Yuca Bar remains closed

[Photo yesterday by Steven]

The bar-restaurant on the corner of Avenue A and East Seventh Street is still closed after Sunday evening's fire on an upper floor. (Unofficially candles in an apartment were to blame for the blaze.)

There's no word yet when Yuca Bar might reopen. EVG correspondent Steven said that "the interior is a wreck."

Indeed, workers have cleared out all the tables and chairs from the dining room...



And a worker was spotted dragging out large trash bags of damaged items to the curb. Still no word on the Yuca website or Facebook page (which hasn't been updated since May 2015) about a temporary closure. The phone is back in service, though there isn't any answer or outgoing message.

As for the building's tenants, Steve Herrick, the executive director of the Cooper Square Committee, left this comment on our post:

If any residents of 133 E. 7th St. can reach out to Cooper Square Committee at 212-228-8210, we can help you access resources including temporary housing. We can also help the displaced tenants to organize and get your building repaired as soon as possible.

'Epic Launch Spectacular' tonight for 100 Avenue A

[Photo from yesterday]

This landed in our inbox for some reason...



Meanwhile, listings for some of the 32 units at Ben Shaoul's condoplex between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street arrived on Streeteasy last week. Per the marketing copy, "100 Avenue A is a vibrant new style of premium condominium living not yet seen on Tompkins Square Park."

Previously

Half the size but still Fabulous at Fanny's

[EVG photo from Feb. 24]

As we noted a few weeks ago, Fabulous Fanny's had to give up part of its storefront at 335 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

While the vintage eyeglass shop remains alive and well, the vintage clothing side is gone.

New York Business Journal has more on the store and owner Ken Finnegan. (His business partner, Stanton Blacker, retired last year and moved to Florida.)

Per the article:

He just signed a new five-year lease that tripled his rent for half the space.

Previously, Fabulous Fanny’s sold vintage clothes in 300 square feet and operated the eyeglass store in the other 300 feet. But the rent rise forced him to shrink the store in half, which is in the process of being rented out. Finneran has heard rumors that a wireless carrier or hair salon was interested.

Jared Kushner purchased 329-335 E. Ninth Street and 325 E. 10th St. in April 2013 for $28.75 million.

On the positive side, the store will be around for at least another five years.

Fabulous Fanny’s offers what few other stores or opticians can: eyeglasses that span three centuries. That unique offering has contributed to Fabulous Fanny’s success, 15 years after it moved to the East Village from the Chelsea Flea Market and Chelsea Antique Center.

Meanwhile, the for rent sign for the former clothing side of Fanny's arrived the other day.


[Photo by Steven]

Per the listing at RES Commercial, all uses will be considered, though vented food use is not possible. The rent is available upon request.

On East Sixth Street, TonkatsuYa is in soft-open mode (and Awash has a new awning)

After just a few months in operation at 328 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, the Sri Lankan restaurant Banana Leaf closed. Its replacement, the Japanese restaurant TonkatsuYa, is now in soft-opening mode, per the sign outside ...

They are serving a limited menu for now...



And further toward First Avenue, Awash Ethiopian Restaurant has unveiled a new awning...



The old red-and-white one was looking awfully worn after the ongoing gut renovations in the apartments above.


[Undated photo via the Village Voice]

Thanks to Vinny & O for the photos!

Now serving at B&H Dairy...

Ola and Mike at B&H Dairy, 127 Second Ave., between the lunch rush today...

Photo by Grant Shaffer

Noted

Spotted by @georgygirlnyc on East 11th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

The all-new Astor Place is coming along (for real)

[Dawn of a new Astor Place era]

If you've walked by/around Astor Place in the last week or so, then you've likely noticed some actual progress as the reconstruction process plods along... In the next few photos, you can see the new permanent plaza on Astor Place adjacent to the Chase branch take shape ...









... and workers have added more details to the plaza...



As of late yesterday, part of the new plaza was open to pedestrian traffic...





For a little comparison, here's how things were looking here on Jan. 17...



As previously noted, plans for the multi-year(s) project have included reconfiguring/revamping the Astor Place/Cooper Square streetscape with three new permanent plazas, additional seating, trees and a new design for Peter Cooper Park.

Some day it will look like this...


[A rendering of the new Astor Place]

As for when Astor Place's more famous tenant, the Alamo, will return... there isn't any mention of the cube in the posted timelines. Workers packed up and carted off The Alamo for safekeeping for the duration of the reconstruction back on Nov. 25, 2014.

Here's a link to a weekly bulletin (PDF), noting what's happening this week.

The anticipated project completion date is now summer 2016, according to the Winter 2016 reconstruction newsletter (PDF here).

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Alamo returns to Astor Place this Halloween

Five years later, Astor Place apparently ready for its 2-year reconstruction project

This is what it might be like living inside the Alamo on Astor Place

RIP Tony Rosenthal, the sculptor who created the Astor Place cube

The Alamo has been away from Astor Place for 1 year now

'Snowflake dessert' coming soon to 2nd Avenue

A Bingbox Snow Cream shop is coming soon to 125 Second Ave. between East Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place, per the signage in the front window...



