Another BSA hearing on Ben Shaoul's illegal rooftop addition; plus, rent 1 of the contested units!

The Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) is holding another hearing today regarding 515 E. Fifth St., where the years-long saga over an illegal rooftop addition continues.

A quickie recap: The BSA had previously ruled in 2008 that landlord Ben Shaoul needs to remove the 6th and 7th floors. However, his attorneys had requested that the city grant a zoning variance to "permit the constructed enlargement, minus the penthouse, to remain" here between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Meanwhile, ahead of today's hearing, we hear that Shaoul has moved to evict one member of the Tenants Association of 515 East Fifth Street, and has offered to discuss a buyout with two of the others.

Finally, one of the contested units arrived for rent on Streeteasy last week. Per the listing:

BEAUTIFUL EAST VILLAGE DUPLEX 1 BEDROOM WITH PRIVATE TERRACE
BRAND NEW LISTING - AMAZING EAST VILLAGE LOCATION

Brand New Listing available for SEPT 1 - Move In! 1 Bedroom. Amazing Deal. This Apartment will not last!

True, the apartment will not last if the BSA grants the zoning variance … because the penthouse will need to be removed as part of the zoning variance deal.

It looks pretty nice, though…





The one-bedroom apartment is asking $3,195.

Anyway, this story promises to not end anytime soon. The extra floors were added in 2006.

You can read more about the history here at the Post, Curbed, DNAinfo and The Villager.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] 5 years later, another BSA hearing on illegal rooftop addition at 515 E. Fifth St.

Protest at 515 E. Fifth St. this morning, site of Ben Shaoul's illegal addition

The disappearing illegal penthouse of 514-516 E. 6th St.

Never-ending battle wages on over additional floors at 515 E. Fifth St.

Never-ending battle over additional floors at 515 E. Fifth St. promises to keep being never-ending

CB3 not into Ben Shaoul's zoning variance for 515 E. 5th St.

Let's step inside the all-new Eleventh and Third, which defines 'organic with an urban twist'

[EVG photo from June 30]

There are more details now about the rebranded Eleventh and Third, the 12-story residential building at 200 E. 11th St. that Benchmark Real Estate Group paid $57 million for late last year.

The first unit as well as building renderings are now on Streeteasy. A two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment is asking $9,350. (No broker's fee!)





Here's the description via Streeteasy:

High-design gets a downtown attitude at Eleventh and Third where the only rules to live by are the ones that keep life interesting. With just 53 studio, one-, and two-bedroom homes – some with private terraces, most with amazing views, and all with top-shelf interior finishes – it’s a boutique building fueled with serious style.

Building Features:
- 24 Hour Doorman
- In Unit Laundry in All 1 Bedroom & 2 Bedroom Apartments
- Communal Roof Terrace Outdoor Space
- State-of-the-art Fitness Room
- Yoga / Meditation Studio
- Private Massage Studio
- Laundry Room

Apartment Features:
- Brand New Glass Panel Windows In Every Apartment
- Walnut Flooring
- Built in A/C and Heating
- Polished Concrete Counter tops
- Bertazzoni, Fisher & Paykel, & Bosch Kitchen Appliances
- Brizo, Lacava & Toto Bathroom Fixtures
- Self Closing Drawers and Cabinetry

What would you call this look? According to the Eleventh and Third website: "Residential interiors are what we’d call ‘organic with an urban twist’. A gallery of windows invite tons of natural light, and a neutral palette soothes the soul."

There are open houses this week in the early evening by appointment only if you'd to check it out yourself and sooth your soul.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Someone actually paid $57 million for this East Village building

Reimagining this 12-story East Village building, now on the market

NY Copy & Printing forced out of longtime E. 11th St. home, opening second location on E. 7th St.

Rebranded 'Eleventh and Third' will have rentals upwards of $10k

Retail space housing The Smith and M2M asking $25.5 million on 3rd Avenue

Talk about 'ghost' signage!

Have you looked at the claims on this "office space for lease" sign that recently went up at 92 St. Mark's Place just east of First Avenue?

• "Real see-thru windows!"

• "Dry!"

• "Real walls!"

• "Three doors!!" (Why does this get two exclamation points?)

And the best:

• "No ghosts!"

So there's likely no chance that bodies will come bursting up in this space, FYI.

Good samaritan thwarts bike theft, leaves note

[Click on image to read the note]

Based only on anecdotal evidence, there seems to be more bike thefts around the neighborhood.

Here's a bike — described as an "attention-getting neon green and yellow" — that almost became a statistic.

EVG reader Randy Kato shared this note from East Second Street and Avenue A … attached to bike wheel still locked in place — without the rest of the bike.

The note explains:

"Some one tried to steal your bike — got it back from the fucker — (I didn't wanna go to the police because they make everything into an ordeal) … If you can unlock the wheel we'll know your the real bike owner — I left just left it in a nearby store — They're good guys."

Noted

Reports Newsweek:

Twenty-five years after Meg Ryan faked cinema’s most famous orgasm in Katz’s Deli, customers still follow her lead in the 126-year-old Lower East Side establishment.

