The state of this Stuyvesant Street retail space

We've talked with several readers/residents dismayed by the current state of 8-14 Stuyvesant St. ... the once-vibrant corridor with four popular businesses here between Third Avenue and Ninth Street. 

Today (photos from Tuesday), the storefronts sit empty and continue to attract graffiti and wheatpaste ads (and abandoned chairs!) ...

As previously reported, Village Yokocho, Angel's Share and Panya closed in these spaces in April. Another restaurant, Sharaku in the corner space at 14 Stuyvesant St., shuttered earlier in the pandemic. (Sunrise Mart in a separate building next door on the second floor also shut down.)

Cooper Union, which leases the buildings from their owners and had subleased them to the Yoshida Restaurant Group for more than 25 years, said it was the tenants' decision to move on. (This post has more background. Yoshida had not paid rent since 2020.)

No word on what the landlord, believed to be 29 Third Ave Corporation c/o Casabella Holdings, LLC, has in store for the spaces. We haven't spotted any retail listings for the address. (A Cooper Union rep told us previously that there isn't a new building planned on this site.)

So expect this strip to remain in this state for the foreseeable future. 

These cats need a home

These signs arrived yesterday on Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue ... where Ollie's Place needs to find homes for 12 cats ASAP.

According to the signs, the nonprofit that rescues cats and puts them up for adoption has lost its lease. We don't know any more than what's posted on the signs. 

You can stop by the shop at 430 E. Ninth St. or email cats@mightymutts.org for more details. 

Ollie's arrived here in 2011. 

Thanks to Kait for the photo... and to William Klayer for also sharing the news.

Remembering East Village artist M. Henry Jones

M. Henry Jones, a longtime East Village-based animator, filmmaker and 3D photographer, died this past June at age 65.

This Thursday evening at 7, his many friends and loved ones are coming together for a memorial at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery on Second Avenue at 10th Street. 

Here's more about him and his work via the Burchfield Penney Art Center: 

In 1975 he moved to New York City, where he attended the School of Visual Arts. He soon became one of many prominent figures in the East Village alternative art space, working with several artists and musicians, and founding Snake Monkey Studios, a concept based out of his apartment on Avenue A. 

Jones' films throughout the 1970s and 1980s transcended the boundaries between moving and stagnant imagery, employing a meticulous and carefully crafted process to give viewers a unique visual experience. His early works are also representative of some of the earliest interactions between music, and films intended to complement its structure; one of Jones' most widely recognized films, "Soul City," is a stroboscopic color film created in collaboration with The Fleshtones. The two-year production of the two-minute film required each individual frame of the group's performance footage to be precisely cut, tinted and rephotographed. 

The film made its debut on the music and art scenes in 1979 and was unlike anything that had ever been done before. "Soul City," along with Jones' other animations for musicians pioneered the music video artistic concept years before MTV and the rise of music videos as we know them today.

David Hershkovits shared this about him in a July post at Legsville: 

Visiting him in his studio or running into him in the East Village neighborhood where we both still lived was an adventure in its own right. My head would spin getting lost in the weeds of his enthusiasms, but I'd always walk away elevated by the conversation, inspired by his hands-on approach and dedication, in his words, "to make the world a better place." 

And from curator Marc H. Miller of Gallery 98: 

Fans of Jones often refer to him as a “technical genius” but he is probably better described as a forward-looking visionary blessed with stubborn perseverance. Because his first works date nearly a decade before the widespread use of computers and digitization, Jones was restricted to labor-intensive analog techniques to create effects that would soon be facilitated by digital programs like Photoshop. 

Today we marvel not only at the visual effects he produced but also at the arduous, time-consuming processes he needed to use to achieve them. In hindsight, it becomes clear that the technology itself was the true subject of Jones’ work, as well as its most important component.

What is the city planning for the multipurpose courts in Tompkins Square Park?

Updated 9/19: You can find a recap of the plans for the space here.

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There are several items of potential interest on the docket tomorrow night (Sept. 15) for Community Board 3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront, & Resiliency Committee virtual meeting. 

The fourth item of the agenda, "Proposed plan for renovation of the multi-purpose court in NW corner of Tompkins Square Park," has drawn much interest to date...

