Photo on Seventh Street today via Derek Berg. (Crews were out filming something called "Detective Chinatown 2.")
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Thursday's parting shot
Photo on Seventh Street today via Derek Berg. (Crews were out filming something called "Detective Chinatown 2.")
Tree down on 12th Street near Avenue A
EVG regular Greg Masters shares this... a 20-year-old tree on the north side of 12th Street just west of Avenue A was upended late this morning. No eyewitnesses but it apparently was uprooted by a truck backing into a parking space. Police were soon on the scene and the tree was later cut into pieces...
I Am a Rent-Stabilized Tenant
East Village resident Susan Schiffman has been photographing the apartments of rent-stabilized tenants living in the East Village for her Instagram account, I Am a Rent Stabilized Tenant. She will share some of the photos here for this ongoing EVG feature.
Photos and text by Susan Schiffman
Tenant: Tanya, since 1985
In 1978, Tanya came to NYC from Ann Arbor, Mich., to attend NYU. She lived in the dorms Weinstein and then Brittany. There were only three dorms back then.
After graduation in 1982, Tanya looked for an apartment in the East Village. Tanya and I reminisced about how you could walk around the neighborhood and ask supers if there were any apartments available in their building. This is how she found her apartment on 13th Street.
She met a pop star and moved to London to be with him, giving up her apartment in the process. They came back to New York, where she moved in and out of 10 different places. She found her current apartment through friends in 1985.
Tanya loves that all of the moldings in her apartment are original. She also loves that each room by law had to have a door and a window to be classified as a room.
She and her apartment are very inspired by Heywood-Wakefield Modern Furniture. She is obsessed with Hawaiian textiles. She has recovered her couch about five times. Tanya has made all of the pillows, curtains, duvet covers and reupholstery in her home. She repainted the floor eight times with a tiny brush.
If you're interested in inviting Susan in to photograph your apartment for an upcoming post, then you may contact her via this email.
Photos and text by Susan Schiffman
Tenant: Tanya, since 1985
In 1978, Tanya came to NYC from Ann Arbor, Mich., to attend NYU. She lived in the dorms Weinstein and then Brittany. There were only three dorms back then.
After graduation in 1982, Tanya looked for an apartment in the East Village. Tanya and I reminisced about how you could walk around the neighborhood and ask supers if there were any apartments available in their building. This is how she found her apartment on 13th Street.
She met a pop star and moved to London to be with him, giving up her apartment in the process. They came back to New York, where she moved in and out of 10 different places. She found her current apartment through friends in 1985.
Tanya loves that all of the moldings in her apartment are original. She also loves that each room by law had to have a door and a window to be classified as a room.
She and her apartment are very inspired by Heywood-Wakefield Modern Furniture. She is obsessed with Hawaiian textiles. She has recovered her couch about five times. Tanya has made all of the pillows, curtains, duvet covers and reupholstery in her home. She repainted the floor eight times with a tiny brush.
If you're interested in inviting Susan in to photograph your apartment for an upcoming post, then you may contact her via this email.
La Plaza's grand willow tree comes down tomorrow
Back in July, officials at La Plaza Cultural announced that the last two willow trees in the community garden on the southwest corner of Avenue C and Ninth Street would have to be removed.
The trees, nicknamed Cher and Krusty, are rotting, and may be in danger of falling during a storm. La Plaza gardeners have said that the trees are more than 40 years old.
The Parks Department announced that they will have the larger of the two willows — the one near Avenue C nicknamed Cher — removed tomorrow morning. (The second willow, Krusty, located near the gazebo, is also in poor shape and will likely need to come down at some point.)
During the work on Friday, La Plaza will be closed.
Last night, La Plaza gardeners removed any lawn furniture in Cher's path ... and said their final goodbyes.
Rev. Billy presided over a Weeping Willow Wake on July 9.
[Photo on July 9 by Steven]
Updated 5 p.m.
