EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

Suspected arson destroys East Farmington-based Hope for the Future Ministries, which delivers meals to Tompkins Square Park (Newsday)

A Kafkaesque moment on the train (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

La Mama Experimental Theater Club on Fourth Street now a historical landmark (City Room)

Take a visit to the bars of 1964 New York (This Ain't the Summer of Love)

More then-and-now photos (Flaming Pablum)

92Y Tribeca has a great lineup of 1970s NYC on film tonight (BoweryBoogie)

Velvet Underground sort of reuniting for a NYPL event on Dec. 8 (Stupefaction)

What the old Yankee Stadium looked like the day before the team's World Series parade (Demolition of Yankee Stadium)

SPURA to sit empty for another 50 years? (The Lo-Down)

Thanksgiving at the Plaza -- in 1899 (Ephemeral NY)

Some cool Pulaski Bridge art (New York Shitty)

And the Voice unearths a bevy of L train tweets...

Craigslist ad of the day

Asian Gogo Dancers for Fashion Event: fun, outgoing (East Village)

When: This Friday, 11/20
Where: East Village
What: Private event with club-like atmosphere
Seeking: Experienced club dancers, must be thin and pretty, very outgoing, comfortable with very skimpy outfits
Costumes and Makeup: Will be provided

Must respond with: Measurements, phone number, link to photos (Myspace, Facebook)
Include either a resume or a quick list of dancing experience

Million dollar condos hit the market on East Second Street

Not too long ago, 229 E. Second St. looked like this:



And so we've been watching the space's slow transformation into fancy housing. With a roof deck. (According to the DOB, the ground floor will be used for a community facility.)





And now!



The work at 229 E. Second St. between Avenue B and Avenue C appears to be wrapping up... five units, ranging from $1.2 to $1.9 million, are on the market. Let's take a look!

Here's a listing for the priciest of the lot:

229 East 2nd Street is a brand new boutique condominium that combines modern design and sleek sophistication into the highest standard of living, while providing a tranquil intimate atmosphere. This beautiful 2 bedroom/ 2 ½ bath Garden Townhome features double height ceilings in the living and dining area with floor to ceiling windows creating a sun drenched grand space that opens up to your 693 SF private garden! Even more impressive is the additional room that overlooks the double-heighted living room - ideal for an office, a media room, a guest bedroom or an entertainment den. Access your home from the ground floor or by using the key-locked elevator that opens up to your second floor. This residence is impeccably appointed and features beautiful hard wood flooring, high beamed ceilings and warm inviting color tones. Large open kitchens are equipped with the finest European appliances: Liebherr refrigerator, Wolf cooking range, Miele Dishwasher and wine cooler. Adding further to the ambience are Caesar stone countertops and state of the art cabinetry. All apartments have floor to ceiling windows and glass enclosed terraces off the Living Areas lending itself to either entertaining or quiet relaxation. Situated at the edge of East Village and Lower East Side, 229 East 2nd Street boasts exceptional access to the New Museum, Bowery Hotel, Whole Foods, restaurants and endless entertainment. 421a Tax Abatement. Laundry room in the basement. BEAUTY and VALUE!!

Indeed!






No mention of the empty lot next door...or the fire station across the street (positives, in my estimation!)



There's much more to discuss about this block...with fancy conversions getting ready down the street...



...including the mysterious 209 E. Second St., which Curbed has noted.



As Andrew Roth pointed out in "Infamous Manhattan," the intersection of East Second Street and Avenue B "probably saw more heroin retailing than any other spot on Earth." Until Operation Pressure Point. Another day for that one, maybe.

Previously on EV Grieve:
229 E. Second St. sprouts a roof deck

Outside the Bowery Bazaar

At the Bowery Bazaar in the E2E4 building on Bowery between Third Street and Fourth Street.




And has anyone been inside?

Also out front...a light show of sorts above the storefront...



Previously.

Despite hard-hitting expose, plant at Kurve worse off than ever

Flashback to Nov. 9!

