Mysterious 84 2nd Ave. sells again, this time for $7.8 million

[Photo yesterday by Derek Berg]

Ownership of 84 Second Ave. has changed hands now for the second time in two years.

In its real-estate transaction listings this week, the Times noted that the property was sold for $7.8 million. (The paperwork hit public records on May 16.)

Per the Times:

A local private investor has bought this vacant four-and-a-half-story mixed-use walk-up in the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. The 4,812-square-foot building, to be gutted and renovated, was once the site of Sopolsky’s Dress Suits, which rented dinner jackets and tuxedos, and in the mid-19th century served as a temporary home for women. Any development of air rights, totaling 4,788 square feet, is subject to approval by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Buyer: 84 2nd Avenue Owner L.L.C.

Seller: West 26th Street L.L.C.

The buyer shares the address of Highpoint Property Group, a real-estate development company.

According to public records, the building sold in May 2016 for $5.1 million. Betty Sopolsky via an LLC was the seller, with the buyer listed as West 26th Street L.L.C.

The previous set of owners were looking to make some major renovations to this walk-up between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. Landlords of buildings located within a designated New York City historic district must receive a permit from the Landmarks Preservation Commission for major work.

Among other things, there were plans to create four residential units (condos?). Those work permits had yet to receive city approval. (The city disapproved them last October, per the Department of Buildings.)

There was also a petition in circulation in opposition to the planned alterations to the rear of the building.

In January, CB3's Landmark's Committee issued a partial Certificate of Appropriateness for the address. (They issued a similar partial approval in October 2017.)

According to the official minutes from the January meeting, CB3 OK'd the front façade plan and opposed the rear yard addition. Among other points, CB3 officials said that "great care should be taken to monitor this fragile building and its neighboring buildings."

As we understand it, the previous owner didn't follow through with the plans with the LPC, instead selling the building.

As we've noted several times through the years, the address has a dark past, which includes the still-unsolved murder of Helen Sopolsky, proprietor of the family's tailor shop who was found bludgeoned to death in 1974, per an article at the time.

The storefront has remained empty since her death in 1974.


[Undated image via]

The new owners haven't filed any new work permits with the city to date.

The front door was open yesterday, revealing a gutted interior ... and door to a garden out back, as these photos by Derek Berg show...





Previously on EV Grieve:
Plywood and a petition at 84 2nd Ave.

Workers clearing out the mysterious 84 2nd Ave. storefront

Renovations proposed for mysterious 84 2nd Ave.

Papilles now open on 7th Street

Papilles debuted this week at 127 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Here's what Florence Fabricant at the Times had to say about it in a recap of openings around the city:

Andrea Calstier and Elena Oliver, a French couple and fledgling restaurateurs in their early 20s, have joined with a more experienced partner, Nicolas Thoni, to create an intimate spot with an open kitchen. Mr. Calstier’s menu is rooted in French-Mediterranean fare. The name of the restaurant translates to taste buds.

And a few interior shots via the restaurant's Instagram account...

A post shared by Papilles restaurant (@papillesnyc) on Jun 5, 2018 at 4:53pm PDT

A post shared by Papilles restaurant (@papillesnyc) on May 30, 2018 at 8:17pm PDT

This space was previously home in recent years to Le Village and Table Verte, both via owner Didier Pawlicki.

More about Sauce Pizzeria, opening later this summer on 12th Street

In late May we noted that signs were in the windows at 345 E. 12th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue for a new restaurant called Sauce Pizzeria.

EVG reader Adam C. thought that the logo looked similar to that of Sauce Restaurant on Allen and Rivington.

Good eye, Adam. A rep confirmed that Sauce Restaurant and Sauce Pizzeria are from the same ownership.

Here's what the rep shared:

Sauce Pizzeria will be a nostalgic pizza parlor, where homemade sauces are the star, each simmering pot visible upon entering the quaint yet eclectic space. At the counter, guests will be able to choose from a selection of signature pies, composed salads, and signature bowls.