EVG regular Jose Garcia shares some flyers that someone placed at La Plaza...
Previously on EV Grieve:
A wake for the last willow trees at La Plaza Cultural
At the Weeping Willow Wake
A letter for new NYU students: 'think good thoughts about yourself and others'
EVG reader Lori Kohn shared this letter that she spotted taped to a light post on Ninth Street and Third Avenue...
[Click on image for more detail]
The letter of support reads in part:
The letter is signed by "your neighbor," Mr. Steck.
[Click on image for more detail]
The letter of support reads in part:
The struggles among new students at NYU are no doubt taking different forms. You might be struggling with how to meet friends or how to socialize with people who drink when you don't, or how to get involved in something, anything, when time seems so precious, etc. Some of you are wondering if everyone's smarter than you or if you're smart enough to be at NYU. Some of you are stressed with performance anxieties, with being cool. Some of you are just missing a home-cooked meal.
The struggles are real and sometimes hard, but they are normal. They are not a sign of a problem, but just the normal challenges of transitions to a new phase in one's life.
Dismiss any idea that your enrollment at NYU was a fluke. You belong here.
My suggestion: think good thoughts about yourself and others. Relax. And through it all, know that you are where you belong.
The letter is signed by "your neighbor," Mr. Steck.
Report: Threats made in ongoing battle over 97 2nd Ave.
Raphael Toledano continues to build his impressive tapestry of quotable quotes in his tenure as an East Village landlord.
His latest keepsake soundbite came during the ongoing battle over 97 Second Ave. between Toledano and Michael Shah’s Delshah Capital. Both landlords are claiming ownership of the 11-unit building. (It's complicated.)
The Real Deal has all the details about the legal drama here.
The 6-story building between Sixth Street and Fifth Street was one of the first East Village properties purchased by Toledano. Public records show that Toledano paid $4.95 million for it in April 2014. Toledano said in the bankruptcy protection filing that the property is valued at $15.1 million, per the Commercial Observer.
As for the status of Tolednao and his other neighborhood properties, The Real Deal reported:
Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Landlord of 444 E. 13th St. threatened 'to drop dynamite on the building'
“I’m worth a fuckload of money bro.” @markgmaurer’s profile on the rapid & rocky ascent of EV landlord Rafi Toledano https://t.co/Y3Qvbea8jT
— Kerry Barger (@kerrybarger) June 1, 2016
His latest keepsake soundbite came during the ongoing battle over 97 Second Ave. between Toledano and Michael Shah’s Delshah Capital. Both landlords are claiming ownership of the 11-unit building. (It's complicated.)
The Real Deal has all the details about the legal drama here.
In August ... Toledano filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on the property and tried to procure a buyer. According to court documents filed by Shah, Toledano also used that time to threaten and extort him. Toledano threatened to instruct the tenants to withhold rent, according to the documents, and told Shah, “I will bury you, literally. I will bury this building and make sure of it.”
The 6-story building between Sixth Street and Fifth Street was one of the first East Village properties purchased by Toledano. Public records show that Toledano paid $4.95 million for it in April 2014. Toledano said in the bankruptcy protection filing that the property is valued at $15.1 million, per the Commercial Observer.
As for the status of Tolednao and his other neighborhood properties, The Real Deal reported:
The 27-year-old landlord is awaiting approval for the sale of the deeds of 15 distressed East Village properties to lender Madison Realty Capital, which recently replaced him as property manager on the buildings.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Landlord of 444 E. 13th St. threatened 'to drop dynamite on the building'
NYC's first Nutella Cafe coming to University and 13th Street
The retail space in the base of the in-progress condoplex on 13th Street and University Place will house the city's first Nutella Cafe. (There's a Nutella kiosk in the Eataly food hall.)
According to the Commercial Observer, who first reported on this yesterday, the cafe and coffee bar will occupy 2,200 square feet here at 116 University Place.
The first U.S. Nutella Cafe, in Chicago, "serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including waffles, croissants, crepes, panini, and family-style fondue," per Eater.
