Fall Friday Flashback: Nuts? One plan to expand Tompkins Square Park

On Fridays this fall, and probably winter and spring and... we'll post one of the 12,000-plus EVG, uh, posts from yesteryear... like this one from Oct. 23, 2009 ...

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Last Friday, we ran the post on Yelp's reviews of Tompkins Square Park. And a commenter floated this idea:

I keep thinking: I'd love to see the park grow into Ave. A and Ave. B, even given the obvious work that would have to done to reroute traffic, etc. (Well, Union Sq. expanded into the street. And, the George Hecht Viewing Gardens grew up in the street. And, um, well, yes, it would require some doing. I know it's nuts. The Parks Dept. is more likely to, I dunno, turn the Temperance Fountain into a Shacklet and set up craft vendor stalls in the oval, at best, than get expansionist on our asses.)

The expansion would present logistical nightmares galore. (And what to do with the Farmer's Market? Move it to Seventh or 10th Street?). And what purpose would this additional space really provide?

Still, using our sub-remedial Photoshop skills.... dare we dream?

A journey through the East Village and Lower East Side in 1978 [Video]

Thanks to Alex at Flaming Pablum for this link to "Viva Loisaida 1978." (The link has been making the rounds on Facebook.)

The description via YouTube:

Produced by "Gruppe Dokumentation" & "Tylis" and filmed in Loisada, by Marlis Momber, this 10 min. commercial gives a brief preview before gentrification occurred in Lower East Side in the Fall of October, 1978 with Chino Garcia & Bimbo Rivas.

East Side faculty returning to vacated school for quick supplies grab tonight

On Sept. 24, students and faculty at the East Side Community School on East 12th Street had to evacuate when part of the building's eastern wall was found to be separating from the rest of the structure.

Since then, the some 650 displaced students have been relocated to other schools in the city... Students and faculty had to leave on the 24th before they could collect all their supplies, technology, etc. (Find out how you can help them with donations here.)

However, as DNAinfo's Serena Solomon reports, East Side Principal Mark Federman has arranged with city officials to return tonight with some of his teachers to collect as much instructional equipment as they can.

"We are only going to get a couple of hours," he told DNA. "We will tag and box everything, and then the movers will take it from here."

Did a Subway close on First Avenue?

A tweet from yesterday.

@evgrieve Not sure if you've covered this, but the Subway on First Ave near 13th Street has been closed the last few weeks. Chain retreat?

— Adam Fusfeld (@afusfeld) October 10, 2012

We hadn't noticed. Sure enough. Late yesterday afternoon.

We called the restaurant. The line went dead after 10 or so rings.

There aren't any notes on the front door. But there is one sign of doomsday:

The Wacky Wok menu!

Perhaps this closure is temporary. (But wouldn't you leave a sign or something telling people that, say, due to a plumbing issue, the restaurant will be temporarily closed?)

Meantime, do you remember the last time that a franchise closed around here? Maybe the Dunkin' Donuts on Second Avenue?

And now the renovations really begin at 50-58 E. Third St.

[Yesterday outside 50 E. Third St. Photo by Bobby Williams.]

There hasn't been any shortage of drama at 50-58 E. Third St. Back in July, reps for the new owners, GRJ, a fund co-founded and co-managed by brothers Graham and Gregory Jones, promised that the remaining tenants would have to endure "heavy construction" in the days and weeks ahead.

At 50 E. Third St., a tipster recently claimed that "illegal" work was taking place in the building. The resident or, perhaps, neighbor, wasn't too specific, just that it was a living hell.

Tenants have noted other worrisome developments in the last week or so, claims such as workers shutting off the water without any notice or knocking a hole in someone's living room wall from next door and claiming that it was an "accident."

On Sept. 24, the DOB approved a whole bunch of work for No. 50:

"Renovation of existing apartments 2A & 2C on 3rd floor, 3B & 3C on 4th floor, 4C on 5th floor, 5A, 5B & 5D on 6th floor. New metal balconies facing rear in conjunction with apts. 2C, 3C, 4C & 5D. New roof decks in conjunction with apts. 5A, 5B & 5D."

