Robataya to become Sakagura on 9th Street

The former Robataya space on Ninth Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue is staying in the family.

Shuji Bon Yagi, who owns six nearby Japanese establishments, including Soba-ya, Curry-Ya and Rai Rai Ken, has plans to convert the restaurant to Sakagura ...



The address is on this month's CB3-SLA docket for a new liquor license. (The meeting is Monday evening at 6:30 p.m.)

The questionnaire on file with CB3 shows that Sakagura will have a lunch and dinner service daily. Lunch hours are 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with dinner from 6 to 11 p.m. The proposal calls for 10 tables seating 42 diners (and a 16-seat counter).

There's also an extensive sample menu on the questionnaire (PDF here) showing a variety of dishes, including housemade soba noodles and rice bowls.

Robataya, which featured the robata technique of cooking proteins over a charcoal grill, closed at the end of 2017 after nine years in operation.

About the Juice Generation opening soon on Astor Place

You may have noticed the signage up for a new Juice Generation (the 19th outlet in the chainlet) at 4 Astor Place between Lafayette and Broadway.

As Lois Weiss reported at the Post, this Juice Generation is partnering with another tenant in the building — Harvey Milk High School, known as the nation’s first public school for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students.

Per the Post:

Juice Generation will be partnering with the school and working with students to develop a juice to celebrate Gay Pride month in June, with all proceeds benefiting the school, said Eric Helms, Juice Generation’s founder and CEO.

It will also launch a health and nutrition awareness campaign with the students.

Sticky's bringing the chicken fingers to Union Square

A new outpost of Sticky's Finger Joint — "New York City's finest gourmet Chicken Finger restaurant" — is opening in a retail space in the Zeckendorf Towers along 14th Street between Irving Place and Fourth Avenue.

EVG regular Pinch, who shared the above photo, believes this space was previously a GameStop (which moved to another storefront a block or so away).

This will mark the fifth Sticky's location in NYC.

If you're new to Sticky's, then here's background via their website:

Created in 2012 by Paul Abrahamian and Jon Sherman, Sticky’s Finger Joint is New York’s first variety gourmet chicken finger restaurant. Sticky’s takes the classic chicken finger to an elevated level by not only locally sourcing ingredients and using farm raised, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, chicken, but also by putting unique, flavorful, and creative spins on this childhood favorite.

Thoughts on Raphael Toledano: 'The dude was imploding'

The Commercial Observer has a Q&A with Michael Shah, who runs East Village-based Delshah Capital, which boasts "a diverse portfolio of New York City real estate assets approaching $1 billion in value."

The interview touched on a variety of topics, including Delshah Capital's recent deals to scoop up "commercial mortgages and particularly debt that is nonperforming or on properties that have slipped into bankruptcy."

That's when the conversation turned to Raphael Toledano, who quickly established himself as a terrible landlord in the East Village.

To the Observer's Q&A:

[T]hose deals have also earned you enemies like landlord Raphael Toledano, who allegedly said he would “bury you” after you bought the note on his building at 97 Second Avenue. What did you make of that? [In November 2017, a federal bankruptcy court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Toledano seeking to block Shah’s acquisition of the property.]

The dude was imploding, and it was pretty clear vultures were going to pick his carcass dry, and I wanted to be one of them. From the time Madison Realty Capital made the loan [a $124 million mortgage on Toledano’s acquisition of a 16-building East Village portfolio], it wasn’t a question of if he was going to default — it was when.

I don’t really know how anybody in their right mind believed [Toledano] was going to out-litigate us; he’s not very litigation-savvy. I think it was a lot of noise and press — he’s a colorful guy.

Before we did the deal, we had analyzed the litigation risk and knew how a bankruptcy would end, and it played out exactly how we planned. [Note: Toledano and his firm, Brookhill Properties, could not be reached for comment.]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Foreclosure notice arrives on Raphael Toledano-owned building on 12th Street

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

Report: State investigating East Village landlord Raphael Toledano

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

Foreclosure notice arrives on Raphael Toledano-owned building on 12th Street

Report: Raphael Toledano files for Chapter 11; $145 million deal for EV portfolio is off the table

East Village tenants pay landlord Raphael Toledano a visit at his Upper West Side home

Scenes from National School Walkout

Thousands of students across the country today took part in #NationalSchoolWalkout, a growing movement to protest gun violence in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

In a show of solidarity, students at several East Village schools took part at 10 a.m., walking out of the classroom for 17 minutes — one minute for each person murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School one month ago today.

