Noted

From The Real Deal today:

Out of a total of 4,580 condos projected to hit the Manhattan market by 2016, nearly 30 percent will be located below 14th Street, according to a new report from the Marketing Directors.

In 2016, the Marketing Directors projected 17 new condo buildings Downtown with a total of 823 units. In a twist, the location of the buildings will shift to the Lower East Side and East Village from Tribeca and the Financial District.

Black Seed bagel plywood report

Several readers noted the arrival today of the plywood outside 176 First Ave., the future home of Black Seed bagels… as the renovations continue here between East 10th Street and East 11th Street…

No word just yet on an official opening date.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Black Seed bringing bagels to the former DeRobertis space on 1st Avenue (43 comments)

A last look at De Robertis before its conversion to Black Seed bagels

There's a new MCA in town

On May 4, 2012, Adam Yauch, MCA of the Beastie Boys, died of cancer. He was 47.

On the anniversary of his death, @cramcept created a new mural on East Seventh Street just west of First Avenue ...

The mural replaces the one below that @cramcept created in May 2012...

Rumor: Vegetarian sandwich shop in the works for former Dirt Candy space

Last Tuesday we noted the fake menu for a restaurant called Chickens (Chicken Dip with Chicken Chips!) on the former Dirt Candy space on East Ninth Street.

Now a tipster passes along word what might really be coming here between Avenue A and First Avenue: A quick-serve vegetarian sandwich shop ... with a tentative June opening date.

Dirt Candy closed here at the end of last August to move to a larger space on Allen Street.

Dirt Candy chef Amanda Cohen confirmed to us last week that she had sold the small space that housed her vegetarian restaurant, but couldn't elaborate on the new venture.

Previously on EV Grieve:
What the cluck? Chickens in the works for former vegetarian hotspot Dirt Candy on East 9th Street

Veggie friendly Avant Garden in the works for former Gingersnap's space on East 7th Street

[EVG file photo]

Here's more information about what's being proposed for the former Gingersnap's Organic space at 130 E. Seventh St. just west of Avenue A.

According to materials on file (PDF!) at the CB3 website ahead of this month's SLA committee meeting, the space will house Avant Garden (an homage to Courtney Barnett's "Avant Gardener"?), a restaurant serving vegan cuisine.

Avant Garden is seeking to serve vegan wine and beer to "accompany the seasonal cuisine selections carefully selected by our in house sommelier." 

The proposed hours are 5 p.m. to midnight daily.

If approved, then this will be the latest East Village entry from Ravi DeRossi (the paperwork lists him as Ravi Lalchandani), who owns Death & Co., Cienfuegos and Proletariat, among several other bars/restaurants.

Here are the sample menus included with the CB3 materials…





CB3 watchers are curious about this application. Back in October 2012, "DeRossi and his surrogates got a civic lashing ... for converting the shuttered Jane's Sweet Buns pastry shop into the beer bar Proletariat without providing a 30-day notice to the board," according to Grub Street.

In the fall of 2011, CB3 OK'd a wine-beer license for Jane's Sweet Buns on St. Mark's Place. At the time, DeRossi assured the skeptics about the concept of a bakery serving alcohol. All just to pair wine with the buns and desserts.

"It was never intended to be a bar," he said of Jane's, according to coverage in The Local. "It's completely innocuous and an asset to the community."

Gingersnap's left this space back in January for a new West Village location.

The SLA committee meeting is May 18 at the CB3 office (BYOB), 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Sidewalk bridge arrives at 515 E. 5th St., site of Ben Shaoul's illegal penthouse conversion

Workers arrived late yesterday afternoon to assemble a sidewalk bridge outside 515 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B, where, perhaps, the long-contested penthouse will finally be removed.

A quickie recap of our previous recaps: The Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) had previously ruled in 2008 that landlord Ben Shaoul needed to remove the 6th and 7th floors. However, his attorneys had requested that the city grant a zoning variance to "permit the constructed enlargement, minus the penthouse, to remain" here.

Last September, the BSA gave Shaoul 60 days to complete demolition. Upon documentation of the removal, the BSA would then consider granting the assorted zoning variances to keep the 6th floor. The work permit to remove the penthouse was filed on Feb. 4 and approved on April 2, according to DOB documents.

