Noted

This gap is easy

A post shared by All Citi (@citibikeboyz) on May 10, 2018 at 6:29am PDT

From the Post:

Daredevil Lower East Side cyclists are turning clunky, notoriously heavy CitiBikes into their personal stunt bikes, pulling off gravity-defying stunts with wheelies across alleys and jumps off stairs, then posting videos of the free-wheeling antics to an Instagram account called “Citibikeboyz.”

The ‘boyz’ behind the account say they actually feel safer jumping over a curb or doing a wheelie on the 45-pound, carefully-designed rides.

A post shared by All Citi (@citibikeboyz) on Nov 28, 2017 at 11:23pm PST

And by the way, Sunday marks Citi Bike's fifth anniversary in the City...there will be cake...

Hey Citi Bikers, get ready to party! We're turning 5 on May 27th and we want to celebrate with YOU! Join us on Sunday, 5/27 for a ride, CAKE, games, prizes, and more. Did we mention there was cake? Learn more at https://t.co/fbjo9mOysr pic.twitter.com/fh619mTI9o

— Citi Bike (@CitiBikeNYC) May 22, 2018

Bird watch: A nesting American robin on 3rd Street and Avenue B

An American robin recently built a nest on the fire escape outside David Browning's window on Third Street near Avenue B ... and this past weekend, two of the eggs hatched.

David shared these photos that he took during the last few days...









"I feel lucky these robins picked my fire escape for their nest," said Browning, who has lived in the building for 16 years. "It’s really awesome to watch unfold."

Mast Books launches sale ahead of short move on Avenue A

[Photo from early April]

Back on May 1 in our "Empty corner storefronts on Avenue A" post, we noted that Mast Books was moving a few storefronts away to the larger space on Avenue A at Fifth Street.

This past weekend Mast announced a sale on Instagram ahead of the relocation...

After 8 years at our current location at 66 Avenue A, Mast Books will be moving just up the block next month to 72 Avenue A! We’ve started a Moving Sale today, select books at 50% off or more!

A post shared by Mast Books (@mastbooks) on May 19, 2018 at 11:33am PDT

The storefront has sat empty since East Village Pharmacy moved to 41 Avenue A in early 2011. (There was also the brief reign of Gestations.)

As previously noted, this is a good block for retail here between Fifth Street and Fourth Street … with a coffee shop/cafe (Croissanteria), a housewares shop (Lancelotti), a bookstore (Mast), a magazine shop (Ink on A), a gift shop (Alphabets), a dry cleaners … not to mention the nail salon, lottery place and the liquor store.

Mast opened on A in May 2010.

Former Lovecraft space for rent on Avenue B

After sitting in the dark these past three-plus months, the bar-restaurant inspired by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft is now for lease at 50 Avenue B near Fourth Street.

And so this officially brings an end to Lovecraft, which opened in August 2014. (There was some speculation among neighbors that the place would reopen.)

Johnny Favorite's, the pizzeria attached to the Lovecraft space around the corner on Fourth, is also for lease... as is the former 212 Arts gallery, which recently relocated to 12th Street.



Johnny Favorite's hasn't been open since this past August. (The pizzeria debuted in April 2015.)

This listing hasn't arrived online at CityConnections just yet.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Lovecraft has not been open lately on Avenue B

24 St. Mark's Place sells for $12.9 million

There's a new owner for 24 St. Mark's Place, a 17-unit, 6-floor walk-up with Ben & Jerry's in the retail space here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

The transaction hit public records last week with an LLC linked to a Greene Street address as the seller, and an LLC in Great Neck as the buyer. The purchase price was $12.9 million.

The Traded: New York Instagram account posted that Laurence Beame sold the property to Danny Hakakian.

A Bahram (Danny) Hakakian of Great Neck was once on City Councilmember Bill de Blasio's "Slumlord Watch List," according to the Daily News in 2009.

In 2011, The Real Deal's analysis of city records found that "there were 3,020 housing code violations on the 334 units" in the 17 buildings that Hakakian reportedly owned. (He had just sold many of the properties.) That figure came out to about nine violations per unit.

Since then, however, Hakakian has not appeared on any lists, such as the 2017 Worst Landlords Watchlist via Public Advocate Letitia James.

The building was last sold for $5.3 million in January 2012, per public records.

Icon Realty shaves $4 million off of its 9th Street townhouse ask

[Image via Streeteasy]

Icon Realty's 7-level townhouse at 327 E. Ninth St. has been on the market these last six months as both a $30,000 rental and a $17-million whole-building buy.

Icon recently dropped the ask from $17 million to $13 million.

And to refresh your memory about the design and amenities... here's Streeteasy:

Designed by Isaac & Stern Architects with interiors by Paris Forino, this brand-new building was designed with a traditional limestone facade that stands as a new classic. Utilizing modern finishes that establish a new contemporary elegance, this home raises the benchmark for luxury living in the East Village.

