EV Grieve

Thursday, March 4, 2010

East Village condo sales stat of the day

According to BlockShopper.com, there have been 51 condo sales in the East Village in the past 12 months, with a median sales price of $875,000.

And at Streeteasy, there are currently 183 active sales listings, with a median price of $995,000.

Hecho en Dumbo opens Friday on the Bowery

As the Hecho en Dumbo Web site shows...

The former Dumbo hotspot is opening Friday at the site of the former Marion's Continental... Last evening, crews were prepping the space...

...and possibly tossing anything ever leftover from Marion's...

Previously on EV Grieve:
What's coming to the former Marion's Continental space on the Bowery

Michael Sean Edwards, Take Two

Three weeks ago we featured East Village photos that Michael Sean Edwards took from 1978-1985... His work has been very well received...

In a post on Flavorwire yesterday, Edwards provided a narrative to some of his photos (such as the ones below!)...He also gave insight into the technical side of his camera work...

"The film I used was Ektachrome Type B, which is balanced for artificial light, not daylight. I used an 85B filter to correct the color balance. It was a common thing in movie shooting in those days and I was a film editor for a living and had learned most of what I knew in film production."

Go here to see the Flavorwire gallery.

More on the NYU-NYT hyperlocal union

As you may have heard, NYU and The New York Times are teaming up to create a hyperlocal neighborhood news site called The Local: East Village (LEV).

Seth Lewis at Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab interviewed LEV mastermind Jay Rosen for a Q-and-A posted on Monday. Here's an excerpt: (Warning! It's pretty journalismish...)

So, are you suggesting that journalism schools could do well to focus on small, incremental steps toward local media partnerships? I mean, if I’m a journalism school director and I like what I see from this partnership, what’s the first step? What should I do?

This project began when I noticed what the Times was doing with The Local, and thought I glimpsed a need to experiment and learn. I mean, that was the logic of what they were doing. So, the first step is to get inside the head of the potential collaborator and start with a need or interest they have. The next step was to look at what we are doing at NYU and where we wanted to go with our program, and figure out where the two circles overlapped.

So, my Studio 20 concentration wants to work on innovation puzzles that matter in journalism in the broadest sense, but to do that through projects that can be completed in a semester. The Carter Institute at NYU teaches local reporting and needs a better way to do that. Put those things together and you get a version of The Local that Studio 20 can incubate, that the Reporting New York concentration at NYU can “own,” and that the Times can benefit from as a learning lab — and the community can gain from because it serves the East Village well. So it’s really four or five overlapping circles, because this is a community that NYU, the university at large, has a big stake in; it’s a big land owner and expects to own more land here.
Once I had the idea — East Village! The Local! — I just looked for ways to multiply the overlapping circles.

Oh, and one more thing: I tried to listen well to what the Times needed from such a project and understand it from their perspective as well as I did from ours.

Also, from here on out, perhaps we can shorten NYU-NYT to, say, NYUT.

Image via.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Last chance to see Dear John

You have through Saturday to see the work of John Farris (pictured, above) at Bullet Space, 292 E. Third St. between Avenue C and Avenue D... The exhibit (originally set to close this past Sunday) is titled, Dear John -- Reconstructing the Self: Drawings, Cartoons, and Plasticity. It's curated by Andrew Castrucci.

HOURS: Friday 3–6pm, Saturday, 1–6pm. Or by chance.

As Farris wrote in a release announcing the exhibit: "After a spectacularly unsuccessful 50-year career as a poet, fiction writer, and yes -- critic -- I have decided that the visual might be somewhat more expressive of my purview..."

Headline of the day: "The woman who killed Shake Shack."

If you've been following along over at Eater, then you'll know that Shake Shack decided to nix its Nolita expansion plans. Today, the Post profiles the neighbor instrumental in making this happen... the article is titled "The woman who killed Shake Shack." It begins:

Debra Zimmerman — a chatty, husky-voiced blonde — first learned that Shake Shack would be her new neighbor when she got a surprise visit from her landlord in January.

