[Updated] Report: Fatal fire at 115 Fourth Ave.

One person died in a fire last night at 115 Fourth Avenue, according to the Post.

The fire started in the victim's bedroom in The Petersfield at East 12th Street. The first reports came in just about midnight...

#Manhattan *Working High-Rise Fire* 115 4 Ave. #FDNY reporting fire on 5th floor of 8 story building. #BREAKING
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 17, 2013

Here are photos via @Mitski from the corner at East 12th Street...







And from NYC Fire Wire Facebook page...



Here's video via tarant10708 on YouTube...



The cause is under investigation, the Post reported.

Updated 7 a.m.

Here's the East 12th Street side of The Petersfield this morning...



More photos this morning via @Mitski





Updated 8:31 a.m.

ABC 7 reports that the victim is an 84-year-old woman, who the FDNY was found unconscious in the apartment.



The fire is not believed to be suspicious, per ABC 7.

Updated 6:30 p.m.

Authorities have identified Mary Lincoln Bonnell, a well-known sculptor, as the victim in last night's fire, according to the Daily News.

One neighbor called her "a real cool person." She has lived alone with her cat Amy since her husband died in 2001.

Here's an undated artist's statement from her:

I am absorbed by motion, concerned simply with how one gets from here to there and the structures that are needed to show it. My work no longer has direct reference to nature, but it remains organic. Growth and change are stimuli.

Updated

FDNY lists cause of fire...

Fire Marshals: Fatal fire at 115 4 Ave in Manhattan on 4/17 was caused by a discarded cigarette. #FDNY

— FDNY (@FDNY) April 18, 2013

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: Nicolina Johnson
Occupation: Street Artist
Location: Portal Zero (Outside the Bean), 3rd Street and 2nd Avenue
Time: 6 p.m. on Monday, April 15

I grew up in Seattle. When I was young I drew all over my parents’ house and all over the walls. I would take a permanent market down the hallway and onto their lampshades and into the bottom of their shoes. They finally were like, “You cannot do this anymore. Please don’t draw anywhere in the house. You can have your room to draw in.” And so I covered every square inch with detailed drawings and poems and secret codes. Even when I was like seven years old I made a little symbol and I put it all around the neighborhood. It was a weird beginning to street art.

I moved to New York in 2002 and to the East Village in 2003. I wanted to see the whole world but didn’t have a lot of money. I just had enough to go to one place and New York was the one place you could go where the whole world was. I wanted culture.

I was a waitress for many years working at the Kitchen Club in SoHo and at a sushi restaurant. I worked a lot of really bad jobs and I eventually got fired from the Kitchen Club. I was devastated and didn’t know what I was going to do with my life until I came to the realization that if I didn’t try art at that point, then there was nothing I could do. I said I would do whatever it took just to make my living painting or making art somehow.

So I started doing face painting in Central Park for kids and six months after that I painted my first window — at Umberto's Clam House in Little Italy. That was the beginning of Paint The Town. It started spreading down the block and so I put a portfolio together. Now we have over 40 clients all over the City.

Art spreads like a happy virus. If you paint one guy’s shop, then the guy across the street wants it. We just did a project last year in Rio de Janeiro where we painted one boat in a harbor of 60 and then the guy next to us was like, “Hey can you paint my boat?” We ended up painting 58 fishing boats and working with 45 different artists. It was a floating gallery.

I do a project called the Hearts of the World for the Lower Eastside Girls Club. They were the first ones to give me a chance and now it’s been all over the world. It’s a collaborative project with kids from around the world, basically asking them to paint what’s in their hearts inside the panel of the stylized anatomical heart. I silkscreen the outline for them and then they can paint in whatever they want.

Recently I did it at an orphanage for blind people in Beijing. I had no idea what to expect and so I outlined the hearts with yarn so they could feel the edges. And one of the children, who was around 7, painted the whole heart blue and I asked him what he was painting and he said he was painting the sky. And then he painted a yellow sun and a green forrest and white clouds. And then he painted over everything in black. And I said, “What are you Painting?” and he looked up at me with these cloudy eyes and a big smile on his face and he said, “I paint the darkness.” I asked him why he painted the darkness and he said, “The darkness is very beautiful. There are many color lights in the darkness.” He painted all of the things he couldn’t see and then he covered it up in the darkness.