There isn't any official word yet on what this "proposed plan for renovation" entails.

As you may recall, from September 2019, the skateboarding community came together to show their support for keeping the multipurpose courts (aka TF) in the northwest corner of Tompkins Square Park free of synthetic turf. 

As we reported in July 2019, the city had plans — apparently only known to residents who may have attended a Community Board 3 committee meeting in May — to cover the courts with synthetic turf, rendering the space useless for skateboarders and street hockey players, among other groups. (People have been skating at this spot since the 1980s, and it has been called "the last great meet-up spot for skateboarders and their friends in New York.") 

However, less than 24 hours before a much-publicized rally was to take place, the city announced that it would no longer cover the space in turf, originally proposed to make up for the amenities lost during the years-long gutting of East River Park.

"Tompkins Square Park has served as the epicenter of NYC skateboard culture for decades. As such, we have decided to leave the area previously proposed for synthetic in the park as is and will not move forward with creating a synthetic turf area there," Parks Department spokesperson Crystal Howard said in a statement to Patch at the time. 

There have been plans in the works titled "Tompkins Square Park Pavement Reconstruction." This project would, as the name suggests, "reconstruct pavement surfaces at Tompkins Square Park." 

While areas of the Park could stand for some resurfacing, doing so on the site that skaters use could potentially render the TF useless. As one regular told us: "When they put new asphalt in, it can take years to set ... it's the smooth ground that's great to skate on that we love. Or they could fuck it up and ruin it as a skate spot." 

Another resident we talked with wishes the Parks Department would focus on other areas needing attention in the Park, such as the restrooms, which some people think are the worst in North America. (Relief is on the way there with the expected reconstruction of the Tompkins Square Park field house next year. Or so.)

According to the Parks Department website, the design for the "Pavement Reconstruction" phase is 30% finished, with an anticipated February 2023 completion date — just for the design. (The project is also still in the procurement phase.)  

Here is the link to the Zoom registration for tomorrow night's (Sept. 15) meeting... which starts at 6:30. 

Full reveal at 15 Avenue A

Workers removed the plywood from outside the gut-renovated and taller 15 Avenue A on Monday... revealing the building's entrance and retail space here between First Street and Second Street ... 

As previously reported, the currently vacant building received a vertical extension with two new floors, moving from four to six... with five residential units (likely condos) in the making.

The new retail tenant is expected to be a wine bar/restaurant from Bushwick-based pizzeria Roberta's. (First reported in September 2019.)

Community Board 3 approved a beer-wine location for the ground floor back in September. The minutes from that meeting show that Roberta's will have 12 tables and 44 seats with one 12-foot L-shaped bar with four seats. Hours of operation were listed as 11 a.m. to midnight, with "Italian food (pizza, pasta) prepared in a full kitchen, serving food during all hours of operation, no televisions, and ambient recorded background music."

The retail space at 15 Avenue A was previously the Family Dental Center, which moved down to Essex Street in 2017. The building changed hands in early 2018 for $4.3 million, per public records. Z+G Property Group is the landlord.

Tuesday's parting shot

Seen today in Tompkins Square Park... photo by Derek Berg...

Report of a 2-alarm fire at 11-13 Avenue D

A two-alarm fire damaged several businesses and displaced residents late last night at 11-13 Avenue D between Second Street and Third Street. 

The @FDNYalerts account first noted the fire at 12:41 a.m. ...

Manhattan 2-Alarm Box 0415, 13 AVE D, MULTIPLE DWELLING A, 1 FLR STORE

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) September 13, 2022

... with the "under control" coming at 2 a.m. ...

Manhattan 2-Alarm Box 0415, 13 AVE D, MULTIPLE DWELLING A, 1 FLR STORE, Under Control

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) September 13, 2022

Nearby residents reported seeing flames coming through the roof of the six-floor building. (H/T Bobby G.) 

Video taken from the scene shows extensive damage to the three ground-floor businesses: Joesph's Convenience Store, New Chinatown Restaurant and Royal Fried Chicken. (New Chinatown Restaurant was not open at the time, as firefighters had to cut through the gate to access the establishment.)

At this time, there isn't any official word of injuries, the origin of the fire or the extent of the damage to the residential units.

