NY1 looks at a 'landmark dispute' on East Fourth Street

NY1 ran a piece last night titled "Plan To Redevelop East Village Row Houses Draws Fire."

A landmark dispute on Manhattan's Lower East Side is pitting some longtime residents against one another as a developer sets his sights on the neighborhood. NY1's Rebecca Spitz filed the following report.

They may not look like much, but to some, a cluster of 1830s row houses located at 326 and 328 East 4th Street mean a lot. The buildings currently house an arts collective, but they're moving out and a new developer is coming in — and that has some people worried.

"We're just concerned about inappropriate alterations to the building, or actual demolition itself because these are the only buildings that have ever been on these sites and it's so rare that a 170-year-old building is still around in the East Village," said Kurt Cavanaugh of the East Village Community Coalition.

A developer, who would not talk with NY1, has already signed an agreement to buy the buildings. He has also filed an application to build two new stories on top of the existing structures.

"To destroy them with a high rise or something crazy would be nuts," said one East Village resident

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You can watch the video here.



It's a good piece, — I'm glad that word of this potential development is getting out there .... Here's a little more background on the two townhouses between Avenue C and Avenue D that hit the market back in March for $4.6 million. As the Times reported last month, this was home to "an artists’ collective and burial society called the Uranian Phalanstery and First New York Gnostic Lyceum Temple, was started in the East Village in the late 1950s by the artists Richard Oviet Tyler and Dorothea Tyler." Per Colin Moynihan's article, the group is faced with tax liens, and sold the building they have owned since 1974.

Meanwhile, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) and the East Village Community Coalition are working to to get landmark status here.

In any event, the historic townhouses are now in contract. The Corcoran listing shows they went for $3.95 million. The Times story last month noted that the developer is Terrence Lowenberg, who's also behind the work at Ninth Street and First Avenue. Curbed pointed out that the two-story rooftop additions are designed by architect Ramy Issac, "the neighborhood's most controversial tenement topper."



Previously on EV Grieve:
Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

Life at Dwell 95: Chace Crawford is a great neighbor, but those toilets!

Back in September 2008, I was walking by Wall and Water Streets ... and walked right into the opening night party for the Philippe Starck-designed luxury rental conversion at 95 Wall St. Festive despite a 500-point drop on the NYSE that day — the beginning of the meltdown! A tux-clad musician with an electronic fiddle was on the red carpet delighting all who walked by, mostly confused tourists at the onset.



You can read the whole post here.

The other day, a Dwell resident left a comment on the post.... which seemed too good not to share... So, excuse me while we venture away from the East Village for a moment...

Here's the comment:

i've been living here for a yr. def not gonna renew my lease. ok here we go: 1. every floor smells like pot. not exaggerating!!! 2. [the manager] is unprofessional and needs a better attitude. every complaint goes in one ear and out the other. she ignores everyone! 3. electricity — they say they save u money on electricity bec they buy it buy the bulk. but they overcharge by almost double!! and they put it under building services not electricity. my electric bill came out double what i have paid in any previous luxury building. 4. windows — all the apt windows are not fully sealed so tons of cold air comes in the winter and visa versa in the summer. management answers put the heater or ac on!. yea as if they are paying my bill. 5. complaints concerning the apt take forever to take care of. 6. breakfast always runs out — obviously bec most of the apt have like 5 people in a 2 bedroom just to save money. 7. their was no ac in the gym the entire summer. 8. the workout classes they give in the morning SUCK. the little red head has no experience at all and is very annoying. most of her classes have 1 or 2 people. usually she ends up stretching on her own or doesnt show. 9. the washer and dryer in the apt are really small, just enough for underwear and 3 small towels. 10. the toilets flush really bad bec there's not enough water pressure...there will always be leftovers (beware). 11. hot water takes about 4 min in the morning for the showers. about the same for the sink in the kitchen. 12. the stove is big enough to cook a baby chicken, not much more. i bought a grill to compensate. 13. the stove top clicks when there is too much humidity in the room. 14. the light in the fridge turn on on holidays only. just joking but they rarely work. ... and yes Chace is a really great neighbor, he complains too, but nothing helps lol .

Plus sur l'histoire la plus importante jamais - le café de trottoir de DBGB

Selon EV affligez-vous, qui perd clairement son esprit, le café de trottoir de DBGB était en service la nuit passée.

Noted

13th Street near Third Avenue

Crain's poll: 'Should we pull the plug on Manhattan bike lanes?'

