Tuesday, May 9, 2023
Porta potties arrive in Tompkins Square Park for use during field house renovations
The restrooms in the Tompkins Square Park field house are now closed as part of an 18-month renovation getting underway.
In February, a Parks official explained that temporary toilets were not part of the contract "and cannot be supplied during construction." The alternative for public use during this period: The restrooms at the McKinley Playground on Fourth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue adjacent to P.S. 63/the Neighborhood School.
By March, though, Community Board 3 noted that porta potties would be on-site after all.
A close-up view... (photo by Steven)...
On Astor Place, the cube will BRB to spin again
As previously reported (first by THE CITY), the 1,800-pound cube is off to Bethany, Conn., for restoration by Versteeg Art Fabricators — a firm that also restored the cube in 2005.they stole the Astor Place cube! #NewYorkCity pic.twitter.com/hbypJzFgss
— g 🦅 (@aworldaIone) May 9, 2023
The cube had been out of commission with structural damage since late 2021. The barricades first arrived around the cube in December 2021, before the city removed them in late April 2022. At the time, we were told that the spinning mechanism for the cube, which manually rotates around a pole hidden in its center, was not working.
Tony Rosenthal's sculpture first arrived here in November 1967.
And Rosenthal's estate is picking up the estimated repair bill of $100,000.
From the Times:
Dave Petrie, the director of Rosenthal’s estate, said he was "concerned about the state of disrepair" the cube had fallen into..."The thesis was, we want to do this," he said. "The cost wasn't the issue. We want Tony's legacy to live on."
Fencing off the Tompkins Square Park field house
Photos by Steven
The path along the Ninth Street walkway is about half the size now with the fencing (on the positive side, this will make it more difficult to drive through the Park)... 
The space behind the field house — dubbed the Slocum area as it includes the Slocum Memorial Fountain — is now also closed to the public ...
... along with the restrooms... 
The Parks Department website lists a September 2024 competition date for the $5.6-million project (PDF here), which will:
• Upgrade existing restrooms to code
• Upgrade Parks and maintenance and operations space
• Add first aid and lifeguard locker room spaces in the building
• Reconstruct interiors
• Clean and partially repoint exterior brick
In addition, the Tompkins Square mini pool will be out of commission for two consecutive summers.
This poorly scrawled circle shows roughly how much of the Park will be closed for the next 18 months ...
Inside Don Ceviche, opening soon on 1st Avenue
Photos by Stacie Joy
Last week we noted that the signage had arrived for the new outpost of Don Ceviche at 57 First Ave. between Third Street and Fourth Street.
Since then, the quick-serve Peruvian restaurant has added its sidewalk awning (grandfathered in for the businesses at the address).
The Laurels takes over for Bait & Hook on 2nd Avenue and 14th Street
We haven't heard anything just yet about the business. The classified ad for kitchen help states that Dan Fleming ("as seen on Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, Dishmantled") is the culinary director. "This is a fast-growing company that is looking to expand. We welcome all candidates to be part of something new and revolutionary happening in the East Village."
The Laurels takes over for Bait & Hook, which went dark at the start of the year after nearly 11 years in service, and without any notice to patrons.
Before Bait & Hook, the space was the Meatball Factory, then Hole Foods ... and before that! The Pizza Hut-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's combo, which vanished in 2010.
The former Mighty Quinn's space is for rent
Photos by Derek Berg
A for-rent sign arrived this past week at 103 Second Ave., where Mighty Quinn's recently closed here at Sixth Street.
Workers last week also removed the 6,000-pound smoker that the BBQ joint had installed when it opened more than 10 years ago...
This was the very first restaurant for the brand, which now has multiple corporate locations in the NYC metro area ... and ownership has been franchising, with outposts in New Jersey, Maryland and Florida... and in Dubai.
Ownership didn't provide a specific reason for the closure (April 10 was the last day), stating, "While we wish to have been able to just keep our first restaurant in the system forever, many realities have made that path impractical."
People into Mighty Quinn's can still have it delivered here via the Greenwich Avenue outpost.
Monday, May 8, 2023
Monday's parting shot
Photo by Derek Berg
A Grace Jones lineup on Seventh Street at Second Avenue... I've seen that face before.
Updated: East Village Pizza removes its curbside dining structure
Photos by William Klayer
Workers this morning were removing the curbside dining structure on the Ninth Street side of East Village Pizza on the SW corner of First Avenue... the crew was hired by the pizzeria (this was not a city removal)...
Meanwhile, the status of outdoor dining is now in flux.
As Gothamist reported last week:
New York City is expected to set a limit on fees for restaurants seeking to participate in its yet-to-be-unveiled outdoor dining program, marking a significant victory for the restaurant industry.The plan would place a cap on licensing fees as well as a structure for annual "consent fees," the amount that restaurant owners would need to pay to rent city streets, according to multiple people privy to the discussions. They asked not to be named because they are not authorized to discuss private negotiations.Mayor Eric Adams has pledged to establish a permanent outdoor dining program, promising to address complaints about unsightly and noisy sheds that sprouted when the city allowed free use of the streets and sidewalks as an emergency measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Negotiations continue between the city and City Council. Per Gothamist: "Deciding whether roadway dining should run year-round as opposed to seasonally has been another closely watched debate."
And after the structure was removed... like it was never there...
Updated 3:30 p.m.
Workers also removed the curbside dining structure at Beron Beron on the NE corner of 10th Street and First Avenue (thanks for Steven for this photo)...
Pour one out for the champagne of East Village storefront signs
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
The days are numbered for one of the neighborhood's great signs featuring an unnecessary apostrophe.
On the NE corner of Avenue A and Fourth Street, the decades-spanning Nizga Liquors is under new ownership.
You may have noticed that workers spruced up the previously cluttered front window and interior — even removing that awkward turnstile at the entrance.
We're told that the new owners will start hosting wine tastings and other related events. (It looks like they will continue on with the sale of lottery tickets and more mini bottles than an airline.)
Then there is Fine Wine & Champagne's portion of the sign... which, through the years, perplexed copywriters and grammarians for the misuse of the apostrophe to indicate a plural...
Unfortunately, that sign will be coming down in the days ahead... and we understand that the tentative new name is LES Liquors.
We're also told that the sale of the shop, which saw the departure of the longtime manager, is also unrelated to the new landlords who bought the block-long residential building last fall for a reported $64 million.
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