How soon is not?

A poppier something by the Throwing Muses ... with "Not Too Soon" circa 1991 ... the band is back together and playing March 8 at the Bowery Ballroom ... featuring an opening set by band co-founder and former member Tanya Donelly, who sings the above song...

Citi Bike snow removal

[Tuesday night on Lafayette via EVG reader 8E]

Have you wondered who shovels out the docking stations for the Citi Bikes? (If no, then you don't need to keep reading!)

EVG contributor Derek Berg spotted workers clearing the station on East Fourth Street and Second Avenue this morning ... they work for DynaServ out in Maspeth.

Now you know!

Arcane is closing on Avenue C; owners raising funds for Cafe Cambodge

[Photo via EV Eats]

A reader told us that Arcane is closing on Avenue C between East Seventh Street and East Eighth Street. However, it sounds as if the folks at the French-Caribbean restaurant have some new plans. Here's the message on the Arcane Facebook page:

Following five and a half years of nostalgic memories at Arcane, we now inform you that we are coming to a close. We continue to struggle financially at Arcane, and unfortunately, we are no longer a profitable pursuit.

However, we have recently committed to embracing a new concept and are immediately putting effort forth toward creating a more expansive business. In approximately one month from now, we are planning to open a french cambodian restaurant called, "Cafe Cambodge". On Sunday, January 26th between 4pm-7pm, we will be hosting a party to help raise the required capital to launch the construction, we will be selling pre paid vouchers for redeemable dinner.

We are sending out immense gratitude to all, for the continued support and loyalty to Arcane, and we hope to see you accompany us on the 26th as we embark upon this exciting new beginning. We will be also raising funds on the Internet via gofundme.

If you are interested, then here are the details via GoFundMe.

On Oct. 24, 2012, the body of Christine Ebel, who owned Arcane with her brother Benjamin Alter, was discovered in the empty lot adjacent to the restaurant. Ebel, who was 52, lived above Arcane and reportedly fell off her balcony.

How 1 resilient East Village resident helped save Jerry's Newsstand

[Photo by Michael Paul via Facebook.]

On Dec. 10, East Village resident Kelly King read the news that the city shut down Jerry's Newsstand on Astor Place. She was devastated. For her, Jerry Delakas was a familiar face in a neighborhood that continued to quickly evolve, and not always for the better.

A subsequent photo that Jeremiah Moss published that day at Vanishing New York brought her to tears.


[Photo via Jeremiah Moss]

Jerry told Jeremiah that the city did not tell him they were seizing his stand he had operated here outside the downtown 6 entrance since 1987. (Jerry sublet the newsstand, and the city later reportedly blocked his attempts to transfer the license to his name.)

On Dec. 11, King made flyers and hung them on the shuttered newsstand. She decided to hold a rally the next day for Jerry, who was still coming to the newsstand every day as he always did.

"I am going to stand up for him. I am going to give what I have to give," King, who first moved here in 1985, told us that day.

The early rallies were sparsely attended… A Fox reporter showed up on Astor Place, though it turned out that she was doing a story about customer names on the cups at the Starbucks behind the newsstand


[Photo by Michael Paul via Facebook.]

Still, King and several residents, including East Village photographer Michael Paul, Judy Rosenblatt as well as CB2 member Marty Tessler, continued to stand out in the cold and hand out flyers and encourage people to call the Public Advocate's office. They also created a Save Jerry's Facebook page.

Anyway, you likely know the rest of the story. Jerry's plight eventually picked up momentum in the media. With the help of lawyer Arthur Schwartz, who worked pro bono, and the intervention of Mayor de Blasio, the city agreed to reopen the stand (though Jerry has to pay a $9,000 fine).

Now that Jerry's Newsstand is back up and running, we asked King a few questions via Facebook about why she decided to fight on his behalf...

What initially inspired you to help Jerry?

Jerimiah Moss's photo on your site of Jerry locked out in the cold made me cry. I saw Taylor Mead being aggressively forced out of his home. I regretted not protesting [what was happening] to Taylor Mead. When I saw Jerry, I was so sad — and mad.

Was there a point where you thought that there wasn't any chance to get a new license for Jerry?

I never felt there wasn't a chance. Never. I just made the commitment to try as long as it took. You have to be committed.


[Photo from Dec. 22 via the Save Jerry's Facebook page]

What do you think was the turning point for Jerry?

