It is with a heavy heart that we deliver the sad news that Chester Kawalec (our grillman) has passed away yesterday. The viewing will be at Arthur's Funeral Home on Friday Jan.27th, 2017 between 6 and 9pm, located at 207 Nassau Avenue in Brooklyn. R.I.P.
The signature dish of The Kati Roll Company, Kati Rolls, are made by wrapping warm paratha, a type of Indian flat bread, around a variety of meats, vegetables and cheese. Each ingredient is marinated in a proprietary blend of Indian spices, creating a distinctive taste available nowhere else. Rolls can also be wrapped with a whole wheat roti for a healthier option.
Diners may choose from a select few fillings like beef, chicken, lamb, egg, shrimp, mixed veggie patty, chana masala, paneer cheese or potatoes. The finished Kati Roll is wrapped in either a paratha or a whole wheat roti and served hot, making it a satisfying meal that can be enjoyed virtually anywhere.
Diakun "says in his Manhattan Supreme Court suit that Con Ed advised him to hire a plumber to restore gas service four days after the March 26 building explosion.
Diakun says there was no siphoning, claiming the plumber he hired discovered a gas leak in the basement of 128 Second Ave. and then removed extraneous pipes to fix the problem.
Since the explosion, 128 Second Ave. has accrued 87 violations with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, along with two additional violations and a stop-work order from the Department of Buildings, according to city records. The building has been without heat, hot water, or cooking gas for three weeks.
Since the explosion, 128 Second Ave. has accrued 87 violations with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, along with two additional violations and a stop-work order from the Department of Buildings, according to city records. The building has been without heat, hot water, or cooking gas for three weeks.
Residents of 128 Second Ave. say Icon has neglected the building, bullied rent-stabilized tenants and hired unqualified workers to do construction without permits. Icon denies the claims.
In court last Tuesday, Manhattan Housing Court Judge Cheryl Gonzales expressed impatience with Icon’s lawyer, who asked for 45 days and a “right of extension” to repair the boiler, citing aging infrastructure, warmer weather and lengthy waits for permits.
“People have to take showers every day,” Judge Gonzales said. “Make it work.”
Judge Gonzales also showed concern about the building’s 89 open violations with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development violations, including 58 the department considered “immediately hazardous” and must be fixed within 24 hours. The bulk of the violations relate to gas and deteriorated external fire escapes.
In response to the recent news, Roman Diakun, the proprietor of Stage Restaurant has released this statement:
We at the Stage Restaurant are deeply troubled by the landlord’s false allegations that we engaged in any illegal siphoning of gas. Stage is a long-standing restaurant with deep connections to the community – we have never siphoned gas, and have committed no wrong.
In response to a complaint made by one of the residential tenants of the Building, Con Edison turned off the gas to the entire building, including Stage’s gas supply as a precautionary measure in light of the recent tragic events that transpired on March 26, 2015.
Con Ed promptly came to the Building and performed an inspection, which made no findings that Stage had ever tampered with the meters or pipes. In connection with restoring gas services to Stage, a licensed plumber determined that Stage needed to replace one of the pipes servicing Stage.
In an effort to remedy the issue as quickly as possible, Stage commenced work prior to obtaining what was later learned to be a necessary work permit, and a stop work order was issued. Stage immediately complied with the stop work order, paid the fines thereon and hired a licensed plumber to apply for the proper applications to perform this work, so that Stage can get back to servicing the community it has had the pleasure to serve for the last 35 years. Stage has requested that the Landlord sign off and cooperate with Stage’s efforts in this regard.
However, to date, Stage has been unable to secure the Landlord’s consent to completing this repair work, which is vital to the safe and continued operations of Stage, as well as for the safety of the community. Stage has requested that the Landlord withdraw the termination notice, and cooperate with Stage’s efforts; however, the Landlord in not interested in promptly remedying a potentially dangerous issue at the Premises, but instead the Landlord is seizing on the recent tragic events as an opportunity to wrongfully evict us for reasons unknown to us.
