Monday, October 7, 2019

Ruby's Café debuts on 11th Street



Ruby's, the popular all-day café with two NYC outposts, debuted over the weekend at 198 E. 11th St. at Third Avenue.

The East Village outpost was open for dinner on Friday and Saturday. Now, moving forward, the restaurant is open daily from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The Australian-influenced bistro fare includes a variety of salads, pastas and burgers as well as breakfast items all day.

Ruby's first opened in 2003 on Mulberry Street between Prince and Spring (they expanded next door in 2014) ... with an additional cafe on Third Avenue between 30th Street and 31st Street arriving in 2016.

The space was previously Martina, which opened in August 2017 in 55 Third Ave., aka Eleventh and Third, the 12-floor residential building on the corner. The pizzeria, from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, never caught on, closing this past March.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Ruby’s Cafe bringing its Australian vibes to the former Martina space on 11th Street

Report: Tenant leasing alleged sex-party house on 7th Street is leading a 'double or triple life'


The Post continues its expose of Avraham Adler, who allegedly hosted advertised sex parties at the tony townhouse he's renting on Seventh Street.

The tabloid claims that he "is leading a 'double or triple life' as an ultra-Orthodox Jew with a pregnant wife and three kids in suburban New Jersey."

“I want a divorce,” an angry Shana Adler told The Post Thursday outside the couple’s modest three-bedroom home in Clifton, New Jersey. “He is not supporting us whatsoever. He’s cut us off completely. My friends are paying our bills.”

For his part, Adler denied that he’s breaking his marriage vows or shunning his religion. "I’m going through a separation and possibly a divorce."

In a Manhattan Supreme Court filing, Wonwoo Chang, the owner of 189 E. Seventh St. between Avenue B and Avenue C, claimed that Adler, who signed a two-year lease here on April 1, has hosted "lewd" parties where "on premises sex took place."

Neighbors have also accused Adler of constantly parking his luxury cars in front of a fire hydrant on the block.

Adler admitted to the Post that he parks in front of the hydrant: If I pay the fees [fines], why is it anybody’s problem?"

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Landlord alleges tenant using 7th Street townhouse for sex parties

Vanessa's Dumpling House temporarily closed for 'modernization' on 14th Street



Cheap-eats favorite Vanessa's Dumpling House is currently closed at 220 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

A worried regular alerted us to the closure last week. At the time, the reader said there wasn't any note on the gate for customers. Meanwhile, the Vanessa's signage has been covered. Worse, this location no longer appears along the other NYC outposts on the Vanessa's website.

However, there is a sign now on the gate — possibly post-dated to Sept. 26 — noting a closure for "modernization" ...

Sweetgreen status check on the Bowery



As we first noted on Aug. 12, Sweetgreen is setting up in the retail base of the 347 Bowery condoplex.

This is the first business for this corner space at Third Street ... and as these photos from Friday via EVG regular Lola Saénz show, this outpost is a ways off from opening...



The California-based chain recently boosted its valuation to $1.6 billion.

Snapshot of the former International Center of Photography space on the Bowery



The International Center of Photography (ICP) ended its three-year tenure at 250 Bowery in late June.

An EVG reader points us to the now-vacant space, where a for lease sign recently arrived on the front window.

The rent is available upon request for the nearly 11,000 square feet of space over two floors. (The listing notes "Divisions Considered.")

As you may know, ICP will open in January on Broome Street in the Essex Crossing complex. ICP announced this move in the fall of 2017. The new venue — encompassing a full city block between Ludlow and Essex — will have space to house both the ICP Museum and the ICP School.

ICP paid $29 million for the Essex Crossing properties. In turn, the Essex Crossing developers bought ICP’s 250 Bowery space for $25 million, in a deal reported in May.

Previously on EV Grieve:
ICP now closed on the Bowery ahead of move to Essex Crossing

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Sunday's parting shot



Parishioners from St. Stanislaus on Seventh Street took part today in the annual Pulaski Day Parade ... float photo by Derek Berg...

'Joker' weekend



This sign greeted moviegoers this weekend at the City Cinemas Village East on Second Avenue at 12th Street.

"Downton Abbey" fans who wanted to wear Lord Grantham or Lady Mary masks were out of luck. "Downton Abbey," which has been criticized for normalizing dinner parties, is currently playing here.

The sign arrived here ahead of screenings Thursday night for "Joker."



Theaters across the country were reported to be on high alert for the opening weekend of Todd Phillips' film starring Joaquin Phoenix as the title character. Village East had a lot more employees working the front door than usual, though I didn't see any police presence. The film is also playing at the Loews Village 7 on Third Avenue and 11th Street and the Regal Union Square.