I’ve painted on boats, on pedicabs in Central Park, a Tap Tap in Haiti, which are these big, brightly colored taxi-buses, I painted a tour boat in Chile, an Ascensor, which is like a cable car, a few trucks, a piano in Tompkins Square, a canoe. I love to paint moving objects because it will travel to different places and lots of people will see it. It also brings in another level of life and action. I’ve always wanted to paint an airplane. So if anyone has one...

Portal Zero is an introduction to a new project that I’m doing in the East Village with Perola Bonfanti. It was a test to see how many people would use the QR code and to see people’s perception of it. Way more people than we thought used it. Within just a couple of months we had a few hundred people scan it. The official opening is in July. You have to start at Portal Zero outside of the Bean [on East Third Street and Second Avenue]. You scan the QR code and then either answer a question or complete a task and then you can pass through the Portal to the next one.

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

Suggestive dancing alert: About Showgirls! The Musical!, opening tonight at the Kraine Theatre

First! The press materials regarding "Showgirls! The Musical!" opening tonight at the Kraine Theatre on East Fourth Street...

A musical parody of the cult classic film “Showgirls”
Showgirls! The Musical! is the unauthorized musical parody of the cult classic film, Showgirls, brought to you by the minds behind “Bayside! The Saved by the Bell Musical!”

“Showgirls!” follows the beautiful drifter with a secret past, Nomi, as she goes from Stripper to Showgirl in Las Vegas.

What will Nomi sacrifice on her rise to fame?
Who will she sleep with along the way?
Will she ever like brown rice and vegetables?

You’ll be thrusting in your seat to songs about fashion (I’d Look Great In a Versace), romance (F*cking Underwater), songs about dance instruction (D*ncing Aint F*cking, Girl), cautionary tales (Don’t Lick that Pole, Girl) and much much much more!

Warning: Contains suggestive language, suggestive dancing, erotic dancing, questionable dancing, nudity, nipples on ice, thrusting, and material and acting that may not be appropriate for children under the age of 18. Or adults over the age of 100.

The Kraine Theatre (85 East 4th Street)
April 17, 18, 19, 20. 24, 25, 26, 27. May 1, 2, 3, 4.
All Shows at 8 p.m. Tickets: $18 Advance/$20 door

For Tickets and Brown Rice & Vegetable Recipes, go here.

-----

Bob and Tobly McSmith serve as the co-writer and co-director. They also play the music on stage during the "Showgirls!" performance.

We got Tobly on the phone for some questions.

Why "Showgirls"?

"It is so terrible! It's so bad. We did a 'Save by the Bell' play, and we had a 'Showgirls' moment there. The crowd went crazy when we mentioned 'Showgirls.' It was a logical step after 'Saved by the Bell.' Also, that movie just — it lives inside people. Once you see it, you can't un-see it."

How many times have you seen the movie?

"Bob and I are closed to 50. We just can't watch it anymore."

Do you have a favorite scene?

"The pool scene is so iconic. [EVG note: Elizabeth Berkeley as Nomi Malone and Kyle McClahacn as Zack Carey get it on in the pool after taking a champagne shower. Woo.] We spent a lot of time getting that song right — it's called 'Fucking Underwater.' It had to be perfect. We spent the most time on that song. That's the biggest scene, right? Fucking in the pool. That was formative for Bob. I think he masterbated to that through his teens."

What do you want people to take away from this?

"It would be too easy to sack the movie and just make fun of it. What we're doing is celebrating it and how insane it is and how the acting is wonderful and terrible at the same time. So I think people will want to want to watch the movie again. This will relive it for you."

-----

You can relive the original trailer here...

Another East Village walk-up apartment building is on the market

There's a new listing for 228 Avenue B just south of East 14th Street. Here's the description per Besen:

Built in 1900, this 6-story walkup apartment building is comprised of 21 apartments and 2 stores, and has approximately 12,613 SF. Approximately 60% of the apartments are rent stabilized, offering an investor stable cash flow with continued growth potential. The building is close to Tompkins Square Park and the 14th Street/1st Avenue L subway line.

Asking price: $8.9 million.

Is this the last remnant of Lucky Cheng's?

At least on the exterior. (The Lucky Cheng's lantern was removed last month.) Was walking by the former Lucky Cheng's on First Avenue last night and noticed that this butt holder still adorned the front... A potential collector's item in remembrance of the smoking ban?

Anyway, workers are currently renovating the space on First Avenue and East Second Street to make way for Pride and Joy BBQ.

Lucky Cheng's moved to a new home on West 52nd Street in the fall.