EVG reader Christine Champagne shared the above photo from Avenue A, where she spotted students from East Village Community School.

Per Christine:

Some of [the students] were stationed on chairs at various points along the route, holding signs with photos of the people who were killed in the Parkland shooting. I spoke with a teacher and told her how moved I was, and she told me it was all the kids. They wanted to do this, and they organized it.

Here are a few other images from the neighborhood this morning via Instagram ...

A post shared by Brian C Veith (@briancveith) on Mar 14, 2018 at 7:54am PDT

500 students and teachers of my middle school alma mater Grace Church School linked hands and did a walk out. I’m so moved and proud of kids all over the country and their allies taking a stand! #GunControlNow #nationalschoolwalkoutday #EnoughisEnough #marchforourlives

A post shared by Julie Sharbutt (@jcsharbs) on Mar 14, 2018 at 11:13am PDT

12th St scene - Students of East Side Community High School walking out to protest gun violence in schools #noguns

A post shared by Academy Records NYC (@academyrecords) on Mar 14, 2018 at 7:29am PDT

A post shared by JANE lafarge HAMILL (@janelafarge) on Mar 14, 2018 at 7:22am PDT

Go TEENS, GO! #nationalwalkoutday ✨ 📷 courtesy of David Mack @buzzfeed

A post shared by The Women Tribe (@thewomentribe) on Mar 14, 2018 at 12:21pm PDT

A blank canvas awaits at the Bowery Mural Wall

Workers painted over the Bowery Mural Wall here at East Houston yesterday ... to provide a blank canvas for the next artist to make his or her mark here. (Haven't heard just yet who this might be...Updated: Oh, Banksy.)

The most recent mural was a collaboration by London-based artist Lakwena along with Instagram and Goldman Properties. The mural, which promoted Instagram’s #KindComments campaign, seemed to get tagged on an almost-daily basis in recent months...


[Photo from Jan. 24 by Lola Sāenz]

The rhinos have arrived on Astor Place

They were dropped off last evening...

@evgrieve they have arrived! #astor #art pic.twitter.com/kfXscrZvSq

— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) March 14, 2018

And this morning, as you may have noticed...





The official unveiling is tomorrow morning. Here's a repeat with the info from the previous post:

Gillie and Marc Art have recreated the last three Northern White Rhinos – Sudan, Najin, and Fatu – in a 17-foot bronze sculpture to inspire, educate and mobilize the global community to raise their voices and affect real change against illegal rhino poaching trade.

Please join us in unveiling "The Last Three" to create a legacy of the Northern White Rhinos, and save future species from extinction.

Order of Events

9:00am - Introduction
9.15am - Speeches
10.00am - Unveiling
10.15am - Photos
10.30am - Interviews

Gillie and Marc’s sculpture will be used to raise critical awareness about the plight of the rhinos and ways people can help.

“Our mission is to collect at least 1-million goodbye messages and put them towards a petition for approaching governments about eliminating the demand for rhino horns through education” says Gillie, “You can help by leaving a goodbye message for Sudan before he’s gone forever.”

The sculpture will be here temporarily. (Haven't heard an exact timeframe just yet.) You can read more about the project here.



Previously on EV Grieve:
A sneak preview of the world's largest rhino sculpture, coming to Astor Place early next year

World's tallest rhino sculpture arrives on Astor Place this week

Call of the wild: Seems like old times for Christo and Dora in Tompkins Square Park

There had been talk this past week that Christo and Dora had started mating in Tompkins Square Park.

And yesterday, the two shared a private moment in front of a group of photographers ... including Steven, who passed these pics along...





Well, you get the idea!

And afterwards... Christo, in the front, takes off for parts unknown...







