Never-ending construction continues to hurt Punjabi Grocery & Deli

The plight of Punjabi Grocery & Deli on East First Street near Avenue A/East Houston got some much-needed attention this past summer. The never-ending East Houston Reconstruction Project is killing off the 20-year-old shop's business.

Through the years, cab drivers made up a good chunk of Punjabi's business. The reconstruction, however, has prevented the cabs from being able to stop by for an inexpensive vegetarian meal.

EVG reader Vinny paid a visit yesterday, and shared these photos noting the new configuration of East First Street… (notice you can no long access First Street from Avenue by motor vehicle)





And to show you where Punjabi is buried in here...



Vinny also noted that Punjabi had to raise its prices across the board by 50 cents to $1 ... still, given the size of the portions, it's still an insanely good deal... and arguably the best around...



And as you may recall, Punjabi started an online petition asking the commissioner of the Taxi And Limousine Commission to approve a taxi relief stand at Avenue A and Houston Street. You can find the petition here. (It's up to 3,300-plus signatures.)

The East Houston Reconstruction Project is now scheduled (PDF!) to be completed by mid-2016, according to the latest city estimates.

Here's a look at the new Greenstreets and street configurations at A and Houston...



Previously on EV Grieve:
How you can help Punjabi Grocery & Deli stay in business

Life at 438 E. 13th St.

[EVG file photo of 438 E. 13th St. from November 2012]

Back in November 2012, news surfaced about a deal involving 11 walkup apartment buildings in the city, including two in the East Village — 438-440 E. 13th St. and 104 E. Seventh St. Stone Street Properties reportedly bought the properties for $73 million, according to The Real Deal.

We heard from a resident at No. 438 who let us know what life has been like here since the sale. First, the resident says that many longtime tenants were driven out of their units … "and we had to deal with a round of apartment gut renovations last year. But things have really gotten bad in the past two months as they have started another round of gut renovations."

Among the problems: No gas (the resident says that it was turned off on March 20). "We didn't have any heat for extended periods in January and February and a whole list of plumbing/electric/structural issues that have occurred since."

Is there hot water now?

"Yes, we do have hot water at the moment, but you never know from one day to the next. Sometimes we get notices stuck to the door, sometimes not," the resident said. "Depends on what the construction crew is doing. What we do have consistently is construction noise every weekday morning at 8 — with workers ringing all the buzzers to gain access starting at 7:45. This has gone on since the first week of March. Two weeks ago they started at 7 a.m. on a Saturday.

In the resident's opinion, "Stone Street doesn't seem to care at all. They ignore calls and emails on these issues."

"I have lived in the East Village for [20-plus] years and have never dealt with such disregard for tenants," the resident said. "Even the tenants who moved into the renovated 'luxury' units are being screwed."

Previously on EV Grieve:
2 East Village buildings part of $73 million deal

Milling and paving, milling and paving make for some sleepy residents

[East 6th Street last night via @highmountain]

As you likely heard in the middle of the night, crews have been taking to the East Village side streets in an ongoing milling-paving project.

EVill Joe found this schedule (PDF) on the DOT site ...



And how has this overnight work been going so far?

Per one EVG reader: "I was kept up allllllll night ... It was an apocalyptic noise level from 1 am to 5 am or so. I tried calling 311 ... but they couldn't give me much info."



[Photos on First Avenue via EVG reader Charlie Chen]

And be sure to heed those No Parking signs...


[Photo by Shawn Chittle]

...because the city will tow your ass...


[Photo by Shawn Chittle]

Your guide to construction hell on East 11th Street

East 11th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B continues to be an active zone for ongoing construction. Idling trucks. Large cranes. Blocked traffic. Continuous jackhammering.

Here's a look at the projects making life nearly unbearable for some neighbors.

• The Mary Spink apartments, which will provide affordable housing for formerly homeless and mentally disabled East Villager residents


[Ron Z]


[RZ]

• 510 E. 11th St., where workers are adding a new floor to the existing four-story building...


