[Updating] IT IS SNOWING

Funny how that sometimes happens in January.

Went out for a little walk. (Periscoped for the first time. I remembered to talk on the next installment. Need to learn to not shake the iPhone so much.)

Some really random observations (or more random than usual?). The Avenues have been plowed. Side streets are a little hit and miss. Tompkins Square Park is picture perfect. There is one random Citi Bike on 7th and A. Umbrellas are useless. Two pairs of socks are a good idea. If I owned goggles, then I'd have put them on no matter how dumb I looked. People are nicer when it is snowing.

And more places are open than I expected. This is not at all a comprehensive list. Here are places that I saw open at 9 a.m.: Key Food, Croissanteria (A between 4th and 5th), Juicy Lucy (Avenue A between 5th and 6th), Ray's Candy Store (and the place next to it), the Odessa, Box Kite Coffee (115 St. Mark's Place), the International (First Avenue between 7th and St. Mark's), Saiffee Hardware (and they were getting a huge salt shipment), McDonald's, Starbucks (the one on First Avenue at 3rd), the Bean (the one on Second Avenue at 3rd), Downtown Bakery II (First Avenue between 4th and 3rd), Brickman & Sons (First Avenue between 4th and 3rd) ... all the corner delis were open. Ditto for laundromats/dry cleaners. The gate was going up at the liquor store on Avenue and 4th Street. There was a Twitter report that Black Seed Bagels is open on First Avenue.

And as I posted on Twitter, at the time I looked in the window at the International, there were more people inside there than the McDonald's and Starbucks combined.



To be continued...

Updated 11:25 a.m.

Ost Cafe on Avenue A at 12th Street is open ... ditto for Tompkins Square Bagels ... and the Remedy Diner on East Houston at Norfolk. The Wayland opens at noon on Avenue C and East 9th Street. Superiority Burger is open from 2-6 today on East Ninth Street between Avenue A and 1st Avenue...

Also: The Neptune on First Avenue between 11th Street and 12th Street ... Hearth on First Avenue at 12th Street... Donnybrook on Clinton and Stanton...

Have a nice blizzard

East 12th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue last night via Grant Shaffer...

'The Hill' is alive with the sound of music

The prolific Ty Segall has yet another a new record out today... going back to his "Twins" record in 2012 for the above track, "The Hill."

And he'll be at Webster Hall on Feb. 27-28.

EV Grieve Etc.: Searching for suspect in elevator mugging; Talking 'Punk' with John Holmstrom

[Photo on East 13th Street by @aureliovoltaire via Instagram]

Police looking for suspect who mugged woman in a residential elevator on East 12th Street and Third Avenue (Town & Village)

More details emerge about Adam Purple's long history of sexually abusing his daughters (The Villager)

Ippudo closed on Fourth Avenue through Jan. 30 for renovations (Eater)

An interview with Punk Magazine founding editor and East Village resident John Holmstrom (The Observer)

Christo watching in Tompkins Square Park (Gog in NYC)

The first installment in what will be a once-a-calendar tribute to innovative filmmaker Ken Jacobs (Anthology Film Archives) And here's a Jacobs profile today (The Wall Street Journal)

Mugged three times in two weeks in 1986 (Sensitive Skin Magazine)

Sheldon Silver's monthly state pension of $6,602 per month kicks in (The Lo-Down)

Claims of negligence at Norfolk Street development site (BoweryBoogie)

NYC attracts record number of tourists for 6th consecutive year (Crain's)

FYI: Movies before noon at the Village East Cinema on Second Avenue and East 12th Street are $8 (Official site)

Listicle alert! The 50 Most Unacceptable Sentences in "City on Fire" (The Awl)

More about the Treasury Department's efforts "to pierce the veil of anonymity" in Manhattan real-estate transactions (The New Yorker)

And we are not alone: Giant snow penis terrorizes locals in Gothenburg, Sweden (Death & Taxes)

... and East Village resident Jenny Adams is spearheading a coat drive today for The Trinity Mission. Per Jenny: "Bring your gently used coats, scarves, mittens and hats to Boulton & Watt on Houston & Avenue A anytime today."

