The all-new 21-23 Avenue B comes into view with 2 extra floors

Yesterday, workers removed the scaffolding and construction netting from 21-23 Avenue B. Workers have been adding two new floors and combining the existing two four-story structures between Second Street and Third Street. (First reported here.) 

 And here's another view via an EVG reader...

The retail spaces are on the market via landlord Icon Realty. One slot is $10k a month, and it appears that both combined are $20k. 

The residential listings for the 6-floor building are not online just yet. So here's what New York Yimby had on these units back in the spring:

All combined, available apartments will include six five-bedroom homes and eight two-bedroom units, with select units offering private outdoor space. All residents will have access to a large open-air roof terrace and cellar-level bike storage. In addition to a residential lobby, two 800-square-foot commercial suites will occupy the ground floor of each building...

And a flashback to when work got underway in October 2020...

A smoke shop for 9th Street at Avenue A

Signage is up now for Villager Smoke Shop at one of the storefronts along 441-445 E. Ninth St. (aka 145 Avenue A). 

With this arrival, all six retail spaces here on Ninth Street are occupied... (Anine, which offers eyelash extensions, is the other most recent leaseholder) ... Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices and Ice Cream is in the Avenue A-facing storefront...

The previous newish retail tenants mostly vacated in 2019 in this Icon Realty-owned building.

H/T Steven!

Watching 21-23 Avenue B merge and grow

We've been keeping an eye on the gut renovation and vertical expansion at 21-23 Avenue B in recent months.

As we first reported back in October, workers are adding two new floors and combining the existing two four-story structures here between Second Street and Third Street ...

New York Yimby had some new details about the project the other day... such as!

The new building will now stand six stories above ground, each with a cellar level and a communal roof terrace. The neighboring properties will each house seven apartments and comprise 9,800 square feet.

And...

All combined, available apartments will include six five-bedroom homes and eight two-bedroom units, with select units offering private outdoor space. All residents will have access to a large open-air roof terrace and cellar-level bike storage. In addition to a residential lobby, two 800-square-foot commercial suites will occupy the ground floor of each building...

Icon Realty's Terrence Lowenberg is behind this project set to be complete later in 2022. 

Here's a look at the finished project via Gambino + LaPorta Architecture...

La Cabra opening a Scandinavian coffee roastery and sourdough bakery on 2nd Avenue

Signage is up now in the window of a retail space at 152 Second Ave. for La Cabra, which will bring a Scandinavian coffee roastery and sourdough bakery to this space between Ninth Street and 10th Street...

Per an Instagram post via @lacabra.nyc:

We are revisiting this city sooner than we expected. Back in February, we signed a contract for a beautiful location in East Village and our first location will be an open and beautiful sourdough bakery combined with a coffee bar. 

We recently started the renovations and together with our local partner we look forward to welcoming you this summer with bright coffees, sourdough bread and handmade pastries.

The previous tenant here, Pure Green, which sold cold-pressed juices, smoothies and açaí bowls, closed in early 2020. They had several roommates — Wattle Cafe, Greecologies, PlantMade and the I.V. Doc — dating back to their opening in March 2017.

Thanks to Steven for the photo and tip!

Village Dream Tattoo & Piercing shop has apparently closed

A tipster shared that the Village Dream Tattoo & Piercing shop has closed at 128 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. Workers were seen removing the fixtures this past Thursday.

No word on if the business moved... or simply closed.

Village Dream was a holdover from the previous landlord, and lasted a surprisingly long time after Icon Realty bought the building in the fall of 2013. (As we've seen, existing businesses don't always stick around too long after Icon takes over.)

The other longtime previous tenant at the address, The Stage, the 35-year-old lunch counter, closed in March 2016. Stage owner Roman Diakun had been involved in an ongoing legal/eviction battle with Icon Realty. More recently. Nolita Pizza closed here last June.

Photo by Steven

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Tenants rally for better living conditions at 128 2nd Ave.; file contempt of court motion vs. landlord Icon Realty

2 new floors for 21-23 Avenue B

You've likely noticed the gut-renovating action taking place at 21-23 Avenue B in recent months.

Workers are adding two new floors to the existing structure here between Second Street and Third Street, as the rendering on the plywood sort of shows...

Documents filed with the Department of Buildings show approved permits (dated July 1) to "split existing old law tenement building into two separate buildings."

The approved work permits also show that the residential space for No. 21 and 23 — to feature seven units in each building — will increase to 6,300 square feet (condos?)...  In total, there will be 2,000 square feet for commercial tenants.

According to public records, Icon Realty picked up the properties in the fall of 2018 for $10.3 million.