Owner Adam Elzer has a heavy “sauce on everything” philosophy and will offer extra sides of sauce with all orders to enhance meals.

Sauce Pizzeria is slated to open at the end of the summer.

So long to the 3 rhinos

Late last night, workers packed up "The Last Three" sculpture on Astor Place ... Peter Feld shared these top two photos...



...and here's the rhino-less Astor Place this morning...





The 17-foot sculpture had been here since March.

Australian artists Gillie and Marc Schattner recreated the last three Northern White Rhinos – Sudan, Najin, and Fatu – "to inspire, educate and mobilize the global community to raise their voices and affect real change against illegal rhino poaching trade."

The two have yet to disclose the new NYC location of "The Last Three" ...

#thelastthree are leaving their home at @astorplacenyc after three marvellous months of raising awareness for the northern white rhinos! ❤️🦏🦏🦏❤️ Thank you everyone who visited and a big thank you to the team at Astor Place for all the love and support! PS - New location of The Last Three in NYC TBA! Stay tuned! #nyc #gillieandmarcart #astorplace #goodbyerhinos #sculpture #publicart #couple

A post shared by 💛GILLIE AND MARC💛 (@gillieandmarcart) on Jun 12, 2018 at 4:37pm PDT

NIKO East Village debuts on Avenue D and 6th Street

The construction phase is winding down at 79-89 Avenue D, the site of a 12-story retail-residential building via L+M Development Partners.

The banner announcing the building's name here between Seventh Street and Sixth Street was recently unveiled — say hi to NIKO East Village (H/T Dave on 7th!) ...



Not sure exactly what NIKO stands for in this usage. There's a teaser website where potential renters can request more info on the units.

In April, the affordable housing lottery launched for the building. NIKO includes 28 permanently affordable units (out of 110 total). Residents who qualify for the housing have until June 26 to apply for one of the units. Find the details here.

Amenities at the address — officially 751 E. Sixth St. — will include a fitness center, landscaped roof deck and an outdoor terrace.

The lots previously housed one-level storefronts that included a Rite Aid, which relocated one block north to the ground floor of the Arabella 101 building. Rite Aid signed a lease to return to the retail space at No. 79.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Space that houses Rite Aid on Avenue D hits market for $22.5 million

Report: New 12-story, mixed-use building in the works for Avenue D

Permit pre-filed for new 12-floor building at 79-89 Avenue D

Flowers inside skateboard planter on 7th Street destroyed

[Reader photo from April]

Back in April, a small bed of flowers inside a tree guard made out of skateboard decks on Seventh Street between Avenue A and Avenue B drew praise from neighbors.

Someone even took the time to leave a sign noting: "Thanks skateboard gardener! The flowers are awesome!"

Unfortunately, most of the flowers were destroyed. Per a reader: "Someone killed all the sunflowers and wildflowers planted in the skateboard planter [Monday] night."







We even heard from the Skateboard Gardener, who said: "Very frustrated people couldn’t leave them alone to grow."

And here are some photos of the plot coming to life earlier this year...





Previously on EV Grieve:
Props for the Skateboard Gardener of 7th Street

Tarallucci e Vino East Village reopened last evening after a months-long renovation

Tarallucci e Vino, which closed in February for renovations, officially reopened last night in its home of 16 years on 10th Street and First Avenue. The owners announced the news on Instagram...

East Village friends: Join us in celebrating the re-opening of our original location TONIGHT at 5pm!

A post shared by Tarallucci e Vino (@taralluccinyc) on Jun 12, 2018 at 11:38am PDT

The cafe's founder, Luca Di Pietro, now had five locations in NYC. The East Village outpost was his first.

Updated

Here's Di Pietro today outside the cafe...


[Photo by Steven]

Report: Tokyo-based yakitori restaurant with a Michelin star coming to Elizabeth Street

The Tokyo-based Torishiki is opening its first U.S. outpost over on Elizabeth Street between East Houston and Bleecker this September.

In its real-estate transaction listings yesterday, The New York Times reported that the restaurant's owners signed a 15-year lease for 292 Elizabeth St., the home until February of Siggy's Good Food.

