Retail space on the market at 20 St. Mark's Place

A new retail-restaurant for lease banner hangs on 20 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

We've been wondering what might be happening with this landmarked building. Hard to believe that the Grassroots Tavern has been gone this long already, closing after service on New Year’s Eve 2017... ending a 42-year run in the lower space. The upstairs retail tenant, Sounds, shut down in October 2015.

As noted many times before, No. 20, known as the Daniel LeRoy House, was built in 1832. It received landmark status in 1971 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Past lives of this subterranean space — via Daytonian in Manhattan — include a theater-saloon called Paul Falk's Tivoli Garden in the 1870s... in the 1930s, the Hungarian Cafe and Restaurant resided here before becoming a temperance saloon called the Growler.

After the Grassroots closed, Bob Precious tried to open a bar-pub here, but those plans never materialized after 18 months. 

Applicants for Ichibantei had been on the CB3-SLA agenda multiple times dating to November 2018 for a liquor license for a new restaurant in the former Sounds storefront. There was speculation that they were also taking the GR space.

And in recent years, we've seen some extensive gut renovations occurring inside the former Grassroots, where some pretty cool murals were uncovered from a previous business life. 

Meanwhile, the new retail listing for No. 20 isn't online just yet. 

Previously on EV Grieve:
• New owner lined up for the Grassroots Tavern on St. Mark's Place

• 20 St. Mark's Place, home of the Grassroots Tavern, has been sold

• Last call at the Grassroots Tavern

• Behold these murals uncovered behind the bar at the former Grassroots Tavern on St. Mark's Place

Sale of 109 E. 9th St. made official

The five-story building at 109 E. Ninth St. that housed the now-closed Central Bar recently changed hands — as of June 28 — for $3.35 million, according to the @TradedNY account.

No. 109 between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue features 13 residential units and a retail space. 

The longtime owner was listed as a trust with a Los Angeles address. The name of the new owner has not hit public records just yet.

According to the New York Business Journal: "The property's current zoning allows for up to 15,000 buildable square feet and the possibility for future development or air rights sales."

The Central Bar, the bi-level sports bar-lounge, closed this past March. In a letter to patrons, the bar owners noted: "Our landlord has sold the building and the new owners will not be keeping us as tenants."

Some years back, the address was home to Pageant Book & Print Shop, and its storefront served as a location for Neil Simon's "Chapter Two" and Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters." 

You can now find Pageant Print Shop at 69 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Fun City Tattoo expands on St. Mark's Place

Fun City Tattoo has expanded into the adjacent storefront at 94 St. Mark's Place here between Avenue A and First Avenue. (Thanks to Steven for the pic.) 

The business, which dates to the 1970s, arrived on St. Mark's Place in 1989... with Big Steve and Maxx Starr taking over as owners in July 2013. 

The empty space next to Fun City was previously O! Nigiri The Rice Ball Factory, which closed early on during the pandemic last year.

Storm damage: reports of trees and limbs down; Ace Bar's curbside structure collapses

The high winds from this evening's thunderstorm KO'd a tree outside 323 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B... coming to rest on a car in the process, as these photos from a longtime reader show...

Hard to tell from the pics, but it appears the car may have been spared serious damage... and no injuries. 

Meanwhile on Avenue B at Seventh Street (thanks @theenemieslist1!) ...

From 11th Street and Second Avenue (not 12th as ID'd on the tweet)...

Someone's car got WRECK'D on 12th and 2nd pic.twitter.com/Nftt1r2Os5

— Paul Gale (@ImPaulGale) July 6, 2021

And on Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, the curbside structure outside Ace Bar flipped over... (thank you @tjack411) ... also no injuries reported here...

The FDNY helped stack up the remains of the structure...

A news box for The Shadow

There's a new news box with free copies of The Shadow — billed as the city's only underground newspaper — on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place (SW corner) ... 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared these photos from yesterday... the box contains the two most recent issues... 

"This is the first time we've put out a free box. We thought we'd give it a try and see how it goes," publisher Chris Flash told Stacie. "We hope that we can turn others on to publishing as well."

Look for another box coming soon to Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place. 

The Shadow got its start in March 1989.

The Ottendorfer Library branch reopens today

The Ottendorfer Library reopens today at 135 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. 

This is the first time that Ottendorfer has been open since March 2020... and as of today, this location — as well the rest of the NYPL branches, including Tompkins Square — is offering nearly full service: general library use and seating, unlimited browsing, computer access and more. In-person programming and classes will return in the coming months. (Tompkins Square had been open just for grab-and-go service. Hamilton Fish Park Library on East Houston remains closed for renovations.)

Ottendorfer will also be featuring a new series of paintings from East Village-based artist, educator (and parent) EiLeen Doster that celebrates summer in the city. 

