Monday, April 29, 2019

Elvis has left Great Jones; 'seafood focused neighborhood restaurant' coming soon



It appears that some renovation work is underway at the former Great Jones Cafe ... at the least, someone has removed the Great Jones signage, papered over the windows and taken away the bust of Elvis that peered out from the behind the window for years...





There aren't any work permits on file yet with the DOB, so this may all be just some more cosmetic moves.

Last we heard, restaurateur Gabriel Stulman was eyeing the space here just west of the Bowery. He was to appear before Community Board 2's SLA committee last month.

According the official minutes of the CB2 full board meeting on March 21, Stulman reps were pitching a "seafood focused neighborhood restaurant" with a raw bar (under the name Marlinspike Hall, LLC d/b/a TBD).

Per the minutes, the premises will have eight tables with 24 seats and one bar with nine seats for total interior seating of 33, with a 75-square-foot sidewalk café with three tables and six seats. Additionally, the approved hours of operation are 4 p.m. to midnight Sunday through Wednesday; until 1 a.m. Thursday through Sunday.

The full CB2 unanimously approved the application.

Stulman, under his Happy Cooking Hospitality, operates a handful of West Village establishments, including Joseph Leonard, Jeffrey's Grocery, Fedora, Fairfax and Bar Sardine. He's been part of the fauxstalgia wave.

Great Jones Cafe never reopened after Jim Moffett, the longtime owner, died last July at age 59. The Cafe, a popular yet low-key spot, first arrived in 1983.

Previously on EV Grieve:
RIP Jim Moffett, owner of the Great Jones Cafe

New owners vying for the Great Jones Cafe space

[Updated] The future of the former Great Jones Cafe

CB2 SLA committee OKs license for new ownership of Great Jones Cafe

Basics Plus apparently not closing on 3rd Avenue after all


[Photo from Friday]

As previously reported, housewares shop Basics Plus was set to close this spring at 91 Third Ave. and 12th Street. Employees had said that today, April 29, was the last day.

The prominent going-out-of-business signs in the front windows directed future Basics Plus shoppers to the location on University at 13th Street ... along with notices for 20 percent off all items.

However, in the past week, several EVG readers passed along the news that Basics Plus is staying put. Per one reader:

"I went in there a few days ago to ask when their closing date was, and the employee told me they're no longer closing, they're just downsizing. So I asked why everything was still on sale, and she said she didn't know."

In a brief telephone call, an employee confirmed the change of closing plans, saying that they're just moving out the hardware section. When pressed for more details, she hung up. (The phone went to voice-mail on the return call.)

The store closing/sale signs were still up as of Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Be Juice bar connected to the shop has cleared out...



Basics Plus opened here in August 2014.

Surprise! Surprise! — a like-minded housewares shop with, according to readers, better customer service — was the previous tenant, closing in April 2014 after 25 years in business.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Basics Plus is closing on 3rd Avenue

Workers still on the clock at 250 E. Houston St.



A quick follow-up to the clock post from April 11.

Workers have been refurbishing the (purposefully) askew clock atop 250 E. Houston St., the former Red Square here between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The Dermot Company bought the 13-floor building for $100 million in 2016. Since then, they've revamped the lobby and added new retail tenants.

While the 18-foot statue of Vladimir Lenin, which stood atop Red Square for 22 years was removed in 2016 (before eventually returning not too far away), the clock appears to be in the renovated building's plans.

Renderings of the new-look No. 250 include the clock with the numbers still out of sequence...





The original Red Square developers, Michael Rosen and Michael Shaoul, reportedly put the clock in this spot to cover the water tower and elevator shaft. The distinctive clock is a take on MoMA’s "Askew" watch that features a random sequence of numbers. (Hungarian graphic designer Tibor Kalman created this version.)



Previously on EV Grieve:
Rumors: Red Square has been sold

New ownership makes it official at the former Red Square on East Houston

Apartment listings at 250 E. Houston look to offer glimpse of former Red Square's future

Long-vacant retail space hits the rental market at 250 E. Houston St.

Former Red Square lobby gets the plywood treatment on East Houston

Avenue A Copy Center & Shipping Outlet has closed



After three-plus years, the Avenue A Copy Center & Shipping Outlet has closed at 47 Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street (in one of the retail spaces of the Ageloff Towers).

As you can see, workers have started clearing out the space...



The Copy Center was an annex run by the owners of Essex Card Shop at 39 Avenue A. You can now head there a block to the south for your copy and shipping needs in this part of the neighborhood...

