Taking to Twitter to complain about the landlord

Actually, one landlord in particular — Jakobson Properties.

Tired of ongoing issues in a residential building, an East Village tenant is asking other Jakobson renters to take to Twitter with the complaints by using @Jakobson_fix_it

These flyers went up yesterday in several of the 15 properties that Jakobson maintains in the East Village... (and workers have quickly removed them...)

We reached out to the tenant who started the account. Among the ongoing issues in the tenant's building: Lousy or nonexistent maintenance ... piles of trash ... leaky roofs ... lack of hot water ... power outages (too many blown fuses) ...

"Since I know that most tenants are unhappy and that these conditions probably apply to other buildings as well, I figured it'd be good to start tracking these things, hoping for some improvements," the tenant said.

"The real problem is that, at least in my building, Jakobson — or more likely his maintenance crew and managers — just don't care. Most people in the building are students who are in and out for a year. They don't mind some of these issues and are not engaged enough to take action. Jakobson knows this and delays all sorts of work until the absolute latest possible time. Complaining has not led anywhere."

There is also a Tumblr ...

Anyway, the particulars per the Tumbler ...

Tracking grievances of the "no fee rental" Jakobson tenants.

How to participate:
• Mention us on Twitter: @Jakobson_fix_it
• Email us at jakobsonfixit@gmail.com and we'll post it for you (if you have more than 140 characters to share or want to stay anonymous)
• Please identify which building you are in, for example by using hash tags, eg 431 E 9th St = #431E9

Here's a here's a list of East Village buildings owned by Jakobson found through open house listings here.

- 200 1st Ave
- 514 E 5th St
- 516 E 5th St
- 518 E 5th St
- 543 E 5th St
- 32 E 7th St
- 110 E 7th St
- 102 St. Marks
- 128 St Marks
- 431E 9th St
- 64 3rd Ave
- 245 E 11th St
- 620 E 11th St
- 622 E 11th St
- 422 E 14th St

Displaced East 13th Street residents hope to return home today after chimney collpase

As we first reported, a chimney collapse Sunday evening around 8 at 528 E. 13th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B forced many residents out of the building...

[EV Grieve reader Deanne Draeger]

Residents are hopeful that they can return home today. One thing that could prevent this from happening: the fire escape, which building management said may have been "compromised" following the collapse.

The evacuation is only for the 10 units in the back of the building. Those residents who live in apartments facing East 13th Street have been able to stay.

[Via EV Grieve reader Ilena]

We asked building resident Sarah Laskow a few questions via email about her experiences, when a quiet evening at home becomes an apartment full of firefighters.

"I first thought a building had fallen down, maybe a few blocks away, and for a minute I thought it was another earthquake," Laskow said. "They were doing some work on the back of the building and I checked to see if the scaffolding had fallen. It was still up."

A firefighter later pointed out the chimney from her fifth-floor window. The top portion of the chimney had fallen, though a portion of it still remained connected to the building. Oops. Actually, the bottom portion of the chimney had fallen out — not the top.

Regardless, per the DOB, the residents in the back of the building needed to leave. The Red Cross was providing a place for any displaced residents to stay.

"We had a chance to get our stuff together — they weren't rushing us out," she said. "But a bunch of firefighters were coming into our apartment, so we left pretty quickly."

She made the best of the situation. (For instance, going to Table 12 on Avenue A for a vanilla milkshake.)

"It's disorienting not to be allowed to stay in our apartment, especially since the building itself seems OK at this point," Laskow said. "But it's also somewhat reassuring that the city is making sure it's safe to return."

Behold the Steve Jobs memorial tree in Tompkins Square Park

Well, it turns out that the rumors are true... last week, workers removed the stump from the Irene-damaged tree in Tompkins Square Park.

The rumor was that the replacement tree would be a memorial for the late Steve Jobs.

Yesterday afternoon, workers from Bette Midler's New York Restoration Project planted this Dawn Redwood tree... A worker told EV Grieve reader peter radley that, yes — this tree will be dedicated to Steve Jobs... (We also reached out to the NY Restoration Project for comment...)

[peter radley]

We're not sure about any kind of permanent plaque ... Bobby Williams was also on the scene...

Reaction?

Previously on EV Grieve:
RUMORS: Memorial tree for Steve Jobs planned for Tompkins Square Park

Sort of honoring the 'birthplace of punk' in Extra Place

Thanks to EV Grieve reader Spike for sending along these photos from Extra Place — the former piss-filled alley behind CBGB ... On Sunday, Spike saw these behind Riff, the newish Steven Tyler clothing design shop or whatever in the former CBGB Gallery space...

... and lord knows what this is next to it ... the birthplace of the cell phone? A celebration of annoying people with yappy dogs?

