Noted

Breaking News: Jean-Michel Basquiat's painting of a skull sold for $110.5 million at auctionhttps://t.co/JVJ6qKwB2L

— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 19, 2017

Orlin

Orlin

I was recently in Orlin.
The food is still good.
Black tables now,
Modern red and black chairs.
Surprised that they had replaced,
Their wooden furniture.
Its many meals, laughter,
Conversations, still palpable in those
Chairs, and tables aging patina
Rocked, sat upon, pulled out, put back.
Elbows on old tables, stories told,
Despair withheld, dreams born,
A babies rattle dropped again, again.
Music too loud, a change has come,
As inevitable as a sunrising.
All not lost, just that familiar
Feeling of a home within a restaurant,
Just there, a degree remaining,
But shaken I feel.
Nevertheless,
the food is still good.

•

peter radley

Cafe Orlin is at 41 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue

Out and About in the East Village

In this ongoing feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.



By James Maher

Name: Gustavo Roldan
Occupation: Designer
Date: 4 pm on Wednesday, May 10
Location: Avenue A and 3rd Street

I’m from Venezuela. I came here around 40 years ago – just vacation, and then I liked it and I stayed. I came to this neighborhood immediately. People who I knew were around here, and I thought it was pretty edgy. I liked it.

Maybe because I’m into fashion, but that’s what I liked about the neighborhood. It was so avant-garde. There was a lot of creativity around. That drove me to this neighborhood. A lot of artists, parties, excitement. All kind of things were around here. It was amazing. There were people filming all the time, in the 1980s. People were so cool – I mean they are still. I loved 7A. The Pyramid was cool and Save the Robots.

I was on the Hells Angels block. The block was safe, but the 4th of July parties were very annoying. It was packed with bikers. There were fireworks and people getting drunk and very loud, blasting music. The neighborhood was crazy, it was tough but I never had any problems.

I’m a designer. I make hats. That’s what I do now, but back then I used to do jewelry. I just bumped into it. It was great. I did mass production — I did shows and trade shows. That’s how I made a living. I worked with all different types of people.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Report: Body found in John V. Lindsay East River Park last evening

Body found in the bushes at John V. Lindsay East River Park in #NYC
Few yards off the jogging/biking path pic.twitter.com/j9FQB030kX

— Andy Mai (@MaiAndy) May 18, 2017

We heard from several readers last night about a large group of police and other emergency responders on the south end of John V. Lindsay East River Park.

Said one reader: "Biked by there around 7:30 p.m. — ambulances, law enforcement, etc. gathering around a spot in the tall grass right by the river. They cordoned off the area and shooed us onlookers away."

The Daily News reports that police found a body of a man in his 30s "in a desolate stretch of grass."

The body was discovered in an area of the park that is under construction, east of FDR Drive, near Jackson St.

Cops found an improvised gun fashioned from a metal pipe in the nearby shrubs, sources said.

Police believe that the man took his own life.

Your really last-minute notice about an HDFC working meeting tonight

Sorry for the short notice on this... however, this meeting invite was sent out via email at the last minute... and it doesn't appear to be publicized online anywhere.

Anyway, we've had a few posts on the proposed new regulations on nearly 1,200 privately owned co-ops, including a number in the East Village.

Here's a recap from an EVG reader and co-op resident about what's happening from an earlier post:

This new proposed Regulatory Agreement is overreaching and would result in a loss of autonomy and decision-making abilities that benefit HDFC buildings, as well as costing individual shareholders hard-earned equity.

The new rules include a 30 percent flip tax on all units when they sell; the requirement of hiring outside managers and monitors at our expense; a ban on owning other residential property within a 100-mile radius of New York City; and more draconian clauses. Community meetings to discuss the agreement have been contentious and hostile, and so far not one HDFC in the entire city has publicly supported the plan. Very few HDFCs in the city need financial help and we strongly oppose a "one size fits all" regulatory agreement that will cost us money, resources, and most important, value in our home equity.

And...

The problem was that HDP wrote the Regulatory Agreement without any input from HDFC shareholders. When we caught wind of what was happening, we were able to force a community meeting, with the help of Council Member Mendez's office. They have since held a handful of meetings but say they are moving forward within the next couple of months. They are also not giving a clear timeline, which of course has many of us panicked.

ICYMI: LES landlord hit with $1.2 million Airbnb lawsuit; 536 E. 14th St. among the properties

[Photo of 536 E. 14th St. last December by Michael Paul]

In case you didn't already see this story from earlier this week...the city slapped LES landlord Rose King with a $1.2 million lawsuit. City lawyers allege that she illegally rented multiple units in three buildings through Airbnb.

According to the Post:

King has been hiding behind a middle man and at least nine aliases to create a network of transient hotels at 536 E. 14th St., 123 Ludlow St., and 127 Rivington St., according to the Manhattan Supreme Court suit.

And one of the building’s permanent residents told city officials that King is trying to evict rent-stabilized tenants from her properties to convert even more units into cash-cow ­Airbnbs, sources said.

Last December, as we noted, the city booted the longtime psychic at 536 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. City documents said that the storefront was illegally converted without "means of egress." There were also complaints on file that the landlord was operating an illegal hotel here.

As for King's alleged operation, the Post quotes the Mayor: "It's outrageous, it’s illegal, and we will stop bad actors from hurting our neighborhoods. New Yorkers can’t afford to see affordable homes turned into hotels." (Maybe someone can tell the Mayor about this on 11th Street.)

The annual Essex Street Market block party is Saturday

Via the EVG inbox...

