PJ O’Rourke regroups with a pop-up space on Broadway

P.J. O'Rourke has proven to be as resilient as he is creative. 

As EVG contributor Stacie Joy reported back in April, O'Rourke, an East Village-based artist and entrepreneur, had moved into a new high-profile storefront on First Avenue to sell his FlyeLyfe brand of hats, prints, T-shirts and other original designs. 

Unfortunately, O'Rourke found himself locked out after one day following a dispute with his "so-called business partner." (Read that post here.) 

However, as Stacie reports, he recently found a new home at 815 Broadway just south of 12th Street. The storefront is a permanent pop-up space leased by people and organizations to throw events. So, on those days, O'Rourke won't be at the address. He announces his schedule on Instagram. He also has online sales.

Stacie stopped in the other day to find O'Rourke at work with a heat press with new designs for T-shirts, hoodies and tank tops. The brand is now known as P.J. O’Rourke II ... 

In 2012, O’Rourke started selling his merch on the L train via a mobile art cart. He was on a month-to-month lease on 11th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue for nearly 15 months before moving to First Avenue ... and now on Broadway.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• A visit to FlyeLyfe on 11th Street 

[Updated] El Rinconcito is on the move

El Rinconcito, the family-owned Latin American restaurant at 408 E. 10th St. between Avenue C and Avenue D, is closing on Friday ahead of a move to a new (undisclosed) location... (thanks to the reader for the pic!)

No word yet on the new space. 

And based on a recent Instagram post, we'll have a little while to wait: "Our new location is still in the process of construction ... We hope to open in the coming months." 

El Rinconcito has been serving delicious and inexpensive food here since 1994. 

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Updated... EVG reader Stacie Joy stopped by...

The restaurant is moving to Avenue C near Fifth Street for a year or so while 408 E. 10th St. is being renovated. Sounds as if they will be returning to the building someday. 

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And as a P.S. — the tree out front here came down at some point this past weekend (reader photo!)...

Speculation watch: What's next for the Kmart space on Astor Place?

Kmart abruptly wrapped up 25 years of blue light specials this past Sunday on Astor Place, as we first reported. 

Attention quickly turned to what might be next for this prime two-level retail space. 

The first suspect! Facebook. 

Zuck and Co. have had offices at 770 Broadway since 2014 — and in fact, they lease half of the 15-floor building. They took over Kmart's former upstairs in 2018. 

Seems likely a likely takeover candidate for landlord Vornado Realty Trust. 

But! 

The Commercial Observer reported this yesterday:

Facebook is in no rush to expand its footprint. Only a quarter of its New York City offices currently have workers in them, and the tech company does not have plans to rent the building's lower floors that housed Kmart, a Facebook spokeswoman said. Vornado declined to comment about the future of its Astor Place site.

Otherwise, other rental candidates — via EVG commenters — included Wegmans and Target and EV Grieve's — a two-level gastropub-drinkery.  

Target seems unlikely — especially if they are leasing the former Food Emporium on Union Square. 

To be continued...

H/T Upper West Sider! Photo by Stacie Joy

 

Not April Fool's Day

Thanks to everyone who sent this along via Instagram... a free Kraft Macaroni & Cheese-flavored ice cream mashup with Van Leeuwen today (somewhere) on Union Square starting at 11 a.m. ...

Christeene at the Parkside Lounge

Christeene's Saturday residency (Un Butt Plugged!) at the Parkside Lounge concludes this coming July 17. 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy caught the show this past Saturday... where the provocative character created by Paul Soileau put on another gleefully unhinged punk-and electro-fueled performance ...

Expect some special guests and new music (and maybe reimaginings of classics like "Butt Muscle"). The show on Saturday starts at 8. Find ticket info here. (A few more tix will be released tomorrow, July 14, at noon.) The Parkside Lounge is at 317 E. Houston St. at Attorney.

Community Board 3 committees to discuss the longterm future of outdoor dining

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 Updated 12:27 p.m. 

Per CB3: Depending on the attendance, seating may be limited due to social distancing. The meeting will also be live-streamed here. Comments may also be submitted to mn03@cb.nyc.gov. to be considered for the September vote.

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City officials from the Department of City Planning and Department of Transportation are exploring an overhaul of zoning and permitting regulations to allow the Open Restaurants program to become permanent. 

As Crain's reported, the city had to suspend roughly 20 zoning rules when Mayor de Blasio announced the program in June 2020.

The Open Restaurants text amendment entered public review on June 21. This proposal is the first of a series of changes to create the permanent Open Restaurants program. Per the city:

In addition to the zoning amendment, the City will move administration of the sidewalk café program from the Department of Consumer Affairs and Workforce Protection to DOT, streamline the application process and create rules for a permanent roadway dining program. Altogether, restaurants will have a single agency to go to apply for outdoor dining, with a clear set of design guidelines on what is allowed.

And:

The proposed zoning text amendment would affect every community district within the City. The proposed action would remove the definitions of sidewalk cafes from the Zoning Resolution and any mentions of them in special districts, as well as other clean-up text to fully remove any zoning prohibitions related to the operation of sidewalk cafes.

