Friday, May 12, 2017

Art and ice cream tonight at Alphabet Scoop



Alphabet Scoop has its official season opening today at 543 E. 11th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Here's more about the seasonal ice cream shop, operated by the Father's Heart Ministries next door:

Alphabet Scoop is a job and life skills program for teens. The program is designed to prepare teens with the skills needed to advance in their school and work endeavors. Teenagers receive classroom instruction and work under a shift supervisor in the retail store.

Current mood



Photo in Tompkins Square Park today by Steven

Happy Hummus Day!



Hummus Day is actually tomorrow. And it appears that you will be able to celebrate on Astor Place today. As these early-morning pics by EVG reader Liz S. show, crews are setting up some hummus-related tasting tables on Astor Place...



This is sponsored by Sabra Dipping Company...


[Another reader-submitted pic]

Updated 1 p.m.

Here are a few pics from Steven showing the Hummus Day in action...





There are also Hummus Goody Bags for the taking...




Nest watch in Tompkins Square Park


[Photo by Bobby Williams]

For the fourth consecutive spring, red-tailed hawk couple Christo and Dora once again welcome home(?) a new batch of hawklets, as Goggla has been documenting.

To date, it has been difficult to tell how many kids are up in the nest in Tompkins Square Park. There has been visual confirmation of at least one...




[Photos by Steven]

Per Goggla:

"The number of hawk babies up in the nest in Tompkins Square is still difficult to determine. Christo and Dora definitely have one, possibly more, but it's been a challenge to get a good view of what's happening up there. We will just have to wait for the nestling(s) to get bigger."

Until then... a quick recap. Christo and Dora raised their offspring in Tompkins Square Park last spring/summer ... after bringing them up on AC units in 2014 and 2015. No word on a family reunion this summer.

Jennifer's Way Bakery reduces store hours to service online orders



Jennifer's Way Bakery at 264 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue has reduced hours now, as of Wednesday ... opening just on Friday through Sunday...



Another sign on the door points to an increase in online orders for the organic bakery that makes its products without gluten, dairy, soy, refined sugar or peanuts...





Another Facebook post notes that the bakery is selling most of the vintage items in store. "Time for spring cleaning and giving the bakery a new look."

The bakery is owned by Jennifer Esposito, the Brooklyn-born actress (currently on "NCIS"), who was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2009. The bakery opened in March 2013.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Jennifer Esposito responds to reports that she fled East 10th Street for Denmark

Supporting 249 E. 2nd St. during the construction next door



249 E. Second St. has been set with braces ...



There have been several complaints filed with the city this year about No. 249 ... due to the construction next door at the all-new Avenue C, future home of a 10-story, mixed-use building with 46 residential units at the former site of the Mobil station.

Per one complaint on file with the DOB (in their all-cap style): "DEMOLITION AND DRILLING BE DONE. CRACK IN CEILING WALL IN MAIN ROOM. APARTMENT SHAKING AND VIBRATING EXCESSIVELY TO THE POINT OF FURNITURE MOVING."

There was a partial stop-work order issued last month when No. 249 reportedly shifted.

And this isn't the first time a building adjacent to a development site has been damaged during construction. There were reports of cracks at 183 Avenue B during the foundation work for the 7-story mixed-used residential building at 185 Avenue B.

In 2015, No. 249 hit the market for $6.95 million. As far as I know the building was never sold.

On the rental market: 432 E. 13th St.



Teshigotoya, the Japanese restaurant at 432 E. 13th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, quietly closed earlier this year.

The space is on the market. The listing shows an asking rent of $10,500 a month for the 800-square-feet of space. (There's also a $30,000 fixture fee.)

This spot has been a tough sell in the past few years. Masak, the well-regard Singapore-influenced restaurant, closed in April 2013. Then came Sembrado’s Tacos al Pastor, the Mexican restaurant from Danny Mena, the chef and co-founder of Hecho en Dumbo. And, I'm told, Teshigotoya went through an ownership change at some point after its early 2015 opening.

In previous posts about openings and closings at this address, commenters have said this is a tough block for foot traffic. Will the arrival of condos at the Thirteen East + West development ... or the 8-story residential building going up across the street at the former post office help make something work here?

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Thursday's parting shot



A look at the new-look Sheen Brothers awning and black exterior at 10th Street and Avenue B ... (part of an overall exterior rehab at 157 Avenue B/346 E. 10th St.)

And the corner deli as seen last fall...