Nolita Pizza leaves 2nd Avenue

After nearly a year serving up some solid slices, Nolita Pizza has left its East Village outpost at 128 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

Saturday was the last day in business for the pizzeria, which is now operating from a newer outpost down on Kenmare Street. (H/T Lola Sáenz!)


[Photo yesterday by Steven]

We reached out to owner Tony Salihaj for comment. Unofficially, we heard that it was a combination of the COVID-19-related slowdown in business bumping up against the high rent for the space.

Kati Roll Company bowed out here in April 2019 after just under three years in business.

The longtime previous tenant at the address, The Stage, the 35-year-old lunch counter, closed in March 2016. Stage owner Roman Diakun had been involved in an ongoing legal/eviction battle with Icon Realty, who had taken over as the landlord.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Stage Restaurant will not be reopening

Sexyflow moves on from Avenue A

After nearly five years at 205 Avenue A, the Sexyflow hair salon recently moved away... there's a note on the door for patrons interested in finding their undisclosed new location...



Sexyflow opened in July 2015 in the retail space of Icon Realty's expanded residential building here between 12th Street and 13th Street.

Thanks to Lola Sáenz for the photos last week!

'The Icon variable'

Been meaning to note this long read from Curbed titled "The story of a store."

The piece explores the city's retail vacancy or the "luxury blight" crisis ... with a focus 0n 441-445 E. Ninth St. (aka 145 Avenue A), the six-story building that Icon Realty bought in 2014 for $10.1 million.

As we documented at the time, the existing retail tenants that made up the charming row of storefronts on the Ninth Street side were either not offered lease renewals or given massive rent hikes.

Meanwhile, all but one of the new tenants (four of five) who rented the Icon-renovated retail spaces were gone within a year. The casualties included BeetleBug, the floral design shop, Mahalo New York Bakery and Gelarto.

Writer Neil deMause talked with one of those tenants, Isiah Michael, who opened the Classic Man Barber Lounge in 2018. Per the article:

An investment banker who’d gone to barbering school, Michael thought he could make a go of it in the paired storefronts, even if the rent was a bit higher than he’d anticipated.

"What we didn’t expect was the Icon variable," he says. A series of mishaps — malfunctioning air conditioning, a continually flooding basement, and an unannounced electrical upgrade that Michael claims cost him and his partner $30,000 in lost equipment and inventory — led to legal battles with his landlord, and ultimately an eviction notice last February.

When Michael offered to bring over a lease payment he had been withholding in a dispute over repair costs, he says, Icon “responded saying they were terminating the lease.”

You can read the post at this link.

As for this building, there are three new tenants on the way in: Ralph's Famous Italian Ices & Ice Cream ... Village Crêperie ... and Social Tees.

Hopefully they won't suffer from the "Icon variable."

Previously on EV Grieve:
• On East 9th Street Dusty Buttons is closing after 125% rent hike: 'Saying goodbye will hurt like hell'

• The Upper Rust is moving away from East 9th Street and the East Village

The Pure Green-Wattle Cafe combo storefront shutters on 2nd Avenue

[Photos by Steven]

Last Wednesday, we noted that the Pure Green space was for rent at 152 Second Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street, with landlord Icon Realty hanging a large for-rent sign — complete with arrow — above the storefront.

Over the weekend, Pure Green, along with Wattle Cafe and the I.V. Doc, the other two businesses that shared the space, went dark.



Pure Green, which has multiple NYC locations, opened here in March 2017.

According to the Icon website, the space has an asking rent of $18,000 per month.

The Pure Green space is for rent on 2nd Avenue

[Photo Friday by Steven]

Apparently, Pure Green's time is coming to an end at 152 Second Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

Landlord Icon Realty has hung a large for-rent sign — complete with arrow — above the storefront.

According to the Icon website, the space, which is available immediately, has an asking rent of $18,000 per month.

Pure Green, which sells cold-pressed juices, smoothies and açaí bowls, has had several roommates — Wattle Cafe, Greecologies, PlantMade and the I.V. Doc — since opening in March 2017.

The retail space is in the ground floor of the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel, which Icon Realty bought, adding three extra floors and opening as luxury rentals.

Gelarto packs it up on Avenue A

Workers were spotted packing up Gelarto late yesterday afternoon on the northwest corner of Avenue A and Ninth Street (thanks to Steven for the photos)...



The desert shop's management announced via Facebook on May 15 that they'd be closing up in the weeks ahead. Here's part of the message:

It has been a great time for all of us at GELARTO NYC for the past 2 years, but all good things come to an end and that includes our time in the East Village.

