Thursday, November 4, 2021

The former Central Bar being converted to office use on 9th Street

Renovations continue in the retail space at 109 E. Ninth St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue. 

According to the posted work permits, workers are converting the former Central Bar space to "office occupancy" ...
The Central Bar, the bi-level sports bar-lounge, closed this past March after nearly 20 years in business. In a letter to patrons, the bar owners noted: "Our landlord has sold the building, and the new owners will not be keeping us as tenants."

The building changed hands for $3.35 million. No word on what might be happening to 109's 13 residential units.

It seems to be a rarity for a bar/restaurant — or any previously licensed address — to be converted into an office or other business (though it does happen).  

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

In case you were planning on some overnight shopping at Key Food — TONIGHT

Updated 11/4: Last night's install was canceled last-minute due to a glitch at another Key store! They will try again this coming Monday at 11 p.m., per Stacie Joy.

Avenue A's Key Food is currently undergoing a transformation that has seen multiple food categories — Bread! Cakes! ("for all occasions") Nut milks! — change aisle positions in a phased-in approach over the past several weeks. (You may revisit those posts here and here.) 

The latest update will cause the 24/7 grocery at Fourth Street to close overnight — specifically from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Sources tell EVG Key contributor Stacie Joy that the grocer will be updating its self-serve stations and point-of-sale systems — perhaps to update its software for the Customer Loyalty Cards (the ones with "The Difference is Key" printed on them).

Sources also say that it is possible the staff will do some reorganization overnight, but it's also possible that they will not. 

See you at 7 a.m. tomorrow!

Election results: Rivera, Marte win local City Council races

Carlina Rivera has won another term as District 2 City Council member. 

According to tallies from the Board of Elections, Rivera easily topped indpendent candidate Juan Pagan and neighborhood candidate Allie Ryan with nearly 80 percent of the votes.
In the District 1 race for City Council, which includes Chinatown, Little Italy and the Lower East Side, Christopher Marte had more than 70 percent of the vote in beating Republican candidate Jacqueline Toboroff and independent Maud Maron.
Here's Rivera's statement... And from Marte's camp... 

   

And as expected in the race for mayor, Eric Adams "cruised to victory" in the general election over Republican Curtis Sliwa. You can find the full NYC results here.

A look at 302 E. 2nd St., where a housing lottery is underway

Here's a look at 302 E. Second St. between Avenue C and Avenue D. 

As previously reported, the new 14-floor building— called East Village Homes — will feature 44 affordable apartments and a ground-floor community facility on this long-vacant, city-owned parcel that Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) is developing via New York City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

And now, 36 of the units are available in a lottery for residents at 50 to 140 percent of the area median income (AMI) ... ranging in eligible income from $32,229 to $180,460. Half of those 36 units are set aside for residents who live within the confines of Community Board 3.

More details via the AAFE website:
7 apartments are designated for residents at 50% of Area Median Income (AMI), 14 units at 80% of AMI and 15 units at 140% of AMI. An additional 8 residential units are reserved for formerly homeless individuals and families, utilizing Section 8 vouchers.

The building includes ... a shared terrace on the 11th floor overlooking East Houston Street. The project is utilizing Low Income Housing Tax Credits. 
Dec. 20 is the deadline for application. Find information on how to apply via this link. That link also provides a breakdown of the monthly rent and income eligibility for the units, which range from $857 for one-bedroom apartments to $2,774 a month for two-bedroom apartments.
A second phase of the East Village Homes project is expected to create 10 additional affordable rental apartments on a separate site at 276 E. Third St. Construction has yet to commence there between Avenue C and Avenue D. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

Jiang's Kitchen signage-canopy combo arrives on St. Mark's Place

The signage-canopy combo arrived the other day for Jiang's Kitchen at 65 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue (thanks to Steven for these photos)...
As we mentioned last month, Tao An, the owner of the now-closed Jiang Diner (and Hot Kitchen) is behind this new venture — previously billed as Jiang Kitchen — at the former home of Jules Bistro (1993-2020). 

