EV Grieve

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

Neither More Nor Less and Slum Goddess were on hand for Ray's 77th b-day bash

Looking at "a non-delirious New York" (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Remembering First Avenue's La Focacceria (With Leftovers)

Kew Gardens in the 1940s (Blah Blog Blah)

Iggy Pop has a great voice (NPR)

Kosher pita joint shuts it down on East Houston (BoweryBoogie)

When EV rents were $40-$70 a month (Ephemeral NY)

B-day wishes for Legs McNeil (This Ain't the Summer of Love)

From the forgot-to-follow-up-on-this department... A reader asked if I knew anything about a fire on Third Street and Avenue B last week... No, but I did see this Thursday evening on that block...

And if I catch the jokester who put this mag front and center at my newsstand of choice....

Remembering Bingo Gazingo

My friend Karen Lillis passed along a link to me the other day about Bingo Gazingo, described by the Times in 1997 "as the near-toothless underground performance sensation." The author of such songs as "I Love You So Fucking Much I Can't Shit" died on New Year's Day from injuries that he suffered after getting struck by a cab. He was 85.

Life Just Bounces had a lovely tribute to the man:

You'd hesitate to call him a celebrity by any stretch of the imagination, but New York street/performance poet Bingo Gazingo's obscurity likely served as an aid to his singular imagination and oddball creativity.

With his often crude, spiky, agitated and hilarious rants about sex, dementia, and, especially, popular culture, Gazingo (born Murray Wachs in Queens in 1924) was a Monday night regular every week at New York's Bowery Poetry Club. He was struck by a taxi on his way to one of these very events, presumably on December 28th, and died on New Year's Day.

As Karen told me, "Bingo was wildly unique, and relentless at what he did."

The Times wrote about Bingo in Janaury 1997:

As a young man, he says, he worked as a logger for Broadcast Music Incorporated, or B.M.I., the music licensing agency, sitting over radio play lists with a blue pencil, identifying songs for which the company was entitled to royalties. And then, he says, he disappeared into the United States Postal Service, where he worked for decades sorting mail and loading trucks. "Doing that is like spending 20 years in one day," he says.

But through it all, he says, he never abandoned his dream of being a songwriter. He wrote ballads, novelties, show tunes, country-and-western songs, anything he thought would sell, and left them at stage doors at the Roxy, the Paramount and the Strand, in a time-honored tradition "to try to get my songs to the artists."

"But they never took one of my songs," he says, waving his hands at the memory. ''I thought I would be discovered or something, but it doesn't work that way."

I always intended to go see Bingo one of these Monday nights, but I never did. Wish I would have taken the time to meet this NYC original....

Here's Bingo in action at the Lakeside Lounge in 2006...

And at the 6 stop at Astor Place...

$4 million Carriage House will "rejuvinate" while the location will "seduce" you

A new listing came out this week.... Let's take a look at this offering on Fifth Street near Cooper Square, via Corcoran:

SECLUDED CARRIAGE HOUSE. A rare offering! private rear townhouse. This 25' wide threestory plus finished basement rear carriage house has recently undergone a meticulous andtasteful architect designed renovation. From the ground up, only the finest custom finishesadorn this fantastic modernist home. The property's serene setting which boasts both a private and charming courtyard as well as a large rooftop terrace will rejuvinate you. To seduce you, a dynamic Bowery meets East Village locale is downtown's new hip and exiciting neighborhood. You will want to make this gem your oasis in the city!

And here's a look at the $4.25 million home....

According to StreetEasy, the house was on the market for $4,995 million in 2008... Given the proximity of this serene oasis in the city to the Cooper Square Hotel, you'll likely have to enjoy that outdoor space in the winter...when the hotel's penthouse party terrace isn't in use...

A Building retail space still on the market

After looking at Monday's A Building post (lobby back open, penthouse continues to come down in price), a reader sent along a note saying that the A Building's retail space on 14th Street was still on the market.

Indeed!

According to the listing at Tower Brokerage(PDF):

New luxury store front at the base of a newly constructed 96-unit luxury condominium. Approximately 1,400 sq. ft. and located at the intersection of 1st Avenue & East 14th Street. 25’ of glass frontage and only steps from the 1st Avenue L-train subway station.

Neighbors include: CVS Pharmacy, Chase Bank, Starbucks, Associated Supermarket, Beth Israel Medical Center, Payless Shoes, Strawberry, Grey Papayas & Stuyvesant Town

Rent: $10,500 per month

As the reader noted, given the rent and list of neighbors, only a chain will be able to take this space...

Pork place

It appears that This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef is now open on First Avenue near Ninth Street...

...at the former site of Birdies.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

More details on Day of Ray

The Save Ray's organizers have announced a few more details about the benefit for Ray's Candy Store:

Day of RAY! Saturday February 6th from noon - 6pm
Benefit show at Sidewalk Cafe! Come see every musician, comedian, poet and performer this neighborhood has to offer.
$5 donation entrance fee at the door, no drink minimums.
15% of sales made from the show going toward the cause.