There are several complaints on file with the DOB for No. 50 (12 since Aug. 23), including a Partial Stop Work Order that only applies to the balconies.

Yesterday, the DOB approved the exterior renovation of the entire building; ditto for the exteriors at No. 58 and No. 54, the other two buildings that the Jones brothers purchased for a three-building price of $23.5 million. (There is paperwork on file dated yesterday for interior work at No. 54, renovations that will be similar to No. 50. The DOB assigned those plans to an examiner. There is only a permit for exterior work on file for No. 58.)

In April, 17 residents of the buildings received letters that stated, in part: "It has been agreed with the impending new owners that your lease will not be renewed and that you will be expected to vacate at the expiration of your lease." The residents banded together and formed a tenants group; local politicians came out to offer support during a rally on May 7. However, as one former resident put it, the Big Real Estate Machine was too great to overcome.

Per Gregory Jones in the news release announcing the sale this past July: "We see a real opportunity to reposition the buildings. We'll invest significant capital and we look forward to creating the most desirable walk-ups in the East Village."

Have any tips or photos about the situation here? Please send them our way via the EV Grieve email

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Three apartment buildings sold on East Third Street

Advocate for East Third Street buildings moving to Washington Heights

More about the lease renewals at 50, 54 and 58 E. Third St.

Tenants at 50, 54 and 58 E. Third St. banding to together in face of building sale

More drama at 50-58 E. Third St.; 'heavy construction' awaits tenants who stay

Duane Park-Bowery Poetry Club mashup coming together

Several months have passed since since there was any news about a revamped Bowery Poetry Club, which closed on July 17. The BPC website promised a fall return, which seemed optimistic considering nothing has been happening inside the space.

As DNAinfo's Serena Solomon first reported, BPC would merge with Tribeca burlesque club Duane Park. But just how all this would work was a bit of a mystery.

However, Grub Street provided an update yesterday afternoon. At a CB2 meeting Wednesday night, Duane Park co-owner Marisa Ferrarin told Grub Street that "Holman will do poetry readings on Sundays and Mondays, and that Duane Park — with Southern-inspired food and live entertainment like burlesque shows, magicians, and contortionists — runs the space the other nights of the week. The arrangement is flexible, so the duo may do poetry dinners together."

And when should all this happen? It seems a little vague — the new place should open "sometime next year after renovations are complete."

Meanwhile, BPC II will still have to compete with this next door...

[Photo by Jeremiah Moss]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is Duane Park in the Bowery Poetry Club's future?

What is happening with the Bowery Poetry Club?

Bob Holman on the future of the Bowery Poetry Club

Clearing out the Bowery Poetry Club; plus, free knowledge!

Mourning lost bars; early morning at Downtown Beirut

The 6th Floor, the blog of The New York Times Magazine, checked in yesterday afternoon with a piece titled "Manhattan’s Most-Mourned Bars."

The neighborhood is well-represented in the listicle: Mars Bar, Downtown Beirut and The Holiday Cocktail Lounge. (And two nearby: The Cedar Tavern and Good World Bar and Grill.)

A lot of room for debate in that list. Which was probably the point, of course.

But! It's a fine time to revisit this EVG post from Jan. 5, 2009 titled Downtown Beirut, around 1990, about 3 a.m. It included this video...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Downtown Beirut, around 1990, about 3 a.m.

Exclusive: The Bowery to receive its first Monimax 4000W wall mount ATM

You may have seen this hanging on the Bowery near East Fourth Street.

This. Not the headless mannequins.

EV Grieve has learned exclusively that this will soon be a real live Monimax 4000W wall mount ATM. As you probably know, the Monimax 4000W wall mount offers unprecedented deployment flexibility while supporting a robust set of traditional ATM service offerings. It is ideal for sites where real estate is at a premium, such as on the Bowery. According to Nautilus Hyosung officials, the makers of the Monimax 4000W, "the Monimax 4000W delivers total cost of ownership results in a reliable, secure platform."

Indeed.

