Photo of the resident red-tailed hawk this morning by Steven...
Friday, September 27, 2019
Fall Friday with Christo in Tompkins Square Park
Photo of the resident red-tailed hawk this morning by Steven...
A garden party tomorrow to help rebuild the East Side Outside Community Garden
[Photos from Sept. 20]
A sizable chunk of the East Side Outside Community Garden on 11th Street just east of First Avenue has been damaged during the post-fire work behind First Avenue.
In recent months, workers have accessed the garden space to gain entry to the rear of 188 First Ave., which suffered a major fire last October. While the structural stability of No. 188 was reportedly unaffected by the fire, the extension behind the permanently closed Uogashi needed to be removed.
Meanwhile, the garden is in poor shape as a result of the demolition work...
Tomorrow (Sept. 28), garden volunteers and other community members are coming together in support of East Side Outside at El Sol Brillante Garden, 522 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B starting at noon (to dusk). Per the invite:
Come join us for food, drink, and raffle prizes from local businesses! Raffle will happen at 4 p.m. ... We are excited to announce that photographer David Croland has donated a beautiful portrait of Debbie Harry in her prime, for sale to benefit the garden!
East Side Outside Community Garden was partly destroyed in the aftermath of the October 2018 fire at 188 First Ave. We need to clean up and rebuild almost everything from scratch, and are trying to raise funds to help us reopen for the 2020 season.
East Side Outside Garden is a public community garden in the NYC Parks GreenThumb program. We offer green space and programs for community members and businesses, provide a learning lab for students at the adjacent schools, and operate a community composting program. Help us rebuild better and stronger!
There's also a crowdfunding campaign underway at this link.
The stone wall dating to the 1860s that lines the garden was also badly damaged during the work behind the First Avenue buildings. You can read more about that at the link below...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Cemetery wall knocked down during post-fire work behind 1st Avenue
Reader mailbag: Is this a new dog run in Tompkins Square Park?
[Reader-submitted photo of the West Lawn]
From the EVG inbox...
I was playing with my toddler in the unlocked area in Tompkins Square Park — north of the chess tables and south of the St. Mark's Place entrance. I’ve noticed the New Amsterdam School playing there so I assumed it was a space where children are allowed. A couple of people came in and let their very large dogs off leash. One woman informed me that this area was now an official dog area, though there is no sign posted. She said that for over a year this is the only area (besides the official dog run) where you won’t get a ticket for letting your dog off-leash.
I was wondering if you knew if this area is an official dog area, or just an area that dog owners are claiming for themselves.
The reader asked to put this question out to readers. (One vote for B — dog owners are claiming it for themselves.)
This came up several times last year... when Park regulars complained about more and more people letting their (large) dogs run loose in sections of Tompkins Square Park — especially in that West Lawn the reader above described ...
One owner of a large dog said at the time last year that he didn't like to use the official dog run because it gets too crowded.
Park officials eventually padlocked the West Lawn... for awhile.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Makeshift dog run in Tompkins Square Park has been padlocked
Thursday, September 26, 2019
What 300 or so Gem Spa T-shirts look like
A shipment of 850 Gem Spa T-shirts arrived today... at Gem Spa on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place.
Steven took these shots. Parul Patel, who's running the shop these days, estimated that 300 were in these photos...
These are the T-shirts (a popular item now) that people pre-ordered BEFORE Sept. 23 either at the cash mob on Sept. 14 or via the store's PayPal account.
And only buy the shirts via Gem Spa. Apparently there is a black market Gem Spa operation out there!
Previously on EV Grieve:
• At the Gem Spa Cash Mob (Sept. 16)
• Get your Gem Spa t-shirts or photos of Madonna — at Gem Spa! (Aug. 16)
• A July 4 moment at Gem Spa (July 4)
• Will you buy a Gem Spa T-shirt? (June 28)
• The Gem Spa Zoltar is alive and well and telling fortunes an L-train ride away in Bushwick (June 19)
• "Gem Spa is open!" (June 18)
• What is happening at Gem Spa? (June 11)
• A visit to Gem Spa (May 10)
Grant Shaffer's NY See
Here's the latest NY See, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's comic series — an observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood and NYC.
Is Facebook leaving Astor Place?
Facebook is reportedly in talks to lease space at the revamped Farley Building (the former James A. Farley Post Office) across from Madison Square Garden, according to Lois Weiss at the Post.
The company had also been said to be looking at Hudson Yards.
So why are we writing about this? To the Post!
It’s unclear what will happen to Facebook’s current NYC offices, including 758,000 square feet at 770 Broadway and 266,000 square feet at 225 Park Avenue. So.
Both Farley and 770 Broadway are owned by Vornado and its chairman Steve Roth, who has been wining and dining tech companies for years in an effort to lease them the top floors of the post office.
Roth, whose reps didn’t immediately return a request for comment, could cut Facebook a deal for Farley that also lets it off the hook for its current East Village lease, which expires in 2025.
Oh!
As you may recall, Kmart downsized its space at 770 Broadway, the landmarked building on Astor Place, in early 2018. There were reports in late 2017 and early 2018 that Vornado bought Kmart out of its lease on the second floor, which was revamped from low-price to high-tech for Facebook.
