Showing posts sorted by date for query fire. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query fire. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Monday, February 13, 2023

On 2nd Avenue, historic Isaac T. Hopper House hits the market for the first time in 149 years

A historic East Village building is for sale for the first time since (checking notes) 1874.

There's a new listing for 110 Second Ave., aka the landmarked and currently vacant Isaac T. Hopper House between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. 

Per the listing via Denham Wolf Real Estate Services: The property is vacant and provides a unique redevelopment opportunity. Asking price: $7.1 million. The building also has "+-4,628 ZFA potential excess development rights." (Any alterations to the landmarked building must go through the Landmarks Preservation Commission and other city agencies.)

The Women's Prison Association has owned it since 1874.

Here's some history of the address of No. 110, built circa 1837-1838, via Village Preservation:
This three-and-a-half-story Greek Revival structure is a rare surviving house from the period when this section of Second Avenue was one of the most elite addresses in Manhattan. Additionally, it is also a rare surviving nineteenth-century institutional presence in this ever-changing neighborhood.

The house at 110 Second Avenue was constructed as one of four houses built for brothers Ralph, Staats, and Benjamin Mead and designed in the Greek Revival style. Although the only one remaining of the original four houses, 110 Second Ave. retains much of its original details characteristic of a Greek Revival row house. The façade is clad in machine-pressed red brick laid in stretcher bond, tall parlor-level windows with a cast iron balcony, a denticulated cornice, and a brownstone portico with ionic columns supporting an entablature.

In 1839 David H. Robertson, a shipbroker and tradesman, bought the house for his widowed mother, Margaret. Three years later, however, he declared bankruptcy. The house was foreclosed, and in 1844 it was auctioned and transferred to Ralph Mead. Mead was the proprietor of Ralph Mead and Co., a wholesale grocery business. He and his second wife, Ann Eliza Van Wyck, lived at 110 Second Avenue (then No. 108) from 1845-1857. After that, they leased the house but retained ownership until 1870. It was sold in 1872 to George H. and Cornelia Ellery, who then sold it in 1874 to the Women's Prison Association ...
In 1992, the Hopper House was renovated and re-opened as a residential alternative to imprisonment for women. The residents and staff were displaced when the six-alarm fire destroyed Middle Collegiate Church next door in December 2020.

In January, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to allow the demolition of the remains of the fire-damaged structure to allow Middle Collegiate to rebuild on the site.

Previously on EVG:

Sunday, February 12, 2023

Week In Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo of street performer Matthew Silver on St. Mark's Place by Derek Berg) ... 

• A timeline of events after the assault outside Ray's Candy Store (Tuesday) ... Cake and soup at Ray's Candy Store (Thursday)

• An appeal to help a longtime East Village resident (Wednesday

• City's fight against unlicensed cannabis shops now targets landlords; 4 East Village shops busted (Thursday)  

• Work on the multipurpose courts in Tompkins Square Park expected to start in September (Wednesday)

• Reconstruction of the Tompkins Square Park field house expected to start next month (Tuesday)

• La Mama officially unveils its refurbished new home (Thursday

• The former Commodities space is now for rent on 1st Avenue (Monday

• Sunny's Florist returns after winter break (Tuesday

• 6 Avenue B, long-abandoned, has a new owner (Friday

• About the 3rd & B'zaar Valentine's Market this weekend (Friday

• Owner of the fire-damaged Gjelina seeking jobs for its staff (Monday

• A leaning bench for Avenue C (Wednesday

• A Korean-style pizzeria for 1st Avenue (Thursday)

• Offside Tavern shapes up on Avenue A and 6th Street (Friday)

• Retail options on the Bowery (Monday

... and making room for Valentine's Day (or the Super Bowl?) yesterday on Third Avenue and 12th Street... photo by Jefferson Siegel...
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Monday, February 6, 2023

Owner of the fire-damaged Gjelina seeking jobs for its staff

As we first reported last weeka fire has temporarily shuttered Gjelina, a popular L.A. import that just opened at the start of 2023 at 45 Bond St. between the Bowery and Lafayette. 

