EV Grieve

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Office building for 3 St. Mark's Place appears stalled for now

As we reported earlier this month, workers at the development site on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place removed the barriers from around the work site... allowing pedestrians to use the sidewalks once again — for the first time since the barricades arrived in June 2020 at this gateway to the East Village...

Several weeks later, there's not much going on at the site as work appears to have stopped. (The excavator has moved from one spot to another.) Meanwhile, there aren't any posted work permits on the plywood...

In addition, the rendering for the proposed office building has been discarded inside the pit, where little progress can be detected (soil testing started in March 2020)...

What's all this mean? Well, don't expect construction to commence anytime soon.

In August, The Real Deal reported that Madison Realty Capital was moving to foreclose on Real Estate Equities Corp.'s (REEC) leasehold interest at 3 St. Mark's Place.

Some numbers and background from TRD's report:

Madison has owned the $48 million loan package backed by REEC's East Village property since 2019. The real-estate private equity firm acquired the debt from South Korean financial services firm Hana Financial group, which provided REEC $79.1 million of debt and sold the $48 million portion to Madison Realty Capital.

Madison filed a complaint with the state Supreme Court in Manhattan, alleging that REEC defaulted on the $48 million mortgage, which combines an acquisition loan and construction loans.

A REEC spokesperson said that they "are working on a recapitalization plan and are optimistic that this will be resolved soon."

It's not known where REEC is with this plan.

According to the Department of Buildings, there's a Stop Work Order "due to contractor withdrawal" dated Sept. 27.

The partially approved work permits dated from May show that the building is now 9 floors — 45,207 square feet in total, with 3,400 square feet designated for a commercial facility.

As you may recall, a 10-story office building had been in the works here.

In October 2020, the City Council's Zoning Subcommittee voted down REEC's application to transfer air rights from the landmarked 4 St. Marks Place to the new building across the street.

With the air-rights transfer, REEC would have been allowed to build 8,386 square feet larger than the current zoning allows here.

REEC picked up the 99-year leasehold for the corner properties for nearly $150 million in November 2017. The previous buildings here, which included retail tenants such as Korilla BBQ, the Continental and McDonald's, were demolished in 2019.

Bottom two photos by Steven

Openings: Chichen Itzá on 10th Street

Chichen Itzá is now open at 277 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

We don't know too much about the Mexican restaurant. (We heard that it was affiliated with the now-closed Chichen Itzá Mexican Grill in Sunset Park.)

There are photocopies (of photocopies?) of the menu out front for passersby... there are plenty of standbys here, including variety of tacos and chicken enchiladas...

They are open from 3-10:30 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday with an 11 p.m. close Thursdays through Saturdays. Chichen Itzá also offers a weekend brunch service from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. And a beer-wine license is in the works.

This address was home for 11 years to the Brindle Room, whose closure was made official in June. Owner Jeremy Spector told us that he is looking for a new location for his restaurant that served "eclectic comfort food."

Omakase sushi bar coming to former upholstery shop on 7th Street

An omakase sushi bar is in the works for 208 E. Seventh St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.

The applicant, Linda Wang, had received administrative approval for a beer-wine license from Community Board 3 this month.

According to the questionnaire on file at the CB3 website (PDF here), the still-unnamed establishment (reservations only) will be in service from noon to 10 p.m., with seats for 12-16 patrons.

Wang is a partner in Shinn East, which opened in May 2020 at 119 E. Seventh St. She is also an owner of Ume in Williamsburg.

The space was, since 2013, C.Y. Upholstery. The shop run by Charles Young quietly closed late last year.

A wrap at the Bowery Mural Wall

David Flores has wrapped up work at the Bowery Mural Wall after several days.

According to a description of the work, the mosaic-style mural depicts "a motorcyclist driving into the street spreading florals out the back of the bike. The goal of the piece is to bring an element of fun to the daily lives of the community."

EVG photo from last night

Monday, October 18, 2021

You had me at cello: Details on a free recital tomorrow evening at Most Holy Redeemer

Passing this along from the folks at Most Holy Redeemer/Nativity Parish on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

Tomorrow night, there's a cello and piano recital from 7:30-8:30 ... featuring Roric Cunningham, currently a student at Juilliard, and Clara Bartz, who serves as the church's director of music...

Tickets are free, and you can sign up for them here.

A moment on the L-train platform this afternoon

As seen on the eastbound Third Avenue L platform this afternoon ... thanks to Adrienne Dee-Olsen for the clip!

