Frustrated tenants meeting tomorrow at Knickerbocker Village

We've been following the developments of Knickerbocker Village, the 12-building affordable housing complex on the Lower East Side, via updates at The Lo-Down. The complex has mostly without power and heat in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Per The Lo-Down this morning:

The complex, which spans two city blocks on Monroe Street between Catherine and Market, includes around 700 tenants over the age of 60. There are a couple dozen home-bound seniors who require daily attention. On Tuesday, a 105-year old woman died after her oxygen machine malfunctioned. The woman, who did not live at Knickerbocker Village but was staying with her son, could not call for help because there was no phone service. Her son had stepped away from the apartment briefly to care for other family members.

A frustrated resident forwarded us the following note and meeting announcement to help spread the word about the situation here.

We are speechless with the non-management support with this no electricity and heat for 12 days. There must be a way to pump the water out in better speed and amount — and also equipment replacement. Did they not have a back-up plan for this amount of residents?

[Click image to enlarge]

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[East 7th Street this morning]

Avenue C business owners rebuilding (The Villager)

Sandy-related death toll rises in NYC (Runnin' Scared)

Volunteer relief efforts in the Rockaways this weekend (BoweryBoogie)

Getting and using insurance after the hurricane (Curbed)

Update on Knickerbocker Village (The Lo-Down)

Sandy, queen of darkness (The Gog Log)

Scenes from Sandy (Slum Goddess)

The new 84 E. 10th St. (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Union Square holiday market returns (Gothamist)

Author of 'The Help' just bought James Iha's place on East 10th Street (The Observer)

Andy’s Chee-Pees closes on West Eighth Street (Flaming Pablum)

GoLES volunteer opportunities today

@evgrieve Help us assemble care packages and clean data at 169 Ave A. We will continue running 638 6 St #SandyRelief pantry through today.

— GoLES (@golesnyc) November 9, 2012

Time Warner Cable upate

NYC: East Village residents that have no flooding issues in the basement or underground should have services restored by Friday evening.

— Time Warner Cable(@TWCableHelp) November 9, 2012

Info clinic this a.m. on Hurricane Sandy recovery

From the EV Grieve inbox... sorry for the short — someone just sent it to me...

... and presented by a lot of people...

[Updated] Nino's Pizza has closed

Another item we meant to note sooner... Nino's Pizza, a longtime favorite hub on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place, closed at the end of October. There's paper over the windows, and we saw the tables and chairs stacked up on the sidewalk.

Back in March, we noted that Nino's was for sale. According to the listing, "owner retiring and looking for a quick sale." No mention of key money, though the rent was listed at $13,200 a month...

We heard that another pizza place was taking over, but no one has officially confirmed that... hopefully it won't be a franchise (Papa John's, etc.) and that the new owners keep the walk-up window. Ray's is the last one left on Avenue A.

Updated 9:25

Added a photo of Nino's fountain drinks machine... Gojira mentioned it in the comments.



And via a reader in the comments:

[The new owner] He said he will still have pizza and mediteranean food and that it will still be fast food. He said that they were going for an industrial look with a communal table.

He said that he would apply for a beer and wine.

Helping Hurricane Sandy pets

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Ten days have passed since Hurricane Sandy battered all five boroughs of New York City, Long Island and coastal New Jersey. While enormous governmental and nonprofit relief efforts brought food, water, blankets and baby supplies to the hardest-hit areas where residents remain without power and basic amenities, food and supplies for companion animals remain especially scarce.

In fact, many residents remain huddled in damaged homes, still unable to venture very far for supplies. They are very grateful for any provisions to care for their furry family members. Carloads of supplies have been emptied with such astonishing speed that reinforcements are a critical need. That's where together we can help.

With the support of Bayou Rescue, a national nonprofit group founded during Hurricane Katrina and based in North Carolina, and The Lo-Down, a group of Manhattan residents and business owners are collecting pet food and supplies, as well as cash donations to purchase them. A caravan of vehicles and volunteers has been coordinated to deliver supplies to areas in need including the shore towns of Staten Island, Queens, and Long Island on Sunday.

