Good news-bad news about the water-main work on 7th Street and 1st Avenue

Here's some positive news about the roadwork taking place on the west side of First Avenue at Seventh Street in recent months.

A rep for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) told Community Board 3 late last week that the contractor has completed the water-main installation on the west side of the intersection and between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

Workers have also removed those noisy metal plates and filled in the roadway with temporary asphalt.

So far, so good with the west side of this intersection. However, the contractor is now scheduled to begin similar work on the east side of First Avenue and Seventh Street. 

According to the DEP rep, crews will be installing the new water main on the east sidewalk of First Avenue, "about 40 feet (give or take) to the north of the north curb line and 40 feet (give or take) to the south of the south curb line of Seventh Street."

In addition, the project calls for the installation of a water main pipe up to the mid-block on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Avenue A. (The rep said that this will be done without "disturbing" any outdoor dining structures on Seventh Street east of First Avenue.) 

"We have also requested the contractor to divide this work into phases," the DEP rep said. "This will minimize the number of road plates on location for the duration of the project."

No word on a timeline for the east side. The repair work on the west side of the intersection began in early May.

As previously reported, there were back-to-back breaks here in late December. The multiple ruptures sent water rushing into businesses and residences along Seventh Street between First Avenue and Avenue A. 

The work earlier this summer disrupted the lives of residents and businesses due to the all-consuming noise, both during the day when the work crew was on the scene and after-hours when cars and trucks would pass over the multiple metal plates on the roadway. (Read our posts here and here.)

Our coverage, as well as a follow-up piece in the Post, apparently got the attention of the DEP, who told the paper: 

"The ongoing upgrades to the critical infrastructure that serves the East Village must be carried out in a way that respects the residents and businesses in the area and we have directed our contractors to take several steps to ensure that this happens. Inspectors will be following up with regular visits."

Businesses and residents can file service complaints with Community Board 3 via this link. 

Checking in on the intersection of 7th Street and 1st Avenue

Last week, EVG regular Daniel Efram reported on the hellish roadwork consuming the west side of First Avenue at Seventh Street.

Crews reporting to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) returned to the intersection to replace portions of the water main back in May. 

As previously reported, there were back-to-back breaks here in late December. The multiple ruptures sent water rushing into businesses and residences along Seventh Street between First Avenue and Avenue A. 

Neighbors talked about an all-consuming noise, both during the day when the work crew was on the scene, and after-hours when cars and trucks would pass over the multiple metal plates on the roadway.

Neighbors now report a slight improvement, as workers removed some of the metal plates and hauled away stacks of old pipes and other constructions materials left scattered on the curb along Seventh Street (thanks to Steven for these photos...)

Over the weekend, the Post picked up our story (even linking to EVG, a rarity — clunk).

The folks at E7 Deli & Cafe on the northeast corner of First Avenue and Seventh Street are understandably not happy. A few hours after their grand opening this past December one of the water main breaks flooded the basement.

"It is a big pain in the ass, I am pissed off," E7 owner Esam Alreyashi told the paper about the ongoing construction. "There's noise every day."

Local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera's office has been working with the DEP to clean up the site and do a better job of securing the metal plates.

The Post also got a comment from a DEP spokesperson:

"The ongoing upgrades to the critical infrastructure that serves the East Village must be carried out in a way that respects the residents and businesses in the area and we have directed our contractors to take several steps to ensure that this happens. Inspectors will be following up with regular visits."

Still no word on an end date for the work.

[Updated] Construction hell is consuming the intersection of 1st Avenue at 7th Street

Photos and story by Daniel Efram

The ongoing roadwork on the west side of First Avenue at Seventh Street continues to negatively impact the quality of life for both residents and business owners along this corridor. Noise from backhoes, earth flatteners, jackhammers, circular saws, and cars and commercial cartage trucks on the uneven metal plates on the streets and avenues have brought this intersection to a boiling point.

Piping and construction materials, garbage and standing water are the norms. Human waste oozes from the rarely emptied portable toilets. Worst of all — there isn't any timetable for the end of the roadwork.

Crews reporting to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) returned to the intersection to replace portions of the water main back in May. 

As previously reported, there were back-to-back breaks here in late December. The multiple ruptures sent water rushing into businesses and residences along Seventh Street between First Avenue and Avenue A. 

In the weeks/months after the breaks, there was a patchwork of quick fixes on the intersection, and a hodge-podge of sinkholes and cracked surfaces emerged

The DEP contractors covered the various holes with metal plates, and the sound of cars, trucks and buses driving over the plates overnight has disrupted the sleep of residents living within earshot.

   

A resident assembled the above video in March — a best-of montage of cars and trucks driving over the metal plates.

