BREAKING: CVS is the 1st retail tenant for the Death Star!

[EVG file photo]

Well, 51 Astor Place/the IBM Watson Building/the Death Star has signed its first retail tenant, as the headline explained.

The Real Deal has the scoop:

Minskoff Equities’ angular, noir office building at 51 Astor Place has found a fittingly antiseptic lessee to sign on as its first retail tenant.

CVS, the pharmacy whose desire to maintain a squeaky-clean image led it it to stop selling cigarettes, has signed on to be the building’s first bona fide retail tenant since the retail space hit the market about two years ago, The Real Deal has learned.

The store is moving into roughly 11,500 square feet on the East Village building’s ground and concourse levels, according to developer Edward Minskoff.

Residents should be well-covered now with large drug store choices in the immediate area. There's already a huge Walgreens on Astor Place. And the Kmart on Astor Place with a large pharmacy area. Not to mention the recently expanded Walgreens on East 14th Street and Fourth Avenue … and the Duane Reade locations on East 14th Street and Third Avenue … and East 14th Street and Broadway ... and the Duane Reade that's rumored to be expanding on Third Avenue and East 10th Street. And… updated 5:03 p.m. Yes, and the Duane Reade on Broadway near East 10th Street...

Previously on EV Grieve:
3 retail spaces available at 51 Astor Place (22 comments)

You can finally shop at 51 Astor Place!

H/T to EVG regular Pinch!

Cops: This cyclist has nabbed 2 phones from pedestrians

Last Thursday we shared that Dashcam video showing a cyclist snatching a phone from a woman walking west on Seventh Street at Avenue A.

Apparently the cyclist has two victims...



On Saturday, the Post used this incident to help illustrate how the city is falling into ruin under Mayor de Blasio's watch...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Video: Cyclist snatches woman's phone on Avenue A; Citi Biker follows in pursuit

A memo from the NYC Department of Pedestrian Etiquette

[Click on image to enlarge]

EVG reader Katherine spotted this memo in the front door of a building along East Seventh Street… on official (heh) NYC Department of Pedestrian Etiquette...

Per the sign:

Effective April 1, 2016 all new residents and visitors to New York City Over the age of 16 will be required to take a mandatory training session on Proper Etiquette for navigating the sidewalks and streets of the greater metropolitan area.

And?

Upon completion of training, applicants must then pass an oral and practical exam in order to qualify for a NYC DPE Pedestrian Permit. Any mistakes will result in denial of permission to enter the city for a period of no less than one year.

Click on the image for what the examples of the violations might include… "stopping on a bike path with a big group to take pictures of squirrels" …

Here then, the new Moishe's Bake Shop sign

[EVG file photo]

Back in April workers removed the damaged Moishe's Bake Shop sign (in the middle of the night) in order to repair the facade at 115 Second Ave. near East Seventh Street.

Yesterdays, workers put the new sign in place under the watchful eye of owner Moishe Perl, as these photos by Derek Berg show…







Perl told WPIX that the sign sustained damage following the deadly gas explosion on March 26. "We got a violation last week that it’s shaking. We have to take it off and fix it," Perl told the station on April 20.



Previously on EV Grieve:
After midnight, workers remove the Moishe's Bake Shop sign (19 comments)

What lies beneath the Moishe's sign

Moishe's has a new (temporary-looking) sign

La Lucha space for rent on Avenue A

The 6-year-old La Lucha quickly shut down after service last Wednesday night, as we first reported.

And just like that the for rent sign from landlord Steve Croman's 9300 Realty arrived on the front window of the taco shop at 147 Avenue A between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street. (The listing isn't online just yet.)

As for La Lucha, the proprietors left this message on their Facebook page:

New location coming soon. Due to the outrageous cost of operating in the village we decided it's best to relocate. In the mean time catch our Taco truck on Franklin Ave in Bedford, BK.

Looking at One Great Jones Alley, 'a private paradise'

Renderings for the 12-stories of condos coming soon to the former open-air shops on Broadway near East Fourth Street have made the rounds in recent years…



Curbed has more details on what to expect from the 16-unit project now known as One Great Jones Alley, which will include a "private gated alley" ...



So the residential entrance will be via Great Jones Alley off of Great Jones Street…



Here's the rendering via broker Fredrik Eklund …



And more!

A photo posted by Fredrik Eklund (@fredrikeklundny) on Jul 10, 2015 at 8:06am PDT

And even more!

One Great Jones Alley features "a private gated alley, private driveway for your car, 24hr doorman, a spa and entire level of a waterclub, yes we call it a private paradise... and then the 16 residences above.... Half and full floor apartments, and an insane penthouse with 360' views of New York City!"

As for a little history of Great Jones Alley, we'll turn to The New York Times:

The slang term "jones," meaning an addiction to drugs, is said to have originated among addicts who lived in Great Jones Alley, off Great Jones Street, between Broadway and Lafayette Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Retail plans revealed for 12-floor condo building replacing open-air market on Broadway

NoHo flea market gutted ahead of new condo project on Broadway

Signage arrives for interesting new business on East 14th Street

The sign has arrived at the Domino's Pizza location opening soon enough at 440 E. 14th St. just west of Avenue A…



The space was previously home to the 99-Cent Discount Center, where things were often more than 99 cents.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Interesting new business opening on East 14th Street

Work continues at interesting new business coming to East 14th Street

Out with Euzkadi on East 4th Street

Workers have been gutting Euzkadi, the now-closed restaurant at 108 E. Fourth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue this past week…



… including removing the Euzkadi mosaic…



We're not sure exactly when Euzkadi closed. People seemed to like the tapas … which New York magazine called "traditional and boldly flavored Basque cuisine."

As for what's next … a Japanese restaurant called Benemon is expected to open here later next month. According to the application (PDF!) for a new liquor license at the CB3 website, Benemon will serve "Japanese rice bowls with small plates." Benemon is expected be open noon to midnight seven days a week.

Photos by Derek Berg

Joli Beauty Bar coming to East 1st Street

The coming soon sign is up for the next retail tenant at 44 E. First St. … Joli Beauty Bar…



Here's more about Joli via a post at Racked back in the spring:

Joli Beauty Bar [is] a "French café"–inspired space for makeup applications and lessons, a retail store for under-the-radar beauty brands, blowouts, "depuffing" treatments, and gel nails — all of which you can elect to get with a glass of wine or specialty cocktail in hand.

You can find the Joli website here.

The previous tenant, the plant store/boutique Green Fingers, moved to Rivington Street earlier in the year. The western storefront was briefly home to the hyped laundro-bar Wash House.

Julius Klein had the eastern storefront for years before he was Cromanated in the spring of 2012.

Scarab Lounge space for rent on 1st Avenue

Scarab Lounge has closed at 139 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and East Ninth Street … the for rent sign in the window was preceded by a Marshal's Legal Possession notice dated last Monday…



Don't know too much about the hookah bar … other than what we read on Yelp … and found during their brief time on Twitter…

Hope everyone had a great & safe holiday with friends and family! p.s. We're open till 3AM Christmas Day

— Scarab Lounge (@ScarabLounge) December 26, 2011