[Cheryl Pyle]


[CP]


[CP]

• 500 E. 11th St, home of the incoming 7-Eleven. After 11 months of gut renovation, the space is finally looking 7-Eleveny/chainy...


[Bobby Williams]


[BW]

In April, some residents who live above here said that the never-ending work has made their existence in the building "a living hell."

• 181 Avenue A at East 11th Street, where workers are about halfway done demolishing the Mary Help of Christians school and church...


[BW]

After the demo, residents from more than just East 11th Street will have to endure the lengthy (and noisy) construction of developer Douglas Steiner's retail-residental complex.... described in one listing as a "140 unit market luxury rental building."

One East 11th Street resident said that one of these jobs would be off-putting enough, but four happening simultaneously is "fucking ridiculous."

Unattended ladders and new bedbugs at 132 E. Seventh St.

Construction continues at 132 E. Seventh St. at Avenue A... at the residential portion above Niagara... (work started back in April) ... DOB permits point to "facade repair" on the building.

A resident here shares a little about the ongoing construction this summer...

I got home from work [the other night] to find that the construction crew (who themselves have been notably professional and diligent) had left their ladder set up. Since the scaffolding went up, we have had two incidents of strangers scrambling their way up and wandering around on the scaffolding after dark and that was without a handy ladder.

And how have the renovations been going?

When they started construction, they (again with no warning) entered all of our apartments and started to cut holes in our ceiling. After we stacked and moved all of our belongings and furniture, they continued by putting anchor bolts and plates through our walls. Ostensibly this was to reinforce the existing structure; however, in conjunction with the "roof patio" they have built and the in-wall a/c units they are insisting on installing, it's our (the tenants) guess that they are looking to either flip these into more "luxury units" or more aggressively, try to add another floor on top.

Also, we got bedbugs after they cut the holes in the ceiling.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Straight to hell: Keeping a watchful eye on the Joe Strummer mural

Where's the uproar over the construction noise at 185 Avenue B?

A few weeks ago, we pointed out the awful noise coming from the construction site at 185-193 Avenue B... where workers are putting in the foundation for the new apartment complex at East 12th Street.

And the assualt continues... per a resident adjacent to the space:

That construction at Ave B and 12th has become the bane of the neighborhood. The vibrations and shaking from it are endangering the old buildings nearby. The noise is unbearable. Why isn't there an uproar in protest from the local residents and merchants? Has the EV become a neighborhood of sheep?

Also per the resident..

I'm surprised the local owners aren't up in arms. The vibrations could wreck their buildings.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Inside the Charles

Former landmark countercultural theater now for rent on Avenue B

7-story building in the works to replace former countercultural theater/church on Avenue B

Because this is soothing our frazzled nerves

Several readers have been reporting incessant noise this morning somewhere around the Con Ed Substation on East 14th Street and Avenue C. One reader thought, at first, there was another explosion.

Turns out that a pile driver is putting in the foundation support for the new apartment complex on Avenue B and East 12th Street. There isn't much escape from the noise. Meanwhile, many nearby residents are still without electricity, water and heat. (And there is a school directly next door.)

Here's what 30 seconds of the construction noise sounds like. It has been going on the entire morning. The whole block seems to be vibrating. One resident said that he is worried about a building collapse.

Navigating the Mars Bar underpass at 21 E. First St.

[Photo of 21 E. First St. from last Friday by Bobby Williams]

We continue to watch the 12-story apartment building (quickly) rising on Second Avenue at East First Street, the former site of the Mars Bar, among other things...

However, we usually take it all in from afar... so we didn't notice the walkway set up to navigate the construction site on the southwest corner... we enter on the East First Street side...

Oops. A little turned around now...

... finally. Daylight and Second Avenue!

...and along the Second Avenue side...

Fun! Can't wait to walk through it late at night!

Oh, and what's left of the Hank Penza sidewalk art...

As seen last July ...

