Friday, December 2, 2011

Your chance to buy a Union Square subway sign for just $12,500!

Something for all you MTA nostalgists/bargain hunters out there... Look what you can buy now for a mere $12,500 on eBay...


That will be about a quarter of your legal fees fighting the MTA... Thanks to Shawn Chittle for the tip.

Diablo Royale Este is closed for 'renovations' this weekend

Diablo Royale Este was dark last night on Avenue A near 10th Street ...


According to the sign on the door... the Mexican-style saloon is closed for the weekend for some renovations...


On Nov. 14, the CB3/SLA committee voted not to renewal Diablo's liquor license... the bar has drawn the ire of neighbors since it opened in May 2010. (You can read more about that here.)

According to the State Liquor Authority, Diablo's liquor license expired on Wednesday.


Previously, the CB3/SLA committee turned down the request for a renewal from Heathers and TenEleven ... and in both cases, the bars received a renewal from the State Liquor Authority.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

10 Housing Works activists arrested today during World AIDS Day protest

Housing Works clients, staff and supporters joined other AIDS activists, as well as members of the Occupy Wall Street movement, for a World AIDS Day march downtown today.

A group of the Housing Works staff dressed in Robin Hood costumes to demand a Robin Hood Financial Transaction Tax and a Millionaires Tax to pay for housing, treatment and other critical services to people with HIV/AIDS.



East Village resident Andrew Coamey told us that activists — many of them chained together — blocked traffic on Broadway in front of City Hall Park for more than 30 minutes to make their point. In total, 10 were arrested, said Coamey, CFO and senior vice president for Housing, Housing Works.



Housing Works has operated the Keith D. Cylar Residence and Healthcare Center on 9th Street and Avenue D since 1996 and serves more than 150 local residents with HIV/AIDS at this location each day.

Find more Housing Works information here.

Noted

[Updated] Meanwhile, on Cooper Square...


Updated:

East Village-based photographer James Maher sent this along... visual confirmation...

Vazac's has a new name... for today


Over on Seventh Street and Avenue B, Vazac's (or 7B ... whatever you prefer) has been renamed The Bushwhack (heh) for the day while crews film the NBC series "Smash."

Photo by Dave on 7th.

That was fast: New tenant already in place for the former Quantum Leap space


Jeez, Quantum Leap closed on Nov. 17. Workers at the vegetarian restaurant on First Avenue near 12th Street had told regulars that their landlord hiked the rent.

This morning, EV Grieve reader Gamelan notes that there's a new sign up for a Vietnamese eatery called Sao Mai. We don't even recall a "for rent" sign here.

So where's that horrible-looking hotel coming to 347 Bowery?

Of late it seems that all we do around here is chronicle buildings being demolished. Such as:

51 Astor Place

9-17 Second Avenue

74-76 Third Avenue

185-193 Avenue B

326-328 E. Fourth St.

316 E. Third St.

35 Cooper Square

331 E. Sixth St.

So what's left next?

Our money is/was on 347 Bowery at East Third Street, where that French guy is going to build a boutique hotel at the site of the Salvation Army's East Village Residence. Let's refresh your memory:


Oh, yeah — come to daddy!

On Jan. 12, the Post first reported that France’s Louzon Group bought the former Salvation Army building for $7.6 million with plans to turn it into a boutique hotel with one of their restaurants on the ground floor.

So, nearly 11 months later, we took a look at the DOB to see if Louzon had any permits on file for sidewalk sheds, complete demolition, etc. There is nothing on file. With the exception of someone removing the big Salvation Army sign a few months ago, the place looks pretty good for being vacant for three years.



(Off topic: Is there any address in the area that Wacky Wok hasn't left a menu?) In any event, awfully quiet here. Perhaps the French were scared off by the incoming 7-Eleven next door? To be continued.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reactions to new Bowery hotel: 'It would be cheaper and more useful just to blow up the building and leave a 30-foot crater'

Why do the French hate us?

Speaking of expensive things on the Bowery ...

Back in October, we pointed out John Legend's home that he was selling inside 52E4 — the 15 stories of condo on the Bowery and East Fourth Street. Unit #9 is on the market for $2.95 million.

Yesterday, #8 hit the market... a similar looking two-bedroom apartment (right next door?) with a $2.9 million price tag. (According to StreetEasy, the apartment originally sold in October 2009 for $2 million.)

You can read the Douglas Elliman listing here. You know the drill: FrenchOakfloorsaccentuatesleekMasterbathfeaturesLeaCeramiche&CiottilewallsventedLGW/D&custom closets...

We just want to look at the pictures.






Open house is Sunday from 1-2:30 p.m. Think that the pool is still open? Cannonball!

And how will the incoming hotel next door block impact the views here?

More on East Village backhouses

Tuesday's post on backhouses — via Off the Grid — piqued our curiosity about other such buildings in the neighborhood ... (A backhouse being residential structures that are separate from and located behind other buildings facing the street.)

We already had our eye on the one here that EV Grieve reader Spike mentioned... just east off Second Avenue between First and Second Street...


Apparently the entry is through 26 Second Ave. ...




Goggla pointed out that there is one off East Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... another reader lived in one at 519 E. 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. There's also one at 325 E. 10th St., which you can see here.

Puddin' due next week on St. Mark's Place


We've been keepin' an eye on Puddin' ... (See our posts here ... and here.) According to the Puddin' website, the place is the creation of Clio Goodman, who worked at Café Boulud, Bar Boulud and Union Square Café before going into business as a private chef.

And according to a typically annoying writeup yesterday at Urban Daddy, Puddin' opens next week, but the pudding pops don't arrive until the spring.

Noted

Yoga guru Bikram Choudhury is suing Yoga to the People on St. Mark's Place. Choudhury claims that founder Gregory Gumucio is illegally using his copyrighted poses and super-heated rooms inside Yoga to the People classes, according to DNAinfo.