EV Grieve

Monday, November 5, 2012

GOLES accepting donations on Avenue B

Via GOLES:

Anyone who would like to donate non-perishable food, water, blankets, flash lights or batteries, GOLES is accepting them at their office (169 Avenue B) today from Noon to 7 pm and the rest of this week until power is restored in buildings that still don't have power due to flood damaged basements. Volunteers are welcome, even if you can only spare an hour.

An anecdote from the blackout

A longtime East Village resident shared this anecdote from last week... about a trip to the West Village to check on an elderly housebound couple ...

We ran for, and caught an infrequent bus. Surprisingly, although packed, people cheerfully made room for us. At some point, a rumor circulated that it was the bus driver's birthday. The entire bus sang "happy birthday," followed by "hip, hip hooray." The bus driver got on the loud speaker and said his birthday wasn't until March. We all had a good laugh, and felt better for it.

The scene outside 100 Avenue A

Previously.

Free post-flood mold prevention training tonight

No gas at BP this morning

As of around 10 a.m., the BP station on Second Avenue at East First Street was out of gas... and waiting for a delivery...

The line of cars waiting for gas stretched back to East Sixth Street.

While the line has been fairly orderly, there were tense moments here Saturday afternoon.

Coffee by candlelight: Thanks to everyone who stayed open during the blackout

[At Ray's Candy Store this week. Photo by Dave on 7th]

Several readers wanted a chance to thank all the East Village businesses who were able to stay open and serve the neighborhood leading up to and after Hurricane Sandy. If there's a restaurant or business that you'd personally like to thank, then please leave a comment.

[Sheen Brothers on Avenue B and East 10th Street remained open. Photo by Gudrun Georges]

Of course, I know of many places that wanted to stay open, but either suffered damage or had some other issues preventing them from doing business.

Alphabet Plaza ready to rise on Avenue D

Despite the aftermath of the Sandy ... crews arrived last week to work on the formerly empty lot on East Houston and Avenue D...

In October, the city OK'd plans to erect a 12-story mixed-used apartment building for this space. According to the DOB, the building will be 108,953 total square feet, with 9,640 set aside for retail.

Per documents, Jerry Kahen of Alphabet Plaza LLC is listed as the managing partner. Avinash K. Malhotra Architects is the architect of record. The firm's projects include the W Downtown and 2 Gold Street.

This past January, The Real Deal reported that a Queens property owner plucked down $21 million for a 130,000-square-foot development site at Avenue D and East Second Street.

Kahen Properties bought six lots at 5-9 Avenue D and 306-310 East Second Street for a luxury apartment building featuring apartments in the $2,500 to $3,600 range.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will Avenue D finally turn into Avenue C?

Listing appears for Houston and Avenue D development

Report: 12th-story 'Alphabet Plaza' in the works for Second Street and Avenue D

Cleaning up the Sixth Street and Avenue B Community Garden

The garden here got whacked pretty good during Hurricane Irene... as noted earlier, the garden's willow tree didn't make it... Clean-up started last week...

[Carmine assessing the damage on Friday ... via peter radley]

EVG friend Elizabeth Frayer filed this report on the clean-up efforts:

Gardeners showed up with their tools and some even brought their children to help clean up. After several hours of work, the tree and other items that had been damaged from the storm were on their way to being cleaned up. The tree fell across many garden plots, however, and many were completely destroyed. It will take months, if not years, to restore this East Village oasis.