[Photo by Goggla]

How is your Houston Street Corridor Reconstruction going?

Speaking of East Houston... On Monday, we posted information from DNAinfo's report that the $60 million Houston Street Corridor Reconstruction project would not be completed until the summer of 2014. (One year later than planned.)

The DNA article focused on business owners (the Subway in the Red Square shops is reportedly hurting) and traffic ... We asked readers who live along here for any construction horror stories.

Here are a few of the responses:

RyanAvenueA said...
The intersection of A and Houston, where 1st st begins, is still a pedestrian nightmare. Drivers aren't sure where to go which slows down the intersection so that someone eventually ends up flooring it through a red light. A couple months ago I saw a big truck take out one of the construction barriers. As for Subway's decline, I have to imagine the fact that there's now 40 other Subways in walking distance means some of your customers probably live closer to the competing stores.

---

Anonymous said...
challenging to walk around. inevitable that some poor pedestrian will get hit by a passing car. i don't wish that to happen but i just have a sixth sense about disasters...

---

Anonymous said...
Cycling across Houston at A is a weird dash-now-and-hope-for-the-best exercise...mostly because cars don't know where to go most of the time, so bikers are left to dodge.

East Houston Street construction will be a living hell for an extra year

The $60 million Houston Street Corridor Reconstruction started in the fall of 2010... with a scheduled wrap date of next spring.

But!

DNAinfo learns that various complications have added another year to the project — pushing the expected completion date to the summer of 2014.

Per the article:

The news came as an unpleasant surprise to many Lower East Side and East Village business owners, who said the work from the Bowery to the FDR Drive ... has turned the street into a nightmarish obstacle course for drivers and pedestrians, driving away customers and hurting their business.

The franchise owner of the Subway sandwich shop in the Red Square shops "said he's considering closing the location after losing about 50 percent of his customer base because of the narrowed sidewalk, obstructed crosswalk and other construction headaches outside his door."

The article focuses on business owners and drivers... how about residents who live along here? Anyone with any construction horror stories?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Coming soon to East Houston: Construction, hell, rodent control stations

Long-threatened East Houston reconstruction starting this month

[An EVG East Houston file photo]

There is no news about 51 Astor Place

Well, except that it's gone. Per Bobby William's shot yesterday...

Meanwhile, at the Post yesterday, Steve Cuozzo checked in on several high-profile projects around the city... "We gave owners, brokers, p.r. reps and inside moles a chance to share good news about the following projects, representing billions of dollars of private investment, some bolstered by public subsidies."

He couldn't find any good news about the projects including at 51 Astor Place, which he notes is being built entirely on spec. So the incoming 430,000 square-foot building remains tenantless for now...

And, as you know, it will look like this some day.

Meanwhile, EV Grieve reader Terry Howell shared these photos with us... the first is from Jan. 27, 2011...

And this is from Friday...

We echo Terry's feelings about the building:

"I have watched the demolition of the former Cooper Union building with mixed feelings, mostly deep grief for the loss of the trees. The building itself was meh but I was used to it and I fear what will replace it."

Previously on EV Grieve:
51 Astor Place demolition begins July 1; 17 months to build new black-glass tower

East Village — the new Midtown?

Workers chopping down the trees at 51 Astor Place

Almost working around the clock on developing 326-328 E. Fourth St.

An EV Grieve reader who lives near the formerly historic townhouses at 326-328 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D reports that work is happening here at a rather frantic pace... including during evenings and Saturdays and Sundays...

The reader/resident is finding all this weekend work annoying. We walked by ourselves yesterday morning around 10 ... complete with a newspaper for authentication purposes...



Regardless, all the required After Hours Variance Permits are on file with the DOB...

More upscale housing is coming here with two new floors courtesy of developer Terrence Lowenberg and Ramy Issac, the controversial penthouse king of the East Village.

