Citizens of the neighborhood prepare to say hello to this new bank branch

Photos by Steven

The HSBC-Citizens Bank switcheroo officially happens today on the SW corner of Second Avenue and Ninth Street...

Not sure what kind of festivities will take place to mark the occasion. (Do banks still give away toasters? If not, then they should.)

As previously reported on EVG, HSBC agreed last spring to sell 80 of its 148 U.S. branches to Providence, R.I.-based Citizens Bank. 

As the bank branches turn on 2nd Avenue

Meanwhile, in bank branch news... as you likely know, HSBC agreed last spring to sell 80 of its 148 U.S. branches to Providence, R.I.-based Citizens Bank. 

The HSBC on the SW corner of Ninth Street and Second Avenue made the cut and will transition to a Citizens Bank on Feb. 17. 

Ahead of that, workers yesterday installed the deep-green Citizens signage (with the daisy wheel logo ) ... EVG contributor Steven was there to mark the occasion...

... and at the end of the day, a temp HSBC was back on the marquee...

HSBC arrived here in the spring of 2010 ... before it was a bank branch, the Max Brenner's Chocolate by the Bald Man haunted this space. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• New HSBC reminds customers not to bring guns into the branch 

• Exclusive: The new HSBC branch will have two ATMs!

Here's your new Duane Reade signage on First Avenue; plus — will they keep the clock?

Oh! Back in May, a tipster told us that the Duane Reade on East 14th Street was moving into the former HSBC branch (the one that some residents tried to save) on First Avenue just north of 14th Street. Signage is now up. Think that clock that never has the right time will stay?

Anyway, a drug store is sorely needed here... as neighbors would have to walk directly next door to the CVS otherwise.

And the Duane Reade around the corner will eventually close ...

We Grievestrated the move on Oct. 2 ...

The soon-to-be-former Duane Reade space remains on the market (PDF) ... Seems like a perfect spot for a Walgreens!

Lease a (soon to be former) Duane Reade

In May, a reader told us that the Duane Reade on 14th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue would be moving into the former HSBC bank space (right next to the CVS) on First Avenue... just north of East 14th Street...

As the Grievestrator shows, the move would look something like this...

And now a reader points us to the new listing (PDF) for the soon-to-be-former Duane Reade space...

That's a lot of space, which may be too much for our used mixed cassette tape/zine shop. Or our Egg Store.

The last time a big chunk of retail like this was available on East 14th Street, the space became an IHOP.

A few things... the retail listing only mentions the nearby chains-franchises... and one of them, the AT&T store the next block to the west, recently closed...

As for the new Duane Reade on First Avenue, you likely will have to wait... the interior is still a major construction zone...

Breaking: Former bank branch to become a Duane Reade on First Avenue

[February 2010]

The now-shuttered HSBC branch (the one that some residents tried to save) on First Avenue just north of 14th Street is getting a new tenant. Earlier in the week, pcvstBee pointed out that renovations had started on the space.

Now, a reader passes along this tip ... that the Duane Reade on 14th between First Avenue and Second Avenue will be moving into this former HSBC space (yes, right next to the CVS). A Duane Reade employee and the Fruit Stand Guy outside the former HSBC confirmed this to the reader. (Woo! Sourcing!)

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

[In the rain in Tompkins Square Park last week ... by Bobby Williams]

Million-dollar parking space at 66 E. 11th St. (New York Post)

Break-dancing in Tompkins Square Park [video] (The Gog Log)

Mystery tenant leases former HSBC branch on First Avenue at 14th Street (pcvstBee)

The Mosaic Man's new cups of Joe at the Bean (BoweryBoogie)

Thefts continued at 9th Precinct even with security detail (New York Post)

Breaking glass during renovations at 118 E. Fourth St. (Occupy East Fourth Street)

Momofuku Milk Bar opening a Montauk branch (Eater)

NYU's class of 1932 (Ephemeral New York)

Looking at the new McHale's (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Hotel Chelsea lobby phone booths are history (Living With Legends)

A reader sent along this poster spotted yesterday on East Fourth Street... not much information...

A reader reports that the new gelato place on Second Avenue below East Fourth Street is now open...

[Yesterday morning]

...and last Friday we noted that renovation work had started on the bar/restaurant at the Standard East Village. We were really wrong. The workers and wood that we saw turned out to be for the NoHo Design District Festival at the Hotel... We apologize for the mistake...

'White Glove Bandit' nabbed near Tompkins Square Park

Investigators from the FBI and NYPD arrested the so-called "White Glove Bandit" earlier today "as he walked into a bodega near Tompkins Square Park around 12:30 p.m.," the Daily News reported.

Law enforcement officials said that 42-year-old Michael McManus robbed four banks since January, including (allegedly!) the HSBC branch on Broadway and East Ninth Street yesterday.

Here's some video of him from the FBI (Hi Mulder! Hi Scully!) website... of the suspect robbing the Citibank on LaGuardia Place...



DNAinfo noted that McManus "has been arrested 50 to 60 times since 1992 for crimes ranging from misdemeanors to felonies, including robbery."

Quick withdraw: HSBC name-change shocker!

As I exclusively reported with an exclusive back on April 27, the new HSBC branch at Second Avenue and Ninth Street showed off its new name... (and helpful warning that guns aren't allowed inside!)



The Stuyvesant Branch.

But now! The branch has changed its name!



Does this mean that the Stuyvesant HSBC branch on First Avenue just past 14th Street has been saved? Or did someone simply make a mistake? Or did millions in focus groups and rebranding just get tossed?

