EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by for the ceremonies... featuring music from Mandel & Lydon Trio and carolers of Olde New York from Theatre for the New City ... Here are a few scenes from late this afternoon...
Sunday, December 14, 2014
At the 23rd annual tree lighting in Tompkins Square Park
EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by for the ceremonies... featuring music from Mandel & Lydon Trio and carolers of Olde New York from Theatre for the New City ... Here are a few scenes from late this afternoon...
[Updated] NYPD patrol tower arrives on Avenue D
After nearly a month, the NYPD patrol tower (SkyWatch) has left the corner of East Third Street and Avenue C.
However, an EVG reader reports that a tower (maybe the same one?) is now parked on Avenue D between East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street … after a report of gunfire late Friday night… apparently the second time there has been a shooting here this past month, according to residents…
Updated 2:11 p.m.
DNAinfo reports that police are searching for a suspect who shot a 19-year-old man twice outside 60 Avenue D Friday night around 11:20.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Parts of Avenue C and D now with a SkyWatch tower, additional NYPD lights
Week in Grieview
[Photo from East 10th Street Friday by William Klayer]
Author/bar owner Evelyn Dahab dies in East First Street apartment fire (Wednesday)
International owners planning seafood market-restaurant for the space (Monday)
More about the world's smallest screening room coming to Two Boots on Avenue A (Tuesday)
Ben Shaoul's bland new Second Avenue building is called The East Luxe (Friday)
Ray's Candy Store hit with $200 fine for inadequate doughnut labels (Wednesday)
Here is the New York Sports Club building on Avenue A (Friday)
Wechsler's Currywurst and Bratwurst has closed on First Avenue (Tuesday)
MoRUS turns 2 (Thursday)
Part two of our interview with Arthur Nersesian (Wednesday)
Partial dorm reveal on Cooper Square (Friday)
A 14-screen Regal Cinemas theater with electronic reclining seats coming to the LES (Monday)
Fire destroys two apartments at 542 E. 14th St. (Wednesday)
One way to support the trees in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)
The former Gracefully space is for rent on A (Monday)
Bendy thing action at 185-193 Avenue B (Tuesday)
City Comptroller audit finds poor maintenance and shoddy oversight of the Citi Bike program (Friday)
Jared Kushner East Village buying spree continues (Thursday)
The latest Steve Croman legal news (Tuesday)
The Dee Dee Ramone exhibit is now open (Wednesday)
Rendering mix-up at 67 Avenue C (Monday)
BARA debuts on East First Street (Tuesday)
… and yesterday, the NYPD removed the month-old patrol tower on East Third Street and Avenue C …
Reminders: The 23rd annual tree lighting at Tompkins Square Park is today
Workers made some final preparations yesterday (more lights!) ahead of today's 23rd annual tree lighting in Tompkins Square Park.
The details for the ceremony, which takes place between 4-5 p.m.:
Music from Mandel & Lydon Trio
Carolers of Olde New York from Theatre for the New City
Refreshments from Veselka Restaurant
Additional Support from East Village Books, Vazacs/7B, Saifee Hardware, Apple Savings Bank
HOSTED BY:
East Village Parks Conservancy
Third Street Music School Settlement
Tompkins Square Park Neighborhood Coalition
Photos via Bobby Williams
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Meanwhile, on 2nd Avenue…
Near East Ninth Street outside the 13th Step … where one Santa has his own Beer Pong kit…
Photos via EVG reader Steven…
And so much for official SantaCon bars…
Noted
Santas taking a piss on a roof in the East Village. Nice. cc @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/Y86QTbwZ9g
— gaminette (@gaminette) December 13, 2014Noted
EVG reader John notes a free hideaway bed/couch combo on East Eighth Street at Avenue B… but there are some stipulations…
Millions March NYC
The March starts today at 2 in Washington Square Park.
