Noon to 6 p.m. at the Ninth Precinct, 321 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
The NYPD's 9th Precinct hosting a blood drive tomorrow (Thursday!)
Noon to 6 p.m. at the Ninth Precinct, 321 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
Checking in on the dislodged Webster Hall marquee
As we first reported back on Sunday, the Webster Hall marquee became partially dislodged from the front of the landmarked building on 11th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.
On Monday, workers started erecting a sidewalk bridge for protection until repairs can be made. Steven shared these photos from this morning ... where workers appear to continue to secure the marquee...
With the temporary structure in place, 11th Street is open again to traffic.
The new owners of the building, Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment, along with AEG-backed The Bowery Presents, filed permits in December to renovate the facility — for use in years ahead as a concert hall — and make it ADA compliant. Those permits are still waiting the city's approval, per the DOB.
Report: Financial firm takes the Death Star penthouse
Los Weiss at the Post has the story.
Details!
CBAM Partners, a fast-growing financial firm with $6.8 billion under management, is moving from Hudson Yards to 51 Astor Place, where it will have a dramatic 12th-floor penthouse of 25,401 square feet.
And what of the previous 12th-floor tenant?
Its former occupant, Claren Road Asset Management, was a financial darling, but in 2015, it was rocked by billions of dollars in redemptions. The following year, backer Carlyle handed back its 55 percent stake to the founders. Claren Road’s market value was down to $891,000 last fall.
Sources said the company gave back the space to 51 Astor developer Edward J. Minskoff Equities...
Pile driving for new building on Avenue C prompts arrival of crack monitors next door
Last week I noted that the pile driving had started up again at the development site on Avenue C and Houston Street/Second Street where 10 floors of luxury rentals are slated.
There were multiple complaints filed with the city earlier last year about the construction possibly destabilizing the building next door — 249 E. Second St. There was a partial stop-work order issued in April 2017 when No. 249 reportedly shifted.
Anyway, since the last post, workers have erected a sidewalk bridge at No. 249 and enveloped the building in scaffolding ...
There's a new work permit for the address "for minor parapet repair work."
Meanwhile, a resident in the building shared this about the pile driving:
The developers of the building next door originally considered buying 249 E. 2nd Street in order to empty it of tenants but in the end decided it would take too long. They may regret that decision now. The current situation began almost a year ago when the city ruled on 3/21/2017, the construction in the adjacent lot damaged 249 E. 2nd Street. The city’s ECB Violation report ( DOB Violation Number 032117EX103JT04 and readily viewable online at the DOB site ) cited Noble Construction GR LLC of 1 Harmon Plaza, Secaucus, NY, for “FAILURE TO SAFEGUARD ALL PERSONS AND PROPERTY AFFECTED BY CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS NOTED: THAT DURING DRILLING OPERATIONS AT CONSTRUCTION SITE CONTRACTOR CREATED DAMAGES TO THE ADJOINING FOUNDATION OF BUILDING 249.”
A violation categorized as “Aggravated Offense Level 2.” There was a partial stop work order. The construction company could not do any more work accept to perform abatements of the damage it had done to 249 E. 2nd Street. Evidence of the damage was plentiful in the numerous prominent cracks in interior hallway walls and around door jambs, the sure sign of the building having shifted.
When last week’s pile driving began it was so severe tenants in four surrounding buildings spontaneously gathered in the street to discuss a collective action to thwart the construction activity and set off a flood of complaints to the DOB through the city’s 311 complaint phone line. Which is what originally brought the inspection that resulted in the previous violation citation.
249 E. 2nd Street now has surveyor’s gauges permanently affixed to key parts of the exterior, and crack monitors on the interior hallway damage, to facility monitoring of the ongoing situation. Almost every day surveyors are taking readings to catch any further building damage. Where this will end is anyone’s guess. But there is absolutely no mistaking the danger to the tenancies of the current occupants of 249 E. 2nd Street.
The reader also shared photos of the crack monitors...
When complete, the all-new 11 Avenue C will have 4,600 square feet of ground-level retail, 45 residential apartments and a landscaped roof terrace.
Top three photos from Saturday
Previously on EV Grieve:
New residential building for former Mobil station lot will be 10 floors with 0 zero affordable units
A look inside the last East Village gas station
Pile driving resumes at the site of the East Village's last gas station, where a 10-floor building will rise
Awaiting repairs for a sidewalk vault on 4th Street
Here's a quick look at 125 E. Fourth St., the site of a partial sidewalk collapse this past Dec. 16.
