Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Deadline extended to apply to serve on a Community Board

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer's office has extended the application period for the 2020-2022 class of Manhattan Community Board members.

You now have until Feb. 14 to apply. Here's another look at the info:

Interested in what gets built in your community and how government works to deliver services in your neighborhood? Apply to join one of Manhattan's 12 Community Boards.

Every Community Board has 50 seats which are filled for two-year terms by volunteers, who are selected by the Borough President and local City Council members. Half the seats are up for appointment or reappointment every year.

Community Boards get a seat at the table in high-stakes land use, real estate, and zoning negotiations, and they work directly with city agencies to influence how government services are delivered at the neighborhood level.

If you'd like to serve as a member of your Community Board, apply online here! Community Board applications will be open until 5 p.m. on Feb. 14.

Physical applications (downloadable here as a PDF) may also be dropped off at the Manhattan Borough President’s Office or mailed and postmarked by Feb. 14, but online submissions are strongly preferred.

You can find more details about our local board — Community Board 3 — via this link.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Tuesday's parting shot



Move-out day at Addiction NYC on St. Mark's Place ... photo today by Derek Berg...

Wallace was found



Updated 2:55. Turns out Wallace was found yesterday and is back home.

Several readers have shared these lost dog posters that were spotted along Avenue A and Avenue B in recent days. Wallace went missing back on Saturday.

H/T Gojira

A reading series at Odessa



Odessa has been playing host to a literary reading series in recent weeks on Wednesday evenings.

There hadn't been much notice about the events. Now, however, there's a sign up for the readings...



The series, which takes place in the back of the diner (near the bar) on Wednesday evenings, features several guests as well as an open-mic portion. There's a suggested donation of $5 as well as a request to order something from Odessa. (Ed pick: challah grilled cheese!)

Michael Graves, who started the Phoenix Reading Series in the West Village in the late 1990s, is the organizer. Amy Barone, Ron Kolm and Karen Neuberg are the featured poets tomorrow (Wednesday) night. The reading starts at 6 p.m. and runs to 8-9 p.m.

Demolition watch: 270 E. 2nd St.



Workers have prepped the four-story 270 E. Second St. for demolition here between Avenue C and Avenue D.

This is the former home of Barrier Free Living (BFL), the nonprofit that provides transitional housing for survivors of domestic violence with disabilities.

In December 2018, BFL officials unveiled plans for a new state-of-the-art facility to replace its current building.

As a reminder, here's a rendering of the new 12-floor structure, designed by JCJ Architecture ...



And here's more from the news release about the new No. 270:

The new 65,000-square foot facility will provide permanent housing specifically to meet the needs of this population and will include 74 apartments, administrative offices, a rear garden, an elevated outdoor recreation area, and community and support spaces.

The building will challenge assumptions about the aesthetics associated with supportive housing and create a more direct and engaged relationship for residents with the surrounding environment. The new facility is intended to efficiently serve the needs of BFL’s clients, to provide a sense of pride, place and home for residents, and to create a unique architectural presence in the rapidly changing neighborhood where the East Village and Lower East Side converge.

Inspired by the parameters of Mayor de Blasio’s Housing NYC Plan, this project will provide affordable housing and support services for a grossly underserved population. The project team will work alongside agencies and stakeholders including NY State Home and Community Renewal, ESSHI and NY City Board of Standards & Appeals. Funding for related services and rent support will come from the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative.

BFL closed here in April 2018 after 28 years in service. The project was originally expected to be complete in late 2021.

Prince Tea House expanding to the East Village with an outpost on 10th Street



Prince Tea House, with six locations in NYC, is expanding this year, adding several new outposts — including one at 204 E. 10th St. just east of Second Avenue.

The new shop will be located in the currently empty space that last housed the Le Pressing dry cleaners (and perhaps next door?).

Expect some storefront renovations here in the weeks/months ahead... here's a look at the rending for the new 10th Street ...


This is a tea-heavy area with several established shops nearby, including Cha-An on Ninth Street ... and Uluh Tea House opened right around the corner on Second Avenue in November 2018.

A new tree nest for El Jardin del Paraiso



In recent weeks, several EVG readers shared the news that a new tree nest is under construction in El Jardin del Paraiso, the community garden on Fourth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D.

Back in the summer, the octagonal treehouse that East Village resident Roderick Romero created in 2003 was removed...


[Photo by Roderick Romero]

Apparently a garden committee member thought the 16-year-old structure had become decrepit. (This article for the Times in 2003 has more background on Romero's structure.)

