Free Shakespeare in Tompkins Square Park

[Photo by EVG contributor Steven]

The Hip to Hip Theatre Company is putting on a free production of William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" in Tompkins Square Park tonight and tomorrow evening at 5:30 ... as well as Wednesday, Aug. 26... it's part of the New York International Fringe Festival.

Tomorrow is the last day for Zibalee on East 13th Street

[Image via]

After five years, first as Jellyfish then Zibalee, the clothing store for kids closes for good after the business day tomorrow at 244 E. 13th St.

Owner Adam Kirszner told us a little more about the situation at his shop between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

"It wasn't exactly the usual story of an impossible rent hike, although rent was no picnic and the real-estate taxes were particularly onerous. More like the growing realization that there was only so much growth that a business like mine could possibly have, especially considering my non-retail-y mid-block location and my low-margin wares," he told us via email. "And so many little annoying things that would add up to take a toll — SantaCon/St. Pat's/Halloween foolishness hurts most EV businesses that aren't bars. As you know, it's pretty much over for independent bricks-and-mortar retail around here, with increasingly rare exceptions."

Meanwhile, through tomorrow, there are some big sales on kids' clothing. (Find more details at Zibalee's Facebook page.)

And what might be next at the address?

"Brace yourself for another salon — nails, I think — coming soon," he said.

2 East Village Chase Bank branches are closing for good on Nov. 12

Earlier this summer, we reported that the retail spaces housing both the Chase branch on Avenue A at East Second Street and the location on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place were for rent.

Now, in letters that Chase customers received yesterday, bank officials announced that both branches will close after the business day on Nov. 12...





According to the letters, the branch at 130 Second Ave. will consolidate with the location two blocks to the north at No. 156 while the Avenue A outlet will merge with the branch at 106 Delancey.

The asking rent on the Second Avenue Chase space is $72,000 a month, per the listing. The rent is available upon request for the Avenue A storefront.

Thanks to Vinny & O for the photos of the letters!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Chase space on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place is for rent

The retail space at 20 Avenue A is on the market

10-story building now in the works for 255 E. Houston St.

[EVG photo of No. 155 from 2012]

Permits are now on file for a 10-story residential complex at 255 E. Houston St. between Norfolk and Suffolk.

The new building joins the 10-story, almost-complete 179 Suffolk St. next door ... in the ever-changing East Houston Street skyline.


[EVG photo from June]

No. 255 E. Houston St. previously housed the day-care center Action For Progress. They were displaced in the spring of 2010 when construction next door at 179 Suffolk St. destabilized the building. (BoweryBoogie has more on that situation here.)

Here are more details about the new building via New York Yimby, which first reported on the filing yesterday:

Whenever the building bites the dust, it’ll be replaced by 53 apartments and community space. Those apartments will be divided across 47,020 square feet of residential space, and the average unit will clock in around 887 square feet.

The first floor will include 4,600 square feet of community facilities and indoor and outdoor recreation space. There are fewer, larger units on the higher floors, starting with eight units on the second floor and finishing with four units a piece on the eighth through tenth floors. The building will rise 112 feet into the air and encompass 51,623 square feet of interior space.

The property's owner is Samy Mahfar, who's up for multiple Landlord of the Year Awards. (See here and here and here.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
Next for 255 E. Houston St.: Community facility/school/medical building?

Is a Beer Factory in store for the former Spice space on 2nd Avenue?

[EVG photo from June]

The Spice location on Second Avenue and East Sixth Street closed at the beginning of June.

Now Goggla spotted a sign from the new tenant — Beer Factory LLC...



So the sign does say "store," so perhaps it's a retail-first operation (like Good Beer on East Ninth Street or ABC Co. on Avenue C) ... The LLC is registered to an attorney's office in Astoria.

Or maybe it's a wacky fake sign like Robot Daycare or a laundrobar (oh, wait that was real!) to throw off the neighbors and assorted bloggers to what is really coming next.

Glasgow Vintage Co. has apparently closed on East 9th Street

The Glasgow Vintage Co. has cleared out of its retail space at 331 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue… one source on the block believes they left on Monday…



There isn't any mention of a closure on the vintage clothing store's social media properties.

The store, which has a 21-year-old flagship location in Glasgow, just opened last September.

In reporting on the lease deal last year, the Commercial Observer noted that the rent here was $6,500. The broker told the Commercial Observer that the deal is significant "because it’s the 'highest price per square foot on the block,' and it's a 'new international operator reconfirming the growth of East Village boutique retail.'"

Photos via EVG contributor Steven

Zum Schneider celebrates 15 years on Avenue C tonight

Per the Facebook invite:

Come celebrate 15 years of Zum Schneider with us!

Moesl Franzi and the JaJaJa's
Sidewalk Pig Roast ("Spanferkel")
DJ Volka Racho
Keg tapping at 5pm

Zum Schneider is at 107 Avenue C at East Seventh Street.

Report: CB3 denies the Cock's move up 2nd Avenue

[EVG file photo]

CB3's SLA committee last night voted against Allan Mannarelli's application to move the Cock from its current Second Avenue home several blocks north to the former Lit Lounge space.

However, according to a report by Lisha Arino at DNAinfo, Mannarelli plans to appeal directly to the State Liquor Authority.

Per DNAinfo:

“I have full intention of moving the bar there and we’ll try every avenue to do it,” he said after the meeting, adding that he was not surprised at the pushback from residents and the community board.

And…

Mannarelli said his intended move to Lit Lounge’s former digs was a strategic one. The space is larger, he said, and would allow the bar to host drag shows and gay karaoke. His current lease also has a demolition clause that allows the landlord to buy him out and give him eight months to vacate the space, he said.

Residents who were opposed to the move to the Lit space between East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street said that the block was already oversaturated with bars, with 61 licensed operators in the immediate vicinity, among other reasons.

BoweryBoogie has details on a few other applicants here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Confirmed: Lit Lounge is closing on 2nd Avenue

Aug. 18

An EVG reader spotted this beaut in a trash can on East Seventh Street at Cooper Square… as for the strict authentication requirement, the reader points to the time stamp and date (today!) on his or her phone… (and the arrow in case you are wondering what we are looking at here…)

A found collection of photos from the 1980s East Village

The Wall Street Journal today has a short feature on Tony Mangia, a photographer who found a long-lost collection of his photos from the 1980s East Village. (He believed the photos were destroyed during a fire.)

His work, he said, is from the Other Paper, a twice-a-month community newspaper that covered the neighborhood from 1980-1982.

The collection ranges from quiet images of dilapidated buildings to the Ninth Precinct narcotics squad (a crew usually donning Yankees caps known on the street as the “Baseball Team,” according to Mr. Mangia) making a drug bust. The images are reminiscent of a time when the city was “dirty, dangerous and way more interesting than today,” Mr. Mangia said.

You can find the article and a selection of the photos here.