A worker at the Ultra Nail Beauty Salon reportedly was preparing to open the shop around 10:40 a.m. here between First Avenue and Second Avenue when a 5x4 section of the sidewalk caved in, sending the worker plunging into the building's basement. (Her injuries were apparently not life-threatening.)
According to the Daily News, the DOB issued "aggravated violations" to the property owner for failing "to maintain the building in a safe manner." (This is a co-op building. Public records list the owner as: 125 East 4th Street Owner Corp.)
There doesn't appear to be much activity taking place outside the storefronts. There is, however, an approved work permit on file with the DOB for "replacement of sidewalk vault."
For now, the nail salon remains shuttered. Manny's Barber Shop is for rent...
However, Manny was able to move into the empty space next door shortly after the collapse...
Also on this side of the block, closer to First Avenue, Icon Realty is now renting the former Lavender Mini Spa space...
The asking rent is $6,000 for 600 square feet, per the listing.
Bad news for fans of Siggy's Good Food
[Image via]
Siggy's Good Food, the all-organic restaurant where aliens eat free, has announced that it's closing up shop on Elizabeth Street just north of Houston. Saturday is the last day for service — in NYC anyway.
The farewell note that Siggy's posted on its social media accounts points to multiple reasons for the closure, including "bureaucratic, economy..." And Siggy's is moving to Charlotte, N.C.
Siggy's debuted on Elizabeth Street in July 2012. Owner Siggy Sollitto opened her first location in Brooklyn Heights in 2005. That outpost closed in 2015.
Sollitto said this to Brooklyn Paper in 2015:
[S]he said city regulations are making it tough to run a business in [Manhattan], citing the health department as a particularly pronounced source of headaches.
“The city administration is really making things impossible for a small business,” she said.
Thanks to @ThisIsWeber for the tip!
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
A London-based hairdresser is giving free haircuts to the homeless in Tompkins Square Park
This afternoon, EVG regular Lola Sāenz spotted London-based hairdresser Joshua Coombes giving free haircuts (and shaves) to the homeless in Tompkins Square Park.
You can watch this "National Geographic" segment on Coombes, who believes small acts of kindness can make a big impact.
Per a feature on him from June 2017 in The Washington Post:
Two years ago, he founded the campaign #DoSomethingForNothing. His mission: to make a positive impact by giving haircuts to homeless people he meets on city streets, connecting with them on a human level and sharing their stories on social media. So far he has cut the hair of hundreds of homeless people, including a few women.
You can see more of his work with the homeless on his Instagram account.
Jimmy Carbone and Paloma Rocket collaborating on new venture for the Jimmy's No. 43 space
[Photo from Feb. 4]
Jimmy Carbone is collaborating with Graham Winton of Paloma Rocket for a new venture in the currently-closed Jimmy's No. 43 on Seventh Street.
If the two get the OK from CB3 for a new liquor license, then they plan to open Paloma Rocket-Carbone Pizza in the basement space here between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.
Financial difficulties forced Carbone to close Jimmy’s No. 43, the restaurant he owned and operated for 12 years this past August.
This Gothamist piece at the time summed up how Carbone got to this point:
The lease has been up for two years — Carbone has been operating on a month-to-month lease since then — and in February the landlord "dialed it up" and told him that Jimmy's could stay but he would have to start looking for a partner to help with back rent and, in the meantime, he'd have to pay more to remain, according to Carbone. He says it's been a long road getting to this point.
Carbone says the financial difficulties started in 2010 when the city began issuing letter grades for bars and restaurants. Jimmy's was inspected five times in six months and Carbone says it took him three years to pay off the $15,000 in fines as a result of those inspections. In 2013, Jimmy's was shuttered twice by the Health Department, first because of rodent issues that stemmed from Hurricane Sandy; another time because Carbone couldn't afford to pay the fines.
There was also lost business in the aftermath of the deadly gas explosion in March 2015.
In addition, Carbone fell sick last fall and wound up in a hospital. "That was from my 20 years of running a restaurant," Carbone told me on the phone the other day. "I let my health go. I had diabetes."
And now? "I'm getting better. Having a break was good for me. I lost some weight."
While Carbone worked on getting healthy, he also continued to look for a collaborator.
Enter Winton, an East Village resident who had been running Paloma Rocket, a specialty beer bar with a self-service feature on Clinton Street.
"I saw what they were doing at Paloma Rocket and I liked it," Carbone said. "I liked the self-guided beer tour aspect of it."
Carbone and Winton appear before CB3's SLA committee tonight. (Their questionnaire is here.)