Hours: Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Masks are required for patrons at all NYPL branches.

City offering free grab-and-go meals to New Yorkers in need this summer

This summer, the Department of Education will continue to offer free grab-and-go meals to all New Yorkers. (The program started up again on June 28.) 

Per the Summer Meals website: 

• No registration, documentation or ID is required to receive a free breakfast or lunch

• Multiple meals can be picked up at once 

• Breakfast and lunch service times are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (click links to view menus) 

• Vegetarian meals are available at all locations 

• All meals are grab and go, not to be consumed on-site

Local schools offering grab-and-go meals include:

• P.S. 20, 166 Essex St. at East Houston

• East Side Community School, 420 E. 12th St. between Avenue B and Avenue C

• The STAR Academy/P.S. 63, 121 E. Third St. between Avenue A and First Avenue

• P.S. 64, 600 E. Sixth St. at Avenue B

Visit this link for the full list of meal locations. This link has a map of all free meal programs in the city. 

The city launched the community-meal program in April 2020 during the early days of the pandemic. Gothamist reported that, to date, the DOE has distributed more than 130 million grab-and-go meals since then.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Where residents can get a free meal during the week  

Classic University Place steakhouse Knickerbocker Bar & Grill is open once again

The Knickerbocker Bar & Grill returned to service on June 29 here on the southeast corner of Ninth Street and University Place. They are also offering, for the first time in its 44-year history, limited sidewalk seating.

The timeless NYC steakhouse had been closed since March 15, 2020. And there was some understandable concern that the Knickerbocker might not be returning. (For instance, there wasn't any messaging coming from the restaurant about the pandemic-related closure.)

However, as Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite reported at New York back in March, the restaurant would reopen in the coming weeks and — even better! — with a new 12-year lease.

Turns out that they needed a new exhaust system in the restaurant, a project that took place during part of the state-mandated shutdown.

During the pandemic, the Knickerbocker received a PPP loan and raised nearly $70,000 via a GoFundMe, whose contributors include nearby neighbor F. Murray Abraham (woo! "Mythic Quest"). They were also reportedly able to renegotiate a lease with the building's landlord. 

For now, the Knickerbocker is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m. The live jazz will return at a later date...       

Stuyvesant Gourmet Deli announces itself on the corner of Avenue A and 14th Street

Signage for the Stuyvesant Gourmet Deli has arrived at the southwest corner of 14th Street and Avenue A. (The flower vendor has been there now about a month.)

As noted previously, some of the gang from the old Stuyvesant Market on the southeast corner of 14th Street and Avenue A (RIP May 2010) will be behind the counter here.

The market takes over from Dion Cleaners, which closed in November after 35 years in business.

No word on an opening date. But probably soon.

Monday's parting shots

For whatever reason(s) the gates were locked to the main lawn in Tompkins Square Park on this holiday Monday... which forced people to jump the fence... photos by Derek Berg...

One of Amelia and Christo's red-tailed hawk offspring has died

One of Amelia and Christo's red-tailed hawk fledglings died last night. 

On Friday afternoon, the young hawk was spotted in a dazed state on a fire escape behind a building on Seventh Street. (Thank you to Lauren of 7th Street for sharing these photos.)

According to residents, the hawk "flapped clumsily out of a tree onto our fire escape. Clearly not well, damaged wing or leg?"

Rob Mastrianni of the NYC Urban Park Rangers transported the chick to the Wild Bird Fund on the Upper West Side for observation. There was blood in the hawk's mouth. However, as Goggla noted in her post today, an official cause of death has not been determined. The young hawk was said to have a spinal injury.

Amelia and Christo, the resident red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square Park, had three chicks this spring. One died from unknown causes in May.

The surviving two fledglings had been quite active in recent weeks, learning to fly and hunt.

And this is not the first time that the resident red-tailed hawks have suffered the loss of their fledglings. In 2018 and 2019, at least one of the chicks died from rodenticide poisoning.

Signing off with part of Goggla's post:

[W]e've noticed several dead rats in Tompkins Square Park and in the surrounding neighborhood over the last couple of weeks. This is NOT normal and anyone finding a dead rat should report it to 311. If one is found within the park, please notify a park employee so they can dispose of it. We have concerns that with all the trash in and around the park the last several weeks, people could be using rodenticide. We currently have an outstanding inquiry with the Parks Department to confirm whether or not they are still employing nontoxic dry ice for rat control.

A mutual aid pop-up shop today in Tompkins Square Park

The Freedom Art Collective is hosting its monthly mutual aid pop-up in Tompkins Square Park today from 5 to 9:45 p.m. 

Sales from the art, clothing and jewelry will benefit East Village Mutual Aid as well as a BIPOC dad trying to secure safe housing for his three children. (Details here.)