Wednesday's parting shots

Two sunset pix via Bobby Williams...

Classic Film Night returns to Ciao for Now tomorrow with 'Charade'

Ciao For Now is continuing with its free classic film series this month.

Tomorrow (Thursday!) night, the cafe screens "Charade" from 1963 with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant...



The doors open at 6 p.m. ... and the movie starts at 7 p.m. Food and beverages are available for purchase to stay or to go.

As noted before, the 17-year-old family-owned and operated catering company is also open for Soup Night every Tuesday evening from 5 to 10. Hit this link for more info.

Here's what will be playing in the dining room at 523 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B in the coming months:

• Nov. 15 "His Girl Friday" (1940)

• Dec. 20 "The Little Princess" (1939)

Prepping for the new protected bike lanes on 12th and 13th streets

[Click to go big]

Back on Sept. 20, we noted that — presumably — DOT officials distributed the above flyers to residents who live on 12th Street and 13th Street... providing information about protected bike lanes that are in development on 12th Street and 13th Street (as well as Horatio Street and Greenwich Avenue) ahead of the April 2019 L-train shutdown.

As reported in June, the DOT decided against its original idea for a single, two-way bike lane on 13th Street in favor of two separate, one-way lanes for 12th and 13th streets.

The city is putting in a bike lane on the north curb of 12th Street from Seventh Avenue to Avenue C, and the south curb of 13th Street from Greenwich Avenue to Avenue B separated from traffic with a painted buffer and flexible delineators.

Multiple EVG readers have pointed out that this work has started in recent days/weeks (painted buffer and flexible delineators still to come).

Here's a look at 13th Street, starting at Avenue B... where the "No Stopping Anytime" signs are now posted on the south side of the street ...



... at Avenue A...



...a view to the east from First Avenue...



...at First Avenue...



...a view to the east from Third Avenue...



... looking to the west between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue...



The work is just underway on 12th Street, where the "No Stopping Anytime" signs arrived ... here are two photos (thanks Brian K!) ... at 12th between Avenue A and Avenue B...



... and between Avenue A and First Avenue...



This link takes you to the DOT's overview for these bike lanes.





During the L-train outage, DOT officials expect these bike lanes to handle a surge in people bicycling. Cycling advocates have applauded this development, citing the lack of protected bike lanes going crosstown.

While the bike-lane work is moving forward, another lawsuit is aiming to put an end to this plan, as well as other L-train related planning. As Gothamist reported on Oct. 2:

On [Oct. 1], West Village resident and attorney Arthur Schwartz filed his second lawsuit against the MTA and the DOT, calling for yet another environmental assessment, as well as last minute changes to the agencies' sweeping mitigation plan. Specifically, Schwartz and his allies are opposed to the creation of a dedicated busway on 14th Street and an adjacent sidewalk expansion for pedestrians, along with the addition of protected bike lanes on 12th and 13th Street.

"The goal is to eliminate those bike lanes as designed, to make them not protected bike lanes or not do them at all," Schwartz told Gothamist, adding that his preference would be for the lanes to be restored to parking spaces. "I just don't think there's any genuinely demonstrated demand for people who used to take the L train who are all of a sudden going to hop on a Citi Bike."

Councilmember Rivera introducing new bill to protect bike lanes in construction zones

[EVG photo from June at 75 1st Ave.]

In other bike-related news... District 2 City Councilmember Carlina Rivera, along with advocates and neighborhood residents, is announcing the introduction of a new bill this morning that will require holders of DOT permits that authorize construction or equipment on the street to preserve any impacted bike lanes with a safe and sufficient detour.

Per Rivera's office:

This includes any specifically marked bicycle lane, whether it has painted, separated and protected, or a bike path. Any detour bike lane would have to feature protective barriers and be three-quarters the size of the original lane, unless that would make the detour lane less than 4 feet wide. The bill would also require DOT to notify community boards as well as post on their website when any permitted construction impacts a bike lane.

Councilwoman Rivera is pursuing this legislation after hearing about construction projects in her district and elsewhere where bicyclists were being forced out of protected bike lanes and directly into car traffic with little notice right for riders or drivers.

Rivera recently spoke with Streetsblog about this proposed legislation:

You said a specific location in your district spurred you to introduce this bill.

It’s on First Avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets, right on the west side where the bike lane is. There was construction there, and there was no detour. As someone who cycles up First Avenue all the time, I can tell you that as soon as you got to that street, it just said, “Bike lane closed.” So you have to go and venture into the traffic, and you know that First avenue is incredibly busy, not just with [cars], but with the SBS, the M15.

There was no sign. There were no protective barriers. This was something people contacted our office about repeatedly, so we know that we really had to legislate this in order to protect cyclists everywhere.

Hitchcocktober movie of the week — 'Strangers on a Train'

The Hitchcocktober movie of the week is... "Strangers on a Train" tomorrow (Thursday!) night at 8... at City Cinemas Village East on Second Avenue at 12th Street.

The plot, per Google:

In Alfred Hitchcock's adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's thriller, tennis star Guy Haines (Farley Granger) is enraged by his trampy [Ed. Note: Oh Google!] wife's refusal to finalize their divorce so he can wed senator's daughter Anne (Ruth Roman). He strikes up a conversation with a stranger, Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker), and unwittingly sets in motion a deadly chain of events.

And the last two (sob) Hitchcocktober dates:

Oct. 25 — "The 39 Steps"

Halloween night — "Psycho"

Find advance ticket info here.

