Favorite East Village places: Lucy's

[Click image for a better view]

A glance inside 135 Avenue A.

Photo by EVG contributor Michael Sean Edwards.

Here then, your new Third Avenue Subway signage

At the former home of Ben & Jerry's here at Third Avenue and NYU, as we promised the other day. No word if cabbies will get a discount here too.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Subway taking over from Ben & Jerry's on Third Avenue

That movie Keanu Reeves filmed in the East Village opens May 3

Remember back in the fall of 2010, when Keanu Reeves was around the neighborhood filming scenes for that low-budget indie called "Generation UM"?

Yeah, I didn't either.

But! I revisited the archives... (Here and here.)

Out friend Cat Sitter in the City remembers! From Oct. 6, 2010:

I keep getting distracted by the sound of someone yelling instructions and people cheering. I just went outside to see what's going on, and I found myself standing about six feet away from Keanu Reeves on the corner of 11th Street and Avenue A. Dressed all in black, he is tall and handsome as you would expect.

I didn't want to snap a photo of him because I felt like I would be invading his privacy (I wouldn't fare so well as a paparazzo, would I?), so I took a picture of the other people in the scene with him. They were all dressed like cowboys and cowgirls, and they kept chasing Keanu out of the parking lot and down 11th Street.

Anyway, the film starring the "Point Break" star (Johnny Utah!) opens in New York on May 3. And I just received an official media (woo!) invite for the screening (really likely not going).

Here is the official trailer. Take it away, Keanu!



OK then. And now, one more look back, when Keanu was supposedly living during the filming in a nice place on East Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C...

[EVG reader Steve from October 2010]

Oh, how you will entertain in this East Village Villa-in-the-Sky

If you like luxurious listing porn, then you are home! Here's a new-to-market condo at 125 E. 12th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue ... via Halstead:

VILLA-IN-THE-SKY

Entertain on not one, but two spectacular terraces in this exquisite architect-designed duplex penthouse loft located in a discreet 24-hour doorman condominium right at the crossroads of Greenwich Village and Union Square!

This unique and utterly private 3BR/2.5 Bath residence has been meticulously renovated using quality materials and features careful attention to detail throughout. A wide entrance foyer paved with Basaltina stone, leads to a perfectly proportioned Living/Dining room with elegant striped wenge and oak flooring, classic columns with Venetian-plaster finish, a wood burning fireplace, and beautiful light from a wall of oversized windows with French doors that open onto a lovely landscaped terrace.

Ohhh!

A custom built-in desk is perfect for quiet moments with your laptop, while a floor-to-ceiling glass door floods the room with natural light and opens onto the terrace, beckoning you to enjoy your morning coffee or catch up with the New York Times. At the opposite end of the apartment, you'll find the private Guest wing consisting of 2 bedrooms, a large hallway closet, and a beautiful guest bathroom with custom Hastings tiles and Dornbracht fittings.

Hummana hummana...

An additional access door to the terrace provides a seamless flow between public and private spaces and completes the lower level of this amazing home. Back in the Living room, a floating sky-lit staircase leads to the sumptuous Master Bedroom suite, a pin-drop quiet sanctuary with 12-foot vaulted ceilings, open city views, a large fitted walk-in closet, and a luxurious windowed bathroom clad in hand-cut beach glass and Carara marble featuring a custom sink, dual heated towel warmers, a glass-enclosed rain shower, and a deep Kholer soaking tub for two.

But wait — there's more!

This relaxing retreat is only rivaled by what awaits you outside the Master suite where a door opens onto an enormous magical landscaped roof garden replete with mature trees, specimen plantings, multi seating areas, a gas grill, and magnificent city views including the iconic Con Ed Clock Tower with its multi colored night time lights - all providing for the ultimate outdoor entertaining experience.

Phew. Just hand over $4,75 million and the place is yours...

Get your Load OUT tomorrow on East 3rd Street

From the EV Grieve inbox... via Fourth Arts Block...

Load OUT!
A Reuse and Repurposing RIOT

Saturday, 12-3PM

Location:
19 East 3rd Street
Between Bowery and 2nd Avenue

FREE E-Waste & Clothing/Textile Collection:
By Lower East Side Ecology Center and GrowNYC / Wearable Collections, April 6th, 12-3PM.

Admission to Load OUT!:
FREE admission for artists and art students
$5 for the general public

At Load OUT!, enjoy an afternoon of repurposing and recycling activities that showcase creative thinking about sustainability and the arts!