Meanwhile, as you may have seen in the front window of Riff, a tribute to the Ramones...

And the real thing one day seemingly a long time ago on Extra Place...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Extra Place now officially a Dead End

Meanwhile, Extra Place continues to maintain its proud heritage

Perhaps he just saw Extra Place for the first time in 15 years or so?

Looking at Extra Place

An epic FAILE

By now, you've likely seen the new mural by FAILE on the wall at Houston and the Bowery... BoweryBoogie chronicled the work last week.

Here's a look at the mural through the lens of EV Grieve regular jdx ...

In addition, Billy Leroy of Billy's Antiques sent us this shot adjacent to the mural... a spinning sculpture of wood and steel...

Things that we missed seeing today

Anyone?

The Serious Eats guide to East Village restaurants

At Serious Eats today, editor Maggie Hoffman lists her favorite places to eat in the East Village... by category... Among her picks:

Pizza by the Pie: Motorino

Pizza by the Slice: South Brooklyn Pizza

Ramen: Ippudo

Brunch: Northern Spy Food Co.

Sophisticated Bar Bites: Vandaag

Indian: Banjara

Chinese: Grand Sichuan

Where to Bring Your Parents: Pylos

Espresso: Abraço

Well, you know, such lists are all so subjective... What do you think? And what are "sophisticated bar bites" exactly?

You can find the whole list here.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Outside Cooper Union yesterday by Bobby Williams]

Help police catch this Stuy Town mugger (Stuy Town Living)

Steve Croman tripling the rent at the classic Caffe Vivaldi, which will have to shutter (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Billy Leroy — Defender Of The Old New York (HuffPost)

A really long (and rather entertaining) "Missed Connection" about an iPhone (BoweryBoogie)

Check out the video for the new R Crumb book (Slum Goddess)

More from the EV Grieve animated GIF tribute site (EVGif)

Olek crochets a cab in London (Runnin' Scared)

A burger at Odessa (Marty After Dark)

Brooks dares to go into Sprinkles, former home of Gino (Lost City)

Flyer for the 1971 New York City Marathon, featuring 245 runners (Nonetheless)

Plus: A cool compilation of photos from this year's race (PopSugar NYC)

The secret subway platform beneath The Waldorf-Astoria (Gothamist)

CB3 member Ariel Palitz puts Sutra on the market

Sutra Lounge, the club owned by Community Board 3 member Ariel Palitz, is on the market. A listing for Sutra at 16 First Avenue (near First Street) showed up on Streeteasy on Friday.

Per the listing:

Bi-Level Lounge For Sale
• Exterior and Interior entrances for Lower Level
• Original Mosaic Mirror staircase and other detail
• 10+ Year lease
• $15,000 per year base rent
• Optional Office/Apartment above lounge

We reached out to Palitz via email for a comment. This is her response:

"This month is Sutra Lounge's 7 year anniversary and it continues to thrive against all odds in industry. At this time we have opted to put Sutra on the market to explore its value and interest but continue to operate as if there is no tomorrow. As entrepreneurs we intend on developing new ventures and look forward to the future."

Demolition permits on file for historic 316 E. Third St.

Back in August, Curbed reported that a Karl Fischer-designed, 33-unit apartment building is coming to 316 and 318 E. Third St., which is between Avenue C and Avenue D. (Still waiting for those renderings!)

In May 2010, we posted info about the sale of the four-story brick townhouse. It was on the market for $3.995 million.

According to the listing, "The townhouse is surrounded on 3 sides by bucolic garden, open lawn and mature trees. The townhouse itself is not landmarked, and there are approximately 22,900 buildable square feet available to the purchaser of these combined 2 lots, offering myriad opportunities for creative expansion."

Anyway, it was just a matter of time... last week, the demolition permits were put on file for the house at 316 E. Third St.

Preservation groups had worked to try to protect 316 E. Third St., a circa-1835 house bound for the condo after life. Unfortunately, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) rejected a hearing on the matter in September, according to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation website.

Several readers had noted that former Community Board 3 member Barden Prisant owned the home. He confirmed this to us in a message via Facebook at the time.

According to an article on living in Prospect Park South in the Times dated Oct. 6, Prisant and his wife "decided to sell their house in the East Village because a tall building was to go up next to their beloved backyard."

Area marked below is 316-318 E. Third St. ...

Forgot about this beast in the works for that empty lot above at Houston and Avenue D:



Back to the Times article: "In addition to uprooting their 8-year-old daughter, the move would involve transplanting the garden that Mr. Prisant had cultivated over 20-plus years. It had peach, apple, cherry and pear trees, none of which they wanted to leave behind. Factor in the barbecue, which Mr. Prisant likes to use year-round, and it was clear that no ordinary place would do."

