How the East Village died, Exhibit No. 3,745a

A four-bedroom apartment at 120 St. Mark's Place hit the market on April 11, according to StreetEasy. By yesterday, the apartment — listed at $4,600 — was rented. We'll come back to this.

Anyway, 120 St. Mark's Place was previously home to the Mosiac Man.... and known as The Cave, a colony for artists. In case you're new to this story, here's what the place looked like. Bob Arihood at Neither More Nor Less has thoroughly documented this through the years. These are two of his photos.

It's a long, ugly story... so briefly, back in 2006, 120's new owner, the sledgehammer-toting developer Benjamin Shaoul, successfully booted all the folks who were squatting in the building... (This link will take you to all the history here via Neither More Nor Less...)

So how about that four-bedroom apartment...

So yes — the one-time artists' colony has become a dorm-like apartment.

And to quote Bob from one of his posts on the matter:

We are not suggesting by showing so many pictures of life at the "Cave" that the "Cave" should have remained forever un-touched at 120 Saint Marks Place. After-all 120 St. Marks Place was not a legally occuppied building and it was a bit unsafe as a structure. There were some very serious structural problems with this building.

We are just trying to show some of the loss of diversity in activities in the East Village due to the irresponsible , wild-west sort of development activity now radically changing the neighborhood forever.

And one day, perhaps 120 St.Mark's Place will even have a Certificate of Occupancy. The temporary CO expired about three years ago, per DOB records.

For more background:
St. Marks Squatters Getting the Boot (Curbed)

Rent Wars: Boy Emperor Gets In On East Village Harassment (Curbed)

Boy Developer Ben Shaoul Wants to Live Forever (The Observer)

Cave collective collects buyouts as Buildings tries to stop cave-in (The Villager)

Stop-work still in effect at former artists’ squat (The Villager)

Farewell to the East Village's Pizzeria Uno-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's triplex

Last August, we noted that the Pizza Hut-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's combo on the northwest corner of 14th Street and Second Avenue was for lease....

EV Grieve reader HippieChick reported last night the space (now featuring a Pizzeria Uno!) was dark...

Sure enough, the marshal paid a visit. And the triplex eatery looks mostly empty behind the counters...

Per the listing, new tenants have several options for chopping up the existing space.

Meanwhile, you'll have to travel elsewhere for your Nathan's fries...

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village losing its Nathan's/Pizza Hut/Arthur Treacher's mashup

A matchbook made in New York

On Tuesday, Jeremiah wrote about the swizzle sticks at Sardi's (and the bar itself...) That evening, I randomly found myself in Gallagher's on 52nd Street ... I thought Gallagher's might be a candidate for swizzle sticks. No. However...

I did help myself to a matchbox, something I typically appreciate... in part, because, uh, I used to collect them. So, perhaps some slow news day, I'll break them out for a post...

Meanwhile, here are some vintage NYC restaurant matchbooks from the Matchbook Museum.

Matchbooks are also a popular subject at Lost City. Check out this link, where Brooks shares a few matchbooks from some now-shuttered 1990s-era East Village cafes and restaurants.

Dear Bill Keller:

Spotted the other day on Avenue B and Eighth Street.

A Greenmarket reminder this weekend

On Saturday this weekend ... because, of course, Sunday, April 24 is the birthday of "Caddyshack" star Michael O'Keefe. It's also Easter.

What people throw away on the Bowery now

Huuuuuuge flat-screen TVs...

The Bowery at East First Street.

It's spring, and the battleships are in full bloom

At the KenKeleba House Sculpture Garden on East Third Street. Photo by Bobby Williams.

Key Food oughta be in pictures

[Photo via @danielleintheev]

In case you were wondering, a crew is filming an independent feature called "Grand Street" right now in front of Key Food on Avenue A... Been filming hereabouts the last day or so....

NYPD slaps $270 ticket on East Village cyclist for running red light

And it happened to our very own contributor samo, who cops pulled over this morning on East First Street near Avenue A...

