Now, for real, final pieces of 6-year-old sidewalk bridge come down on St. Mark's Place

[April 23]

Oh boy were we faked out back on April 23 … when, after six-plus years, workers began taking down the sidewalk bridge outside 32 and 34 St. Mark's Place.

But! A chunk of the bridge/scaffolding remained up outside No. 34.

Until Wednesday night, when crews returned …



And it was a job that stretched into yesterday morning…



And by late afternoon! Sidewalk! Oh sidewalk!



And Khyber Pass!



Oh sidewalk!



According to the DOB, the city issued the permit for the sidewalk bridge in February 2008. As far as anyone can recall, no work had ever been done on the buildings at 32 or 34 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue during this time.

Previously on EV Grieve:
St. Mark's sidewalk shed celebrates fourth anniversary

Happy 5th Birthday to the sidewalk shed of St. Mark's Place!

Miracle on St. Mark's! Sidewalk bridge comes down 6-plus years later!

Reader report: Ramen Kuboya moving away from East 5th Street

Workers have been clearing out the noodle shop here at 536 E. Fifth St. near Avenue B.

Word via @zmack is that Kuboya is on the move west to Cornelia Street. (There isn't a mention of this yet on their website or social media sites. The phone has also been disconnected.)

Perhaps the competition from the more-established Minca Ramen next door was too much.

As we understand it, a "contemporary Asian" restaurant is in the works for the 50-seat space. (See this PDF from CB3 for more details.)

536 E. Fifth St. was previously home to (briefly!) Village East Bistro and Le Gamin.

What's happening with Xi’an Famous Foods on St. Mark's Place?

[Wednesday]

A few readers have asked about the status of 81 St. Mark's Place … home to Xi’an Famous Foods. The popular noodle shop closed for renovations back on March 17. Xi’an was expected to be closed an estimated three-four weeks.

Some worried fans noticed the lack of activity here … as well as a growing pile of mail on the floor.

However, workers were back on the scene yesterday …



And here are tweets from Xi’an explaining the delay …

Still waiting on EV! The building is fixing a gas leak & it might take a month for DOB+ConEd approval. If anyone knows people, hit us up!

— Xi'an Famous Foods (@xianfoods) April 25, 2014

@JocelynKowald soon...we are fixing up a tangle with DOB

— Xi'an Famous Foods (@xianfoods) May 28, 2014

City adjusts the bike lane on East 9th Street

[Last week!]

Last week we noted that bike lanes returned to the repaved East 10th Street and East Ninth Street. However, the city seemed to have made some kind of boo-boo on Ninth between First Avenue and Second Avenue, as you can see in the above reader-submitted photo.

However, the city made amends last night, as the DOT was out to adjust the white lines, via these photos by EVG reader Charlie Chen…







This also might put to rest the rumors that this block was intended to be used as an alien landing strip.

When Zoltar moves a little to his right…

In other important news stories today … we noticed this evening that someone moved Zoltar out from his usual perch in front of Gem on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place …



Or maybe he moved himself… get into the sidewalk flow more… (he has seemingly been pushy of late Yeah, yeah — I see you standing there too!) …

Anyway the move exposed an older Gem Spa sign … when they sold "foreign periodicals!"

[Updated] Check out the line to get into Lonnegan's on Avenue B!

[Photo by EVG reader John]

Oh, just another shoot at Vazac's/7B/Horseshoe Bar today … here at East Seventh Street and Avenue B where the CBS show "Unforgettable" is filming… at Lonnegan's!

In recent years, 7B has also been called The Bushwhack (!!!!) for "Smash" …

[Photo by Dave on 7th]

Lehane's Tavern for some show called "Golden Boy" …

… the intersection was also moved for "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" …

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

Updated 9:41 p.m.