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that the vegetable-centric restaurant will be able to open anytime soon.

On Friday, Gjelina Group CEO Shelley Kleyn Armistead posted an appeal on Instagram to help find positions for her staff. 

Her letter reads in part:
To have persisted for 6 and a half years to open Gjelina NY on Bond Street, and to have experienced a fire 1 day short of our one month anniversary — the only feelings right now are heartbreak. For every human who put so much into creating this restaurant. And it was them that created it — make no mistake.This team are like no other that I have had the privilege to work with. Every single one of them made Gjelina what she was. Every single one of them deserve the most outstanding work opportunity. 

We have no timeline for rebuilding and reopening. Thus I am asking, please, if you have any positions — please email me and I will pass it onto them ...
Shelley@gjelinagroup.com

Sunday, February 5, 2023

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo outside St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery from 2nd Avenue) ...

 • First on EVG: Early morning assault outside Ray's Candy Store leaves Ray with a black eye and facial wounds (Thursday) ... An update on Ray (Friday) ... Suspect who allegedly assaulted Ray has been arrested (Saturday

• Report: The former Charas/P.S. 64 is headed to auction this March (Tuesday

• Fire shutters the recently opened Gjelina on Bond Street (Tuesday

• Det. Jamie Hernandez honored after 34 years with the 9th Precinct (Thursday

• A youthful exchange of ideas with Dr. Cornel West at Performance Space New York (Monday

• Signage alert: O'Flaherty's on Avenue A (Monday

• Why this East Village writer is on an apology tour (Friday

• Packing up Café Cortadito (Wednesday

• 280 E. Houston St. prepped for new building construction (Wednesday

• Openings: Bobby’s Night Out on Avenue C (Wednesday) ... Gen Korean BBQ House on 14th Street (Monday

• Essex Squeeze has closed its 5th Street outpost (Monday

• Signage alert: Saint Pizza on Avenue B (Tuesday

• The return of 99-cent pizza?! (Monday

• What's going on with Pop's Eat-Rite on St. Mark's Place (Thursday

• City removes curbside dining structure from outside AO Bowl on St. Mark's Place (Friday)

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Tuesday, January 31, 2023

6 posts from January

A mini month in review... 

• Soul mates: Meet the members of East Village-based band Sauce City (Jan. 21

• Report: The Regal Union Square multiplex to close after bankruptcy filing (Jan. 19

•  The remaining structure of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church will be demolished (Jan. 13

• After 29 years playing in the East Village, I finally decided to see "Stomp" before it closed (Jan. 9

• The future of the unlicensed weed vendors (Jan. 3

• A happy birthday mural for Ray on Avenue A (Jan. 2)

Fire shutters the recently opened Gjelina on Bond Street

A fire yesterday just before noon has temporarily shuttered Gjelina, a popular L.A. import that just opened at the start of 2023 at 45 Bond St. 

The FDNY responded to a report of a fire here between the Bowery and Lafayette around 11:30 a.m.

According to the @FDNYalerts account, the fire was in the ductwork between the first and second floor... with firefighters on the scene for several hours before announcing the "under control" ... The Citizen app reported that two firefighters sustained minor injuries during the blaze. No other injuries were reported. Gjelina, a vegetable-centric restaurant that opened in Venice, Calif., in 2008, debuted here at the start of the year with a breakfast-lunch service. Grub Street noted that Gjelina was "already Manhattan's hottest lunch." 

The restaurant's Instagram account noted — via its Stories — that it was closed for now...
A look inside the restaurant last evening didn't reveal much, if any, damage — at least from the front.

Sunday, January 15, 2023

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included ... (with a photo celebrating Orthodox New Year on Seventh Street yesterday by Derek Berg) ... 