Here’s what you can do:

Donate supplies (in Manhattan): Saturday, Nov. 10 from noon to 3 p.m., bring dry dog and cat food (in 5-10 pound bags), canned dog and cat food and cat litter to one of two locations.

• Downtown: Ruff Club dog club, daycare and boarding facility, 34 Ave. A in the East Village.

• Uptown: Instinct Dog Behavior & Training boarding, training and rehabilitation center, 1795 Lexington Ave. in East Harlem.

Donate funds to help us purchase supplies: Make a tax-deductible financial donation to Bayou Rescue by visiting BayouRescue.org/donate. Please note “Hurricane Sandy Pets”
in the memo section of your check to ensure your donation is properly routed.

Mystery Lot progress report

EVG reader Katja sends along an update here at the former Mystery Lot. Any further east on 14th Street, and this might by a lake now.

Previously on EV Grieve:
City approves new building for Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot likely facing a luxurious end

The last days of the Mystery Lot

EV Grieve Etc.: Introducing Metropolitan City Market; new Houston-Bowery mural

Catching up on a few items from the last week or two...

One. The wind from Hurricane Sandy ripped off the cover to the new Met Foods sign on Second Avenue... the store had been renovated in anticipation of this new branding of sorts... it's now Metropolitan City Market...

Two. And over at the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall last week, twin brothers HOW and NOSM began creating a storm-themed mural for the corner ...

The mural is dedicated to Tony Goldman, the curator of the wall, who died in September at age 68.

Find more on the mural at BoweryBoogie and Animal NY.

Per Marina Galperina:

See what you want in the bloody mouths of toothy fish, in the stacks of slaughtered tree trunks or in the factory-like humanoid forms spilling diamonds and money from their orifices. The center design is clear — a triangle if black sky around a dead grey street light above a triangle of water with floating debris.

Beer Gas rationing starts today

[Outside Spanky & Darla's on First Avenue last night.]

As you probably know by now...

Beginning at 6 a.m., those with license plates ending in an odd number will be able to buy gas on odd numbered days.

Those with license plates ending in an even number will be able to buy gas on even numbered days.

Any questions?

And the children say he could laugh

Tompkins Square Park today. The snowmanperson needs a name too.

Report: Power still out at 26-story Haven Plaza on Avenue C

[This morning at Haven Plaza by Dave on 7th]

Haven Plaza on East 12th Street at Avenue C is one of the many area buildings that is still without electricity or heat in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

As the Post reported today:

Water pressure in the building goes up only a few floors, elevators are disabled and residents are forced to trudge up and down the stairs for necessities.

“My daughter goes up and down 14 floors, five times a day, to bring me food and water,” said Iris Bido, 71.

Meanwhile, on the Lower East Side, the power is still out at Knickerbocker Village. The Lo-Down reported this morning that partial power has been restored at four of the 12 buildings in the affordable housing complex on Monroe Street.

And there's no end to the crisis here. There is still up to 25 feet of water in the mechanical and boiler rooms on the west side of Knickerbocker, The Lo-Down noted.

When Avenue C became part of the East River

On Monday, I posted a photo of the floodwaters on East 14th Street and Avenue C. In subsequent emails, several readers-residents said that they didn't realize the extent of the flooding...

Several Avenue C residents shared photos from the storm surge on Oct. 29. However, nothing probably quite captures the scene as this video does, shot around 8:15 p.m. on East 11th Street looking toward Avenue C.



Here's another video via YouTube that Daniel Scott uploaded ... showing the scene at East Eighth Street...

Sayonara Sandy at Ciao for Now tomorrow night

From the EV Grieve inbox... Ciao For Now on East 12th Street was one of the many East Village restaurants to suffer significant damage during Hurricane Sandy... they will be holding an event Friday to help them recover and to thank their neighbors...

Cafecito reopens tonight on Avenue C

Cafecito on Avenue C near East 12th Street reopens tonight... first time that the Cuban eatery has been able to open since the surge from Hurricane Sandy flooded their establishment on Oct. 29.

