Acronym alert! New community coalition forms in response to NYU expansion plans

Meet CAAN!

Following the suspension of the Community Task Force on NYU Development by Borough President Stringer, a dozen community groups have formed a new coalition to respond to NYU’s 20-year expansion plan, NYU 2031. The Community Action Alliance on NYU 2031 (CAAN) is composed of neighborhood, preservation, parents and building groups which are concerned about the detrimental impact NYU’s massive growth plans would have on our neighborhood.

CAAN is working to ensure that elected officials and the Community Board support the recommendations of the Community Task Force on NYU Development, which met for over four years with NYU. The Community Board and local elected officials have not yet taken a position on the NYU 2031 plan, but will ultimately take the votes which determine whether or not the NYU plan is approved and enacted.

Please do not attempt any of this in the new First Avenue bike lanes

The King of New York BMX competition rolled into Tompkins Square Park over the weekend...



Thanks to EV Grieve reader Steve for the photos...






And I hope that nobody gets any funny ideas now about the new First Avenue or Second Avenue bike lanes....

Things that don't look fun

Swimming (standing?) in a dumpster pool on Park Avenue.



Photo taken by Our Lady of Perpetual PMS.

Kurve/Rhong Tiam's long, strange trip is apparently over

Oh my what a wacky few years here on Second Avenue and Fifth ... where Kurve became Rhong Tiam East... the potted-plant neglectors here have been "closed for operating" illegally ... battled local taggers... given themselves a Michelin star...

The location is seemingly closed now... Let's start with Friday evening.



I walked by several times later and never saw any private parties inside. Unless it was off-site....




And people were stopping by to eat...



Yesterday, the place looked pretty dismantled...and the phone was not in service.




And all last week, there were offering 25 percent off...



To be honest, I actually called for delivery one night last week. Was curious about their food. However, I was told the special was reserved for people who would eat in the restaurant... not for people who wanted it to go or delivered...

Oh, also on Friday, a photographer and her subject were using the wall for whatever this was...



All Kurve Koverage.

More German-themed plywood for Second Avenue

First, as you will recall, a new restaurant is coming to the space behind the German-themed plywood here on Second Avenue at Second Street...



And now -- the plywood is gone!



No worries, though, German-themed-plywood lovers! Um, yeah, this is actually the Belgian flag... duh. Sorry.

Check out the Crazy Landlord space the next block up on the northeast corner of Third Street...






This will soon be home to the Belgian ale place that wants to be a "sexier Balthazar."

Previously on EV Grieve:
What's behind the German-themed plywood on Second Avenue?

"Crazy Landlord" cleans up his corner: Here comes a "sexier Balthazar"

Former Miracle Grill space on the market

Hmmm... we've been wondering what's going to be happening here on First Avenue near Seventh Street ... Seems as if the Miracle Grill has been closed for (three!) years... apparently there won't be any outdoor space here...considering the garden is now a condo.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former Miracle Grill garden not-so-suddenly looks like a condo

Crazy ideas of the week: Turn Ray's into a tiki bar

The East Villager has a Page 1 feature this week on Barry Kushelowitz’s tiki-rich apartment on Seventh Street...


[Photo by J.B. Nicholas]

Here's an excerpt that's rather funny and, probably, a little alarming...:

Does he have any interest in opening up his own tiki-themed establishment? Yes, he says, but real estate in New York is too expensive and the city has become too "sterilized." One idea he has is to use his collection to turn Ray’s Candy Store, on E. Seventh St. and Avenue A, into a tiki bar, with Ray Alvarez, the store's owner, as emcee.

"Ray could come down at night and tell stories," Kushelowitz said. "He's got a million stories."

Motel for First Avenue and Ninth Street looks less likely now

Several readers have passed along this news (thank you!) after signage went up on Friday...We now have a better idea of what's going in here at 147 First Avenue at Ninth Street...




So much for our motel theory! Anyway, whatever comes here promises to drive up the rents for nearby businesses who are already struggling... soon, this whole stretch will be one big Momofuku...

And EV Grieve reader Blue Glass sent along a photo with another angle...




Previously on EV Grieve:
Ninth Street and First Avenue shocker: Motel ... Hello?

Blockbuster: 147 First Ave. set for demolition

German burgers coming to Seventh Street

So!

At the former Mohammed Falafel Star space on Seventh Street near Avenue B... the barn/stockade/dungeon-looking thing...



So we've heard that it may be a burger place... or a Mediterranean eatery... And now! A name!



It will be a German burger joint... Of course, we were rooting for a dungeon...Thanks to EV Grieve reader Peter H. for this photo...

And they call it...

Puppy love on 13th Street near First Avenue. Well, he or she is more of a dog. But that doesn't really seem as endearing.

When dogs poop near diners outside Zum Schneider

Yesterday afternoon, the folks here on Seventh Street outside Zum Schneider were enjoying some food and drinks...



...when along came a young woman with a fairly large dog, who proceded to befoul the sidewalk right near the tables... without as much as slowing down, the woman continued on her way, turning south on Avenue C... the diners at the table on the far left above were fairly horrified/angry... one yelled something like, "Hey, your dog just took a dump. You have to clean that up."

I cannot say whether the woman was simply lazy or poorly mannered... or if this was an act of aggression toward touristy people eating outdoors...

P.S.
I did not photograph any of the evidence or the dog owner in question. You'll have to trust me on this one.

Fight night

First, a reader passes along word of "a ferocious fight at 4 am outside of st. dymphna's" on St. Mark's Place... Anyone hear anything about this?

Meanwhile, in another fight last night... from the Daily News:

One shot, one slashed in East Village fracas Saturday evening

Two men were injured Saturday night after a brawl in the lobby of an East Village building, sources said.

One man was shot in the hand and another slashed in his face when a fight erupted at the 13th St. building near Fourth Ave. about 11 p.m., sources said.