Construction watch: 94-96 Avenue A

Workers were spotted starting last Thursday at 94-96 Avenue A, the building on the northeast corner of Avenue A and Sixth Street.

As we reported in May 2019, the new owner of No. 94-96 filed plans with the city for a one-floor extension at the building that previously housed Sidewalk Bar and Restaurant.



That work is underway, as you can hear the sound of jackhammers coming from the roof. And this work is apparently considered essential in the eyes of the city... the Essential Active Construction Site lists this address under the sub-category of "essential facility" and "affordable housing." To date, there hasn't been any public announcements about an affordable housing component here...



According to the approved work permit, there'll be an interior renovation of the fourth-floor apartments, and an addition of a fifth floor. The three buildings in this assemblage/zoning lot — 94 Avenue A, 96 Avenue A and 501 E. Sixth St. — will be combined into one, per the permit.

The building's current square footage will increase from 8,304 to 10,151. Despite the expansion, the taller No. 94-96 will have 10 residential units instead of the current 11. The filing also shows that there are plans for a roof deck.

This corner was home for 32-plus years to the Sidewalk, which closed in February 2019.

Penn South Capital paid $9.6 million for the property in March 2019, per public records. Pini Milstein, who retired, was the principal owner of the building as well as the operator of the Sidewalk.

A bar-restaurant called August Laura opened in the building's retail space last October. They are currently closed during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• 1-floor expansion planned for Avenue A building that housed the Sidewalk

• The building housing the former Sidewalk sells on Avenue A

Wednesday's parting shots

The east side of Tompkins Square Park — kinda toward the Eighth Street exit at Avenue B — is looking like a watercolor painting in recent days... as these photos via Goggla show...

Noted

First ice cream truck sighting of 2020... Avenue A at Seventh Street today... and I did not see any takers while the truck was parked there...

Avant Garden continuing to offer free meals to those in need

[Image via @avantgardennyc]

As a reminder... Avant Garden is offering free plant-based meals to anyone in need ... this happens Wednesdays through Sundays, 4 to 9 p.m., here at 130 E. Seventh St. just west of Avenue A...



In March, Ravi DeRossi's East Village restaurants were giving out free lunches to NYC school kids.

Another new building permit filed for the long-empty lot at 89 1st Ave.

Another set of new building permits are now on file with the city for a development at 89 First Ave., the long-empty lot between Fifth Street and Sixth Street.

According to the DOB filings, the proposed building is six floors with eight residential units and ground-floor retail. In total, the structure is 8,183 square feet.

This is the second time in recent years that plans have been filed for a new building here. In 2017, the city never approved plans for a similar-sized structure — eight units, six floors.

As previously reported, Florence Toledano was the owner of this lot. In 2013, public records show that the deed for the property was transferred from the Florence Toledano Living Trust to 89 First Avenue LLC. The DOB permit lists Daniel Toledano as the manager of the property. (We do not know the relationship between Daniel Toledano and Florence Toledano. One reader said Daniel is a nephew of Florence.)

Daniel Toledano is still listed as the property owner and developer of the project.

In December 2017, workers dismantled the sculpture fence that had lined the lot for years (since the late 1980s, per one estimate). The fence was created at the former Gas Station (aka Art Gallery Space 2B) on Avenue B and Second Street by Claire Kalemkeris and Johnny Swing in collaboration with Linus Coraggio.


[EVG photo from 2017]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will this long-empty lot on 1st Avenue yield to affordable housing?

Drilling and soil testing commences at the long-empty lot at 89 1st Ave.

Workers remove the sculpture fence and prep lot at 89 1st Ave.

Vegan mainstay Caravan of Dreams is back open on 6th Street

Caravan of Dreams, the vegan-raw food mainstay (since 1991) at 405 E. Sixth St., has reopened here between Avenue A and First Avenue.

For now, this EVG favorite is open daily from 1-8 p.m. for takeout and delivery. You can visit their Facebook page here to check out their current menu options.

Checking in on Anyway Cafe

Anyway Cafe, the wholly unique Russian restaurant-vodka-bar-live music venue at 34 E. Second St. near Second Avenue, is currently closed ... and management recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to help make it through the COVID-19 crisis.

I asked Natasha Stolichnaya, a bar manager who's also one of Anyway's performers, how things were going.

Well, I wish I could give you some uplifting quote ... but the reality is that just like most people nowadays we have a lot of anxiety going on. And of course, there are more questions than answers. Even though we have a lot of regulars, would they come back? And if some of them do, would it be enough for us to stay afloat until better times?

And what about our musicians, the soul of our place? Will it be OK for them to perform, maybe not the full bands but maybe duos or trios? We absolutely have to and will support them to the best of our ability!

It's certainly an emotional rollercoaster. One day it's all doom and gloom, and the next day we say — no worries, we'll be fine, just gotta get creative. After all, we are New Yorkers damn it — we've been through so much already.

For the dogs: Shake and Tail now open on 11th Street

From the inbox: Longtime EVG regular Liberation Iannillo brings us word of a new dog-grooming (and walking!) business that opened recently at 330 E. 11th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. They were originally set to open in March, but that didn't happen.

You can find the website for Shake and Tail right here.

A sunny spring day disrupted by SantaCon flashbacks

As seen on First Avenue and 10th Street today by Mary Jane Glaser...

Faces of 2nd Avenue

A moment today on Second Avenue near St. Mark's Place via Derek Berg...

These East Village residents are helping feed families in Queens during the COVID-19 crisis

A group of longtime residents have come together to form East Village Loves Queens.

Here's more about their volunteer mission via the EVG inbox:

Although the East Village has taken a significant hit from COVID-19, our neighbors in Queens have been completely devastated. Our friends at Hungry Monks in Ridgewood, Queens, are one of the only pantry and food services still standing, and they have fed more than 10,000 families since COVID-19 hit, using up a year's worth of their budget in a month.

As long time East Villagers, we wanted to find a way to support our friends there. We’ve been volunteering to create and run a number of local campaigns and the response and generosity from East Villagers has been amazing. When it came to getting support for the Hungry Monks, we wanted to create something that felt more local for people, so that they felt more connected and inclined to support.

Thanks to our building manager, we were able to turn our basement into an East Village outpost where local residents can drop off pantry items or mail them to us, and we deliver them directly to Hungry Monks in Queens twice per week. So far the response has been great and our network has been extremely generous.

On two recent Mondays, Ali Sahin, the owner of C&B Cafe on Seventh Street near Avenue B, has donated his space to the group. On May 4, EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by C&B to document the volunteers, who were aiming on this day to cook 700 meals and prepare 100 family-size pantry packs.















If you're interested in helping, the group is collecting pantry items and other donations. Visit their website here for more details and contact information.

Cafe Mogador is open now in the evenings for takeout and delivery

Cafe Mogador, a mainstay of St. Mark's Place these past 37 years, reopened last evening here between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Moving forward, they'll be open nightly from 5-10 for takeout and delivery.

Meanwhile, more and more East Village restaurants-bars-cafes are back in action of late, a fairly lengthy list that includes Kanoyama, Davey's Ice Cream (now with sandwiches for lunch!), El Camion, Takahachi, China Town Chinese Restaurant, East Village Social and Mighty Quinn's Barbecue, among others.

To help you sort out all these reopenings, the volunteers are continuing to update the map created in collaboration with the East Village Community Coalition. You can access the map at this link.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Updating: Here's a map of what's open in the East Village