A petition to keep the 8-foot fence at Joseph C. Sauer Park on 12th Street

[Image via]

As part of the Community Parks Initiative, Joseph C. Sauer Park is scheduled to undergo a redesign on 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

However welcome most of the changes are, there is one sticking point: the new (shorter) fence the Parks Department plans to install.

So park organizers have launched a petition to save their fence...



Per the petition:

Dear neighbors, friends and everyone who loves Joseph C. Sauer Park. As many of you may already know the Parks Department will close our park for renovations which should last a full year. Once complete the park will feature a new design with many requested features.

Part of the plan however is to remove the current 8 foot high fence and replace it with a 4 foot fence, which will make the park less secure and an unsafe place for children to use.

We are asking for your help to stop the Parks Department from removing the only proven means of securing our park at night. We have the backing of Assemblyman Harvey Epstein, Councilwoman Carlina Rivera and our Community Board.

Some history: "Sauer Park is one of nine playgrounds that were built by the Parks Department through the War Memorial Fund, and were opened simultaneously on July 15, 1934." There were subsequent additions here in 1965, 1989 and 1992.

Find the petition at this link.

Chi Snack Shop moves into the former Trash & Vaudeville space on St. Mark's Place

[Photos by Steven]

After three years at 22 St. Mark's Place, Chi Snack Shop has moved to a larger retail space on the block here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...



The shop, which carries an array of Japanese and Korean snacks as well as beauty products and random lingerie, has moved into the parlor level of 4 St. Mark's Place...





The landmarked 4 St. Mark's Place — aka the Hamilton-Holly House, circa 1831 — recently underwent a two-year gut renovation. As previously noted, the renovation included an expansion in the back of the building, doubling the number of residential units from three to six.

Chi Snack Shop marks the first retail tenant for the all-new No. 4. Wanyoo, a Shanghai-based cyber cafe chain, reportedly signed a lease for the garden space early last year. No sign of them just yet.

Until February 2016, 4 St. Mark's Place housed Trash & Vaudeville for 41 years. The store relocated to 96 E. Seventh St., where it remains today.

The Hamilton-Holly House was once owned by Alexander Hamilton’s son. The Federal-style townhouse changed hands for $10 million in the spring of 2016.

In June, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approved developer Real Estate Equities Corporation's (REEC) plan to transfer air rights from the 4 St. Mark's Place to add square footage to their office building coming to the northeast corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place. Under terms of the air-rights transfer, 5 percent of the $4 million sale will go into a dedicated account for the landmark to maintain its upkeep.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive: After 40 years, punk rock mainstay Trash and Vaudeville is leaving St. Mark's Place

4 St. Mark's Place is for sale

More residential units and a 5th-floor addition in the works for landmarked 4 St. Mark's Place

You'll be back: Look at the renovated Hamilton-Holly House on St. Mark's Place

FULL full reveal at the historic Hamilton-Holly House on St. Mark's Place

Thursday's parting shot

11th Street and First Avenue this evening via Vinny & O...

The Hep Cat T-shirt line debuts Friday night at Metropolis Vintage

Metropolis Vintage is playing host tomorrow night (Friday, Oct. 4) to friends John Holmstrom and Aid MacSpade as they launch their new Hep Cat T-shirt line.

Per the invite: Holmstrom and MacSpade "brainstormed their Hep Cat character back in the 1980s, a beatnik-style creature who loved to get high within the pages of High Times. Hep Cat seemed to have a life of his own, and his enduring popularity has now led them to produce three unique T-Shirt designs, which will be debuting at the party."

The two East Village residents will be doing a signing and hanging out for the unveiling of the ... John Holmstrom dressing room.

Holmstrom, the co-founder, editor and illustrator of Punk Magazine (and creator of the Metropolis logo), adorned the dressing room with a variety of illustrations encompassing his work with the Ramones as well as other publications...




[Sales associate Skeleton Boy checks out the new dressing room]

The event is from 6-9 p.m., where there's free beer and pizza and the punk-garage sounds of DJ Drew Redmond.

Metropolis is at 803 Broadway between 11th Street and 12th Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Q-and-A with John Holmstrom, founding editor of Punk Magazine

John Holmstrom on the CBGB movie and the East Village of 2013

A visit to Metropolis Vintage on Broadway

Grant Shaffer's NY See

Here's the latest NY See panel, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood.

More details on the city's new plan to keep East River park partially open during flood protection construction

Yesterday came news that the de Blasio administration was announcing more changes to the city's stormproofing plans for East River Park.

As you know, the entire Park was set to be shuttered for three-plus years starting in March. Now, early East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) work will commence in the spring, with all of East River Park remaining open until next fall. The flood protection construction will be done in phases.

Here's more via a city press release issued yesterday:

“The community spoke and we listened,” said Mayor de Blasio. “Nearly half of East River Park will remain open throughout construction – without compromising essential flood protections for 110,000 New Yorkers. We are building a more resilient city to meet the challenge of global warming head-on.”

The phasing plan will allow nearly half of East River Park to stay open at all times and will still deliver flood protection by hurricane season 2023, one full hurricane season earlier than under the previous project approach.

In order to enable the new park phasing plan, the schedule for completion of the overall project will be extended to the end of 2025, without any delay in delivering critical flood protection to the 110,000 local residents vulnerable to severe climate impacts in the future. Construction is scheduled to begin in March 2020.

First Phase of Construction (Fall 2020 to Spring 2023): The vast majority of the park areas from Delancey to Houston Streets will remain open as well as the amphitheater area in the south and the portion from approximately East 10th to East 12th Street in the north.