• RIP Alicia Torres (Thursday

• The remaining structure of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church will be demolished (Friday

• After 29 years playing in the East Village, I finally decided to see 'Stomp' before it closed (Monday) ... Clearing out 'Stomp' (Tuesday) 

• Openings: From Lucie on 10th Street (Friday

• The landlord has taken legal possession of Commodities on 1st Avenue (Friday

• The area behind the fieldhouse in Tompkins Square Park is now open for 5 hours a day (Wednesday

• A look back at the devastating fire that destroyed Essex Card Shop 1 year ago today (Tuesday

• New season of 'Feud' brings a 1970s Times Square vibe to the East Village (Thursday) ... In the 'Feud' of the night (Sunday

• 5C Cultural Center reopens with coffee service from the Roost (Thursday

• A look inside the under-renovation Poetica Coffee on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place (Tuesday

• A gut renovation at 12th and C, and the loss of the Gil Scott-Heron tribute mural (Wednesday

• Coffee shop slated for this retail space in NYU's Third North dorm (Tuesday

• 75 1st Ave. — once again without a sidewalk bridge (Saturday

• 2023 preview: Panda Express (Monday) 

• Foul Witch is the new restaurant from the Roberta's team on Avenue A (Thursday

... and do you remember Goggla's photo from the other day showing the piano tucked among some discarded Christmas trees in Tompkins Square Park? (View at this link.) Here's how that story ended — in the back of a garbage truck ... photo by Derek Berg ... (and we don't know what condition the piano was in before it was tossed)...
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Friday, January 13, 2023

The remaining structure of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church will be demolished

The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted this week to allow the demolition of the remains of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church at 112 Second Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. 

Church leaders made the announcement via Twitter...
LPC members voted 8-2 in favor of the demolition. 

As previously reported, church leaders said they must remove what remains on the property within the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. According to a report commissioned by church leaders, the culmination of an 18-month review, there is too much damage to the existing structure to integrate it into Middle Collegiate's new home, that it wouldn't withstand a full-scale rebuild on the property.

In a November interview with EVGRev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister at the Middle Collegiate Church, said they spent $4 million to reinforce, stabilize and weatherproof the façade in the months after the devastating December 2020 fire.

She said that despite these efforts, the façade has deteriorated over time. And then, their engineering report showed that it would be best to remove what was left before building a new church. 

"It felt like something died," Lewis said of hearing this news. "The building burning felt like a death — a big death. This makes me feel heartbroken. It feels like a second loss. But if we let it go, we could get back on site, get back in the space and build something."

Preservation groups, including Village Preservation, had urged the LPC not to grant permission for demolition until further studies could occur. According to Village Preservation: "We don’t believe there is sufficient documentation that alternatives to preserve the historic façade have been fully explored, nor that there is sufficient evidence at this time to justify the permanent and irreversible removal."

Lewis previously stated that she understood the opposition. 

"We relive the fire daily and try to think about what to do with it. It's that kind of grief that just keeps coming in waves," Lewis said. "At some point, two years in, I want to be able to say to my community: We did the very best we could with this. This is not a willy-nilly, hurry-up decision. The engineer says we can't keep it, and we're heartbroken."

No word just yet on the timing of the demolition. 

Meanwhile, Middle Collegiate leaders continue fundraising efforts to rebuild a new church here in the East Village. They are holding services from their temporary home — East End Temple, 245 E. 17th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. 

EVG photo from May 2022.

Thursday, January 12, 2023

RIP Alicia Torres

Alicia Torres, who founded the Esperanza Garden on Seventh Street and took part in the neighborhood's rent strikes in the 1970s, died on Jan. 4, five days away from her 99th birthday, according to her grandson, Marcel Torres. 

At the time of her death, she was living at 219 E. Seventh St. between Avenue B and Avenue C — her home since 1975. 

Here's more about her life via a tribute at Legacy.com
Alicia Torres and her eight children moved to New York City in 1959. In 1975, they moved to the heart of the Lower East Side (Loisaida), 219 E. Seventh St., a tenement building, after being displaced from one dilapidated apartment to another. 

