East Village tenants demand end to months without heat, gas at 128 2nd Ave.

[EVG file photo]

Tenants of the beleaguered 128 Second Ave. are holding a press conference this afternoon to "demand immediate restoration of heat and gas" in their building between East Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place, according to a media advisory about today's gathering at New York City Housing Court.

As previously reported, tenants filed a HP Action for Repairs and Services in March, citing inconsistent heat, lack of fire alarms, a broken fire escape, front door, and stairs, and other dangerous living conditions in the building owned by Icon Realty. Residents have also alleged "harassment from the landlord in order to push out rent-regulated tenants."

Back in April, The Wall Street Journal reported on the situation in the building, citing 89 open violations with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, including 58 the department considered "immediately hazardous."

On April 14, Manhattan Housing Court Judge Cheryl Gonzales reportedly "expressed impatience with Icon's lawyer, who asked for 45 days and a 'right of extension' to repair the boiler, citing aging infrastructure, warmer weather and lengthy waits for permits."

Reps for the tenants say that, despite the court order, Icon has yet to restore the gas or the the hot water.

Public records show that the current violation count is now at 114 with 67 class “C” immediately hazardous violations.

The press conference starts at 1 p.m. outside New York City Housing Court, 111 Centre St.

Meanwhile, we have not heard anything on the status the Stage, which remains closed as it takes to the courts with Icon.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Tenants at 128 2nd Ave. file suit against Icon Realty in housing court

Troubling talk about 128 Second Ave, and the long-term future of the Stage

[Updated] Report: Icon Realty serves the Stage an eviction notice

Stage owner Roman Diakun responds to allegations of illegally siphoning gas

Petition to help reopen the Stage

The Wall Street Journal on the ongoing issues at Icon Realty's 128 2nd Ave.

Stories in the key of life: The Typewriter Project arrives in Tompkins Square Park

The new outhouse The Typewriter Project arrived this week in Tompkins Square Park …



Here's more about the project via the Poetry Society of New York:

The Typewriter Project is a series of site-specific literary installations which encourage users to go analog. These typewriter installations — wooden booths with a seat, desk, and typewriter inside — allow both professional writers and first time typists alike to join in a citywide lyrical exchange.

Each booth is outfitted with a seat, desk, typewriter, 100-foot scroll of paper, solar generator, hidden tablet, and a USB typewriter kit, which allows every written entry to be collected, stored, and posted online for users to read, share, and comment upon.

The Typewriter Project investigates the subconscious of the city by creating unique spaces designed for contemplation in which users can contribute to narrative of that particular location.

The Typewriter Project's first installation appeared on Governors Island last summer. Tompkins Square Park is the third installation, and will be around (God willing) until July 19. Hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 3-8 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday,noon-8 p.m.

And apparently it is a pooch-friendly booth…

#beebeethemaltipoo was typing his thoughts today in the park #thetypewriterproject #poetry #thepoetrybrothel #thepoetrysocietyofnewyork

A photo posted by The Typewriter Project (@typewriternyc) on Jun 17, 2015 at 2:13pm PDT

Thank you to EVG Ronnie for the top two photos!

Work begins on the incoming Mimi's Hummus on East 14th Street

EVG East 14th Street/IHOP Way Correspondent Pinch tells us that workers are now gutting the former Wicked Wolfe BBQ space here just west of Second Avenue.

Prior to the arrival of the construction crews, there was a sign in the window announcing that Mimi's Hummus has designs on the small space…



On May 1, Eater reported that the Ditmas Park-based Mimi's was expanding into Manhattan with locations at the Vanderbilt food hall near Grand Central and on East 14th Street.

Mimi's, which Eater says serves "some of the city's best hummus and shakshuka," will have an expanded menu here that includes "a few larger plates at dinner like lemon chicken meatballs, brisket, and the Middle Eastern rice and lentil dish mejadara."