Rev. Billy and his choir were a real turning point for Jerry. [Rev. Billy turned out for a rally on Dec. 22.] It helped balance out the abuse that Jerry was suffering. That really rebuilt his spirit. Something lightened up. He made more people aware of the situation in the community.


[Photo via the Save Jerry's Facebook page]

Personally, what was the highlight for you in helping Jerry this past month?

The highlight was Jerry giggling to himself ... after the open house at Gracie Mansion on Jan. 5. He was giggling over my pushing past all the "no's" at the gates of the open house with the little Jerry's Newsstand that we made to give to the Mayor. There were all these "no's," but somehow we got to "yes." He was giggling thinking about it. Seeing him appreciate the odds, and the results, to giggle thinking about it. That was the best.


Photo by Michael Paul via Facebook.

Previously on EV Grieve:
City shutters Jerry's Newsstand on Astor Place for 'operating illegally'

The story about the city shutting down Jerry's Newsstand on Astor Place actually gets worse

More about saving Jerry's Newsstand

Helping Save Jerry

City says Jerry Delakas can operate Astor Place Newsstand

Are you going to rent out your East Village apartment for the Super Bowl?

[A welcome on Avenue C]

As we first and exclusively reported, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., is hosting Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2. Which means thousands and thousands of football fans from Denver (go Nuggets!) and Seattle (go Mariners!) will be descending upon NYC for food, lodging, alcohol poisoning, etc.

Thankfully, given the generous nature of NYC residents, there are plenty of people offering up their apartments on AirBnB and Craigslist for a pretty nice markup. For example! There's a nice apartment on Second Avenue going for $1,000 a night — with a living/dining space that can "accommodate up to 50 people." Meanwhile, over in StuyTown, there's a two-bedroom unit asking $6,500 for six nights. Or if you really want to do it up, you can rent this one-bedroom apartment on Second Avenue and East First Street for the entire month – $4,600.

Sure, renting out your place like this (for less than 30 days) violates New York State law, but you can make up for any possible fines by placing some side bets on the game.

The former East Village Music Store is for rent on East 3rd Street

The East Village Music Store at 21 E. Third St. closed for business at the end of December.

Claude Campbell, who opened the shop in 1994, told us earlier in December that he hoped to find a new storefront. There's no word on that status right now.

Meanwhile, the space is now for rent. According to the Massey Knakal listing:

Wide, side street space on the same block as the Bowery Hotel and its acclaimed restaurant Gemma.

Other Neighboring tenants include Bank of America, The Standard Hotel, B Bar & Grill, Phebe’s Tavern, PiccolaStrada.

Dense residential and student neighborhood.

All uses considered.

The rent is available "upon request."

On Jan. 9, the marshal took possession of the space on behalf of the landlord, Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association.



Previously on EV Grieve:
The day the music stores died in the East Village

The East 3rd Street Welcoming Committee Welcomes you

Some longtime residents of 197 E. Third St. near Avenue B have grown tired of the nearby bar scene … and all that comes with it… the loud music, the fights, the students, the weekend wooseekers … the usual.

So this week, one of the residents made this sign and put it up in the front doorway where various bargoers tend to congregate…



Will it work?

This will likely be our last post about David Schwimmer's gate, probably

Hey, just bringing this important story to some closure. Last week we noted that the plywood came down at Chez Schwimm's over on East Sixth Street. A temporary fence of sorts went up… with word of a new, architecturally pleasing new gate to come. Yep, take a look above —— it has arrived. Now just pick a door… any door…

Winter Olympic trials wrapping up today in Tompkins Square Park

Oh, just some kids enjoying the snow. OK then! Photo by Bobby Williams.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Tompkins Square Park via Bobby Williams]

LES murals of the 1970s (BoweryBoogie)

De Blasio's 'ambitious goal' for affordable apartments (The New York Times)

The red-tailed hawks don't mind the snow in Tompkins Square Park (Gog in NYC)

The Fleshtones reminisce on "Remember The Ramones" (The Wall Street Journal)

Remembering El Internacional in Tribeca (Tribeca Tribune via Eater)

RIP Sweet Gifts at Video Cafe in Hell's Kitchen (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

How a lifelong punk turned his personal collection of flyers and zines into museum fodder (The Atlantic)

How punk rock helped this CBGB veteran be a better teacher (Education Week Teacher)

-----



... and the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space on Avenue C hosts the following program Saturday night at 6:

Two Chilean anarchists, Gabriel and Pablo, are touring the U.S. and will speak on "Struggling to Win: Anarchists Building Popular Power in Chile."

