Little Italy parking garage will receive a 'superstructure' residence with squash court

During an early-morning walk down Mulberry Street Sunday before the Feast, I stopped to look at the parking garage here between Prince and Spring ... As far as parking garages go, this one has a nice, um, Little Italy feel to it...

Curious about the address, I did a little research ... Well! I learned that the building is for sale:

Massey Knakal has been exclusively retained for the sale of 224 Mulberry. This once in a lifetime opportunity to develop a premier single family residence, boutique condominium, retail flagship or exclusive office. 224 Mulberry, in the heart of chic SOHO/Nolita, offers the opportunity that is almost impossible to find in New York City. Simply put, where in New York City can one find on-site parking, a protected panoramic view that is unique to the neighborhood, and 75 feet of width, all in one building?

And the rendering on file:

According to a video from the construction manager of the project:

The new luxury residence features a family and chef’s kitchen, squash court, 5 bathrooms, a private elevator, multiple terraces and many more high-end residential features and finishes. Specified items include a Shuco curtain wall system, a Levolux louver screen and Trespa paneling for the exterior.

One especially interesting engineering detail allows the new building superstructure to rest on isolation pads in order to minimize the transfer of vibration and noise from the parking garage below, which will remain in operation once the project is complete.

Here's the video that explains how all this is going to work ...

Planning the addition/alteration to 224 Mulberry Street, New York City from RJ Diaz on Vimeo.

And luxury housing reaches a whole new absurd level...

Candela Candela team opening Crudo Vineria Con Cucina in Little Italy

On Monday evening, I walked through Little Italy in search of Mario Batali's Eataly. Couldn't find it!

Seriously, though, I did spot what's coming to the former Umberto's space on Broome Street — Crudo Vineria Con Cucina ... And there's an East Village connection here.

As Grub Street reported, the team behind the Cuban-Italian spot Candela Candela on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street will serve southern Italian cuisine here. Crudo is expected to open today. (And as you may know, Umberto's Clam House relocated down the way on Mulberry.)

Meanwhile, in the space next door, BoweryBoogie pointed out that Sal's is moving here from their current Broome and Mott location.

Hope that they keep the "Heart of Little Italy" signage...

See what happens when the Mulberry Street Bar puts in an Internet jukebox

We've been reading plenty of late about what's happening in Little Italy... such as the dwindling numbers of Italian-Americans living there ... and the fight to cut back the annual San Gennaro Feast ...

So anyone mourning the continued erosion of Little Italy may not care for this one...

The great old Mulberry Street Bar (aka Tony's) in Little Italy is admittedly pretty touristy at times ... all the Soprano's stuff inside and outside of the bar doesn't help. Still. Despite some modern touches (flat-screen TVs!) since Tony sold the place and moved to Florida, the bar retains much of its charm... like a working phone booth ...

And now the bar just added another modern amenity: an Internet jukebox ...

The old one was well-stocked with Frank Sinatra and Mario Lanza, etc. The other evening, some fun-loving tourists made their presence felt during the otherwise sleepy early evening hour by loading up the jukebox with Michael Jackson and the Bee Gees. And they danced...

... and danced...

A few old-timers standing at the bar looked blankly into their beers.

3,000-square-foot bar/restaurant "with an occasional D.J." apparently moving forward on Avenue B

Last September, I noted that a new bar/eatery was coming into the dormant spaces at 14-16 Avenue B at Second Street...



Yesterday, work on the exterior began...






Back in January, Rebecca Marx at Fork in the Road reported that Beltrami Foods, an Italian restaurant, will open here. As she noted:

According to Cristiano Morroy, one of the restaurant's owners, Beltrami will be open from morning to night, with breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. The chef will be Morroy's mother, a professional chef whose food reflects where she lived and worked in her native Italy. The restaurant's menu will have a strong southeastern accent, as Morroy's mother spent time in towns like Apulia and Otranto, both located in the heel of Italy's boot.

