8-story residential building underway in this empty 9th Street lot

There has been talk dating to 2010 about a new residential building at the site of this empty lot (used for parking) in the 600 block of Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

As these photos via Bobby Williams show, workers have started excavation at the site (officially 639 E. Ninth St.) ...



The rendering on the plywood reveals an 8-story building...



The permits are a little more confusing (at least to me), showing a combination of lots — the empty one along with No. 641 to the east. (Same landlord — Adeia Associated LP.) The 8-story building rising in the empty lot looks to have 14 residential units.

In any event, there's a partial stop work order on the lot now after a complaint filed with the city last week noted "CONSTRUCTION EXCAVATION IS SHAKING MY BUILDING."

Here's a photo of the lot from 2012...

Benny's Burritos & Empanadas will not be reopening on 7th Street

Benny's Burritos & Empanadas has not been open of late. And yesterday, owner Mark Merker confirmed that the small shop at 86 E. Seventh St. near First Avenue has closed for good.

Merker, who launched Harry's and Benny's Burritos in 1987, opened Che Cafe last April. In January, Che Cafe went dark for several weeks ... reopening at the end of the month with a new business partner ... as well as an expanded menu featuring burritos, empanadas, tacos and chicken tortilla soup, and a new name — Benny's Burritos & Empanadas.

"The partnership didn’t quite work out," Merker said in a Facebook message. "For now I will be doing catering only."

Benny's Burritos closed on Avenue A and Sixth Street after 27 years in business in November 2014. (The Benny's to-go space next door closed in February 2015.)

The 400-square-foot space has been on the market for the past month. The listing doesn't mention the asking price, which we hear is $4,200 a month. The space was home until the fall of 2016 to Abraço, the popular coffee shop/cafe that moved across Seventh Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A look at Che Cafe, home of empanada pouches

Double Wide signs off after 7 years on 12th Street

Earlier this month, we noted that Greg Boehm, the founder of Cocktail Kingdom, a manufacturer and distributor of professional barware, and a partner in the cocktail bar Mace on Ninth Street and Boilermaker on First Avenue, was taking over the Double Wide space at 503-505 E. 12th St.

In the past few days the bar with a menu serving Southern-style food wrapped up its seven-year run here between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Here's their goodbye message via Facebook...


Previously on EV Grieve:
Cocktail specialist looking to take over Double Wide on 12th Street

The Subway (sandwich shop) isn't returning next to the McDonald's on 1st Avenue

Last week, we reported that the Subway (sandwich shop) on First Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street had closed... this after the Marshal seized the storefront on behalf of the landlord.

As we've seen in the past, a visit by the Marshal doesn't always mean the end for the business. However, as these photos show, workers have cleared out this 6-year-old Subway next to the McDonald's ... removing all but one of the Subway signs...



This marks the marks the seventh Subway sandwich shop to close in the immediate area in the past five-plus years.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Marshal takes possession of the Subway (sandwich shop) on 1st Avenue

A look at a popular concert in Tompkins Square Park — in 1891

Back on Monday, I posted the above flyer about the Tompkins Square Library presenting a walking tour of Tompkins Square Park this Saturday morning from 10-11. (Find all the details at the Library's website here.)

Anyway, I was taking a closer look at the image on the flyer...


[Click on image for more details]

The piece is titled "Popular Concert In Tompkins Square, N.Y." and dated 1891. The illustrator was Thure de Thulstrup, a Swedish-born illustrator who contributed to Harper's Weekly, where this piece appeared.

The info with the photo at the NYPL doesn't mention what kind of concert this was (likely German music, per the Bowery Boys).

The illustration is part of the NYPL Digital Collections.

Updated 3/29

This image was dated from the 1870s... showing St. Brigid's...

Onetime home of Lucky Cheng's and adjacent property sell for $12 million

[24 1st Ave.]

The potential development sites at 24 First Ave. (the onetime home of Lucky Cheng's) and 99-101 E. Second St. have a new owner.


[99-101 E. 2nd St.]

Sergey Rybak of the South Brooklyn-based Rybak Development was the winning bidder during an auction last month. According to a news release from EPIC Commercial Realty, who represented the buyer and the seller, the winning bid was $12.25 million.

The property can be developed with or without the inclusionary housing air rights, providing between an additional 19,000 and 22,000 square feet. No word yet about what Rybeck plans to do with the L-shaped assemblage...