According to the Tenants Association of 515 East Fifth Street, the hearing on the zoning and Multiple Dwelling Law variances is next Tuesday, May 12.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] 5 years later, another BSA hearing on illegal rooftop addition at 515 E. Fifth St.

Protest at 515 E. Fifth St. this morning, site of Ben Shaoul's illegal addition

The disappearing illegal penthouse of 514-516 E. 6th St.

Never-ending battle wages on over additional floors at 515 E. Fifth St.

Never-ending battle over additional floors at 515 E. Fifth St. promises to keep being never-ending

CB3 not into Ben Shaoul's zoning variance for 515 E. 5th St.

Another BSA hearing on Ben Shaoul's illegal rooftop addition; plus, rent 1 of the contested units!

BSA tells Ben Shaoul to remove the illegal penthouse on East 5th Street within 60 days

Virginia's is now open on East 11th Street

[Photo from Sunday]

Virginia's opened last evening at 647 E. 11th St. between Avenue B and Avenue C. (The space was formerly the short-lived Sliders.)

Parters in the new venture are Christian Ramos, former sous chef of Per Se, and Reed Adelson, formerly of Locanda Verde.

Here's some of the info that reps for the restaurant sent us yesterday via email:

The duo first met while working at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, and now years later have partnered to debut their first restaurant in NYC.

The cozy 38-seat space is named Virginia’s after their mothers’ coincidental shared name, and features a vibrant and accessible American menu rooted in chef Ramos’ classic training at Per Se and other fine dining establishments. Chef Ramos’ market-driven menu features dishes such as:

• Crispy Sweetbreads with apricot, pea Leaves, and charred lemon
• Seppia a la Plancha with asparagus, green garlic, and togarashi mayonnaise
• Roasted Duck Breast with fermented soybean, plum and breakfast radish
• Stuffed Suckling Pig with marinated fennel, strawberries and sherry vinegar
• Atlantic Striped Bass, saffron, Manila clams, and new crop potatoes

While desserts from sous chef Lauren Calhoun, formerly of Roberta’s and Charlie Trotter’s, include Chocolate Beet Cake with beet cream, shaved Oaxaca chocolate and amaretti; and Raw Honey Panna Cotta with rhubarb compote, pickled rhubarb and rye biscotti.

Here's the menu…

Virginia's

New York magazine has photos of some of the dishes here.

Virginia's is open for dinner from 6-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 6-midnight on Friday-Saturday.

'Tompkins Square Park,' now a breakup song by Mumford & Sons

The London-based band Mumford & Sons have a new record out tomorrow ... ahead of that they released a single from Wilder Mind, their third record, called "Tompkins Square Park" ... "a breakup anthem that honors Mumford’s adopted home, New York City."

Presented here now without commentary...

Support for Nepal earthquake victims tomorrow evening at Against the Grain on East 6th Street

Via the EVG inbox…

Date: Tuesday, May 5

Time: During business hours: (5 p.m. - 1 a.m.)

Location: Against the Grain, 620 E. Sixth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C

Event Summary: Local bartender Ashish Giri, who is Nepalese, decided to create a benefit for his neighbors back in Nepal.

Much of his family lives in Nepal and his neighborhood has been deeply affected by the recent earthquakes, so he has decided to invite people to come out and drink some beers, eat some food, and hang out at Against the Grain this Tuesday... his shift pay and tips will all go directly to his family to help out in the villages of Gundu and Bhaktapur, outside Kathmandu.

A percentage of draft sales will also be contributed.

B&H Dairy is close to reopening

[EVG photo from April]

Here's the latest Facebook message from B&H Dairy via their Facebook page this afternoon:

Hello to B&H customers and friends. We are very close to reopening, but still dealing with city permits to do the repairs and upgrades required to open. The office of Councilwoman Rosie Mendez has been helpful.

Just this morning we picked up the permit from the Landmarks Preservation Commission office to allow our plumber to connect the gas. We are waiting for the plumber to return our call. Once the plumber connects the gas we will need to be inspected by ConEd and the DOB. Once they say OK, we can open!

Our customers are like our family. Thank you all for you support over the last month! Watch our Facebook page for the reopening date.

B&H at 127 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and East Seventh Street has been closed since the deadly gas explosion on March 26.

Previously on EV Grieve:
How to help 73-year-old East Village mainstay B&H Dairy get up and running again