Friday, May 8, 2015
A visit to St. Mark's Comics
Text and photos by EVG contributor Stacie Joy
St. Mark’s Comics has been in its current building, 11 St. Mark’s Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, for more than 30 years. For the first few years, it was up a small flight of stairs, later on and in its current spot, on the ground floor, down a few steps.
The shop is a go-to location for old and new comics from small and large (as well as self) publishers. Owner Mitch Cutler says the shop carries a full breadth of products, not just comics. You can find all kinds of things at the shop, and indeed, as I walked deeper into the narrow space I found rooms upon rooms of toys, collectibles, tees, cards, comics, books, graphic novels, and comic-related merchandise.
Floor to ceiling, the shop is crammed with nifty stuff. During the time I visited, Louis, a second-generation St. Mark's Comics shopper (with intentions of creating a third!), was particularly enthused to find the new Harley Quinn. Shaun dropped by for a Jack Burton vinyl action figure.
As I was leaving, Cutler said that he was humbled by the fact that people continue to support the store, a long-standing small business in a place where small-business owners are getting priced out.
Omakase-style restaurant in the works for former Lan Cafe on East 6th Street
The Lan Cafe space apparently won't be sitting vacant for too long.
The Vietnamese vegan restaurant at 342 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue closed for good after service on April 29. The family who ran the place these past nine years said that high rents were to blame for the closure.
According to materials on file (PDF!) at the CB3 website ahead of this month's SLA committee meeting, an omakase-style restaurant is in the works from one of the owners of Kura, the upscale sushi bar at 130 St. Mark's Place.
The configuration for the new space shows 9 tables seating 18 people, plus eight counter stools. The proposed hours are noon to midnight, Sunday-Thursday; until 2 a.m. on Friday-Saturday. The applicants are seeking a full liquor license. (Lan Cafe did not have a liquor license.)
The SLA committee meeting is May 18 at the CB3 office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Noted
[Photo by @edenbrower]
Somewhere on East Fifth Street…
@evgrieve How can I go indoors when there is a fucking turtle outside my window.
— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) May 7, 2015
A 4-building parcel on East 6th Street has been sold
[320-326 E. 6th St.]
An EVG reader who lives in one of the four buildings that make up 320-326 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue shared the following with us…
I arrived home from work to find the attached letter stuffed into my apartment door.... my building plus three others have been sold to 320-326 Ro Village Realty. Our buildings were previously owned by AAG Mgmt. This Ro Village Realty LLC is brand new as of January and I can't find any more details about them or about how much the buildings went for or what they plan to do with it.
Considering what is going on in the neighborhood with companies like Icon, this makes me incredibly nervous.
The sale hasn't hit public records yet… and we're not familiar with 320-326 Ro Village Realty either… and their offices at 209 E. 14th St. don't match up to any of the usual suspects…
Modern American in the works for former Back Forty space on Avenue B
[EVG file photo]
A few more details have emerged about what's next for the former Back Forty space on Avenue B near East 12th Street.
According to materials on file (PDF!) at the CB3 website ahead of this month's SLA committee meeting, the address will house a still-unnamed restaurant serving "modern American" cuisine.
One of the applicants is Roxanne Spruance, who is also planning a new restaurant in Nolita called Kingsley. (According to her bio, she won "Chopped" on the Food Network in February 2013.)
The application shows 16-20 tables seating 48-52 people. The proposed hours are 11 a.m. to midnight Monday-Thursday; until 2 a.m. Friday-Saturday; and midnight on Sunday.
There are also plans to use the small garden area for dining similar to Back Forty.
Back Forty closed for good after service this past Dec. 21.
The SLA committee meeting is May 18 at the CB3 office (BYOB), 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.
Out with the former Yaffa backyard dining area, in with a new garden
Workers yesterday began demolishing the backyard dining area that previously belonged to Yaffa Cafe at 97 St. Mark's Place.
The owners of St. Dymphna's down the block are opening a Portuguese restaurant called Taberna here between Avenue A and First Avenue.
As previously reported, the new owners will be turning the back space into a garden…
Co-owner Eric Baker told DNAinfo in March that "windows will be built into the back of the restaurant so customers can look at the landscaped area."