And now you will be the first to know how to use the Monimax 4000W with this almost interactive chart.

Please note that Cincinnati Bengals fans from Phebe's will be charged a $10 service fee during game days.

Top photos by Bobby Williams. ATM blather via the Nautilus Hyosung website.

This is what the entrance at 93 E. Seventh St. looked like on Oct. 10, 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...

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[East Seventh Street. Photo by Bobby Williams]

If you happen to be in Echo Park: Dee Dee Ramone will have a posthumous gallery exhibit of his artwork via Shepard Fairey (The Los Angeles Times)

Long live El Faro (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

NYPD says suspect in fatal stabbing near Union Square left for Mexico (The New York Times)

Macaron Parlour opens tomorrow on St. Mark's Place (BoweryBoogie)

Brooklyn Flea's Smorgasburg popping up shop at the Whole Foods Bowery (Gothamist)

Cafe Katja reopens tonight on Orchard Street (The Lo-Down)

And at The Awl today, Choire Sicha weighs in on the new East Village/Lower East Side Historic District in a post titled "The Permanent East Village: A Fascist Swamp of Crappy Buildings Now Historic."

An excerpt!

The district stretches down Second Avenue, which is now referred to as "Little Dartmouth Gangsta's Paradise," due to the habits of the khaki-clad worthies who clog its congested sidewalks of an evening, alternately issuing mating shrieks and vomit.

Finally, please put your stickers somewhere else besides Joe Strummer's sunglasses...

[This morning]

Something new in the works for PS 64?; plus sidewalk bridge expiration anniversary

[Last week on East Ninth Street]

EVG reader @fashionbyhe sent along the photo below, asking what was going on with the former PS 64 and noting that the permits for the sidewalk bridge expired...

...on Sept. 29, 2011.

[Bobby Williams]

Aside from noting the one-year anniversary of the sidewalk bridge's expiration date, there is some other activity to report here at the former PS 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street and 10th Street just east of Avenue B.

Tomorrow night, there's a CB3 Landmarks Subcommittee meeting. And on the agenda:

Certificate of Appropriateness: Proposal for window replacement project, as part of façade restoration project, at former PS 64/ 605 E 9th street

The windows could use a good replacing, as you can see here on the East 10th Street side.

On Aug. 8, the DOB disapproved a plan to repair and restore the façade, a job with an estimated cost of $510,000, per city documents.

Of course, the building's controversial owner, Gregg Singer, reportedly had workers hack away at the ornate dormer windows and terra cotta trim back in 2006. Could have saved himself some future trouble by keeping everything intact.

In addition, city records show that there is a new architect of record on the permits — Mark Ginsberg of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects LLC. (Among many other projects, the firm designed the plans for turning the former PS 90 in Harlem into 75 apartments and a community space. However, PS 64 was landmarked in 2006; the property deed limits the property to community use.)

Singer is still listed at the DOB as the owner of 605 E. Ninth St. He bought the formerly city-owned building in 1998 for $3.15 million. Aside from a whole lot of neighborhood drama, not much has been happening with the space for 10-plus years. (There's not enough time in the day to get into all the history here since 1998. The Villager has extensively covered this story through the years. Check out their archives here.)

In March, a deed for "community facility use only" arrived at Massey Knakal, who noted, "Ideally, the highest and best use for the property would be to renovate the existing structure and convert it into a modern school or college dormitory." (No price was listed.)

The listing is no longer on the Massey Knakal site. So, a question that people have have been asking for years remains: Will something finally happen to the space now?

Meanwhile, we do know what has been going on with the former school, at least on the East 10th Street side: Some folks have created temporary housing under the sidewalk bridge...

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Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

A memorial for Donald Suggs on Avenue A

[Photo by Stacie Joy]

A memorial went up yesterday outside Exit9 on Avenue A where Donald Suggs worked. The longtime East Village resident died this past weekend of an apparent heart attack. He was 51.

His many friends and loved ones are planning a celebration of his life. In the comments last night, Exit9 owner Charles Branstool wrote that he would share information about any memorial/celebration on the store's website and Facebook page. We'll post those details here too.