Head to the Facebook event page for details.

Here is the next new section of East 14th Street

As you probably know, a new retail-housing development will take the place of eight single-level storefronts on East 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. We first saw the conceptual rendering for 500 East 14th St. at Avenue A (below) back in November.


[500 E. 14th St.]

Yes, there is more!

Yesterday, the RKF retail listing went live for the second part of this new development — 524 E. 14th St. ... and here is the conceptual rendering for this property, which will also have a loading dock on East 13th Street ...



This is the space last held by ABC Animal Hospital (now at 200 Avenue A), Petland and Bargain Express.

The stated retail possession for the storefronts is early 2016. The city OK'd the demolition permits for the space last week.

520 E. 14th St., which houses Dunkin' Donuts on the ground floor, is the lone holdout between the new buildings.


[Via Google]

Previously on EV Grieve:
East 14th Street exodus continues

The disappearing storefronts of East 14th Street

[Updated with correction] 8-lot parcel of East 14th Street primed for new development

East 14th Street corridor now nearly business-free ahead of new development

Here is the future of East 14th Street and Avenue A: 7 stories of residential and retail

City OKs permits to demolish the empty storefronts along this section of East 14th Street

Your 6-bedroom dream 'frat house' awaits you in the East Village

Oh boy! Via Craigslist ... let's check out the ALL-CAPS broker poetry:

HELLO NEW YORK CITY !!!!!WHERE TO BEGIN? THIS UNIT IS AWESOME! THIS UNIT IS BRAND SPANKING NEW! IT'S NOT TOO FAR EAST(AVE A). LETS CHECK THIS DUPLEX 6 BED 3 BATH ULTIMATE PAD. YOU CAN EITHER HANG OUT IN THE AMAZING LIVING SPACE, YOUR PRETTY BIG BEDROOM OR EVEN UP ON YOUR AMAZING ROOF DECK!!! BLEACHED WOOD FLOORS, CONDO LIKE BATHROOMS AND A KITCHEN THAT WILL EVOKE WONDERFUL MEALS. CONVENIENT TO UNION SQUARE AND ALL OF THE SOCIAL EVENTS YOU CAN SPEAK OF.LETS SEE IT.

Yes! [Head butts all around]

Here's another version of the ad, showing, randomly, a park that doesn't exist in this neighborhood.



No mention of the exact address of this frat house ... but I've got their disciplinary files right here.

Updated: It is a new listing at 205 Avenue A. Thank you Icon Realty for this mess!

H/T @galadarling

Previously on EV Grieve:
East 12th Street now home to "THE ONLY REAL FRAT HOUSE AT NYU!"

Residents want 7-Eleven to shovel (and salt) their sidewalks on A and 11th

As you may have noticed, it snowed — a lot — on Tuesday … late into the night… And now it's just cold, icy, miserable (mostly!). Meanwhile, residents who live around the newish 7-Eleven on Avenue A and East 11th Street are annoyed that the sidewalks surrounding the store haven't been shoveled or salted… The photos here are from last night…



… one resident said that the East 11th Street side is particular hazardous.

Peels closed for good yesterday on the Bowery; casual Italian next?

Apparently those rumors about Peels closing were true. In a statement to Grub Street yesterday, owners William Tigertt and Taavo Somer said: "We've had a great run and thank all of our staff, the neighborhood and customers for the years of support and memories."

The restaurant on the Bowery at East Second Street closed yesterday morning after breakfast service.

We'd like to thank our staff and our customers for the years of support and memories. We’ll miss everyone, but we have to say goodbye.

— Peels Restaurant (@PeelsNYC) January 22, 2014

The rumors surfaced when the address also showed up on this month's CB3/SLA committee docket. (The item was scratched from the agenda ahead of the meeting.)

In a comment on Jan. 13, an EVG reader said that Serge Becker and Josh Picard, who are taking over the 7A space, will be the new operators "for ... casual Italian. Just like Gemma a block away." Eater hears that it's Picard and Andrew Carmellini planning the restaurant in the space.

The building was sold last summer for more than $9 million.

Peels opened to much fanfare in August 2010. Their early drink menu included The Joey Ramone … made with apple brandy, lime juice and concord grape juice (or concord grape wine??)


Perhaps this inclusion made some sense as the restaurant did share a corner with Joey Ramone Place.