Here's how it's shaping up ... with a view from East Third Street...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

City doesn't give a shit about these historic East Village townhouses

Behold the Hyatt Union Square, in progress

Workers have removed the scaffolding and construction netting at 132 Fourth Ave., the looong-delayed hotel that will one day be a Hyatt Union Square ...

And here's the rendering... No hydroponic bamboo garden or halo just yet...But we're waiting!

[Image from Archpaper via Curbed]

The hotel is expected to open in fall 2012. According to a news release: "The Hyatt Union Square will be a 4-star hotel with a historic facade and 23‐foot lobby ceilings that will create a unique space for guests. Amenities will include an upscale restaurant, a destination lobby bar, an exclusive rooftop lounge, private terraces, a state of‐the art fitness facility, and a pool."

The Real Deal had a report back on June 29 about Hersha buying this property from the McSam Hotel Group.

Read all our coverage on this here.

51 Astor Place demolition begins July 1; 17 months to build new black-glass tower

By now, you likely know what's coming very soon to Astor Place — a Fumihiko Maki-designed 430,000-square-foot tower at the site of the former Cooper Union engineering building (You can refresh your memory here.)

Last night, representatives from the developer, Edward Minskoff, and the construction company, Sciame, shared demolition plans with 50-some community members at the soon-to-be demolished 51 Astor Place.

There were several presentations... the thing will be "black glass with black granite and silver fins." A construction rep talked about how safe the site will be... as well as signage, drainage, curb cuts, Zzzzzzz....

Now to what you want to know about:

Demolition begins on July 1. The reps said the entire duration of the project is 17 months.

Actually, you won't see any wrecking balls lined up starting on July 1. First. There will be roughly 40 days of abatement, to rid the place of fun things like vermin and asbestos. The construction rep assured the audience that all this will be done to the letter of the law with the utmost safety features in place. He described it as a "controlled process."

After that! A round of inspections. Then workers will commence with a 50-day-long "surgical demolition." So the actual demolition portion should commence sometime in mid-August. Workers will encase the site, and use small machines to methodically remove floor by floor... The demolition truck staging will take place on Third Avenue at Astor...

Early on, a discussion on the hours of the demolition site nearly turned the meeting into a melee. The construction hours are the city-established 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. There will be an occasional need to work on weekends, and the crew will have special DOB-issued permits for that.

"A lot of people live around here, and we're not going to be able to sleep for two years," said one resident in the back of the auditorium.

Reps tried to soldier on with the presentation, but a few persistent residents weren't having it.

"We don't care about the project."

"Answer our questions."

"This is propaganda."

"We don't care what it looks like."

Another resident mentioned a lawsuit to stop the project.

The presentation continued. Two of the more-vocal attendees eventually wandered out early.

A few other factoids:

• The plaza area roughly where the Film Academy Cafe is now calls for an Alexander Calder sculpture, most likely one titled "Giant Critter." (CB3 will review the plaza plans in July. More on that meeting when the date is available.)

• The building is 183 feet tall.

• The building will include space for retail and educational use on the lower levels; office space on the upper floors.

• There are no retail tenants yet. The retail space will reflect the needs of the office tenants.

• The developers have had talks with NYU and Cooper Union about leasing the educational space.

And here's what the building looks like from the Fourth Avenue side... (Note that the Cube remains on Astor Place...)

More on all this later...

Bonus! Photo of the first-floor men's room at 51 Astor Place...

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village — the new Midtown?

East Village prepping for induction into Ugly New Hotel Hall of Fame Class of 2012

Well, now. We've been keeping tabs on the new Union Square Hyatt coming to Fourth Avenue at 13th Street... the last renderings looked like this...



Apparently that was just too darn boring for a hotel here... The ArchPaper (via Curbed!) has the latest, um, look:

Per Curbed's description:

This terrace will reportedly hold a hydroponic bamboo garden growing tall outside the hotel windows. The Hyatt's vertical extension will be capped by two floors faced in glass. For a final flourish, the corner over Fourth will get a halo framed in metal.

Meanwhile, this will be soon joining its classmate down on the Bowery...