As the article points out, they found a suitable new home "a block and a half from Prospect Park’s parade grounds."

Japadog construction starts; plus, the end of an era for 'the doorshitter'?

As we reported, Japadog is opening its first U.S. outpost at 30 St. Mark's Place...

Last week, workers knocked off the front section of the address, the former Go Japanese Restaurant...

In doing so, the space here is, of course, much more wide open... a space made famous (sort of!) last summer ...

...by the infamous Doorshitter.

Not really as much cover left for clandestine crapping.

At Joe's Bar, a freshly painted gate, mystery and, apparently, roaches

On Friday evening, we walked by the now-closed Joe's on East Sixth Street — hopeful that one of our favorite bars had reopened.

A worker had just finished up painting the bar's front gate. We stopped and asked if the bar was reopening. The worker looked startled, and said, "I didn't have anything to do with it. I didn't have anything to do with it." With that, he hurried inside the adjacent building leaving us wondering, To do with what?

The bar is still closed in the eyes of the DOH. On Oct. 5, the DOH hit them with 71 violation points. The DOH returned on Oct. 21, and found improvements, though there were still 32 violation points. There are two listed sanitary violations on the DOH website ("critical" violations are displayed in red):
1) Live roaches present in facility's food and/or non-food areas.
2) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist.

Ko-Z not looking very open anymore on Sixth Street

Also while walking on East Sixth Street Friday evening... We noticed that Ko-Z was closed. We checked again on Saturday and Sunday evenings too. Closed. We wrote about the small Thai eatery just a few weeks ago. We had tried the food and liked it. The owner prepared our sandwich with great pride... enough pride that it took him maybe 15 minutes to do so. Which is fine. We weren't in a hurry. But we were the only people there. We wondered what happened if there was a crowd or an order for delivery...? We only ever saw the owner working.

Perhaps this is all just temporary.

The restaurant had just opened in last September.

Peek A Bao

We haven't looked at the latest offering from Michael "Bao" Huynh in a month or so here on First Avenue near 14th Street ... (most recently home to the short-lived Select Burger...)

Here's a peek (and yes — that headline is awful) ...

DOH temporarily closes Muzzarella Pizza

Muzzarella Pizza on Avenue A near 14th Street remains "closed for renovations." On Oct. 27, the DOH closed the pizzeria with 65 violation points, including for "evidence of mice or live mice."

As an Eater reader noted about the place back in August: "Muzzarella Pizza is everything that the East Village used to be and is losing at an alarming rate."

How your apartment can star in a CBS medical drama

Hmm, can't quite make that sign out... scouts for the CBS medical drama "A Gifted Man" are looking for a first floor or ground-floor apartment to use on Monday, Nov. 21. Interested? Call Ana at (917) 548-3201... spotted at Sixth Street near Avenue B...

We'll hold out for CBS' "2 Broke Girls."

Chimney collapse at 528 E. 13th St.

Several readers have told us about a chimney collapse at 528 E. 13th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B around 8:30 tonight...

Witnesses said that everyone is OK... however, residents who live in the rear of the building will have to spend tonight (and perhaps a few other nights too) elsewhere... the Red Cross was going to put anyone up who needed it... One resident described the noise as "sounding like an earthquake."

The following photos are from EV Grieve reader Deanne Draeger...

According to the DOB, there have been three complaints against the building... In September 1997, "EAST WALLOUT OF PLUMP REAR YARD CHIMNEY PULLING AWAY FROM BLDG. BROKEN SHAFT."

On Oct. 8, 2010 — "BRICK CHIMNEY SEPARATING" ... and Sept. 22, 2010, "FAILURE TO MAINTAIN BUILDING WALL. NOTED: STRUCTURAL STRESS CRACKS AT NUMEROUS LOCATIONS ON ALL FLOORS OF EAST ELEVATION."

According to the DOB, Crisari Realty is the owner.

Bubble man back in Tompkins Square Park today

Photos by Bobby Williams...

Week in Grieview

[Ninth Street at Avenue C, by Bobby Williams]

New condos for Seventh Street (Monday)

Tuition for Cooper Union? (Tuesday)

So long Crazy Landlord sign (Friday)

David Cross reads EV Grieve comments at the UCBeast grand opening (Monday)

76 Third Ave. is coming down (Thursday)

Rent reduction for St. Mark's Bookshop (Thursday)

A memorial for Steve Jobs in Tompkins Square Park? (Friday)

Zip 10003 has how many chain stores? (Wednesday)

Pepper spray and NYPD on Avenue A (Tuesday)

Nevada Smith's new home (Monday)

The Lab is gone from First Park (Monday)

Long lines for the M15 Select Bus Service on First Avenue; plus scarves (Friday)

We noted our 10,000th post (Tuesday)