Sunday, July 10, 2016

Week in Grieview


[A Teen Vogue photo shoot on Avenue A via Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Man ODs in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday, 78 comments)

Resident: July 4 collision highlights dangerous East Houston-Avenue B/Clinton Street intersection (Thursday)

A memorial for Alton Sterling on Avenue A (Wednesday)

Dorian Grey Gallery space is for rent on Ninth Street (Tuesday)

Out and About with London (Wednesday)

Time for new socks, and a store: Sock Man sighting on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

New First Avenue Ess-A-Bagel will have a TOASTER (Wednesday)

Raphael Toledano selling six of his East Village buildings (Friday)

The new Shops on East Fifth Street are ready for retail (and a coffee shop) (Friday)

An updated facade at Ray's (Saturday)

Looking at the new residential building for 13th Street and University Place (Tuesday)

OK, who left a cab here? (Thursday)

Picturesque New York City Marble Cemetery getting a Citi Bike docking station out front (Thursday, 50 comments)

This may have a chilling effect on the rat population in Tompkins Square Park (Thursday)

Rose&Basil bringing truffles, breakfast jars and coffee to Seventh Street (Wednesday)

Santos Variety Shop is closing on Avenue C (Tuesday)

Watermelon-tossing assembly line (Friday)

The Dahlia's space will be converted into a salad bar (Friday)

Seventh Street residents angered after developer cuts down the wrong tree (Friday)

La Contrada now open on Second Avenue (Tuesday)

Neighborhood alert for the Third Street Rose Snipper (Monday)

Hanging out on Bodypainting Day (Saturday)

... and one of Christo and Dora's new kids (they grow up so fast) learns to hunt. The pigeon got away...


[Photo yesterday by Bobby Williams]

Report: Jared Kushner evicting tenant who evicted subletter on East 4th Street

The tenant of a rent-stabilized apartment on East Fourth Street owned by Jared Kushner is now facing eviction after she evicted her cancer-stricken subletter.

The New York Post has the story about the apartment at 118-120 E. Fourth St.:

Retired teacher Joy Keith­line sublet her $600-a-month studio to Jeanne DiCarlo for $1,000 a month starting in 2012, court records state.

Meanwhile, Keithline was living at her primary residence — a two-bedroom home near a lake in upstate New York, records show.

Keithline made a hefty 67 percent profit off the scheme until March when she sued to evict her subtenant — the day DiCarlo was scheduled for breast-cancer surgery. “It was horrible,” said DiCarlo, 61. “I had to cancel my surgeries.”

All this ended up in court. Manhattan Housing Judge Michelle Schreiber eventually ordered DiCarlo's eviction because she didn’t have a lease. DiCarlo then lost an emergency appeal this past week. (Keithline was reportedly ordered to pay DiCarlo $25,000 in overcharges.)

However, when the Post contacted the Kushner Companies for comment, a spokesperson said: "We are outraged that Ms. DiCarlo was being taken advantage of. We’re working swiftly not only to remove Ms. Keithline through the legal process, but also to ensure that Ms. DiCarlo can live in the unit."

Court papers also show that Keithline owns a $400,000 house on Staten Island and a $117,000 Florida rental property.

And Gothamist pointed this out:

It's worth noting that the Post, which first reported this story, has endorsed Trump for president, so it's not clear how much of the tabloid's breaking of this story has to do with running damage control for its preferred candidate's son-in-law, who landed himself in hot water this week when he defended an anti-Semitic Trump tweet.

Kushner bought this (and many other East Village buildings) in 2013. In March, tenants at 118 E. Fourth St. went to Manhattan Housing Court as part of ongoing litigation against Kushner. Tenants there had been without gas for cooking since October. There are other issues too, such as collapsed ceilings, overflowing trash and sporadic heat. Kushner eventually settled with the tenants.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Tenants claim: Kushner and Westminster want to destroy this building's beautiful garden

Reports outline how Kushner Companies is aggressively trying to empty 170-174 E. 2nd St.

Local politicos join residents of 2 Jared Kushner-owned buildings to speak out about poor living conditions, alleged harassment

Jared Kushner's residents at 118 E. 4th St. would like gas for cooking and some heat

Meanwhile at 7-Eleven on Avenue A...



The location at East 11th Street is participating in the Slurpee's 50th birthday.

For a limited time, there's a new birthday cake-flavored Slurpee ... as well as a Birthday Cake Slurpee donut and Slurpee-flavored Chapstick.

Slurpee Week begins tomorrow, FYI.

Not sure if the location on 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue has the special Slurpee products. A reader shared this flyer on the door...

Noted



Spotted on Avenue B near Second Street. We appreciate the honest assessment of this discarded Shark Pet Perfect Hand Vacuum.

Also, we looked up this product and learned something about people who buy the Shark Pet Perfect Hand Vacuum via Amazon... they have excellent taste in films...

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Today was the 3rd annual NYC Bodypainting Day, as you may have noticed



Maybe NSFW!

About 100 people reportedly took part in today's third annual NYC Bodypainting Day ... two double-decker buses drove the participants around the city... and they made a stop on Avenue B and East Third Street ... where EVG reader David took these photos this afternoon...







And the reaction from the brunch bunch? Per David:

"The sidewalk eaters at Root and Bone just laughed and raised glasses. The B&T crowd at Mama’s Bar, however, screamed, ran out with phones ready, and screamed OMG — a lot. I thought the nude folks handled it well!"