An had previously received administrative approval via CB3 for a beer-wine license for the address. According to the questionnaire posted on the CB3 website, Jiang's Kitchen will have 15 tables to accommodate 60 guests. Although the restaurant will serve beer and wine with meals, there is no bar for guests inside the space. An opening date has not yet been announced. 

Jiang Diner opened on Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue opened in the spring of 2019 and drew praise for its big-plate chicken and Xinjiang-styled Northwestern Chinese food. The restaurant closed for a summer break in late July and never reopened. 

An also operated Hot Kitchen, a Sichuan restaurant, at 104 Second Ave. at Sixth Street starting in 2011. (Jiang Diner also briefly moved into this space, which is now for rent.)

Jules Bistro, a classy spot that offered French cuisine and live jazz, never reopened after the March 2020 PAUSE. Workers cleaned out the space in September 2020.

For your convenience: another smoke shop

103 St. Mark's Place is the new home of the incoming Saint Marks Convenience & Smoke Shop here between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

Unlike the ubiquitous shops that have seemingly popped all over the neighborhood, this one apparently won't be selling beer. (So no Smoke & Beer! Just Smoke!) 

This retail portion of the building was last Satori Holistic Wellness & Beauty.

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Halloween in the East Village (Sunday edition)

Here's our Sunday sequel to the previous Halloween post... some more scenes from around the neighborhood courtesy of Stacie Joy... 

32 Avenue C has been demolished

As you may have noticed over on the southwest corner of Third Street and Avenue C, the crumbling three-story building that stood here has been demolished ... right down to the pit...
And a look through the blogger portal...
In our last report from here at 32 Avenue C, we noted the recently issued work permits to "partially demolish the building," specifically the "second, third and roof floors." 

Apparently, workers decided to take down the first floor too. There aren't any other new permits on file with the city offering a clue as to what might be next for the corner.

And as previously noted, there were development plans for this parcel... with the filing of permits with the city in July 2005 for a new 6-floor residential building. The city disapproved the plans in May 2006, and nothing more happened with the project.

Years later, the landlord filed a permit in the fall of 2017 with the DOB to "rebuild exterior walls; replace windows and sistering of floor joists to address" the various violations on file.

Public records list the landlord as Abraham Benelyahou of Fairfax Management Corp. In 2014, the Daily News referred to him as "Manhattan's worst landlord."

Residents have long complained about the drug activity on this corner. This past Jan. 18, a 36-year-old man was shot and killed here. For several months after this, the NYPD parked a patrol car nearby. 

Meanwhile, the sidewalk bridge has stood in various states of disrepair for the past eight-plus years. 

Outside the Bored Ape Yacht Club pop up on 3rd Street

In case you were wondering about those long lines on Third Street and First Avenue yesterday (not for Starbucks! Or Brickman & Sons!). 

The creatives behind Yuga Labs and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) — called a "collaborative art experiment for the cryptosphere" — are hosting a two-day merch pop-up at 91 E. Third St. (RIP the Edge) yesterday and today ... part of their Ape Fest 2021

EVG digital collectibles reporter Stacie Joy shared these photos of the lines (which also went back toward Second Avenue) ...
The Board Yacht folks acknowledged the line and apologized...
The people Stacie spoke with didn't seem to mind the wait...
This Rolling Stone piece from yesterday has more background on how BAYC came to be.

Last week, Bored Ape Yacht Club #8817, one of 10,000 unique cartoon apes on the Ethereum blockchain, reportedly sold for $3.4 million. The BAYC NFT collection has seen more than half a billion dollars in sales to date.

Ho, ho, no! SantaCon slated for Dec. 11

Over the Halloween weekend, we spotted this discarded (or lost!) Santa hat on Avenue A. 

We noted this in our Instagram Stories ... wrong holiday, etc. Haha. A few people nervously brought up SantaCon. Haha. As in, That's not happening this year — is it?

As of now, yes. 

According to its website, SantaCon, which Gothamist describes as "the annual debauched meathead magnet bar crawl that floods certain unfortunate neighborhoods with blathering bro-chads in Santa costumes every December," the event is Dec. 11... 
The pandemic sidelined last year's SantaCon. Participating venues are announced shortly before the 'Con... and the East Village always seems to make this Santa's list.