Tonight, there's an in-person presentation, discussion and public testimony at a joint Community Board 3 Committee meeting. (See below for the meeting details.) As part of the public review process, the CB3 Committees will produce a resolution, which the full board will vote on in September.

Several community groups are encouraging participation. According to an email yesterday from the East Village Community Coalition (EVCC):

"This meeting is your opportunity to share your concerns about whether/how this program should continue, and how it might be improved, while the details are still being hashed out. If this privatization of public space is to become permanent, residents and business owners should have input."

The EVCC also calls attention to other issues that they see with the program.

This emergency program, while critical for struggling restaurants, has created untenable noise and sanitation issues for neighborhoods with high concentrations of eating and drinking establishments: 

• amplified music, smoking and crowds below residents' windows 

• bags of trash and discarded containers exacerbating rat problems 

• choked paths for pedestrians and emergency vehicles 

• fire safety concerns about the use and storage of propane heaters 

None of these issues are readily resolved through the usual channels, leaving very little recourse for residents or business owners. This has not changed, even as problems worsen with increasing traffic as the City reopens.

In addition, several neighbor groups — LES Dwellers, Orchard Street Block Association, the Chinatown Core and the East Fifth Street Block Association — are urging residents to voice any concerns about the Open Restaurants program...

In an email, the group members state:

In many areas, the eating and drinking sheds have become severely problematic. As such, we are adamantly opposed to Outdoor Dining Sheds becoming a permanent fixture in NYC. We appreciate that these sheds were a lifeline for the hospitality industry during the pandemic and allowed residents a safe place to social distance. 

Since COVID restrictions have been lifted, we think it is time for the emergency dining sheds to be retired, and the sidewalk cafe process is reinstated regarding alfresco dining. 

However, you feel about the Open Restaurants program, no public input or proper environmental impact study was commissioned. Instead, the city rammed the sheds through behind closed doors with little to no oversight, calling it an unbridled success with few issues to resolve.

Last week, Gov. Cuomo signed legislation extending the usage of municipal spaces for restaurants through the middle of next year. 

Tonight's in-person Committee meeting starts at 6:30 at the Boys Club of New York, 287 E. 10th St. at Avenue A. You can find a copy of the presentation at this link.

Ideal Glass sign disappears on 2nd Street

Updated: Karma is now open. Here's info (link) on their debut exhibit. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Renovations continue at the Ideal Glass building at 20-22 E. Second St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery... where, as we reported here and here, Karma Gallery is opening a new space.

Unfortunately, as multiple readers pointed out in recent days, the familiar Ideal Glass signage apparently isn't going to be part of the new exterior.

Unable to resist the easy answer, I think it’s bad karma not to have found a way to incorporate the sign. There are few archaeological remains of the neighborhood’s past. Not all are worth saving, I think this was one that was.

— Barry Udoff (@BDYOU) July 8, 2021

Through the years, artists creating murals on the storefront worked around the Ideal Glass signage ...

The Ideal Glass building dates to the 1950s, when used as a glazier's workshop... and the remaining sign was from that era...

Willard Morgan started the Ideal Glass Studios, an artist-run film & TV production studio, in 2004 ... and the Second Street building was in use as a gallery and art collective. Morgan, who still owns the building, runs Ideal Glass Studios from space on West Eighth Street.  (We reached out to Morgan to see if, perhaps, the sign had been preserved.)

As for the new tenant, this is the latest EV expansion for art dealer and publisher Brendan Dugan, who debuted Karma on Second Street between Avenue A and Avenue B in November 2016. (Karma Books opened in April 2018 at 136 E. Third St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.)

According to artnet News, who first reported on this deal, this "latest venue is set to be the crown jewel" for Karma. Why? "The ceiling height alone is enough to make a dealer salivate, and there will no doubt be a number of artists maneuvering for spots on the programming schedule."

Report: David Bowie's former apartment sells on Lafayette

The tasteful Lafayette Street apartment that David Bowie lived in for the last 17 years of his life sold after less than a month on the market for $16.8 million. 

As The Wall Street Journal first reported, the property is now in contract. Streeteasy shows that the residence had been on the market for 27 days. Bowie bought the space for $3.81 million in 1999. 

Here's a description of the home located in a former chocolate factory (circa 1886) between Houston/Jersey Street and Prince via Streeteasy:

Located in a premier full-service building in Soho/Nolita, is a grand yet intimate condominium residence measuring 5,090 square feet with 3 perfectly situated terraces measuring an additional 1,025 square feet. 

The interior was beautifully crafted by one of Europe's most renowned architect/designers. Direct elevator access to the apartment's entrance gallery leads to a 56 × 22 foot great room with 3 exposures and a western terrace. 11 foot ceiling heights, a fireplace, adjacent library (w/bath), and open kitchen add to the space’s character and function. 

The main bedroom suite measures over 1,000 square feet and features a fireplace, dressing room, oversized bath and terrace. There are an additional 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, and a powder room.