Each sunlit floor offers open layouts and a transitional aesthetic featuring a light color palette which has been highlighted by White Appalachian Oak Floors with radiant heating and Christopher Peacock Kitchens with luxurious Italian Arabescato Marble countertops and backsplashes.

Bathrooms feature Dornbracht fixtures adorned with Zebrino Marble.

The building features outstanding private outdoor experiences with private balconies on each floor, an expansive roof deck and multiple landscaped private patio spaces with copper trimmed LED perimeter lighting and full outdoor kitchens.

The townhouse — nearly five years in the making — is at the site of a former parking lot here between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Icon's 9th Street townhouse now available for $17 million

The big dig begins for 6-story, 2-unit condo on East 9th Street

East Ninth Street parking lot will yield to 6-floor residential building

A look at Icon Realty's 9th Street building where the rentals are $30k a month

Monday's parting shot

Extras from "The Deuce" shoot today on Fourth Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery...photo by Derek Berg

A St. Mark's sinkhole

This morning around 8:30, a city garbage truck got stuck when a wheel-sized section of St. Mark's Place collapsed between Avenue A and First Avenue... EVG reader Cassondra Bazelow shared these photos...





The truck was eventually freed from sinkhole captivity ... for the time being, you may want to avoid driving over this section in any type of truck...

A (familiar) new owner for the 11th Street Bar

There's understandably cause for concern when your favorite bar-restaurant shows up on a CB3-SLA meeting agenda with a new ownership team. (The Grassroots Tavern is one recent example.)

However, in the case of the 11th Street Bar, new ownership is expected to pretty much mean business as usual.

Dan Sweeney, a bartender at the pub between Avenue A and Avenue B these past seven-plus years, is one of the principals buying the 11th Street Bar. (One of the original 11th Street Bar owners is deceased and the other moved to Texas.)

Last week, CB3's SLA committee approved the new liquor-license application from Sweeney and his partners, Diarmuid and Meghan Joye, who own two Lower East Side Bars (Donnybrook and Lucky Jack's) as well as Blue Haven on West Houston Street. (Meghan Joye is also a member of CB3, where she is economic development chair.)

Sweeney told EVG correspondent Steven that they weren't planning on many changes, aside from a new awning as well as an expanded food/snacks menu.

In addition, the 11th Street Bar will continue on with its music nights, such as the Irish sessions on Sundays and jazz on Mondays.

Sweeney, a Long Island native, was employed as a financial analyst after college. He was in 7 World Trade Center on 9/11. That experience prompted him to take a different career path. Before starting at the 11th Street Bar, he worked for 10 years at the Saint Mark's Ale House.



The 11th Street Bar opened in January 1997.

H/T Gary!

Mikey Likes It was back open this past weekend

After a three-plus-week closure, Mikey Likes It reopened on Friday evening at 199 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street.

On Friday afternoon, Mikey's posted the following message to Facebook: "After a few minor technical difficulties, our East Village location is back."

And by Saturday...


[Photo by Lola Sáenz]

Owner Michael "Mikey" Cole told EVG reader Brucie on Saturday that the machine they use to make the ice cream broke down, and it took weeks to get the right parts ordered and delivered — and to get the proper repair. (Mikey also said that they're looking into buying spare parts or another machine as a backup so this doesn't happen again.)


[Photo Saturday night at close by Brucie]

Saturday also marked the four-year anniversary for the shop.

Dian Kitchen now serving rice noodles on 9th Street

Dian Kitchen is now in soft-open mode at 435 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue ...



Dian Kitchen serves rice noodles and other small dishes from China's Yunnan province, where the owner is from... You can check out the Dian Kitchen Instagram account for some food pics.

The restaurant is open daily 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Dian Kitchen bringing food from the Yunnan Province to 9th Street

Beer and wine notice for Fire & Water on 7th Street

The CB3 meeting notice is up at 111 E. Seventh St., where East Village-based restaurateur Ravi DeRossi plans to expand his vegan empire with the opening of Fire & Water.

DeRossi's team will be seeking a beer-wine license for the address at, presumably, the June CB3-SLA meeting. (CB3 hasn't released the June schedule just yet.)



Eater first reported that DeRossi will "veganize two cuisines at once — sushi and dim sum" with Fire & Water. The restaurant, next door to his Lady Bird tapas cafe, will feature a Japanese sushi counter with 16 seats as well as a Chinese dim sum cart service in a 36-seat section.

This address has been a retail space in recent years — a showroom for furniture designer Todd Hase for one year and the Village Style Vintage Shop before that.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Ravi DeRossi bringing Fire & Water to 7th Street