The hamburger haven’s contractor wanted to make sure the construction of a building on an adjacent plot on the corner of Prince and Mulberry streets didn’t cause damage to the railroad-style apartment, which she has called home for the past 32 years. Long vacant, the lot would soon house Manhattan’s third branch of restaurateur Danny Meyer’s wildly popular burger chain.

“At that point, I’m very concerned — extremely concerned,” says Zimmerman, 53, upon discovering that her view across Mulberry Street to the historic St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral would be replaced by a 30-seat rooftop space that would stay open until midnight every night.

And so began a modern-day tale of David and Goliath — NYC style.

Unbelievably, in a span of just six weeks, Zimmerman — who had never been a community activist before — brought down one of the city’s biggest and most connected restaurateurs.

Feel empowered?

[Image via the Post via Women Make Movies]

Now trending: East Village and Williamsburg in 10 years

There's a discussion going on at StreetEasy titled "East Village and Williamsburg in 10 years?"
The talk kicks off with:

Curious what you guys predict Williamsburg and the East Village to look like in ten years, residential property-wise. It seems like the East Village is sort of rundown these days, with a large number of empty storefronts and little development (other than on the overpriced stuff on the Bowery). On the other hand, some of the new buildings there seem to have sold out quickly like that place on B and 13th and Village Green. Will people buying into this neighborhood now see a good return on their investment ten years down the road or will this place remain humdrum? When and if the EV bounces back, will it be a cultural destination or Park Slope Manhattan?

A few of the responses...

East Village is a pain in the ass to get into and out of.
Williamsburg is and always will be a toilet.

And!

East Village in 10 years will continue to improve as a neighborhood. Better goods and services, less riff-raff.
Williamsburg in 10 years...how can I put this...any day it's gonna improve...any day now. the EDGE, still unsold refuses to lower it's asks.

And!

Despite the East Village's recent troubles, I think it's well-positioned to do well in the long-term. The major difference (IMHO) between it and Williamsburg is the quality of its older housing stock. Yes, there are many tenements and walk-ups, but in many cases those buildings have good bones or have been well maintained. It's the one thing that could continue to push it towards the West Village in terms of desirability and aesthetics. Many have lamented the reduced grit that the area was always known for (and I miss it a bit myself), but that trend probably favors property values in the long run.

And so it goes. It's an interesting discussion (and our friend Glamma is part of the conversation...). I don't know much about Williamsburg real estate. So I'm not up for any comparisions. But I do wonder what the East Village will look like in 10 years. Just think, of course, how much the neighborhood has changed in these last 10 years...

Renters lured by proximity to the Redhead, Duane Reade

Here's an apartment ad over at Craigslist that may just draw the attention of bacon lovers...

$2600 / 1br - **FLOORPLAN** 3/15-- Gut renovated 700sf 1br w/ SS Kitchen *No Fee* (East Village)

***************NEW TO MARKET*****************

This Apartment is currently being completely gut renovated by a professional company. I would describe it as a premium renovation. Huge 1 br apartment with very large closet in bedroom, large living room. Kitchen will have stainless steel appliances, marble bathroom, the works. Great price on a fantastic first floor 1br in Prime East Village just 1 block to L train. Close landmarks include Redhead, numerous bodegas, Duane Reade, multiple laundromats (one literally right across the street), too much fun to name. As I said, apartment is being gut renovated so its not very photogenic right now, but if you're interested I can show you a completed unit.

Via @nolatonyc

On the market: Bamboo paradise on East 10th Street

New to the market: This two-bedroom condo at 272 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue... According to the listing:

East Village Prime Garden Condo Duplex; An architectural masterpiece designed with many natural materials, walnut wood and stucco walls, bamboo floors, original quarry stone walls, granite counters, and white carrara marble baths. An open chiefs kitchen, gas burning fireplace and incredible living space opening out to a bamboo enriched private garden oasis. An incredible quiet and tree lined street located on east 10th Street between 1st and Ave A, just steps to Thompkins Square Park and all the best shops and restaurants the East Village can offer.

Let's take look...