Someone actually paid $57 million for this East Village building

Wow. $57 million for this dorm-looking thing on Third Avenue and East 11th Street? (And you thought that the Yankees overpaid for Beltran!)

Oh, anyway, this 12-story residential thing with retail space hit the market back in April. Now The Wall Street Journal reports that the Benchmark Real Estate Group LLC is the new owner.

Per the Journal:

The mixed-use property has 55 rental apartment units and 10,500 square feet of retail space. The current commercial tenants are the Smith, an American restaurant, Asian market M2M and NY Copy Printing Co.

Benchmark plans to invest money from its $45 million first mortgage to renovate and upgrade the apartment units and increase the retail space by 15% to 20%, said Russell Frahm, head of Mesa West's New York origination team.

The original listing noted that "[a] buyer may wish to expand the residential floor plate above and restore the building above by reskinning glass." And this is the rendering...



Oh boy.

All I want for Christmas is…

The old Blarney Cove sign. Still there on East 14th Street. How do we get this down ahead of the demolition of this block?

Also on the xmas list, world peace, etc.

The Odessa name has been removed from its former sidewalk canopy

Speaking of signs... noticed last week that the name of the "Odessa" had been removed from the sidewalk canopy at the former Odessa Cafe and Bar.

There was talk that the Odessa folks would reopen the space at 117 Avenue A, but that is not going to happen, as we noted last week.

Oh well. Anyway, we always like sidewalk canopies you know.


[August]

Report: Several dogs jolted by stray voltage on East Village streets

[Sunday on East 7th Street]

The Post has more details about the reports of stray voltage on various East Village streets, such as East Seventh and East Second.

In particular, residents were pissed that Con Ed didn't tell residents about the potential danger … simply putting up some cones and yellow tape with a subcontractor sitting nearby in a car. Meanwhile, several dogs were zapped by electrified manhole covers...

Here's the Post with more from East Seventh Street between Avenue C and Avenue D:

It took calls to 311, 911 and, finally, a visit from the NYPD before a Con Ed repair crew arrived ... And while cops were talking to the safety manager, a passing pit bull got jolted.

“The yellow tape is out there to keep people away from the energized objects,” Con Ed spokesman Allan Drury told the Post on Monday.

Con Ed workers discovered the problem early Friday but had limited access to the area because of tightly parked cars, he said.

Repairs were completed on East Seventh Street late Sunday, he said.

Another neighborhood dog, a black standard poodle named Maybelline, was zapped so violently on Sunday that her heart stopped temporarily, said the dog’s owner, Catherine Kord.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Resident shocked about ConEd's nonchalance over stray voltage

EV Grieve's last-minute Lego gift ideas

Office Building Starter Kit



Tenants sold separately

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East Village Retail Starter Kit



13 months of assembly required

[Updated] Monkey is missing

On East Third Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Updated 12/24

Monkey is safely back home!

Box Kite Coffee softly opens on St. Mark's Place

[Photo by @CCarella]
‏
Box Kite Coffee is in soft-open mode at 115 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The cafe is from Cora Lambert and Erik Becker, who had been operating a pop-up at TriBeCa wine bar Maslow 6.

Liz Clayton at Sprudge.com got the first look on Saturday.

A few details from that post:

The coffee bar is small (though not for New York), with the only seats at the front windows (which will open up to the street in fair weather) and alongside the counter. Lambert says she was inspired by diner counters, and hopes the space will naturally encourage more bar interaction. “We’ve got some sick soda fountain stools that aren’t here yet,” she promises.

Box Kite will also have a limited beer and wine list as well as an offering of food and pastries.

Anyway, you can see for yourself now...

Hi Friends! We are not officially open but our door is open and we are giving away espresso today. Come by and say hello.
— Box Kite NYC (@BoxKiteCoffee) December 23, 2013

The Tuck Shop closed its location here on July 7.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Box Kite Coffee opening at former Tuck Shop space on St. Mark's Place?

More details about Black Ant, coming soon to 60 Second Ave.

Back in November, we reported that the owners of Ofrenda, a homestyle Mexican restaurant in the West Village, will open Black Ant at 60 Second Ave. in the space previously occupied by Bona Fides.

The Post today had a few more details on what to expect.

The 2,800-square-foot location will have four different dining areas — a small lounge that seats 15 with an additional 15 seats at the bar, two dining rooms seating a total of 60 plus an open garden that will seat 40.

Black Ant also will feature a private dining room with 25 seats.