Alicia had grown up on the island of Vieques; her family had been displaced from their land by the United States Navy in the 1930s and had suffered through the Great Depression, which made Puerto Rico the poorest country in the world at that time. 
When the building (219 E. Seventh) was sold in 1976 to a real estate speculator who tried to collect rent while providing no services, Alicia decided she was tired of being pushed around. With the guidance of a community housing organization, Adopt a Building, the Torres family organized a tenant association and led a rent strike. 

They collected the rents and started to make repairs and purchase heating oil. The landlord brought eviction proceedings in the Housing Court, but did not prevail as he failed to make the repairs that were ordered by the judge. Conditions were harsh, however, and most of the tenants gradually moved out, leaving the Torres family members occupying eight of the twenty-four apartments. 

In 1975, the building next door (223 E. Seventh St.) had a devastating fire. The City demolished the building in 1976 and the resulting rubble lot attracted neighborhood drug dealers. Some neighbors at this end of Seventh Street met with Alicia Torres and her family and together they started to clear the lot of the bricks and debris and planted sunflowers. It was backbreaking work, but soon the lot started to look more like a garden than a rubble lot. 

In 1979, the East Seventh St Block Association was granted a lease by the City's Operation Green Thumb and a fence was erected to protect the garden. Green Thumb delivered truckloads of fertile topsoil from upstate and soon after that, it wasn't long before the garden members, many of them 219 residents, were growing vegetables, flowers, and shrubs. Trees and rose bushes were planted and the garden became a magical space for East Seventh Street residents, especially children. 

On weekends, the garden would be full of people working, talking, cooking, and kids playing. It was an island of beauty and harmony amidst a gritty urban landscape. 
Photo of Alicia Torres in Esperanza sometime in the late 1980s courtesy of Marcel Torres. You can read more about what happened to the garden here.

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

A look back at the devastating fire that destroyed Essex Card Shop 1 year ago today

One year ago today, a fire destroyed Essex Card Shop on Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street. 

Thankfully, there weren't any injuries, and the fire was contained to the shop located in the retail space of the Ageloff Towers.

However dire it looked while assessing the damage inside the storefront, owner Muhammad Aslam and his family vowed to return, and with the help of generous residents, were able to reopen on Sept. 6

Here, Aslam, and his daughter, Mehnaz Noreen, the retail sales manager, on reopening day...
On this anniversary day, the family expressed their thanks to the neighborhood for being able to return via a tweet from Muhammad's daughter Saba ...
EVG was the only media outlet to document the rebuild and return of Essex Card Shop. You can find the archive of the rebuild, as reported by EVG contributor Stacie Joy in 2022, right here.

Sunday, January 8, 2023

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a Second Avenue mannequin photo by Derek Berg) ... 

 • 4 East Village development sites to watch in 2023 (Wednesday

• NYPD looking for 3 suspects in New Year's Eve stabbing on Avenue A (Wednesday

• Parting thoughts on being a small-business owner as Love Thy Beast departs the East Village (Thursday)

• The last days of Timbuktu (Friday

• A happy birthday mural for Ray on Avenue A (Monday

• A celebration of Three Kings Day (Saturday)

• The future of the unlicensed weed vendors (Tuesday)

• Hearth is starting its 20th anniversary year with a renovation (Wednesday

• Preview 2023: Target Union Square (Thursday

• Health scare: IG-Fit closes on 14th Street (Tuesday

• Bagel Market replacing Bagel Boss on 14th Street (Friday

• From Mikey's to Smileys on Avenue A (Tuesday

• A report of a small fire at Dua Kafe on 14th Street (Friday

• What's happening at the ConEd substation? (Friday

• On Astor Place, a yearn to spin again (Monday

• Spring cleaning this winter at B-Side (Friday

• Signage alert: Ankara #3 (Wednesday

• Belse has closed on the Bowery (Thursday) ... Blue & Cream has left the Bowery for Bleecker Street (Tuesday

• Signage alert: Wild Rabbit Coffee on 7th Street (Thursday

• The 13th Step is now going as Downtown Social (Wednesday

... and a parting shot of Chesney after the Gifts of the Magi" performance Friday at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery (photo by Derek Berg)
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Friday, January 6, 2023

A report of a small fire at Dua Kafe on 14th Street

Updated the location of the fire. And an update via Dua: "We should be opening up again very soon (the plan is tomorrow!) since the damage was relatively minimal outside of the bathroom space."