When the Sidewalk reopens, you'll see clean spaces, new faces

On March 1, Sidewalk on Avenue A and Sixth Street closed for renovations.

The official word: They'd be closed for six weeks.

However, six weeks have come and gone and the place doesn't seem any closer to reopening. According to several sources, the Sidewalk's liquor license lapsed. So, while management was taking care of the paperwork, they figured they'd spruce up the space too. And that turned into major renovations.

According to a former employee: "The plan as I know it is to start from scratch, new restaurant, new management, entirely new staff. None of the former staff is being hired back."

Sidewalk's long-running open mic nights on Mondays have been taking place at a Gathering of Tribes on East Third Street. As for the future of music at The Fort, the backroom of the Sidewalk ... according to a post on the Sidewalk Music blog dated March 16 from 
Ben Krieger, who has has been hosting the open mic show: "I met with management at the club last night ... they’re DEFINITELY renovating. From what I can gather the club will resemble a better/stronger/faster Sidewalk than a martini bar (sigh of relief), For now, pretty much everything that isn’t a wall has been cleared out! At the moment they’re redoing the floors and blasting the brick walls for repainting/varnishing."

You can find a few more details here at Sidewalk's Sidewalk, another site about the cafe.

For more history on the Sidewalk and the Antifolk movement:
How Does It Feel, Antifolkies, to Have a Home, Not Be Unknown? (The Times)

Folk the Pain Away (The Voice)

An interview with Lach about the Fort and Antifolk (YouTube)

First Person | At the Sidewalk Café (The Local East Village)

DBGB takes CBGB by the back door

Extra Place — home of dog walkers, skateboarders and Wonder Woman — just received a big ol' jolt of Boulud.

According to a report at The Feast, chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud is taking over a big space in the former piss-filled alley off the Bowery:

Located at 18 Extra Place, just a block away from Boulud's sausage emporium DBGB, the commissary will supply prepped items to all of the chef's restaurants as well as create a space for "great parties," as Boulud puts it. It may also signal the chef's intent to get into the prepared food and retail space.

That's the big news here. Boulud is building the space to USDA standards, which will pave the way for a cross-country retail business. Currently, bread for all of the restaurants is baked in the catacombs of Daniel, while sausage and charcuterie is produced at Bar Boulud. With the commissary both of those operations will be moved to Extra Place. The plant is scheduled to be online by July, which could put DBGB sausage and Bar Boulud charcuterie in your house in time for Labor Day.

[Photo via The Feast]

Another building for 'single family conversion' — with air rights!

607 E. Sixth St. near First Avenue is the most recent East Village property to appear on the market. Here's the Massey Knakal listing:

A 21‘ 5” wide, 5 story multifamily walk-up apartment building. The building is approximately 5,061 sq. ft. and is currently configured with 5 apartments. The property also benefits from additional unused air rights, southern light, some original detail, and a large 37’ deep garden. As the units are all free market, making the building great single family conversion or live plus invest opportunity.

The price: $3.5 million.

And this is just the latest building to hit the market with both air rights and single-family aspirations.... such as this one on Avenue D ... this one on Avenue B ... or this one on Seventh Street ...

Something for Mister Softee

The other day on East Third Street.

Physical GraffiTea is open

... and blue...

On St. Mark's Place.

Previously.

You'll never guess what's taking the retail space at 123 Third Avenue!

Woo! Oh, and much of the sidewalk shed is down here now too on the corner of 14th Street and Third Avenue...

Previously.

Report: Graffiti artist Angel 'LA II' Ortiz is in Rikers

According to ArtNet, graffiti artist Angel "LA II" Ortiz has been a guest at Rikers for three weeks. His trial is set for April 27. Per ArtNet: "He was arrested for graffiti three times in a short period, which kicks the charges up to a felony."

Also:

"He was arrested for graffiting over the Kenny Scharf mural at Houston and Bowery Streets, and also for painting a rather large graffiti mural on the Urban Outfitters store on Second Avenue in the East Village. Ironically, LA II is an official Urban Outfitters Artist."