If you're looking for a local group to meet up with, supporters of Good Ole Lower East Side (GOLES) are gathering on Astor Place (near where the cube was) at 1:30 p.m. to convene with the Millions March.
And the route:
BEGIN at Wash Square Park then march north on 5th Ave.
Head west on 14th St. to 6th Ave.,
Turn north on 6th to 32nd St.,
Turn east on 32nd to Broadway,
Head south on Broadway until Worth/Lafayette St. turns,
END at 1PP - NYPD Headquarters
A tribute to Our Lady of Guadalupe
EVG contributor Derek Berg caught part of a small procession this morning down Second Avenue … in honor of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe …
And they have a lot of nerve to do this on the same day as SantaCon. (C'mon — someone was going to say it.)
Testing, testing
EVG reader William Klayer spotted a preliminary tree lighting last night in Tompkins Square Park … ahead of tomorrow's tree-lightng ceremony between 4-5 p.m.
And maybe they need another strand of lights on the tree?
Sign of the times?
EVG reader Riian Kant-McCormick spotted this outside Elsewhere Espresso on East Sixth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue this morning…
Friday, December 12, 2014
The 23rd annual Unsilent Night returns tomorrow
[Image via]
Per the official website:
Composer Phil Kline will lead a massive chorus of boomboxes from the West Village to the East Village in the 23rd annual holiday presentation of UNSILENT NIGHT. People gather at the arch in Washington Square Park, and less than an hour and mile later, end up in Tompkins Square Park.
Phil Kline will hand out a limited number of vintage boomboxes from his collection — and cassettes and CD’s for those who bring their own. The public is strongly encouraged to bring their own boom boxes ... and to pre-download the track. Find out more about how to participate and download the tracks here.
Dorm reveal on Cooper Square
Workers this afternoon are removing the scaffolding and netting from the new dorm at 35 Cooper Square and East Sixth Street for Marymount Manhattan College....
Previously on EV Grieve:
City OKs 13-floor dorm for Cooper Square
Updated: Here's what the newest East Village dorm will look like
Dig bottoms out on Cooper Square; here comes the dorm, here comes the dorm!
The 23rd annual tree lighting at Tompkins Square Park is Sunday
[Photo today by Derek Berg]
Workers were hanging the lights on the Tompkins Square Park holiday tree this morning (didn't the Park keep the lights up year-round for awhile???) ... ahead of the 23rd annual tree lighting ceremony Sunday from 4-5 p.m.
Here are details via the EVG inbox...
Music from Mandel & Lydon Trio
Carolers of Olde New York from Theatre for the New City
Refreshments from Veselka Restaurant
Additional Support from East Village Books, Vazacs/7B, Saifee Hardware, Apple Savings Bank
HOSTED BY:
East Village Parks Conservancy
Third Street Music School Settlement
Tompkins Square Park Neighborhood Coalition
The tree was planted in 1992 in memory of Park advocate Glenn Barnett, "and each of our neighbors whom we have lost to AIDS," per the sign that hangs near the tree.
EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition
[Ongoing transformer work at the ConEd substation via EVG reader Salim]
Remembering Benny's (The Villager)
Public hearing set for next month on Success Academy's new LES location (DNAinfo)
Toxic paint drama on Rivington Street (The Lo-Down)
The activist history of Union Square (Off the Grid)
A walk on Clinton Street in 1985 (BoweryBoogie)
A Paris Review pop-up shop inside Contrada on Second Avenue on Sunday (The Paris Review)
Mystery hawks in the Park! (Gog in NYC)
Inside the new Dee Dee Ramone exhibit (Newsweek)
Ian Schrager discusses his new luxury property coming to Chrystie Street (The Commercial Observer)
A look at Tower Records circa 1983 (Flaming Pablum)
KIDS (NOT CUTE) group exhibition now at Umbrella Arts on East Ninth Street (Umbrella Arts)
Other Music picks its best new albums of 2014 (Other Music)
Merry Mixmas with a free Christmas music mix (BoingBoing)
A new tenant for old-timer The Back Fence on Bleecker and Thompson (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)
… and EVG reader Olympias Epiriot recently told us that the Big D Store at 22 W. 14th St. near Sixth Avenue is going out of business… a useful and inexpensive option for various items and off-brands…
Here is the New York Sports Club building on Avenue A
[EVG photo from spring 2013]
Workers this morning are removing the scaffolding and construction netting from the incoming New York Sports Club at 28 Avenue A... A reader sent us this photo of the exterior...
