Pro Land reopens on East 14th Street

[Photo Monday by Bobby Williams]

The Pro Land sneaker shop on East 14th Street near Avenue A abruptly closed the other day. There was a notice of a sale, but no word of a renovation. The space looked gutted.

Given the rumors (just rumors) that the single-level structures from the post office to the southwest corner of Avenue A will be cleared out to make way for some Double D development, it seemed plausible that Pro Land was a goner.

Per an EVG commenter Monday:

The Pro Land sneaker shop at 14th and A is suddenly closed. Walked by this morning and the place was gutted, men in there working.

Between the billboard coming down on the SW corner of A/14th (exposing the greatly missed Chico 9/11 mural), Stuyvesant Stationery (a few doors down from Pro Land) closing last fall, and of course the closing of the Stuyvesant PO next month, I would't be surprised if everything from Ave A to the detestable A Building gets razed on that side of 14th.

For now, at least, this isn't the case. As these photos yesterday by Bobby Williams show, the space has been quickly renovated and restocked...




The store was to reopen last night.

Anyway, to recap, the beloved Peter Stuyvesant Post Office branch on East 14th Street is closing soon. (The USPS will lease the former Duane Reade on East 14th Street near First Avenue for retail services, such as stamp sales and P.O. boxes.)

The lease expires at the current location at the end of next month. The landlord reportedly told the USPS that they have other plans (residential?) for the building.

Last fall, the Stuyvesant Stationery shop next door to the post office lost its lease and closed.

Previously on EV Grieve:
First sign of more development on East 14th Street?

Report: Closure of the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office is pretty much a done deal

'Ten Thousand Saints' now filming in the East Village

[Photo by Bill the Libertarian Anarchist]

The low-budget adaption of the Eleanor Henderson novel "Ten Thousand Saints" has started principal photography in the East Village... crews filmed on East Ninth Street yesterday (a popular location for shoots these days) ...

A quickie plot via The Hollywood Reporter, who has more details on the production:

"'Saints' is set in New York's Lower East Side in the 1980s and is a coming-of-age story that follows three screwed-up young people and their equally screwed-up parents in the age of CBGB, yuppies and the tinderbox of gentrification that exploded into the Tompkins Square Riots.

The husband-wife team of Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini direct. (They directed the 2003 Harvey Pekar film "American Splendor" with Paul Giamatti.) The cast includes Ethan Hawke as a screwed-up parent.

Curious to see how the Tompkins Square Park Riots are depicted in the film. Maybe just via mentions from the characters? Or will the filmmakers choose to recreate part of it (and in the winter)? After all, we recently saw the return of Wigstock in the Park for a movie shoot.

Reader report: The fire alarm goes off every morning at PS 64

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

From a nearby resident of the school:

The fire alarm at PS 64 at 600 E. 6th St. goes off every morning at almost exactly 6. Emergency lights flash and the alarm sounds for approximately 1 minute waking up the entire neighborhood. Reported it to 311 many times and they claim:

The Department of Environmental Protection did not observe a violation of the New York City Air/Noise Code at the time of inspection and could not issue a notice of violation. If the problem still exists, please call 311 and file a new complaint. If you are outside of New York City, please call (212) NEW-YORK (212-639-9675).

It is the most infuriating situation.

Anyone else experience this from the school?

On a night like this, you need the Cramps

From Dangerous Minds today... here are The Cramps live at the Mudd Club in July 1981.



Will warm you up before you can say "Goo Goo Muck."

And head over to Dangerous Minds to read what Richard Metzger has to say about this video.

Confirmation on what's next for the former Peels space

At the Post today, Steve Cuozzo reports that Andrew Carmellini and business partners Luke Ostrom and Josh Pickard have taken over 325 Bowery, which housed Peels until its sudden closure last week.

Per Cuozzo:

The new eatery, likely to be an Italian trattoria in some form, reflects the Carmellini-Pickard empire’s swift growth.

The chef also operate Manhattan hits Locanda Verde, The Dutch, Joe’s Pub, The Library at the Public, and the newest, Lafayette.

Eater first reported this Peels rumor on Jan. 14.

Updated 11:45 a.m.

Oh! Eater has the scoop on exactly what's next here — a "casual pasta shop" called Bar Primi.

The Urban Etiquette Sign of the Year (so far)

A reader sends this along from East Second Street... presented here without commentary ...

Happy 81st birthday Ray!