East of sunset

Tonight via Bobby Williams...

The magic is back: Zoltar feeling like a glass act once more!

Yes! Workers fixed up Zoltar today outside Gem Spa ... after his front panel was bashed by a skateboard this past Friday... thanks to Marjorie Ingall for the photo. Can a great deal of good fortune be ahead?

Earlier today ... looking so vulnerable...


[Bobby Williams]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Breaking! Breaking! Zoltar is broken! Broken!

[Updated] Report: 28 Avenue B has been evacuated

#Manhattan *UNSTABLE BUILDING* 28 Ave B & E 2 St. #FDNY has cracks from 1st to 2nd floor. Building has been evacuated & req buildings dept
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 16, 2013

This is the building with Croxley Ales on the ground floor...


[Google]

This was filed with the DOB at 3:48:

Re: FDNY REQUESTS A STRUCTURAL STABILITY INSPECTION DUE TO VERTICAL CTACK AT REAR OF BUILDING FROM THE 1ST TO TOP FLOOR AND

Category Code: 30 BUILDING SHAKING/VIBRATING/STRUCT STABILITY AFFECTED

Construction recently started in the empty lot next door on a new 6-story apartment building...


[April 2]

Updated 4:28

Via EVG reader David... firefighters waiting across the street...



Updated 4:35

Unconfirmed reports that adjacent buildings have also been evacuated...


[Via @black_von]

Updated 4:54


[EVG reader David]

Avenue B between East Second Street and East Third Street remains closed...

Updated 6 p.m.

Here's more information via DNAinfo, who reported that the evacuation occurred after debris started falling from the building's fifth floor earlier in the afternoon.

A woman who has lived in 28 Avenue B for 20 years said she started to notice cracks in her ceiling after construction started in a vacant lot at 26 Avenue B next-door to her building.

"It was shaking the building," said the woman, who would only give her first name, Charlotte, 40.

Also,the following report is on the DOB website now for 26 Avenue B, where the 6-story building is under way: "EXCAVATION WORK HAS UNDERMINED ADJACENT PROPERTY."

Joe Ferrante, an FDNY battalion chief, told DNAinfo that excavation "possibly contributed" to the damage. The developer did not have a comment yet from the developer.

Updated 6:49 p.m.

The DOB ordered that residents must stay out of 28 Avenue B for the foreseeable future


[Photo via @zigisitch]

Updated 7 p.m.

Avenue B is now back open between Second and Third.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] 6-story apartment building ready to rise from the former Croxley Ales beer garden

Adorable cat alert! LIL BUB WAS IN THE EAST VILLAGE TODAY

[Photo by EVG regular Derek Berg]

Today at Social Tees on East Fifth Street, cat lovers lined up for the chance to meet and greet Lil BUB — "the most amazing creature on the planet.

The adorable Internet sensation/rescue kitty is in town for the premiere of the documentary "Lil BUB & Friendz" at the Tribeca Film Festival Thursday.

Sadly, Lil BUB was just there from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to hobnob with feline fans who brought a donation of cat food, eco-friendly cleaning supplies, etc.

And here she is on the block.


[Via Social Tees Facebook]

Yes?


[Via Social Tees Facebook]

Busy Bee Bike Shop is NOT going out of business

[January 2012]

A tipster sent us the following Craigslist listing last night...



Per the ad: "We at busy bee bike shop are closing down due to the lease going up, so we are giving away free used bicycles."

However. The ad is a FAKE. Per a listing today:

BUSY BEE BIKES (East Village)
THERE ARE NO FREE BICYCLES BEING DISTRIBUTED AT ANY TIME. WE ARE NOT GOING OUT OF BUSINESS. WE HAVE BICYCLE RENTALS AND BIKES FOR SALE.

No word at the moment who was responsible for the fake Craigslist listing.

Why (some) people aren't wearing shoes now in Tompkins Square Park

As this photo by EVG regular Steve Carter shows, it's One Day Without Shoes...

Per the ODWS site:

One Day Without Shoes is our day to bring global awareness to children's health and education by going without shoes.

NYPD looking for suspect who groped 9-year-old girl in the East Village Sunday afternoon

The NYPD released the above sketch of a man who allegedly groped a 9-year-old girl on the buttocks about 4:45 p.m. within the 9th Precinct, DNAinfo reported. (Police did not divulge the location of the incident.

