Thursday, January 14, 2021

Residents say dangerous safety conditions at Mariana Bracetti Plaza lead to illegal and hazardous activities

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

For months, residents of the Mariana Bracetti Plaza public housing development have experienced a wave of crimes taking place inside its hallways, staircases, courtyard, rooftop and playground, thanks to unlocked front doors and broken security system.

I am wondering what kind of activity I will see when I arrive here on Third Street and Avenue C on a sunny Thursday morning. Will there be people doing, buying and selling drugs, using the place as a toilet [NSFW], engaging in sex work, and fencing goods (via stolen Amazon packages from neighboring buildings) as resident and activist Kanielle Hernandez alleges? 

Yes, it turns out — all of those things. Plus, I witness two people attempting to break into an apartment, people using the hallways as an illegal business site, and a steady stream of open-air courtyard and front-step drug purchases…sometimes with a line of people waiting their turn.
 
According to Kanielle, who lives in the building with her son and her grandfather, plus her dog, Denim (you can read about Kanielle’s fight to keep Denim, a pit bull, in this New York Times piece from 2009) finding people passed out or doing drugs in the hallway has become an everyday occurrence. 
Residents say that the locks to the front doors have not worked in more than four months, and lack of security and police presence has made it easy for people to trespass. 
 
I speak to PSA 4 housing officers who arrive to get an early lunch at Rossy’s Bakery, right across the street from the buildings in question. What can be done, I ask them?
 
“Our hands are tied. If you want action, you have to start at the top with the mayor and commissioner. We are being told not to make any arrests,” Officer Leninard and his partner tell me.  
Kanielle, who was born and raised in the building, and former tenant Yvette Maria, whose mother still lives upstairs, show me around the buildings. Kanielle and I then discuss the indignities that the residents have been made to suffer, what she hopes can happen, and about the petition she is starting to effect change.

Speaking about the ongoing lack of repairs and the conditions you detailed, such as drug sales and use, homeless people living in the stairways, people using the building as a toilet, how long has this been happening?
 
I believe this started with the sidewalk bridges. Landlords put up these dark ugly scaffolds as a resolution instead of actual repairs. Then they stay up for years without any actual work being done. But someone is getting paid to have these sidewalk bridges just up with no real purpose. It creates dark hidden places for illegal activity. 

With the sidewalk bridges came more and more and more homeless, drug addicts and alcoholics. The money being spent to have these useless sidewalk bridges up should be used to actually improve the building conditions. 
 
Individuals started coming to our building to use it as a bathroom and get high. Then as they saw they could get away with more and more it just has become a free for all. You find them in your hallway trying to get high or steal packages or sleep. Feels like we are living in an episode of “The Walking Dead” NYC/LES season.
Have you talked to the building’s management (NYCHA) about the situation? 
 
The management office is absolutely no help. I call them and they tell me I need to call the police. I call the police they tell me to call my management office. The housing manager we have is the worst we have ever had. Absolutely no help to our building at all. 
 
Why did you decide to film the transgressions?
 
I decided to start recording and posting because I just can’t believe we have such occurrences right outside of our apartment doors. Our home. I walk into my elevator and someone is full-on smoking a cigarette or a blunt. And then get mad at me for being upset and saying something. 
 
I don’t care what you do but do it right. Be conscious of how your decisions impact others. Basic consideration and common sense. Like, for example, walking into a building you don’t live in to pee and then deciding to pee right in front of someone’s door. There are some levels of WTF! I need to get through before I can reach my compassion. Yes, I understand addiction is a disease but it’s time to find some real solutions with long-term positive results. Maybe whatever we accomplish here can be extended to other developments. And li’l by li’l we can make a positive change to our community.
 
Are you concerned about your safety?
 
Yes, I’m always concerned for not just my safety but also the safety of my family, friends and neighbors. Yes, I can just move and be done with the bullshit. But this is my home. I was born and raised in this building. 
 