Noted



As you may have heard, the President fired the FBI director the other day.

Anyway, update your LinkedIn profiles! Because there are now "Looking for an FBI Director" flyers on St. Mark's Place.

"I am really looking for an FBI director. This is not a joke! Just trying to drain the swamp and hoping to meet the right person. I am a professional president and have been told 3 times that I am not under investigation. You know who you are. To me each and every person is beautiful. Open to the relationship morphing into something more profound."

No word if interested applicants can drop off résumés at Westminster offices.

Thanks to Goggla for the photo!

Hello, is it me you're looking for?



Found discarded on 12th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue... outside Academy Records, oddly enough.

The added art on Lionel's sweater should make this more valuable.

Thanks to Christine Champagne for the photo!

Report: Coast Guard estimates that 5,200 gallons of Con Ed's insulating oil spilled into the East River



As previously reported, a transformer containing approximately 37,000 gallons of insulating oil used with electrical equipment failed on Sunday, spilling onto the station property in Downtown Brooklyn and into the East River.

According to DNAinfo, emergency workers have recovered 560 gallons of the synthetic mineral — less than 2 percent of the total lost.

Of the remaining 30,700 gallons of lost oil, some may still be recovered on land around the Farragut Substation, but the U.S. Coast Guard estimated Wednesday that around 5,200 gallons seeped into the river Sunday.

That estimate is based on averages from other cleanups where the agency estimates it can usually collect ten percent of the oil that escapes into water, officials said.

And clean water advocates warn that breakneck currents along the East River make it, "almost the worst possible spill recovery scenario."

The spill occurred at Con Ed's Farragut Substation...



Back to DNAinfo:

Synthetic mineral oil is considered "non-toxic" by the state's DEC and is less harmful to water quality and wildlife than petroleum, though it can still harm fish and birds, according to a Con Edison spokesman.

People should avoid direct contact with the spill as it can cause eye and skin irritation and shouldn't fish in the area, according to the state DEC.

There wasn't any evidence of anything amiss/spilt along the East River Promenade this afternoon...

The usual group of men were fishing between the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge...





... and a little further north...





... and how about that Domino Sugar Refinery redevelopment ...

The St. Mark’s Church Greenmarket will not be returning this year


[Photo from June 2016 by Steven]

An EVG reader looking for when the annual St. Mark’s Church Greenmarket might return this season found the following message on the GrowNYC website...



Not a good sign.

An administrator at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery confirmed the news. Church officials were informed by GrowNYC last week that the St. Mark's Greenmarket will not be returning this year. It would have been the 36th year for the Greenmarket here. We reached out to GrowNYC, which runs the city’s Greenmarkets, for comment. Will update when we hear back.

The Greenmarket on 10th Street at Second Avenue first started in 1981 in the triangular space in front of the St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery.

Updated:

Someone from the Greenmarket staff this this in the comments...

Thank you everyone for expressing your concern regarding the St. Mark's Greenmarket. We are a 501(C)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to simultaneously serve our farmer/producer community and the NYC residents who depend on our markets for fresh food. Closing markets is always a last resort for us and we are actively looking for a new location in the near vicinity that will allow for a more thriving marketplace, to make sure that our farmers stay viable and we can continue serving the community.

In the meantime, we found homes to support the farmers that sold at St. Marks and please visit us on Sundays in Tompkins Sq Park, Sundays (starting 5/21) in Stuy Town, and M/W/F/Sat in Union Square- all a close walk from 10th street and 2nd Ave.

The 7th Street Village Farm is for rent



A tipster points us to a listing for 113 First Ave. — current home of the 7th Street Village Farm.

Per the listing at Douglas Elliman:

Calling all business owners and restauranteurs. Enjoy a dynamic space with maximum exposure, located at one of Manhattan's most bustling intersections. Foot traffic, a sizeable basement, and potential for outdoor space are all key factors to this listing. Just minutes away from all mass transit, this space is conveniently located near some of the East Village's hottest spots.

The listing has the price at $350,000. (Annually? Key money?) Public records show that the building changed hands in March 2015 for $5.5 million. The new owner is behind an LLC with a Jackson Heights address. (Back at the time of the sale, we heard that the deal was between family members.)

And as we understand it, the deli owners are the ones who have OK'd the art on the Seventh Street walls, which include the MCA tribute by @cramcept...



In any event, the corner has housed a market for as long as anyone we talked to can remember...