Crain's is asking, not me.... You can read what they have to say here.

Here are the questions to study beforehand:

Yes. The only thing all these bike lanes have accomplished is the near impossible feat of making traffic in Manhattan even worse. If people want to ride a bike, let them go to Central Park.

No. Dedicated bike lanes are essential to making cycling in the city a safe, viable, totally green way to get around town.

A quick look inside the latest dessertery on St. Mark's Place

The EV Grieve reader who sent us the details on the new dessert place at the former Andy's Chee-Pees returns with a quick look inside....



Everything looks to be first class inside...

The New East Village Colossus

Art and message via JDX.

Neighbors offer Sin Sin 'an authentic nyc FUHGETTABOUTIT'

Yesterday, word came via a rap music message board that Sin Sin was shutting for good at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, later yesterday, Grub Street reported that the people behind Sin Sin's long-running Soulgasm party at the bar/club on Second Avenue and Fifth Street had a different take. Per the Soulgasm e-mail:

After 5 years of welcoming us into their venue and allowing us to party with no dramatics, Sin Sin has decided to close, re-open and go a different route. Like many venues around the city they too have to keep up with the times and cost of operating here.

This statement has drawn a response from the East Fifth Street Block Association:

"Due to violence associated with the club, The East Fifth Street Block Association asked the ownership of Sin Sin to deal with the issue of programming at a public meeting way back on August 4th, They did not and three weeks later there was a murder on their front steps. Since then there have been other fights at the club warranting police presence. And, even then they did not address the issue. Now they think that, even with blood on their hands, they can simply reprogram one night a week (which is not effective immediately... but THREE WEEKS from now) and perhaps save their business? The East Fifth Street Block Association would like to offer them an authentic nyc FUHGETTABOUTIT. The fact is that they have developed so much ill-will in the community, with elected officials and at the SLA that their days are numbered."

Previously on EV Grieve:
'The neighborhood will not rest until you are gone and Sin Sin’s license is revoked'

NYPD hosting meeting between Sin Sin and neighbors tonight

East Village noise wars new battlefront: Sin Sin/Leopard Lounge

Why the president of the East Fifth Street Block Association carries a baseball bat

It has begun!

An EV Grieve reader notes that construction crews have starting their road work on the eastbound lanes on Houston below Essex this morning... No photographic evidence, though.... People! In any event, this roadway project should keep us in posts for the next, oh, 37 years.


Previously on EV Grieve:
Coming soon to East Houston: Construction, hell, rodent control stations

Long-threatened East Houston reconstruction starting this month

[EV Grieve file photo]

Celebrate Cafe moves out of the Bowery Poetry Club

[Via BoweryBoogie]

As the sign below shows, Celebrate Cafe has moved out of the Bowery Poetry Club....



The Cafe, operated by the Lower Eastside Girls Club, is an entrepreneurial and job training program that employs local youth and young adults. The Café held its grand opening in June. As BoweryBoogie noted at the time, "A nice symbiotic relationship on the Bowery." I said as much in an e-mail to Lyn Pentecost, executive director and co-founder of the Girls Club. I asked her for a comment. “It wasn’t as good a fit as it appeared to be. We look forward to seeing our friends again on Ave.C — same great coffee and cupcakes!”

Celebrate Cafe will be moving back to 136 Avenue C, site of their Sweet Things Bake Shop.

As for the Bowery Poetry Club, no word on potential new tenants. At the beginning of the year, the East Village Visitors Center & Cafe moved after some 10 months here. They teamed up with Fourth Arts Block and the Cooper Square Committee on East Fourth Street.

Rumors: Aces and Eights will now be called 34A

Per the Avenue A rumor mill... 34 is the address of the bar formerly known as Aces and Eights ... so that name makes sense... I like it, though as EV Grieve reader RyanAvenueA noted in the comments: "So between 2A and 7A, there will be 34A."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Renaming Aces and Eights: See you at Drink 'til U Stink!

Even MORE dessert now for St. Mark's Place?

Crews have been working behind the plywood here on St. Mark's Place at the former Andy's Chee-Pees...



An EV Grieve reader caught a look inside yesterday... and, from the look of things, expect more dessert.

"Inside right now are some contractors installing counters and an ice-cream freezer. Two stories — interior lofted balcony with tables/seating set up already."

Meanwhile, just a doorway or so away, they'll be dessert and coffee (and booze?) at Roastown Coffee. When will this block of St. Mark's Place crumble under the weight of desserts?