However, it's not just the noise — the reverberations have caused cracks in several nearby buildings. Two residents in the area said when they called 311, the city eventually dispatched inspectors, who subsequently fined the landlords for the cracks in the buildings exacerbated by the ongoing street repairs. Meanwhile, there has been near-constant jackhammering in the past two-plus months, with some complaints being lodged for work on Saturdays. Residents said they are also irked by workers apparently slacking off on the job and crews taking weeks off without explanation. "I live in one of the buildings on the corner and have had a front-row seat to the shoddy work and laissez-faire attitude of this crew since December," said one resident, who asked to remain anonymous. "They show up at 7 a.m. with a crew of six or so, stand around yelling to each other until about 10 a.m., work for an hour, take lunch, work for a little bit more and finish by 2 or 3 p.m." According to the resident, only a few workers will be active at any given time, and they "walk around like they own the block." "They have taken over a huge part of our block and make no effort to clean up where they have worked or minimize the effects on the residents," the resident said. According to the residents I spoke to, there appears to be little, if any, oversight on this sprawling project. Several residents said they have reached out to local elected officials, including City Council Member Carlina Rivera, Assemblymember Harvey Epstein and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, to request immediate accountability with a transparent timeline — delivered by an independent third party. According to Rivera's office, there is someone assigned to oversee this case. Residents and business owners hope that elected officials can have the work expedited with a definitive timetable. (Anyone wishing to file a complaint can use the subject "7th Street & 1st Avenue Construction Complaints." Community Board 3 has a service complaint here.) Updated 8/5 We asked Community Board 3 District Manager Susan Stetzer for an update. She said that her office has asked the DEP for a timetable and signage to let people know what is happening. As for complaints, Stetzer said to let her office know via the service complaint form here.

"We will not be able to fix all the problems, but we can try to have mitigated as much as possible," she said. And residents should file a complaint sooner rather than later: CB3 has an interagency meeting that will include the DEP this coming Tuesday. "So it would be helpful to have complaints before then," she said.

Repairs finally for the 'warped' intersection of 1st Avenue and 7th Street

Workers from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are back at the intersection of Seventh Street and First Avenue to replace portions of the water main...

As you may recall, there were back-to-back breaks here in late December ... the ruptures sent water rushing into businesses and residences along Seventh Street. 

It took a while for these more substantial repairs. The "fucked-up street surface," as one nearby resident called it, has been a topic of frustration in conversations on the East Village Neighbors Facebook group (and in the EVG inbox) this late winter and early spring.

In the weeks/months after the breaks, there was a patchwork of quick fixes on the wonky-looking intersection...

Said one resident: "Basically, the second water main break warped the avenue ... They come out to jackhammer constantly, make a hole, fill it with dirt, and then it caves in. "

Then another sinkhole would form.

And after residents file a complaint: "They come, throw some asphalt onto a sunken hole, leave and nothing is fixed."

The DEP contractors then started covering the holes with metal plates instead ... and the sound of cars, trucks and buses driving over the plates overnight has disrupted the sleep of some residents living nearby.

Said the previously quoted resident: "The trucks wake me up at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 a.m. and I've started getting migraines, which I've never had."

Hopefully, the repairs that started this week will prevent any future breaks and stabilize the roadway — and put an end to the various headaches.

1st day of summer and the pool STILL isn't filled on 7th Street

Apparently some water-main woes here the last few days between First Avenue and Second Avenue... the block is closed to traffic.

This really nice townhouse is for sale on 7th Street

The townhouse at 263 E. Seventh St. between Avenue C and Avenue D is new to the market. (H/T Curbed!)

Let's go to the listing at Corcoran:

Historic 1880s townhouse re-imagined by the architect of the DIA Beacon Museum, features lush garden views from floor to ceiling windows and terraces on every floor. This 25-foot wide house with modernist addition offers a total of 4,900sf interior space plus over 2,400sf of outdoor space, facing onto a community garden with protected views.

Configured as an owners duplex and income producing apartment with roof deck, and separate guest quarters. Easy to combine back to its original layout as a single-family home, and currently zoned for up to 3 residences. Loft-like parlor floor with custom sliding glass doors open onto an expansive outdoor patio. Exposed brick, beamed cathedral ceilings, wood-burning fireplaces, and original wide plank oak floors interplay with modern touches of polished concrete, ebonized oak and cedar.

And here are a few photos before we get to that price...









Price: $6.495 million.

Turntable Lab latest business to vacate 7th Street between Avenue A and 1st Avenue

[Image via Turntable Lab]

Along with a new website, the folks at Turntable Lab, providing one-step shopping for DJs, have announced that they "will be moving to a larger, more central East Village location." The Google Map link takes visitors to 10th Street between Fourth Avenue and Third Avenue. (Perhaps the space above Black & White that Wiz Kid Management vacated.)