[Photo from 1979 by Michael Sean Edwards]

Below 7th closes again on 7th Street



Below 7th, a small gift shop a few steps down at 63 E. Seventh St., has closed.

The shop, which sold gift cards, candles, soaps and jewelry, first opened in the fall of 2014, before quietly going on an extended hiatus with the signage and some of the merchandise remaining behind. The shop returned early last summer.

As we understand it, the owners had a similar shop somewhere in the West Village. From the look of it, Below 7th here between First Avenue and Second Avenue has closed for good this time...


Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Wednesday's parting shot



Spotted outside the former Church of the Nativity on Second Avenue between Second Street and Third Street...

The mysterious abandoned minivan of 12th Street has been — CONDEMNED


[Not today]

On Monday, an EVG reader noted the above minivan that has been parked on 12th Street just west of Avenue A for long enough. No license plates. A handful of parking tickets on the windshield. Yet it still sat there.

This afternoon, the same reader saw some sanitation workers inspecting the vehicle earlier today ... and now the vehicle has been scheduled for removal...



Report: The city would need 43 years to crack down on Airbnb violators

As noted yesterday, an East Village resident was one of the first two Airbnb hosts to pay a fine ($1,000) under the new state law banning advertising for home rentals of less than 30 days.

Crain's has some perspective on the challenge ahead for the city to enforce this.

The number of potentially illegal Airbnb listings was 23,639 as of April, according to data from the company, though a portion of those ads could be for a stay in a single-family home or another type of dwelling exempt from the legislation. But based on current rates, it would take the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement 43 years to run down those potential violations.

At least for now, hosts with only one listing have a slimmer chance of being caught, and according to Airbnb's site, 96% of hosts fall into this category. Since they stand to earn $750 a week on average, paying off the fine might not prove to be much of a deterrent.

The Daily News reported that the East Village resident was getting $446 a night for her city-subsidized affordable co-op on Sixth Street.

Looking at the BP-replacing condos coming to 32 E. 1st St.



As we noted two weeks ago, the mural by Brazilian twins Os Gêmeos was starting to disappear behind the new 10-story retail-residential building at 24 Second Ave. and First Street.

CityRealty had more details this week about the "spiffy collection of condos" expected to be finished later next year. For starters, the official address of the building housing 33 condos is 32 E. First St.

Here's more via CityRealty:

The lively and geometric exterior is designed by the design firm Combined who is a joint-partnership between RSVP Architecture Studio and N-Plus Design Studio. The façade is composed of stone-colored frames that project from a face of windows and dark-colored spandrels and mullions.



New interior renderings show the forthcoming homes will have open layouts, arrays of windows that are not quite floor-to-ceiling, and beveled ceilings. The amenity offerings will include a fitness center, spa, mail room, communal terrace and a recreation room.

Here are some renderings via Combined.
Updated: A rep for Combined said that they did not grant permission for the use of the renderings. So you can check out all the renderings at the Combined website. (Or CityRealty here.)

The property was home to BP, which closed in July 2014. The BP was the second-to-last gas station in the East Village.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The 2nd Avenue BP station has closed

Permits filed to demolish former 2nd Avenue BP station

More about the 10-story building taking the place of the former BP station at 24 2nd Ave.

Check out the new 10-story building for the former 2nd Avenue BP station

A ballerina for 2nd Avenue

2nd Avenue residential complex now complete with renderings on the plywood

Demolition watch: 3 E. 3rd St.



3 E. Third St. is wrapped and looking ready for demolition here just off of the Bowery.

Workers have baited the building for rats and removed asbestos...



As reported last fall, Brooklyn-based Barrett Design has plans for a seven-story mixed-use condoplex on the lot. The building will feature a retail condo on the ground floor and five apartments above, consisting of four full-floor units and a duplex penthouse.


[Rendering via Barrett Design]

No. 3 will join this luxurious corner of Third Street and the Bowery...



For the past 20-plus years, 3 E. Third St. served as short-term rentals for students and interns..


[3 E. 3rd St. in April 2015]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Development site available on East 3rd Street at the Bowery

Taxi Parts Inc. departs the East Village



After nearly two years at 45 First Ave. (Suite 1C, per the awning), Taxi Parts Inc. has moved on...



The sign on the gates notes a new address up on Second Avenue between 111th Street and 112th Street. Before this, the business had been around for 25-plus years on 10th Avenue and 35th Street ... but their building was being razed to make way for the Hudson Yards mega-project.

No. 45 here between Second Street and Third Street was previously home to the barber shop that also bought gold.