Romero is not behind this new work, which he complimented in an email.

Monday, January 27, 2020

Monday's parting shot



From the Instagram account (@lesecologyctr) of the Lower East Side Ecology Center: A bald eagle was spotted perched near the Houston Street baseball fields this morning in East River Park.

Also, as previously reported, you can sign the petition to help save the Center's community compost program at this link.

Get well soon, Ray!


[Photo from Friday morning]

Ray Alvarez, the tireless proprietor of Ray's Candy Store at 113 Avenue A, was admitted to the hospital this past Thursday morning for emergency hernia surgery.

Several Ray's regulars have said that he's resting comfortably and doing fine. Word from the shop is that Ray, who just turned 87, wants to return as soon as possible (like, today).

And it sounds as if he's OK. According to Peter Brownscombe, who paid Ray a visit at Beth Israel: "Apparently his first action on coming out of the anesthetic was to get on his phone and order more potatoes for the store."

H/T Dave on 7th and Stacie Joy!

Factory Tamal bringing its freshly made tamales to 4th Street



Factory Tamal, which offers a variety of popular tamales, egg sandwiches and panini from a small take-out space on lower Ludlow Street, is opening an outpost at 63 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

The signage arrived a little earlier this month with an expected soft opening on Friday. (And this is a second location — they're keeping the current space at 23 Ludlow St.)

Owner Fernando Lopez makes his own masa — "faithful to the ancient Mayan way," as the Times put it in an August 2017 feature. And the result of his hard work? "Mr. Lopez’s tamales are beautifully fluffy, clingy and crumbly at once, a texture that calls to mind the airiest of poundcakes."

Check out this Eater video from Jan. 2 for a behind-the-scenes look at the process...



No. 63 previously housed Miscelanea NY, the Mexican cafe-market that closed back in June after owner Guillaume Guevara decided to return to his native Mexico.

Thanks to Vinny & O for the photo!

Kissaki debuts on the Bowery this week



Kissaki opens on Wednesday here at 319 Bowery between First Street and Second Street. (We first reported on this arrival back on Sept. 3.)

Mark Garcia, a former chef and partner of sushi bar Gaijin in Astoria, is among those behind this venture that features a 16-seat Omakase bar and a small dining area. There's a cocktail lounge coming soon.

According to the Kissaki website, they'll offer lunch and dinner service. The omakase menu in the evening runs $160 for 12 pieces of seasonal nigiri, three kaiseki-style prepared plates and one dessert.

As previously reported, the restaurant is the first retail tenant for the former Amato Opera. In January 2009, Anthony Amato, the company's 88-year-old founder, announced that he had sold the building that was home to the opera since 1964. Amato Opera staged its last performance in May 2009. (Earlier history: The four-story brick building was a cigar factory from 1899 to 1926.)

Steve Croman bought No. 319 in December 2008 for $3.7 million. The retail space had been on and off the market since at least 2012.

The retail listing had originally asked $34,995. A post on @TradedNY noted the 1,800-square-foot space went for $200 per square foot.

No. 319 also features three luxury residences, with monthly rents between $8,995 and $10,995.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Life after the Amato Opera

Costume drama on the Bowery as the Amato Opera empties out

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

Work permits arrive at the former Amato Opera on the Bowery

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

2nd acts: Sushi counter for the former Amato Opera on the Bowery

Avenue A storefront watch



Obscura Antiques and Oddities has officially closed, and a for rent sign now hangs in the storefront at 207 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street.

A variety of factors led to the closure. "Our lease is up at the end of February and we are a bit burned out," co-owner Mike Zohn told us back in November. "The business has changed as has the neighborhood, plus the expense and overhead are high."

The asking rent for the space is $4,995 — all uses considered, per the listing.

And on Avenue A at Ninth Street... a for rent notice is up at the recently shuttered Arepa Factory. The listing hasn't made it online just yet.



Meanwhile, the corner space — the former Gelarto — has been leased. The brokers didn't disclose who the new tenant is, however.

These spaces, overseen by two difference landlords — Icon on the corner and Steve Croman next door — were home to Cafe Pick Me Up until May 2015...



One last nearby storefront to note... Three Seat Espresso is now officially closed (as of Jan. 19) at 137 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street...



No word on what might be coming to this space.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to Obscura Antiques and Oddities, closing soon on Avenue A

After 20-plus years in the East Village, Obscura Antiques and Oddities is closing

Arepa Factory closes up on Avenue A

Three Seat Espresso will close by the end of 2019 on Avenue A; founder blames Starbucks