Now a lot has been made about Christo's relationship with Nora/Not-Dora, the red-tailed hawk that entered his life when Dora was off in wing rehab.

Goggla has an excellent theory about all this now. She spotted Christo and Nora/Not-Dora on the Baruch Houses south of Houston several days ago.

In addition to Christo and Dora, there has been a second pair of red-tails on the Lower East Side for quite some time, at least a year. I don't know if they nested last year, but they were definitely around. A few months ago, there were reports of a dead hawk on an air-conditioner at PS188 on East Houston. I think that hawk may have been Nora's mate.

Around the same time, or a short while later, Dora went into rehab, so Nora and Christo were suddenly single neighbors. I think they were close enough to be acquainted and it was convenient for them to team up. This would explain Nora's odd behavior, being so uninterested in spending time in Tompkins Square and her reluctance to participate in building the ginkgo nest with Christo. She already had her own territory in the Baruch Houses and preferred to spend her time there.

It makes sense ... read the rest of her post here.

Goggla has also suggested a new name for the admittedly confusing Nora/Not-Dora moniker. "I'm thinking of calling Nora 'Barucha' since it reflects her territory. She is much more than 'Not Dora'" ..." (Make your voice heard on that matter at Goggla's poll.)

To date, Christo and Dora have had 10 hawklets together. Perhaps some more will be on the way this summer.

Construction watch: 127 Avenue D

Here's a look at the 7-floor building that has slowly been going up on Avenue D between Eighth Street and Ninth Street.

As previously reported, plans call for a mixed-use building via developer H Holding Group. The approved permits now show 11 (previously 13) dwelling units with a commercial space on the ground floor.

To date we haven't seen any listings for the (presumably) rentals.

And here's the rendering via the H Holding Group website...


[RIP Wacky Wok]

The previous building here was a one-level structure that housed Sergio Deli Superette.

Previously on EV Grieve:
On Avenue D, Sergio Deli Superette will yield to a 7-story building

East Village Cheese lives on in Season 2 of 'Jessica Jones'

An EVG reader shared this screenshot from season two, episode four of "Jessica Jones" ... showing the shop on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

In the scene (looks like summer!), Jess and Trish walk past the still-open East Village Cheese ... pause for a moment, and head inside East Village Wigs next door to question the owner. (I have never seen the show, so I'm not sure on the whys and what not behind what they are looking for...)

As for the non-Netflix version of the shop... still no sign of activity here...


[Photo from Monday]

EV Cheese quietly closed in early December ... On Dec. 21, co-owner Lobsang Tsultrim was spotted at the storefront along with a Remove All My Junk truck. Before some of the perishable items had been discarded, the aroma of ripe cheese had been noticeable in the adjacent storefront.

The nonpayment of rent notice arrived the second week of January. And the shop has been quiet ever since.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Blowing the doors off of the Horseshoe Bar in the name of television

Former Out East space for lease on 6th Street

The former Out East space on Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue is on the market. (And someone replaced the black trash bags on the windows with brown paper.)

Here's part of the listing (via Sinvin — PDF here) for the two-level space, which underwent an extensive gut renovation to make it Out East:

$22,035/month (including taxes & common charges) - Key money - $239,000 - Two full 2 AM liquor licenses - Public Assembly permit for 140 people - New million dollar installation - Legal lower level has kitchen, dining room, bar and lovely glass atrium with soaring 20' ceiling - New handcrafted wood storefront - In the heart of the East Village

The seafoody restaurant, which reportedly took its inspiration from coastal Long Island , opened last April before quietly shutting down in mid-December.

Fired up to start a new year at La Plaza

The 9th Annual Zoroastrian Fire Jumping Event took place this evening at La Plaza Cultural on Ninth Street at Avenue C... EVG reader Cheyenne shared these photos...



Per tonight's invite:

Jumping over fire is a symbolic gesture to start a fresh new year. This tradition is celebrated for ringing in the Persian New Year and has been celebrated since at least 1700 BCE of the early Zoroastrian era.

... and by most accounts there was a nice turnout... (perhaps due to the new J/Z stop on the corner?)