And Mimi's will have company next door. As we first reported on April 20, a T-swirl crêpe shop is opening in the recently shuttered Subway (sandwich shop).

Lastly, not to fear, Pinch is keeping an eye on what happens to the iconic Wicked Wolfe BBQ signage. The $1 pizza/BBQ combo shop lasted about eight rather sad months in business.

Bringing down 222 E. 7th St. brick by brick

[Photo via Daniel Root]

Workers continue to chip away at the building here between Avenue B and Avenue C… there's been quite a bit of progress since we checked in on the project just last week…



The new 6-floor building with 8 residences will one day look like this…


[Photo via Dave on 7th]

Dave on 7th figures that sculpturist Louise Nevelson created this piece — Dawn's Wedding Chapel II from 1959 — now in the collection at the Whitney while living and working at No. 222…



Previously on EV Grieve:
Villa Capri condos coming to Seventh Street

[Updated] Work underway on the new residential conversion on East 7th Street

Nail salon in the works for former Amor Baker space on Avenue B

A small fire broke out at the Amor Bakery at 224 Avenue B on April 22, 2013. Unfortunately, the family-run business was never able to reopen here near East 14th Street.

Now from reliable sources comes word that workers are fitting the space for a nail salon…



And that's all we know about that.

As for Amor, we always enjoyed looking at the specialty cakes in the window display… (always wondered why the guy posing in the Speedo had a greenish tint to his body … except for his head)




[Cake photos by Robert Sietsema via Fork in the Road]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Updated: Fire reported at 224 Avenue B

Amor Bakery will not reopen on Avenue B

Dinosaurs are now extinct on East 12th Street

There's a new mural now on the 12C Outdoor Gallery.

The Terra Fossil Dinosaurs painted by artist Luis "Zimad" Lamboy that have been up on the wall here on East 12th Street at Avenue C for more than five years are now extinct.

The evolution is such that artist Amanda Marie has turned the wall into her latest showcase.











Marie also has an opening tomorrow night at The Quin, Hotel Lobby, 6-9 at 101 W. 57th St. near Sixth Avenue.

Thanks to Robert Galinsky for the photos

Previously

A mural grows on Avenue C

The owners of the recently unveiled 137 Avenue C brought in artist Zio Ziegler to create a mural on the new residential building's north-facing wall here at Ninth Street...

EVG reader Peter from 8th Street notes that work started this morning...





Here's more about Ziegler per his bio:

His work reflects the diverse influences of late medieval and quattrocento painting, aboriginal, African and naive art, and the European graffiti movement.

We'll check back later to see how the wall is shaping up...

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly 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: Ilyse Kazar (and Shiro)
Occupation: ‘Professional Dilettante’
Location: 4th Street between 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue
Time: 6 pm on Wednesday, June 10

I’m from very far away in the nether regions of Long Island — a universe away. I moved here when I was 20, so I’ve done my major growing up here. I was going to school in Long Island and I had picked my courses out there. I came here for the summer just to experience the city — 38 years ago. It’s been a long summer.

I actually started out on the Upper West Side, but I got my first job at Phebe’s, when it used to be Phebe’s. I just fell in love with New York and I still am. I’m hanging on here in the East Village.

But more than anything it was, for me, the foundation of what this neighborhood used to be, which was an incredible network of people who formed an adoptive family. That started right of the bat for me in this neighborhood, whereas on the Upper West Side at the time, particularly in the area of Columbia University where I had my first sublet, I wasn’t feeling it at all and they weren’t feeling me. I couldn’t find a job.

Somehow just by happenstance or by fate, I ended up all the way down on 4th Street and the Bowery, and got a job. I walked in, said I was looking for a job for the summer, because that’s what I thought. I was tired of lying trying to get a job, so I just said I have no experience but I’m just here for the summer, and I got the job on the spot.