On Saturday, May 20, Essex Street Market is throwing its annual Block Party from 12-5 p.m. outside on Essex Street. This springtime affair features the latest and greatest food vendors from both the Essex Street Market and Lower East Side.

Find more details, including a list of vendors and musical guests, here.

Super-8 films and poetry Friday night at Le Petit Versailles

Via the EVG inbox...

Local poet-filmmaker Stephanie Gray will be showing her experimental super-8 films and reading poetry this Friday (May 19), at 8 in an evening titled "We Be We Know" at Le Petit Versailles, the community garden at 346 E. Houston St./247 E. Second St. near Avenue C. Evening starts with poetry, ends with film. Rain or shine.

Find a listing of the films here. The Facebook events page is here.

Sen. Hoylman calls for immediate stay on all Steve Croman-initiated tenant cases

Despite being charged with 20 felonies last May, Steve Croman's tenants have alleged that their landlord continues to harass them.

Per a December 2016 article in The Villager:

“He’s still not giving heat and hot water, still not backing off from the rotten things he would do, like jacking up rent and not returning leases to people,” said Cynthia Chaffee, a longtime Croman residential tenant. “He’s still doing it and nothing’s changed. He’s stillusing the courts to harass his tenants.”

Also last December, tenants of 159 Stanton St. sued Croman in housing court, saying he was subjecting them to unsafe conditions and harassment. In February, the Department of Buildings issued a partial vacate order on the building, with the residents of two apartments forced to relocate until unsafe conditions were rectified, as The Lo-Down reported.

Now Sen. Brad Hoylman is releasing the results of a review of eviction cases filed by Croman against tenants in the Senator's district and throughout Manhattan. Hoylman is calling for an immediate stay on all Croman-initiated tenant cases.

According to Hoylman’s review, at least eight active cases are proceeding against tenants.

"Croman’s M.O., as the Attorney General alleges in the criminal complaint, is to harass tenants by filing baseless lawsuits against them. The court should stay all of the cases where Croman is suing tenants until these serious allegations are addressed. Otherwise, these tenants, many of whom are not represented by legal counsel, risk irreparable harm, including losing their homes," Hoylman said in a statement. "The bottom line is that Croman is running a criminal enterprise. Justice demands his cases against tenants be stayed."

Two East Village buildings are in the list of cases proceeding: 229 First Ave. and 309 E. Eighth St.

Croman's real-estate empire includes 47 buildings with 617 units in the East Village. As previously noted, Croman owns more buildings in the East Village than any other landlord.

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced the charges against Croman in May 2016, including multiple felonies for his role in an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain several multi-million dollar refinancing loans between 2012 and 2014.

The civil lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan and the product of an independent investigation, alleges that Croman used, among other things, the illegal tactic of pressuring tenants into surrendering their apartments by repeatedly filing baseless lawsuits against them.

His criminal case has been adjourned and bail continued five times now, according to the Croman Tenants Alliance. His civil court date is June 5.

The New York Post reported earlier this month that Croman was nearing a plea deal that would see him serve eight months of jail time and pay a fine up to $10 million.

Fire-damaged Caracas Arepa Bar now for rent

[Photo yesterday by Vinny & O]

Caracas Arepa Bar apparently will not be reopening at 93 1/2 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. A for rent sign arrived on the space this week.

A fire broke out here in the early morning hours last Sept. 21. While no one was injured, the damage was extensive.

Co-owner Maribel Araujovia was blunt about the damage: "The restaurant is pretty fucked up." She expounded on that to Grub Street last September:

“It’s not just a little thing we can fix quickly, put drywall up, and keep going,” Araujo says. Getting back to business will take some time: Leases and inventory need to be looked at, and conversations need to be had with lawyers and insurers. “Maybe we’ll relocate, maybe we’ll try to rebuild this one. At this point, I’m not sure.”

Workers had been refurbishing the space... with the thought/hope that it was being done for Caracas. Looks like the work is for the next tenant.

The smaller Caracas space at 91 E. Seventh St., which debuted in 2003, remains open with limited seating and to-go orders. They also have a location in Williamsburg as well as a seasonal spot in the Rockaways for the summer.

The 'commanding retail presence' of Extell's new 14th Street development

Here's how Extell's two, seven-story residential buildings going in on 14th Street from Avenue A to Avenue B look these days...



There's an updated retail listing now at RKF for the buildings noting "a commanding retail presence" here.


[RKF]

For starters, you probably know that Target is leasing 27,306 square feet in No. 500's corner space for a small-format store expected to open in the summer of 2018.

The other retail slot here features 14,500 square feet plus 1,500 square feet for a loading dock, which is on 13th Street. The price is not listed. The listing also says "Logical divisions considered" and "Space can be vented for cooking."

At No. 524, the retail space is 9,700 square feet with another 4,500 in the lower level.


[RKF]

Previously on EV Grieve:
New 7-floor buildings for East 14th Street include 150 residential units

Target offers details about its flexible-format store opening summer 2018 on 14th and A

The disappearing storefronts of East 14th Street

Elite New York Sports Club now open on Astor Place

[Photo by @EdenBrower]

The new Elite brand of gym by New York Sports Clubs is up and running on Astor Place... this is the current pricing via this location's website... $120 a month without a commitment... $110 a month with a one-year commitment...



Press materials note that the new location at 4 Astor Place "will feature several new programs and will also boast Rogue rigs, Woodway treadmills, lifting platforms and expanded training zones."

This four-level spot was, until December, a David Barton Gym. This location as well as the three others in Manhattan abruptly closed last December.