The property is owned by a trust linked to Bowie's estate, the Journal reported. Iman, his wife of 24 years, was said to still be living in the unit before it was listed for sale.

Bowie died in January 2016 of liver cancer. He was 69. 

He was living in the apartment at the time of his death. In subsequent days, fans created makeshift memorials outside the building. 

All photos via Streeteasy

Monday's parting shots

According to the Citizen app yesterday, there was "a report of a swarm of bees in a tree and swarming around people" at First Park on First Street and First Avenue. 

And today, a member of the NYPD beekeepers was spotted doing some follow-up work on the scene... thanks to @aceacekin for the photos...

The bee unit reportedly formed in 2010 when NYC legalized urban beekeeping.

At WitchsFest USA — A Pagan Faire on Astor Place

The annual (b. 2012) WitchsFest USA — A Pagan Street Faire took place over the weekend... and on Saturday, a group of "magickally enchanting vendors" were on Astor Place between Lafayette and Broadway, where EVG contributor Stacie Joy met some of the participants...

Another large tree branch down in Tompkins Square Park

This tree (an elm?) splintered some time overnight in Tompkins Square Park... EVG regular Salim shared these photos this morning... this tree is on the south end of the Park along Seventh Street...

Several limbs have fallen in the Park in recent weeks — some due to storms... and some not.

Attention Kmart shoppers: The Astor Place location is now closed after 25 years in business

After nearly 25 years on Astor Place, Kmart has closed this once-prime retail outpost. Yesterday was the last day in business for the struggling retailer (thank you to the EVG reader for the initial tip!) ...

We're told that employees weren't told of the Sunday close date until this past Friday. Signs announcing the last days were circulated throughout the store on Saturday.

Still, the closure isn't likely a complete surprise — at least to reporters covering the retail market. Earlier this year, Kmart's parent firm, Transformco, announced that it was closing several locations. (This outpost was not on a previously announced list.) 

In May 2020, they shuttered the Penn Plaza store, leaving Astor Place as the sole Kmart remaining in Manhattan. (There are two left in the Bronx.) 

Kmart and Sears were owned by Sears Holdings, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2018 and narrowly escaped liquidation in early 2019, per USA Today. "They were sold to their longtime investor and CEO, Eddie Lampert, who has kept them alive on a shoestring budget under the company name Transformco."

Rumors circulated in late 2017-early 2018 that the Astor Place shop, located in the landmarked 15-story building that was the original home of the Wanamaker department store on Eighth Street and Lafayette (officially 770 Broadway), was shutting down.

The Real Deal reported in January 2018 that 770 tenant Facebook and landlord Vornado Realty Trust were in talks to expand the social media giant's presence in the building.

Per The Real Deal:

Vornado ... recently paid roughly $46 million to Kmart – whose department store occupies about 30,000 square feet on the ground, mezzanine and lower-level of the building – in what appears to be a buyout of the retailer’s lease, according to city property records. Observers said it's unlikely that Vornado boss Steve Roth would take such a risk without a replacement tenant lined up, and speculated that Facebook could be looking to make a splash with a high-profile storefront, a la Microsoft's store on Fifth Avenue.

However, Kmart remained open and downsized, giving up the second level and moving everything to the main floor and basement.

Michael Lisicky reported on the Astor Place location for Forbes in March: 

Despite its current open status, the location suffers from the company's misfortunes and corporate misguidances. Employees express frustration that deliveries to the store have slowed. They cite the absence of blankets, pillows, and towels within its once-popular home department. Employees notice that its once-steady foot traffic tends to come and go.

After years of missed payments and unpaid bills, Kmart's relationship with many of its longtime vendors has evaporated. It has led to empty shelves and unusual selections of off-brand merchandise. ... Kmart is no longer a profitable and dependable outlet for suppliers.

Financial woes aside, other big-box shops such as Target and Marshalls have eaten away at Kmart's business. Not to mention Amazon.

I took a last look at the space yesterday...

Pinched for time, I didn't make it downstairs for the holiday supplies, but I did check out the Astor Place-branded underwear...

EVG reader Karen came across the store-closing signage while walking by yesterday: "Most other customers seemed equally shocked and dismayed. Shelves were fully stocked for the most part and there weren't really any big bargains — though with the longest line I've ever seen, seems people just wanted to have their last hurrah."

This Kmart arrived in November 1996. I worked nearby at the time and ate at the short-lived K Cafe a few times with co-workers to fill the void left by Woolworth's departure on 14th Street. 

I recall plenty of horrified WTF reactions from people about the Kmart opening here. People seemingly adopted a balanced don't-mind-it/hate-it relationship with Kmart through the years, especially as more big-box shops arrived. (My blogging friend Alex has written about this location numerous times. This post includes a video of U2's strange PopMart press conference here in 1997.)

At the time, the Astor Place store was one of over 2,100 Kmarts located throughout the 50 states and U.S. territories, according to Forbes. Today, there are less than 40.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy reports that fixtures and shelving will be sold this week — 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting tomorrow. There will be security at the door — just let them know that you are looking for the fixtures.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Are Kmart's days numbered on Astor Place?