As previously reported, landlord Carmar Development, LLC, put the two-building parcel up for sale in February 2017. (We wrote about that here.) The properties were seeking $26 million at that time. Uri Marrache, a principal at Carmar Development, was reportedly at risk of defaulting on his $11 million loan against the vacant buildings.

Hayne Suthon, who owned and and operated Lucky Cheng's, the cross-dressing cabaret, also lived on the upper floors at 24 First Ave. She died of cancer at age 57 in June 2014.

Suthon had owned the properties since 1986, paying $800,000, city documents show. According to public records, the address changed hands to Carmar Development in February 2015 for a little more than $9.6 million.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Myron Mixon's Pride & Joy BBQ now in the works for the former Lucky Cheng's space

Fire reported at incoming Pride and Joy BBQ on East Second Street

Myron Mixon lawsuit puts opening of Pride and Joy BBQ in question at former Lucky Cheng's space

Report: Pride and Joy BBQ partners suing landlord Hayne Suthon for $22 million

Report: New owners of building that housed Lucky Cheng's looking to attract restaurant group

Onetime home of Lucky Cheng's and adjacent property on the development market for $26 million

Building that housed Lucky Cheng's on 1st Avenue now on the auction block

Mandolino Pizzeria has closed on 13th Street

An EVG reader spotted workers cleaning out Mandolino yesterday, bringing an end to the pizzeria that opened in January 2017 here between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.

A "for rent" sign is now in the front window. The Mandolino website is "under construction" and there isn't any message about a closure or move on their Instagram account.

Speaking of Instagram, Paris Hilton recently stopped by for some reason...

The heiress and Queen @parishilton and princess of Long Island turned celebrity radio host @chanelomari spotted @mandolinonyc celebrating Paris Hilton’s new single “I NEED YOU”. They Loved the bruschetta and Pizza!!! #celebrity #iheartradio #toptags #instagram #glamourous #instagood #italianrestaurant #newforkcity #foodies #omg #authentic #eatwell #eatfamous #restaurantlife #italianfood #bestplacestogo #eater #eatingnewyork #mandolinonyc #tagsforlikes #unionsquarenyc

A post shared by Mandolino Ristorante (@mandolinonyc) on Feb 18, 2018 at 9:50am PST

EVG readers we spoke with generally liked the place, which offered a variety of salads, pastas and whole Neapolitan pies (no slices). Despite being next door to an NYU dorm, it didn't seem to attract a big student following. Said one reader: "It was 'fancy' pizza, a teeny bit expensive, so maybe not student-y enough."

And as previously noted, this is a tough pizzeria market right in this area ... you have Joe's around the corner on 14th Street, which serves one of the city's best slices ... there's Gotham Pizza on 12th Street and Third Avenue ... Bruno Pizza on 13th Street between Third Avenue and Second Avenue ... not to mention Danny Meyer's buzzy Martina, which opened last August on 11th Street at Third Avenue.

The Mandolino space was previously home to Sahara Citi, the hookah/hummus restaurant that closed in August 2016 after four years in business.

Atino Eyewear Optical now open on 7th Street

Atino Eyewear Optical opened earlier this month at 110 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. (This is in the former Salon Seven space.)

Owner Angel Suarez, a Brooklyn native, spent seven years at Robert Marc in the West Village and three years at Selima Optique in Soho before opening here.

The eyewear collection includes Gucci, YSL, Alexander McQueen and New York eyewear designer RVS.

"All the neighbors have been extremely friendly and loquacious," Suarez said of the shop's time so far on the block. And maybe like everyone else is thinking: "I'm just waiting for the spring weather."

The OTB parlor-bank branch post that you've been waiting for

Heading outside the usual coverage area for a moment... for this item of possible interest to people curious about former OTB parlors and new bank branches.

So! Down at the end of the Bowery at 7 Chatham Square in Chinatown, the OTB has sat empty — its lettering intact — since the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation closed in December 2010.

This past summer, a for sale sign arrived...


[July 17]

And plywood went up last month...


[Feb. 26]

And on Monday, signage for the new tenant made its debut... woo!



This replaces the Chase branch that was a few storefronts to the north.

Patch first reported on the incoming Chase back in January. Wellington Chen, executive director of the Chinatown Partnership, said that this OTB was the most profitable branch in the city.

Meanwhile, the other branch, Chase, is expected to open next month.