How dry I am: That forgotten little plant at Kurve



Now! The poor thing has been kicked over!




Next time you're there ordering, say, the coconut galangal soup and kurobuto pork belly with rice porridge, please ask your waitstaff to kindly pick up the plant....

Also at Kurve, a hanging

Last evening, Kurve employees were putting something up in the window...



...hmmm...The Michelin Star Award? For what?

The Cooper Square Hotel officially unveils its new graffiti mural

Well, last night was the big party at the Cooper Square Hotel to unveil its new graffiti project....which is now all illuminated for us to enjoy...



Meanwhile! Inside the hotel, yours truly was hobnobbing with a bevy of beauties...







OK, OK. None of this is true. Except the first part about the mural party. I was NOT invited, for some reason. Oversight, most likely. Yeah, I just typed in "Party at Cooper Square Hotel" in Google and...

MEANWHILE:
Bob Arihood has a great shot of the mural here.

Vandals continue to violate the sanctity of the "East Village is dead" mural

Oh, wait....

Aside from Superdive, at least four other bars are on the market in the East Village

Superdive's sale is listed on the Tower Brokerage site... where there are several other bars on the block...one on Avenue A, two on Avenue B and Plan B on 10th Street...

The listings provide a few clues....




I don't have much to compare this to... With Superdive, this makes five bars for sale in the same area of the East Village. Seems like a lot to me. Business as usual? Or is there something more happening here? People want to cash out while they can? I'm open to theories, if there are any....

Own most of East 13th Street for about $48 million

You know those omnipresent "apartment for rent/open house/never a fee" signs on 13th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue?



Yeah, well, all those buildings are now for sale.



Here's part of the description for 416-418 E. 13th St.:

The roof has been updated and most of the free market apartments are newly renovated. With only 1 rent controlled tenant and 2 rent stabilized tenants in the building, the balance of the units are free market making this property an excellent investment opportunity with no vacancy and a tremendous income stream.

Another East Third Street building on the block

You know, we were recently speculating about what 10-room, $15-million home was for sale on East Third Street.

When we were over at the Massey Knakal site, we did spot this.



Not our building, but 179 E. Third St. -- between Avenue A and Avenue B -- is going for $13.6 million.

Previously.

Another East Village pizza parlor closes

Yesterday morning, Chris O'Leary noted that Singas Famous Pizza (below, in better days) on Second Avenue between 11th Street and 12th Street had paper covering its windows...



When I walked by last night, the joint was packed up and, apparently, gone...



Previously on EV Grieve:
The Pizza Shop has closed: "The rent was too high"

What East Village bar will be expanding nationally today?

Yesterday came word that Nevada Smith's and Superdive are considering expanding their bars nationwide. True or not (at least in the case of Superdive), nothing shows financial health more than rumors of going national!

Kind of related. A new Beauty Bar outpost is opening in Chicago early next year.

The Cooper Square Hotel's attempt to fit in with the neighborhood ready to be unveiled

As Curbed noted, the Cooper Square Hotel is throwing a bash tonight to unveil its new graffiti mural...

Here's what the mural looked like as of Saturday...



And we did a little research to learn more about the origins of the Homer Simpson tribute.

Also, for the record, I want to be clear that I really like the work of the four graffiti artists -- Joyce Pensato, Nick 1, Vizie and Shinique Smith -- who were hired to create this mural. And I'm happy that they have such a high-profile canvas to show their work. My problem is with the Cooper Square Hotel's lame attempt to suddenly try to fit into the neighborhood. As the Post reported:

Klus Ortleib, the hotel's managing partner, wants the place to fit in with the edgy local art scene. "When I came up with the idea, people said I was crazy," he said.

Anyway! We assume that the mural is finished. The bushes that were removed to make way for the crane...



...have been replanted.



Sort of. I'm not much of a gardener, but I always thought plant life did better in the ground if you first took off the burlap around its roots...



Previously.