As kids, we took the stairs freely. We ran around playing freely. And it was a time of heavy poverty and drugs and gangs. But there was a different energy back then. It’s hard to explain but I’m sure a lot of people will understand what I’m trying to say and resonate with it. 

Do you know where the people are coming from? Have you reported what’s been happening downstairs and at some problematic locations nearby, like Third Street and Avenue C, to the police? If so, have they responded? What happens or doesn’t happen?

The people are coming from all over really. Our building has become the headquarters for them. Some bring beach chairs and blankets to sleep in the staircase or roof. Mattresses, CitiBikes and shopping carts full of stuff. 
 
I have been calling 911 and 311 and reporting what’s going on for two years if not longer. They would come back then but as of recent world events there is a big lack of response. Because, to the rest of the world, junkies invading our building is the least of their problems. I get it. I think every building surrounding Third Street and Avenue C has called to complain about that corner. 
 
For months a bunch of homeless addicts lived under the scaffold on Avenue C. They had mattresses and little forts built. And then they would shoot up in broad daylight, with needles in the arms, while people, including kids, walked by. 
How does this make you feel that these kinds of things are happening in your building?
 
Depressed and discouraged. I don’t really go downstairs like I used to. I think about moving out all the time but my grandpa loves it here. He loves to walk around and go to the supermarket, but we have encountered some incidents where he felt frightened by different individuals approaching him for money.
You mentioned starting a newsletter and a petition for change. How has that been going?
 
The newsletter is still in the works but we have written up a petition and it’s available for signatures here
 
What would you like to see happen? How can the community, elected officials and NYCHA help?
 
In all honesty, I would like to see massive change on all levels but for now, I would like to have all the surrounding sidewalk bridges removed. The money being saved by removing the sidewalk bridges should be used to do something to improve the building. Like new elevators or security cameras. We could work with the local precinct to have more police patrol. And a police light on the corner. And a homeless program to redirect individuals to places that can help them. 
 
As for NYCHA, they need to be better involved in their buildings. Not just for tenants but the employees too. Housing workers should not have to clean up human shit and used condoms and drug needles. They definitely don’t get paid enough for that. If we set boundaries, we will see results. 
 
And as for the residents of the building who contribute to the demise of our home and community: Stop it! Stop smoking in the elevators or letting your guest do it. Don’t have your boyfriend selling drugs out of your apartment…tell them to go and deliver. It’s 2021, let’s get it together. 
 
If you don’t want people to notice you, be more discreet. That’s your hustle. No doubt. Do it right. Control your customers. Sloppy business brings attention. 
 
The tenants who do these things stick out. A lot of the residents have lived here for years. And it’s only seven floors. People see and people talk. We need to practice better judgment when it comes to how we choose to contribute to our home, our community. Are your choices impacting us in a good way or bad way? What can you do to be better tenants? 
 
Speak up for the building you live in that you call home. Do your part! Make sure you are contributing to the uprise of our building and community, not the downfall of it. And this should apply to all [public housing] developments. We all deserve to live in a safe and peaceful environment. Projects or no projects — it’s our home! 
You can sign the petition here and Kanielle is actively looking to partner with local elected offices to facilitate repairs and security for the building residents. 

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Gallery Watch: Moko Moko Doki Doki and Double Happiness at the Hole

Text and photos by Clare Gemima 


Moko Moko Doki Doki and Double Happiness 
at the Hole, 312 Bowery

The Hole, as I have previously relayed, takes the idea of transformation passionately and excels in this. Yes, this highlights the gallery's talented team, but more important, it provides a climactic show for both artist/s and gallery go-ers. 

Whether you enjoy the experience or not, there's no way that you'll be able to forget The Hole's first two shows of 2021. A cacophony of color, form and touch (that thing we've all forgotten about), Misaki Kawai presents Moko Moko Doki Doki filling the main floors in the space, while Double Happiness occupies the back room with luscious wetness and optical illusion from Caroline Larson and Roxanne Jackson. 