More details to follow. If you want to help out in any way, then please get in touch with Leah at:

boyslikebarbies@gmail.com

And, you know, there's a Save Ray's Twitter feed, which will have the latest updates...

www.twitter.com/saverays

And there's the Save Ray's Facebook page...

Meanwhile, John Penley has posted photos to his site from Saturday's Save Ray's rally, including this one of Biker Bill...

See more photos here.

What's available at the Christodora House

Someone who sort of knows what he/she is talking about recently told me that apartments at the Christodora House -- everyone's favorite symbol of gentrification in the neighborhood -- rarely hit the market.

Really? So I took a look to see what might be available... According to StreetEasy, there is one unit for sale, one unit in contract and two apartments for rent.

First, the unit that's in contract. Curbed wrote about the newly renovated one bedroom apartment back in October.

The fourth-floor unit with 1,042 square feet was listed by Corcoran at $1,348 million last Sept 15. It was reduced by 4 percent to $1,295 million on Oct. 31. It went into contract for the $1,295 million on Jan. 7.

The other unit for sale in the building is a 400-square foot studio going for $535,000 on the ninth floor. (Good for $1,338 per square foot.) It just hit the market last Tuesday. Here's the listing with some lousy photos.

In addition, there's a 500-square-foot one bedroom apartment on the 12th floor that available for a short-term rental from March 1 to May 31. It's going for $2,750 per month. Here's your view, in part:

And lastly! There's a 1,000-square-foot one bedroom apartment that's now $3,600 a month (down from $4,500). Or you can buy it for $1,450 million. According to the listing, it can also be combined with the unit next door for 2,000 square feet of luxury.

By the way, the entire Christodora was sold in 1975 for $62,500.

[Sketch via Michael Casey]

The CB3/SLA agenda looks to be a doozy in February

After a few ho-hum meetings the past several months, there's plenty here on the agenda to chew over...

SLA & DCA Licensing Committee
Monday, February 8 at 6:30 pm -- JASA/Green Residence - 200 East 5th Street at Bowery
Meeting agenda is here.

Let's take a look! (And my comments are in bold...)

Renewal with Complaint History
Banjo Jim's (Banjo Family LLC), 700 E 9th St (op)
[We need more places like Banjo Jim's...]

Sidewalk Cafe Application
Cafe Mocha, 116 2nd Ave

188 Ave A Take Out Food Corp, 188 Ave A
[This is Kool Bloo at 12th Street... they want a sidewalk bar...? Can't wait to hear what Jill has to say about this!]

Applications within Resolution Areas
Sigmund Pretzel Shop Inc, 29 Ave B (rw)

SPOT (ACO Bakery Inc), 13 St Marks Pl (rw)

St Marks PHO Corp, 13 St Marks Pl (rw)

Moon Pie Pizzeria, 31 Ave C (up/op)

Eat Pisode (Eat Pisode Inc), 123 Ludlow St (rw)

Cafe Allumette, 182 Ave B (rw)

Casa de Chabela Corp, 40 Ave B (op)

T Poutine LLC, 168 Ludlow St (rw)

Alterations/Transfers/Upgrades
Corp to be Formed, 14 Ave B (trans/op) (Butterfly)
[We reported on this bar coming here back in December...at Second Street]

88 Orchard (Robusto NYC Inc), 88 Orchard St (alt/rw/extend license to sidewalk cafe)

A&D Wine Corp, 65 2nd Ave (trans/op) (Crem Caffe)

93 Art LLC, 93 3rd Ave (trans/op) (Lit)

The Horse Box (Corp to be Formed), 218 Ave A (trans/op) (Cricket & Eddie)
[This was one of the five bars for sale in the neighborhood...rent was going for $5,200 a month]

Matsu Kado (Gaira Food Inc), 104 2nd Ave (trans/rw) (Spice)

Freemans (Freeman Holdings LLC), 191 Chrystie St (alt/op/expansion to 2nd floor, 2nd floor service bar, kitchen prep in basement)

Blvd Crash Mansion (199 Bowery Rest Group LLC), 199 Bowery (alt/op)

Corp to be Formed, 103 2nd Ave (trans/op) (Bounce Deuce)
[This is the Pita Pan place... the signage has been up...]

AR Restaurant (40 Mulberry Restaurant Inc), 40 Mulberry St (trans/op) (Antica Roma Restaurant)

Nomad (Sandwich Shop Inc), 78 2nd Ave (alt/rw/new bar, new handicap bathroom, install air conditioning, install gas oven)
[Ah! This is why the former Indian Curry Mahal was gutted...]

Barramundi (Torquay NY LLC), 67 Clinton St (alt/add/op)

New Liquor License Applications
Rivington Wine & Cheese Inc, 95 Delancey St (op)

Max (Luigi Iasilli), 36 E 2nd St (rw)

Zaitzeff (Ziatzeff 3 Corp), 194 E 2nd St (op)

Porchetta (Porchetta LLC), 110 E 7th St (eb)
[Have a beer now with your salty pork!]

