Residents pitching in to help refurbish First Street garden

So you might probably know this spot on East First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...





Now some local residents have gotten together to try to save this derelict lot, owned by the Department of Parks and Recreation.

Here's some history via the organizers, First Street Green:

"For years -- back when the laws in New York were a little less rigidly enforced -- a block resident named Mattie made sculpture installations there, and he'd let neighborhood kids in to play basketball. Since Mattie's death, the rat population has exploded and the pavement is riddled with burrows. The only purposes it serves these days are to skeeve block residents and to horrify the block's restaurant patrons (which might be amusing, but their horrified screams are obnoxiously loud). First Street Green (a group that includes block residents, artists, and others) has tried going through the proper channels to develop the lot into a simple sculpture park, with no success: Parks funds are nonexistent (Parks leaves rat poison once a month, and that's about it); the City isn't interested in setting aside money to develop it into a park because of its low profile; it can't become a resident-run Greenthumb garden because it's owned by the Department of Parks and Recreation. So we have two choices: It can stay like this forever, or we can raise the money ourselves to develop it."

So that's what the "First Growth benefit show" is doing tonight from 6-9 at 35 E. First St. (This is in the empty storefront in the building next to the lot/park.)

Per the invite:

"Come and brows, buy and admire the works of local artists with all moneys to benefit the rebuilding of the First Street Green park. Refreshments and wine provided from surrounding businesses will be served. This show will also feature a series of masonite 'rats' created and donated by the Lower Eastside Girls Club."

First Growth's goal is to remove the rubble and create a simple-to-maintain garden and cultural space. Click on the image below for more on the plans.

New message from the Bad Pussies

Shot taken outside Mama's on Third Street near Avenue B earlier this week by John Penley ... On the Bad Pussies mural.



Thanks to John for letting me reprint... see more of his photos on his Facebook page. And he's frequently posting new shots there.

Copper Building shows off its nether regions

Well! Look who's showing off now... As EV Grieve reader Caroline noted yesterday in this photo that she sent along, workers removed the sidewalk shed around the Copper Building at 13th Street and Avenue B ...



Alas, she won't be around for any ribbon-cutting ceremonies, though. "I've been living next door for two years and I am finally moving next week," Caroline said, "but I'll always have my memories of 2+ years of nonstop jackhammering noise."

And here's what the rendering looked like...



How'd they do?

And here are a few shots that I took later...






Meanwhile!

Cue the music ... Now let's take a stroll through our photo archives... at the former site of The Sylvia del Villard Program of the Roberto Clemente Center, which helped to offer counseling and therapy to people who were discharged from psychiatric facilities.















See you soon!



For further reading:
Can copper rust? (WikiAnswers)

Noted

Yesterday!



The day before yesterday!



Previously on EV Grieve:
13th Step one step closer to reality

Shear madness?

Speaking of new bars, the Blind Barber has opened on 10th Street near Avenue B....at the former Plan B space (same owners, I believe)...

Frank Bruni paid a visit at the Times... Here's a Frankenblurb or two... He described it as "a new establishment in the East Village with a worrisome moniker but an amusing conceit: Every $40 haircut or $30 shave comes with a cocktail (or beer or wine) from an adjacent lounge in back, enabling the patron to do follicular and spiritual maintenance all at once."

And!

Although we reporters are usually loath to admit this sort of thing, the release got my attention. It heralded a “barbershop and lounge mash-up,” casting the enterprise as “the ultimate experience in multitasking.”

“Not enough hours in the day for that much needed haircut?” it asked. “Has yet another social obligation cut into your grooming time?” Enter the Blind Barber, where you can socialize and groom simultaneously, or at least in rapid succession, under one roof. Get buzzed while getting buzzed. Combine hygiene with high jinks.

Uh, anyway, I walked by the place Wednesday evening and spotted a bouncer and velvety-looking ropes....



Back in January, Fork in the Road noted that Blind Barber would also be serving food from Gnocco next door...

A fleeting chance of love and a good burger on the Bowery

From our friends at Craigslist...