Last fall, the DOB issued a partial vacate order on the backyard space because it didn't have the proper fire exits and because it was zoned for residential use … Yaffa Cafe later decided to close for good after 32 years in the location.
Thanks to the EVG reader for the photos!
Previously on EV Grieve:
Yaffa Cafe is officially gone; back garden dismantled
More about Yaffa Cafe closing
St. Dymphna's owners look to take over the former Yaffa Cafe space on St. Mark's Place
More about Taberna, the Portuguese restaurant opening in the former Yaffa Cafe space
Ben Shaoul's East Luxe is all sold out
[EVG file photo of the FRONT of the building]
A news release about Ben Shaoul's new 20-unit rental building at 31-33 Second Ave. between East First Street and East Second Street via the EVG inbox…
Platinum Properties, a New York-based full-service brokerage firm has announced today that it has now rented 100% of The East Luxe, a 20-unit East Village boutique rental building at 31-33 Second Avenue, in just 16 weeks on the market.
To note: Platinum Properties rented 11 of the 17 originally available units directly and six via co-broking with outside agents. It took approximately three months—most of which were rented during the winter, a traditionally slow time — to completely rent out the two and three-bedroom units and one month to rent out the four bedroom apartments.
“In the East Village/Bowery area there is a lack of new construction or rehab projects of this nature. Just having an elevator building with extremely highend finishes in such a central location has made the building a stand out,” says Khashy Eyn, CEO, Platinum Properties.
As previously noted, a Petco is taking the building's retail space.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Ben Shaoul planning a 3-story addition at 31-33 Second Ave.
Bracing for 3 new floors at 31-33 Second Ave.
Checking in on the work in progress at 31-33 2nd Ave., where Ben Shaoul is adding 3 new floors
Ben Shaoul's bland new 2nd Avenue building is called The East Luxe
More about The East Luxe, Ben Shaoul's new 20-unit rental on 2nd Avenue
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
The night heron apparently comes out at night in Tompkins Square Park
[Photo last night by Guillermo Zubillaga]
For at least the past year there have been occasional sightings of a rather odd-looking bird (so to speak) lurking about the Park in the evening hours… now we've had two reader sightings these past few nights…
Any bird
[Photo from Monday night by Bayou]
Updated 5/7
EVG regular Grant Shaffer also spotted this elusive nighttime, uh, night bird last summer...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Rare bird
Reader report: Gunshots on Avenue D late last night; NYPD patrol tower today
[Photo via an EVG reader]
Several readers reported hearing gunshots last night …
Said one this morning: "Woke up to 5 loud gun shots last night outside my apartment on Ave D and 8th Street. Then a police siren about 5 minutes later."
Per another resident later today:
"Altercation around midnight on D between 8th Street and 9th Street among young males escalated and one party came back and fired shots. No one hit. Car on D took some shots and [the former] Joselito's took one in the window. Multiple 911 calls placed last night and half a dozen detectives plus a new surveillance tower van out there now."
1 way to respond when someone parks a motorcycle in the hallway
A reader shared this from a building on Avenue A.
And here's how a neighbor responded to this choice of parking spots with a straightforward, two-word Urban Etiquette Sign...
Free tomorrow night: A 30-year East Village photo tour with Daniel Root
[Images from 10th and B by Daniel Root]
From the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation ...as part of Lower East Side History Month...
In 1984, Dan Root took some photographs for a book that a friend of a friend was going to write about the changing East Village. For a couple of months he took pictures, when time and money allowed, of this changing neighborhood. The book was never written (of course?) and the photographs were put away.
Last year Dan revisited those locations and photographed them again. Most were vastly different than they were 30 years ago. He embarked upon a project of framing the original photos and placing them at these sites. Residents and visitors were able to see how much the East Village has changed, and a Tumbler page brought international attention to this photographic documentation.
East Village: 1984 and 2014
A photo journey with Daniel Root
Thursday, May 7
6:30 – 8:00 P.M.
Free; reservations required
Sixth Street Community Center
638 East 6th Street, between Avenue B and Avenue C
[This venue is wheelchair accessible.]
To register, please call (212) 475-9585 ext. 35 or email.
Check out our post from last August on Root's photos here.
Just 5-plus months until Halloween
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