The Associated Press reported the following: "Extra layers of security, intense on-screen action and a frightening incident inside a New York theater combined to create an unsettling experience for some moviegoers who went to see 'Joker' on its opening weekend."

Security had to remove a patron from the AMC Empire 25 on 42nd Street on Friday after he clapped and cheered for a good minute during an especially intense scene.

As for the Village East, "Joker" is playing on two screens, including in 70mm in the Jaffe Art Theatre...

Week in Grieview


[Photo on Astor Place yesterday by Derek Berg]

Posts this past week included...

More details on the city's new plan to keep East River park partially open during flood protection construction (Thursday)

The 29th annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade is scheduled for Oct. 20 in East River Park (Tuesday)

August Laura is opening in the former Sidewalk space on Avenue A and 6th Street (Wednesday)

RIP Purushottam Goyal (Friday)

Not much left inside the once mysterious 84 2nd Ave. (Wednesday)

14th Street busway finally set to get moving (Thursday)

A petition to keep the 8-foot fence at Joseph C. Sauer Park on 12th Street (Friday)

Koko Wings spreading to 1st Avenue (Monday)

Hitchcocktober is back (Wednesday)

Report: Landlord alleges tenant using 7th Street townhouse for sex parties (Monday)

Longer hours now for Foxface on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)


[10th Street windows via riachung00]

New Herbal World has moved away from 14th Street (Monday)

Re-covering Cover Magazine at the Tompkins Square Library (Tuesday)

This week's NY See (Thursday)

Here then, the cantilevering condoplex on 4th Avenue and 10th Street (Tuesday)

After a late-summer hiatus, Tuesday Soup Night is back on at Ciao for Now (Tuesday)

At long last, the construction fence is coming down around the Tompkins Square Park playground (Friday)

Gem Spa expanding its product line (Tuesday)

Chi Snack Shop moves into the former Trash & Vaudeville space on St. Mark's Place (Friday)

Elsewhere nearby: the flagship Dean & Deluca is closed for now on Broadway and Prince (Wednesday)

The former Social Tees space on 5th Street is for rent (Monday)

...and over at the Bowery Mural Wall... the intricate new work by Tomokazu Matsuyama, which took nearly two weeks to complete, was tagged the other day...



... and a worker was on the scene yesterday trying to clean off the graffiti...



---

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Suspect charged in murders of 4 homeless men in Chinatown


Several EVG readers shared links to the various published reports about the murders of four men in what police say were random attacks in Chinatown early yesterday morning ... the readers also shared concern about the growing homeless population citywide, including in the East Village. What follows is a recap on what has transpired (the post has been updated)...

The four men and a fifth who was found injured were all believed to be homeless. The victims were brutally assaulted in three different locations around Chatham Square, where East Broadway and the Bowery intersect.



A suspect, named as Rodriguez “Randy” Santos, 24, is in police custody. Police reportedly found Santos, holding a metal pipe, on Canal and Mulberry. He has at least 14 prior arrests, per the Post, and was believed to be homeless.

He is charged with murder, attempted murder and unlawful possession of marijuana.

"The motive appears to be, right now, just random attacks," Chief of Manhattan South Detectives Michael Baldassano told reporters, adding that there was no evidence yet to suggest the victims were "targeted by race, age, anything of that nature."

The Times reported this about the streets around Chatham Square:

[T]he area has been changing rapidly in recent years, as Chinatown has expanded and young professionals, many pushed out by higher rents in the East Village, have begun to move in.

The neighborhood is a bustling traffic hub where commuter vans and long-distance buses vie for curb space. Signs for Chinese family and village associations dot the area. But at night it becomes a place where a growing number of homeless people look for a place to grab a night’s sleep on its quiet sidewalks and park benches.

The murders also highlight the city's struggle to combat the growing homeless population. According to statistics from the Bowery Mission cited by the Times, about 1 in 121 New Yorkers is homeless. The Coalition for the Homeless put the number of homeless people in the city’s shelter system in August at 61,674, and an annual count conducted in late January this year estimated that 3,588 people were living on the streets.

The Times noted Mayor de Blasio's "struggle" to address "the problem of the rising number of homeless people and the high rate of mental illness among them." The Post spoke with former Giuliani and Bloomberg administrators who said the growing, more violent homeless population in NYC "rests squarely with current City Hall policies."

“There’s been an increasing tolerance for the homeless on city streets, sidewalks and subway stations during this administration,” said Mitchell Moss, professor of urban policy at NYU and a former campaign advisor to Michael Bloomberg.

“The police are disempowered to remove the homeless — and New York has become less aggressive on quality-of-life issues. You used to be penalized for urinating on the street!”