According to their Twitter account, Black Ant is aiming for a late January opening.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Team behind Ofrenda bringing Black Ant to the East Village

The day the music stores died in the East Village

Several readers passed along the news that the East Village Music Store is closing at 21 E. Third St. The store's website notes a "moving sale," with 20 percent off new items, 40 percent off used items and 60 percent off all accessories.

In an email, store owner Claude Campbell said that they would close after Dec. 31 … and that he hasn't found a new spot yet for his shop, which opened in 1994.

Meanwhile, EVG reader Cheryl Pyle passes along the sad news that A-1 Music at 186 First Ave. is also closing. Jan. 26 is likely the last day for this 26-year-old store.


[Cheryl Pyle]

Jeremiah Moss first reported on the closure Friday at Vanishing New York. Per Jeremiah:

The owner told me ... business isn't great and the rent is just too high. They looked for a more affordable space in the neighborhood, but found nothing.

[CP]

If you're you're looking for something along these lines, then you're in luck. Everything in the shop is "buy one, get the second half price," with books going 2-for-1.

As for music stores around here… First Flight Music is still going strong at 174 First Ave.

Resident shocked about Con Ed's nonchalance over stray voltage

Yesterday, we noted that Con Ed has caution tape up around some manholes and light poles on East Second Street from Avenue A to Avenue C…

This isn't the only part of the East Village with possible stray voltage. A resident points out that the same thing has happened on East Seventh Street between Avenue C and Avenue D dating back to Wednesday …

"On Wednesday, a series of cones and caution tape went up ... covering multiple cars, motorcycles, tree pits, garden gates, approximately six or seven buildings wide. Movie being made? Crime scene? Art installation? Nope, there's live current running through tree pit fences, railings, cars, street lamp posts and the pavement. A number of dogs have received severe shocks, including Maybelline, the black standard poodle, whose heart stopped as she fell to the ground convulsing, yelping and writhing in pain."



"This area has had current running through the detailed area for days, with none of the residents receiving any information on the danger. The area has NO SIGNAGE warning of the danger of electrical shock," according to the resident, who has documented the various offenses. The resident also notes that a Con Ed subcontractor has sat in his car since Wednesday watching over the scene, but never talking to passersby.



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Eventually the NYPD get involved.



"Con Ed's subcontractor tells the police this car, surrounded by a couple cones and caution tape (no signage provided) is sitting over live wires.
Hmmmmm, might want to let neighborhood folks in on what's happening," said the resident. "Thanks Con Ed for being on it! So on it, that the police had to place a call to get a ConEd emergency crew on the scene."

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After the NYPD put in a call, an emergency Con Ed crew arrived on the scene yesterday afternoon around 4. The emergency crew blocked the sidewalk with more cones and tape to prevent pedestrians from entering the area. As of last night around 8, the crew was awaiting for a tow truck to remove the car sitting on the live wires.

Updated:
Con Ed reported that crews have fixed the stray-voltage problems on East Second and East Seventh streets.

David Schwimmer mansion makes list of '10 Most Controversial NYC Developments in 2013'

NewYork.com's real estate section unleashed a year-end listicle — 10 Most Controversial NYC Developments in 2013.

All the big ones are there — from Willets Point to the Domino Sugar Factory to 5Pointz.

And cracking the list at No. 10 — our very own David Schwimmer, who, perhaps one day, may actually move into 331 E. Sixth St.

Anyway, here is New York.com recapping Chez Schwimm:

David Schwimmer’s Townhouse, East Village
This spring the scaffolding finally came down from around actor David Schwimmer’s East Village townhouse, which has outraged nearby residents for years. In 2011 he demolished the original structure, built in 1852 and considered the oldest townhouse on the block, before it could receive landmark status in 2012. What followed was years of construction, falling debris and angry notes from neighbors, include the graffiti, “Ross is not cool” scrawled on nearby plywood in August as a welcome note to the Friends actor, who played Ross on the hit show. The result: a totally bland brick facade on a six-story mansion with a rooftop terrace.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is David Schwimmer the 'Friends' star who now owns the demolished 331 E. Sixth St. townhouse?

Outrage over total demolition of historic East Sixth Street townhouse

Here is David Schwimmer's East Village home

The La MaMa Galleria will be available to rent starting next summer

Over on East First Street between the Bowery and Second Avenue… a sign is up noting that the La MaMa Galleria will be moving...



… and that the space is available starting in July. According to the Great Jones Realty website, the asking rent is $15,000 a month for the 1,800 square feet of space…

No mention of any restrictions on the space… so perhaps it could remain for gallery use… or converted/vented for restaurant use to join the other name restauranteurs setting up nearby...