The Bingbox Facebook page describes their product this way: "The finest and purest snowflake dessert to be enjoyed all year round."

The storefront was previously home to E-Nail, which closed last September.

H/T Steven

[Updated] CB3 to hear plans tonight for protected bike lane on Chrystie Street

[Image via DOT]

Tonight, CB3's Transportation & Public Safety/Environment Committee is meeting... and among the agenda items: Department of Transportation (DOT) presentation on upgrade of two-way protected bicycle lane on Chrystie Street from Canal Street to Houston.

And Gothamist has an in-depth preview of the proposal...

Since unprotected bike lanes were added to [Chrystie Street's] north and south-bound lanes in 2008, cyclists have argued that the painted lines have faded, and serve as little protection from rogue drivers. Southbound cyclists enjoying the protected bike lane on Second Avenue also get a rude awakening at 1st Street, where they are forced to cross three lanes of traffic in order to enter the southbound painted bike lane on Chrystie south of Houston.

The DOT's proposal ... establishes a two-way protected bike lane on Chrystie Street from Houston Street to Canal Street, running along the full length of Sarah Roosevelt Park. The southbound lane will extend a few blocks farther, to 2nd Street and Houston Street.

The DOT says the lane could be installed as soon as Fall 2016. Southbound cyclists on Second Avenue will have a safe path to the Manhattan Bridge, and northbound cyclists will be able to turn right off of Chrystie to merge onto the protected northbound lane on 1st Avenue.

Tonight's meeting is at Grand Street Settlement Cornerstone at Seward Park Extension, 56 Essex St. between Grand and Broome.

Updated 3-9

BoweryBoogie was at the meeting... despite overwhelming support for the measure, things got political with the committee ... read the coverage here.

Daniel Delaney proposing Delaney Barbecue for 1st Avenue

[EVG photo from July 2015]

As noted back on Feb. 26, restaurateur Daniel Delaney will appear before the CB3 SLA committee this month for a liquor license at 167 First Ave. between East 10th Street and East 11th Street.

At that time, there wasn't much information about the proposal. Given the name on the application (Delaney Chicken Union Square LLC), we thought it might be an offshoot of his Delaney Chicken that opened in the UrbanSpace Vanderbilt market in Midtown last September.

However, Delaney told Eater that he was exploring a number of options, and had not yet signed a lease. (He also operates BrisketTown out in Williamsburg.)

Thanks to the public questionnaire (PDF!) now on file at the CB3 website, there are some more details about the proposal. The name is Delaney Barbecue, and the paperwork shows hours of noon to 2 a.m. Monday to Friday; 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The configuration calls for 18 tables good for 48 seats along with a bar that accommodates 10 patrons.

There's also a proposed menu showing the variety of meats (served family style, Delaney is recommending a half-pound per guest...) and sides that might be served...





The previous tenant here at 167 First Ave., Ashiya Sushi, relocated to West 36th Street last summer.

CB3's SLA committee meeting is March 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the CB3 office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Empire Biscuit is now 'peelin' potatoes'

[Photo from Jan. 30 via dwg]

At the end of January, Empire Biscuit announced that they were taking a sabbatical until March...

Being officially March now, we thought we'd check in here at 198 Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.

The plate-shaped signage now notes that they are "peelin' potatoes" ... (new menu item?)





Recent tweets point to a reopening sometime soon...

@StellaKramer yes, soon. just tinkering. :)

— Empire Biscuit (@empirebiscuit) March 7, 2016

The quick-serve biscuit emporium cut back its hours during January. At the time, Empire Biscuit owner Jonathan Price told us that they were just taking a break for parts of this month. "It's a slow time of year," he said a few weeks ago. "We're doing some housekeeping. We refinished the floors in the kitchen ... for example."

EV heave: Regal Cinemas debuting 4DX at Union Square on March 25 with 'Batman V. Superman'

[I love the smell of 4DX in the morning...]

Those reclining seats at Loews Village VII will seem like child's play (not the movie) compared to what the Regal Union Square 14 is unleashing on March 25 for "Batman V. Superman:": 4DX.

Here is an explanation of 4DX via the 4DX website:

Advancing the movie theater experience from watching the movie to almost living it, 4DX is the ultimate in state of the art technology delivering a fully immersive cinematic experience. Inside every dedicated 4DX auditorium, motion chairs and environmental effects such as wind, bubbles, and scent work in perfect synchronicity with the action on screen.

With only the best technologies, 4DX motion chairs are equipped with three base movements of heave (move up and down), roll (move left and right) and pitch (tilt backward and forward) which can create an endless expanse of possible combinations to mimic such actions as flying and driving. The skilled team of 4DX editors, "i-Studio", are experts in maximizing the feeling of immersion within every movie without overstepping comfort bounds.

(And where else will you find something "equipped with three base movements of heave"?)

According to the Los Angeles Times, "since debuting with a 4-D screening of "Avatar" in 2010, there are now more than 23,000 4DX seats operating in 182 theaters in 34 countries." The Union Square theater will be the first with 4DX in NYC.

For a sneak preview of what the expect, check out this cheesy clip about the UK's first 4DX theater...



H/T Gothamist!