On Wednesday night around 10:30, there was a report of a fire in the bathroom at Dua Kafe, 520 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. (Thanks to EVG reader Russell K. for the top photo.

The FDNY reported an "under control" from the scene in less than 15 minutes. (Dua has a posted closing time of 10 p.m.)

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by yesterday... fortunately there was little evidence of any fire, including smoke or water damage. 

Workers at a neighboring business said that there was a small electrical fire in the back and "everything should be fine again soon." 

In the meantime, there are there is a "closed for renovation" sign up at the restaurant specializing in Albanian cuisine (read a Times review of the space here) ...

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Workers arrive with construction materials at the former P.S. 64 on 9th Street

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Workers arrived yesterday and began to unload construction materials, including cement and cinder blocks, plywood, 2x4s and fire suppressants at the long-vacant former P.S. 64, 605 E. Ninth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.
It's not immediately clear what the scope of the work will entail. The long-standing Stop Work Order and Full Vacant are still on file with the department of buildings.
As always with this address, there's an air of mystery about what is happening. No new work permits were spotted on-site, where none of the workers were seen wearing protective gear while entering the building that has been vacant for 21 years. (There's speculation among some P.S. 64 watchers that workers will be sealing up the entrances to keep people from entering the premises.)

The property that Gregg Singer purchased from the city in 1998 for $3.15 million fell into foreclosure earlier this year and is reportedly in the hands of lender Madison Realty Capital. 

The five-floor building is being offered for use as medical space or educational-related purposes. Meanwhile, some residents want to see the space used again as a community center, as it was during its time as Charas/El Bohio Community Center. Singer evicted the group on Dec. 27, 2001. 

Last week, Sarah Ferguson filed a lengthy feature for The Village Voice about what has transpired. Among many other things, no one knows who owns the property now. 
This past January, a court ruled that Madison Realty Capital, a $10 billion global private equity firm, can foreclose on the property. Although Singer is fighting that too, he appears to be running out of money. Singer now owes Madison nearly $90 million in interest and principal, along with late fees and interest charges of $30,000 per day, which started accruing as of the January 20 court judgment, according to a report compiled by a court-appointed referee. 

Singer's attorneys and Madison Realty Capital did not respond to numerous calls and emails seeking clarification on the current ownership status of the building or their intentions for it. Both sides were supposed to appear in court in June, but the meeting was postponed, so the fate of this old school is still in limbo.
Some local elected officials, residents and Charas supporters are hopeful the limbo doesn't last another 20-plus years.

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Before Dallas BBQ, part 2 (and yes — there will be a part 3)

Top photo by Stacie Joy 

The interest in the pre-Dallas BBQ status of the NE corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue shows no sign of abating! 

Yesterday, we posted the photo via Godlis showing the early 1980s corner and its occupant, Estroff Pharmacy. 

Steve Butcher shares this shot of the corner, including Estroff's next-door neighbor — East Village Stationery circa 1982.

Oh, and never mind that random dumpster fire!

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Renovations underway at the former Whitehouse Hotel on the Bowery

Top photo by EVG; all others by Stacie Joy 

Renovations are underway at 338-340 Bowery between Great Jones and Bond. 

In August, a "retail opportunity" banner arrived by the front door of the former Whitehouse Hotel, the last of the flophouses on the Bowery. 

Management is offering 2,000 square feet on the ground floor, with an "optional 500 SF cafe + courtyard." 
The work to create the retail space is happening. Permits show the scope of the work includes replacing windows, cleaning the brick, and repainting fire escapes, all with the approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. (The building is located in the NoHo Historic District.)

There is a lot of history with the Whitehouse, a four-story building erected in 1916 that has served as a single-room occupancy hotel. A handful of residents remain here, and their presence has reportedly hindered any new building plans. 