Moko Moko Doki Doki sets the tone all the way from the opposite side of Bowery — you can start to spot large mounds of purples and yellows and furry sculptures that will make you skip all the way to the front door. Moko Moko or  "fluffy"  colliding with Doki Doki or "excited heartbeat" literally describes the work perfectly. 


You're immediately made aware that you can pet the sculptures and feel as though you've traveled back in time to kindergarten, where words aren't really necessary anymore, but smiles, giggles, touching and enlivening your immature senses is of utmost importance. 


The sensations in my body and face as soon as I saw the array of fluffy and excited heartbeats were something unique to me — it has been a while since I've been physically affected by artwork. I was grateful to blush and laugh around these sculptures, stroke one and fight the urge not to cuddle the hell out of them all. I was suddenly 6 years old.


Kawai is an internationally renowned artist, most famous for her all-ages, immersive work that is bold and playful. A talented painter and illustrator, her new text-based works lace the walls of the show, presenting an interesting iteration of her G-rated sculptures while staying classically true to her repetitive use of emoji-esque motifs. This is her fourth solo show at The Hole since 2013. 


The darkish vibrance of Moko Moko Doki Doki's walls made the whole gallery look like miniature maze toys or building blocks. It kept you there, simply because it felt like there was so much to see and do, to play with and to pet. 


But in a lime green distance, there was a space I admittedly made a beeline for. Double Happiness took me to a level of speechlessness. Honestly, please do yourself a favor and visit this show. The name for me does not do it justice. I know it sounds corny, but seeing Caroline Larsen and Roxanne Jackson's work really tripled, quadrupled and I will go as far as to say it quintupled my happiness. 


This special two-person exhibition showcases new bodies of oil painting and ceramic sculpture. The two artists engage in ideas like doubling, mirroring, pattern, reinventing/invigorating craft and pushing the limits of historical/ traditional techniques.


Across the room, vases are positioned on mirror-topped plinths that host oil marks in their reflection. The sexy interventional designs of Jackson's vases proliferate as you navigate within Larson's multiplying paintings that surround the exhibition. There is color, design, form, meshing and merging absolutely everywhere. It's as nauseating to walk around the space as it is to stand still in this environment. You totally forget about the literal gestures here — flowers and vases. 


How these artists have conceived Double Happiness is doubly acerbic and commendable. The way Larson's delicious-looking paintings warp and skew and mess you up while you’re walking around delicate vases, so ready to smash (accidentally) proposes an optical challenge definitely worth trying out. 


Moko Moko Doki Doki and Double Happiness will both be showing until Valentine’s day at The Hole.
 

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ 


Clare Gemima is a visual artist from New Zealand. New-ish to the East Village, she spends her time as an artist assistant and gallery go-er, hungry to explore what's happening in her local art world. You can find her work here: claregemima.com 

Panna II will return, and expand into the former Milon space next door


The Christmas and chile-pepper lights will live on at 93 First Ave.!

As we noted at the end of 2020Milon, the Indian-Bangladeshi restaurant that first opened here on First Avenue at Sixth Street in 1982, had quietly gone out of business.

However, reliable sources tell us that longtime and like-minded neighbor Panna II has rented the Milon space, and will expand into the adjacent restaurant in the months ahead. 

Per our tipster: "It sounds like the kitchen will be eliminated from Milon, and that side will be one large seating area." (So much for the urban legend that all the Indian restaurants along Sixth Street use the same kitchen!)

Panna II eventually reopened for takeout and delivery last year and later indoor dining at 25 percent. They temporarily closed again when Cuomo's second indoor dining ban went into effect early December.

While Milon and Panna II had been catering to the Instagram crowd in recent years, locals still find the restaurants a comfort on evenings away from the weekends. Some have feared that the indoor-dining ban could mark the end of the so-called Curry Row. But it appears Panna II will live on.

