A Mars Bar comeback gains more traction

[Hi! Remember me? Photo from July 2011 by Bobby Williams]

Community Board 3 released its meetings rundown for May … and a conspicuous item appears on the SLA committee docket:

Paul Mil Cafe Inc, 11-17 2nd Ave (op/alt/gut renovation) (Mars Bar)

The listing appears twice, under "alterations" and "items not heard at Committee."

Back in 2011 when Mars Bar was displaced by the impending Jupiter 21 monstrosity on Second Avenue and East First Street… the rumor was that owner Hank Penza had someone in mind to reopen a bar in the retail space. In fact, the person has the actual bar and jukebox from the Mars Bar for the next place.

In early January 2013, Billy Gray at the Commercial Observer reported that the J21 retail lease includes "a second retail space that could assume the notorious Mars Bar's trade name and liquor license."

Per that report:

The development company BFC Partners reached an agreement with the Mars Bar crew that would allow the next commercial tenant to occupy a 4,456 basement and ground floor space under the proud, stubborn and – who knew? – business-minded Mars Bar auspices.

The TD Bank appears to be taking most of the retail space… so where would a bar fit?



Well, there is also retail space on the East First Street side … and the aforementioned basement…



So… is it such a good thing to do a Mars Bar redux? Would it be like making a TV series out of "Casablanca" with David Soul in the Bogart role?

Or something.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The former Mars Bar is becoming a fucking bank branch

So where's that fucking bank branch that's taking the former Mars Bar space?

Rumors: Mars Bar owner Hank Penza ready to open a new space in the next few months

That's it: The Mars Bar is closed for good

The fucking TD Bank signage arrives at the former home of the Mars Bar

At long LAST the much-anticipated TD Bank signage has arrived at the former Mars Bar space… On Jan. 2, 2013, Steve Cuozzo reported at the Post that a 4,300-square-foot TD Bank branch was going to anchor the retail space at Jupiter 21, the new luxury apartment building that rose from the ashes of the Mars Bar and other businesses on Second Avenue and East First Street.

The TDs arrived yesterday afternoon, per EVG reader EJ ...



(BoweryBoogie noted this as well this morning.)

This likely won't do much for those Mars-Bar-is-returning rumors. Maybe next door? This was the rumored space for some kind of Mars Bar redux...



There's also retail space available on the East First Street side... or else someplace simply hasn't removed the sign yet...



And on the doors to the TD job site...



Previously on EV Grieve:
The former Mars Bar is becoming a fucking bank branch

So where's that fucking bank branch that's taking the former Mars Bar space?

GIFs project shows the many changing corners of NYC (also, RIP Mars Bar)

Artist and programmer Justin Blinder has created a project called Vacated, which he explains this way:

Vacated reverse engineers Google Street View to highlight the changing landscape of various neighborhoods throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. The project finds buildings constructed in the past four years using the NYC Department of City Planning's PLUTO dataset, and it leverages Google Street View's cache to visualize absent lots just before new buildings were constructed.

And!

Vacated mines and combines different datasets on vacant lots to present a sort of physical façade of gentrification, one that immediately prompts questions by virtue of its incompleteness: “Vacated by whom? Why? How long had they been there? And who’s replacing them?” Are all these changes instances of gentrification, or just some? While we usually think of gentrification in terms of what is new or has been displaced, Vacated highlights the momentary absence of such buildings, either because they’ve been demolished or have not yet been built.

He assembled this for MoreArt's public art project, Envision 2017, which asked artists to imagine New York City in the future.

From his project, a familiar corner… Second Avenue and East First Street… where the Mars Bar and other businesses were replaced by Jupiter 21...



Workers are currently fitting the former Mars Bar space with a TD Bank.

You can read an interview with Binder here on Gothamist.

So where's that fucking bank branch that's taking the former Mars Bar space?

[Dec. 28]

Last Jan. 2, Steve Cuozzo reported at the Post that a 4,300-square-foot TD Bank branch was going to anchor the retail space at Jupiter 21, the new luxury apartment building that rose from the ashes of the Mars Bar and other businesses on Second Avenue and East First Street.

So where is this fucking bank branch anyway?

Well!

In recent days, someone finally put up some brown paper in the windows here… perhaps a sign of work commencing!


