EV Grieve

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Chipotle's FiDi psych out

Well, the sign hanging in the window said the new Chipotle on Fulton Street in District was opening today.... and the people walked up for lunch and....

Heh!

Will need to walk over a few blocks to Maiden and Pearl for your saturated fat and sodium!

At Superdive last night

The "fun" light was on and everything but no one was inside drinking kegs. (Not being one of the two nights the place is open anyway, of course.)

Perhaps the lights were all on for any potential suitors... Eater followed up on its scoop that the place is for rent. Eater heard from the dudes in charge: "[T]he management tells Eater it was actually meant to be a 'For Sale' sign because 'we found a new location, and want to get this one sold so we can move onto crazier super things.'

Uh-huh. Meanwhile, the "for rent" sign was merely moved by workers to the other side of the building...

Signs of recovery on Wall Street

Someone is opening a 13,000-square foot dog hotel/spa in the Financial District

One year later, Kurve/Rhong Tiam East decides to paint over the tags

The first tag appeared on the Fifth Street side of Kurve last April... since then, a few more have been added... and it looked like this...

Now, though, the paint came out...

First tag reappears on the Verizon building

Speaking of tags... nearly three weeks ago all the tags and graffiti on the 13th Street side of the Verizon building were painted over... Now, as EV Grieve reader Kim notes, the first tag has reappeared on the wall on the corner of Second Avenue... (And check out Kim's Flickr page here.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
Brownout: Verizon building graffiti painted over

Extra Place getting prepped to become a major thoroughfare?

There is a recent addition to the Extra Place roadway here...

Stop signs were painted on the blacktop ... In case someone can go 0 to 75 in a few hundred feet or gets the funny idea to start drag racing or they don't see the stop sign...

Not that you'll get too far onto First Street anyway ...

East Village Property Management hates trees

Or maybe there's another reason someone from the company double-taped dozens of apartment-for-rent flyers to trees (and lightpoles) all over the neighborhood...

iGetIt

Last week!

This week!

The old Cookout Grill gets some wood

Well, now... the work is getting serious at the old Cookout Grill on First Avenue and 13th Street...

I'm still waiting to hear what's going in this space... the work permits says it will remain a restaurant, so that rules out a sorely needed bank branch... given the pricey corner real estate, I'd imagine nothing but a chain could move in here... I hope that I'm very wrong.

Cafe Mocha closed for renovations

Second Avenue and Seventh Street.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

A few people may know that Shepard Fairey is now working on Houston and the Bowery

On the Deitch Wall a little while ago...

For further reading:
Houston Wall (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)
Graffiti Wall Primed for Shepard Fairey (BoweryBoogie)

Speakeasy and Mardi Gras-themed bar coming to Avenue B

Grub Street has the details on a new venture coming to 25 Avenue B near Second Street ... in the former Rehab/Midway space (and, of course, Save the Robots). Per Grub Street: The owners hope to open the "'Bourbon. Beer. Rock'–themed Idle Hands in the basement space around Memorial Day (pending liquor-license approval), while upstairs a group with ties to Thunder Jackson’s and Point Break will open Billy Hurricanes, a Mardi Gras–themed bar trafficking in frozen daiquiris, Cajun food, and a signature drink that will be limited to two per person." I can smell the vomit already!

Not familiar with Thunder Jackson's? Here is a screenshot from their home page.

RIP Superdive: Is our 10-month nightmare over?

Eater brings us the story (and photo) of a "for rent" sign going up at 200 Avenue A, the home of late to Superdive. As Eater notes: "This is just the latest and probably the final twist in the ten month history of the East Village bar that has offered customers kegs, beer pong, all you can drink Champagne bashes, and of course, a midget."

Meet PS 122's new steel tower

As you know, PS 122 on First Avenue at Ninth Street is getting a facelift...

The Architect's Newspaper has the details on what all this might look like. According to the story:

The Department of Design and Construction (DDC) has commissioned Deborah Berke & Partners to complete a $16 million renovation of the aging structure and bring it up to current code requirements.