As the Times reported, advocates for the homeless said yesterday's attacks "rattled the already struggling community of homeless people who frequent Chinatown and the Bowery."

Sunday morning staff meeting at Ray's



A moment with Ray and Stella this morning at Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A as the two look over the schedule for the coming week... thanks to Peter Brownscombe for the photo!

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Saturday's parting shots



Saturday evening with the Abracadabra Field Trip Mobile on St. Mark's Place and Avenue A...



Thanks to Vinny & O for the photos...

Welcoming the new playground equipment to Tompkins Square Park



Less than 24 hours since workers opened up the renovated playgrounds in Tompkins Square Park... someone has already doodled on (defaced if you'd like) the equipment, as EVG regular Salim notes in these two photos...



Work started Oct. 1, 2018, on the southeast portion of the Park, which saw the closure of the entrances on Seventh Street at Avenue B and Eighth Street at Avenue B. The upgrades include the reconstruction of two playgrounds with new equipment and seating.

Friday, October 4, 2019

Reap the Harvest at the 6th Street and Avenue B Community Garden



Time for the annual Harvest Festival at the 6th Street and Avenue B Community Garden tomorrow (Oct. 5).

Per the Facebook invite:

Once again we have our annual neighborhood harvest festival with our legendary free to the public, delicious chicken and corn bar-b-cue and great entertainment on our stage. Plus our famous neighborhood rafffle with dozens of great prizes from local businesses. Drop by, have some food, listen to the entertainment, buy a raffle ticket or two or three or more. All proceeds go to the upkeep of the garden.

The festivities take place from 2 to 7 p.m.

'Domino' effect



Corridor, the Montreal-based Francophone band, has a new record (their third overall) coming out on Sub Pop on Oct. 18. The track above is "Domino." The band is at Union Pool on Oct. 24.

At long last, the construction fence is coming down around the Tompkins Square Park playground


[Photo by Katherine Gleason]

In breaking-ish news today, workers are taking down the construction fences around the recently renovated Avenue B playground in Tompkins Square Park. Word is the playground will be open for use this afternoon.

The work started Oct. 1, 2018, on the southeast portion of the Park, which saw the closure of the entrances on Seventh Street at Avenue B and Eighth Street at Avenue B. The space was expected to reopen some time last month.

The upgrades have included the reconstruction of two playgrounds with new safety surfacing, spray showers, seating and fencing. A schematic from the Parks website offers more detail...



The Parks Department is supplementing the project's funding with its Parks Without Borders initiative that will lower the fences from its present height of 7 feet to 4 feet, a move that stirred plenty of concern in early 2017.

Parks officials believe the shorter fences make the play areas safer — "lowering barriers that block sight lines discourages negative behavior while at the same time making the green space more open and aesthetically pleasing," as DNAinfo reported at the time.

Meanwhile, various residents and EVG commenters have noted that if it took one year for the city to upgrade a small section of Tompkins Square Park, then how long will it realistically take to stormproof the 45-acre East River Park?

Updated 1:45

Another reader photo via Tullah on 7th...



Updated 4 p.m.

The entrances and playgrounds are now open ... Dave on 7th checks in...



... and there are new benches ... and room for parking!

EVG Etc.: 14th Street survives day 1 of the busway; Timothée Chalamet gifts Tompkins Square Bagels on the red carpet


[Sax and the city on Broadway via Derek Berg]

• Plumber who helped rig gas line before deadly Second Avenue explosion testifies against landlord, others (Daily News)

• Day 1 of the 14th Street busway (amNY ... Gothamist ... Streetsblog ... previously on EVG)

• A cement truck tipped over at the Baruch Houses (The Post)

• Rep. Nydia Velasquez wants $32 billion from HUD to fix NYCHA (PIX 11)

• Italian-American history in the East Village (6sqft)

• An ad for the Ukrainian East Village restaurant on Second Avenue circa 1976 (Ephemeral New York)

• L+M Development lands $53 million refinance for the Niko East Village on Avenue D and Sixth Street (Commercial Observer ... previously on EVG)

• Timothée Chalamet hands out Tompkins Square Bagels on the red carpet (The Cut)

• Time to ban cars in Manhattan? (Curbed)

• The NYC '81 film series starts today with a lineup that includes "Downtown 81," "Escape From New York" and "Prince of the City" (Metrograph)

This weekend in pet blessings

You have two opportunities this weekend to have your pets blessed ...

SATURDAY



The annual Blessing of Animals will take place on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. in front of Immaculate Conception Church, 414 E. 14th St. near First Avenue.

Per the flyer, none of the involved parties needs to be Catholic to be blessed.

SUNDAY



On Sunday, the pet blessings take place in the east yard at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, 10th Street and Second Avenue.