Second Phase of Construction (Spring 2023 to Late 2025): Newly rebuilt portions of East River Park will be open from Houston Street to approximately East 10th Street, as well as the vast majority of the park areas from Corlears Hook Bridge to Delancey Street.

Esplanade areas will follow a separate construction schedule and will be made available as construction permits. To meet the needs of area residents, in addition to phasing, new and improved open space resources will be made available in the surrounding neighborhoods, including a new park adjacent to Pier 42 to be completed in spring 2022.

Details of the plan will be presented at a City Council public hearing this afternoon at 1 p.m. (Oct. 3) in what marks the final stages of the land use review process. (Want to attend? Details here.)

Advocates at the community group East River Park Action, who organized the Sept. 21 rally, were not pleased by yesterday's news. Here's part of their reaction:

This is not good. Our park will still be completely destroyed — just over a longer period of time — five years instead of the original three and a half years.

The city is ignoring the neighborhood’s demands: 1) preserve as much of the park as possible. 2) Construct a resilient coastline — not a massive wall along the river. 3) Construct flood protection along the FDR. 4) Provide interim flood protection during years of construction.

It looks like the whole promenade will be closed while the city builds an 8-10 foot solid flood wall along the river.

The city will say it’s the neighborhood’s fault the timeline is longer because we asked for phased construction. In fact, it’s because they were never going to be able to get it all done in three and a half years, and they knew it.

The project was also undergoing a third-party review by a Dutch consultant hired by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera. No word on this review's status.

Yesterday's changes marked the second time that a significant alteration was announced for the stormproofing project. Last fall, the city surprised community stakeholders by announcing a complete overhaul of a plan that had been discussed over four years of local meetings.

14th Street busway finally set to get moving today

After two litigation-related delays, the 14th Street Busway finally makes its debut today.

Last Friday, a panel of judges from New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division overturned an Aug. 9 (Lawsuit No. 2) ruling to block the busway, as Streetsblog first reported.

Here's a quickie overview via the DOT:

6 a.m. to 10 p.m.: Buses and trucks only between Ninth Avenue and Third Avenue. All other vehicles may make local trips, but must turn at the next available right.

10 p.m. to 6 a.m.: All vehicles may make through trips along the corridor.

This DOT link has more information about the busway, which is expected to be an 18-month pilot program.

The city will install onboard bus-lane-enforcement cameras along the M14 routes this fall. However, DOT officials said that they won’t start issuing tickets for another 60 days.

Streetsblog had more on the enforcement yesterday:

Stationary enforcement cameras on every block to catch drivers blocking bus lanes and for failing to exit 14th Street at the first available right turn after their pickup or drop-off. Those $50 tickets — rising by $50 to a maximum of $250 for every infraction in the same 12-month period — also won’t be issued for 60 days.

As for more backstory: In late June, right before the new busway was to launch on July 1, a coalition of block associations filed a last-minute lawsuit to block the project, arguing that the city failed to complete the proper environmental review for the work. (Lawsuit No. 1!)

The busway was originally to coincide with the arrival of the new M14 Select Bus Service, which debuted on July 1 featuring off-board fare payments and all-door boarding... all in an effort to speed up the notoriously sluggish M14 line during the L-train slowdown.

DOT officials said they hope to improve M14 travel time by up to 30 percent on a corridor that’s one of the slowest in the city.

Wednesday's parting shot

In the rain in Tompkins Square Park this evening... photo via Vinny & O...

NYC premiere of 'The Bitch Movie' takes place at Theatre 80 on Friday night

"The Bitch Movie," a 60-minute documentary that takes a retrospective look at the "Bitch: A Ladies Tribute To Metal" monthly party at the late Don Hill's, makes its NYC debut Friday night (Oct. 4) at Theatre 80 on St. Mark's Place.

Here's more about the film:

"The Bitch Movie" explores the origins, philosophy, sociology and technical execution of the event, painting a portrait of the vibrant scene around Don Hill's in downtown New York in the early 2000s.

Through firsthand interviews and exclusive footage of the live performances, the film explores the motivations of the women who were passionate about singing heavy metal ... "The Bitch Movie" is both a tribute to pioneering women who smash traditional stereotypes and heavy metal fans the world over.

The screening starts at 10 p.m. There's a Q&A with filmmaker Damian Kolodiy and several of the performers afterwards.

Find advance tickets at this link.

Report: City now opts for phased-in approach for stormproofing East River Park

[Photo Sept. 21 by Stacie Joy]

The City will no longer shut down all of East River Park when stormproofing begins in March, opting now for a phased-in approach.

Here's what Gothamist has:

[T]he city has amended its plan to shut down all 45 acres of the park starting this spring, and instead will phase in the construction so only portions of the park are closed to the public at any given time. According to sources familiar with the new plan, the work is expected to be finished in 2025.

The de Blasio administration will announce their change in plans before they have to present them to a City Council land use hearing on Thursday morning, sources tell Gothamist.

We'll post more information as soon as it becomes available. [Updated: Here's the city press release.]

City officials previously planned to close East River Park for three-plus years, elevating it with 8- to 10-feet of soil from Montgomery Street to East 13th Street. Some residents, referring to it as the Kill Our Park Plan, had asked for the demolition and reconstruction of East River Park to take part in phases so that they continue to enjoy some of the amenities that the public space provides... others wanted the original plan that had been in the works for years before the city quietly changed its mind last fall.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• At the march and rally to save East River Park (Sept. 21)

• An annual reunion in East River Park (Aug. 4)

• A visit to East River Park (July 10)