We were walking up the Bowery - m4w (East Village)
Date: 2010-06-24, 9:04PM EDT

and I asked you if you knew where to get a good burger. You smiled and said you didn't know that area. You seemed friendly as if you would have and maybe wanted kept talking to me, but I got shy... and watched you walk away regretfully.

This makes me sad that he didn't... go to Paul's...

East Fourth Street will have to curb their enthusiasm Monday

Because....

This afternoon's sign of the apocalypse

As Eater has been reporting today, the T.G.I. Friday's has opened on Union Square.... (Or, O.M.G. Friday's!)



Lots of hate for this, too. Based on the comments at Eater and Curbed. C'mon! They got their start in an old beer joint on First Avenue on the UES.... they invented the potato skin... they, they popularized flair bartending ....

[Weeping]

Photo via Eater.

The law that reshapes NYC's loft landscape

A little late on this story from Tuesday... Here, via Crain's...

Just before midnight Monday, Gov. David Paterson signed legislation that vastly expands the law protecting residential loft tenants. A last-minute deal was worked out with the Bloomberg administration to exclude 13 of the city's 16 Industrial Business Zones from the law, which legalizes the residential use of buildings in industrial areas.

I asked Curt Hoppe, who has lived and worked in a loft at 98 Bowery since 1976, for his take on the legislation.

"This is really good for the city and its artists... and, in the end, good for everyone," Hoppe said. "I never heard of anyone coming to New York to see an investment bankers' neighborhood."

Read more on the loft law via the Lower Manhattan Loft Tenants website.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Legislation to protect loft tenants permanently passes Senate

Of the 147 storefronts on Avenue A, 70 of them are bars, restaurants or vacant

Yeah, that got my attention the other night during the Community Board 3 meeting. Between November 2009 and May, CB3 Urban Fellow Paulo H. Lellis conducted retail research "to examine the concerns of business operators in Community Board 3 and obtain information on the diversity of business in the area."

Lellis gave a quick overview of the fairly massive report on Tuesday night. (We'll get to more on Avenue A in a minute...)

A few quick items about ground-floor retail in the CB3 area (from 2009):

Average monthly rent: $8,097.90
Average square footage of retail space: 1,464
Average annual rent per square foot: $77

I know what you're thinking: "Gee, Grieve, this is super, but how does it compare with, say, Harlem, the Meatpacking District or the Financial District?"

Glad you asked!

Average annual rent per square foot in Harlem: $75-$200
Average annual rent per square foot in MePa (sorry!): $400-$450
Average annual rent per square foot in FiDi (sorry!): $100-$400

A few more facts:

As of 2009, there are 151 chain stores in the 10003 zip code -- the third-most number of chain stores in 30 NYC zips... (The East Village Community Coalition examined formula zoning in 2008... see that report here.)

Oh, I could go on with stats. But you can find all these reports yourself at the CB3 site.

First, though, here's an overview of what Lellis was looking to find...

The research consisted of a survey of business owners/managers on 9th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues which sought to prioritize business concerns. Two retail use surveys were also carried out in order to provide information on the types of businesses located on Avenue A and 9th Street. Additionally, a shift-share analysis was conducted to determine the change in the growth of local retail and accommodation & food service establishments relative to Manhattan and New York City between the years 2002 and 2007. The fellow also examined CB3 commercial retail rents relative to other neighborhoods.

The fellow’s research revealed that taxes were reported to be the primary concern for business owners/managers and utilities were the second largest concern. Additionally, the research revealed that retail did not experience the same favorable growth as the accommodation & food services sector in Community Board 3 despite being relatively better off than Manhattan and New York City in terms growth of establishments. Lastly, the surveys provided a basis from which to continue to examine the issues of retail diversity and rents in the community.

I'm particularly interested in his findings on Avenue A, something which I did rather informally earlier this year.

Here's what he found...



Basically, there are 51 bars, restaurants and lounges on Avenue A, which accounts for 35 percent of the storefronts... then... there are 19 vacant storefronts, which account for 13 percent of the storefronts... then... there are 15 delis and groceries, 10 percent of the total storefronts. (There are 147 storefronts in total...)