We hadn't heard anything about the building since late 2018, when Alex Vadukul profiled the artist Sir Shadow, who was one of the six remaining residents of the Whitehouse, in a feature at The New York Times.

As Vadukul noted: "A few residents have died, and buyouts have lured away others. The men who remain in the flophouse have refused these deals. The Whitehouse Hotel's future appears to now hinge on a grim but simple waiting game." (Sources tell us that Sir Shadow no longer lives at this address.)

Ahead of the renovations, the residents were moved to space at 338 Bowery... where the tenants can access their small room via security... 
There is a shared bathroom on the floor as well.

Some recent history: The building was spruced up in 2011 to appeal to the thrill-seeking backpacking set. (For $45, guests could stay in a tiny room where the walls don't go up to the ceiling... while the long-term residents remained on another floor.)

However, the Whitehouse stopped accepting reservations in September 2014. Plans were previously filed via Sam Chang in 2014 to "convert a 4-story lodging house into a 9-story hotel," according to DOB records. Those plans never materialized. The Renatus Group now owns the property.

Retail space aside, it's not immediately known what the plans are for the upper floors of the former hotel.

Saturday, December 3, 2022

Checking in on the Bowery mural wall

How the mural wall is looking here this morning on Houston at the Bowery.

As previously noted, people had been tagging the motorcycle mural by David Flores, the last commissioned art for the space. 

This prompted Jessica Goldman Srebnick, co-chair of Goldman Properties and curator of this wall, to issue a statement on Instagram in late May:
The creative process is an utter joy to watch. Filling a fire extinguisher with paint and spraying to destroy a work of art is not talent. It is sad and not only ruins the opportunity for countless artists, it ruins the opportunity for a neighborhood to live with glorious world-class art. The Houston Bowery wall could be just another advertising wall, but we’d prefer it to be a powerful beacon of the best of a movement.

For now, we don’t wish to wipe away what’s been done, we are simply taking a break...
Since then, the motorcycle has been covered with layers of new tags. 

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

6 posts from November

A mini month in review... 

• Baker Falls will bring together a cafe, bar and the Knitting Factory at the former Pyramid Club on Avenue A (Nov. 28

• The last days of Raul’s Barber Shop (Nov. 26

• Middle Collegiate Church seeks permission to demolish the remaining façade of its fire-damaged structure on 2nd Avenue (Nov. 22

• A visit with Moxie, a nearly 8-year-old East Village photographer with an eye for nature (Nov. 16

• A visit to Azaleas, celebrating 20 years in the East Village (Nov. 15

• Basquiat's former loft space on Great Jones is available for lease (Nov. 7)

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

A new Aura for 1st Avenue

Signage is up now for Aura, which is the new establishment from the owners of Cafe Mocha here at 111 First Ave. just south of Seventh Street. (Thanks to Steven for the photo!)

Cafe Mocha was wiped out by a three-alarm fire in February 2020 at 48 E. Seventh St./116 Second Ave. Any hopes for a reopening were dashed when another fire destroyed the corner building in December 2020

No. 111 became available when Suki Japanese Kitchen relocated to St. Mark's Place this past summer.

Cafe Mocha first opened in the East Village in 2008. No word on when the new all-day cafe will debut. 

Sunday, November 27, 2022

Week in Grieview

Posts from this past holiday week included (with a photo last night from Seventh Street by Derek Berg) ... 

• Middle Collegiate Church seeks permission to demolish the remaining façade of its fire-damaged structure on 2nd Avenue (Tuesday)

• The last days of Raul’s Barber Shop (Saturday

• 96 Tears debuts on Avenue A as a tribute to Howie Pyro (Monday)

• The 2022 Cookie Walk has been canceled (Monday

• Check out the crime noir 'The Crusaders,' filmed in the East Village (Saturday

• Distributing free turkeys to local residents ahead of Thanksgiving (Thursday

• A quick visit to Butterdose, now open on 13th Street (Tuesday

• Report: City's first NFT restaurant slated for the former Sunshine Cinema location on Houston (Monday

