Forget about the rumor that Nice Guy Eddie's is becoming a new Life Cafe

Last week, a tipster told us that Kathy Kirkpatrick was retiring and closing the Life Cafe branch in Bushwick at the end of this month... which, as we learned Tuesday via a news release, was correct...

Now, a moment for a little background ... Last spring, Kirkpatrick brought in Gallery Bar owner Darin Rubell, who is part of the team taking over the Nice Guy Eddie's space on Avenue A, to help revitalize Life Cafe on East 10th Street and Avenue B. (There is more on this at the Life Cafe blog.)

Meanwhile, there were rumors that Rubell would eventually buy the Life space. However, the 30-year-old restaurant closed last September following a long-simmering battle with dueling landlords.

So back to our tipster, who figured if Rubell bought the Nice Guy Eddie's space and is turning it into a restaurant serving "American comfort food" (which he used to describe Life Cafe's fare) ... then "it wouldn't surprise me if Nice Guy Eddie's turns out to be a new outpost for the Kathy-less Life Cafe."

ONLY speculation. But the pieces possibly appeared to be adding up to this ... especially since the Life Cafe trademark was for sale.

I asked Kirkpatrick about this possible scenario...

"Darin Rubell did not buy the trademark and therefore it's impossible for him to open a venue called Life Cafe at the former Nice Guy Eddie's space," she said via email yesterday morning.

However, she said that Rubell is one of the partners who has taken on a new lease at the soon-to-be-former Life space on 983 Flushing Ave. in Bushwick.

"The landlord expressly stated, for his own reasons, that he did not want Life Cafe in his property any longer," Kirkpatrick said of the Brooklyn location. "However, the new lease holders expressed their wish to keep the spirit of Life alive. They did not to acquire the trademark. It will not be called Life Cafe. That is, he acquired a new lease and the assets of the cafe only, not the name or concept or menu."

Ben Shaoul planning a 3-story addition at 31-33 Second Ave.

[Photo from 2009 by LuciaM via Panoramio]

We've been watching and waiting for something to happen here at 31-33 Second Ave. since early this year ... we heard rumors, but nothing substantial.

The storefront at 33 Second Ave. is currently empty. If we recall correctly, Urge moved from this space next door to 31 after DTox closed.

According to the DOB, there were eight complaints about work occurring at 31/33 without proper permits between Feb. 17 and Feb. 22. The city subsequently served a full stop-work order on Feb. 23. The issue was later resolved.

[33 with stop-work order in February]


[Photo from April 2 by Bobby Williams]

Now, there are new permits pending for the following:



"Remodel existing commercial space at first floor. Remodel existing apartment at 2nd and 3rd floors. Add three (3) stories on top of existing building. New certificate of occupancy will be obtained."

Each floor will contain two apartments. Per the application, estimated total cost is $468,480 ... the city assigned the plan to an examiner on Monday.

The permits show that developer Ben Shaoul is the owner of the property.

From Kingston with love

We've been keeping an eye on the former Holy Basil space on Second Avenue near East Ninth Street... Last fall, the DOH hit the Thai eatery with 110 violation points, and they never reopened.

In December, an entity named "Honey Rider LLC" went before the CB3/SLA committee... and the owners of Shoolbred's and the Ninth Ward on Second Avenue were behind the new venture (named for Ursula Andress as Honey Rider in "Dr. No"?).

Anyway, Grub Street had more details yesterday on the new venture... it will be called Kingston Hall. One of the owners said that "the theme is Jamaica in 1962: The country has just become independent and the vibe is still 'British colonial, but with a sixties feel ... not Bob Marley, more Ian Fleming.'"

(Which explains the James Bond reference... and our stupid headline. Wait till we try to work in Pussy Galore.)

And they expect to open Friday night... the photo above shows how the exterior (above The 13th Step sign) was looking this past weekend.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Holy Basil closed, space for rent

Holy Basil remains closed for 'technical difficulties'

This is what a pawn shop on East 10th Street looked like on June 15, 2012

This year, we'll post photos like this of various buildings, streetscenes, etc., to capture them as they looked at this time and place... The photos may not be the most telling now, but they likely will be one day...

The Last Hurrah: Teneleven is closing after this Saturday night

As we first reported on June 5, Teneleven, a favorite neighborhood bar on Avenue C, is closing Saturday.