Although this is Morroy's first restaurant in New York, he already runs a catering company that does a lot of work in the fashion industry. His mother, he says, is quite well-known back in Italy, having cooked for both Mick Jagger's and Willem Dafoe's wedding party.

Two quick comments:

1) Jagger and Dafoe?!
2) Can Second Street between Avenue A and Avenue B possibly support another Italian restaurant? Especially with yet another one coming to Second Street and A? (And, more important, can this section of Avenue B support any more bars...?)

Back in February, the CB3/SLA folks denied Beltrami a license.... Here's how Eater reported it:

A yet-to-be-named group surfaced with a proposal to utilize the old Butterfly space, a stone's throw away from Sigmund, for a 3,000 square foot Italian restaurant, catering company and lounge "with an occasional D.J." This scenario sounds familiar - and the residents didn't hesitate to show their fresh battle scars from the throes of Le Souk, China 1 and Carnivale, all restaurants-gone-clubs that they say wrecked havoc on the peace and quiet in their 'hood. Needless to say, this was too much for CB3 and the community representatives to stomach, and after a lengthy dispute of pros and cons, the motion was denied.

As EV Grieve reader Mediainski commented back in February:

I love the claim of an "occasional DJ." In other words, this place is going to be blaring loud music every night!

Also! The denied transfer (from the former Butterfly at 14 Avenue B) led to an epic David McWater outburst at the meeting. The Lo-Down had all the details.

The current liquor license for this location is inactive...

The best time to enjoy the Feast of San Gennaro

Before it opens for the day...and no one is there...












And among the handful of people there in the early hours...Liev Schreiber-Naomi Watts and family.

Evening recap: The possibility of a building collapse, unhappy Robert Pattinson groupies

Here's the story on the drama from last evening on Mott Street.

BoweryBoogie has coverage too.

273 Mott St. in danger of collapsing; Robert Pattinson fans don't seem to notice

Update: As Channel 7 is reporting, city inspectors allowed residents to return to their homes around 9 p.m. Any damage to Robert Pattinson's hair is not yet known.

Two things are happening now on Mott Street between Houston and Prince.

1) 273 and 275 Mott St. have been evacuated, including the restuarant on the ground floor -- Sakura Sushi & Thai Cuisine.
2) Robert Pattinson is inside St. Patrick's Old Cathedral prepping to film a scene for "Remember Me."

Firefighters were called to Nolita/Little Italy just after 5:30 p.m. City officials evacuated the residents of the five-story building "fearing a giant bottom-to-top crack in its facade could be a prelude to disaster." (City inspectors were also called to the scene yesterday.)



You can see the crack in the building...




...and it seemed to get worse as we were standing there.



Sakura sat empty....



The building is to the north of the Cathedral grounds.



Members of the film crew were standing around. Someone said, "Here comes Channel 7." A crew member muttered, "Fuckin' great." The reporter, Jen Maxfield, asked several people for an interview. Everyone politely declined. No real sense of urgency here. Someone remarked, "This is what happens when it rains for 30 straight days." One woman asked what was happening. We were all standing looking up at the crack in the building. And someone responded, seriously: "Robert Pattinson is filming a movie!"



Meanwhile, a little bit down the street, the prep work continued on "Remember Me." A carnival scene or something. No one seem to be all that concerned that the building may collapse. "There goes a night of shooting," one crew member said of the holdup with those pesky firefighters, ConEd supervisors and city engineers. Several oblivious members of the paparazzi finally gave up their Pattinson vigil and snapped some shots of the building. One photographer said he thinks all old buildings should be torn down and replaced. The person he said this to told him to fuck off.





Most people thought the firefighters were there as part of the movie. (In case the Texas Taters' blow?) I asked a young woman if she knew what was happening. "Yes, he's inside the church."



And nevermind that many people may be homeless now. Or there's another building collapse in NYC. Oh! Lauren Hutton walked by with some shopping bags. One of the crew members shouted, "Hi Lauren!" She passed. "Damn, she still looks good." She does.