Peter's: A disappearing face of New York disappears

Last July I did a post titled The grocery stores of St. James Place. I've always liked Peter's grocery at 25 Madison St. on the corner of St. James Place down on the outskirts of Chinatown and the LES. And for good reasons. You don't see many old-school storefronts like this anymore.



A great sign.



And I love the corner angle.

Unfortunately, when I went by the other day, Peter's was gone. I'm not sure how long ago it disappeared.






Peter's is featured in "Storefront: The Disappearing Face of New York," by James and Karla Murray. Peter's was owned by Peter Migliorini, who took over the business from his father (also named Peter).

Knickbocker Village has a post on Peter's.

So what will become of this unique space?

Walking by the Cooper Square Hotel is always good for a photo opp

Last night.

And now, a short history of walking by the Cooper Square Hotel!















Now you see it...



...now you don't.

Rockrose wants you to "do it all" and "live large" on Water Street (now with prices!)

Rockrose continues pimping, er, primping 200 Water St. in the Financial District, home of the former NYU dorm turned luxury rentals. Given the original new slogans, "do it all" and "live large"...




Rockrose is either marketing to recent grads or former readers of Trump Magazine.

And The 200 Water Street Web site now has a price list for rentals.



Let's see: 449-square-foot studios start at $1,700...and they go up to the 1,300-square-foot studio duplex with home office and sleeping loft for $3,850.

Also! Speaking of people likely to order pizza...Grub Street and Eater reported that the new Grimaldi's on John Street will deliver pizza for free to 200 Water Street. Or! If you go the Grimaldi's, you won't have to wait in line!

Previously on EV Grieve:
200 Water Street now leasing

Guerilla gardening on Third Avenue

Third Avenue near 12th Street.

An improvment on this?

Noted

Third Avenue and 10th Street.

And what about the cargo shorts, Dickchicken?

Dickchickens are everywhere. But I hadn't seen this one, though. On Avenue B near Houston.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

CB3 says no to Koi (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Mason Dixon and other CB3 highlights (The Lo-Down)

14th and B from 1918 (Ephemeral New York)

More vintage NYC postcards (This Ain't the Summer of Love)

At Superdive: "The main problem is how drunk the people who go there are when they depart. They stand outside and scream at each other as though they are all hard of hearing even though they are way too young for such problem... I can hear this drama, most loudly on Friday and Saturday nights, from way around the block. Seriously. They aren't even on my block and I can hear them around the corner and up 76 steps." (Blah Blog Blah)

When "Gossip Girl" groupies convene (BoweryBoogie)

"The storefront vacancy rate in Manhattan is now at its highest point since the early 1990s — an estimated 6.5 percent — and is expected to exceed 10 percent by the middle of next year." (The New York Times)

Lady GaGa conducts interview in coat made of mini Kermit the Frogs (Esquared)

From The Wall Street Journal:
"During the real-estate boom, New York had between 4,000 and 6,000 sidewalk sheds. During the real-estate bust, New York still has between 4,000 and 6,000 sidewalk sheds. Construction sites have gone dark, but façades keep buckling and cornices keep cracking as if nothing had happened to the economy.

Shed builders may be the only busy hardhats left in town. In some cities, sidewalk sheds go up when work is in progress. In New York, especially if landlords are broke, sheds go up and stay up because work is making no progress. Good times or bad, the sidewalk shed is one of those things that make New York New York.

"They're ugly, dismal and ubiquitous," says Rick Bell, who heads the American Institute of Architects' New York chapter. "They define our pedestrian experience -- like the arcades of Bologna."

Subway mascot gets snappy new costume, cape, mouth -- and name!

At Second Avenue and St.Mark's. Whoa! Look at all the changes. The Subway Dude is now Subman! And he has teeth! And more veggies! And he no longer wears the old-man shoes. Look at the yellow boots! And those arms!




Previously on EV Grieve:
It's Feb. 18, and we've already exceeded our quota for stories on Subway for 2009

February Subway dude photo via Slum Goddess.

Is Sam Chang's Fourth Avenue hotel too tall?

EV Grieve reader Eric writes to say that work at 132 Fourth Ave. and 13th Street (the site of the former Plaid and Spa) has seemingly stopped. (Again.) It's the 11-story, 162-unit hotel brought to you and me by Sam Chang.




There is a stop-work order on the site.



And looking at the DOB records:



Interesting. One complaint: "CALLER FEELS THAT THE BUILDING MAY BE EXCEEDING THE HEIGHT THAT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE BUILDINGS DEPARTMENT,APPEARS THEY MAY BE 2-3 STORIES OF ELEVATOR TOWERS."

In fact, one of the open complaints notes the the "new building construction is exciding (sic) the level limits permitted and is a violation of the zoning regulations."

Well, OK. Now what?

For further reading:
McSam Hotel Rises At Union Square, Gotta Hate Those Lot Line Windows (A Fine Blog)

Looking at 11 Essex Street

The current issue of The Villager has a lengthy piece on 11 Essex Street, a tenement built in 1907.

Landlord didn’t make fixes at Essex St. building; Now displaced tenants are feeling the squeeze

By Julie Shapiro

At the center of an affordable housing battle in Chinatown is a crumbling five-story building that is tilting slowly but steadily into the street.