New restaurant alert for the former Kambi Ramen House on 14th Street



A quick note about an incoming restaurant... there's a taker for the former Kambi Ramen House on 14th Street just west of First Avenue... EVG regular Pinch pointed out this Community Board notice on the front door last week...



This is in the jurisdiction of CB6 (and not CB3 per our usual coverage)... and their website doesn't appear to have a detailed account of the applicants. So all we know is this: New Wine, Beer & Cider License for Trad Japan Co LTD.

We'll keep an eye on this for further developments here.

Kambi Ramen House closed in July 2018 after 10 years in service. The Kambi family also operates the popular Minca Ramen Factory on Fifth Street near Avenue B.

Sunday, April 28, 2019

April 28



Spring Cleaning continues... and more people apparently feel as if it's time to toss the Christmas tree... EVG reader Melissa spotted this one today on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

Week in Grieview


[Spring in Tompkins Square Park]

Posts on EVG this past week included...

A visit with Steven Antonelli, director of Bank Street Head Start on 5th Street (Friday)

More about the return of the 14th Street busway; 12th and 13th street bike lanes now permanent (Thursday) ... M14 mystery abounds as SBS ticket vending machines arrive (Wednesday)

A CVS is coming to the corner of Houston and Orchard in Ben Shaoul's luxury condoplex (Monday)

This week's NY See strip (Monday)

It looks as if 264 E. 7th St. won't be demolished after all (Thursday)

The SUNSHINE leaves the marquee at the former Sunshine Cinema (Tuesday)

About the NYPD cracking down on bikes without bells in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

Report: First red-tailed hawk egg hatches this year in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

San Loco plotting an East Village comeback? (Friday)

Explosion-site condoplex rising quickly (Friday)

An Earth Day message from East River Park (Monday)

On 9th Street, Cha-an Bonbon to serve as a to-go outpost for Cha-an Teahouse (Tuesday)

In sight: Block's Vision Care relocates inside Block Drugs next door (Tuesday)

The Tribeca Film Festival arrives in the East Village (Wednesday)

2 down, 98 to go: Work starts on the 100 Gates Project at East Village shops (Thursday)

Bright Horizons bringing child care to EVGB (Wednesday)

Reader report: About East Village Acupuncture & Massage on 2nd Street (Wednesday)

East Side Gourmet Deli has closed on 4th and B (Monday ... and Thursday)

When the door is open at the incoming H Mart (Monday)

Green days: How to become a member of the 6BC Botanical Garden (Saturday)

The line for the Jay-Z show on the first night of the Webster Hall reopening (Friday) Union Rat makes first appearance outside Webster Hall (Wednesday)

Cocoa Grinder is closed for now on 1st Street (Monday)

What the F? New subway stop arrives on 4th Street courtesy of 'Mr. Robot' (Wednesday)

And as noted on Thursday, the Wisteria vine on Stuyvesant at 10th Street is in bloom... here are more photos from yesterday...





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Today's mackerel sky sunrise



Thanks to EVG reader Jeanne Krier for sharing this photo taken today at 6:30 a.m. ...

Saturday, April 27, 2019

Saturday's parting shot



It was quite pleasant out today, though it was still sweater weather for some ... photo from the Tompkins Square Dog Run this afternoon via Bobby Williams.

Lil' Kim Evil on the Bowery



On the side of the Bowery Mural Wall at Houston... art by SacSix...

'A Great Day on 9th Street' this Sunday



Via the EVG inbox...

On Sunday (April 28), the merchants of East Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue are gathering on a local stoop for "A Great Day on 9th Street," a quasi recreation of the famous Art Kane photo "A Great Day In Harlem."

Afterwards, stroll down both sides of the street and check out the various specials the stores are offering.

Come celebrate our community of small businesses.

#shopthe921

First 2019 Jazz in the Garden!



It's the first Jazz in the Garden at Green Oasis this year... there'll be snacks, plants and the Eric Paulin ensemble tomorrow (Sunday!) from 3-5:30 p.m. The Green Oasis Community Garden is on Eighth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D.

Green days: How to become a member of the 6BC Botanical Garden



The 6BC Botanical Garden is hosting a series of membership orientations over the next few weekends, starting tomorrow (Sunday). The above flyer has the details. The sessions start at 11:30 a.m. in the community garden on Sixth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

You can find more details about becoming a garden member at this link.

Also, starting on Monday, you can check out "Whispers in the Grove," an interactive, multimedia sculpture on view through June 7...