The building has several violations which are not related to the present issue, and none are indicative of the Landlord’s spurious and malicious claims that Stage has engaged in any wrong-doing other than overzealously attempting to remedy a potentially dangerous condition.
Tim Neithercott, a tenant of 128 Second Avenue, told us that his landlords would intermittently turn off the building's gas during renovations, but that Con Ed was never notified, suggesting the landlord was doing so independently. "They've definitely been tampering with the gas on their own," Neithercott says, and indeed, on Sunday, a Con Edison inspector discovered that a new gas pipe was being installed on site without a permit.
“They don’t want me,” he said, referring to his landlord, 128 Second Realty LLC. “I didn’t do any crime.”
Diakun declined to comment further, but previously said at a small business meeting that he was making an emergency repair on the line and did not realize he needed a permit to do the work. He also denied that he was siphoning gas. The landlord, he added, refused to fix the line so he could reopen his business.
The Stage, the beloved diner at 128 Second Ave., hasn't been open since March 28, as we've been reporting. It's a complicated situation involving Con Ed and the landlord, Icon Realty.
Now Stage owner Roman Diakun's son Andrew has started a petition … collecting signatures to help generate support for the restaurant between East Seventh Street and St.Mark's Place…
Stage Restaurant has been in business for 35 years in the East Village of Manhattan NYC. A few days after the explosion which happened on Second Avenue on Thursday March 26, 2015, a tenant living in the building where Stage Restaurant is located called Con Edison stating that he/she smelled gas in their apartment. As a precaution and safety measure, Con Edison shut off the gas supply to the entire building located at 128 Second Avenue. As a result, Stage Restaurant has been without gas for 2 weeks already, and has been closed as a result. Stage Restaurant has tried to reopen during this time, but is having trouble with the landlord in order to do so.
Let's not lose one of the last neighborhood staples which has been around for this long.
If you are interested in signing the petition, then you will find it here.
Stage Restaurant has been in business for 35 years in the East Village of Manhattan NYC. A few days after the explosion which happened on Second Avenue on Thursday March 26, 2015, a tenant living in the building where Stage Restaurant is located called Con Edison stating that he/she smelled gas in their apartment. As a precaution and safety measure, Con Edison shut off the gas supply to the entire building located at 128 Second Avenue. As a result, Stage Restaurant has been without gas for 2 weeks already, and has been closed as a result. Stage Restaurant has tried to reopen during this time, but is having trouble with the landlord in order to do so.
Let's not lose one of the last neighborhood staples which has been around for this long.
"Tenants have had issues from the get-go," Yonatan Tadele, a community organizer with the Cooper Square Committee, told us. He noted that since Icon took over in 2013, landlords had been taking rent-stabilized tenants to court, then terrorizing remaining tenants with lengthy renovations, frequent gas shutdowns and other quality-of-life issues.
Mitch Kossoff, a lawyer representing building owner Icon Realty, said the owners were "puzzled" and not aware of any gas work being done.
Please be assured that Smicon Realty is committed to providing safe and habitable housing to the tenants of New York City, and upon notification of any issues, promptly deals with them.
Unfortunately, and as a backlash of the recent and tragic circumstances that occurred across the street, Con Edison has shut off gas service to a number of buildings, our building included.
Please be assured that we are acting diligently to have the gas service restored as quickly as possible and in the interim, we are trying to make arrangements for a temporary boiler.
We are also going to provide all tenants with double burner hot plates so you can cook. We would like for all tenants who wish to relocate to a Hotel of your choice starting immediately.
For those tenants who are not otherwise in arrears, Management will cover up to $200 per day for your Hotel accommodations until the hot water has been restored building wide.
Management will not cover any expenses that exceed the $200 per diem. Please submit your Hotel receipts into our office for reimbursement.
Your reimbursement check will be processed within 30 business days of receipt.
Your rent will be adjusted accordingly for the days you are without heat and hot water.
We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and hope to have this matter resolved in a timely manner.