[Photo by @zmack]

There was a bit of a celebration last night at Ray's Candy Store... as the proprietor celebrated his 81st birthday... And, as usual, someone sprung for some entertainment... We have more photos, though, someone has to think about the children. So we will post the rest of the adult contemporary shots for them later.

Happy birthday Ray!


[Photo by Shawn Chittle]


[SC]

Hugh Burckhardt has a lot more photos over at his More Than Usual blog... like this one!

Inside a classic East Village tenement before the whole building is renovated

Earlier in the month news came out that Jared Kushner is the proud new owner of two buildings on East Second Street, adding to his East Village collection. One of these buildings, 170 E. Second St., is a classic tenement dating to 1899. And renovations are underway in at least some of the units...

EVG reader Yenta Laureate shared some photos from inside the building showing the floor mosaics, marble hallways and other ornate details from a bygone era ...

















The ground-floor apartment in the back of the building looks particularly interesting... As Yenta's photos show, there's still an interior door with a window transom for light ...







... there's also outdoor space, though via the fire escape...





... and the apartment provides a bit of history... of, perhaps, bad renovations through the years...





Meanwhile, the sign remains outside No. 170 ... noting that Allen Ginsberg lived in apartment 16 from August 1958-March 1961 ...



In any event, it will be interesting (or maybe depressing) to revisit this building once the renovations are complete... and look at the new listings to see how much of the old 170 remains...

Moonstruck Diner temporarily closed for 'operating illegally'

[Photo by @EdenBrower]

The city closed the Moonstruck Diner yesterday over on Second Avenue and East Fifth Street... no one was around the diner to ask about the infraction ... as we've seen along here, the infractions are typically quite minor...

Dining ... and dashing

Bobby Williams caught a hawk enjoying a meal of rodent in Tompkins Square Park...



...while Derek Berg captured one in flight ... in a rather patriotic shot...

[Updated] NYU student jumps to his death from 3rd Avenue dorm

According to published reports, an NYU freshman killed himself after jumping off the roof of the Third North dorm on Third Avenue and East 11th Street early this morning.

NYU released this statement through spokesperson John Beckman:

"It is with great sorrow that we report that a freshman was found in an interior courtyard in the residence hall where he lived. It appears as though his death occurred as a result of a fall from the roof of the building; police and the University are looking into events preceding the discovery of the body in order to determine the cause and nature of his death."

The university has not released the name of the student. Spring 2014 classes begin today at NYU.

Updated 11:40 p.m.

According to the Daily News, citing police sources and fellow students, the 18-year-old victim "was stark naked and apparently high on mushrooms when he plummeted 15 floors to his death."

A look at three possibly endangered restaurants, courtesy of the Daily News

With so many closures of late, the Daily News files a story titled "In New York's tough restaurant marketplace, some fave places are on the endangered list."

The paper's list of five includes three in these parts — The Hat/El Sombrero, Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery and the Stage.

The Hat's situation has been well-covered here ... and here. The Ludlow Street classic remains open for now.

Meanwhile, Ellen Anistratov, the owner of Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery on East Houston, insists that she would like to expand the small knishery that opened in 1910. Still, she admits that business has been off. Per the News:

"In 2012, the city cut off two lanes of Houston St. for construction. Since most of Schimmel's customers now come from outside Manhattan, business tanked, and Anistratov feared she might have to shutter. For now, fanatical followers are keeping it afloat."

Finally, there's EVG favorite the Stage Restaurant on Second Avenue. There has been concern here since news broke that Icon Realty, not exactly known for appreciating preservation and EV institutions, bought the building that houses the Stage. We hear that there's five-plus years left on the lease.

Stage owner Roman Diakun told the News: "I haven't had discussions with the new owners. I haven't even seen them. I just keep sending checks." Business, he says, "has been OK, but a little tough. The Polish and Ukrainian people are mostly gone, and their kids left."

Recently, a rumor surfaced that John's Pizzeria in the Village was closing. Fortunately, that's not the case. But as Jeremiah Moss put it last week: "[I]t's a good reminder to take the time to enjoy the authentic New York places we still have. We know now that anything can vanish, no matter how successful and revered, at any time."

Previously on EV Grieve:
An appreciation: Breakfast at Stage

Troubling talk about 128 Second Ave, and the long-term future of the Stage

128 Second Ave. has been sold

An appreciation: Yonah Schimmel's dumbwaiter