And here are the plans for the final night, via Teneleven's Facebook page:

Come celebrate the final night at Teneleven Bar! Let's drink and reminisce about all the good times, debaucherous nights, amazing bands, nasty performances and crazy parties! Come celebrate all the great memories that has created our Teneleven family over the years.

A new venture called Evelyn's Drinkery will be taking over the space in August.

Have you seen this bird?

A reader spotted a couple looking for the bird tonight along Avenue B... sign spotted here at East 10th Street.

Noted

Not sure where the driver is... late this afternoon in Tompkins Square Park. By Bobby Williams.

New 7-Eleven signage almost makes IHOP less noticeable on East 14th Street

Hey now. Workers put up the 7-Eleven signs today on East 14th Street.... How do you think it all looks together now?

Previously.

Another way to help the St. Mark's Bookshop — with a $250,000 grant

An email via the Cooper Square Committee...

Last fall you rallied and signed the petition to save St. Mark's Bookshop. Now we're asking for your support once more, by casting your vote to help us qualify for a $250,000 small business grant from Chase and Living Social. Just visit the Mission: Small Business website and click "Log In & Support" where you can access the site using your Facebook account. Enter "St. Mark's Bookshop" in the business search box and cast your vote. If you wish, you'll be able to share your vote and help spread the word. A few clicks can make all the difference. Thank you again for your loyalty to St. Mark's Bookshop — long live writers and readers!

[h/t Shawn Chittle]

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[Plywood on Avenue C by Andrew Adam Newman on Ave C]

Looking at the new ABC No Rio (Curbed)

A new CBGB in the works (WCBS)

A 'no restaurant' policy on Avenue A (DNAinfo)

Watching the stars (in the sky) on Second Avenue Saturday night (BoweryBoogie)

Making cycling safer (Felix Salmon, Reuters)

Department of Transportation responds to bike-share criticism (Runnin' Scared)

Documentary captures spirit of Caffe Capri, a longtime coffee shop in Williamsburg (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

And there's a documentary capturing the remaining few leather merchants on Orchard Street (The Lo-Down)

Motorcycle crackdown in Stuy Town (DNAinfo)

Famed mural damaged in Waverly Inn blaze (Eater)

East Village landmarking hearing set for this afternoon

This afternoon is the long-awaited public hearing with the Landmarks Preservation Commission on the proposed East Village/Lower East Side Historic District.

You can find the background information here via the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, who along with other organizations, have been working to document the neighborhood's historical significance.

Per the GVSHP website, "The proposed district is far and away the largest expansion of landmark protections ever considered in the East Village." The GVSHP also has photos here of some of the significant buildings in the proposed historic district.

Meanwhile, for an opposing view, Rob at Save the Lower East Side! doesn't support the landmarking. He lays out his four reasons in a post from earlier this month ... You can read his arguments here.

He also talks about how the housing market is forcing out "anyone who is devoted to the life of the mind or the creation of cultural products." And an excerpt:

Who remains? Increasingly the wealthy devoted to the life of consumption. The city is gradually becoming a monoculture of nightlife augmented by tourism, a huge nightclub for the rich and their gawkers and their servants. There is nothing in that economy that guarantees a place for the arts or intellectualism beyond the elite artists and elite intellectuals. We've seen it already in the East Village.

Info: The Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing room, One Centre Street (at Chambers Street), 9th floor

Report: Crusty trouble at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery

Catching up to an article in the current issue of The Villager by Lincoln Anderson titled "Crusties cross line, graffiti obscenities on East Village church."

You may have already read it. (Read the whole article here.)

Quickly... a group of crusties/travelers have been hanging out at the St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery ... "Things came to a head [June 15] around 3 p.m. when three of the crusty punks graffitied over the church’s front with white latex paint. Using a paintbrush, in large block letters, they scrawled obscenity-laden messages on the portico’s bluestone slate floor, on walls and on statues and also on a small lion statue in Abe Lebewohl Park outside the church grounds."

Church officials called the NYPD ... and the trio hasn't been seen there since...

Winnie Varghese, the church’s rector, said that the crusties hanging out in the Park "are fewer in number, but more aggressive and troubled, in her view, than before." Because of drug use, the church has closed its public restrooms (only opening them for intermission during plays and Poetry Project performances).

However, one crusty isn’t deterred when he finds the bathroom locked. “I don’t know how to say this, he — takes a dump outside the theater,” the reverend said.

P.S.
Probably unrelated... but I did notice this recently...