• An Instagram account to follow (Wednesday

• Some of the very best of Donald Sutherland at Metrograph (Wednesday

• A Snack Stop for St. Mark's Place (Monday

• Shake Shack signage appears outside new Lower East Side outpost (Tuesday

• Where you'll be able to find the Goodies on the Bowery (Monday

... and the solar-powered lights via the Parks Department that arrived early last month on Seventh Street and Avenue A were recently moved inside Tompkins Square Park to the chess tables (night chess?) ... and we finally saw them in use Friday evening ... (thanks Stacie Joy for the pic!)... the regulars here decamped to nearby benches...
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Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Middle Collegiate Church seeks permission to demolish the remaining façade of its fire-damaged structure on 2nd Avenue

This morning, reps for Middle Collegiate Church will appear before the Landmarks Preservation Commission to seek approval to demolish what's left of the fire-damaged façade at 122 Second Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. (Find meeting details here. There is a livestream via the LPC's YouTube channel.)


In a 46-page report (PDF here), presented jointly by several architectural and engineering firms, church leaders say they must remove what remains on the property that lies within the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. According to the report, the culmination of a review over 18 months, there is too much damage to the existing structure to integrate it into Middle Collegiate's new home, that it wouldn't withstand a full-scale rebuild on the property.

"This makes me feel heartbroken"


During a phone call last week with EVG, Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister at the Middle Collegiate Church, said they spent $4 million to reinforce, stabilize and weatherproof the façade in the months after the fire.

"The six-alarm fire was devastating, and the façade was badly damaged. But when something like that survives, you think, 'Well, OK — it's telling us that the structure is good and strong,'" Lewis said. "We love our church."

She said that despite these efforts, the façade has deteriorated over time. And then, their engineering report showed that it would be best to remove what was left before building a new church.

"It felt like something died," Lewis said of hearing this news. "The building burning felt like a death — a big death.  This makes me feel heartbroken. It feels like a second loss. But if we let it go, we could get back on site, get back in the space and build something."

She now wants to focus on working with the Landmarks Preservation Commission to build something appropriate that honors their history and gives Middle Church a ministry for the 22nd Century in the East Village — and not in a new location in another neighborhood.

We've talked with several residents who expressed disappointment that the remains — with approval — would need to come down. Residents said that the bell tower was a sign of resilience for the neighborhood.

"We're disappointed too. And [the remaining façade] is a sign of resilience," she said. "It is a symbol that this fire couldn't conquer the building."

Disappointment aside, there is also opposition to the request for demolition.

The Village Preservation is urging the Landmarks Preservation Commission not to grant permission for demolition — at least for now.

According to Village Preservation:
We don’t believe there is sufficient documentation that alternatives to preserve the historic façade have been fully explored, nor that there is sufficient evidence at this time to justify the permanent and irreversible removal. 

We are calling for further examination and documentation before such a decision would be appropriate to render. We want to see the church rebuild and flourish at this location, and know that they have been through incredible hardship. But we also believe that this process must be extremely carefully considered, to ensure unchangeable decisions that could have been avoided are not made, and harmful precedents are not set for allowing demolition of historically significant structures without reasonable and achievable proof of the necessity of doing so. 

In addition, Richard Moses, president of the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, released this statement: "We're sympathetic to the very real challenges the congregation faces here. But this building has been a beacon for the neighborhood for over 100 years. It's one of the most important sites in the historic district. We just want to make sure that the Landmarks Commissioners have the best information and all the options spelled out before deciding on the building’s fate." 

Lewis said that she understands the opposition. She has also seen a report from an engineer hired by the Landmarks Preservation Commission who paid two recent visits to the site. That report states that the structure is stable.

"We relive the fire daily and try to think about what to do with it. It's that kind of grief that just keeps coming in waves," Lewis said. "At some point, two years in, I want to be able to say to my community: We did the very best we could with this. This is not a willy-nilly, hurry-up decision. The engineer says we can't keep it, and we're heartbroken."

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You can read more about the Middle Church Rising campaign here.

Previously on EV Grieve: