Remembering Nicholas and Moises: the Figueroa family marks the 4-year anniversary of the 2nd Avenue gas explosion

Today marks the fourth anniversary of the gas explosion that killed two men, injured more than 20 others, and leveled 119, 121 and 123 Second Ave.

Members of the Figueroa family gathered on the corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street today to remember their brother and son Nicholas Figueroa, 23, who died on March 26, 2105, along with Moises Locón, 27.


[Top photos by Steven]

Figueroa, who had recently graduated from SUNY Buffalo State, was at Sushi Park, 121 Second Ave. and the site of the fatal blast, dining with a co-worker. Locón worked at Sushi Park.


[Photo by Lola Sáenz]

The previous owner of 119 and 121 Second Ave., Maria Hrynenko, her son Michael Hrynenko (now deceased), contractor Dilber Kukic and their plumber Anthanasios Ioannidis illegally tampered with the gas line at 121 Second Ave. then failed to warn those in the building before the blast, according to the Manhattan District Attorney.

According to public records, Hrynenko and the other defendants will appear in court again April 26. Records show that Hrynenko and the other accused have appeared in New York County Criminal Court 25 times since February 2016... and the outcome was the same — "adjourned/bail continued" — since their initial appearance.

On March 20, Andrew Trombettas, the plumber indicted in connection to the explosion, was sentenced to probation and community service. He reportedly signed off on required paperwork that went to the Department of Buildings and Con Edison because a friend who actually did the job did not have a license.

Meanwhile, work continues on the retail-residential complex coming to part of the blast site. The new building will include a commemorative plaque that honors Locón and Figueroa.


[Photo by Lola Sáenz]

Previously on EV Grieve:
RIP Nicholas Figueroa

RIP Moises Ismael Locón Yac

A memorial on 2nd Avenue

Birthday wishes for Nicholas Figueroa on 2nd Avenue

A family continues to feel the loss on 2nd Avenue

Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street

What's in your empty storefront? Capital One is closing both of its East Village branches

After May 8, Capital One will no longer have a bank branch in the East Village.

Closing notices are up in the locations on Third Street and Avenue C (above) ...



... and 10th Street and Second Avenue...


[Photos on 2nd Avenue by Steven]



The Capital One on the southeast corner of Third Avenue and 14th Street closed in July 2016 (that retail space is still for rent).

The bank is sending customers over to the newish multi-level flagship location on 14th Street and Broadway. (An EVG tipster first told us about these pending closures in January. Per the tipster: "It's Union Square or be damned" for Capital One customers.)

This continues the trend where banks are closing down local branches. Last June, The Wall Street Journal reported that banks across the United States have closed nearly 9,000 branches this decade "as more customers rely on digital tools to complete routine banking transactions."

In recent years, Citi, Chase and Santander all shuttered their outposts on Avenue A, making it a bank-branch-free zone for now.

Tickets for the 'Other Music' documentary screening at Village East go on sale today

The "Other Music" documentary makes its world premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.

And tickets for screenings at the Village East, Second Avenue at 12th Street, and Regal Cinemas Battery Park, go on sale this morning at 11 via this link.

Here are the dates and times for the various screenings:

• April 26, 9 p.m. — Village East
• April 27, 8:45 p.m. — Regal Cinemas Battery Park
• April 28, 12:15 p.m. — Regal Cinemas Battery Park
• May 5, 8:45 p.m. — Village East

The film chronicles the 20-year history and legacy of Other Music, 15 E. Fourth St. between Lafayette and Broadway, its influence on music in New York City and its closure in June 2016.



Other Music's owners cited rising rents and the growing hardship of selling music out of a physical store as reasons behind the closure.

Incoming: Me ❤️ Cue on St. Mark's Place; Empire Smoke Shop on 1st Avenue

Signage arrived late last week at 17 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue for Me ❤️ Cue ... apparently they will be selling cosmetics, not unlike Shibuyala that just opened at 37 St. Mark's Place.


[Me Cue photos by Steven]

This storefront was most recently (as you can see from the awning under the Me ❤️ Cue sign) the Mandala Tibetan Store.

Updated 3/28: Me ❤️ Cue is now open.

---

And that Optimo Cigars shop/deli (with its 75-cent coffee) closed last month on First Avenue between Third Street and Fourth Street ...


[Last month]

Workers were putting up the signage for the new tenant yesterday — the Empire Smoke Shop, whose awning touts e-cigarettes, CBD and Kratom...



And a flashback to an old friend next door — the Pudgie's-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's action-packed combo that ruled the Avenue in 2012...


[Photo in 2012 by Bobby Williams]

Monday's parting shot

Third Street today between Avenue C and Avenue D... thanks to Jason Chatfield for the photo!

'Heeere's Kubrick' returns to the City Cinemas Village East

[Oh hi HAL]

Once again this spring, City Cinemas Village East on Second Avenue and 12th Street is celebrating the work of director Stanley Kubrick on the next few Wednesday evenings... starting tomorrow night at 7 with "2001: A Space Odyssey" in 70mm (and in the big auditorium).



... and the rest of the lineup...

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Village East Cinema (@villageeastcinema) on Mar 19, 2019 at 12:15pm PDT

Find ticket info at this link.

Grant Shaffer's NY See

Here's the latest installment — panel No. 40 — of NY See, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's comic series — an observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood — and NYC.

There's not much left of the former St. Denis Hotel on Broadway

[Photo by Dave on 7th]

Workers have been slowing bringing down the historic St. Denis building, 799 Broadway at 11th Street.

The above photo via Dave on 7th shows what's left. Workers started the demo prep work back in September.

Normandy Real Estate Partners bought the property for somewhere in the $100 million ballpark back in 2016.

On March 14, the city OK'd permits for the 12-story, "loft-style building" taking the place of the St. Denis. According to a news release about the address: "799 Broadway will feature floor-to-ceiling glass, private terraces, and 15 foot high ceilings. This combination of highly desirable location and state-of-the-art design will appeal to New York’s most progressive and creative companies."

And a rendering of the new building...


[Binyan Studios]

The nearly demolished structure, which was 165 years old, was noteworthy for many reasons. It opened in 1853 as the St. Denis Hotel, which is where Ulysses S. Grant wrote his post-Civil War memoirs and Alexander Graham Bell provided the first demonstration of the telephone to New Yorkers.



However, the building was not landmarked... and it was not in a Historic District.

For more history, Jeremiah Moss, who once worked in the St. Denis, wrote this feature titled "The Death and Life of a Great American Building" for The New York Review of Books in March 2018.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Maps show that Midtown South does NOT include the East Village/Astor Place

Report: Former St. Denis Hotel selling for $100 million


[Image via Wikipedia Commons]

The Asian Taste awning has arrived on 3rd and B; China Wok redux?

[Photo by Salim]

On Saturday, EVG regular Salim reported that workers put in place the new awning for Asian Taste (hello Choc font!), coming soon to the space on the northwest corner of Avenue B and Third Street.

There is an unconfirmed reader report that Asian Taste is from the same family who ran the previous establishment here, the quick-serve China Wok that closed in early December. (A reader also spotted one of the former China Wok cooks helping with the sign.)

Upon its closure in December, there were rumors that the business was Cromanated via landlord Steve Croman. The for-rent sign arrived in mid-December.

Whatever the case, the family felt good enough to return to this corner.


[Photo Saturday evening by Harold Chester]

Timna announces April 14 closing date on St. Mark's Place

Timna, the Israeli-Mediterranean restaurant at 109 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue, is closing after service on April 14.

Chef Nir Mesika shared the news on the restaurant's Instagram page Friday:

Four years ago, I‘ve had an idea to cook modern Israeli food, to open a small place with a small but dedicated staff.

We have invested all our energy in cooking and hospitality, bringing the Israeli essence and character to the plate, here in NYC. Timna was created out of thin air, built with our own hands. We’ve always kept our modesty and our feet on the ground. I promised myself and my clients that everything will be at the highest standards, to best of my ability (and budget), whether it's the food, our attitude toward the customers, and the employees who work with us.

Unfortunately, after four amazing but undoubtfully challenging years, we are forced to close Timna.

The restaurant will remain open until April 14th — so come and celebrate with us the years that we’ve had, and those that still await all of us.

This is undeniably a very difficult decision, which I did not really want to make but was really forced to make. Financial issues and all sort of disagreements have led me to deal with running the restaurant without support, to such extent that it can no longer be sustained.

I know that many people will miss Timna, I certainly will, but I choose to remember all the good things, embrace and learn from the bad, and realize that there is no choice but to move on to the next big thing.

I would like to thank my beloved staff who accompanied me all these years, each of you have added character and color to this place called Timna, and of course a huge thanks to our customers, coming from afar or from across the street. Each and every one of you who walked into the restaurant in these past four years would make me excited every day that you’ve chosen to dine at Timna.

