EV Grieve

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

The East Village will lose a parking lot and gain an apartment building

Today is the last day for the Manhattan Parking Group at 74-84 Third Ave. at 12th Street. (The number to the lot has already been disconnected.) Multiple lot workers have confirmed the closure.

A handful of cars remain on the lot this morning.

Several EVG readers who have parked their car here received phone calls a few weeks ago saying that the lot was closing. Per one reader: "I asked what was going on and they said some wealthy Cuban man bought that lot and the building next door. The guy claims he saw all the drawings for the new building that is going up and that the architect had come by with the drawings."

We've heard these rumors, too, from various sources. One of the parking lot attendees — always reliable! — said that the new building will be 20 floors. Not sure about that claim. (Read more on this here.) An NYU spokesperson already said that they were NOT the new property owners, listed as 74-84 Third Ave. Corp.

Anyway, we're waiting to hear more details from official channels, including a look at the rendering.

Meanwhile, haven't you always wondered what was behind those two single windows and grubby curtains in the floors above the old Yummy House?

About The Bean's East Village expansion

[The Bean/Facebook]

On Monday, we broke the news that Bean is expanding its East Village presence to include a storefront on First Avenue at Ninth Street... to go alongside their original location at First Avenue and Third Street, Broadway and East 12th Street and the Crazy Landlord building.

In response to the post, Guy, The Bean's general manager, left the following comment:

It's a pretty exciting time for The Bean and we wanted to let the East Village community know what's going on.

The Plan: we're opening two more cafes around the East Village. We don't really think of this as an "aggressive" business move as The Bean remains an independently owned and operated neighborhood business. We haven't "sold out" or "gone corporate" and we've had this expansion in mind for sometime. Our cafes' walls will still feature the artwork and photography of East Village artists and photographers and we're super excited to ably to service more of our friendly & loyal customers in the East Village — old and new — whether they're just stopping in for a quick cup of coffee or penning the next great American novel sitting in one of our cafes.

Ultimately we'd rather open a business to service the neighborhood than have another bank or fast food restaurant further de-characterize the East Village.

The Bean remains committed to our customers, their dogs and — as always — we're open to suggestions. Just no poetry readings. :)

Guy
General Manager, The Bean

At Fork in the Road, our friend Rebecca Marx mentions Joe the Art of Coffee, an independently owned shop with seven locations in different parts of the city. "So while it's nice to see East Village storefronts being snapped up by a local business that isn't Duane Reade, one wonders if the Bean's owners would do better to spread out the wealth a little bit," she writes.

Some readers have chimed in on the topic on the previous post. A reader left this comment last night:

"2 new shops in the neighborhood opening simultaneously is clearly aggressive, especially since one is on the same block as Mud

The amount of money it takes to pull this off is huge. Market saturation is a ruthless corporate strategy, mom & pop shops don't have the resources and are usually a bit more sensitive to their neighborhood...no way is it independent."

Less shade now in Tompkins Square Park

As you know, Hurricane Irene took out many trees in the neighborhood this part weekend... we lost a handful in Tompkins Square Park too, including my favorite right in the middle of the Park (an area some people have dubbed Crusty Meadow) ...

I took these shots in the late spring... thinking it would make for a gag post, such as "tree-bending culprit captured on film!"

And after the storm ...

Yesterday, Bobby Williams noted the workers have removed the tree...

Which means more sun and space for sunbathing here in the quad...

Feeling the loss at La Plaza Cultural

Meanwhile, many residents are mourning the loss of the majestic willow tree that has graced La Cultural Plaza since the 1970s ... The winds and soaking rain of Hurricane Irene helped to uproot the tree on Avenue C at Ninth Street...

[Dave on 7th]

EV Grieve reader Jill Woodward shared these photos...

At the Times yesterday, Colin Moynihan wrote about the significance of the tree to the neighborhood.

The gardeners who run La Plaza, as it is called in the neighborhood, staved off several attempts at the garden’s development in the 1980s and ’90s. During those battles, the tall willow was embraced as a symbol of resistance and its likeness appeared on fliers and posters urging neighbors to oppose planned takeovers.

You can read more about the tree's symbolism here.

Melanie has another shot of the downed tree here at East Village Corner.

I've exchanged emails with Ross Martin, who's in charge of general maintenance and capital projects for La Plaza. I've been trying to get an assessment of the damage, and some possible next steps. Unfortunately, in the last few days, he hasn't been able to get anyone to take a look at the tree, and he has tried everyone from the the Parks Department to Rosie Mendez's office to professional tree services, to name a few.

[Fall 2010]

Saifee Hardware isn't accepting any Irene-related returns or exchanges

A reader unhappily notes that Saifee Hardware on First Avenue at Seventh Street won't take back any Irene-related supplies — not even for store credit.

If you can make out the sign...

All emergency items purchased on Thursday, Friday & Saturday including:

Flashlights
Batteries
Candles
Tapes
Tarps
Strings/Twines

FINAL SALE
No exchanges and no returns

So I may hold off before trying to return the eggs and Fruity Pebbles to Key.

DOH temporarily closes Friend House on Third Avenue

Yesterday, the DOH temporarily closed Friend House, the Asian bistro on Third Avenue at 13th Street. Officials haven't posted the latest results online yet. In April, Friend House received 32 points, including for "Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas."

'Greetings From Tim Buckley' filming in the East Village

[Photo on Fifth Street and Avenue A via a very special tipster]

Expect to see crews for the new Jeff Buckley-Tim Buckley biopic filming around the East Village in the coming weeks. We've heard that they've been scouting some familiar locations.

Now! A quick synopsis of the film:

Greetings from Tim Buckley follows the true story of the days leading up to Jeff Buckley’s eminent 1991 performance at his father’s tribute concert in St. Ann’s Church. Through a romance with a young woman working at the concert, he learns to embrace all of his feelings toward the father who abandoned him — longing, anger, forgiveness, and love. Culminating a cathartic performance of his father’s most famous songs, Jeff’s debut stuns the audience and launches his career as one of the greatest young musicians of his time.

And, well, Penn Badgley of "Gossip Girl" fame — and no stranger to the East Village! — is playing Jeff.

Anyway, doesn't seem like that long ago that Jeff Buckley was playing at Sin-é at 122 St. Mark's Place in the early 1990s.

[Jeff Buckley circa 1993 via]

The St. Mark's version of Sin-é closed in 1996. Jeff Buckley drowned in Memphis in 1997.

Updated: Our friends at This Ain't the Summer of Love note in the comments that Anthrax bassist Frank Bello will portray Richard Hell in the movie.

Noted

EV Grieve readers Meaghan Burke and Liz Prutting send along the above shot of a traveler/crusty setting up a bunk in an East Village stairwell ... They asked some questions that other readers have been curious about: "He was ... playing games on his smartphone. Where does he charge this phone? Who pays the bill? Games use up a lot of data..."

Cool Gear of some sort for Second Avenue

Something called Cool Gear is opening on Second Avenue near Fourth Street... it replaces the dry cleaners that closed in, what, late spring? Early summer? The awning went up last week... and no one is ever around the store when we walk by. So no word yet just what kind of Cool Gear this will be.