The NYPD had to dispatch the SWAT team to Lonnegan's a little later when they ran out of $3 cans of Coors Light…


[Photo today by Bobby Williams]

Previously on EV Grieve:
7B in the movies

Manhattanhenge — 1 good reason to visit East 14th Street tonight

Oh! We just learned this via Gothamist:

Tonight is the first of the annual four Manhattanhenge events. Starting just around 8 p.m., the sun will align precisely with the Manhattan street grid, "illuminating both the north and south sides of every cross street of the borough's grid."

So be there tonight around 8:16 for the half sun on the grid; and 8:18 tomorrow for the whole shebang of the sun.

You may also experience this on 23rd, 34th, 42nd and 57th if you really want to.

The above photo is from 2009, when Manhattanhenge was so much better!

And now, another story from the Cadillac with the Tiger in it on East 2nd Street

EVG readers may know that we've long admired the above Cadillac on East Second Street ... the one with the stuffed Tiger in it, yes. So then we are especially thrilled to be presenting four stories from the Cadillac with the Tiger in it in the coming weeks... these are all true East Village stories told from the view of the Cadillac with the Tiger in it.

Another Story from the Cadillac with the Tiger in it (Part 2: Then and Now)

It used to be a lot different around here when I first arrived in the neighborhood. My owner purchased me from a couple in New Jersey for $450. (Back then I had 103,000 miles and the husband was worried I'd break down at any time and leave his wife stranded somewhere. Hell, that was 347,000 miles ago!)

All of the buildings on my block (East Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue) were grey and black from grime and soot and covered with graffiti. This was before their facades were sandblasted/pressure washed by the current owners.

The locals wasted no time welcoming me to the neighborhood. My Cadillac hood ornament was stolen the first few nights I was here, and shortly afterwards all of my other exterior Cadillac emblems. (Kids at the time would make them into key chains.)



A sex worker broke my rear vent window so she could turn a trick in the back seat. (At least she used a condom, though I would have preferred that they cleaned up better after themselves!) Then a homeless guy slept in the car for several nights and told everyone he was my owner — until my real owner chased him out one morning at 5 with a baseball bat.

I was stolen three times. The first guy didn't get far because he couldn't figure out how to unlock my steering column. The last time was by some kids from the Avenue D projects who took me joyriding for the weekend until they ran out of gas. Fortunately, they left me only a couple of blocks away from where they stole me.

There used to be an officer from the 9th Precinct — Rodriguez is how he signed his citations. He knocked my side mirror off on four separate occasions and then ticketed my owner for not having the required operating equipment on me. What a guy!

One night one of those independent garbage carting trucks from New Jersey that terrorize pedestrians careened down the block at a high speed (heading in the wrong direction on the one way street I should add) and swerved into me and crushed my rear door and quarter panel. My owner caught up with him at the end of the block but the truck ended up having fake license plates and the driver had a fake driver's license, registration and insurance card. And the company with the mob-sounding name that the truck belonged to didn't exist.

Through it all the neighborhood was more car friendly back then. It was much easier to get a parking spot on my block. Joel Rifkin even parked his pick up truck in front of me a couple of times when he was out picking up and murdering streetwalkers from Allen and Forsythe Streets. His bumper sticker read "I'm not deaf, I'm ignoring you!"

There were two small parking lots, five gas stations, three auto parts stores, three tire shops and two car washes within a few blocks of East Second Street. Now all of them are gone except the one on 2nd Ave and East First Street and the Mobil station on Avenue C and East Second Street (although I hear that one's days are numbered).

----------------------------------------------

Have things gotten any better in the last few years? Not really. Now it's a different set of jerks. Privileged ones who infiltrate the neighborhood on the weekends and make the East Village their playpen.

Three years ago some trust-fund kid smashed my windshield as a joke. That cost my owner $370. Then a drunk guy smashed in my rear passenger side window. That has proven to be more challenging to replace. An auto glass specialist in Hell's Kitchen told my owner that he could only locate one similar window within 300 miles and it would cost $475 to replace it, so it remains patched up with cardboard and a garbage bag.

Adding insult to injury, during a Friday furniture street-side pick-up night, five frat boys shoved a discarded dining room table underneath me and tore off my exhaust system. This is why I'm so loud now. To replace it would cost my owner $900-1,000.