Timna opened in April 2015 in space that was formerly an outpost of the mini-chain of Hummus Place restaurants.

H/T Vinny & O!

Japanese cafe pops up on 4th Street

Yon Chome is now open at 233 E. Fourth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B...



The pop-up cafe — here for at least a month — is serving matcha lattes, sencha tea and other Japanese-style drinks and snacks...



Until last September, this small space was home to Matcha Cafe Wabi for three years.

Croissanteria is closing on Avenue A

Croissanteria, the bakery and cafe offering coffee and a croissant-centric menu, is wrapping up nearly seven years at 68 Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.

On Friday, an EVG reader noted a sign on the door saying the shop was closing in the next few days. On Saturday, that sign was gone, replaced by a notice of an auction ("everything for sale"), which takes place April 1 at 1 p.m.

The last day is said to be Wednesday. [Updated 3/28: As of today, the shop was still open.]

The cafe opened in October 2012.

H/T Steven and SB

After bankruptcy auction, 113 E. 2nd St. returns to market for $1.1 million more

A for-sale sign has been posted outside the townhouse at 113 E. Second St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Just last month, as The Real Deal reported, an entity called 180 Source Realty LLC bought the property for $7.4 million in a bankruptcy auction.

Apparently 180 Source Realty LLC — property records list its manager as Michael Lavian — isn't keeping the five-story, two-family home: it hit the market last week for $8.4 million.

Here's a bit of the listing via Leslie J. Garfield:

Number 113 is currently configured as a two-family with a former performance space in the garden floor. This stately red brick townhome features incredible ceiling heights throughout, a spacious garden, and an open layout chef’s kitchen. The upper quadruplex features 7 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms and the parlor floor unit is a charming 1 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment. With no buildings obstructing light on either side of the house, light flows through both the front and rear facades.

The townhouse was once home to Phil Hartman and Doris Kornish, the founders of the Two Boots empire, and had been the center of a protracted divorce battle, as the Post reported in October 2017. At that time, the asking price was $10.5 million.

The home has a little less shade these days: the tree outside the property was recently cut down...

Moroccan arts and crafts for this 9th Street storefront

[Photos by Steven]

Newspaper has covered the windows of the storefront at 428 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue of late ... and now, as this photo via Steven shows, a coming soon sign is up for the next business — Moroccan arts and crafts (not sure if that is the actual name of the shop or just what they'll sell — or both!) ...



A vegan cafe called V ❤️ U was set to open here in 2018, though those plans never materialized.

Until late 2017, this retail spot was home to Mr. Throwback. The seller of 1990s-era sports apparel, retro sneakers, video games and toys moved across the street to a new space.

Remembering the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire 108 years later

Tomorrow marks the 108th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire ... ahead of that, volunteers were out today taking part in the chalking project (organized by Street Pictures), writing the name and age of the victims in front of the buildings where they lived on the Lower East Side.


[EVG reader photo from 2nd Avenue]

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the largest industrial disaster in the city's history ... causing the death of 146 garment workers (mostly young women) who either died from the fire or jumped to their deaths.

The Triangle Waist Company was located on the northwest corner of Greene Street and Washington Place just east of Washington Square Park.

Find more information on ceremonies tomorrow at The Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition website.

At the start of the 3 Blind Mice alley cat for Aurilla Lawrence

Friends of cyclist Aurilla Lawrence held a 3 Blind Mice alley cat in her honor yesterday. The ride also served as a benefit for Lawrence (aka Aurilla Gorilla), a 25-year-old bicycle messenger who was fatally struck by a hit-and-run truck driver in Williamsburg on Feb. 28. (Read more about her here.)

Derek Berg shared these photos at the start of the race in Tompkins Square Park yesterday afternoon...











Lawrence's friends are also planning to adopt a bench in her name in Tompkins Square Park.