Citi Bike shutting down tonight at 11 ahead of possible blizzard, non-blizzard

[Photo last week by Derek Berg]

In case you were going to use a Citi Bike to get around tomorrow or to help transport home the pallet of bread from Key Food... here's some FYI via the CB people:

Due to heavy snow in the forecast, we will temporarily close the Citi Bike system starting at 11 tonight, Friday January 22. What does that mean for you? No bikes can be rented after the temporary closure has begun, though bikes that are in use can be returned to any Citi Bike station with an available dock.

The amount of snow and changing weather conditions will determine when it is safe to re-open. Stay tuned to our Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as the nifty yellow alert banner on the Citi Bike website for updates and details on reopening the system.

When the Megalopolitan Blizzard hit the East Village (and NYC) in February 1983

Not sure if you heard this, but it might snow this weekend.

Anyway! Seems like a good time to share these photos via EVG Facebook friend Raphael Lasar ... a few shots via a Canon AE1 from the Blizzard of 1983 (the Megalopolitan Blizzard), which produced some 22 inches of snow on Feb. 11-12 ..


[1st Avenue near 5th Street]


[1st Avenue looking north toward 6th Street]


[1st Avenue at Sixth Street]


[1st Avenue at East 3rd Street]


[2nd Avenue between East 6th and East 7th streets]


[Astor Place]


[Astor Place]


[Astor Place and the Alamo]


[St. Mark's Place between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue]

He moved from Bleecker Street to East Fifth Street near Second Avenue in 1965 at age 5 ... and relocated in 1976 to Village View, where his mother still lives.

I asked Lasar if he had any particular memories from this time.

"I could go on at length about a recent college graduate, his ambitions and his new Canon AE1, but I think your readers are more interested in their own memories and musings of the neighborhood," he said. "I can only say what a privilege it was to grow up in such a place at the time I did."

[Updated] Have you stocked up yet for a visit from Jonas?

Speaking of snow... Vinny & O saw a larger-than-usual crowd at Key Food on Avenue A last evening... "it was a lot crazier at the checkouts, creating that usual no-move zone. Everyone was talking in line about Jonas." (BTW, The Weather Channel came up with the name Jonas, so it's not really official.)

We were at Key on Wednesday night for a few non-Jonas supplies, and noted a run on Corn Pops.

Sober predictions see anywhere from 6 to 18 inches of snow hitting the NYC area — under a "blizzard watch" — starting Saturday morning. This is all subject to change, of course.

Meanwhile, the MTA has announced their possible blizzard emergency plans here.

We'll update throughout the day with any relevant, uh, updates at least until the power goes out.

And if you want some temporary work shoveling snow and helping grow beefy triceps at the same time, the city is hiring.

Updated 4:55 a.m.

The National Weather Service has upgraded the forecast to a blizzard warning. Scary graphics to follow. And exclamation points!!!!!



(Speaking of Whiteout, I always liked that Boss Hog record.)

And I'll be updating more often (probably!) at the @evgrieve Twitter thing.

Report: Plans in the works to convert 650 E. 6th St. to condos

[Image via Google Street View]

There are big plans for this unassuming 4-story building at 650 E. Sixth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.

Plans were filed this week for a 7-story building on the property that's closer to Avenue C.

Here's New York Yimby, who had the scoop on this development: "The 8,491-square-foot project will include 7,761 square feet of residential space, which means units will average 1,552 square feet apiece, indicative of condominiums."

Public records show that this building changed hands for $2.8 million in August 2013. The new owner is named East Village LLC in the filing.

As NYY noted, the "existing four-story, three-unit building must first be demolished."

Here's what's left of the block of University Place that once housed Bowlmor Lanes

The west side of University Place between East 12th Street and East 13th Street has been cleared of those silly old buildings and businesses, including Bowlmor Lanes.

There are now approved permits with the city for developer Billy Macklowe's 23 stories of condos here. Plans call for more than 50 residences averaging more that 2,000 square feet each. Amenities include basement storage, onsite parking and a fitness center.