Construction watch: 165 Avenue B

Checking in on the work that has been happening at 165 Avenue B just north of East 10th Street. Permits show that the building is undergoing a head-to-toe renovation, including "reinforcement of structure in cellar, removal of existing apartment in basement, renovation of Apt 1,2,3,4, on floors 1-4."

The building was sold in December 2012 for $3.8 million, according to property records. 165 Avenue B LLC is listed as the owner.

A previous listing for the building mentioned that "1,865 sq ft of air rights remain," though there's nothing on file yet to suggestion any additional floors here.

And, as we've mentioned before... in what seems like a long time ago, junk shop Waldorf Hysteria last called the retail space home....


Previously on EV Grieve:
165 Avenue B back on the market

165 Avenue B has been sold, and 2 apartments are on the market

Vortex this

Tompkins Square Park today… photos by Bobby Williams…

First look at Bagel Bakery, open today only on Second Avenue

Some residents along Second Avenue woke up early today to the view of Bagel Bakery — "since 1938." Just temporary, of course, while a film crew converts the space that belongs to Local 92, the hummus bar at 92 Second Ave. between East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street...

We didn't catch what the crews were filming here... photo by peter radley.

Avalon Chrystie Place looks to be for sale

An EVG reader passed along this today from Real Estate Alert:

An AvalonBay Communities partnership is teeing up an apartment property on Manhattan’s Lower East Side that could attracts bids of $400 million.

The 361-unit Avalon Chrystie Place, which was built in 2005, is 95% occupied. At the estimated value of $1.1 million/unit, the initial annual yield would be about 4%. Although the offering is likely to appeal to core investors, a buyer could upgrade the apartment interiors in order to raise rents and boost the return.

The 14-story complex is at 229 Chrystie Street, on the southwest corner of Houston Street ... There is 72,000 square feet of retail space on the street level, most of which is leased to a Whole Foods supermarket until 2028.

A buyer would have to assume a $117 million floating-rate Fannie Mae mortgage, which could be prepaid or augmented with subordinate debt.

Eighty percent of the units, or 289, command market rents, while the remaining 72 are regulated under New York City rent guidelines.

We haven't spotted a listing for the property just yet. Meanwhile, it seems as if you have plenty of time left to shop at Whole Foods Bowery.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Second Avenue this morning. Photo by Derek Berg]

Amsterdam residents fight back against Soho House with the help of LES Dwellers (BoweryBoogie)

Is there still a place for weird comedy in NYC? (Narratively)

Harsh? 0 stars for Han Dynasty on Third Avenue (The New York Times)

Coping with the disappearance of beloved places (Off the Grid, includes quotes from EVG and Jeremiah Moss)

Rothstein’s Hardware is leaving its storefront at 56 Clinton St. after 60 years (The Lo-Down)

After 38 years in Chelsea, Camouflage is closing (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Why John Varvatos doesn't get it (Flaming Pablum)

The gilded gas chandeliers of Bigelow Pharmacy in the West Village (Ephemeral New York)

... and via Dangerous Minds... the video for Slowdive's "Alison" from 1993 ... with a cameo by St. Mark's Place... and the shoegazers may be reuniting...

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: Alex Harsley
Occupation: Owner, 4th Street Photo Gallery
Location: East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and the Bowery
Time: 3 pm on Friday, Jan. 17

I was born in 1938 in South Carolina. I was born as an illegitimate child within a family that was very conservative. Forgiven but not quite. The connection was never really made between my mother and my father. They came together under this affair and out came me. By that point my mother had abandoned me and my grandparents were basically bringing me up on a farm. In the kind of environment I grew up in you had to grow up fast. Back then it was pure survival. Corporal punishment was a natural thing. Where I was born it was this isolated place out in the middle of nowhere. There was a dirt road leading back there and that was about the extent. There were no telephones and no electric lines.

I had all kinds of duties. As a kid I was put to the task of picking cotton, cutting cane — the whole nine yards, without really understanding that most kids don’t do this. It was completely normal for me. I did not get the chance to know that this ain’t the way it’s supposed to be. I had to be self-contained in terms of being very confident with myself and being able to deal with the outside reality. There were parts of me that I had to keep sacred, mainly the way I thought. I simply could not express how I felt. I was not allowed to do that. I learned how to keep that compartmentalized.

Eventually, I began to understand the reality that I was living in and the conditions that were imposed upon me. I was in a worse position than a slave. I had no rights, absolutely no rights, and I was being abused. I decided this was it. Somebody beats you all of the time and you get to the point where it’s enough and you start figuring out how are you going to deal with this. You’re not an animal.