Per the report:

The suspect is believed to be in his 30s or 40s, weighs about 240 pounds, and is approximately 5-foot-9-inches tall, police said. He is described as having black hair with grey streaks, cops said. He was last seen wearing blue long-sleeve shirt, dark jeans, and white metal wire-rimmed glasses.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).

Flyers urge residential action against proposed development at Meltzer Tower

[March 2013]

Opposition continues to mount against the city's plan to lease the park space at Max Meltzer Tower to private developers... among other things, the new development would wipe out the park at the senior citizen development at 94 E. First St. near First Avenue ... taking down 26 trees with it...

New flyers went up on buildings near Max Meltzer this past weekend...


[Click image to enlarge

The flyers urge residents to speak out against the proposal during tomorrow night's CB3 subcommittee meeting at 6:30 ... as well as the full CB3 meeting on April 23.


[Via Steven Matthews]

There's also a new Facebook group called Friends of Meltzer with more details.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Outrage over proposal to turn the green space at the Meltzer Tower into private development (35 comments)

Don't fuck with Joe

Workers erected a sidewalk shed around 112 Avenue A at East Seventh Street yesterday... look for the construction netting to go up today... DOB permits point to "facade repair" on the building.



And, hopefully, the Joe Strummer mural will come out of this unscathed...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Joe Strummer gets a splash of Niagara

Joe Strummer gets a new look, skyline

[Updated] Joe Strummer would have been 60 today

Maiden Lane hopes to open by the end of the week for lunch service

Over on East 10th Street and Avenue B, renovations are complete at the former Life Cafe space. The partners, East Village residents Nialls Fallon and Gareth Maccubbin, showed the space off Sunday afternoon to friends and family as a way to celebrate the end of the construction. (Gammablog was there, and has photos of the interior.)



The cafe is called Maiden Lane. Per Eater, they plan to serve a regionally sourced food menu. (CB3 OK'd a beer-wine license for them in October.)

We asked Fallon for an update.

"We are waiting on inspections and hope to open by the end of the week for daytime cafe service. Wine and beer license to arrive soon and then we will open for evening service."

The two partners have ample restaurant experience at two popular Mulberry Street eateries. Fallon was the general manager at Torrisi while Maccubbin held the same position at Torrisi spinoff Parm next door.

This is what Fallon told us about leasing this space last fall:

"We decided on the space for two reasons, the first being we didn't want to see the 7-Eleven-Starbucks scenario you mentioned happen there. Second, we wanted to be in an iconic space that carried on some form of community identity and East Village-ness. I am excited to create something new and make sure that the corner remains owned and operated by locals."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Maiden Lane coming to East 10th Street and Avenue B

Here's what's coming to the former Life Cafe space

After 30 years, Life Cafe closes — 'until further notice' — in the East Village

[Photos Sunday by Bobby Williams]

Going Hollywood on East First Street

What, you expecting Daniel Craig?

Hollywood Nail and Spa has taken over the space of the former Cozy Lounge, the hookah bar that the Marshal seized last summer here on East First Street near Avenue A.

And they are offering a Grand Opening mani-pedi special for $20.

Gandhi is apparently leaking gas on East Sixth Street

Gandhi, an old-timer (circa 1984) on East Sixth Street, is currently closed... Shawn Chittle noted the sign on the door say that they have "gas leaking."



This happens to coincide with a visit last week by the DOH ... whose inspectors dropped 57 violation points on them, including: "Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations," according to the DOH website.

Vella Market is now open in former Kate's Joint space

On Saturday morning, we spotted workers removing the plywood around the new market opening on East Fourth Street and Avenue B...





Anyway, meant to note that Vella Market is now open... we first got word of the new market last July.



Our friends at MoRUS also sent along a few photos from last evening...







The previous tenant, Kate's Joint, the 16-year-old vegetarian eatery, closed about this time last year.

Anyone try Vella yet? A former manager of Gracefully on Avenue A is running the place, a neighbor noted...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Organic market taking over former Kate's Joint space

For rent signs going up at Kate's Joint; and here come the Starbucks rumors

Marshal seizes Kate's Joint

Report: Boukiés owner sues State Liquor Authority

Christos Valtzoglou, the owner of Boukiés (try the Spanakotyropitakia!) on Second Avenue and East Second Street, is suing the State Liquor Authority over an "illegal agreement" with Community Board 3, DNAinfo reported today.

Per the article:

[T]he SLA's decision not to grant a full liquor license to Christos Valtzoglou’s East Village restaurant Boukiés was based on an agreement between Community Board 3 and Valtzoglou that the board did not have the authority to make.

