EV Grieve Etc.: The past and present of LES community gardens; the Block Drugs T-shirt

[Tango in Tompkins Square Park Sunday via Grant Shaffer]

A history of LES community gardens, with a perennial concern about the future (The Guardian)

Get your Block Drugs T-shirt (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Checking out the tortas at Miscalanea on East Fourth Street (Gothamist)

New restaurant in the works for former Wash House space on East First Street (BoweryBoogie)

High marks for Oiji on First Avenue (Eater)

Donors say they were misled by a Jewish calendar mailed annually to thousands of homes (The Forward)

... and EVG reader Greg Masters notes that the excavation is getting serious at the former Mary Help of Christians property, where a retail-residental building with frontage on Avenue A, East 11th Street and East 12th Street, is in the works...



... and remembering Robin Williams, who died one year ago today...

K E E P S M I L I N G ☺️ honoring the great #RobinWilliams today 1951-2014 with our infamous hand-painted tribute mural outside B Cup. #neverforget #bcupcafe #art #mural #streetart

A photo posted by B Cup Cafe East Village (@bcupcafe) on Aug 11, 2015 at 9:51am PDT

Why The Robyn is a deal

As we first pointed out last Friday, the Robyn, the newish-still 33-unit luxury rental at 316-318 E. Third St., is for sale.

However, the listing for the building between Avenue C and Avenue D didn't have a price listed.

According to Crain's, the asking price is $26.3 million. And this is being billed as a deal, at least according to the broker, Cushman & Wakefield's James Nelson.

Mr. Nelson noted that the building, even though it is newly constructed, will likely sell at a discount, per square foot, compared with a recently sold prewar walk-up in the neighborhood at 117-119 E. Seventh St. That building sold for about $1,300 per square foot in June. Mr. Nelson is expecting to fetch less than that amount for 316-318 E. Third St.— about $1,100 per square foot.

Why? Because in the older buildings, new landlords are converting the one-bedroom places into two-bedroom units; two-bedroom units into three ... well, you get the idea.

"Living rooms are a fast-disappearing amenity in apartments in the East Village and other neighborhoods where young renters like to go," Mr. Nelson said. "Living rooms don't create revenue, but bedrooms do. That's why my building is unexpectedly cheaper. It has living rooms."

Barnyard Cheese will reopen later this week

[Photo by Will Steacy via nycgo]

Last Tuesday we noted that Barnyard Cheese Shop at 149 Avenue C was closed until further notice.

A note on the door here between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street explained that that they were going "to make much needed improvements in order to be able to continue to bring you the quality food, service, and comfort that you deserve and that we strive to bring you every day."

We asked owner Beatriz Arremony for an update.

"We are actually installing a better AC system because our old one was not doing the job," she said. "It just got too hot for anything to operate, including our crew, and we needed board approval so I made the decision to shut it down and use the time to do deep cleaning, repainting and replacing a few pieces of equipment. We'll be back before the weekend."

A.K. Shoe Repair needs a new home

[Photo by Allen Semanco]

We're hearing that a rent hike will make it impossible for A.K. Shoe Repair to continue in business much longer at 350 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

EVG reader Allen Semanco spoke with Albert, who took over the longtime business from his retired father.

Per Allen:

In order to afford the higher rent, he would have to increase his business, but rent plus fixed expenses plus supplies would be $7,000-$8,000 per month. Dividing that by 24 working days per month just does not compute. Albert tells me his best hope is to find a business with a lot of space that wants to sub-rent some of it for him and his equipment.

Hopefully Albert can find ideal space around here or in another neighborhood. If A.K. Shoe Repair does end up closing, then this is the second East Village shoe-repair shop to shut down in recent weeks. Alex Shoe Repair closed at the end of July at 57 Second Ave. after Icon Realty reportedly upped the monthly rent from $4,000 to $14,000.

At some point we'll do a post on the remaining shoe-repair shops in the neighborhood... what's left of them.

Former Mercadito Cantina space remains on the market, and now with a new broker

Mercadito Cantina closed at the end of January 2011 at 172 Avenue B ... and the space between East 10th Street and East 11th Street has remained empty.

The proprietors of Ditch Plains had hoped to open a lounge called The Asphalt Jungle here ... However, in April 2013, the CB3/SLA committee voted to deny the Asphalt Jungle application during a rather ugly meeting. (Read about that here.) ... and the owners reportedly decided to scrap their plans.

Anyway, we recently noticed the arrival of a new for rent sign from a different broker.

Per the listing, the asking rent on the 1,000-square-foot space is $7,800... that's down from $10,000 a month from a listing in October 2013.

Meanwhile, across the street, the flagship Mercadito space remains on the market...



The popular taco spot closed back in March. We never heard an official reason for the closure, though one EVG reader said they were facing a triple-rent increase.

Previously on EV Grieve:
About Mercadito Cantina closing:'Open letter to EV Grieve and CB3' (58 comments)

Noted

Spotted by Derek Berg this morning outside Ballarò on Second Avenue between East Fourth Street and East Fifth Street... the sidewalk chalk sign reads "We do not play Taylor Swift here you cunts. Grazie."

Not sure who left the message... the cafe or some patrons upset by the lack of Tay Tay on the sound system. (Updated: Read the comments for more on what happened here.)

Sustainable NYC has closed

As many of you likely noticed, Sustainable NYC has closed on Avenue A near East Ninth Street.

The eco-minded general store and café was closed for several days starting Aug. 1 … a sign pointed to an inventory.