2021 development watch: 77 E. 3rd St.

Renovations continue at 77 E. Third St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Curiosity remains about this building — mostly because of its former longtime residents and what the newly renovated space will look like, making it a development to watch this year.

As previously reported, No. 77 — the former Hells Angels clubhouse, now owned by Better Living Properties — will be converted into 22 one- and two-bedroom units with an expected price point of $3,500 a month following a $2 million renovation. There was also a report that the ground floor will house two retail spaces. 

The last of the members moved out of No. 77 at the end of March 2019. The Hells Angels had this six-story building in their possession since 1969. 

The Hells Angels reportedly ended up in Throggs Neck, a neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the Bronx. This past summer, two members and an accomplice were charged in the fatal shooting of a rival gang leader

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Photo exclusive: Take a look inside the former Hells Angels clubhouse on 3rd Street

• After 50 years on the block, the Hells Angels appear to be selling their 3rd Street clubhouse

• The Hells Angels have left the East Village

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

City to remove makeshift sidewalk structure made in part with Christmas trees on 2nd Avenue

This makeshift shelter outside the Orpheum Theatre on Second Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place has been served a "notice of removal."

Said EVG reader 2ndAvenueSilverPanther, who shared this photo: "Created with cardboard, wood and discarded Christmas trees, it's an obvious hazard on a block that has seen more than it's share of misery."

Since the photo was taken, someone removed the trees, though the shelter remains in place.

A man who had been staying here was found deceased in early November. A friend said that the man had been sick, though he had refused to seek medical treatment. 

Updated:
 

This photo by Eden shows that the deadline for removal is Thursday...

Noted

Or, Today in photos of mannequin parts in a trash bag on Sixth Street. 

Thanks to our friends at the DeColores Community Yard & Cultural Center for the photo!

Let's chip in and help move this mound

MulchFest 2021 may be over [pause to allow people to dry their eyes, compose themselves] ... but the memories live on. 

In case you haven't walked through the middle of Tompkins Square Park in recent days, there's a mound of wood chips for the taking. The city is encouraging residents to help themselves (to the wood chips) to use in community gardens, tree beds, planters, etc.

Thanks to Steven for the photo!

Have you seen the refurbished Cooper Station Post Office?

The scaffolding and sidewalk bridge have (finally) been removed from outside the Cooper Station Post Office on Fourth Avenue at 11th Street... marking the end of a years-long exterior renovation... looking good (click on the images for more detail) ...
How are people feeling about the inside of the PO and its service? (There were some feelings a few years back.) 

And here's some history of the building via the Village Preservation blog:
[T]he building was designed by William Dewey Foster and constructed in 1936-37 as part of the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration) to combat the Great Depression. Foster was responsible for designing structures in both New York City and Washington D.C., including ten post offices in New York City and its immediate suburbs. 
Cooper Station was designed in the Classical Revival style and its most dramatic feature is the curve of the facade at the irregular corner of the site. Further highlighting the curve of this building is the two-story colonnade comprised of six receded Doric columns which delineate the corner bays. 
The Cooper Station Post Office was listed on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places in 1982.

Unfortunately, the building is not landmarked. 

And other factoid: Newman on "Seinfeld" was said to work at this P.O., and the exterior made a super-quick cameo in "The Package," which originally aired on Oct. 17, 1996...

 

The new-look 100 2nd Ave.

Workers recently removed the sidewalk bridge and scaffolding from 100 Second Ave. between Fifth Street and Sixth Street. 

The retail space was the longtime home of the Haveli Banjara Indian Restaurant, which quietly closed in October 2019. 

Approved work permits with the city lists the following work happening at the address: "Convert first floor eating and drinking establishment into a residential apartment." 

However, it appears that the ground floor will remain a retail space and the upper level, which Haveli used for seating, has been converted to a residence. 