We have made many friends and have many lovely and loyal customers on Avenue A, but have reluctantly decided to relocate. We will of course let everyone know as soon as we have our new address, but until then please note you can continue to purchase our gelato at Kings’ and Balducci’s stores (among others) in NY and NJ.

Gelarto, the first U.S. outpost of this Italian brand, opened in June 2017 with Vespa-inspired stools and a painting of the Mona Lisa holding an ice cream cone.

Landlord Icon Realty has had this listing (145 Avenue A) online for weeks now. Per the listing, the asking rent for the 600 square feet is $13,500.

With Gelarto's departure, four of the five businesses that opened in Icon Realty's renovated retail spaces along 441-445 E. Ninth St. (aka 145 Avenue A) have now closed in recent months.

Cafe Pick Me Up moved out away from the corner in May 2015 after 20 years in business. They were housed at 145 and 147 Avenue A, and had two different landlords — Icon on the left, Steve Croman on the right. Café manager Rossella Palazzo told DNAinfo in March 2015 that a rent hike from No. 145 landlord Icon Realty was the reason for the closure.

Updated 8:30 a.m.

Vinny & O shared this interior shot from this morning...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Rent hike forcing Cafe Pick Me Up into its smaller space next door on Avenue A

The Kati Roll Company says goodbye to the East Village; 2nd Avenue outpost is now closed

[Photos via Steven]

That's all for the East Village location of the Kati Roll Company... the purveyors of Indian street food papered over the windows and announced their closure yesterday here at 128 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place...



This comes after the quick-serve restaurant cut back their hours last month to 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week while staying closed on weekends. (Kati's original hours were 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday-Thursday, until 5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.)

Landlord Icon Realty has had this space on the retail market. The asking rent is now $13,000 a month, down from $15,000 last month...



The Kati Roll Company opened here in November 2016. They still operate seven other locations in NYC and London.

The longtime previous tenant at the address, The Stage, the 35-year-old lunch counter, closed in March 2015. Stage owner Roman Diakun had been involved in an ongoing legal/eviction battle with Icon Realty, who took over as the landlord. (You can read that background here.)

H/T to EVG readers Lola Sáenz and Tim for also sharing this closing news!

Now-closed Classic Man Barber Lounge space for rent on 9th Street

[Photo yesterday by Steven]

For rent signs arrived yesterday at the Classic Man Barber Lounge, which had been closed of late here at 445 E. Ninth St. at Avenue A. The upscale barber shop opened in early 2018.

Three of the four new businesses that opened in Icon Realty's renovated retail spaces along 441-445 E. Ninth St. (aka 145 Avenue A) have now closed in recent months.

BeetleBug, the floral design shop, quietly shut down last month. They opened in early 2017, and were the first tenant to arrive after Icon bought the building for $10.1 million in April 2014.

Another new business in this strip, Mahalo New York Bakery, which served Hawaiian-inspired desserts, closed last fall after seven months in business.

Poke N' Roll is the lone business now on the Ninth Street side of the building.

One pre-Icon retail tenant here in 2015 said that the new landlord either wasn't renewing leases or offering terms with unmanageable rent increases.

BeetleBug sits empty now on 9th Street

Several EVG readers have noted that BeetleBug, the floral design shop, has been emptied at 441 E. Ninth St. at Avenue A.

There's no message on the site's website or social-media properties about any type of closure. (They do have operate a small-scale market and flower farm in the Hudson Valley.)

BeetleBug opened in early 2017, and they were the first tenant in Icon Realty's renovated retail spaces here at 441 E. Ninth St. (aka 145 Avenue A).

According to one previous retail tenant here in 2015, Icon either wasn't renewing leases or offering new terms with unmanageable rent increases. (Icon bought the building for $10.1 million in April 2014.)

The last previous tenant to leave — in February 2016 — was the Upper Rust, who found a new space in Chelsea for their antiques.

Another new business along here, Mahalo New York Bakery, which served Hawaiian-inspired desserts, closed back in fall after seven months in business. That 300-square-foot space is now for rent with an ask of $4,500 monthly, per the Icon website.

Space Mabi closes 1 year in on 1st Avenue

That's apparently it for Space Mabi on First Avenue at Fourth Street... the Korean cafe-restaurant quietly closed earlier this month. There isn't any message on their social media properties about a closure, though Google and Yelp both list it as permanently closed. The signs have been removed and paper covers the windows.

Space Mabi opened on Nov. 3, 2017, with a shifting focus depending on the time of day. Per their Facebook description:

Space Mabi is a new gastropub with cozy atmosphere in East Village that specializes in New Korean cuisine, plus creative Korean alcoholic beverages.

Under the sun, we operate as ‘Cafe Space Mabi,’ under the moon, we serve as ‘Restaurant Space Mabi’, and under the stars, we turn into ‘Bar Space Mabi’.