... and a few more photos from Tompkins Square Park and Avenue A via Bobby Williams...







... and a few more photos via Derek Berg...









Noted

An updated facade at Ray's



Chico started work at Ray's Candy Store, 113 Avenue A, yesterday... not sure of the status given the late afternoon/early evening rain...

Back in October 2011, Chico created a tribute awning here in memory of the late Bob Arihood.

The previous hand-painted sign was quite weathered ...


[Photo via Forgotten NY]

Friday, July 8, 2016

Car Seat Headrest and the 4Knots Music Festival set times



Car Seat Headrest, shown here with a video for "Vincent," is one of the bands on the bill tomorrow for the sixth annual (free) 4Knots Music Festival at the South Street Seaport hosted by The Village Voice.

The set times are below... head to the 4Knots site for more band info and festival details...

PIER 16 STAGE
1:00pm - Promised Land Sound
1:50pm - Kirk Knight
2:40pm - Mothers
3:40pm - Car Seat Headrest
4:40pm - Protomartyr
5:40pm - The Strumbellas
7:00pm - Guided By Voices

FULTON STAGE
1:30pm - Boulevards
2:30pm - Bayonne
3:30pm - Diane Coffee
4:30pm - Mile High Club
5:30pm - Girlpool

Report: Raphael Toledano selling 6 of his East Village buildings

The Real Deal is reporting that controversial landlord Raphael Toledano is aiming to sell six East Village buildings less than a year after buying them.

Toledano, who has been accused of allegedly harassing his tenants and other predatory practices, bought a 16-building portfolio last September from the Tabak family for $97 million.

Per The Real Deal:

To acquire the portfolio, Toledano took out two mortgages from Madison Realty Capital totaling $124 million for the acquisition as well as planned renovations. The mortgages were an example of multiple financings that led experienced real estate players to describe Toledano as overleveraged.

The six walk-ups – which include 27 St. Mark’s Place and 66 E. Seventh St. – are expected to fetch north of $50 million, sources say. (The article doesn't list the other four buildings.)

No. 27 was home to The Sock Man before a rent hike forced him to close at this location. No. 66 was home to Barbara Feinman Millinery, which also had to relocate.

However, as The Real Deal notes, the landlord isn't giving up on the neighborhood:

Toledano is in the process of buying 11 East Village buildings for a combined $43 million — also from the Tabaks.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Landlord of 444 E. 13th St. threatened 'to drop dynamite on the building'

Report: Residents at 444 E. 13th St. will receive a $1 million settlement over claims of harassment by Raphael Toledano

Report: State investigating East Village landlord Raphael Toledano

Health Department to inspect Raphael Toledano's East Village properties for toxic levels of lead dust

Another look at Village Farm Grocery's watermelon tossing assembly line

On Wednesday, we posted photos from Derek Berg showing the assembly line taking delivery of watermelons outside Village Farm Grocery on Second Avenue and Ninth Street.

Upon seeing that, EVG reader Daniel shared this clip of the crew at work in May...

EV Grieve Etc.: Conviction for Bowery hit-and-run; History of East Village name


[Photo on 1st Avenue by Derek Berg]

Man charged with stealing knife from 5 Napkin Burger and threatening pedestrians on East 14th Street (DNAinfo)

Man convicted of fatal hit-and-run on the Bowery (The Lo-Down)

History of the East Village name (Gothamist ... previously)

A Rivington House roundup (BoweryBoogie)

Short film about life at 70 Hester St. (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Activist sues city after cops arrest him for filming them on Astor Place (Gothamist)

Is gentrification really a problem? (The New Yorker)

Sunday brunch was trendy in 1930s NYC (Ephemeral New York)


[Summer scene from Tompkins Square Park via Bobby Williams]

A red-tailed hawk July 4 (Laura Goggin Photography)

A few weeks left for the Ramones exhibit at the Queens Museum (Thirteen/PBS)

Art world feuding over Basquiat’s death (Page Six)

Recalling Goulash Row on East Houston (Off the Grid)

A small preservation victory at the Hotel Chelsea (Curbed)

Musing about the Peculiar Pub and the Dugout... and GG Allin... (Flaming Pablum)

Civil War drama "Men Go to Battle" makes its NYC theatrical debut this weekend (Anthology Film Archives)

A John Cassavetes/Gena Rowlands retrospective starts next Friday, July 15, at the Metrograph. Rowlands will be doing a Q-and-A (Official website)

... and a few tickets remain for this event next Wednesday at Flinders Lane on Avenue A...

The new Shops on East Fifth Street are ready for retail (and a coffee shop)


[Photo from Monday]

The storefront renovations are (mostly) complete now on Fifth Street just east of Second Avenue.

There are three spaces in what are being presented as the Shops on East Fifth Street. A tipster tells us that the middle space will house an Argentinian coffee shop. The other two storefronts are for rent... the bare-bones listing at Coldwell Banker Commercial notes the asking rent is $125 per square foot...



As previously reported, in July 2014, the owners of the previous three businesses had to vacate their storefronts due to a structural issue in the building at 300 E. Fifth St.

S & P Liquor & Wine eventually moved to Second Avenue … while Jamie the check-cashing guy, whose family owned the business for 68 years, had to shut down at the end of 2014 as repairs dragged on. He had been operating for five months from a secure van outside his shop. The Today's Cut hair salon moved to East Seventh Street just west of Avenue A.

Previously on EV Grieve:
3 small businesses temporarily closed due to structural issues at 300 E. 5th St.