As previously reported, public records show that the building changed hands in March 2020 for $6.1 million ... with the Highpoint Property Group listed as the new owner. The Group's other East Village properties include The Slater at 174-176 First Ave. and The Topanga at 202 Avenue A. And in keeping with the the theme, No. 100 goes by The Callahan.

One EVG source said that the previous landlord died. The building had been on the market since September 2017, with an original asking price of $8.6 million.

In November 2017, the restaurant's staff told patrons that they would be closing in early 2018, with the hopes of finding another location nearby.

Haveli was the oldest surviving Indian restaurant in the East Village, opening in 1987. Banjara moved in here in November 2013.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Haveli Banjara Indian Restaurant said to be closing and relocating early next year

Tacos for a former taco shop?

Over at 141 Second Ave., paper nows covers the front windows of the storefront... and the listing is no longer online. 

A worker told EVG correspondent Steven that the space will be a taco shop... perhaps similiar to the previous tenant — Otto's Tacos here between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. That quick-serve tacqueria closed at the start of the PAUSE in March 2020, and never reopened.

As we've noted, a lot of things have come and gone here through the years, such as Good Guys, a Subway (sandwich shop), part of a Max Brenner outpost and Burritoville. (Burritoville!)

A quick look inside the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, opening next month on 1st Avenue

Brooklyn Dumpling Shop is opening next month at 131 First Ave. (aka 82 St. Mark's Place), according to its website

The pandemic has pushed back the opening from this past July.

As previously reported, Brooklyn Dumpling Shop will feature an automat-type arrangement for its 30-plus varieties. From a more technical standpoint, per its website:
We're the first to enable a Zero Human Interaction (Z.H.I.). We're revolutionizing Q.S.R. (Quick Service Restaurants) with our proprietary technology and will be one of the first to launch hands-free self-ordering kiosks...

And if you'd like a video explainer...


While the shop may feature some high-techery, the interior will have a partly old-school look... EVG contributor Derek Berg caught a glimpse inside the other day... and spotted this wall photo of Audrey Hepburn inside the Horn and Hardart automat circa 1952. (The original photo is by Lawrence Fried) ...
Workers gutted this single-level structure on the corner ... dividing the storefront into several spaces. The other new tenant here is the Japanese health-food cafe AO Bowl, now in soft-open mode.

The previous single occupant, Foot Gear Plus, closed in July 2018 after 40 years in business.

Monday, January 11, 2021

Advocacy group: The city's value engineering study for East River Park does not exist

A value engineering study, an oft-cited factor behind the city's change of plans in September 2018 to bury/elevate East River Park by eight feet as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, does not exist, according to advocacy group East River Park Action.

On Friday, in a reply to the group's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requestNYC's Department of Design and Construction (DDC) stated that the city's value engineering report could not be sent because:
"DDC's search of agency records revealed no responsive documents for [the FOIL] request."
In response, East River Park Action issued the following statement:
This means that the present massive $1.45 billion plan lacks the basic justification for the change that doubled the cost and destruction.

According to a “Fact Sheet” from de Blasio’s office on Sept. 28, 2018, "The adoption of the new design follows a value engineering study performed earlier this year and a review of the project by a panel of experts with experience from around the nation."
In addition, the independent analyst from the Dutch firm, Deltares, who Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and City Councilmember Carlina Rivera hired, also reportedly requested this value engineering report: 
"The 'value engineering report' leads to the conclusion that Alternative 4 can be completed faster and with a greater degree of certainty," he wrote. However, he never saw the document. "This value engineering report is not publicly available," he noted.

This nonexistent value engineering study and invisible review by a panel of experts paved the way for the new plan and scrapped a less destructive plan that had been developed over years of community and city joint planning.
The city's current plan, which has been met with outrage by community members, will raze the 57.5-acre East River Park, bulldozing 1,000 mature trees and rebuilding the park atop eight feet of landfill meant to protect the Lower East Side and surrounding neighborhoods from a 100-year-flood event and sea level rise. 

