EV Grieve

Friday, May 14, 2010

Ambulance chasers

On the rolldown gate at the fire-ravaged Stuyvesant Grocery last evening...

... one of the ubiquitous locksmith handouts...

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Second Avenue, 6:56 p.m., May 13

[Updated 2:21] Oh, just a little radiation alert on 14th Street...

Several readers this morning have said more fire trucks were spotted on 14th Street... this time between Avenue A and First Avenue. No sign of fire. Per EV Grieve reader cheese: "Yeah, my friend called and said there were fire trucks out, street blocked, something about hazardous material trucks also." And there are other reports via Twitter... "6 Firetrucks outside of my apt, radiation alert in the East Village, "but its nothing," says Fireman. L train departing in 31 min? Insanity."

Has the all clear been given?

[Updated] Many thanks to EV Grieve Laura for the above photo from earlier today... She said the firefighters were checking something in the subway vents as well as walking around 14th Street too. Despite being told there were long delays on the L train, one showed up in four minutes.

[Updated] Jenn Doll has an update at Runnin' Scared:

We called the FDNY, who said that there was radiation detected at 442 East 14th Street (between A and First) via a routine meter read. The radiation is at "negligible levels" and "is not harmful to anyone; no injuries were reported." The issue is under investigation. There was no FDNY comment on whether it might be related to yesterday's three-alarm fire in the area.

Stuyvesant Grocery owner: "We want to stay here. It became like our home"

DNAinfo's Patrick Hedlund talks to Numan Hauter, 49, owner of the Stuyvesant Convenience Grocery, which has operated at 14th Street and Avenue A the last 20-plus years.

“We know everybody here,” said Hauter’s dad, Alawi Hussien, whose family hails from Yemen.
“These people are our friends,” echoed Stuyvesant Town resident Apoli Hiwali, who’s shopped at the deli “everyday” since it opened two decades ago. “They’re very friendly.”
While Hauter said he hopes to reopen “as soon as possible” ... “I hope they’re going to fix it,” Hauter said of his landlord. “We want to stay here. It became like our home.”

Previously on EV Grieve:
Conspiracies: What next for 14th Street and Avenue A?

Conspiracies: What next for 14th Street and Avenue A?

It didn't take long for the conspiracy theorists to say what IF yesterday's fire turns out to be suspicious ... after all, 14th Street and Avenue A is prime real estate ... and many of the storefronts along this stretch of single-level businesses have been for rent for months and months...

As I noted last summer: "This area on 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B is ripe for development. So when when the 'space available' signs went up last summer (2008)...Hello Marc Jacobs! Hello huge Chase branch!'"

Well... according to the Post, the fire started at Pete's-a-Pizza, where a welder was working on a fire-access door. There, his welding torch apparently set some grease on fire. And that was it.

Anyway, Rainbow took over a big space here last July.

The area here also falls outside the East Village/Lower East Side Rezoning ... Noted one reader, "a nice fat dorm here would solve NYU's missing square footage."

Anyway, I'm not suggesting that anything happened here aside from a terrible, accidental fire that destroyed four local businesses... but, it is something to think about... and we've been around long enough to see the unthinkable happen... luxury hotels on the Bowery? An NYU dorm popping up at the site of a venerable pool hall/concert venue//club?

Meanwhile, I've been told that the owners of Stuyvesant Grocery do have insurance. No word just yet on what their plans are. I meant to add that I hope all the businesses will be able to rebuild and reopen here.

Lamenting two lost groceries on Avenue A

With yesterday's three-alarm fire that knocked out four businesses along 14th Street at Avenue A... several readers had nice things to say about the Stuyvesant Grocery....

...another reader mentioned that, with the recent closing of Graceland down on the corner of Second Street, Avenue A has lost two of its neighborhoody friends...

"Another noisy bar" slated for Avenue A; actually, make that several noisy bars, perhaps

Unfortunately, I couldn't make the latest noisy bar community meeting on 13th Street last night...

I went to the one last summer in which the Superdive manager attended. I still recall the longtime resident who said that "this isn't a neighborhood that 'sits on its ass' and looked at the Destination and Superdive reps and said that they are officially 'put on notice.'"

If anyone attended last night and wants to pass along details... I'd appreciate it...

Anyway, there's plenty of reason for concern. Take a look at this month's CB3/SLA slate on Monday ... all sorts of activity on the northern stretch of Avenue A:

Alterations/Transfers/Upgrades
-- El Camion (El Camion III Inc), 194 Ave A (trans/op) (The Raven)
-- Percy's (Steelbar 180 Inc), 210-212 Ave A (trans/op) (Al Diwan)
-- MBM Lounge Inc, 212 Ave A (trans/op) (Forbidden City)
-- Corp to be Formed, 503-505 E 12th St (trans/op) (I'll have more on this one - the former Mundial and Totem)

Plus, for good measure, the popular Westville at 11th Street is applying for a sidewalk cafe license...

Meanwhile, as I posted on Saturday, there was an "open house" this past Friday at 5 p.m. (!) for the new bar/restaurant going in the old Raven space at 12th Street and Avenue A...

I've asked several neighborhood power brokers about the open house... and no one knew a thing about it. Jill at Blah Blog Blah, who has chronicled many of the noise-related issues in this part of the neighborhood, said that she walked by Friday at 5:30 p.m. "I ... didn't notice any event."

And she echoed my thoughts. "Come to think of it, what an inconvenient time to have an open house, right when most of us working stiffs are still commuting. Maybe [the owner] thought he'd get his support from the students who live in the building."

Previously on EV Grieve:
New bar slated for 12th Street and Avenue A

Observations from last night's noisy bars meeting

Another nightmare bar for 505 E. 12th St.?

We've talked with several residents in the past about problems stemming from the former bars at 505 E. 12th St.... Mundial and before that, Totem... So a few people are anxious now that the following has appeared on Monday's CB3/SLA docket:

Corp to be Formed, 503-505 E. 12th St. (trans/op)

I was never in Mundial or Totem. Here's the Totem writeup from Shecky's to show you what you missed:

Totem: Join the ultra-hip Williamsburg and NYU kiddies as they jungle boogie ‘til they can’t boogie no more at this Alphaville hotspot. Prance without dancing (as it’s legally prohibited) around the totem poles, saunter over to the lounge area, or plant yourself in the outdoor garden. Featured drinks include the house special Totem Pole and the slightly less subtle Beaver Juice. Note: the menu literally warns patrons to mind the alcohol content of these drinks, thus reflecting a certain acknowledgement of attracting a young clientele. The Totem rocks throughout the week but occasional theme nights, like the cyclical Full Moon Party, can be a howl.

We don't know just yet what this "corp to be formed" is going to be bringing to the block. At this point, any new venture is bound to cause high anxiety for neighbors.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

One last look tonight at 14th Street and Avenue A

A little after 9, I was surprised to see the sidewalks had already reopened at 14th Street and Avenue A after the three-alarm fire that started after 10:15 this morning ... If you didn't know any better, then you might just think that these stores here were simply closed for the night... (never mind the lingering smell of smoke...) A few workers from ConEd and Verizon remained on the scene...

Many thanks again to EV Grieve reader Sergey for all his photos today... and thanks to everyone who left comments and shared their thoughts...

Previously.