EVErything about the new luxury rentals at the former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office

[View from 14th Street]

Leasing is underway in the new luxury building called EVE, officially at 433 E. 13th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. This is on the site of the onetime Peter Stuyvesant Post Office (1951-2014).


[View from 13th Street]

New York Yimby, who first reported on the leasing, noted that market-rate units begin at $3,250 per month for studios and up to $7,000 for two-bedroom, two-bathroom units. In addition, as an 80/20 development, 20 percent of the apartments are designated as affordable.

Here are a few items about EVE to note from the website, which includes lines such as "rEVEl in your surroundings" and "EVEnings out" ...

Amenities:

Eve’s premium amenity package was thoughtfully designed to appeal to the busy New Yorker. An inviting tenant lounge, complete with a cozy fireplace, is perfect for freelancers working from home, and the state-of-the-art fitness center makes it easy to fit in a workout first thing in the morning, or later on as the day is winding down. The true stand-out is the fully landscaped roof deck, furnished with an expansive lawn, a barbecue area, and an outdoor TV and sound system which will change movie night forever.

Design:

The neighborhood’s artistic and rock roots are tastefully woven into the building’s design, bringing color and creativity to the clean, contemporary spaces. Original artwork in the REED lounge by Francis Le Gaucher and Alexander Jackson pays homage to some of the neighborhood’s most iconic bands, and Remko Heemskerk’s courtyard mural adds palpable warmth to a collaborative area.

Those iconic bands would be the Velvet Underground, Blondie and the Ramones.

And some renderings...







In the short term over the next 24 months or so, residents facing 14th Street will have a view of the L-train construction work, including the new entrance and elevator for the train at Avenue A. As previously reported, 14th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A is serving as the main hub for the Canarsie tube rehab, likely even under Gov. Cuomo's new plan for weekend-only work.

The L-train prep work started in July 2017 on 14th Street between First Avenue and Avenue B. In recent months 14th Street residents and local elected officials here have spoken out about the noise, traffic, and dust and debris that have impacted air quality along this corridor.

As for the new building, reps for Benenson and Mack Real Estate previously sought a variance to build four more floors (to 12 from 8) than the zoning would allow to make up for the "extraordinary construction costs" from poor ground conditions here. They ultimately withdrew this request in March 2017.

A Trader Joe's was originally slated for the 14th Street retail space. However, a Trader Joe's rep told me the following in October: "Unfortunately, we do not have any current plans for a store at that location."

Several articles about EVE do mention the Trader Joe's for the new building ... it's also on the map of local businesses on the EVE website (though it's not actually mentioned anywhere on the site) ...



And here's a look inside the under-construction retail space, which includes an escalator...





Previously on EV Grieve:
Today in rants: the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office

Meanwhile, at everyone's favorite local post office branch...

UPDATED: Did you hear the rumor about the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office branch closing?

Former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office slated to be demolished

The former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office will yield to an 8-story residential building

New residential building at former 14th Street PO will feature a quiet lounge, private dining room

Developer withdraws zoning variance request for former 14th Street post office site

The Peter Stuyvesant-PO-replacing residential building tops out on 14th Street

All about EVE, the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office-replacing rentals on 14th Street


[2014]

Chelsea Thai closes after 5 months on 1st Avenue

[Photo Saturday by Steven]

On Friday night, Chelsea Thai founder-chef Saruj Nimkarn hung the closing sign on his restaurant at 192 First Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street.


[Photo by Lola Sáenz]

Nimkarn just debuted here in August after 21 years in the Chelsea Market. (A rent increase there forced Nimkarn to look elsewhere.) Unfortunately, he told EVG regular Lola Sáenz that there wasn't enough business in his new space to make the rent.

The food was delicious and reasonably priced. Not entirely sure why the restaurant didn't last. (Lack of a liquor license? Not enough daytime foot traffic? Too many other buzzy new restaurants nearby such as Little Tong Noodle Shop and Tatsu Ramen?)

The address was previously home to the Neptune. The Polish-American diner closed in December 2016 after 15 years in business. According to one source, the rent doubled. After Neptune's departure, the landlord divided up the restaurant into two retail spaces.

Space 194, a hybrid tea-coffee shop-gallery recently opened in the other storefront.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Chelsea Thai coming to former Neptune space on 1st Avenue; Filipino fare for Avenue A

Chelsea Thai debuts on 1st Avenue

[Updated] Bad Carma? 6th Street dim sum spot hasn't been open lately

Updated: We understand that Carma East will reopen Jan. 14 after a kitchen upgrade. Updated 2: Carma reopened the week of Jan. 28.

The gates have been down of late at Carma East, the dim sum bar at 507 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. The closure during the holiday stretched into this past weekend.

There isn't any notice about a temporary closing on the restaurant's website or social media properties, though their phone is out of service and Yelp lists them as closed.