View this post on Instagram

Do you love gardens and art? Come visit "Whispers in the Grove", an interactive, multimedia sculpture at 6BC Botanical Garden in the East Village, on view from April 29 through June 7. . . Artists: Kathy Creutzburg, Natalia Lesniak, Mirabai Kwan Yin and Nicola Anderson. Follow on @nightmultimediaart . . Regular hours: Sat & Sun, noon- 6pm, Mon-Fri, 6pm-dusk. The sculpture will also be visible from the sidewalk. . . Come for refreshments and a talk about tree communication by Samuel Bishop, master arborist and educational director of Trees NY. . . Free lecture by Trees NY about mycorrhiza: Day: Friday, May 17, 2019 Opening time: 6:00 pm, with the lecture starting at at 7:00 pm Location: 6BC Botanical Garden, 630 E 6th St between Ave B & C . . Did you know trees communicate through underground networks of roots and fungus? Visit this woman-made forest of interconnected, neuron-like, steel forms that rise to support bulbs, the leaf canopy. Each bulb is enveloped in found materials and illuminated, like fireflies who express through their flicker. Hear "Whispers in the Grove". . . "Whispers in the Grove" is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by LMCC.

A post shared by 6BC Botanical Garden (@6bcgarden) on

Friday, April 26, 2019

Friday's parting shot



The view downtown earlier today from the East Village ... photo by Bobby Williams

The line for Jay-Z this evening



EVG reader Doug shared these photo this evening a little after 7 ... showing the line for the grand reopening of Webster Hall with Jay-Z.

The venue is on 11th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue... the line forms back to Third Avenue and north to 12th Street...



... running alongside Westside Market...



As the top photo shows, 11th Street is also closed to through traffic. (Not sure where the line forms for people seeing "Avengers: Endgame" at the Loews Village 7.)

Webster Hall reopens tonight after nearly 18 months of renovations. Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment and The Bowery Presents bought the landmarked building from the Ballinger family for $35 million in a deal announced in the spring of 2017.

Most of the first shows at the venue in the coming week, including RosalĂ­a, Patti Smith, Sharen Van Etten, TroyBoi and Vampire Weekend, are sold out.

'Wasted' away



Here's the video for “Wasted Nun" from the recently released new record by the L.A.-based trio Cherry Glazerr.

EVG Etc.: L-TRAIN SLOWDOWN TIME; Webster Hall grand reopening night


[Taco time, 2nd and A]

Streetsblog has more on the NYPD's crackdown on bikes without bells Saturday in Tompkins Square Park and Union Square — aka the "misplaced priorities and racist policies" of the de Blasio administration. Find follow-up stories here and here. Meanwhile, the police commissioner's bike does not have a bell (Gothamist)

There are plenty of L-train slowdown guides to choose from, including at Town & Village ... Curbed ... and NY1

And obviously someone was going to make a parody song about the L-train slowdown (via the Post) ...



A look inside the revamped Webster Hall, which reopens tonight with up-and-comer Jay-Z (Billboard ... previously on EVG)

Politicos want Trader Joe's to deliver again (The Villager ... previously on EVG)

More private, market-rate apartments are coming to a tower planned within a Lower East Side public housing complex (The City)

Farewell old Essex Street Market (Gothamist)

Sietsema liking the smørrebrød over at Smør on 12th and A (Eater ... previously on EVG)

Cash-free places rethinking the cash-free thing (Grub Street)

History of the doomed Sunshine Cinema (Ephemeral New York)

A look at the Keith Haring X Barbie® "who looks as if she fell headfirst into a bin of Keith Haring attire at UNIQLO" (Filthy Dreams)

... and spring in the yard at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery via riachung00...

A visit with Steven Antonelli, director of Bank Street Head Start on 5th Street



Interview and photos by Stacie Joy

Although his parents were both educators, Steven Antonelli never considered being a teacher.

With a degree from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Antonelli kept his musical career in play all the while working in a variety of jobs, including in a bakery, a copy shop and as a super.

However, he did end up making his mark as an educator, now serving as director of Bank Street Head Start, a diverse early education program run by the Bank Street College of Education. It provides free preschool and pre-K for families from the East Village, Lower East Side and beyond.

Antonelli is retiring this year. Ahead of that, I stopped by the school at 535 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B and visited with Antonelli, a former Bank Street parent himself.


You have a degree from Berklee College of Music. When did the interest in child development come along?