Longtime churchgoers say that someone once brought a camel. Per a church rep: "We don't think that's likely this time but we're hoping for a pig or so!" Do you hear that Giblet?

The weekend is also a celebration of St. Francis — he loved animals you know. As we first reported in 1223, Francis arranged for the first Christmas live nativity scene.

RIP Purushottam Goyal


[Photo by Steven]

Purushottam Goyal, who along with his wife Saroj have owned and operated Dress Shoppe II on Second Avenue these past 18 years, died on Sept. 12. He was in his early 70s.

A tribute to him is on the front door of the shop that opened here in 2001 between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.

EVG reader Marty recently shared this: "I stopped by the Dress Shoppe ... and was very sad to hear that Purushottam Goyal, its wonderful shopkeeper, died. His wife Saroj Goyal and her son are running the store, but with heavy hearts."

The Goyals, who had been married for nearly 50 years, were the subject of this feature in The New York Times in August 2016...

The owner, Purushottam Goyal, has a weakness for the past, and for nearly four decades he has filled the store with intriguing relics. Amid the tunics, scarves and batik blankets, you can find 100-year-old saris made with silver thread, wooden cowbells, old kerosene lamps and vintage radios. (At home, he has a yellow taxicab from 1929.)

Mr. Goyal was born in Delhi, India, the youngest of 18 children. Before he came to New York, he worked in his parents’ textile shop and, briefly, as a customs official. In 1978, he opened a shop on Broadway. He did not have the money for a sign, he said, so he painted over part of the old one: Smart Dress Shoppe became Dress Shoppe.

In 2001, that building was sold, and the store moved to its present location. Dress Shoppe became Dress Shoppe II.

He also shared his business philosophy: "Just relax, and if you feel something, buy it. We want only happy money."

A petition to keep the 8-foot fence at Joseph C. Sauer Park on 12th Street


[Image via]

As part of the Community Parks Initiative, Joseph C. Sauer Park is scheduled to undergo a redesign on 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

However welcome most of the changes are, there is one sticking point: the new (shorter) fence the Parks Department plans to install.

So park organizers have launched a petition to save their fence...



Per the petition:

Dear neighbors, friends and everyone who loves Joseph C. Sauer Park. As many of you may already know the Parks Department will close our park for renovations which should last a full year. Once complete the park will feature a new design with many requested features.

Part of the plan however is to remove the current 8 foot high fence and replace it with a 4 foot fence, which will make the park less secure and an unsafe place for children to use.

We are asking for your help to stop the Parks Department from removing the only proven means of securing our park at night. We have the backing of Assemblyman Harvey Epstein, Councilwoman Carlina Rivera and our Community Board.

Some history: "Sauer Park is one of nine playgrounds that were built by the Parks Department through the War Memorial Fund, and were opened simultaneously on July 15, 1934." There were subsequent additions here in 1965, 1989 and 1992.

Find the petition at this link.

Chi Snack Shop moves into the former Trash & Vaudeville space on St. Mark's Place


[Photos by Steven]

After three years at 22 St. Mark's Place, Chi Snack Shop has moved to a larger retail space on the block here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...



The shop, which carries an array of Japanese and Korean snacks as well as beauty products and random lingerie, has moved into the parlor level of 4 St. Mark's Place...





The landmarked 4 St. Mark's Place — aka the Hamilton-Holly House, circa 1831 — recently underwent a two-year gut renovation. As previously noted, the renovation included an expansion in the back of the building, doubling the number of residential units from three to six.

Chi Snack Shop marks the first retail tenant for the all-new No. 4. Wanyoo, a Shanghai-based cyber cafe chain, reportedly signed a lease for the garden space early last year. No sign of them just yet.

Until February 2016, 4 St. Mark's Place housed Trash & Vaudeville for 41 years. The store relocated to 96 E. Seventh St., where it remains today.

The Hamilton-Holly House was once owned by Alexander Hamilton’s son. The Federal-style townhouse changed hands for $10 million in the spring of 2016.

In June, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approved developer Real Estate Equities Corporation's (REEC) plan to transfer air rights from the 4 St. Mark's Place to add square footage to their office building coming to the northeast corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place. Under terms of the air-rights transfer, 5 percent of the $4 million sale will go into a dedicated account for the landmark to maintain its upkeep.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive: After 40 years, punk rock mainstay Trash and Vaudeville is leaving St. Mark's Place

4 St. Mark's Place is for sale

More residential units and a 5th-floor addition in the works for landmarked 4 St. Mark's Place

You'll be back: Look at the renovated Hamilton-Holly House on St. Mark's Place

FULL full reveal at the historic Hamilton-Holly House on St. Mark's Place