The LES native frequently collaborated with Keith Haring. NYC the Blog has more on Ortiz here.

[Hat tip to @marccasale]

Seven empty storefronts on one stretch of Seventh Street

On Sunday, the Personal Affairs boutique closed after 11 years in business...

With PA's departure, there are now seven empty storefronts on this stretch between First Avenue and Avenue A...

(Xoom, the smoothie shop, is moving to a new location in the East Village.)

This block still has a neighborhood feel to it ... where community members come together at St. Stanislaus Church or the Peter Jarema Funeral Home ... and this stretch of Seventh Street has its quirky charms, such as Anthony Pisano's storefront home where he has lived the last 32 years... ... It's the kind of place where a cat named Pretty Boy was considered the Mayor of Seventh Street...

Meanwhile, though, for better or worse, this block has become the Food Capital of NYC with the celebrated likes of Butter Lane, Luke's Lobster and Porchetta, among others.

And there's the new apartment building at 92 Seventh St. — with a three-bedroom going for nearly $6,000. The ground floor will be home to another restaurant.



With all the heralded food, and more likely to come, I worry that this precious stretch of the neighborhood will simply become one big line of people waiting to eat.

UCB's new sign now dictating how we should live our lives

As the Times reported on Friday, the Upright Citizens Brigade donated the old "Hot Chicks Room" sign to a nonprofit...

And now, check out the new sign that has taken the place of the "Chicks" here on Avenue A at Third Street ...

This new sign, of course, is an outrage. Not everyone wants to live comedy. We need to be free to live our own lives. This is just another example of the current oppressive state of America, in which our lives are ruled by government, Big Business and comedy clubs. We need to be able to exercise the freedoms that our constitution calls for. So don't live comedy, live as you see fit. Live drama!

And another thing... [Looking off page...]

Oh. You mean LIVE as in "actually being performed at the time of hearing or viewing"?

Never mind then.

So what's the over/under on someone having a problem with this sign?

The roof at 35 Cooper Square looks really bad

Last week, we noted that the DOB had taped up a new "notice of violation and hearing" outside 35 Cooper Square... According to the DOB:

BOTH ROOFS HAVE BEEN STRIPPED OF ROOFING MATERIAL TO SHEATHING SECTIONS OF LOWER ROOF ARE EXPOSED TO JOISTS ALSO NOTED

EV Grieve contributor Bobby Williams took a photo of the roof yesterday... doesn't look good, especially with so much rain on the way...

Please explain

Any ideas why this photo of this couple is hanging on a pole on Avenue C at Ninth Street? There was nothing else attached to the thing to provide any clues (viral ad campaign! bridal party pub crawl! a jilted ex boy/girlfriend!).

A quick look at the coming-soon Bento Burger (no Rutger Hauer!)

Last month, we reported that Bento Burger was taking over the Marfa space on East Second Street... We thought we'd take a peek at the work in progress... there is progress...

Owner Hayne Suthon told me that they'd be a "Blade Runner"-inspired design by Miguel Calvo.

Grub Street got its hands on the renderings a few weeks back...

No word yet on the decor of the restrooms...We'd like to suggest this look.

[Rutger Hauer image via]

Today in red Ferraris parked on Avenue A

Captured by Bobby Williams this afternoon...

April 17

Here we are on East Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B... where Riian caught what may or may not be leftover from the Dec. 25 holiday. Still, Riian adhered to the strict ICTTS-sanctioned rules and had the thing in the pot tree photographed with the Sunday Times...

We reached out to Gruber MacDougal, chief spokesperson of the International Coalition of Tree Tossing in the Spring (ICTTS), for reaction. However, he was en route to a ICTTS corporate retreat on Sveti Stefan Island in Montenegro and unavailable for comment.

Breaking: Interior of Caffe Buon Gusto revealed!

This corner on Avenue B and Fifth Street has sat dormant for 9 years after Zips moved out ... EV Grieve reader Dave on 7th just caught this glimpse inside the longtime-in-the-works Caffe Buon Gusto ... And check out the napkin fold...