'Mediterranean fusion' for the former Sugar Cafe on Houston and Allen

[Photos from Aug. 14]

The Times has more details in its real-estate transactions about the new venture coming to 200 Allen St. at East Houston, where workers have been renovating the space since the late summer.

Per the Times:

A Mediterranean fusion casual restaurant, to feature soups, salads, kebabs and shawarma, has signed a 10-year lease for a 500-square-foot corner space ... A city sidewalk permit for a glass-enclosed space would add another 500 square feet. (The former tenant, Sugar Cafe, had such a permit in place over the years.)

The tenant is listed as OYA, with principals Orhan Albayrak and Yigit Ozcelik.



No word on the restaurant's name in the Times piece. "Mediterranean fusion" sounds pretty fancy. BoweryBoogie heard it was going to be called a less-fancy sounding Empire Gyro Kebab.

The annual rent on the space, which includes a 1,000-square-foot basement, is $180,000 ($15k a month), per the Times.

The Sugar Cafe closed here in February 2017 after 10-plus years in business. A rent increase — perhaps as much as double the previous ask — was reportedly behind the closing.

Tuesday's parting shot

A look inside the former Cucina Di Pesce, which closed here on Fourth Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery on Sept. 23 after 32 years in business...

New building plans revealed for 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

Nearly a year has passed since the initial reports about the future of the northeast corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place were revealed. According to The Real Deal last November, a seven-story, 66,000-square-foot office building with ground-floor retail was slated for this corner.

However, as New York Yimby first noted yesterday, leaseholder Real Estate Equities Corporation (REEC) has filed new permits for 3 St. Mark's Place (the address of the former Papaya King) for a 5-story, 29,030-square-foot building.

This is obviously much smaller than what was originally floated. There's some thought that there might be a second smaller building coming to this parcel. (That's 100-percent speculation via some EVG corner watchers.)

Here's an aerial view of the property...


[Via Google Maps and EV Square]

A quick note — the Cooper Union Student Residence Hall at 29 Third Ave. is in the square above — that's not part of the new development and is staying put.

Anyway, here's what is known from the permits, as NYY noted: "Retail will occupy a portion of the ground floor and cellar space. The offices will have a lobby on the first floor, with workspace occupying the rest of the structure. Tenants will have access to bicycle storage, a fitness center, golf simulator, an amenities foyer, and a rooftop terrace."

(Golf simulator???)

Morris Adjmi Architects is listed as the designer of record. There aren't any renderings floating around the public sphere just yet.

For a sampling of Adjmi's work, look no further than the 7-story building he/they designed for the explosion site at 121 Second Ave. ...


[Rendering via Morris Adjmi]

For a little perspective on the size of the structure coming to 3 St. Mark's Place, the above building is 22,800 square feet.

In the meantime, workers continue to chip away at the mostly vacant buildings on St. Mark's Place and Third Avenue. (Permits were filed this past March 15 to demolish 1 St. Mark's Place, 3 St. Mark’s Place, 23 and 25-27 Third Ave.)

These photos are from Thursday...







While the interior demo is underway in these spaces, the Continental remains open — the last of the main businesses here. The bar was set to close in July after a 27-year run at 23 Third Ave. However, Trigger, the Continental's owner, announced a three-month lease extension until some time in October.

Well, we are now in October. In a recent Facebook post, Trigger said that they might be open until May 2019.

I asked him about that. "It’s possible that we’ll go till May but far from definite," he said in a Facebook message the other day, adding that he wants to stay until the developers get their permits approved. "It’s all I’ve got."

REEC picked up the 99-year leasehold for the properties here for some $150 million, per The Real Deal last November. The corner assemblage is owned by the Gabay family.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Shake Shack effect? McDonald's on 3rd Avenue at St. Mark's Place has closed after 20 years

Report: Northeast corner of St. Mark's Place and 3rd Ave. fetching $50 million for development site

Report: NE corner of St. Mark's Place and 3rd Avenue will yield to a 7-story office building

Demolition permits filed for northeast corner of 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

End is nearing for the businesses on the northeast corner of 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

The Continental gets a 3-month reprieve

Diorama time again at the Ninth Street Community Garden & Park

We're well into Peephole Season here at the Ninth Street Community Garden & Park on the northeast corner of Avenue C... as East Village artist J. Kathleen White recently unveiled her 2018 collection of dioramas.

This year's theme: Time.



Bobby Williams shared this sneak peeps...









The dioramas are expected to be up through this month.

White started creating and sharing the dioramas in 2005. Here's her work from 2017 ... and 2016 ... 2015 ... 2014 ... 2013 ... 2012 ... and 2011....

Today's special: Milk Money Kitchens bringing food-consulting business to Avenue A

50 Avenue A finally has a new tenant.

Signage arrived over the weekend here between Third Street and Fourth Street for Milk Money Kitchens, which provides commercial kitchen rentals and consulting services for food businesses and designer kitchens for home cooks, per their website. (Their tagline: "Offering Rental Kitchens & Services that Help Food Entrepreneurs and Home Cooks Live Out Their Passion.")

Nancy Preston, the company's founder and CEO, is a 10-year Army veteran, and served as a Brigade Engineer building bases in Iraq.

This retail space had been on the market since the Citibank branch closed in January 2017.

The storefront's exterior now features the second coming of the cowboy mural by Solus.

A P.S. related:

Perhaps Milk Money can help fill the void created by the sudden closure of the food incubator Pilotworks this past weekend. Guess that means Pilotworks really isn't taking that space at 347 Bowery.