I began singing while still on the floor in the kitchen, listening to my mother’s lovely alto voice, as she sang "the Great American Songbook." Next there was the piano, covered by cobwebs in the cellar on which I discovered the joy of the black keys.

Soon after, in the second grade, I began playing my father’s very old clarinet and then, of course, came the Beatles, and at 14 — a guitar. I wanted first to be a working man, pushing wheelbarrows full of dirt around with my shirt off. Next I wanted to be a Marine. I always read and wrote a lot so being a lawyer seemed a possibility too.

But I didn’t want to be a teacher! Both my parents were educators; I respected the work, but that path felt expected of me, and so after a year at a liberal arts school, I moved to Boston and Berklee College of Music. I was mostly self-taught at that point playing in blues bands. I actually learned how to read music in my first month at Berklee.

After graduating, my wife, daughter and I moved to New York City. Sixth-floor walkup, bathroom in the hall, tub in the kitchen. I had come to play music and appeared through those years in all the usual places: CBGB, Mudd Club, Trudy Heller’s, Folk City, Beacon Theater.

But it was meeting Ellen Stewart, the founder of La MaMa that created my real connection to the Lower East Side. I met her at her theater on East Fourth Street in 1982 when playing guitar at a benefit concert. I was startled when, after the show, she went up to each of the many performers there and thanked them all personally for appearing.

This was notably different than what bands usually experienced in clubs. A year later, I had the opportunity to write music for a puppet play there and for the next 30 years almost all the music work I did was either directly or indirectly due to her encouragement and inspiration.

When we moved to New York my wife quickly got a job as a graphic artist and so I was lucky enough to be a stay at home father to my first daughter. For brief periods I worked in a bakery, a copy shop, gave guitar lessons, and in the evenings playing numerous low-paying rock gigs.

A year later I became the super of six buildings. The compensation for that position included a two-bedroom apartment, where we still live today. That toehold allowed us to survive in the city.

For my second daughter, I was again the primary caregiver and as I began to volunteer in her school, I realized that I had an ability to motivate kids. I found that the school environment was interesting and creative. I had grown tired and discouraged about being a building super after nearly 10 years.

My wife encouraged me to find more challenging and rewarding work that would both support our family and make my music work also possible. So the summer I turned 38, I had to decide. Lawyer or teacher? Reflecting that if I were a teacher, I could have the summers off to pursue music, I chose teaching and enrolled at Hunter College in a master's in early childhood program.

Ironically, my first job and entire career has been spent in the Head Start program, which operates year-round. So I’ve never actually had a summer off! It is rewarding working with young children but also very exhausting! I do still enjoy visiting the classes with guitar and mandolin and leading them in singing all the preschool hits. “Baby Shark” is the current No. 1.



As a professional musician (guitar, mandolin, mandocello), you’ve played in venues around the world. Talk about that experience.

Although I had been performing in clubs since I was a teenager, when I moved to New York to play music I had no idea what to expect or even how to pursue it. My dreams were vague — playing guitar in a band with a record deal was about as high as my aspirations reached.

Again I must thank Ellen Stewart for providing me with opportunities that allowed my horizons to broaden. It was at La MaMa that I began to compose. I had received a degree in composition from Berklee, but it included no practical guidance in how to actually make a living.

Given the opportunity to write music for plays, work with choreographers, and to present and produce scores of concerts of my own music in a setting that did not include competing with the noise of an ice machine was the real maturing of my musical career. The first time I climbed off a jet with my guitar at Heathrow in London I felt that my young dreams had come true.

Through the years I’ve had the opportunity to play major halls in France, England, Sweden and Denmark. Most notably with Karole Armitage, Jeff Lohn, John Jesurun, Glenn Branca, Virgil Moorefield and Diane McKoy.

I am not famous and have not made much money playing music, but I’ve gotten to play with some incredible musicians. Most important to me I been able to play my own compositions. I have no complaints regarding my life in music.

You played CBGB. How was that?

CBGB was a dump! A world-famous vitally important dump. But they promoted original music and had a great sound system. It wasn’t hard to get a gig there. They were always willing to give bands a try.

What are among your most rewarding experiences at Bank Street Head Start?

I always say my favorite sight each day is seeing children run down East Fifth Street, coming from both Avenues A and B, ahead of their parents, smiling as they run up and tug at the door or jumping to reach the doorbell. They can’t wait to see their friends, tell the teacher something amazing that they’ve seen on the way, sit down to breakfast, or get their hands into the playdough.