So much has disappeared on and around my block: Frankie Splitz bar, Mars Bar, Cuando, Little Rickie's and most recently — Mr. Yoo's.

Soon I will, too, but on my own terms. First I'm going to smell the Black Locust trees in the Cemetery one last time.

Previously on EV Grieve:
That Cadillac that we've long admired on East 2nd St. now has a stuffed tiger on the front seat

And now, stories from the Cadillac with the Tiger in it on East 2nd Street

Also! The Cadillac with the Tiger in it now has its on website. Find that here.

NYPD looking for suspect accused of taking $11K from the Immaculate Conception Church

Police say that the man in the video below took $11,000 from Immaculate Conception Church on East 14th Street just east of First Avenue.

Per WABC 7's report:

The Rev. Kevin Nelan, a priest at Church of the Immaculate Conception, said the money was brought to the church for safekeeping. "The money he stole is from our hospital chaplain who lives here, who was holding it for a bishop who is visiting from Nigeria."

The chaplain was not able to deposit the money in the bank Friday, said Nelan, who thinks unfortunately the thief just got lucky. "That that room was open and that that kind of money was there, because normally there would not be that kind of money sitting there," he said.

If you have a tip about this case, then you may call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.

Now what for the Odessa Cafe and Bar?

The Odessa Cafe and Bar closed after service last Aug. 31.

Since then, there have been several suitors for this space at 117 Avenue A between East Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

In February, the plan called for a bar-restaurant serving Nashville Hot Chicken from a Ravi DeRossi-backed operator. However, as we understand it, the group backed out after failing to receive a 4 a.m. liquor license. More recently, an applicant, believed to have been someone affiliated with Webster Hall, withdrew from the May CB3/SLA committee meeting.

And CB3 released its June meetings agenda yesterday — no takers this time around for 117 Avenue A.

According to the listing on the Tower Brokerage & Picken Hospitality website, the asking rent is $22,500, plus a $50,000 fixtures fee. (A tipster also pointed us to a Craigslist ad for the space from a different broker where the asking rent is $19,500.)

Meanwhile, if you've looked inside in recent months, you can see that it is eerily preserved …



Previously on EV Grieve:
Building that houses Odessa Cafe and Bar for sale on Avenue A

Former GM from Tribeca's Tiny's & the Bar Upstairs part of team to buy the Odessa Cafe

Reader report: Odessa Cafe and Bar will remain open through Sept. 6

Former Odessa Cafe and Bar will serve comfort food specializing in Nashville Hot Chicken

[Updated] A quick look at Coyote Ugly, now gutted on 1st Avenue

Coyote Ugly closed Tuesday for remodeling … with a grand reopening expected here at 153 First Ave. this coming Wednesday, according to the 21-year-old bar's website.

Well, they're not kidding around with that remodeling. EVG regular William Klayer took the above photo of the interior yesterday — not much left inside. A grand reopening next Wednesday seems optimistic at the moment.

Updated 2:34 p.m.

The Coyote Ugly floor is now outside the front doors. Get that wood while you can!


[Photo by William Klayer]

Harvest time at the 14th Street Y

Via the EVG inbox…

Each week, from June to October, locally grown, organic produce will once again be delivered to CSA members at the 14th Street Y.

CSA membership is open to everyone. Full and half shares are still available, sign-ups will close tomorrow. More info and sign-up here.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a partnership where community members purchase shares of the season’s harvest directly from the farmer. Each week, members receive a box of the week’s freshest produce, delivered straight from the farm to their table.

Last years partnership with Mountain View Farm was a great success. A normal week’s share includes about a dozen different types of produce, depending on season, and averages about $27.

Besides delicious, fresh produce, some benefits of CSA membership include:

* Saving money
* More variety
* Fresher, more flavorful food
* Knowing where food comes from
* Reducing our carbon footprint
* Supporting local family farms

A special thanks to the 14th Street Y and Just food for helping to bring farm-fresh produce to our neighborhood.