Hmm. Thoughts?
As we first reported back in April 2013, New York Sports Club will be operating on the second through fifth floors here between East Second Street and East Third Street. Above the former Gracefully, which closed on Nov. 18.
So workers will need to remove that old Gracefully sign too.
The familiar Burger-Klein sign disappeared back in July. Furniture seller Burger-Klein occupied the building as early as 1939. Read more about the history of the Burger-Klein building at Off the Grid.
The NYSC website says that the gym will open this fall.
Previously on EV Grieve:
RUMOR: New York Health & Racquet Club taking over the space above Gracefully on Avenue A (24 comments)
New York Sports Club in the works for Avenue A
Sidewalk bridge and scaffolding arrive ahead of planned New York Sports Club on Avenue A
New York Sports Club says hello on Avenue A
Familiar Burger-Klein sign has disappeared from Avenue A
City Comptroller audit finds poor maintenance and shoddy oversight of the Citi Bike program
[File photo from Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg]
We get press releases! Via the EVG inbox...
New York City Bike Share (NYCBS), the operator of the Citi Bike program, failed to both adequately inspect Citi Bike equipment and ensure stations were fully functional according to an audit of NYCBS’s compliance with its contract with the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) released today by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer.
“New York City Bike Share’s management of Citi Bike left too many New Yorkers in the lurch,” Comptroller Stringer said. “While Citi Bike has become part of our urban landscape, auditors found that the bike sharing program’s spotty maintenance, poorly cleaned bikes and substandard docking stations inconvenienced riders and discouraged growth in the system. Moving forward, I hope that these findings will provide a road map for ways to improve safety and performance for this critical component of our transportation network.”
The Comptroller’s audit examined maintenance of Citi Bike equipment by NYCBS during the period of May 2013 through May 2014. The Citi Bike program has a fleet of approximately 6,000 bikes and 330 stations throughout the City. Bikeshare Holdings LLC recently announced an agreement to purchase Alta Bicycle Share — the parent company of NYCBS. With a promised infusion of additional capital, Bikeshare Holdings has announced plans to improve maintenance and double the size and geographic reach of the Citi Bike system by 2017.
According to NYCBS’s own maintenance data, 28 percent of bikes system-wide were inspected in November 2013, 34 percent in December 2013 and 38 percent in January 2014, despite contract requirements that 100 percent of bikes undergo a complete maintenance check at least once per month. NYCBS cited the layoff of 16 on-street bike checkers during the winter months as a reason behind the decline in maintenance checks.
By March 2014, following the re-hiring of inspectors, inspections rose to 54 percent of the fleet and to 73 percent by April. However, a sample of the maintenance records of 25 bikes from July 2013 through December 2013 found that NYCBS completed only 60 percent (84 of 141) of required monthly maintenance checks.
Ben Shaoul's bland new 2nd Avenue building is called The East Luxe
Back in July crews finished adding 3 new floors in the total remake of 31-33 Second Ave., which is now a charmless grey box. Perhaps to compensate for the bland exterior here between East Second Street and East First Street, Ben Shaoul's rental building is sporting an upscale name — The East Luxe.
And listings for the units arrived on the market yesterday. According to Streeteasy, there are eight active listings for the 2- and 3-bedroom apartments with an average piece of $5,200.