In the last 13 years, I have gotten to work with many highly qualified teachers, family workers and staff at Bank Street Head Start. Their commitment is always inspiring to me. Head Start staff members earn significantly less than their counterparts working in public schools.

It is their passion about working with the families that keep them coming back day after day. The stamina that is required to work for eight hours with a group of 20 3- or 4-year-old children cannot be measured. Head Start serves the families in the lowest income brackets. And Bank Street Head Start gives them the best.


[Sylvie Fan, administrative assistant]


[Jeannette Garcia, family assistant]











What can you say about your time as a Bank Street parent?

I was a parent at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Head Start when my third child was in Head Start there. I had already been at Lenox Hill for five years and had been promoted from teacher to Ed Director by then. I’ve been told that my son William would remind his teachers from time to time, “My father’s your boss you know.”

We participated in the required home visits, and went along to the apple orchard field trips in the fall, and sat to eat breakfast in the classroom like all the other parents. It was a welcoming diverse community just as you find now at Bank Street Head Start.

One outstanding feature of Bank Street Head Start is the diversity of the community. The Lower East Side has always been diverse and our families and staff reflect that diversity. Half of our staff were former Head Start parents.

We are always watching and identifying parents who display talent in working with children. We lure them in as volunteers. Soon they become substitutes, then assistant teachers, teachers, and sometimes, like me, the director. Meaningful parent involvement has long been an important Head Start value. Start model will be prioritized and sustained as the blending of systems is implemented.



What’s next for Bank Street School?

Bank Street Head Start is one of the very best preschools in the city. That’s not just my opinion: Ask our parents. Ask our children. Ask the Department of Education. When the Gates Foundation visited the city to meet with the Department of Education recently and wanted to see what a good preschool looked like, the DOE took them directly to Bank Street Head Start.

We have educators from around the world visiting us each year for the same reason. I’m confident that Bank Street College of Education, the staff, parents, and children will maintain the quality of our program and navigate all the coming changes in the next years.







San Loco plotting an East Village comeback?


[Photo from February by Dave on 7th]

A familiar name is on the May CB3-SLA docket — San Loco.

Per the just-released meetings agenda for May, San Loco is seeking a new liquor license for 111 Avenue C between Seventh Street and Eighth Street.

The questionnaires aren't posted online just yet, so we'll have to wait to find out more details about what San Loco has in store for this space, which was, until February, the tapas joint Marcha Cocina. (Updated: In an email, co-owner Kimo Hing confirmed that they are applying for a license, though they have yet to sign a lease for the space.)

San Loco had a longtime presence in the East Village, starting in 1986 on Second Avenue before later moving across the street to 124 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. (Updated: Edited that address based on reader comments.) That outpost closed in June 2017 "due to a rent increase that is unsustainable," per co-owner Jill Hing. The Avenue A San Loco closed in 2014 after 15 years in business.


[124 2nd Ave. in June 2017]

The quick-serve Tex-Mex restaurant recently closed its location on Driggs Avenue in Williamsburg for a variety of factors, including the ongoing construction of luxury properties around its space and the nighttime and weekend closures of the L train, which became a hardship on its staff. Hing had said she was hoping to relocate closer to Bushwick.

The Lower East Side locale on Stanton Street remains open.

Explosion-site condoplex rising quickly


[Updated the photos — these are from today]

Work is moving at a brisk pace at 119 Second Ave. at Seventh Street, where a seven-floor Morris Adjmi-designed residential building with 21 condo units and ground-floor retail is quickly rising on the lot.

This week the building made its first appearance above street level...



The plywood only arrived in late January ... with the excavation starting several weeks later.

Compare this pace with that of, say, 11 Avenue C, where, after two-plus years, workers have only just finished the foundation.

Three buildings, 119, 121 and 123 Second Ave., were destroyed on this corner during the deadly gas explosion on March 26, 2015.

The new building will include a commemorative plaque that honors the two men who died that day — Nicholas Figueroa and Moises LocĂłn.

This previous post has more details about what has happened here to date.


[Rendering via Morris Adjmi]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Remembering Nicholas and Moises: the Figueroa family marks the 4-year anniversary of the 2nd Avenue gas explosion

LPC OKs condoplex for gas explosion site on 2nd Avenue and 7th Street

Thursday, April 25, 2019

In bloom



Jimmy Carbone shared these photos today... noting that the Wisteria vines are just starting to bloom here on Stuyvesant Street where it connects with 10th Street...