[File photo]

A quick post-blackout observation

Just a post-Sandy blackout observation... BoweryBoogie noted this too the other day: an uptick in graffiti that occurred during the blackout ... a few examples...

BoweryBoogie heard (unconfirmed) that the NYPD arrested four graffiti artists for tagging walls during the blackout.

There was enough snow on the ground to make this...

On East Fourth Street via EVG regular Steven Matthews... tomorrow, we'll have photos of the creations the children make from volcanic ash...

Noted

And this was this scene yesterday morning on Avenue B along Tompkins Square Park ... hope that it survived the nor-easter...

Photos by Robert Miner.

Broadway near Eighth Street tonight

Photo by 8E

Snow daze

Second Avenue and East Ninth Street this evening... via @durua ...

The last thing we needed

A nor'easter. A few scenes from the storm via Bobby Williams.

East Village warming centers

Someone just asked about warming centers in the East Village... here are two... you have a few hours left before they close for the night....

• JOHN PAUL II FRIENDSHIP CENTER
103 E 7TH ST. 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

• SIROVICH SENIOR CENTER
331 E 12TH ST. 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Find the citywide list here.

Because this is soothing our frazzled nerves

Several readers have been reporting incessant noise this morning somewhere around the Con Ed Substation on East 14th Street and Avenue C. One reader thought, at first, there was another explosion.

Turns out that a pile driver is putting in the foundation support for the new apartment complex on Avenue B and East 12th Street. There isn't much escape from the noise. Meanwhile, many nearby residents are still without electricity, water and heat. (And there is a school directly next door.)

Here's what 30 seconds of the construction noise sounds like. It has been going on the entire morning. The whole block seems to be vibrating. One resident said that he is worried about a building collapse.

And maybe no hope...

Spotted several variations of this sign in the side streets around Avenue C and Avenue D...

Tompkins Square Park and all other city parks closing at noon today

[Tompkins Square Park yesterday]

In anticipation of the Nor'easter heading toward NYC, the Parks Department will be close all city parks from noon today to noon tomorrow.

The official notice is here.

H/T Curbed

Funding Alphabet City Rescue Mission

From the EV Grieve Facebook page... East Village resident Jenny Adams started this fundraising project...

We need some help down here. Our little section of Manhattan — affectionately known as Alphabet City - was completely flooded when the East River broke its banks during Hurricane Sandy.

This area has a lot of heart, and it's also got a lot of housing projects, lower income families and people who were struggling to make do before this storm.

I've been talking to neighbors and friends on our street, where most of the buildings took on 10 to 15 feet of water in the basements. Besides being weeks away from restoring running water, power and heat in a lot of them, the housing projects are in dire need of assistance.

As of this morning, Adams has raised $6,400 of her $10,000 goal. She also updates the site with her latest relief efforts...

We dropped off dozens of blankets and jackets and socks. 50 hats, 50 scarves and 50 mittens. 50 Power bars, Clorox bleach, rubber gloves and can openers.
AND! We somehow managed to find 12 packages of D Batteries!

(If you live in Lower Manhattan right now, you know that finding a store with a D Battery is the equivalent of finding Narnia ... in your shoe.)

Today, we spent roughly $900 for people in need. Oh, and we gave Diane at K-Mart a $200 gift card to give to her sister in New Jersey. Her sister lost everything in the storm, but we are working to make it better.

Find the fund-raising page and more information here.

Second Avenue Subway now a Good Guys Burger

Yesterday, workers quickly dismantled the Subway on Second Avenue at East Ninth Street... and a reader noted that they worked into the night to unveil....

... that this space is becoming a Good Guys location...

Are the Good Guys related to the Five Guys?

Forum Friday for small businesses affected by Hurricane Sandy

[Click image to enlarge]

The East Fifth St. Tree Committee back in action

A reader points out that new signs have appeared here on East Fifth Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square... The post-Sandy grace period has evidently ended...

...Per the reader: "Note rail with Romney sign does not have a flyer. They must have paid the Tree Committee for a permit."