[Photo from November 2017]

They eventually discontinued the daytime service, opening then at 5:30 p.m.

The space was previously Guayoyo, the low-key, family-owned Venezuelan restaurant, which never reopened after a basement fire in the Icon Realty-owned building in January 2015.

This marks the second self-described gastropub to close within two blocks this month on First Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Guayoyo has been closed now for 1 year

Gastropub — 'Your new playground' — slated for former Guayoyo space on 1st Avenue

Icon Realty shaves $4 million off of its 9th Street townhouse ask

[Image via Streeteasy]

Icon Realty's 7-level townhouse at 327 E. Ninth St. has been on the market these last six months as both a $30,000 rental and a $17-million whole-building buy.

Icon recently dropped the ask from $17 million to $13 million.

And to refresh your memory about the design and amenities... here's Streeteasy:

Designed by Isaac & Stern Architects with interiors by Paris Forino, this brand-new building was designed with a traditional limestone facade that stands as a new classic. Utilizing modern finishes that establish a new contemporary elegance, this home raises the benchmark for luxury living in the East Village.

Each sunlit floor offers open layouts and a transitional aesthetic featuring a light color palette which has been highlighted by White Appalachian Oak Floors with radiant heating and Christopher Peacock Kitchens with luxurious Italian Arabescato Marble countertops and backsplashes.

Bathrooms feature Dornbracht fixtures adorned with Zebrino Marble.

The building features outstanding private outdoor experiences with private balconies on each floor, an expansive roof deck and multiple landscaped private patio spaces with copper trimmed LED perimeter lighting and full outdoor kitchens.

The townhouse — nearly five years in the making — is at the site of a former parking lot here between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Icon's 9th Street townhouse now available for $17 million

The big dig begins for 6-story, 2-unit condo on East 9th Street

East Ninth Street parking lot will yield to 6-floor residential building

A look at Icon Realty's 9th Street building where the rentals are $30k a month

Dim Sum Palace planned for 59 2nd Ave.

The owners of the two locations of Dim Sum Palace in Midtown are planning to open a similar establishment at 59 Second Ave. between Third Street and Fourth Street.

And they will be appearing before CB3's SLA committee tonight to apply for a new liquor license for this EV Dim Sum Palace.



The questionnaire on file at the CB3 website (PDF here) shows that the restaurant will open daily at 11 a.m. (Closing time is listed as 2 p.m., which is likely a mistake — unless they will open for just three hours a day.) The proposal calls for 15 tables seating 65 diners. The specs only reveal a service bar.

Until October 2015, the address was home to Allied Hardware, which was on a month-to-month lease with the building's owner until Icon Realty bought the property in early 2015.

The adjacent space (the former Alex Shoe Repair) is now Kona Coffee and Company, which opened this past November.

Icon's 9th Street townhouse now available for $17 million

At last look, the two units at Icon Realty's 327 E. Ninth St. were on the market for $30,000 per month.

Now though, the entire 7-level townhouse is for sale with an asking price of $17 million.

Per the listing:

This newly constructed 20’ wide townhouse is being offered for sale in its entirety. It is comprised of 2 stunning residences totaling 8,323 square feet with an additional 1,600 square feet of private outdoor space and an adjoined heated private garage (capable of fitting any sized SUV).

The townhouse, as constructed, can easily be used as a single residence or a 2-family home.

Designed by Isaac & Stern Architects with interiors by Paris Forino, this brand-new building was designed with a traditional limestone facade that stands as a new classic. Utilizing modern finishes that establish a new contemporary elegance, this home raises the benchmark for luxury living in the East Village.

The townhouse — nearly five years in the making — is at the site of a former parking lot here between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The big dig begins for 6-story, 2-unit condo on East 9th Street

East Ninth Street parking lot will yield to 6-floor residential building

A look at Icon Realty's 9th Street building where the rentals are $30k a month

Queens-based bakery bringing Hawaiian-inspired desserts to 9th Street

[Photo by Steven]

Mahalo New York Bakery, which has two locations in Queens, is opening an outpost at 443 E. Ninth St. at Avenue A.

The signage went up back on Friday. (Thanks to Steven and Dennis for the photos.)

You can read more about them and their cupcakes, cakes and pastries here.

This will be the third business to take up occupancy in Icon Realty's recently renovated storefronts along Ninth Street ... joining Poke N' Roll and Beetlebug.



Previously on EV Grieve:
On East 9th Street Dusty Buttons is closing after 125% rent hike: 'Saying goodbye will hurt like hell'

Tenants and local elected officials speak out against Icon Realty