"I'm hoping to get approved as a new entity with Paloma Rocket as my partners," he said. "Operation-wise, it will pretty much be the same — the same Jimmy's vibe."
Carbone has been honing his pizza-making skills of late. A new baking oven in the space will serve as the centerpiece for the menu, which, aside from pizza, will include a variety of roasted meats and vegetables. During the day, Carbone wants to start a kind of "bread CSA," and provide new bakers starting out with a place to work on their products and a venue to sell them in.
In an email, Winton shared some thoughts on the space.
"We hope to make it a fun, value-driven hangout with a neighborhood vibe," said Winton, who mentioned a family-friendly attraction. "Kids with books eat for free."
Meanwhile, they are in the process of getting a lease.
"The landlord has been really decent. He gave us a chance. He carried me," Carbone said. "We had some issues. He gave me time to pay the rent."
If all goes well, then he hopes to have the new space open in three months — enough time for minor renovations, such as cleaning and painting, and allowing for the SLA paperwork to arrive.
"My wish is that England winning the World Cup this year will be celebrated there," Winton said.
After a seven-month hiatus, Carbone is hopeful for a return engagement at Jimmy's.
"I miss the gatherings — the get-togethers, the going-away and birthday parties. I love hosting people. That's what my whole career has been... and that space lends itself to it," said Carbone, who previously owned Mugsy's Chow Chow on Second Avenue. "You hear so many bad stories about places closing. For me to reopen, with a whole new lease along with the changes — that would be a huge victory for small businesses, the community. I think everybody wants places like mine to do well."
Clay Pot ready to debut its clay pot offerings today on St. Mark's Place
[Photo from last week]
Clay Pot debuts tonight (hours are 6-11) at 58 St. Mark’s Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
As previously noted, they will serve traditional Hong Kong style open-flame cooked clay pot rice... there's a mix-and-match menu of clay pots featuring jasmine rice, ginger, scallion, soy sauce and a choice of protein.
You may check out some of their offerings via the Clay Pot Instagram account...
Meanwhile! Next door... no word on when Chi Ken, the Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken Store, will open...
As for this address, Hakata Hot Pot and Sushi Lounge closed here at the end of February 2016. (Hakata Hot Pot combined with sister restaurant Zen 6 the next block to the west at 31 St. Mark's Place.)
Natori, a longtime favorite, closed at this address in November 2012.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Clay Pot, from Hong Kong to St. Mark's Place
Chi Ken, the Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken Store, coming to St. Mark's Place
Saluté proposed for 9th Street
Applicants for a new bar-restaurant called Saluté are on tonight's CB3-SLA committee docket for licensing at 214 E. Ninth St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...
The questionnaire on file (PDF here) at the CB3 website for public viewing shows that Saluté will have nine tables accommodating 50 people as well as two bars in the lower level. The proposed hours are 5 p.m to 2 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday; until 4 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
These applicants have never been licensed before, though they do have restaurant experience. (The questionnaire has their résumés.)
The questionnaire also includes a section titled "noise management plan" ... it helpfully notes that the bar portion of the place is in the basement "so any noise will not directly be heard on the ground level"
No word in the plan on what happens when their patrons reach the sidewalk.
There's also a sample menu...
The previous tenant here. Dahlia's Tapas Wine Bar, shut down in December 2016.
Meanwhile, next door... the hair salon Hoshi Coupe II packed up and relocated to Chelsea...
---
CB3's SLA committee meets tonight at the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton. The festivities start at 6:30.
Retail for rent signs arrive for Steiner East Village storefronts
Now that residents have been moving into the condoplex along Avenue A between 11th Street and 12th Street, perhaps there will be some activity with the ample retail space here.
Several for rent signs appeared on the front windows at Steiner East Village this past week...
The listing at RIPCO appears to be the same one we spotted from 2014. There's not much info, such as the asking rent. The spaces are divisible. Maybe this whole space will attract one big retailer, such as a Trader Joe's, or it will be chopped up into four storefronts. The total space available is 11,611 feet square feet.
The listing also notes some curious neighbors to Steiner East Village ... several of which are no longer in business:
Momofuku Noodle Bar, Westville East, La Luche, Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper, El Camion Cantina, Rite Aid, Bcup Cafe, BAR-BO-NE
La Lucha closed in 2015 ... BAR-BO-NE (or Barbone) closed in 2016... and the Rite Aid on 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B was demolished four years ago. Unless they mean the one on First Avenue at Fifth Street.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Some Steiner East Village retail speculation
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