Previously.

Losses at El Jardín del Paraíso

Part of a downed willow tree remains blocking the sidewalk on East Fourth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D outside El Jardín del Paraíso...

In addition, a reader notes that someone placed this flyer in his building nearby.

No word on the condition of the other livestock/critters in the community garden.

Heathers has new owners

[Image via]

Yesterday, we noted the item about an Election Night Party at Heathers on East 13th Street. As a follow-up, the bar just east of Avenue A has been sold. We saw the listing for the space dating back to the spring... apparently the sale quietly went through late in the summer...

The partners are Greg Brier, Mark Dizon, Mike Herman and Ray LeMoine.

LeMoine said they kept the news of the sale pretty low-key. As for changes?

"We intend to keep Heathers the same," he said.

Owner Heather Millstone opened Heathers in 2005 ... and the bar quickly became a lightning rod for noise complaints. (The Times had a lengthy article in January 2007 about the ongoing noise issues between the bar and neighbors.) You can read more about the bar's recent CB3 issues here.

Storm hawk

Wonder where red-tailed hawks go to ride out a hurricane...? Photos in Tompkins Square Park today by Bobby Williams.

Romney victory party tonight at Heathers

I was a little slow and thought it was real for a moment.

One of the newish co-owners kindly spelled it out for me.

Per Ray Lemoine: "This is a joke party. As in, we fucking hate Romney and this is satire."

But there is an Election Night party here.

Another East Village Subway closes

Multiple readers have pointed us to the Subway on Second Avenue near East Ninth Street, where workers removed the sign and gutted the sandwich shop today. This makes the second Subway to close in the East Village this past month. The Subway on First Avenue near East 13th Street shut down in October.

Voters get a taste of heavy metal on Avenue C

EVG reader CRyan reports on this incident that occurred around 1:20 this afternoon...

Voters got an earful of crunching metal while exiting the Voting station at Avenue C and 11th Street. A flatbed truck transporting a car was performing a right turn onto 11th Street from Avenue C, when a livery car service sedan, apparently pulling out of bus stop, got a taste of Heavy Metal.

Indeed.

Housing Works’ Keith D. Cylar Health Center back open on East 9th Street

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Dear Neighbors, Friends and Community partners:

Housing Works’ Keith D. Cylar Health Center is now reopened, after being closed all of last week due to Hurricane Sandy. The center is in Zone A so we were ordered to evacuate and therefore suspend services.

Today we are open and ready to serve again. Our full-fledged medical facility offers primary care to anyone regardless of HIV status, insurance or ability to pay (sliding scale fees will be offered). Our new Cylar House Behavioral Health Clinic offers long-term psychotherapy, crisis intervention, psychiatric services, and other mental health services and accepts most insurance, but will also service local residents regardless of HIV status or ability to pay (sliding scale fees will be offered).

We want to thank all of our staff who worked to get our center up again, in order to support the community and prevent our community members from going another day without receiving lifesaving services.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us: 743-749 East 9th St.
212-677-7999 ext. 4202

Primary Care Hours: Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm

Behavioral Health Clinic Hours: Monday—Thursday: 7am-7pm, Friday: 7am-6pm

A reader asks if others are in this Verizon situation

A longtime EV resident on East 10th Street west of Avenue B sent along the following email this morning... the resident hasn't had landline service since Oct. 29.

Two visits from tech this past weekend. Last report from tech was "no dial tone in equipment in backyard at 528 E 11th St," which connects to equipment in backyard on 10th St. There is service closer to Ave A.

Business on ground floor of my building was told by Verizon that service will be restored "by Dec 3." No neighbors in my building have landlines. No luck actually speaking to Verizon.

I'd like to find out if others are in this situation, and what we can do together. I'm a senior in a 5th fl walkup. My "emergency cell" is $.30/min, so I need a working landline.

The pedestrian line for gas this morning at Mobil

Avenue C and East Houston. People with various canisters to refill their pumps, generators, etc. The vehicle line still goes to Avenue D. Soon, this gas station will close to yield to a luxury development...