Sexually charged gasps and moans fill the deli “at least a couple times a month,” says co-owner Fred Austin, who’s in the process of transferring management to his nephew Jake Dell. He’s reluctant to admit they’re staged.

The movie was released on July 21, 1989.

That's it for the New Amsterdam Market at the South Street Seaport

This is outside our usual coverage zone. However, we know several East Village residents who used to frequent the market at the South Street Seaport. The following letter is via the EVG inbox...

I am sorry to announce that New Amsterdam Market has ended, and will no longer take place on South Street.

Founded in 2005, New Amsterdam Market was first staged at the site of the Old Fulton Fish Market in Lower Manhattan on December 16, 2007. Over the ensuing seven years, the market grew in frequency and scope while nurturing an evolving community of small businesses dedicated to sustainable food production, regional economies, and fair trade.

Through our steadfast presence under every adversity, we also championed the preservation of New York City's oldest commons, where public trade has been conducted since 1642. We held a total 88 markets and numerous innovative celebrations of our region's bounty; supported nearly 500 food entrepreneurs; and contributed to the creation of more than 350 jobs.

However, I was never able to raise the funding or attract the influential backers needed for our organization to thrive. Furthermore, we were dealt a mortal blow in 2013 when Council Member Chin, who had long professed to support our cause, betrayed the community in favor of a suburban shopping mall developer, Howard Hughes.

As a result, Lower Manhattan has already lost more than one acre of beloved and irreplaceable public space and is now seeing its most precious public asset ruined by inappropriate programming and terrible waterfront design.

Our last market at this location was held on Saturday, June 21, 2014.

I thank all of you who supported this endeavor.

Sincerely,

Robert LaValva, Founder
New Amsterdam Market

Happy Bastille Day from St. Mark's Place

Outside Jules Bistro.

Other headlines under consideration:
Citi Bike introduces new overtime fees
New landlord makes final buyout offers to rent-stabilized residents
EV Grieve is now posting photos of guillotines
Headless body found in tapas bar

Birdbath Neighborhood Green Bakery on 3rd Avenue has not been open lately

The Birdbath Neighborhood Green Bakery over at Third Avenue at East Ninth Street has not been open for at least a week … there's no sign on the door noting any temporary (or permanent) closure …



Birdbath, an eco-friendly spinoff of City Bakery, was closed for several days in February without any explanation until a sign arrived about a broken door.

As for now… calls to the location are kicked over to a generic voice-mail greeting … and the address is no longer mentioned on the City Bakery website ….



We reached out to City Bakery for more information about this location's status.

The bakery opened here in May 2011. The location on First Avenue near East 13th Street closed in March 2013.

The Bao is the latest St. Mark's Place restaurant entry

Signage arrived Friday for the new restaurant coming to 13 St. Mark's Place (above Spot Dessert Bar) … The Bao, which, as you can see, will be serving xiao long bao (soup dumplings) in the space that previously housed Pan.

No word just yet who the owners are … or when the place will open.

Well, while we're on this block between Second Avenue and Third Avenue … here's a recap of other new bar/restaurant entries …

Barcade is opening one of their bar-retro video game venues at 6 St. Mark's Place.



Something called Crab Shack is in the works for 30 St. Mark's Place, the former home of Japadog.



Also! A reader told us that the 2 Bros. outpost at 36 St. Mark's Place — the one with the glitzy $1.50 SUPREME slice — is no longer part of the 2 Bros. empire…


[EVG file photo from May]

All the 2 Bros. branding has been removed … and there's just a generic PIZZA sign now… still selling $1.50 slices though.

Demolition watch along East 14th Street

A month has passed since we checked in on the demolition progress on East 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Workers have just taken out the fire-damaged spaces of the former Stuyvesant Grocery, Pete's-a-Place, Jackson Hewitt and the beauty shop starting at the southeast corner of East 14th Street and Avenue A...





The buildings that housed Rainbow and (sniff!) the Blarney Cove are mid-rubble at the moment.



Coming soon along this corridor — two, 7-floor retail-residential buildings.

Previously on EV Grieve:
New 7-floor buildings for East 14th Street include 150 residential units

3 storefronts down in the ongoing demolition of East 14th Street

Here is your East 14th Street Dunkin' Donuts plywood

The plywood is up outside part of 542 E. 14th St., where workers are carving out space for a new Dunkin' Donuts.

A tipster told us back in May that the Dunkin' Donuts several storefronts away at 520 E. 14th St. will move here.

No. 542 is the former home of La Isla Restaurant, which closed in July 2012.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Dunkin' Donuts moving on East 14th Street

New murals for 90-year-old Best Housekeeping on Avenue A

[Click on images for more detail]

Just noting the new murals on the rolldown gates at Best Housekeeping at 17 Avenue A. (Home of the best business sign in the East Village?)



You'll likely recognize the work of East Village artist Ori Carino, who worked on these last week. Among his artwork, he created the great mural on the rolldown gate outside the Mars Bar (part of which a resident was able to save!).

As Bedford + Bowery noted last week, Best Housekeeping turns 90 this year. The family owns the building … and in an interview from July 2012, owner Fred Stern said that he hopes to have the wholesale appliance store ready for the next generation — he has six boys and one daughter.