Retail plans revealed for 12-floor condo building replacing open-air market on Broadway

Time is running out on the open-air shops on Broadway near East Fourth Street... One vendor told a reader that he'd be shutting down very soon.

Curbed has been reporting on the 12-story terracotta and brick-faced condo building in the works for 688 Broadway. The Landmarks Preservation Commission reportedly raved about the new building last October. (Read that here. Read more about the luxury condos here.)

And now there's a new listing for the retail portion of the building at RKF:



The rendering shows a store called "Premium Goods." And the listing notes possession in the first quarter of 2015.

A quick look at DOB records show plans have yet to be approved at 688 Broadway. (The records show that the plans were disapproved in December 2009. Karl Fischer is listed as the architect of record on this application.)



As for the long-running, ragtag flea market that the condo building is replacing...



... back to the reader and the vendor.

I asked him where he would go. He said, "Nowhere. There's no place to go."

[Updated] Proposal to place a 'silhouette of a community member' in Tompkins Square Park

Here's an interesting item on tonight's CB3 Parks, Recreation, Cultural Affairs, Landmarks, & Waterfront Committee docket:

• Proposed silhouette of a Tompkins Square Park community member to be located along a pathway on the east side of Tompkins Square Park from June to November 2013

There's a PDF with the following image...



There's no other information currently available ... we have the usual questions, such as who and why.

Anyway, we looking forward to hearing more about the proposal.

Hopefully it will last longer than the last installation in Tompkins Square Park...

[July 2011]

Walk Man lasted three days. Artist Scott Taylor removed the sculpture after someone (or thing!) rammed it and knocked it over, as DNAinfo reported.

The committee meeting tonight is at 6:30 — BRC Senior Services Center, 30 Delancey St. between Chrystie and Forsyth.

Updated 2:30

Serena Solomon at DNAinfo has more about this project, which is in honor of Christopher Gamble, who was homeless for 28 years.

A life-sized sculpture of his silhouette is currently being created by French artist Fanny Allié to be installed at Tompkins Square Park, a place where Gamble spent many days and nights.

And!

The sculpture will consist of a metal outline of Gamble, according to Allié.

"I like it because it has some hope. It's a positive," the artist said, of the silhouette's open stance with arms outstretch to the sky, like “he is about to fly."

Gamble now lives in an apartment run by the Bowery Residents' Committee.

Read the whole article here.

Details on the 'Save Our Community Center MARCH AND RALLY' happening next Wednesday

[November 2011]

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Save Our Community Center MARCH AND RALLY
Wednesday, May 15
March starts at CHARAS/El Bohio, 605 E. 9th Street @ 5:00
Cooper Union rally starts @ 6:00

Join us for a march and rally to return old P.S. 64, formerly CHARAS/El Bohio Community & Cultural Center, to our community! Meet at the former site of CHARAS/El Bohio for the march at 5:00 and Cooper Union for the rally at 6:00.

With speakers: CHARAS co-founder Chino Garcia, Council member Rosie Mendez, Assembly member Brian Kavanagh, Senator Brad Hoylman, Students For a Free Cooper Union, & music by members of Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Tiny Band and others.

Developer Gregg Singer, who purchased old P.S. 64, formerly CHARAS / El Bohio Community & Cultural Center at 605 East 9th Street, at public auction in 1999, has once again filed plans to convert our former school and community center into a 500 bed dormitory & youth hostel. In plans filed recently with the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Department of Buildings, Singer claims to have a signed lease with Cooper Union for 200 of the proposed 500 bed facility, though no lease has been submitted. In addition, Singer must submit proof that all beds have been leased by an educational institution for a ten-year period.

It is time to ask the City to return the building to the community!

Join us on May 15, & spread the word! Meet at the former site of CHARAS/El Bohio for the march at 5:00 and Cooper Union for the rally at 6:00.

Find the Facebook events page here.

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

Deed for 'community facility use only' at the former P.S. 64 now on the market

Efforts continue to fight the dorm planned for the former PS 64 on East 9th Street

Testimony Of Councilmember Rosie Mendez regarding the former PS 64

El Diablito Taqueria is now open on East 3rd Street

Several readers have told us that El Diablito Taqueria opened yesterday on East Third Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

We didn't grab a menu just yet. Two readers have already tried it ... and gave the place high marks. Per one neighbor: "So far so good. I had the chicken burrito for lunch. Looking forward to trying their breakfast menu (breakfast burrito) since they open early."

They are opening every day from 10:30 a.m. to midnight.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A few more details on El Diablito Taqueria, opening this spring on East Third Street

(Kind of) An update on Mono + Mono

[Via jdx]

Mono + Mono at 116 E. Fourth St. remains closed since a two-alarm fire swept through the restaurant during the early-morning hours of April 21.

Difficult to tell the extent of the damage from outside. And we haven't seen much activity walking by every day...





Here's a look at the damage the next day via Occupy East 4th Street...



We understand that several apartments next door at No. 114 remain uninhabitable.

As for Mono, this sign remains on the front window...



Yesterday, they provided an update via Facebook:

Fans of @MonoMonoNYC, here's the latest update.

Due to the recent fire, we're now renovating the restaurant.
We're committed to reopening in a few weeks as your favorite East Village destination for 30,000 jazz albums, Korean fried chicken and soju cocktails.

Thanks for your support. We'll be back stronger than ever!

Cheers,
MONO+MONO Team

Of course, not everyone is excited about a return...


[Photo via Occupy East 4th Street]

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Early-morning fire at 116 E. Fourth St., home of Mono + Mono

First Citi Bikes docking station casualty*

An EVG reader noted early last evening that someone (or something) broke/smashed (accidentally or otherwise) the glass on the Citi Bikes docking station that arrived a day earlier on East Sixth Street at Avenue B...



A worker in an unmarked van was on the scene replacing what needed to be, uh, replaced, per the reader.

---

* As far as we know. We heard that a truck ran into a docking station on East 11th Street, but never saw any photographic evidence to support this claim.

Workers remove tree that survived 51 Astor Place construction

Along Third Avenue between East Ninth Street and Astor Place, one tree remain throughout construction of 51 Astor Place... Having survived all that, a worker was spotted yesterday...




[Stephen Popkin]

...removing the tree...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Workers chopping down trees at 51 Astor Place

Good evening

This evening by Bobby Williams.

May 8

Our very own Bobby Williams spotted this beauty late this afternoon near East Houston and Second Avenue... the quick-thinking photographer also calmly found a Daily News for authentication purposes.

And there's a happy ending: the tree was just mulched and mashed into Vegan Bowery Burgers at Whole Foods.

Here's video of Cooper Union students entering the president's office this morning

As you may have heard, some 50 students, faculty and staff at Cooper Union started a sit-in inside the office of school president Jamshed Bharucha this morning.

While the video isn't exactly action-packed, you get the idea of their commitment to the cause at hand ...

Live updates here:
Twitter

Facebook

Ustream

Noted

Anyone see/hear what happened here on East Sixth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue? Photo by Chelsea "Flower Child" Hill.

Papaya King opening TOMORROW on St. Mark's Place

[April 25]

The King just made it official on Twitter:



They are also on this month's CB3/SLA docket for a beer-wine license.

Here's Ralph Gardner Jr. talking about them a few years back at The Wall Street Journal:

I almost feel foolish describing Papaya King and its franks, so familiar I assume it is to just about anybody who has landed in New York more than 15 minutes ago. But for the record, it serves an arguably unimprovable hot dog. Slightly spicy and garlicky, its casing explodes in your mouth to release its mouth-watering contents.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Papaya King coming to St. Mark's Place