But then, another part of you comes out. That other part of you is the beast. I learned about that. The beast is an awesome, awesome thing. I began to realize that there was a beast in me and all I had to do is to call on it and I became strong. There was no pain. It all became hate. I guess they felt it because I no longer screamed, I no longer cried, I just took it. There was no satisfaction by the person who was abusing me. They’d try harder. Okay, cut the skin, it hurts, now I have to learn how to deal with that. This is when I was 9 years old. I learned a lot, I understood a lot, and I studied these folks. I had to know them. They saw who I was becoming and I guess they had to make a choice. They had to either call my mother to come pick me up, put me in reform school, or find a hole and knock me in the head real hard.

So my mother came and took me to New York. I had to learn everything all over again but I had that ordeal behind me. I lived in the Bronx. The Bronx was like it is today if you skipped the ‘80s. There were empty lots leftover from buildings that used to be there. The top was gone and you’d see the bricks where the basement was. No floors. They were like ruins. We used to play in all those different places. It was weird. It was like Halloween all the time depending on where your imagination was. We played 24/7, into the night. At 11 at night we’d still be playing. Most of the time there were 8 or 10 of us around but there was always somebody there. I was never quite alone. Our neighborhood was protected when I grew up because we were this group of kids there. And by the sixth grade I had finally got into women and I had a girlfriend. She ran off with this guy, Norman Butler. I will always remember Norman Butler, just what he looked like. Norman Butler was one of the people who murdered Malcolm X.

I used to work as a delivery boy delivering groceries and doing all different types of things to support myself. That was when I realized there was an economy in this town. How do you survive? Nobody’s told you really what to do or how to do it. You have to learn the ropes. By 1951, I was beginning to understand that the whole educational system simply was not compatible with the way I thought. So I went to the library and read quite a bit on my own.

I came out of school in ’58 and by ‘59 I had latched on to this photography thing. Somebody asked if I wanted a camera for $15. Something said I ain’t supposed to say no. It was not really in my interests back then. I was seriously into bicycling at the time. Then everything turned around in ’59 when I got a job working at the District Attorney’s office. I got that job underneath the wire. I became the photographer for the District Attorney’s office. Can you imagine? Within six months, I had taken over the photography department. I had found a level of legitimacy now. It kept these doors open. I kept wanting to do something else but the doors kept opening. Early on, I was forced to be responsible for myself and when it got around to it, I was always a very responsible person.

I got married, the assistant District Attorneys are coming to visit me, coming to my house. I was living off of Central Park West on 84th Street in a nice brownstone. Everything was perfect. I was 20. I was responsible, people were recognizing me, wanting to be associated with me because of what I knew, and then I got a letter saying, ‘Greetings…’

I realized this is what life had prepared me for. They had drafted me into service. That whole disciplinary that I had to deal with, I now had to do it all over again. I had to succumb to the system. I was forced to be a soldier and I had to confirm to that or otherwise I was going to have a lot of issues.

I got shipped down to South Carolina, through South Carolina all the way to Alabama, in 1962. Can you imagine? I was born, not there, but I knew about there. I grew up in the middle of all of that. I had to learn a whole level of discipline. I showed up the wrong way when I was being trained. They taught me how to deal with chemical, radiological and biological warfare, but what I learned was psychological warfare. I wasn’t interested in continuing in that area. It was the worst. Here I was, in the midst of these huge tanks filled with the worst. If anything happened to those tanks, if they busted? It was scary. But I had to put that behind me, just like I had done with all those other folks and continue with my journey.

I did three years in the Army. I learned a lot from the Army and they learned a lot from me. Let’s put it that way. When I got out of that and back to New York, I said, ‘Now what?’ 1964 was the beginning of my life. I got involved in meeting interesting people and all these things began to happen. I decided I needed to go deeper into this realm called photography. My mind opened up and I began to explore. I was working as a freelance photographer. I went to the World’s Fair, I met John Coltrane in 1964, and covered all of that stuff. I was doing all types of street work. I was out there. I was a freelancer, going wherever I needed to go.

I settled down in Brooklyn, figured out that was a bad place to live, got divorced and moved to the East Village, around ’65. I got a motorcycle and I had parties continuously, living on 11th Street and Avenue A. I was in this haze. It’s now a very important historical place — 501 E. 11th St. Every place I’ve lived in they’ve destroyed.

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

We will have Part 2 with Alex Harsley next week.