While the crux of the commission involves upgrading the 1894 building’s outmoded ingress/egress routes and substandard mechanical systems, Berke also saw the opportunity to improve the interior and how it was organized. The center’s primary inhabitants — PS 122 Gallery, Performance Space 122, and Mabou Mines — all grew into their rooms organically over the years, without much thought about how they functioned as a whole.

And!

The architects quickly determined that the most economic and elegant solution was to place the new elevator, fire stair, and mechanical ducting within a tower addition situated in a yard to the north of the building. “Typical of a 100-year-old building, it has a fragile structural system of terracotta arches between steel structural elements,” said Jones. “You can’t just pop holes in that.”

Consigning these upgrades to the add-on pavilion also preserved the historical character of the original building, which was valued by tenants and the DDC. To minimize its impact, the addition will be constructed of light and luminous materials. The tower itself, a steel structure, will be clad in glass with a perforated and corrugated stainless steel scrim. A canopy and marquee that jut into the street, announcing the new entrance, will also be of glass and perforated steel.

The construction is expected to be done by the summer of 2013. So three more year's of the sidewalk shed on the corner. At first glimpse of the renderings, this looks like an awkward marriage of the old and new...

[Images via]

By the way, did you see a naked guy standing on Houston and Suffolk Sunday afternoon?

From a reader:

Did you hear about the naked guy on Houston yesterday? There was a dude butt ass naked holding two pieces of paper over his parts crossing Houston at Suffolk with a very stoic look on his face. My wife witnessed it from the Dunkin Donuts around 4 pm. The cops approached and he just kinda stood there. Very weird for a Sunday afternoon.

The reader approached as the man was being escorted into an ambulance.

Anyone have more details? Photos? (Or not.)

CB3/SLA highlights: Avenue A fishmonger approved; Michael Huynh's DOB rejected

Here are a few of the highlight's from last night's CB3/SLA meeting...we could only stay for part of the meeting...

• Michael Huynh and his rep were on hand to apply for a beer and wine license at DOB, his newly opened French-Vietnamese eatery at 115 St. Mark's Place.

At first, it looked as if DOB would get a quick rubber stamp. The six-foot bar at DOB has six seats, and is mainly used for people waiting for tables. And no one from the neighborhood was there to speak in opposition of the license. Plus, his eateries are well-known and receive a lot of positive media attention. Board member David McWater seemed ready and eager to approve the license, which is in a resolution area. "I don't want to have a Coke with a $25 Vietnamese meal," he said.

However, several Board members looked through the pile of signatures that Huynh brought, noting there were only 29 signatures from residents who lived on that block from Avenue A to First Avenue. Board chair Alexandra Militano scolded an increasingly incredulous-looking Huynh for not doing better community outreach, something that a well-known restaurateur should know.

She said something like, being so well-known can work against you. The Board voted 3-2 to deny the application. A heated discussion among the Board members followed, with McWater, speaking of Huynh's intentions and credentials, saying, "If this guy doesn't pass, no one is."

Huynh, looking slightly annoyed, quickly left the meeting.

• There was more heated discussions for Keith Masco's seafood market/restaurant/high-end cocktail bar at 171 Avenue A. Masco explained the concept...selling fresh fish in the front of the space during the day ... with room for 48 diners in the back along with a bar selling specialty cocktails. He also has plans to utilize the 400-square-foot garden in the back. He produced signatures from locals who endorsed his plans. Two other residents spoke in favor of it.

While people generally like the idea of a fishmonger in the neighborhood and have nothing against Masco, there was a lot of opposition to another liquor license on this section of Avenue A. The soon-to-open Diablo Royale at 167 Avenue A already has a full liquor license with a backyard operation. Seven people spoke out against granting a license to Masco in this resolution area ... and residents collected 80 signatures in opposition — from every building on the block. Masco said given the challenges of running a seafood operation -- high spoilage, low profit margins among restaurants types -- a liquor license is necessary to make any money.