Bowlmor Lanes closed in July 2014 after 76 years in business.

In addition, the corner space at 13th Street that housed University Place Gourmet as well as adjacent storefronts, including Bennie Louie Chinese Laundry, were demolished. A 7-story condo with six residences will rise from from this lot. These plans are pending with the city.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Building that houses Bowlmor Lanes will convert to condos, like everywhere else around here

76-year-old Bowlmor Lanes closes for good today

Bowlmor says goodbye

Bowlmor Lanes replacement: 23-floor residential building

Major changes coming to University Place and East 13th Street

How about some more condos for University Place

Lucy's is back open on Avenue A

Lucy's has been closed these past two (plus) weeks at 135 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and East Ninth Street... while she does take several scheduled breaks during the year (usually with an announced return date), the note on the door was different this time, simply saying "closed until further notice."

In any event, an EVG reader walked by this evening and reported that the bar is open...

Updated 1/22



EVG regular Peter Brownscombe stopped by last evening... Lucy did have to return to Poland for family business. She will be back later next week. In the meantime, Marko is here running the place in her absence. All is well, though.

[Updated]: Suspect in custody for East 6th Street slashing

The suspect that police believe randomly slashed a passerby on Saturday afternoon has been taken into custody, according to published reports.

Francis Salud, 28, who is originally from Queens, was arrested at an apartment on East Fourth Street and Second Avenue earlier this morning.

Around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Anthony Christopher-Smith, a social worker from Newark, N.J., was walking on Sixth Street east of Cooper Square to meet a friend when someone came up from behind him, shoved him down and cursed. His face and back were slashed in the process. As previously reported, Smith underwent eight hours of surgery, and needed nearly 150 stitches for the wound from his right ear to his lips. He has partial paralysis on the right side of his face because several nerves were severed.

The Post reports that Salud was out on bail for another slashing incident last fall.

Per WABC 7:

Salud was previously arrested and charged for a slashing that happened October 18 on First Avenue. It involved a dispute in a backyard garden with another man over a cigarette. The victim in that case is 30 years old and needed 73 stitches on the left side of his body.

The NYPD is determining the charges with prosecutors. The Post notes that Salud "is believed to have a psychological history."

Suspect Held In East Village Slashing, Had Been Charged In Similar Incident https://t.co/T4eyKxUqFY

— CBS New York (@CBSNewYork) January 21, 2016

Updated 9:18 p.m.

Back in October, DNAinfo covered the other slashing that Salud was involved in... the fight occurred in a garden behind Bellevue.

Police arrested Salud the next day, and he was charged with first degree assault, according to the complaint.

Salud was released after paying $30,000 bond, and is due back in court on Feb. 2, according to court records. A temporary order of protection was issued against Salud for the victim, the records show.

Updated 1/22

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Gilbert Hong ordered Salud held without bail. The Daily News reported that Salud wrote about Saturday's slashing in his pocket calendar.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Man's face cut in random slashing on East 6th Street

The Villager looks at landlord Raphael Toledano's criminal past

In compiling nearly a 20-building portfolio in the East Village, 25-year-old landlord Raphael Toledano has been accused of allegedly harassing his tenants, and other misdeeds, according to several published reports and a letter from the Toledano Tenants Coalition.

Now tenants are learning about Toledano's criminal past in an article published this week at The Villager. According to the paper, "he was convicted of aggravated assault and causing bodily injury less than four years ago, and once was charged with trying to swindle a bank out of hundreds of dollars, according to New Jersey court records and police reports."

Specifically:

In a 2012 confrontation that landed two teenagers in the hospital, Toledano allegedly beat the two youths with what police reports alternatively describe as a “crowbar,” “a branch” and “a metal or wood object approximately two and a half feet long.”

And in a separate case three years earlier, Toledano was charged with defrauding TD Bank of $500 in a scheme involving multiple withdrawals from three different banks.

A spokesperson for Toledano and his company, Brookhill Properties, dismissed this disclosure as "character assassination," noting that the incidents "have absolutely nothing to do with Brookhill Properties or the company's conduct as a landlord."