Maybe I should ask Mr. H.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Stuy Town neighbors rallying to save a bank branch

I forgot what H was for

Here's an exclusive, upclose look at the H in the new HSBC branch sign at Second Avenue and Ninth Street... yep, she's a beaut. Thanks guys!



Hoist her up!

New HSBC reminds customers not to bring guns into the branch

Progress and progress at the new HSBC branch on Second Avenue and Ninth Street... the hours and other matters have been posted...



Reminder: No guns, please... if you happen to have a hog leg strapped to your ankle, perhaps you can ask a passerby to hold if for you while you do your banking business...



And the branch has a name...



Which is likely very bad news for patrons of the Stuyvesant HSBC branch on First Avenue just past 14th Street...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Stuy Town neighbors rallying to save a bank branch

EXCLUSIVE first look inside the new HSBC branch

Here we are outside the new HSBC branch on Second Avenue and Ninth Street. Just look inside! Three tellers! Two ATMs! Stock photos of smiling people who may enjoy banking!






And a new sign... something for future bloggers to mourn years from now when this branch becomes, oh, say, a robot daycare center for real...

Exclusive: The new HSBC branch will have two ATMs!

What a scoop! On Second Avenue and Ninth Street.




And only two ATMs? Lordy! HSBC will likely need to open another branch a block or two away to pick up the overflow...

HSBC adds the C

Just a follow-up from yesterday's post, in which I hoped that workers at the new HSBC branch at Second Avenue and Ninth Street would forget to add the C...

Give me a C!

The HSBC branch continues to take shape at Second Avenue and Ninth Street... and I'm hoping that they forget to add the "C" in the sign on the Ninth Street side...

Bank branch grows plywood

The new HSBC branch at Ninth Street and Second Avenue is taking shape...now with plywood.



Jeez, almost makes us miss Max Brenner...

[Top photo via Jeremiah's Vanishing NY]

Stuy Town neighbors rallying to save a bank branch

At the HSBC branch on First Avenue just past 14th Street... you know, the location that has that seemingly-out-of-place suburban look and feel....



...with the clock that reminds you that you're late for work (again)...



...some HSBC account holders are unhappy that this branch is slated for closure...and moving to the former Bald Fat Chocolate Man location on Second Avenue and Ninth Street...



HSBC users are asking people to write their elected officials...

[And thanks to the Graffiti Friend of EV Grieve (GFOEVG) for this tip]

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

For months and months and months we've been waiting to see what takes the former Max Brenner/Chocolate Bald Man/Slowly Rot My Teeth space on Second Avenue at Ninth Street. You bet we made the obligatory "will probably be a bank branch" joke...



As Jeremiah is now reporting... it's becoming a HSBC branch, the fourth bank branch in two blocks. Uh, at least it's better than a Starbucks?

More Avenue A woe: Lucy's business not so hot either (Neither More Nor Less)

Please do NOT click on this link if you loved the Cedar Tavern. You will likely want to punch something or someone (Curbed)

East Village resident ID'd as victim of last week's bus-bicycle tragedy on Delancey (DNAinfo)

A Madison Avenue movie mystery (Flaming Pablum)

Lobby bars for the Chelsea Hotel? (Chelsea Now via Grub Street)

Brooks is understandably aggravated about several things (Lost City)

Downtown Pix show kicks off today (Stupefaction)

From Fork in the Road:

At last night's Community Board 3 meeting, the owner of Plan B appeared to apply for a license transfer for — wait for it -- the tavern and salon he's planning to open in the Plan B space on East 10th Street. "We're re-tooling the concept," he explained. No, really?

A Dunkin' Donuts closed and moved on Fulton Street downtown...




Perhaps the former location will be replaced by another Dunkin' Donuts.

What's new at the Stuyvesant Polyclinic?: Well, it's better than Lenny Kravitz

The Stuyvesant Polyclinic on Second Avenue between St. Mark's and Ninth Street has a new tenant...

As Crain's reports:

British consulting firm ?What If! has signed a 10-year lease for all of 137 Second Ave., a landmarked three-story building constructed in 1884 to provide medical care to German immigrants.

?What If!, which specializes in business growth strategies, will use the 14,100-square-foot property, between St. Mark’s Place and Ninth Street, as its U.S. headquarters. It plans to move from the 5,000 square feet it rents at 62 White St. by the end of October. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

The ornate facade of the red brick and terra cotta building trumpets its original function, with busts of Hippocrates and other scientific pioneers. 137 Second Ave. has been home to a series of medical facilities, the last of which closed in 2005. Redevelopment plans, including one to turn it into apartments, faltered over the years because of objections by the community and the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Two investment firms, 135 Second and Lower East Side Equities, bought the building last year, thinking its prominent East Village location would attract retail tenants. After some deals fell through, the owners were introduced to Nina Powell, a managing partner at ?What If!

Ms. Powell, who calls the building “phenomenal,” especially liked the high ceilings, eight-foot-wide wrought-iron staircase and great natural light. During renovations, the firm discovered such details as skylights that had been blocked by dropped ceilings and stained-glass windows that were covered by walls.

The offices, Ms. Powell said, will create an environment in which employees can come up with good campaigns for ?What If! clients, which include Nike and HSBC. “Gray spaces produce gray ideas,” she adds.

As Jeremiah had reported in April: "The broker's listing hoped a rock star like Lenny Kravitz would buy the building for $13 million and install an 'indoor/outdoor saltwater swimming pool exiting to your gigantic organic garden' along with other whimsies."

[Villager file photo]