Across from Seward Park, 11 Essex St.’s top story leans out 9 inches over the ground floor. Inside, metal poles prop up caving-in ceilings. Out back, bricks have tumbled from the facade, leaving gaping holes behind.
“It’s a time bomb,” said Richie Acca, a construction supervisor, as he walked through the silent, dusty building on a recent afternoon. “Would you live here?”

The city agreed. On May 27, the Department of Buildings issued a full-vacate order, giving the rent-protected tenants just a few hours to pack up their apartments before the front door was locked behind them.

In some ways, the vacate was the end of a years-long battle between the Chinese tenants and Sion Misrahi, the building’s owner. In other ways, the battle was just beginning.

The article inspired me to check out the building this past weekend.





An unclaimed UPS package awaits one of the tenants.



Here's more from the article:

When Misrahi bought 11 Essex St. in 2001, the 22 apartments were mostly occupied by low-income Chinese families who had lived there for decades. Until the vacate order, some still paid less than $300 per month for the rent-protected units, in a neighborhood where market rate is now more than five times that much.

One year after Misrahi bought the building, construction by another developer on new condos at 7 Essex St. destabilized 11 Essex’s foundation. Cracks formed and walls shifted. Even after workers from 7 Essex installed bracing at 11 Essex, the 100-year-old structure continued to deteriorate.

In 2004, Misrahi launched a campaign to get the city to vacate 11 Essex St. He wrote to the Department of Buildings, saying 11 Essex was in imminent danger of collapsing and that the city needed to remove the tenants so he could fix the building.

A city engineer told Misrahi that he could make the necessary repairs without tossing out the tenants, and ordered him to do so. Misrahi appealed first to then-Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster, and then to the Board of Standards and Appeals. A panel of architects and engineers heard the case and agreed with D.O.B. that Misrahi could — and should — fix the building immediately.

Bounce Deuce to return?

Hold on. Bounce Deuce at Second Avenue and Sixth Street is closed.... but perhaps not dead. And there's a new work permit on the door. Something about expanding a fire exit.




And there's new paper on the windows....



...and all the furniture is still inside. It just doesn't look (yet?) like a joint that's closing. Except the part about not being open. And those 71 violation points.



When the place shuttered, the signs did just say "Have a great summer!" Back in time for football season?

P.S.
However, no signs of the beer tubes.

Do you remember the times that we had.....(And has it really been one year already?)

Second Avenue near 10th Street.

Just about one year ago...



I wonder how many cups this place has gone through the last year.... and where are they all now? (Photo via Jeremiah)

Reminder: East Village Community Farmers Market every Tuesday until the fall

It's the Lower Eastside Girls Club. Tuesdays 12-8 p.m. at Ninth and Avenue C.



Details.

Marshal law at former Citi-Spaces location

The Awl beat me to posting this. About the former Citi-Spaces offices on Second Avenue at 11th Street. Looks like the marshal came calling.



And did the landlord run out of paper for the windows? Or are they merely trying to keep the neighborhood children from seeing in....



Previously on EV Grieve:
A short history of Citi-Spaces at Second Avenue and 11th Street

Looking at what may be coming to 347 Bowery

Koi is one of the bars/restaurants going before the CB3/SLA tonight. Koi is applying for a full liquor license.

In preparation for this, some higher-profile Koi employees held a meet-and-greet at Sala Restaurant on the Bowery last Thursday to answer any questions about Koi possibly turning the former Salvation Army East Village Residence into another outpost of the upscale sushi eatery. (The other locations are in Bangkok, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and in NYC at Bryant Park).

There wasn't any planned presentation. It was rather informal. And awkward. Not many people were there, at least when I was around. (And no naked sushi models.) And the people who were there didn't strike me as the concerned-neighbor type. (The Lo-Down was there too and has additional coverage.)

A few random things from the evening:

— Everyone from Koi was really nice in that trying-too-hard way. But, still, nice.

— The patrons of the Bryant Park Koi were described as low-key, mellow, more mature (i.e., not a bunch of partygoers prone to peeing and vomiting in the streets — my words not their words).

— Someone from Koi volunteered that the former Salvation Army Residence would actually become a restaurant and not merely flipped to be converted into another condo/hotel/high rise. Hadn't even thought of that.

— Koi co-owner/CEO Nick Haque wasn't present, but he is expected tonight at the CB3 meeting.

There were pamphlets offering a few more details on the proposed restaurant. Two floors for the restaurant/bar...6,000-square-feet...230 total seats...overheard someone say the exterior design would be in keeping with the neighborhood.







To learn more about Koi, I visited their Web site and read the many press clippings available.





That write-up in Wine & Spirits on top is my favorite. In describing the LA Koi: "Its valet zone is standing-room-only with paparazzi hoping to catch a glimpse of Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan stepping out of an Escalade, and its bar is three deep with supermodels and those who like to be seen with them."

Hmm... Just think of the lux row lining up here...the Bowery Hotel and Cooper Square Hotel and DBGB and 52 East Fourth St and Keith McNally's coming-soon pizza joint and ....