Signs of new development along the retail strip of 250 E. Houston St.

The old retail section of this strip of storefronts at 250 E. Houston St. is apparently coming down to make way for an unspecified new development.

As we've reported, there was a storefront shuffle along this stretch between Avenue A and Avenue B. Kapri Cleaners and the FedEx Office Print & Ship Center moved from the unrenovated spaces to new storefronts closer to the entrance to the 13-story residential building at No. 250. Other businesses, including the Dunkin'/Baskin-Robbins and China Town, have closed.

And there is actually a demolition permit on file with the city for the address dating to July. (Not sure how we missed it in previous tours of this DOB bin.) The permit has not yet been approved, per public records.

In the ALL-CAPS style of the DOB:

PARTIAL DEMOLITION OF 1 STORY BUILDING (COMMERCIAL SPACES). PARTIAL DEMOLITION TO BE COMPLETED PARTIALLY BY HAND AND EQUIPMENT (EXCAVATOR).

And back on Thursday, a crew was here between Avenue A and Avenue B with a Davey drill... presumably taking soil samples (thanks to Salim for the photo!) ...

There has been a Davey drill sighting before the start of every new development in recent years (like here ... and here... and here) in the neighborhood.

And this Google Maps aerial view shows how much space there is at the property should the developer desire to drop in a new building ...

Via Della Pace owners opening an Italian deli on 4th Street

Photo by Derek Berg

As we've been reporting, Via Della Pace is reopening in a new space at 87 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Turns out co-owner Giovanni Bartocci and company have another venture on the block. Work has been taking place at 60 E. Fourth St. in recent weeks on an Italian deli/cafe going by, we're told, Via Della Scrofa.

The handpainted signage lists items such as espresso, biscotti, tramezzini, chinotto and porchetta.

No word on opening dates for either business.

The 17-year-old Via Della Pace lost its home during the devastating fire on the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street in December 2020.

The Italian restaurant had been closed since the previous fire on Feb. 10, 2020. At the time, the owners were unsure if they would ever reopen on Seventh Street. The fire last Dec. 5 took care of that, as workers had to demolish the five-floor building.

A campaign to landmark the building that housed A Gathering of Tribes on 3rd Street

Steve Cannon founded A Gathering of Tribes at 285 E. Third St. between Avenues C and D in 1991. Through the years, A Gathering of the Tribes evolved into a salon of sorts in Cannon's apartment for artists to meet and exchange ideas.

There's now a campaign to landmark the federal-style building that housed the arts and cultural organization.

Here's more via the Gathering of Tribes website:

The Landmarks Preservation Commission recently made a commitment to "ensure diversity and inclusion in historical landmark designations, to make sure that we are telling the stories of all New Yorkers."

Let’s hold them to it. Currently, the vast majority of historical landmarks in NYC honor the accomplishments of white, cis/het men from affluent backgrounds.

Landmarking A Gathering of the Tribes would honor Steve Cannon’s legacy of radical inclusion, and protect a space that served as a second home and one-of-a-kind creative hub to countless diverse, revolutionary NYC artists for decades. Landmark status would protect this already historic building from demolition now, and in the future.

The organization, with the help of Village Preservation, is collecting letters of support for the landmarking through this Wednesday. (A previous effort to landmark the building was not successful in 2011.) This link has a sample letter and info about where to send a letter.

Cannon, a blind poet, playwright, and novelist, was evicted from the building following a lengthy legal battle in April 2014. Cannon died in July 2019 at age 84.

A Gathering of Tribes continues on today, providing "a platform for diverse, traditionally under-represented artists and writers, amplifying the emerging and established revolutionary voices of our time."

Image via

A speakeasy and restaurant concept slated for 221 2nd Ave.

A group of hospitality veterans is looking to open a two-concept establishment at 221 Second Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street. (Thanks to Steven for the photo last week.)

Reps for Best Speakeasy NYC will appear before Community Board 3's SLA committee tonight to discuss their speakeasy, Sincerely, Ophelia, and restaurant, Chicken & the Egg, for the space.

According to the questionnaire posted on the CB3 website (PDF here), the space will feature 11 tables for 44 guests and a 10-seat bar. Proposed hours for the restaurant are noon to 4 a.m., with the bar serving from 5 p.m. to 4 a.m.

The questionnaire includes this sample menu (click on the image for more details)...