By the way, he also examined Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... perhaps I'll highlight that report another day...

So what does all this mean?

Based on his results, the following options for consideration and suggested areas for further inquiry are presented to the CB3 Economic Development Committee:

1. Inform local businesses about existing services available to help them negotiate leases with favorable provisions on taxes
2. Encourage "on-bill financing" of energy efficiency improvements for businesses as a means to achieve cost savings
3. Incorporate research on retail diversity and options to address the issue, like formula zoning, as an ongoing project for future community board fellows
4. Continue to explore the issue of retail rents in the neighborhood and possible ways to address this concern through programs such as tax abatements

Anyway, there are reports galore at the CB3 website. In the short term, well, I think I'll go to Ray's for a hot dog...

Hello again, new old Irving Plaza marquee

Back in April 2007, the Fillmore East took over the Irving Plaza...



I really always hated the crappy looking sign...But! You know, Irving Plaza recently got its name back from the Evil Empire (read more here at Stupefaction...)

I haven't been on Irving Place for a few weeks... Thanks to EV Grieve reader evilnyc for these shots of the new old marquee from last night...





According to the Times:

To build a replica of the old marquee, Live Nation hired Ken Lubin, a graphic designer who specializes in signs for Broadway theaters. (He removed the original Irving Plaza marquee in 2007 when he installed the new one for the Fillmore, which he made.) It wasn’t easy, Mr. Lubin said, because the old one had been left in an alley behind the club, with chunks of it missing. But there was just enough to serve as a model for its stainless-steel letters and red neon lighting.

“They wanted it to have the look and feel of what it was prior to changing it over to the Fillmore,” Mr. Lubin said.

(Fillmore photo via)

Construction under way for new Lower Eastside Girls Club home

On Avenue D between Seventh Street and Eighth Street... read about about it here.






I also meant to mention Celebrate Café, which operates inside the Bowery Poetry Club... The Lower Eastside Girls Club runs the Café as an entrepreneurial and job training program that employs local youth and young adults. They just had their official grand opening... BoweryBoogie has more here...

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Lower Eastside Girls Club's "urban paradise" closer to reality

13th Step one step closer to reality

The sign is up at 13th Step, the subtle new bar opening in the former Telephone Bar space on Second Avenue ...

Apologies for doing this...



[Telephone photo via]

To the "2 Punk/Hippie Girls" who bought this stolen Chrome Bianchi Pista

Spotted on Avenue C. Wow.

Welcome back?

As Eater noted, Cheap Shots had a grand reopening today on First Avenue since getting the Seize a few weeks back ... and, although there's no signage yet, the new (old) place is called Spanky and Darla's.

The Mosaic Man is back on the trail... now with an apprentice

There's a nice piece in the Voice now by Leslie Minora, who files a feature on Jim Power.... Power is in the process of refurbishing his mosaics... and! He has apparently found an apprentice. An excerpt:

Power has also teamed up with Al Bonsignore, a 23-year-old apprentice/patron, to carry on his mission. Two months ago, the older man was walking along First Avenue when Bonsignore recognized his mosaic cane and approached him. Bonsignore, a native New Yorker who has admired the posts since childhood, hit it off with the artist, and the two began an unlikely but serendipitous working relationship. "Yeah, he's hooked; he's done; he's finished. That's it -- Mosaic Man," Power says, jokingly bequeathing his nickname to his protégé.

A month after meeting Power, Bonsignore invited him to work out of the basement of the East 5th Street building owned by his father, John Bonsignore, who runs a plumbing business in Murray Hill and co-owns West Village Bar Little Branch with Milk & Honey mixologist, Sasha Petraske. In return, Power is teaching his craft to Bonsignore, who helps manage the East 5th Street building, and the two are developing plans for future projects and ventures that grow loftier and more intricate by the day.

"It's great for me," says Bonsignore. "It just feels right. It's a great de-stressor; it's a great way to be creative, and it's just fun." (Bonsignore also grows medical marijuana in California.) "Growing and mosaics have been my two main focuses right now -- and music," he says.

Read the whole article here.

[Photo of Al Bonsignore via The Voice]