Here's a look at a listing via Platinum:
Introducing The East Luxe - Brand New Boutique Elevator Building In Prime East Village
Condo-quality apartment features include: Each apartment is gut-renovated w/ central air. Open kitchen features black marble counter tops & stainless steel appliances w/ dishwasher. Washer/Dryer in every unit. Solid white oak flooring throughout. High ceilings. Video intercom.
Building features, Elevator and landscaped roofdeck. Pets allowed.
There aren't any shots of the apartments online just yet, so we don't know if the inside fared better than the outside.
Meanwhile, BoweryBoogie previously reported that a Petco-branded store is set for the retail space.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Ben Shaoul planning a 3-story addition at 31-33 Second Ave.
Bracing for 3 new floors at 31-33 Second Ave.
Checking in on the work in progress at 31-33 2nd Ave., where Ben Shaoul is adding 3 new floors
TakeMeHome Rotisserie Chicken hasn't been open lately after just 3 weeks in business
The quick-serve restaurant opened Nov. 23 at 151 Avenue A between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street.
And TakeMeHome Rotisserie Chicken has been closed the last two nights … and the owners haven't left any notes about a temporary closure due to some unforeseen circumstance. And there isn't any outgoing voice message. (We couldn't even find a Yelp review for them.)
IF this place is closed for good … it won't be any recent closure record. In 2011, an Italian restaurant called Tre Scalini closed after less than two weeks at 130 St. Mark's Place.
As for 151 Avenue A, the San Loco closed here back in February. The CB3/SLA Liquor Licensing Committee voted to deny high-profile restaurateurs Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield a license to open a
Buy some art to help the Bowery Mission
Via the EVG inbox…
The Bowery Mission is pleased to announce the L.E.S. Art Drive, the first annual fundraising initiative for The Bowery Mission supported by its neighbors in the Lower East Side visual arts community.
This one-day silent auction will be hosted at the New Museum’s ground-floor space at 231 Bowery, next to The Bowery Mission, on Sunday from 1-6 pm. The event will raise funds essential to help the Mission continue their efforts to provide meals, shelter, clothing and services to New Yorkers in need. The Bowery Mission has been serving New York’s homeless and hungry for over 135 years.
Find more info at the Bowery Mission website.
These are apparently the participating bars in SantaCon 2014
SantaCon organizers plan to release this year's pub crawl route this evening.
Ahead of that, a curious East Village resident downloaded the official Santacon app that they are now advertising on their website.
The resident found that the participating bars are in the Midtown West/Murray Hill region: Pacha, Beer Authority, Houndstooth, Tempest, The Thirsty Fan, Slake, Red Room, Vivid Caberet, American Whiskey, Blarney Rock, The Australian, Stout, The Keg Room NYC, Feile, Blaggards, Reichenbach Beer Hall, Butterfield 8, Mustang Harry's, The Liberty, Suite 36, Mustang Sally's, Playwright Irish Pub, Galway Pub, Rick's Cabaret, Slattery's, Pioneers Bar, Jack Dempsey's, Foley's, Maru Karoke Lounge, Rattle 'n Hum, Nelly Spillane's, IchiUmi, Joshua Tree, 230 Fifth Avenue Rooftop & Lounge.
The pre-party starts at Pacha on West 46th Street.
The SantaCon website also notes that they are scaling back this year's festivities:
Due to the planned protests on Saturday, Santacon is scaling back this weekend's festivities in order to create the lowest possible impact on the city we love while still maintaining our glorious traditions this holiday season.
Santacon has respect and compassion for the hard-working municipal organizations of NYC, as well as for the important civil rights demonstrations currently shaping our city’s future. Thus, we are changing the format of this year’s Santacon.
This evening, all participating Santacon bars and venues will be announced on nycsantacon.com. Their halls will be decked, and they’ll be ready and waiting for Santa to come down their chimneys. PLEASE PATRONIZE THESE VENUES ONLY. If a venue isn’t on this list, it’s because they don’t want you there. Please move around throughout the day from venue to venue but spend most of your time inside, not on the streets.