And the store was open for awhile then this past Wednesday and Thursday. By Friday evening, though, workers were clearing out the space. There were some free shelves and tables for the taking.



On Sunday, the thank you note arrived on the door from the founder.


[Photo by Bayou]

We reached out to Valeria Patterson, an employee of the store for seven years who took over ownership in 2013. She said that she had been making monthly payments to the prior owner, but fell behind when business trailed off this year.

"I would love to keep going but we didn't have an agreement with the former owner," she said via email. "I wanted to run the store for many years more."

The store opened in March 2008.

With this closing, there are now four vacant storefronts between 139 Avenue A and 147 Avenue A. (The other storefronts being Cafe Pick Me Up's two spaces and La Lucha.) … not to mention the several small shops on Ninth Street just west of Avenue A that Icon forced out with rent hikes.

331 E. Houston St. now with a teaser site and name — Jones LES

As we've been reporting, there's a 13-floor residential building with 78 units going up at East Houston and Ridge Street.

There's rental information (from Douglas Elliman) now available online here via "VIP registration." There isn't any pricing listed. Leasing starts this summer, per the site.



And the banner on the west-facing top of the building reveals the name here — Jones LES (or jones l.e.s.).

We have no idea who or what Jones (jones) is. Perhaps it will play a role in the marketing: "You will be jonesing to live on East Houston and Ridge!"



The building includes 16 affordable apartments.

The parcel here sat empty for years, the property of reclusive real-estate baron William Gottlieb.


[July 2013]

Previously on EV Grieve:
An L-Shaped footprint ready to make its impression on East Houston Street

An abandoned car in an empty lot that will soon yield a 13-floor residential building

On East Houston, work begins on a new 13-floor residential building

What 331 E. Houston St. will look like one day

A look at 331 E. Houston St., with a rooftop deck for outdoor showers and 'Live Free or Die Hard'

16 affordable apartments now available at the incoming 331 E. Houston St.

Full reveal at 331 E. Houston St.

Corner of East Houston and Orchard now an empty lot

Just two more former storefronts — those of Lobster Joint and Tim Horton's — remain standing along East Houston between Orchard and Ludlow so that Ben Shaoul's 10-story retail-residential complex with an Equinox gym can rise.



However, as the Commercial Observer reported last week, there is a slight hitch here: The board of the six-story condo at 179 Ludlow Street (see the arrows below!) hasn't responded to Shaoul's request for "non-invasive pre-construction survey" at the building.

Shaoul has reportedly asked the Supreme Court of the State of New York to grant his reps a limited license to access the Ludlow Street condos.



Finally, as you know, Katz's, who sold their air rights, will remain in its longtime home.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Making way for Ben Shaoul's new retail-residential complex on East Houston

Katz's is now the last business on East Houston between Ludlow and Orchard

5-week old restaurant space now on the market

After just five weeks in business, Long Bay, the reasonably priced Vietnamese restaurant, shut its doors at 503 E. Sixth St. just east of Avenue A.

We heard that there was some disagreement among the owners ... that it was possible the place would reopen.

Apparently that isn't happening now that the "for sale" signs arrived in the front windows last Friday ... Not clear if the business is for sale or the space is for rent — or both!

Construction watch: 64 E. First St.

A quick check in over at 64 E. First St., where six stories of condos (good for six units!) are in the works between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

A milestone to note in the construction: The first steel beams rising from behind the plywood…



Right THERE…



Before you know it, this will be here…


[Official rendering]

See our previous post here for more details on this project.

The space previously housed the club La Vie, whose neighbors celebrated its closure.

Previously on EV Grieve:
La Vie has closed; neighbors rejoice

Former La Vie space on East First Street will be demolished

Getting rid of the rats at the former LaVie ahead of a new 6-floor residential building

Here lies the remains of La Vie

Here's a look at the new condos coming to East 1st Street

This is what the new condo building at 64 E. 1st St. will really look like

Week in Grieview

[Photo on Avenue A by Derek Berg]

Work starts on new home of the East Village Cheese Shop (Tuesday)

Two Caffe Bene locations coming to the East Village (Monday)

Rent hike allegedly dooms East Sixth Street mainstay Gandhi (Monday) .. and there are takers for the space (Wednesday)

Reader report: Large portfolio of East Village buildings ready to change hands (Tuesday)

A smaller Galleria J. Antonio reopens on Avenue A (Monday)

Dallas BBQ is back in BBQ action (Friday)

Out and About with Norman (Wednesday)

Bodhi Tree closes on Third Avenue (Monday)

Wylie Dufresne is closing Alder on Second Avenue (Tuesday)

St. Mark's Bookshop seeking buyers with an ownership interest (Wednesday)

Lit Lounge has closed (Thursday)

Bikes, By George! — now as a sidewalk shop (Thursday)

Development drama continues at the former P.S. 64, where the city approved dorm-conversion permits (Monday) and is it for sale? (Thursday)

Barnyard Cheese "closed until further notice" on Avenue C (Tuesday)

The Robyn on East Third Street is for sale (Friday)

Historic carriage house on East 13th Street hits the market for $18 million (Wednesday)

First condo units at 189 Avenue C are now for sale (Friday)

51 Astor Place/the IBM Watson Building/Death Star receives $370 million loan (Thursday)

New Clinton Street Baking Company emerges from behind the plywood (Friday)

Taking to the sidewalk for boiler help (Wednesday)

… and the ping-pong tourney action continues in Tompkins Square Park on Friday nights…


[Photo by Carl Bentsen]