After hearing all the opposition, McWater spoke. He called Masco, who has lived in the East Village for 30 years, an "honorable" and "respectable" person. McWater also said that he and Masco have been friends for 27 years, since he was a freshman at NYU. "He is one of the best guys that I've even known," McWater said.

Despite the substantial showing of community opposition, the Board voted 4-2 to approve the license. The Board stipulated that the garden space remain closed until Masco proves that he is a good neighbor, and promises to enclose the garden. In addition, the Board suggested that Masco expand the hours that he plans to sell fish, currently from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. or so.

Several of the residents who were against granting the liquor license were outraged. For instance, the motion to approve the resolution was seconded by a Board member who had arrived late to the meeting and didn't hear any of the opposition. With this, it was pointed out several times that there are now six liquor licenses among nine storefronts on Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street.

• A karaoke joint at 90 Eldridge St. called Neway KTV was up first for a renewal with a complaint history... and what a complaint history! There were 37 311 calls against them in the last year... One resident described the place as "insane" while another Eldridge Street resident said, "It's a little madhouse." Only making matters worse: The owners, a man and a woman, couldn't even answer the most basic questions, like, when they opened. The Board denied the request for renewal.

• The owners of graffiti and homeless hotspot Caffe Buon Gusto on Avenue B at Fifth Street were no shows... aside from a beer and wine license within a resolution area, they were also on the docket for a sidewalk cafe.

But! Later, the architect representing the eatery for just for the sidewalk cafe arrived... though he couldn't very well make a pitch for a sidewalk cafe when they don't even have a liquor license yet. Plus, the Board said that they had instructed the owner to be present.

• The owners of Ballarò Caffè Prosciutteria on Second Avenue between Fourth Street and Fifth Street were seeking a sidewalk cafe for eight tables and 18 seats. A handful of residents spoke out against yet another sidewalk cafe on this stretch of Second Avenue.

The two owners, one of whom was wearing a Bluetooth the whole time, stood and listened to the ongoing quality-of-life issues caused by so many bars and cafes with outdoor spaces. One resident said that this would create "even more of a disaster" in the neighborhood while another pleaded, "Please have mercy on our community and deny this application." Still another resident said that it was not the responsibility of the neighborhood to make up for a restaurant's poor sales, which is one reason owners often opt for sidewalk cafes to help boost business. "We do not want to trade sleep for their wealth."

Despite the opposition, the Board approved the application, though limiting their hours in the process. The sidewalk cafe will be open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.

• Ludlow Street's TPoutine was back again in hopes of serving beer and wine within a resolution area. The Board rejected them last month due to a lack of signatures from local neighbors and a history of noise complaints.

Even though the eatery reached out to neighbors in recent weeks, the noise complaints continue to come in, including two yesterday. All this seemed to surprise owner/GM Thierry Pepin. He said that he hasn't heard from anyone. A few Board members concurred: We're getting noise complaints and the place doesn't even serve booze yet.

Pepin was clearly exasperated, saying that he had done anything the Board has asked him to do. One Board member suggested that he remove the speaker by the front door. Someone in the audience wondered why a place that served the French Canadian National Dish, Poutine, needed so many speakers. The Board denied the application.

Eater's Thomas Garry was also at the meeting, and bravely stayed longer... His report is here. The Lo-Down has news on the Meatball Shop and Melted. I'll have more later.

Graceland addresses its customers

At Graceland, the corner deli on Avenue A and Second Street, signs are now up announcing its closure...

EV Grieve reader Ryan says, "At this point it sounds as though some of the employees will be kept on, fingers crossed. Unfortunately I can't imagine a new place is going to clear enough $ to make up for the astronomical rate hike. Unless they jack everything up to Gracefully prices."

Word is the rent is being hiked up to $20,000 a month. Grace Dancyger owns Graceland as well as Gracefully, the more upscale sister deli two doors up the Avenue.