one was killed — or seriously injured.

As the Post noted

The massive SUV catapulted through the sixth-floor window landing in a tangle on a roof between the two buildings.

"There's a f- - -ing car in my back yard," Frank Schwartz said. "I heard a guy yell earlier, but I thought it was just my crazy neighbors partying, and I just ignored it.

"That's what happens when you live in New York."

Uh-huh. True.

Still, have you ever looked up at the parking garage on Ninth Street between Third Avenue and Second Avenue?



Please be careful — and walk on the other side of the street.

Hate to see the holidays come to an end

April 20 on East Ninth Street. Or maybe someone simply forgot they had a Christmas tree left up in their apartment.

Unopened restaurant has stern warning for anyone thinking of soliciting, loitering, littering, etc.

For reasons unknown to even me, I've been keeping an eye on 424 E. 9th St. between First Avenue and Avenue A. The Moroccan-themed Sintir is planning on opening here...(The owners were denied a beer/wine license in February ... there is opposition from members of the Block Association concerned about the possibility of live music here...)



Work continues at the space... and check out this warning on the front window....



Is that stern warning so necessary?

Robataya rises on East Ninth Street

The always-reliable Col Legno closed up last June at 231 E. Ninth Street near Second Avenue. (It was a favorite of Alex's at Flaming Pablum.)

Now, the location is getting ready to open as a Japanese robata-style restaurant...