[Jan. 1]

Before workers papered the windows, we spotted a microwave inside… perhaps an incentive for opening a checking account here?



Meanwhile, it has been almost a year since we heard our last Mars-Bar-is-returning rumor.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The former Mars Bar is becoming a fucking bank branch

People still missing the Mars Bar

Recently spotted on the former site of the bar… in a building now known as Jupiter 21. The space will soon yield a 4,300-square-foot TBD Bank branch.

Part of the former rolldown gate at the Mars Bar is now art in this East Village apartment

East Village resident Ori Carino's mural on the rolldown gate outside the former Mars Bar was a familiar site in recent years on East First Street.

The bar, and other buildings along here on Second Avenue were demolished in the fall of 2011 to make way for the 12-story Jupiter 21.

One nearby resident, a fan of the bar and of the mural, wondered what was going to happen to the gate when workers tore down the building. At this point, Mars Bar owner Hank Penza had already removed the bar, jukebox, etc.

The resident shared some background:

They were going to destroy a building to build condos ... that had beautiful graffiti covering the exterior walls and security garage rolldown. I contacted the developer to see if anyone had requested the rolldown, as it was assumably detachable from the building and could be preserved. I offered to pay if needed and he said he would contact me when they had taken it down. I'd have to make arrangements to transport it offsite.

They called me the day before Thanksgiving [2011] to tell me that I had to pick it up the day after Thanksgiving at 8 a.m., otherwise it would be turned into scrap. I had not made any arrangements. I needed help moving it, a truck to move it in and a place to store it — at 11 feet by 12 feet, there wasn't a wall large enough wall to display it on in my two-bedroom apartment.

After some frantic searching, I discovered that Moishe's offered free pick-up with three months of storage, solving all my problems in one swift motion.

However. The three months turned into 18 months, "so in many ways I did end up paying a fair chunk after all." Now, though, the resident has more than half of the former gate on his apartment wall. The remaining pieces are in his aunt's basement for the time being.



He also was able to salvage another piece of the gate.



We asked the resident about why he saved it.

"I love street art — graffiti, stickers, tags, etc. Most of the pieces I'd love to have on my own walls are unattainable — permanently affixed, illegally done [and] commissioning a piece from the artist is too expensive," he said. "I had never heard of someone getting one of these in this fashion, but I had nothing to lose. It worked out alright, but my eyes might have been a bit bigger than my stomach because I didn't have a space to hang it — eventually I will."

Mars Bar closed 2 years ago today

A reader just reminded me of that. Seems longer than two years... (Previously)

Mars Bar replacement now leasing at Jupiter 21

We noted yesterday that the plywood has come down at Jupiter 21, the new luxury apartment building that went up at the former Mars Bar space on Second Avenue and East First Street ... Yesterday afternoon, the official news release landed in our inbox announcing the start of leasing at Jupiter 21.

(Several of the residents of the former buildings have already secured their co-ops here at the promised rate of $10.)

Now let's just dig right into that news release for details:

In continuing the transformation of the East Village, BFC Partners announces that residential leasing has successfully begun at Jupiter 21, a newly-constructed 78,000-square-foot rental building located at 21 East 1st Street. The 65-unit, 12-story building, designed by GF 55, offers 52 market-rate rental residences and 13 affordable condominiums.

“Given the incredible demand for this neighborhood, we have already seen tremendous activity,” said Joseph Ferrara, a partner with Don Capoccia and Brandon Baron at BFC Partners, Jupiter 21’s developer. “The Jupiter 21 rentals are being greeted so positively that we are renting up the building quickly.”

Comprised of studio-, one- and two-bedroom apartments, Jupiter 21 features a unique display of innovative design that captures both the eye and imagination. Each unit is equipped with natural hardwood flooring, sleek modern cabinetry, stainless steel European appliances, designer fixtures and oversized windows. The building also includes best-in-class amenities such as central air conditioning, GE washer & dryers in every unit, rentable on-site storage and a full-service concierge. Many of the units also have terraces or balconies, offering spectacular views of New York City.