'Night mayor' Ariel Palitz holds her 1st public meeting

"We have a lot of talking to do": The city's first-ever nightlife mayor, @ArielPalitz, heard concerns from bar and club owners at a public meeting last night https://t.co/EI85t4qOzE pic.twitter.com/ndeXAKNhCC

— amNewYork (@amNewYork) March 27, 2018

Ariel Palitz, the East Village resident recently appointed senior executive director of the Office of Nightlife (aka Night Mayor), held her first public meeting last night... in front of a reported 100 club owners, artists and community members at Secret Project Robot in Bushwick.

There was plenty of media coverage, including at amNewYork:

The subject of rents and regulations for DIY clubs and concert halls was the biggest point of emphasis Monday night. Clubs and bars in the outer boroughs, such as Bar Sepia in Prospect Heights, have struggled to keep up with rising costs and threats of development. Owners urged Palitz to push for rent control.

“I want [you] to work to preserve our neighborhoods. Without our businesses and cultural institutions, we are nothing,” Delissa Reynolds, Bar Sepia’s former owner, said.

Rachel Nelson, the co-founder of Secret Project Robot, asked the nightlife mayor to make the city’s inspection and club regulatory process more transparent. Too many times, she said, a club will be temporarily closed because of issues found during inspections by the NYPD Multi-Agency Response to Community Hotspots, or MARCH, initiative. Some club owners said they’ve had MARCH inspections take place without warning in the middle of the night during their busy hours.

And via Bushwick Daily...

Palitz, who owned a night club in the East Village for 10 years and worked on a community board for six, said she sympathized with nightlife venue owners and the issues they face.

“I understand, I live it, I breath it and I am here to really work with you from this moment forward to do what we can to preserve, protect, enliven and make sure it's safe, make sure we’re good neighbors, make sure we’re legal, make sure we’re all playing by the rules,” Palitz told the crowd.

And the Observer...

She said there will be smaller talks and roundtables and noted the Office of Nightlife is not a “complaint line” but will have umbrella policies for different types of complaints.

“We can listen and we can be a voice when it makes sense and just to have that cornerstone, I think, is really important,” Palitz continued. “To be the voice and to be the ears and to have a place that really advocates and speaks for in a non-judgmental, non-punishing way.”

You can read more from the meeting at Fox 5 ... and BKLYNER ...

Residential rentals at the former Amato Opera on the Bowery start at $10,995

The residential conversion of the former Amato Opera House at 319 Bowery has finally reached a conclusion (the work permits arrived here in October 2014).

Listings for the three units arrived on the market yesterday, with an April 15 occupancy. Two of the apartments are going for $10,995 while the three-bedroom unit on the upper level is seeking $14,995.

Here's the description for the largest of the units, that one for $14,995:

Brand new, gut-renovated 3 bedroom unit with two balconies and gorgeous private roof deck in a fantastic location with Central Air. This beautiful apartment features stainless steel appliances in a custom chef's kitchen, dishwasher, washer & dryer, built in Miele Espresso Maker, and two marble bathrooms. Apartment is accented by recessed pinpoint halogen lighting, wide plank oak flooring, and exposed brick, and beautiful fireplace.

Available for April 15th occupancy. Former Amato Opera House,jJust a short walk to the F or 6 train and close to the M9, M21, and M14 1st Avenue SelectBus Service. Steps from some of the city's best restaurants and nightlife, including Bowery Electric and Blue & Cream.

And a few photos (via Streeteasy)...









The retail listing is still active, now at $28,995, which is down from the previous $34,995 ask.

Steve Croman's 9300 Realty is the landlord here, having picked up the property between Second Street and First Street in December 2008 for $3.7 million. (Croman is currently serving a jail sentence.)

In January 2009, Anthony Amato, the company's 88-year-old founder, announced that he had sold the building that the Opera had called home since 1964. The company closed in May 2009. Amato died in December 2011.

The four-story brick building was a cigar factory from 1899 to 1926.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Life after the Amato Opera

Costume drama on the Bowery as the Amato Opera empties out

Ruin of the Bowery nearly complete: Last season for the Amato Opera

Amato Opera looks to be getting an encore as city OKs residential use

Work permits arrive at the former Amato Opera on the Bowery

Hot Box bringing soup noodles to 2nd Avenue

An EVG reader shared this photo, noting that the signage has arrived for Hot Box at 77 Second Ave.

There's a website for the restaurant that states: "The finest soup noodles in NYC." The site remains under construction — as does the space here between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.

Ciala, which briefly served Georgian cuisine before switching to French food, had an inauspicious five-month tenure at the address. Before Ciala, Ballaro had a seven-year run, closing in February 2016.