The smaller Kmart still has 82,000 square feet in building, including most of the property's ground-floor retail space as well as basement level.
Also, as you'll see in the top photo, Kmart recently unveiled a new logo on the building.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Kmart staying on Astor Place, minus the 2nd floor (for Facebook?)
On the October CB3-SLA docket: An applicant for 99 Avenue B, former home of Manitoba's
[Photo from late June]
CB3 released its October meeting agenda yesterday. And an item of interest on the SLA licensing committee docket that caught the attention of several EVG readers: Murray Street Restaurant Co., 99 Ave B (corp change).
99 Avenue B was the longtime home of Manitoba's, which closed after nearly 20 years in late June.
Reps for Murray Street Restaurant Co. will not be appearing before the committee next month, however. (This is often the case when applicants agree to stipulations ahead of time or their method of operation is — paraphrasing — not a beer-pong shitshow and an actual restaurant. Also, when there's a change of personal in the corporation, as it appears in this case.)
According to the State Liquor Authority, the license at Manitoba's, whose premises name is currently Genco Importing Inc., is active through March 31, 2020.
There currently isn't any application for Murray Street Restaurant Co. on file at the CB3 website. Will update when more information becomes available.
M15 Select Bus Service routes will soon carry surveillance camera to bust lane blockers
Starting October 7th, we’re speeding up your ride. pic.twitter.com/VnH66s57Mp
— NYCT Buses (@NYCTBus) September 23, 2019
Don't stare at that GIF for too long!
Buses that service the East Village will be the first in the city to come equipped with surveillance cameras to keep drivers out of bus lanes.
Starting on Oct. 7, buses on the M15 SBS routes on First Avenue and Second Avenue will start using automated mobile camera systems "to capture real-time lane violations as part of citywide efforts to increase bus speeds and keep traffic moving on congested streets."
Details, per the MTA:
ABLE camera systems can capture evidence such as license plate information, photos and videos, as well location and timestamp information, of vehicles obstructing bus lanes to document clear cases of bus lane violation. The system collects multiple pieces of evidence to ensure that vehicles making permitted turns from bus lanes are not ticketed. This information will be transmitted to NYCDOT for review and processing, and the program will be administered in partnership with NYCDOT and the NYC Department of Finance.
And!
Motorists who block bus lanes are first issued a warning with a 60-day grace period when no fines are assessed, beginning October 7. After the grace period ends, motorists who continue to block bus lanes will be subject to a fine of $50 for each violation, which also carries a $25 late fee.
The automated bus lane enforcement program is expected to expand to the B44 SBS and M14 SBS by the end of November. (The fine print: "The expansion to the M14 SBS is dependent upon the resolution of ongoing litigation.")
Hanoi House expansion in-progress on St. Mark's Place
The Hanoi House empire is growing on St. Mark's Place here between Avenue A and First Avenue.
Work is underway now in the empty storefront — the former Five Tacos — at 119 St. Mark's Place, which is in-between the original Hanoi House and the Hanoi Soup Shop.
The space will serve as a bar-waiting area for people dining at the popular Vietnamese restaurant. As reported back in March, owners Sara Leveen and Ben Lowell appeared before Community Board 3 to license this address, which will feature an eight-seat bar and several tables for eating.
The CB3 notice stated the alteration here will also include a new entrance and host desk. According to their plan via the online questionnaire at CB3's website, the building's landlord will open the walls between the two spaces so that patrons can enter the restaurant from the waiting area. The landlord will then "create a new residential corridor on the west side of the expanded space."
Hanoi House opened in January 2017 to positive notices. The Hanoi Soup Shop — a soup-centric daytime cafe — opened in April at 115 St. Mark's Place.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Hanoi House expanding on St. Mark's Place
Report: Associated expected to close by the end of November
Norman Quintanilla, who has been the manager at the store for 16 years, recently told Town & Village that they have told employees the last day will be Dec. 10. However, he said that the supermarket, which has been here for 26 years, will likely close by the end of November.
Quintanilla said that the decision wasn’t easy for store ownership and a number of regular customers were upset by the news.
“A lot of people are crying and upset about it,” he said. “It especially affects a lot of elderly customers that we help with phone orders. They don’t know where else to go.”
Quintanilla said that he wasn’t involved in discussions with Associated’s ownership and Blackstone regarding why the store is closing but he said that business has been steadily decreasing every year.
Joseph Falzon, the store’s owner, previously told Crain's that a confluence of factors had cut business nearly in half. For starters, construction on 14th Street for the L train obscured the supermarket with a 12-foot fence these past two years.
There's also increased competition, including the Target on 14th and A that opened in July 2018 with a large food-and-beverage selection. In addition, the Trader Joe's is expected to open early next year right across 14th Street.
In an email earlier this month, Stuyvesant Town General Manager Rick Hayduk told residents that they are "working on finding a new tenant with full understanding that a local grocery store is important to the community; but this will take some time."
Previously on EV Grieve:
The Associated on 14th Street in Stuy Town is said to close by year's end
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