Stylish and modern, residences at Jupiter 21 feature Kohler deep soaking tubs and walk-in frameless showers, Kohler fixtures and floor-to-ceiling porcelain tiling. Kitchens include Caesarstone Countertops, Kohler Fixtures, glass back-splashes, Bertazzoni cooking ranges, Summit International refrigerators and Miele dishwashers.

Jupiter 21 is a pet-friendly residence that features an attended lobby and live-in superintendent, in addition to other amenities including video intercoms, a virtual property management service by mybuilding.org, and a roof terrace with expansive city views. Homes in this beautiful, modern building will start at $3,450 per month for studios, $4,500 per month for one-bedrooms, and $5,575 for two-bedrooms. The Corcoran Group will handle leasing for the 52 rentals.

In addition to its rental units, the mixed-use property includes 10,832 square feet of retail space along 2nd Avenue. Tenants will include TD Bank and a yet to be decided lounge/bar venue.

Occupancy is expected for early June 2013.

So is that "yet to be decided lounge/bar venue" really going to be Mars Bar 2.0?

Also, the Jupiter 21 website is live with photos, floor plans and what not.

Here's a look at the roof terraces:

Jupiter 21’s two communal rooftop terraces are equipped with couch seating, grills, television, outdoor surround sound and a posh wet bar. A DVD system allows for outdoor movie screenings. Taking place high above the lower east side, the outdoor oasis provides an escape from the day-to-day setting of city life.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The former Mars Bar is becoming a fucking bank branch

Mars Bar primed to make an East Village comeback?

Jupiter 21 jettisons its plywood

Jupiter 21, the apartment building that rose above the old Mars Bar space, is now plywood free... and you can see what the retail portion here along East First Street and Second Avenue looks like...







One of the exciting new tenants will be the 4,300-square-foot TBD Bank branch. And next door, maybe Mars Bar 2.0? Back in early January Billy Gray at the Commercial Observer reported:

The development company BFC Partners reached an agreement with the Mars Bar crew that would allow the next commercial tenant to occupy a 4,456 basement and ground floor space under the proud, stubborn and – who knew? – business-minded Mars Bar auspices.

[Worst Photoshop EVER]


[Ditto]

Previously on EV Grieve:
The former Mars Bar is becoming a fucking bank branch

Mars Bar primed to make an East Village comeback?

Residents shuttle from the Mars Bar building to Jupiter 21

[July 2011]

Catching up with this feature yesterday in The Wall Street Journal... which provides an update on Jupiter 21, the residential building at the former site of Mars Bar and the buildings at Second Avenue and East First Street...



Several of the residents of the former buildings will be moving into co-ops here at the promised rate of $10. (You can read the article for all the background on how this deal transpired.)

In an unusual blend of old and new New York, nine long-term tenants of two small buildings on Second Avenue struck deals to buy cooperative units in a new 12-story building, where they will share hallways with 51 mostly young renters — many new to New York and unfamiliar with the neighborhood's history.

The bulky new building will be known as Jupiter 21, and will feature a model of the planet Jupiter hanging in the lobby.

Rents for the rest of the new residents will range from $3,000 to $10,000 a month.

And returning residents such as Andrea Legge, an artist who lived in the previous building for decades, won't be subjected to Jupiter 21's leftovers.

"I am grateful they didn't give us lowlifes apartments in the back," she said. "I feel hugely entitled to this luxury apartment, but I feel completely unworthy of it at the same time."

The longtime residents also discussed how the block looked in the 1980s.

"There was nothing romantic about it," Ms. Legge said. "There were needle junkies in the basements. It stunk and it was all so over."

[Image via Gothamist, reposted with permission]

Now will the Mars Bar return as well?

Previously.

Here's Jupiter 21, now in orbit around Second Avenue and East First Street

This past week the remaining scaffolding and construction netting came down at Jupiter 21, the apartment-retail complex at Second Avenue and East First Street... so now you have a really good idea of what it looks like, save the street-level plywood...





Per the J21 press materials:

The building will ultimately have 65 units: 13 affordable condos, 52 market-rate studio through two-bedroom rentals, and two commercial condos. Nine of those affordable condos "have been reserved for the tenants of the original buildings displaced by the new construction" ...

And a look behind the plywood... where there will be a fucking bank ... and maybe a Mars Bar 2.0?



Anyway, here is the rendering. How did they do?