An EVG reader who lives nearby shared this photo from early December, when Carma East added six flat-screen TVs (tuned to sporting events) and a random assortment of NFL pennants ...



Per the reader: "Seems like a bit of an odd mix with soup dumplings." (The Carma East Instagram account does say "Tapas to Get Drunk With.")

This sibling of Carma Asian Tapas in the West Village opened on Sixth Street in September 2016.

And this has been a tough stretch of Sixth Street for restaurants. If this closure is permanent, then that makes three restaurants out of four storefronts to shut down in the past year... the others are Cholo Noir (a new applicant is looking to lease this spot) and Out East (new ownership was expected in this space too).

Make Sandwich leaves 4th Avenue, will try again somewhere else

Catching up to a year-end closing on Fourth Avenue ... where Make Sandwich shut down right before Christmas here between 13th Street and 14th Street.

According to the shop's website: "We’ll be closing the shop ... to look for a location that is more suitable for our craft. We’d like to thank you all for your support and sando love."

This area around Union Square seems like a suitable spot for a sandwich place... or maybe there were too many quick-serve options right around here. (Sandwicherie New York arrived on Fourth Avenue at 13th Street shortly after Make's debut, for instance.)

Make, an extension of the Melt Shop brand, opened at 135 Fourth Ave. in January 2017.

H/T Laura!

Week in Grieview

[Photo on Avenue A last Sunday by Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Remembering a few of our friends and neighbors who died in 2018 (Monday)

Cuomo calls off full L-train shutdown (Thursday) Reactions and questions over Gov. Cuomo's surprise subway announcement (Friday)

A visit to Rossy's Bakery & Café on 3rd Street (Thursday)

East Village in Images 2018 (Tuesday)

Webster Hall returns this spring (Thursday)

Metropolis Vintage is on the move to a larger space nearby on Broadway (Wednesday)

Report: Suspect arrested in connection with sexual assaults in the East Village dating to 2014 (Saturday)

The Continental has likely closed for good on 3rd Avenue (Wednesday)

Sushi by M opens on 4th Street (Wednesday)

Juicy Lucy's 1st Street outpost is on a winter break (Thursday)

New tenant for 37 St. Mark's Place — REVEALED (Friday)

Cienfuegos bows out to make way for Honeybee's on Avenue A (Friday)

This 12th Street penthouse includes a home gym, screening room and 1,600sf guest apartment (Wednesday)

The art of Sir Shadow and the remaining residents of the Whitehouse Hotel on the Bowery (Monday)

... and checking in on the New Year's Resolution on 14th Street...



---

Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter

Luke's Lobster rolls back in business after temporary closure

Luke's Lobster is back in action (as of Friday) after a fire broke out on the fifth floor of 93 E. Seventh St. just east of First Avenue on Dec. 27.

Luke's originally thought they'd be closed for several weeks... turned out to be just one.

No one was injured in the fire. The FDNY has yet to disclose the cause of the fire on the fifth floor.

Report of a stolen car on Fifth and A

An EVG reader shared this video from last night ... when there was an unconfirmed report of a stolen car on Fifth Street at Avenue A just before 8:30.

Per the reader: "Some woman threw herself on top of the car ... and said her car was being stolen... everyone nearby jumped in and tried to get in the car to stop."

Here's the video...



The Citizen app notes that the police were called to the scene and reported "there was no carjacking."



Regardless of what transpired, the reader called this "a strange scenario."

Saturday's parting shot

Photo on Third Avenue today via Derek Berg...

Report: Suspect arrested in connection with sexual assaults in the East Village dating to 2014

Police have arrested a Brooklyn lawyer suspected in several sexual assaults committed in late 2014 and early 2015, according to multiple published reports.

Per the Daily News:

Rashaun Kelley, 35, is facing multiple burglary, sex abuse and attempted rape charges for sneaking into apartment buildings and trying to force himself on at least three women in the East Village and Harlem, police said. He’s also a suspect in two other similar sexual assaults.

CBS2 reports: "Authorities say they tracked the suspect down as a result of extensive police work."

In each of the attacks, the suspect wore a Yankees cap, as surveillance videos showed.

Updated 8 p.m.

The Daily News has an updated article:

At his arraignment Saturday evening, Kelley — whose brother is an NYPD cop, according to a court source — denied the charges, and said the police case has holes.

“To say it was shaky is being generous,” lawyer Christopher Carrion, a law school friend of Kelley who represented him at his arraignment, said of evidence — including DNA — compiled in the case.

Carrion said one victim viewed a lineup and indicated Kelley looked like her attacker, but that she wasn’t sure.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Police searching for man now suspected of 2 sexual attacks

NYPD looking for suspect in 5 sexual assaults, including 2 in the East Village

When two cars beat as one

This happened today around noon on Avenue A and Seventh Street, per Salim ...



It's not immediately clear what happened (other than that the two cars drove straight into each other, perhaps in a game of chicken where no one really wins).