Week in Grieview

[Not new high atop the Village East theater on 2nd Avenue]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Probation for plumber indicted in deadly 2nd Avenue gas explosion (Thursday)

Local elected officials urging the MTA/DOT to keep local service in M14 SBS plan (Friday)

A visit to Peter Jarema Funeral Home on 7th Street (Friday)

A good egg in Tompkins Square Park? Hatch watch for red-tailed hawks Amelia and Christo (Thursday)

At the 10th Annual Zoroastrian Fire Jumping event at La Plaza Cultural (Wednesday)

The mystery of Moishe's (Thursday)

Y Cafe has closed on Avenue B (Monday)

RIP East River Park (Thursday)

Kushner selling 5 East Village buildings; report cites illegal occupation in EV properties (Wednesday)

This week's NY See (Monday)

2 reports of fires (Monday)

Citi Bike unveils new valet service on St Mark's Place and 1st Avenue; more to come (Tuesday)

Renovations underway in the former Grassroots Tavern space on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

Team behind the Wayland and the Wild Son eyes St. Mark's Place for 2 restaurants (Monday)

Auriga Cafe announces itself on Avenue A (Monday)

Paper Daisy debuts on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

Report: No plans to remove the Michael Jackson mural from the wall on 11th Street (Tuesday)

Now the Sidewalk looks closed (Monday)

Jiang Diner coming soon to 5th Street (Wednesday)

Now-closed Classic Man Barber Lounge space for rent on 9th Street (Friday)

Village Square Pizza debuts on Avenue A (Friday)

"To all the young geniuses breaking into this building" (Tuesday)

Shibuyala softly opens on St. Mark's Place (Friday)

Comedy gold? Upright Citizens Brigade selling off contents from its former East Village theater (Thursday)

Food for thought: Milk Bar's Crack Pie is not a cute name, critic says (Wednesday)

Durden has not been open lately (Monday)

... and this scene on Seventh Street was tentatively titled "Mix-n-Match"...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

---

Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter

HBD Lawrence Ferlinghetti at Howl! Happening

Lawrence Ferlinghetti turns 100 today ... and Howl! Happening has a day of activities planned to honor the poet, painter, activist and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers in San Francisco.

Among the activities planned from 2:30 to 8:30 p.m.: screenings of WNET's segment "USA: Poetry" and the documentary "Ferlinghetti" as well as readings by Ed Sanders, Hettie Jones, David Henderson, Eileen Myles, Bob Holman, Anne Waldman, Helixx C. Armageddon, Puma Perl, Maggie Dubris and Michael McClure (via video) along with performances by Eric Andersen, Len Chandler and Lenny Kaye.

The day will include a launch of Ferlinghetti’s new novel "Little Boy."

Find more details at this link. Howl! happening is at 6 E. First St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Last day for Good Records NYC on 5th Street

Good Records NYC bows out today after 14 years in the East Village.

However, as previously reported, the storefront here on Fifth Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square will remain a like-minded shop specializing in used and vintage vinyl.

On April 1, Stranded Records, a San Francisco-based store that runs the Superior Viaduct label, is expected to take over the space at 218 E. Fifth St.

In an Instagram post on March 9, Good Records owner Jonny Sklute noted that "lots of things will remain the same," including most of the staff — and inventory.

Gothamist had more earlier this month:

It's not as though business wasn't good — Sklute told Gothamist that the store had their best sales year ever in 2017. "It was just time," he told us over the phone. Originally from the west coast, he moved back there with his family two years ago after over two decades in NYC. He said he was "burnt" from 14 years of keeping the shop open, also noting high rents in the area. "Eventually it just became way too costly and way too difficult to try and run a small little shop," he said.

Sklute said that the folks at Stranded Records were looking to expand to NYC, so this scenario worked out for everyone involved.

The posted hours today are from noon to 7 p.m.

Previously on Ev Grieve:
Good Records NYC is closing, though the shop will continue to sell vinyl as Stranded Records

Tompkins Square Park, 7:46 a.m., March 24

Saturday's parting shot

parking challenges on 11th Street...

On the avenues

Crane work is expected today on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street... EVG reader Daniel notes that the posted signs warn against parking on Second Avenue between "5th Ave and 6th Ave." You've been warned.

Noted

Found lying on the sidewalk on Avenue B between 10th Street between 11th Street...



Photos submitted by Vinny & O...

Friday's parting shot(s)

A new NYPL flag for the Ottendorfer branch on Second Avenue between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street...



Ottendorfer reopened on March 11 after a months-long renovation in which workers installed a new fire alarm and life-safety system.

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Who let the Dogs out?

Tickets went on sale today for Adam Ant's Sept. 19 show at the Beacon Theater... Mr. Ant is playing the "Friend or Foe" album from 1982 in its entirety as well as other favorites from his tapestry of hits and misses.

The above video is for 1981's "Dog Eat Dog," his first top-10 hit.