Anyway, the owners of the 17-year-old Turntable Lab said that they will be providing more information on the new storefront soon.

This departure marks the latest business to either close or move away from the block. For instance, at No. 111, the wine bar Virgola and vintage clothing shop Village Style left earlier in the fall. Meanwhile, Porchetta is closed for now ahead of a move... and the owners of paint shop/boutique Verdigreen ceased operations in September.

H/T DrBop

This bike got stripped this morning on East Seventh Street

Dave on 7th notes this .... At 8:40 a.m., this bike was intact on East Seventh Street. By 11 a.m., it wasn't ...

How much of a rent discount for not having gas for cooking?

A resident is looking for a little advice about the current situation in his or her East Seventh Street apartment building. (It's a different building than the one we wrote about here in March 2011.)

Some background.

On April 12, workers shut off the gas because tenants had been smelling a gassy odor in the building. The residents didn't have hot water or gas for cooking for nine days. The hot water returned on April 20 — but there still wasn't any gas for cooking.

According to the resident, the building's landlord, Koppelman Management, was difficult, if not impossible, to reach. When someone did get in touch with a building rep, they apparently blamed the matter on ConEd. On May 7, full gas service was restored to all but five of the apartments. To date, gas for cooking is still not available in the five apartments.

Tenants have called 311, though the resident described the exchanges as "ineffective." Meanwhile, the resident says management offered a 15-percent discount on the May rent for the gas outage from April 12-May 7. But the resident, who's in one of the five units still without gas for cooking, thinks that's a low-ball figure, considering people have spent more than 15 percent of the rent on food in the past five weeks.

So far, the resident hasn't paid the May rent, and won't until the issue is resolved.

"The entire building is pissed off but everyone is at a loss for rules/laws, etc. This building has never properly been taken care of and ... this has been a constant problem. [Residents have] had rent strikes in the past just to get regular maintenance done."

Any constructive input? Do you calculate what you think you spent on food and subtract that from the rent? Other options?

Normal business opening on Seventh Street

Between Avenue A and First Avenue. There has to be a catch. So, for $695, you get a haircut AND a whole hog dinner with all-you-can-drink craft beer? Your hair is treated with black truffle oil and (old vines) sherry first? This can't just be a barber shop, right?

Anyway, as far as we know, it's just a barber shop.

Seventh Street sunrise

What was inside the three wise men's treasure chest anyway?

Our friends at the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop brought our attention to the candleholder in the nativity scene at St. Stanislaus on Seventh Street...

Heh. We didn't know that Fleshjack made candleholders too...

The work of a jokester? To save you searching "Fleshjack" on Google ... they sell quality sex toys and adult toys for men.

Discarded Christmas tree catches fire, lights up car on Seventh Street

@JSMeudt sends along these photos from Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue... where a discarded Christmas tree on the curb apparently caught on fire last night and, well...

You can see what's left of the tree above...

There's a little more about this — as well as other tree fire safety tips — at the Strollerderby blog.

Today in suspicious-looking items bound in trash bags on Seventh Street

Between Avenue B and Avenue A. Photos by Dave on 7th.

Perhaps a pharaoh? Or a planking casualty?

Coming soon to Seventh Street: Tink's Cafe; plus, remembering Body Worship

We don't know anything about this just yet... Dave on 7th spotted the coming soon sign here at 102 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue on Saturday ...

Dave and I reminisced for a moment about a previous tenant — Body Worship, which featured a stainless-steel penis as a door handle.

In the summer of 1994, some parishioners at St. Stanislaus across the street took offense at the store's window display, featuring, as the Times described it — "two mannequins striking sexually revealing master/slave poses prepared to engage in explicit sadomasochistic activities." The owner said it was a safe-sex message.

Bonus
The lead to the Times article, dated July 10, 1994:

In the heart of the raucous and rowdy East Village, St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Church has hung onto its aging Polish congregation even as teen-agers with nipple rings, lime green hair, tattoos and combat boots have swarmed over the neighborhood.

How would you describe this "swarm" today?

And you thought that today would be a slow news day

Hardly.

Remember that toilet-paper dispenser that someone put up in a tree near McSorley's?

Yeah, well — it's out of paper.

[Bobby Williams]

Meet the Ass family on Seventh Street

Photo by Dave on 7th.

Today in interesting-looking boiler-service trucks on Seventh Street

When the light is stuck at Seventh Street and Avenue A

Traffic light stuck on Seventh Street and Avenue A... Such honkers!

[Updated] Breaking: Fire on Second Avenue at Seventh Street

Via @arielkaye

Waiting for more details... we heard four trucks were on the scene.

Updated: 9:32

Looks like a manhole fire... via @dens