GET: Attendees are invited to take home all the donated costumes, props, and furniture they find. Artists are invited to participate for free. The general public will be charged a $5 entrance fee to participate. Whatever you decide to take away with you is FREE of charge.

GIVE: Load Out! also features clothing, textile and e-waste community collections — all open and free for everyone. A full list of accepted donations and other art-related activities is available below. Call 212-228-4670 ASAP to schedule an early donation.

For more details here.

Find articles about this year's event at DNAinfo and Gothamist.

Also.

Artist Amanda Browder will be working with FABnyc for the next few months to create a new piece that will cover a building on East 4th Street. DONATE FABRIC during Load OUT! for Amanda's project. Here are some suggested fabrics that you can donate for the project:

*Cotton, stiff fabrics that are not stretchy (flannel, wool, polyester, etc.)
*Colorful or striking patterns
*Bigger sections than a 1ft square — small scraps are always welcome, but the big stuff is useful.

[Image via Fourth Arts Block]

Reminders: Extra Place is open to the public

Spotted this sign the other day in Extra Place, the former alley that ran behind CBGB... And nearly six years on, it seems as if Avalon Bowery Place is still trying to make this "a slice of the Left Bank, a pedestrian mall lined with interesting boutiques and cafes."



As we've cut-n-paste written before, it hasn't been easy here. Businesses have come and gone. It took four years to finally replace the roadway with a sidewalk and add lights.

Do you think this will ever work as a destination location for nightlife, etc.? And do you want to make it too public?

Previously on EV Grieve:
With new restaurant opening, will Extra Place finally become a dining destination?

Extra Place now officially a Dead End

Meanwhile, Extra Place continues to maintain its proud heritage

Flop sweats: Dreams of being fit today in Tompkins Square Park

Well, darn — we missed this today in Tompkins Square Park... "FlipFit or Flop" was here. Where, per the website: "Contestants come from all 50 states in hopes of becoming the Next Best Fitness Star. Fit or Flop, an online reality series, features personal trainers and fitness instructors with a passion for fitness and a dream to make it big."







Bobby Williams and his personal trainer were onhand for these photos.

Cat Power's love letter to Manhattan includes stops in Tompkins Square Park and Max Fish

Stereogum has the new video clip from onetime East Village resident Cat Power today... Here's their take: "'Manhattan'" is an absolutely gorgeous wafting cloud of a song from Cat Power’s excellent 2012 album Sun, and its brand-new video effectively works as a love letter to the titular island."

Cat Power, aka Chan Marshall, co-directed the video with Greg Hunt. You'll spot many very familiar locations throughout the song.

Per Stereogum: "This is a wonderful music video, and if you are not currently in New York, it will make you wish you were there."

h/t EVG reader Riad

The Living Room no longer on this month's CB3/SLA agenda

As we've been reporting, The Living Room is hoping to move its live-music venue from Ludlow Street to East Second Street... and the owners were set to go before the CB3/SLA committee on Monday night.

However, a tipster notes that, for whatever reasons, they are no longer on the agenda. (See helpful arrow above.) The Living Room also withdrew before last month's meeting.

During a a recent community meeting, some residents on this block said that they were "vehemently opposed to the possibility of The Living Room" on this block between Avenue A and Avenue B. (Read that post here.)

Perhaps The Living Room wants to do more community outreach ... or look for another location. Many people have said they'd love to see The Living Room stay in the area — and not relocate to Brooklyn, where everyone seems to go to these days. And they have a little more time: The Living Room received another lease extension for their current home on Ludlow Street, as BoweryBoogie reported.

The space currently housing Klean & Kleaner, the laundromat at 173 E. Second St., remains on the market.

Developing: Accident involving NYU bus at Lafayette and East 4th Street

Just after 9 ... on East Fourth Street and Lafayette... details are scarce right at the moment... so we don't know exactly how the NYU bus ended up on the sidewalk next to Astor Wines ... photos via EVG reader Brad212...









More details as they become available...

Updated 10 a.m.:

Via Community Board 3 member Chad Marlow:

"I passed by the NYU bus this morning. Couldn't get too close because my kids were with me and it didn't look good. The bus definitely collided pretty violently with a black car (not certain if private or livery). When I passed by there were two fire trucks and at least one ambulance on the scene. It looked like the firefighters were making an effort to prey open the black car."

Updated 10:05 a.m.:

NYU Local is working on the story. Per their post: According to a user on Facebook, the bus "looks like it was sideswiped by a car on Lafayette. Windows shattered, Toyota bumper was laying on the sidewalk."