Finally, it’s more important this year than ever to pace yourself, watch out for your elves, and stay safe. Fighting, public urination, and vandalism are unacceptable and a great way to ensure that there will be no Santacon in 2015. #DontScroogeSantacon
Meanwhile, the Village Pourhouse on Third Avenue and East 11th Street is still pretending to be an official SantaCon stop…
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Jared Kushner picks up 2 more East Village apartment buildings
Jared Kushner's Kushner Companies has expanded its East Village portfolio.
According to Lois Weiss at the Post, Kushner has closed on a 16-building apartment portfolio for $131.5 million. Two of the properties are in the East Village — 104 E. Seventh St. and 438-440 E. 13th St.
Stone Street and Florida-based HIG Realty Partners were the sellers. Stone Street bought the EV properties in November 2012.
We heard from a resident at No. 438 this past April who let us know what life has been like here since Stone Street took over the building. First, the resident says that many longtime tenants were driven out of their units … "and we had to deal with a round of apartment gut renovations last year."
And!
"I have lived in the East Village for [20-plus] years and have never dealt with such disregard for tenants," the resident said. "Even the tenants who moved into the renovated 'luxury' units are being screwed."
Not that Kushner will be a much better landlord. The Kushner Companies have not been very popular around here with all the allegations and subsequent media reports of tenant harassment and quality-of-life issues brought on by gut renovations in their buildings.
The Kushner Companies have bought up 28-29 or so East Village walk-up buildings in the past two years.
Previously on EV Grieve:
2 East Village buildings part of $73 million deal
Life at 438 E. 13th St.
MoRUS celebrates its 2-year anniversary tomorrow night
[Image via Facebook]
Via the EVG inbox…the party is tomorrow night …
Come celebrate with the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space at our two-year Birthday Bash, which will take place at the museum's storefront location in the legendary C-Squat. If you haven't visited the museum or attended any of our community events yet, now is a great time to come check out the space and join us for our two-year anniversary party!
Featuring a slideshow and presentation by Fly, performance by Seth Tobocman, DJ and dancing, and cake!
Sliding scale: $10.
All proceeds from the event help support MoRUS 2015 programming.
Doors open at 8, performances start at 9. MoRUS is located at 155 Avenue C between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street.
Previously on EV Grieve:
At the opening of the The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space last night
A soft opening at the Brant Foundation's new space at Walter De Maria's former East 6th Street studio
Back in August, news reports confirmed that billionaire art collector Peter Brant bought Walter De Maria’s former home and studio at 421 E. Sixth St. for $27 million.
While nothing has been made official about what Brant intends to do with the space, a tipster told us last spring that it will serve as exhibition space.
And last night, the Brant Foundation apparently had some kind of soft opening inside the space… EVG reader Shawn Chittle was there and shared these photos… We don't have any details on the exhibit… which included carefully placed scattered bottles and a drunken Scooby Doo… [Updated: Page Six reports this is the work of Gagosian gallery artist Dan Colen.]
[Click on image to enlarge]
De Maria died of a stroke in July 2013 at age 77.
No. 421 was built in 1920 as a ConEd substation, but had been converted into a photography studio after De Maria bought it in 1980.
All photos via Shawn Chittle
Previously on EV Grieve:
About that "giant-robot laboratory" on East Sixth Street
RIP Walter De Maria
What is your East Village dream home?
Walter De Maria's 'giant-robot laboratory' going for $25 million; inside is amazing as you'd expect
Walter De Maria's home/studio on East 6th Street is now on the market for $25 million
Rumor: The Brant Foundation buying Walter De Maria's E. 6th St. studio for an exhibition space (19 comments)
Confirmed: Peter M. Brant buys Walter De Maria's amazing East 6th Street home and studio
1st permits filed for renovation of Walter De Maria's former home-studio on East 6th Street
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