In October 2019, the city announced that they would phase in the construction so only portions of the park are closed to the public at any given time. According to various reportsthe city has committed to leaving a minimum of 42 percent of East River Park open to the public. It is projected to be complete in 2025. 

The start of construction, which had been slated to commence this past fall, was delayed until this spring, according to a recent presentation the city made.

However, given the revelation about the value engineering study, "we demand the city stop the ESCR plan so it can be further reviewed," Fannie Ip of East River Park Action said in a statement. "This is not the 'Greener, More Equitable' NYC, which the de Blasio administration has repeatedly promised."

You can read East River Park's full statement and ongoing concerns at this link.

Costume drama: Halloween Adventure is closing next month

As you may have heard, Halloween Adventure is shutting down in the weeks ahead at 808 Broadway/104 Fourth Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street.

The costume shop has been holding big sales since early December, arousing suspicions of a closure, though nothing had been made official ... Time Out was able to get confirmation from an employee last week...
According to SecretNYC, the store will shut down at the end of February. A worker blamed the closure on a lack of business in recent months during the pandemic.
The company has been around since 1981 with outposts and pop-up shops in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Here's some of the store's EV history via Time Out
[Halloween Adventure] first opened a temporary pop-up store in 1991 and continued to open pop-ups in the East Village until 1996, including at spaces that now house Forbidden Planet on East 13th and Broadway and the Fed/Ex Kinkos on Astor Place. 
In 1996, it found its permanent home in what used to be a World Gym at 104 Fourth Ave. and in 2004, it expanded and got a second entrance at 808 Broadway.

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

A deli-grocery for the southwest corner of 14th Street and Avenue A

Renovations have started at the storefront on the southwest corner of 14th Street and Avenue A. 

The posted work permits state that a "deli & grocery" is in the works for the address...
This is a pretty small space, so it may very well be a deli-grocery of the smoke shop variety.

Dion Cleaners held down this corner for 35 years ... until this past November.

The Schmackary's outpost on Cooper Square isn't reopening

One of the two retail spaces at 35 Cooper Square (at Sixth Street) is now for rent... marking the official end of the Schmackary's outpost. 

The bakery, sporting 75-plus varieties of cookies plus brownie's, etc., never reopened after the PAUSE in March 2020. Their main store on West 45th Street remains in business as does its online service.

Schmackary's opened here in July 2019... Previously: Pourt, the cafe-work space combo, closed after 11 months in December 2017 here in the retail base of the Marymount Manhattan College dormitory

Carving out a retail space at 56 St. Mark's Place

The 8-story residential building known as The Saint at 56 St. Mark's Place is now advertising retail space on the property between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

The retail for-rent sign that arrived on Friday shows that there are three spaces available — spread out over the ground, first and second floors and featuring more than 10,000 square feet in total. The space can also be combined. (The listing isn't online just yet.)

Not sure what's in the space currently ... or why this the right time to put more retail on the market when plenty of empty storefronts line the neighborhood.

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Can you spot the one-floor addition atop 94-96 Avenue A?

🤔

Late last week, the construction netting on the south-facing wall at 94-96 Avenue A came down, revealing even more of the one-floor extension on the building here on the northeast corner of Sixth Street.

Several readers have commented just how poorly the new floor fits in with the old building...
According to the approved permit, the work includes an interior renovation of the fourth-floor apartments and an addition of a fifth floor. 

The building's square footage increased from 8,304 to 10,151. Despite the expansion, the taller No. 94-96 will have 10 residential units instead of the current 11. The filing also shows that there are plans for a roof deck.