Imagine being from suburbia, having gone to a suburban high school that had tennis courts and then coming here and getting your first job in a restaurant where everyone you worked with and almost everyone that came in was an actor, a dancer, an artist, a writer, a musician, a composer. It was amazing. It wasn’t uptown art. It was that downtown spirit. I was 20 years old. I was fresh blood.

It was a community of people who were misfits, where they came from, and of course there was the continuous population of immigrants. I think there probably was always a high population of students and artists because it was just so low rent. When I moved in my apartment was $135 a month. I’ve been in the same place [ever since]. I was 20 and I have two daughters who I raised here and the baby is 22 now.

I worked at Phebe’s for a couple years and then did a number of restaurant, food and beverage service stints. Then computers came in and I picked up on that, everything from temp office work to starting my own tech business. Mainly I’ve just lived a very unstructured East Village life. I’ve raised my kids… now I’m just rethinking things. I’m the crazy lady — you might find me after a good rainstorm scavenging umbrellas. I snip the fabric off of them. I’m involved in composting, in particular with an organization called Earth Matter that’s headquartered in the Lower East Side and their facility is on Governors Island.

It’s hard to explain. It was just like a big soup pot that was spiced just right. Back in the day, which is some extent to this day, you could interact with people of every type, the person who hands you the slice of pizza, the person standing on line with you at the bodega, the people who used to be in my building. You could knock on your neighbors door and ask, do you have a Q-tip? We knew everyone by first name; we’d have dinner at each other’s houses; we raised kids together. And now I actually find with the people moving in that when you try to introduce yourself, ‘Hey I live in this apartment. I’ve lived here a long time, if you have any questions. I just want you to know who your neighbor is and knock on my door any time you need.’ They actually look at you like you’re weird and they literally back up. Who’s this strange lady talking to me?

But that’s my strongest memory of this neighborhood … that as much as there was a range of ethnic backgrounds, a certain range of income level, and everything from blue collar to complete drop outs, to well-known artists, who were all able to talk to each other. There was a lot of inspiration and cross-pollination going on.

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

Get well soon, Ray!

[Photo via Facebook]

Ray Alvarez, the 82-year-old proprietor of Ray's Candy Store at 113 Avenue A, looks to be off his feet for a little while.

A friend of Ray's reports that he was recently having trouble breathing. He apparently has felt weak for some time. It finally became too acute, so he visited his doctor, who sent Ray straight to Beth Israel.

Yesterday, Ray had heart valve replacement surgery.

We're told that he is doing well and in typically good spirits. (He has also been asking for seconds on the hospital food.)

A number of people have been keeping him company at the hospital, where he'll likely remain until next week.

Several of Ray's regulars made a large card that people can sign at the shop starting this morning. The card will be delivered to Ray at the hospital. In addition, several friends chipped in to buy him a new bed for his recovery at home.


[Photo via Shawn Chittle]

[Updated] Giving 334 Bowery another go with pizza

We've lost track of the comings and goings at 334 Bowery. Let's take inventory with the help of Eater and BoweryBoogie: The space between Bond and Great Jones was home to Forcella Bowery for nearly three years until last November … only to be replaced in early December by the tapas-friendly Espoleta, which closed six months later to make way for Gia Trattoria.

Meanwhile, in the adjacent space, Slice of Naples remained open even after Forcella shuttered. That was until the owners converted the space to SRO, a pizza speakeasy that debuted in January with a $38 prix fixe menu that included an appetizer, pizza, dessert and three beverage pairings, as Eater reported.

Now it appears SRO has closed as well. There's a sign up for Bowery Pizza. Perhaps this will be more of a takeout-friendly place.

Anyway, by our count, that's six restaurants for 334 Bowery since November: Forcella, Espoleta, Gia Trattoria, Slice of Naples, SRO and Bowery Pizza.

Updated 6-18

The folks from SRO left this in the comments...