The rent is roughly $23,500 a month, per the Times.

Eater's guide to essential Tokyo dining described the Michelin-starred restaurant this way:

Torishiki takes the basics of yakitori — morsels of chicken that are skewered, grilled, and basted — and elevates them to another level. Owner Yoshiteru Ikegawa uses virtually every part of his premium shamo gamecocks, tending the skewers over his glowing charcoal grill with artisan intensity. Among his specialties: chochin, the rich yolk of an unhatched egg; grilled tofu, rich with chicken fat; and the warming, nourishing chicken broth that closes every meal.

As for Siggy's, the owner of the all-organic restaurant cited the economy and bureaucracy for the reasons behind the closure on Elizabeth Street after nearly five years in business.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Bad news for fans of Siggy's Good Food

Expect to see some 'Kitchen' crews

There's a decent chance that you might see the crew for "The Kitchen" some time tomorrow night or Thursday morning... as the posted flyers show, the production will be on multiple avenues and side streets... including parts of Cooper Square, Second Avenue, First Avenue ...



The drama, set in Hell's Kitchen during the 1970s, follows the wives of Irish mobsters (Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss) who team up to take over running the business after their husbands are sent to prison. Andrea Berloff is the writer and first-time director.

Blank slate at the Bowery Mural Wall

Banksy's time on the Bowery Mural Wall has apparently come to an end ... the wall has been painted over.

In March, Banksy used the space as a protest over the incarceration of Turkish-Kurdish painter and journalist Zehra Doğan.

No word at the moment about who might be next to showcase his or her work here at East Houston.

Here's the 1st look at the new building proposed for the 2nd Avenue explosion site

This coming Monday, CB3's Landmarks Committee will review an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for the new residential building proposed at 119-121 Second Ave. — the site of the deadly gas explosion site from March 2015.

Ahead of that meeting, CB3 has posted the 39-page application on its website. (PDF here.)

The materials include renderings via Morris Adjimi Architects of the proposed building...






[View from along 7th Street]

As previously reported, Shaky Cohen's Nexus Building Development Group filed plans in February for the development.

According to the Nexus website, 119-121 Second Ave. "is a high-end condominium building ... with seven floors including 21 apartments and a retail space. Residential units are one, two and three bedrooms."

Cohen paid $9.15 million for the empty lots at No. 119 and 121 between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

In a previously recorded transaction, Ezra Wibowo paid $6 million for the adjacent property at 123 Second Ave. A source told the Post in March 2017 that this was a long-term investment. "He’s not in a rush to build or develop."

The lot sits within the the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. CB3's committee will hear the proposal before it eventually continues on to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. (The CB3 meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. on Monday at Grace Church School, 46 Cooper Square.)

The meeting notice arrived on the fence at the property yesterday...


[Photo by Chris Rowland]

Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa died in the explosion on March 26, 2015. The defendants in the case, including Maria Hrynenko, the former owner of No. 119 and 121, are expected to go to trial in September.

Previously.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive: 2nd Avenue explosion sites have a new owner

Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street

Soil testing underway at the 2nd Avenue explosion site

Help for Juan Carlo, the flower vendor at Bueno East Mart on Avenue A

This flyer was posted in a residential building on Third Street near Avenue A.


[Click to go big]

According to the flyer, Juan Carlo, who works overnight selling flowers at the Bueno East Mart on the southeast corner of Third Street and Avenue A, was "brutally beaten up by two assailants" early Saturday morning.

"He sustained a broken nose and lacerations to his face and arm. Several hours later — because he didn't want to leave his station unattended — he made his way to Beth Israel."

Neighbors have started a fund to help with his medical bills. There's a donation jar now at Mary O's, the Irish bar-restaurant at 32 Avenue A between Third Street and Second Street.

Updated 5 p.m.

Patch reports that Carlo was trying to stop the two men from stealing flowers. The suspects reportedly punched Carlo and slammed him to the ground.

H/T Carl Bentsen