Penn South Capital paid $9.6 million for the property in March 2019, per public records. Pini Milstein was the principal owner of the building as well as the operator of the Sidewalk, which closed in February 2019 in the retail space after 32-plus years

The bar-restaurant August Laura has been the tenant since October 2019

Previously on EV Grieve:
• 1-floor expansion planned for Avenue A building that housed the Sidewalk

• The building housing the former Sidewalk sells on Avenue A

Sunday, January 10, 2021

Sunday's parting shots

VHS fest on First Avenue and Fourth Street today ... photos by William Klayer... please be kind — rewind!

Week in Grieview

Posts from this past week included (with a photo from Union Square by Derek Berg) ...

• A 21-story office building planned for the former B Bar & Grill on the Bowery (Friday

 • Cafe Himalaya reopens, thanks community for support after family member dies from COVID-19 (Wednesday

• RIP Hanshi Wilfredo Roldan (Thursday)

• Concern again for the historic Merchant's House Museum on 4th Street (Wednesday

• A new era for Via Della Pace on 4th Street (Monday

•  The gas is back on at Tompkins Square Bagels on Avenue A (Monday

• This week's NY See panel (Wedensday

• Gallery Watch goes to the Home Alone Group Show at ATM Gallery (Wednesday

• [plant-baked] debuts on 7th Street (Friday

• A bar called Spike's is coming to 218 Avenue A (Wedensday

• 5 Napkin Burger Express gives way to Tamam Falafel on 14th Street (Friday

• Hope for Little Poland in 2021? (Tuesday

• Citing "restrictions, bans and curfews for the restaurant industry," the Dumpling Shop closes (Monday)

• Bibi Wine Bar takes a winter break (Tuesday)

• Gino Sorbillo now closed for renovations on the Bowery (Wednesday

•  2021 development watch: 124 E. 14th St. (Tuesday

• Van Leeuwen reopens post-fire on 7th Street (Tuesday

• Tio Pio debuts on 14th Street with quick-serve Latin cuisine (Tuesday)

• Local artists give kids something to smile about at new dental outpost on Avenue A (Tuesday

• The Boilery has closed on 3rd Avenue (Monday

• Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse has closed for now on the Lower East Side (Sunday)

---
Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

Saturday, January 9, 2021

Saturday's parting shots

As seen on St. Mark's Place this week... thanks to Steven for the photos...

[Updated] Missing animal

Missing flyers are out for a "mixed lost animal." The description includes "huge ears" and "long tail." There's a reward for the animal too. 

As seen at the Sixth Street and Avenue B Community Garden. Thanks to Robert Miner for the photo.

Updated!

Turns out this is a Fennec fox ... and the fox was found safely and back with his/her owner...

Community Boards hosting town hall to discuss the Open Restaurants and Open Streets programs

Open Restaurants and Open Streets, two programs the city introduced last year during the pandemic, are the subject of a virtual town hall this Tuesday night.

Community Board 3 and Community Board 6, which serves the east side from 14th Street to 59th Street, are hosting the event... with sponsorship by local City Council members Carlina Rivera and Margaret Chin as well as Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.

Per the invite: "Hear from agencies to clarify regulations and answer your questions to make these programs work better for us." 

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. You may submit questions in advance here.

Details to tune in follow:
By Phone: +1 646 518 9805, +1 929 205 6099
Webinar ID: 974 6758 8948

Reminders: Saturday No. 2 of MulchFest starts SOOOON

Today marks the grand finale of MulchFest season, as the chipper will be out in Tompkins Square Park from 10 a.m. to ??? Swing by for the festivities ... and generous amounts of mulch to take home.

The Sanitation Department is also collecting and composting (non-decorated) trees left curbside through Jan. 15. 

Thanks to Steven for the photo earlier this week!

Friday, January 8, 2021

'Five Years' to start the New Year

 
A televised version of "Five Years" by David Bowie from 1972... from "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars." 

Bowie was born on this day in 1947. (And he died on Jan. 10, 2016.)

A 21-story office building planned for the former B Bar & Grill on the Bowery

Permits were filed yesterday for a 21-floor mixed-use development — a 283-foot-tall office building — at the site of the former B Bar & Grill on the Bowery.