As previously reported, the Adjmi Architects-designed seven-story condoplex will feature one unit per floor. The starting prices for the homes are $6 million.
The corner previously housed University Place Gourmet as well as several adjacent storefronts, including Bennie Louie Chinese Laundry.
Developer Ranger Properties paid $22 million for the lot.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Major changes coming to University Place and East 13th Street
Report: Incoming condos for 13th Street and University Place will start at $6 million
[Photo from June 2015]
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Wednesday's parting shot
Christo in Tompkins Square Park today. Photo by Bobby Williams.
Goggla said that Christo's been molting and looking pretty raggedy of late, but he should be back to his sleek self soon.
Dreaming of a Bluelight Christmas
It's that time of year again, at least at Kmart on Astor Place... (hopefully the Halloween stuff is still out) ... thanks to @supagirl13 for the photo...
About Bodega, a start-up that aspires to be the new neighborhood market
[At the former Golden Food Market on 7th and 1st]
A story today at Fast Company that may be of interest... From the article, titled Two Ex-Googlers Want To Make Bodegas And Mom-And-Pop Corner Stores Obsolete:"
Paul McDonald, who spent 13 years as a product manager at Google, wants to make this corner store a thing of the past. Today, he is launching a new concept called Bodega with his cofounder Ashwath Rajan, another Google veteran. Bodega sets up five-foot-wide pantry boxes filled with non-perishable items you might pick up at a convenience store. An app will allow you to unlock the box and cameras powered with computer vision will register what you’ve picked up, automatically charging your credit card. The entire process happens without a person actually manning the “store.”
Bodega’s logo is a cat, a nod to the popular bodega cat meme on social media – although if the duo gets their way, real felines won’t have brick-and-mortar shops to saunter around and take naps in much longer. “The vision here is much bigger than the box itself,” McDonald says. “Eventually, centralized shopping locations won’t be necessary, because there will be 100,000 Bodegas spread out, with one always 100 feet away from you.”
And...
I asked McDonald point-blank about whether he’s worried that the name Bodega might come off as culturally insensitive. Not really. “I’m not particularly concerned about it,” he says. “We did surveys in the Latin American community to understand if they felt the name was a misappropriation of that term or had negative connotations, and 97% said ‘no’. It’s a simple name and I think it works.”
But some members of the Hispanic community don’t feel the same way. Take Frank Garcia, the chairman of the New York State Coalition of Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, who represents thousands of bodega owners. Garcia’s grandfather was the head of the Latin Grocery Association in the 1960s and was part of the original community of immigrants who helped settle on the term “bodega” for the corner store. “To me, it is offensive for people who are not Hispanic to use the name ‘bodega,’ to make a quick buck,'”Garcia says. “It’s disrespecting all the mom-and-pop bodega owners that started these businesses in the ’60s and ’70s.”
Bodega began trending on Twitter this morning...
Trying to destroy bodegas with a startup called “Bodega” that has a bodega cat logo is… just awful. https://t.co/1W4pSnXoXn
— hello i am anil (@anildash) September 13, 2017
my bodega owners are yemeni immigrants and the bodega not only affords them a life in new york but also allows them to send money back home
— Jessica Roy (@JessicaKRoy) September 13, 2017
Weird that they're calling this heinous vending machine "Bodega" and not "Gentrification Box" https://t.co/xPCozclRRD
— Tristan Cooper (@TristanACooper) September 13, 2017
If Bodega were called Nile or Mississippi, would reaction have been the same? FreshDirect, Amazon are active in NYC & not great for bodegas.
— Anjali Khosla (@hellomountfuji) September 13, 2017
I see the Bodega backlash backlash has begun.
— Ian Bogost (@ibogost) September 13, 2017
*rubs hands together* Just as the machine learning predicted.
Updated
NcDonald addressed the backlash and offered an apology in a follow-up post on Medium.
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