While it "appears' that SRO has shuttered, it is indeed still operating, and quite successfully! Due to overcrowding inside our former 12-table restaurant on the weekends, we finally decided to take over the larger dining space in the back and continue to operate as a pizza speakeasy, serving the incredible pies of our pizzaiolo, Giuio Adriani. The dining room capacity has now tripled and is much more comfortable, and our menu has also expanded — serving both the $38 pre-fixe menu, as well as pizza, appetizers, and dessert a la carte.

The rent is due at the incoming Turntable Retro Bar & Restaurant on Avenue B

[EVG photo from May]

Turntable Retro Bar & Restaurant, a sibling of the Flushing-based Mad For Chicken operation, has designs on a new location at 58 Avenue B (at East Fourth Street).

The space has gone under a major renovation since Vella Market closed here in October 2013.

Not sure of an opening date just yet. However, there does appear to be one possible glitch in all this — the rent is past due, according to the notice taped to the door that an EVG reader spotted…



The "Five Day Notice to Tenant" notes that the occupant owes more than $26,000 in rent. The notice, only just posted, is dated June 4.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Turntable Retro Bar & Restaurant ready to play on 4th and B

When it started raining earlier

Photo on Second Avenue by Derek Berg…

Now that rent regulation laws have expired (for the time being)

[Photo from June 9 by EVG reader Peter Brownscombe]

As you probably read, state lawmakers failed to strike a deal yesterday and let rent-control laws expire for some 2 million tenants.

Per The Wall Street Journal:

Senate President John Flanagan, a Long Island Republican, said the debate would likely stretch out until the end of the legislative session on Wednesday, since lawmakers don’t want to go home without a deal. “Given the fact that we’re [in Albany] for another 48 hours, we’re going to have further discussions,” he said Monday evening.

Mr. Flanagan dismissed concerns that chaos could ensue at midnight: “Do I think anything tumultuous or crazy is going to happen overnight? Absolutely not.”

In a news conference after the vote, Sen. Adriano Espaillat, a Manhattan Democrat, said “this is the Senate Republicans telling tenants in New York City to drop dead.”

Last night, the city sent out a letter signed by Vicki Been, commissioner, NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development:

If you are one of the more than two million New Yorkers who lives in rent-regulated housing, here's what you need to know:
• Your lease is still in effect and remains in effect through the term of the lease.
• There are still laws on the books protecting you from harassment, and the City is enforcing those laws.
• We have put together an emergency hotline: Call 311 if you have any concerns or questions about your apartment.
• If your landlord is harassing you, withholding services, or trying to exploit any lapse in the rent regulation laws to get you to leave your apartment, you should call 311 immediately.

If you are a landlord:
• Please know that the City is committed to protecting New Yorkers who live in rent-regulated units.
• If you have any questions about what information you should be sharing with your tenants, please call 311.
• Tenant harassment laws are still in effect. Any lapse in the rent regulation laws is not an excuse to withhold heat, hot water, or other services -- the City will enforce the housing code.

For more information on tenants' rights (in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Haitian Creole, and Arabic), please go here

Gas leak shutters Dallas BBQ, leaves residents without hot water and cooking gas

Bad news at 37 1/2 St. Mark's Place. Con Ed has shut off gas service to the building, including Dallas BBQ, after discovering a gas leak in the basement here at Second Avenue.





A reader shared these photos, including this note to residents from Kenco Realty Management:

Due to an unexpected gas leak in the basement of our building, Con Edison has shut off the gas supply to the entire building. This is not good news. We tried our best to persuade them otherwise, but because of the explosion across the street, they err on the side of over caution.

And the timeline:

The bottom line is we do not expect to have the hot water restored for days. We do not expect the cooking gas restored for weeks.

Updated 1:30

Gothamist has a statement from a Dallas BBQ spokesperson:

"Unfortunately, the building our restaurant is located in on St. Marks had a scheduled plumbing inspection yesterday and did not pass with Con Ed. We are working to resolve the plumbing violations and pass an inspection as soon as possible. Hopefully, we will be open in the next few days, if not a couple weeks, but it is too soon to tell."