According to the proposed plan, the well-employed architect Morris Adjmi's building will encompass 98,799 square feet, with 26,000 square feet set aside for use as an unspecified community facility. 

Permits show office amenities that include several roof terraces and a "passive recreation" area. There's also a mention of a bicycle rental or repair shop on the ground floor. 

As we first reported on Dec. 8, permits were filed to demolish the one-level structure that housed the B Bar & Grill on the Bowery at Fourth Street from 1994 through the start of the COVID-19 PAUSE last March. 

CB Developers paid $59.5 million for a stake in 358 Bowery, previously a gas station before its conversion into the onetime hotspot. B Bar owner Eric Goode, who owns a handful of hotels, including the Bowery Hotel across the way, has been assembling air rights to build a larger development on this corner space. 

As for the B Bar, it was expected to close for good this past August. However, the bar-restaurant never reopened after the PAUSE. As we reported back on April 3, nearly 70 B Bar employees were laid off without any extension of benefits or offer of severance pay.

[plant-baked] debuts today on 7th Street

A new bakery called [plant-baked] opens today (Friday) at 117 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

This is the first storefront for 3B Eats, a plant-based bakery that started catering and wholesale sales (and several pop ups) on the LES during the height of the pandemic here in the spring of 2020.

Here's more about the storefront via their Instagram account:
We’ll have: 
•Classic Croissants
•Spicy Cheese Croissants
•Pain au Chocolat
•Kouign-Amann
•Masala Chai Queen
•Oat Cherry Chocolate (OCC) Cookies
•Chocolate Chip Cookies
•Palmiers
•Cranberry Chocolate Seedy Bars (gf!).

Our kitchen is free from Palm Oil, Animal Products, Sesame, Soy, Peanuts and Tree Nuts (except Coconut, because Coconut isn’t a tree nut).
Their service window is open daily starting at 8 a.m. until they sell out of stuff. 

The bakery was originally going to open last week, but the flooding as a result of the second broken water main on First Avenue at Seventh Street ended up causing damage to the oven. (Thankfully it was under warranty.) 

5 Napkin Burger Express gives way to Tamam Falafel on 14th Street

On 14th Street at Third Avenue, 5 Napkin Burger Express has closed. (Thanks to food writer Nick Solares for the above photo!

The space isn't going to be vacant long, however. Singage is already up for the new tenant — the plant-based Tamam Falafel, which also has a location on the UES. The sign arrived Wednesday, per EVG reader Eddie...
This quick-serve outpost for the 5 Napkin Burger chainlet opened in the fall of 2019.

Thursday, January 7, 2021

RIP Hanshi Wilfredo Roldan

 An EVG reader shared the following in memoriam ...
 
Longtime Lower East Side resident and martial arts legend Wilfredo Roldan, or Hanshi, passed away on Christmas Day. He was 69.

Some readers may have seen a small shrine pop up outside the former University of the Streets building at 130 E. Seventh St. near Avenue A, where he taught and ran the Nisei Goju-Ryu system for many years.
Roldan was born in Puerto Rico and moved to New York at a young age. His martial arts career began in the mid-1960s, when he trained under local greats including Sensei Owen Watson and Grand Master Frank Ruiz. Martial arts were a valuable asset in the streets of the Lower East Side.
 
As Roldan progressed Nisei Goju-Ryu, mentoring countless students along the way, he was a regular at Odessa and other neighborhood hotspots. Watch him tell the story of the dojo and more local lore here and you can notice a characteristic twinkle in his eyes.
 
Having starred in a number of martial arts movies in the 1970s ("Black Force," "Velvet Smooth" and "Dragon Express"), he also taught physical education in NYC Public Schools for over two decades. With the "University of the Streets, the Prequel" (shot at Seventh Street and Avenue A), he continued to add to his list of endeavors and accomplishments.
 
He will be missed, but his spirit carries on. Osu.