CB3 highlights: East Village Brewery and Beer Shop postponed; 200 Avenue A denied

Several readers provided some quick feedback on last night's CB3/SLA meeting.

Applications within Resolution Areas

• To be determined, 14 Ave. B (op)

This is the proposed East Village Brewery and Beer Shop that we reported on yesterday.

POSTPONED

The committee postponed a vote on this because, as one resident told me, "the secret investors were not present, they couldn't identify where they were going to get the stuff to build the brewery and they had no brewmaster!"

Alterations/Transfers/Upgrades

• To be Determined (Not A Bookstore LLC), 200 Ave A (trans/op) (Superdive)

The art gallery bar idea.

DENIED

Plenty of drama on this item. Board member David McWater quickly called for a vote, so residents in attendance didn't need to speak out against the applicant. Per an attendee: "In an unprecedented feat a transfer was denied. Something that almost never happens." (Shawn Chittle has more on this vote in the comments.)

• To be Determined, 500 E 11th St (trans/op) (Angels & Kings)

DENIED

Updated:

Eater has more meeting coverage here.

Burning down the house, again

"According to Billboard and the late Hilly Kristal’s daughter, a documentary on CBGB, legendary New York City venue and birthplace of punk rock, is in the works." (Crawdaddy, with a hat tip to Karate Boogaloo.)

The folk hero of East Fifth Street

A reader shares this incredible true story from early Monday morning...

[Not the actual bus in question]

I guess the 6-12 people on the safari party bus were caught a bit off-guard last night when I began trying to kick their door in. Awoken moments before, at 4, by the shouting and music, I went to the window and saw what it was and quickly grabbed my pants, shoes, thought of getting a bat, but didn’t want to wake the kids by opening their baseball gear. It was their sleep that I was trying to preserve after all.

When I went outside I wasn’t thinking that I’d be trying to kick their door in. Maybe I tried to push the door open to scream at them to move on? I don’t quite remember...except that the door was shut hard and that I was giving it my all now, repeatedly...wham! wham! wham!

As I was doing this I think I was screaming to get the bus OFF this street (maybe not as nicely as that). At one point I exchanged some words with someone baiting me at one of the two open windows, he telling me how he was going to fuck me up and holding a kitchen scissors as if it was a knife, and me saying to come on out bitch as I leapt up and tried to grab his face off.

I should have, of course, thrown a punch but didn’t, and they weren’t coming out of the bus either. There were no real fighters there, myself included, thank god, just a lot of testosterone, booze, etc. The kid turned away when someone said let’s move down the street.

And, the bus was up and running and as I was thinking down the street isn’t going to work for me, a half drunk can of beer came whizzing by my head. I followed the bus on foot, opened a recycle bin or two and pulled out some bottles, 32oz-ers I think, three of them, and I was running now. The bus thought about parking for a sec, and then decided to hightail it as they saw me running up behind them, except that the light was against them. They paused before running it as I hurled bottle #1 at their rear and as they floored it up the Bowery I hit them once again with #2.

I do wish that I had just knocked on their door and kindly asked them to turn down their music and move their party elsewhere. Oh well, perhaps this might help other prospective traveling living rooms to steer clear of East Fifth Street.

More trouble for Ray's; additional $2k fine levied, food tossed

Bob Arihood at Neither More Nor Less has a report on yesterday's DOH closure of Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A. According to a news report, despite the DOH closure, Ray decided to stay open so that he could make his rent. Unfortunately, the DOH returned at 4:30 yesterday afternoon and slapped Ray with a $2,000 fine for defying the order. In addition, as Bob reports, Ray had to toss all of his food products and immediately close. Bob has a lot more details here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
DOH shutters Ray's Candy Store

The Amato Opera building is for sale now for $6.95 million

First, a mini recap: Last July, CB3 gave its blessing for the owners of the V Bars to open a "bar/restaurant/theater experience" in the former Amato Opera on the Bowery. However, as DNAinfo reported in late March, no work has been done on the space and its remains on the market. NYCRS has the listing at $22,500 a month.

So! This weekend, an Amato Opera listing appeared at Corcoran. Its price: $6.95 million. Here's the listing:

The Amato Opera house was an historic property founded in 1964. The original building was constructed in 1899. It was the home to the celebrated opera company for nearly a half-century since before closing in May 2009. It is a four-story building, which was converted into a theatre with rehearsal and storage space, 107-seats, a 20-foot stage and a tiny orchestra pit. It measures approximately 5,429 sq., is a four-story masonry building which stands on a 22'33" X 93' lot, and measures 22'4" wide by 84' deep and c. 7'5" wide at the rear. The property, located in a C6-1 Commercial District (R7 Residential District equivalent), is well suited for commercial, residential or mix use. The building has additional air rights. Property shark states a maximum of 9,576 sf and/or a maximum height of 85 ft. The building is currently 52.4 ft high. All due diligence has to be done by buyer and we are only providing information publicly displayed on property shark with no guarantees. 319 Bowery is between Bleecker and Bond. The neighborhood is now lined with luxury hotels, fashionable restaurants and stylish fashion stores. Bring your architect and your imagination and don't miss this excellent opportunity.

Noho-branded new art for Extra Place

Oh, that's subtle.

Workers at 35 Cooper Square suddenly find the blue tarp

To protect the side of the Cooper Square Hotel from the elements. Where was this when the roof of the historic 35 Cooper Square was rotting while exposed to the elements?

Previously.

Avenue A, 8:11 p.m., May 16

Lights are on, but no one was inside.

May 16*

EV Grieve reader Scott passes this photo along from Seventh Street between Avenue A and Avenue B today. So card-carry members of the International Coalition of Tree Tossing in the Spring (ICTTS) will quickly note that:

A) There is no newspaper for authentication, verification or substantiation.
B) It's a fake tree.

Still. We dutifully Skyped ICTTS spokesperson Gruber MacDougal, currently on a truffle-hunting expedition in Western Australia. An ICTTS tribunal will hold a hearing sometime soon in the future or later.

Today, in the drizzle

All photos by Bobby Wiliams

Jeep-minivan chase on East Houston ends in spin out

A quick eyewitness report from a few minutes ago via @talsafran on Houston near Avenue C:

"This Jeep was chasing a gray minivan. Ran red lights and spun out.

Everyone in the white Jeep ran out, the car's empty."

Your chance to buy a boutique hotel on Great Jones

A rather fascinating new listing has appeared at the the Massey Knakal site involving the seemingly dormant hotel project at 25 Great Jones at Lafayette:

A 13-story boutique hotel development slated for 48 guestrooms. The project awaits a flag or boutique operator to customize. The ground floor could be occupied by a hotel lobby and a lounge. The cellar could include a boardroom, spa rooms and offices. The demolition, excavation, concrete super structure, and construction lift are fully complete; whereas the interior partition framing and electrical are partially complete. A liquor license has been submitted and conditionally approved. The hotel is located in one of the most desirable downtown locations. Nearby hotel suites can go for as high as $650/night, as seen at the Bowery and Cooper Square Hotels. The adjacent luxury Great Jones Spa has expressed strong interest in a joint venture to provide services and direct access for the hotel. 22 Bond Street, a 25’ wide contiguous one story building, is available separately by Massey Knakal; it could be combined to enlarge the food and beverage space of 25 Great Jones if needed. Hotel opportunities are exceedingly rare in this historic district enduring little or no future competition in this trendy downtown location.

Submit your proposals now!

Check out Curbed for more of the hotel history here.