Former PS 64 not subject to the city’s new crackdown on deteriorating buildings

[10th Street side]

The Department of Buildings recently put into place an amended rule governing exterior wall inspections and repairs for owners of buildings higher than six floors who fail to upkeep their properties.

This change came about after architect Erica Tishman was killed by falling debris from a Midtown office building in December.

However, as the Daily News reported, this new rule doesn't apply to the long-vacant P.S. 64 on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

Per the News:

Because the school is lower than six stories and now has the proper protections up, including several sidewalk sheds, it won’t be newly scrutinized, building officials said.

"Stabilization work in the building has been performed, and the Department of Buildings continues to closely monitor the situation to protect pedestrians," said Jane Meyer, a spokeswoman for Mayor de Blasio.

But the vacate order from last February is still active, DOB records show — which leave people who live nearby skeptical of the city’s claims.

"There's a lack of oversight that is going on," said Carolyn Ratcliffe, 77, who is president of the 9 BC Tompkins Square Block Association. "We really feel like we're being blown off."

Read the full article here.


[9th Street side]

Developer Gregg Singer bought the property — the former P.S 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center — from the city during an auction in 1998. The landmarked building has been empty for years. You can read the archives for more on the long history here.

Noted

As a follow-up to our post earlier today on the unveiling of the new residential building on the site of the deadly March 2015 gas explosion... EVG regular 2ndAvenueSilverPanther points out that the condoplex on Second Avenue and Seventh Street has already been tagged...

More of the explosion site condoplex comes into view at 45 E. 7th St.

Back on Friday, workers removed the construction tarps from the Seventh Street side of the new building on the northwest corner of Second Avenue (thanks to Steven for these photos...)



So now we have better views of this high-profile project at 45 E. Seventh St., which is going up on two of the three lots destroyed during the deadly gas explosion here on March 26, 2015.





Missing to date: the perforated cornice parapet that we saw in the rendering...


[Rendering via Morris Adjmi]

The Morris Adjmi-designed building will include 21 condo units as well as ground-floor retail. Residential units are one, two and three bedrooms. The Tavivian Team from Douglas Elliman will be responsible for the sales.

You can find all the background about this project and its history at this link.

Suki is moving to a larger space around the corner

[Photo from 2018 by Derek Berg]

Suki, the six-seat Japanese curry shop at 86 E. Seventh St. just west of First Avenue, is moving to a new, larger space around the corner at 111 First Ave.

Following renovations, chef Kelly Cho will serve her Japanese-style curries from the former Maharlika space between Sixth Street and Seventh Street...





Here's part of Suki's announcement on Instagram:

We are really excited to say that Suki will soon expand & still live in East Village! It is truly still unbelievable the amount of love we received in the 6 seater restaurant! We will still be serving the same high quality food as usual so do not worry!

P.S. We thank our loyal customers who wished for more seats.

Suki opened in July 2018 and received favorable notices in the Times and via Michelin.

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Another fire at 204 E. 13th St.

There was another fire reported at 204 E. 13th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. Early Saturday morning, the FDNY responded to a blaze on the third floor at the address...

MAN ALL HANDS 204 E 13 ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE ON 3RD FLR,

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) February 29, 2020

No word on the extent of the damage to the 4-story building (see top photo via a reader) or a cause.

This is the second time in 15 months that a fire broke out at No. 204. Renovations were apparently still in progress in the building following an early morning fire during Thanksgiving weekend 2018.

That fire caused extensive water damage to Bruno Pizza, the retail tenant on the ground floor in the building owned by Steve Croman. Last July, owner Demian Repucci decided that the damage was too much to overcome, and he decided to move on from the business.

Soothr, a Thai noodle bar, was expected to open soon in the space. The most recent apartment rental via Streeteasy is from last May, when a two-bedroom unit on the third floor was listed — then removed — for $5,073.

H/T Jodi!

That Duane Reade by Walgreens closes today on 10th and 3rd

As previously noted, the Duane Reade by Walgreens location on the southwest corner of Third Avenue and 10th Street closes today.

Pharmacy customers are being transferred to the DR on 14th Street and Third Avenue.

The store is pretty much cleared out already...





This marks the third Duane Reade by Walgreens to close nearby in the past few months. The outpost on Avenue D at Houston and First Avenue between 14th Street and 15th Street shuttered last November.

Now what will happen to this large retail space, which has been under cover of a sidewalk bridge for years...



In late 2015-early 2016, the drug store expanded into the two adjacent spaces along here, after Excel Art and Framing Store and East Village Cheese were forced to relocate. (EV Cheese was never able to make the new location work.)

The landlord will likely have an easier go of renting this location if the storefront is divided into smaller spaces once again.

The Marshal seizes the former Hot Kitchen space

[Photo by Steven]

The Marshal came calling late last week, seizing the former Hot Kitchen at 104 Second Ave. at Sixth Street.

This marks the latest development in a whirlwind few months at this space. On Feb. 19, the 10-month-old Jiang Diner decamped from the address and returned to to its previous location at 309 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue after just six weeks.

Jiang moved to Second Avenue for a bigger dining room and kitchen to expand their offerings. In a comment on Instagram, Jiang Diner stated: "unfortunately there are some complications with the ... space."

Hot Kitchen opened in September 2011. In 2018, Hot Kitchen transformed its menu and added traditional Sichuan Skewer Hotpot and BBQ to their menu. (They also stopped deliveries.) They eventually closed this past October.

At the beginning of December, a venture called Sushi & Sake started offering Japanese cuisine. That venture lasted a short month before Jiang Diner announced it was moving here. According to the Times back in August, Tao An, the owner of Jiang Diner, was also behind Hot Kitchen.

Bait & Hook returns

Bait & Hook returned to service this past week on the northwest corner of 14th Street and Second Avenue.

To recap: The sports bar went dark in January, followed by the arrival of a for rent sign. ... several weeks later, there was a banner announcing that it was "Opening soon under new management."

Not sure at the moment what might be new — things appear the same from the outside, down to the Philadelphia Eagles flag. (The specials, such as Taco Tuesday, are also the same.)

Bait & Hook debuted with promises of a New England-style seafood restaurant in September 2012. In the opening announcement, Executive Chef Joe Bachman said: "We wanted to open a place that offered New Yorkers an affordable, casual dining experience, with the feel of a seafood shack but the taste of an ocean-side eatery."

The space eventually transitioned into a sports bar and SantaCon stop.

H/T Pinch!

Heavy lifting at the future tech hub

Activity has picked up at the construction site of the future tech hub (aka Zero Irving) on 14th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.

On Saturday, a crane crew was on hand to help load in heavy materials ...



... and later in the day via Pinch...



The 21-floor building, developed jointly by the city’s Economic Development Corp. and RAL Development Services, will feature 14 floors of market-rate office space as well as "a technology training center and incubator, co-working spaces, state-of-the-art event space, and street level food hall on the seven floors beneath," per the Zero Irving announcement issued last October.

The new building, on the former site of a P.C. Richard & Son, has a completion date for the spring of 2021, per the renderings onsite.

Previously on EV Grieve:
P.C. Richard is gone on 14th Street; preservationists want answers about tech-hub commitments

Sunday's parting shot

Photo on St. Mark's Place by Derek Berg...