Previously on EV Grieve:

'My Mars Bar Movie' back for 2 encore presentations, including tonight

"My Mars Bar Movie," the 87-minute documentary directed by Jonas Mekas, the acclaimed filmmaker-poet-writer-curator (His full bio is here.) ... makes a return engagement to the Anthology Film Archives ... there's a screening tonight at 7:30. The film will play again on Feb. 24 at 4:45.

Here's a description of the film via Mekas:

For some twenty years Mars Bar, on the corner of First Street and Second Avenue, Manhattan, has been my bar. That's where we went for beer and tequila whenever we had to take a break from our work at Anthology Film Archives, and it was also a bar where most of those who came to see movies at Anthology ended up after the shows. We always had a great time at Mars Bar. It was always open, there was always the juke box, and very often there was no electricity, and it was old and messy and it didn't want to be any other way — it was the last escape place left in downtown New York. So this is my love letter to it, to my Mars Bar. Mars Bar as I knew it.

Take a step back ...



The Mars Bar closed on July 19, 2011. But maybe it will come back somewhere nearby one day.

The Anthology is on East Second Street and Second Avenue.

Previously.

Exclusive first look inside the new TD Bank coming to the former Mars Bar space

As you likely heard, the Post reported this week that a 4,300-square-foot TB Bank branch is opening in the former Mars Bar space. Now, a TB insider tells us that the branch will be modeled after the actual Mars Bar... with some former patrons working as tellers...

Here's an exclusive, hush-hush look at a training session at the branch one recent evening...

[Photo by Slum Goddess]

Oh, please don't boo! I'm very sensitive!

Mars Bar primed to make an East Village comeback?

[Photo by Goggla]

We heard the unsurprising news yesterday that the former Mars Bar in the Jupiter 21 (will never get used to that name) building will be home to a fucking bank branch.

And we wondered whatever happened to idea that the Mars Bar would return here some day.

Well!

Billy Gray has this scoop this afternoon at the Commercial Observer:

Now, a source familiar with the deal tells us that the lease includes a second retail space that could assume the notorious Mars Bar’s trade name and liquor license. The development company BFC Partners reached an agreement with the Mars Bar crew that would allow the next commercial tenant to occupy a 4,456 basement and ground floor space under the proud, stubborn and–who knew?–business-minded Mars Bar auspices.

Back in July 2011, we heard that owner Hank Penza already had a manager for the new space ... and the manager has the actual bar and jukebox from the Mars Bar for the next place. Perhaps we'll see it one day in the bowels of Jupiter 21.

[Photo via @IrisBlasi]

Or maybe we should just let all this die...?

The former Mars Bar is becoming a fucking bank branch

[A Mars Bar mural circa October 2009]

A 4,300-square-foot TB Bank branch, actually, as Steve Cuozzo reported today at the Post. It makes sense that the soulless new building rising here — dubbed Jupiter 21 — has an equally soulless type of retail tenant.

And whatever happened to Mars Bar owner Hank Penza's plan to open a new bar... or at least have the opportunity to reopen in the new building here on Second Avenue at East First Street?

'All uses considered' for former Mars Bar space at Jupiter 21

The retail listing — with fresh renderings — is now live for 21 Jupiter, the luxury building that took the place of 9-17 Second Ave. ... and, among other things, the former home of the Mars Bar.

Some details per the RKF listing:

SPACE
Ground Floor 1,400 SF
Lower Level 3,056 SF
Storage Space 1,252 SF

POSSESSION
Second Quarter 2013

TERM
20 years

And!

COMMENTS
Formerly “Mars Bar” location
All uses considered
New construction with premises being prepared for restaurant use
Located at the base of a luxury rental building
Existing 4am Liquor License in place

Any idea why Mars Bar is randomly in quotes? Oh, and does this mean Hank isn't reopening the bar here? (No snickering!)

And what happened to the BP station and other buildings?

Previously:

21 E. First St. comes into view

Noticeable progress to note at the former stretch of 9-17 Second Avenue at East First Street...

Windows!

Soon enough, Mars Bar will return to the new retail space on the corner and... OK, but a handful of residents who lived in the building are getting the chance to come back and pay $10 for one of the apartments in the 12-story complex, as previously reported.