New Lang Qi Zhong Hing Seafood Inc, 30 Market St (eb)

Chickpea (Chickpea at Houston Inc), 147 E Houston St (rw)

Cafe Amore Pizza (Cafe Amore of NY Restaurant Inc), 104 E 14th St (rw)

Corp to be Formed, 77 E 4th St (rw)

Kumo Restaurant (JRH Restaurant Group Inc), 214 1st Ave (rw)

Tallgrass Burger (Tallgrass Burger Company Inc), 214B 1st Ave (eb)
[214 First Avenue is the former Elvie's Turo-Turo]

Bring out your poof and fist pumps for the Jersey Shore Pageant

Sidebar, a bar that no one you know ever goes to, is hosting a Jersey Shore Pageant Thursday night at 7 where you can show off your poof, fist pump, fake tan, blow out and what not. Sounds like any other night around... (Via ChiChi212)

Harrison Ford's giant head continues to give Nolita the creeps

OK, it has been giving me the creeps when I've been walking on the Bowery at Great Jones of late... Here's the view looking west from the Bowery....

"Hello, I'm Harrison. I'd like to put you to sleep..."

Monday, January 25, 2010

On the menu tonight at Ray's: Cheesecake

As Bob Arihoood has reported, it's Ray's 77th birthday today ... and they'll be festivities tonight at Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A and Seventh Street... A stripper or two are said to be there for a dance at 11 p.m.

Bob also has some good news:

Today we can report a little good news . A professional negotiator is now at work establishing communications between the buildings managing agent and Ray . Today we can say that this process has begun ...

Bob took that photo above during Ray's 76th birthday bash... more photos here.

Kiss Alive on Wall Street

At the New York Stock Exchange today, Kiss rang the closing bell... And I got there about 30 seconds too late to see the gang emerge from inside for a photo opp... So I stood there like a dork with a few other dorks who were trying to coax Gene Simmons out from the luxury limo liner...to no avail.

...the door closed and the band was off...

Here's some NYSE video from the Closing Bell.

Weekend at Ray's

On Friday night, Lilly O'Donnell and Haley Moss Dillon, who helped organize a Save Ray's fundraiser via PayPal, presented Ray with a check for $1,000, the total collected to date. I asked Lilly how Ray responded to the check. "He was a little taken aback, but very sweet and thankful, as always! He smiled more than he has in the last week or so."

On Saturday night, Black Ops Bob and the Slacktivists held a protest/fundraiser/street party in front of Ray's...

As Slum Goddess wrote:

People stood across from Ray's with signs and candles and chanted at people to buy stuff to help Ray. I wasn't sure if this would scare people away and hinder business, but business was really good for Ray and Ray was very happy about all the support and love shown.

For more photos from the evening:

Neither More Nor Less

East Village Corner -- Musings by Melanie

Then, Sunday by the Pee Phone on Seventh Street and Avenue A...

Other Ray's-related activities:

Sidewalk Cafe, 94 Avenue A at Sixth Street, will be hosting a benefit show on Saturday, Feb. 6 for Ray's Candy Store. More details to follow. If you want to play or help out in any way, then please get in touch with Leah at:

boyslikebarbies@gmail.com

There's a Save Ray's Twitter feed, which will have the latest updates...

www.twitter.com/saverays

And there's the Save Ray's Facebook page...

Despite gazillion dollar new building, Cooper Union already forced to use trailers for classrooms

NO, NO, I'm only kidding! Jeez! But, from a distance, this site did give me pause the other morning....until I got up closer...

Here's a look at the portable public park housed inside the Coachmen Travel Trailer.

A Building lobby back in business; Plus! A home here "for serious investors only" and the penthouse keeps getting lower

And I really don't see much difference, though, of course, I've never actually been inside.

Meanwhile, as an FYI, there's a two-bedroom, two-bathroom (plus home office!) still available for $1.5 million. According to the listing:

**FOR SERIOUS INVESTORS ONLY**TENANT IS IN PLACE UNTIL AUGUST 2010 at $6,400.00 per month with a 1 year lease renewal option.

StreetEasy notes this unit was marked down $45,000 last week.

Also, there was an open house yesterday for the $2.1 million penthouse. This unit was reduced by $250,000 (11 percent) on Jan. 14. As Curbed reported, this apartment was bought for $2.05 million in 2008. The price was $2.35 million this past fall. No word on whether the PH will come furnished with that zebra-skin ensemble below...

[Photo via Curbed]

Previously on EV Grieve:
A Building residents forced to use the service entrance (Dec. 7)

Dead water on Second Avenue?

Last week, the plywood went up at the Sea Thai Bistro at 75 Second Avenue...

There's a sign for passersby saying that you can get the "same old experience at the new location," Spice, just up the avenue at Sixth Street -- not exactly new. Of course, Spice isn't new: It opened here in August 2008. (And Eat and Spice are owned by the same people...an empire that includes Peep and Eat...)

I'm not sure just yet if Sea is simply renovating this space...or if something else is taking over. Regardless, perhaps restaurants with "Sea" in their names just aren't meant for this stretch of Second Avenue...the next block up, Sea Salt remains empty.