Rite Aid sets the bar for Dec. 25

On 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Big Daddy on Second Street

Hanukkah In NYU Dorms

From an article on the NYU Local titled "Eight Crazy Nights: Doing Hanukkah In The Dorms." (And where did they get all the Four Loco for the photoshoot?)

Is this $30,000-a-month apartment the most expensive ever in the East Village?

Back at the beginning of the summer, The Wall Street Journal noted that three-bedroom apartments in 2 Cooper Square were going for $20,000 a month, which would make these the most most expensive apartments in the neighborhood.... not true, seeing as there was a $25,000-a-month penthouse around the corner on First Street...

Speaking of First Street... somehow, this three-bedroom apartment at 38 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue escaped my expensive home radar... It first hit the market in September... and it remains on the market for $30,000 a month...

I'm trying to figure out if this is the most expensive monthly rental ever in the neighborhood... If you have any info to support this, please let me know...

Uh, anyway, what exactly do you get for that kind of money every month?

One of downtown's most dramatic and unique properties! Consisting of approx 5000 sq ft, this XXX mint, elegant home features 16 foot ceilings, corinthian columns, grand entry room, a 45 ft long living room, 3 master suites,library/family room,formal dining room,an enormous chefs kitchen & terrace.Other features include beautiful maple floors,oversized windows & doors,3 zone cental a/c & 3.5 baths. Building allows live/work.A magnificent property suitable for both family living & entertaining on a tremendous scale! Other Features: East, South, West, New Windows, Washer/Dryer designer wnd treatments, gold leaf ceil in entry hall

(Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate has the listing)

Look at the floorplan — it comes with your very own ballroom....



And the rest of the place...

Cafe Hanover's asking price: $50,000 per month

Cafe Hanover quickly flamed out at the former Mondo Kim's space on St. Mark's Place... here's one possible reason: The rent for the two levels here is $50,000 a month... For lease signs are up now on the front doors...




I looked at the listing online:

Size: Ground Floor (3,000 Rsf), Plus Full Basement (3,000 Rsf) Term: 5-19 Year Sublease Rent: $33,750 Per Month No Key Money! Fully Equipped Restaurant/Deli In One Of The Busiest Streets. Basement Includes A Fully Equipped Kitchen, Including Hood, Venting, Modern Ovens, Huge Walk-Ins, And New Structural Beams. Leased At $135 Psf, Or $33,750 Per Month. Optional 2nd Floor Lounge/Bar With Operating 4 Am Liquor License. 2nd Floor (3,000 Rsf) @ $80 Psf, Or $20,000 Per Month. Total Space, Consisting Of Ground Floor (3,000 Rsf), 2nd Floor (3,000 Rsf) And Basement (3,000 Rsf), Asking $50,000 Per Month

And, not until I took the photos above, did I ever realize there was some place called JD's Bar on the second floor...



And where exactly is 2U (U2) Karaoke in this funhouse?

Orologio is for sale on Avenue A

While searching for the Cafe Hanover listing... I came across another one... a listing that may leave a few people dismayed...



We were just talking about Orologio in the comments here. From Cookiepuss: "Orologio is a real local place too with its bohemian decor, warm vibe and affordable pricing."

Things that are now open behind what used to be CBGB

BoweryBoogie reports that Brooklyn-based Oaxaca Tacos quietly opened yesterday on Extra Place... Not sure if I'd bring up CBGB in announcing the business...



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?

The Chocolate Wars (well, not at all, but we needed something that sounds CONTROVERSIAL)

Giving Extra Place the warm, comfortable feel of suburbia

Looking at Extra Place

What a $25 rental from 100 years ago should cost today

Yesterday, we did a now-and-then at 224 Avenue B... from 1909 to today...rents then were going for $25 a month.




In case you missed the comments. Lisa asked what the rents were going for today.... It just so happens there are two two-bedroom apartments on the market now at 224... one is $2,395; the other is $2,295.

And Esquared produced the handy-dandy inflation calculator. So, $25 in 1909 is equivalent to $589.50 in 2009. Inflation calculators don't take into account East Village inflation ....

Window shopping on the Bowery

Urban Roots pulls out on Avenue A

Several readers have pointed out that Urban Roots, the natural foods store on Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street, has abruptly closed...



I hate to see any non-nightlife-related stores close (unless they're real assholes) ... Still, as one reader pointed out, the stores are under control of the Ageloff Towers co-op board... meaning you won't see a bar in here...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Of the 147 storefronts on Avenue A, 70 of them are bars, restaurants or vacant

Whatever happened to the Two Boots Restaurant? Plus: NYCHA puts up two prime storefronts on Avenue A for rent

Sons & Daughters closing on Avenue A; new tenant for A and Third Street?

[Top photo via]

Comedy does poetry

From the EV Grieve inbox...

David Cross and a couple of his friends are putting on a benefit to raise money to keep the Bowery Poetry Club around for hopefully at least a few more years.... Per David Cross in the e-mail: "I know the ticket prices are steep but it's a benefit and (most) of the ticket price is tax deductible." Details follow...

Noted

Tomorrow night, LeBron James returns to Cleveland for the first time since he left for the Miami Heat in the off-season. To mark the occasion, the Village Pourhouse on Third Avenue and 11th Street will serve anti-LeBron drinks such as Hater-ade.

A week or so in the life of the Deitch Wall

Kenny Scharf's work is done at the Bowery and Houston ... here's a look back...

Nov. 22

[Photo via Eddie Brannan]


Last Wednesday! (This image via BoweryBoogie)



Friday!



Saturday!



Sunday!



Monday!




Last night...

Why East Village residents should still fear NYU's expansion plans

Tonight, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) and other community groups are holding a town-hall meeting to discuss NYU's expansion plans...



Per the GVSHP website:

"Now that NYU has dropped its landmarks application for a 400 ft. tall tower on Bleecker Street in the face of overwhelming opposition ... what does this mean, and where do we go from here in responding to their still-overwhelming plan?"

While this plan specifically focused on the West Village, Rob at Save the Lower East Side! believes we have something to worry about too... As he writes:

East Villagers ought to be alarmed by NYU's decision not to build on its own campus. All voices at the town hall will ask NYU to build in the financial district, but NYU may be looking for closer locations more attractive to their students. That would be our neighborhood.

Although the EV and the 3rd & 4th Avenue triangle have been recently rezoned to cap heights, there are still plenty of available development sites here. 3rd Avenue still allows the same bulk as prior to the rezoning, and it allows more bulk than the NYU dorm that already stands on 3rd Ave at 10th Street. (It's only 5.31 FAR. Under the new zoning, 3rd Ave allows 6.5 FAR for dormitories!) And they can build as high as 12 stories on 3rd Ave -- the current dorms there are only two stories taller than that.

And then there's El Bohio, the old P.S. 64. It's already standing, requiring minimal construction, and it is a huge lot. A dormitory there would end all hopes for a community center. So there's plenty to worry about

.

Indeed.

The future?



Previously on EV Grieve:
NYU's expansion plan for the East Village