Updated 8:30 a.m. 

EVG reader Bobby G. shares this photo from this morning...

Screengrabs via video by THEMAJESTIRIUM1.

Astor Wines & Spirits has new owners — its employees

Astor Wines & Spirits, founded in 1946, has been sold to its employees. 

The Fisher family, which has owned and operated the business since 1968, shared the information in a press release yesterday. Terms of the transaction, completed on Aug. 16, were not disclosed. 

Company president Andy Fisher explained the decision in a statement.

"My brother Rob, Astor's chief operating officer, and I believe the best succession plan is to entrust Astor to the people who have been so instrumental in building our enterprise," he said. "By becoming an employee-owned business, we ensure that Astor Wines & Spirits will maintain our qualitative standards in selection and service while providing the additional benefit of rewarding our outstanding team." 

Astor Wines & Spirits has approximately 75 employees. 

Here's more about how the sale worked:

The sale was made to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). In an ESOP transaction, the current stockholders sell their shares to the ESOP, and are paid over time from the company’s earnings. Shares in the newly formed ESOP are free to employees who redeem those shares at retirement.

On retirement, the redemption value of the employee’s shares is predicated on the success of the business. ESOPS generally have higher sales and job growth than non-ESOP companies. Examples of other ESOPS include Publix Super Markets, WL Gore (the makers of Gore-Tex) and Bi-Mart.

In 2006, the shop moved from Astor Place to its current home in the De Vinne Press Building at 399 Lafayette St. on the NE corner of Fourth Street. In 2008, Astor Center — an educational facility that offers classes on wine, spirits and cocktails — opened at the same location.

A new broker for 44 Avenue A

New broker signage went up late last week outside 44 Avenue A at Third Street. The long-empty (three-plus-years) storefront adjacent to Two Boots was previously the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater's East Village outpost, UCBeast.

It's a large space — 3,300 square feet over two floors, including a 99-seat theater ... with entrances on Avenue A and Third Street.

No word on the asking rent via the new listing. (Theater image about via Tri State Commercial Realty.)

Citing financial difficulties, Upright Citizens Brigade Theater closed UCBeast in February 2019. The comedy venue first opened in September 2011. UCB took over part of the expanded Two Boots empire — the video store on Avenue A and the Pioneer Theater around the corner on Third Street.

The Pioneer Theater, which screened indie, underground and cult fare, closed on Nov. 7, 2008, after an eight-year run. As owner Phil Hartman said at the time: "[I]t was always a labor of love and never commercially viable."

As noted before, we've talked with several residents who'd love to see the space used for some type of cinematic venture similar to the Metrograph, the boutique two-screen theater — which also features a restaurant, a bookstore and a lounge — down on Ludlow Street.

In the spring of 2021, Marcello Assante was looking to open Cinema Paradiso here... a cafe, restaurant, and center for cinephiles to enjoy foreign and independent features. However, Community Board 3 would not approve a full liquor license for all hours of the space, which Assante argued was necessary to help the venture be profitable.  

Signs of fall: the Feast of San Gennaro starts Thursday

The Feast of San Gennaro starts Thursday in Little Italy... and runs through Sunday, Sept. 25. 

Workers have been setting up along Mulberry Street... as seen last night... 

Two FYI dates! The 24th Annual Cannoli Eating Contest is Friday at 1 p.m. ... and save room for the 3rd Annual Zeppole Eating Competition on Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. 

Go hear Andrei Codrescu at the Bowery Poetry Club

Andrei Codrescu, the poet-author and longtime contributor to NPR's "All Things Considered," is releasing his new book, "Too Late for Nightmares," tomorrow (Sept. 13).

And tomorrow night, he'll give a reading alongside several of his colleagues at the Bowery Poetry Club. Time: 7-9 p.m. at the Club, 308 Bowery near First Street... there isn't an entry fee ... or required advance registration.

Noted (again)

As noted on Saturday... the booted Subaru (without plates) remains booted in the bus lane (sung to the tune of "Sandy" aka "Stranded at the Drive-In") outside 35 Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street. 

A reader has said the city towed the car here and left ahead of the milling on Third Street last week. So it has been here since at least Thursday.