It's a little complicated, and dates back to when Valtzoglou could only get approval for beer-wine for his well-received but short-lived Heartbreak Cafe at the same address.

Also from the article.

Susan Stetzer, District Manager of CB3, appeared at the meeting to voice opposition to Valtzoglou’s application, according to legal documents alleging the board was interested more in asserting its power than in acting in the community interest.

“CB3 was motivated more by its interest in keeping its authority intact rather than representing the interests of its community members,” according to the lawsuit.

Boukiés opened almost one year ago to this date. Stetzer said that she was unaware of the lawsuit and declined to comment to DNAinfo.

Read the whole article here.

Report: Former PS 64 one step closer to becoming a 500-bed dorm for multiple NYC colleges

[Last October on East Ninth Street]

The former P.S. 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street will house students from several New York colleges, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

University House will be home to 500 co-eds, with Cooper Union already signing a 15-year agreement for 200 of the beds.

Developer Gregg Singer said that he "expects rents to be about $1,550
per month per bed," according to the Journal.

Singer said that the renovations will cost nearly $40 million. Amenities of the University House will include a health center, private study rooms and a fitness center.

The brief appears on page A22 today. We did not spot the article online. Find the article here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

Deed for 'community facility use only' at the former P.S. 64 now on the market

Reader report: East Village tenants taking Kushner Companies to housing court

[March 27]

Several residents of one of the walkups that the Kushner Companies purchased earlier this year submitted the following post...

The Kushner Companies officially took over control of the 17 buildings on the LES that Ben Shaoul owned for 3-plus years. For the 2 months that followed the change of ownership, Jared Kushner's company failed to provide basic services like heat, hot water and a locked front door. The tenants filed an HP Action against Kushner and are taking him to Housing Court this week.

In the past 2-3 months under new ownership, the daily lives of the tenants in the building have been a living hell. Clearly, their focus is on getting the $35,000/month 7-11 in on the ground floor without a care for the well-being of the tenants.

The issues in the HP Action include:

1. No Heat/Hot Water: No heat & hot water on a regular basis, even during the coldest weeks of winter when the outside temp was 16F. The culmination of which was a month ago when it was 25F outside and the tenants in the building repeatedly called the building manager and the super, who ignored the requests from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. Temps inside fell below 45F and the tenants who stayed were sleeping fully clothed with jackets on. In addition to the heat being off completely, the boiler is now on a timer so the heat came on only twice per day leaving the building cold (below the legally mandated inside temperature) and the hot water being lukewarm at best.

2. Malfunctioning Heating System: terrible clanking of the pipes when the heat goes on, which makes sleeping through the night impossible. There were tenants who stayed with friends and relatives b/c even with ear plugs, they couldn’t fall asleep and stay asleep through the night.

3. Cracked Walls/Structural Damage: cracks in the walls of apartments on ever floor due to shoddy contractor work in the soon-to-be 7-11 space in the first floor. The company has since fired the contractors and the work has no resumed because of the HP Action.




4. Unlocked Main Entrance: front door electric key system failing randomly with no apparent reason from 1 day to 7 days locking tenants outside or inside of the building and leaving the building unsafe with the front door unlocked at all times. Tenants had to call 911 and have the NYPD come on Tuesday night several weeks back as the front door was wide open and a man was trying to get into apartments at 3:30 AM.

5. Smoke Detector Removal: the contractors disconnected and removed smoke detectors in the hallways as the dust was setting them off saying they had it approved by the FDNY so it’s perfectly legal.



6. Low Water Pressure: extremely low water pressure in faucets and showers throughout the building.

7. Illegal After Hours Work: Contractors working after hours (8 AM on Saturday), blocking hallways, blocking doorways and doing work that created so much dust and debris that DOB ordered that they cover apartment doors to protect residents.



8. Unavailable Super: super has rarely been available to solve maintenance problems (they only hired 1 super for 17 buildings and he doesn’t live in Manhattan), and never available after 4 PM or on the weekends. Emergency contact provided did not work.

9. Filthy Hallways/Entrance: hallways and entrance have not been cleaned on a regular basis in months. The stairwells of the building are disgusting.

The residents said that there were discussions of a rent abatement, but that never materialized.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Jared Kushner paid $49 million for 7 more Ben Shaoul-owned properties in the East Village

More about Jared Kushner's East Village buying spree