Xunta space to become Nine

Xunta, the former Spanish tapas joint at 174 First Avenue near 11th Street, closed last October... Work on the space continues... and EV Grieve reader Eric learned that the new tenant will be a ... Spanish Tapas place called Nine. And the new owners are on the docket at next Monday's CB3/SLA meeting...(And the Girls That Spit graffiti on the gate has already been removed...)

Stop Work orders issued at former hookah hotspot

We pointed out last week that illegal work was being done at the former Layaly space at 98 Avenue B.... On Saturday, we spotted the work continuing...



... and on Sunday, the city placed a "stop work order" on the property....

THE 2X 3 WOODEN MADE SCAFFOLDING IS UNSAFE IT IS SHAKY AND IN DANGER OF COLLAPSING. IT IS SHIFTING ERECTED 30FT HIGH WITH NO PEDESTRIAN PROTECTION. NO PERMITS POSSIBLE- CLR- CIVIL SERVANT CARPENTER

Previously on EV Grieve:
A rebirth of hookah hotspot Layaly?

Mikey's Pet Shop for rent

Last fall, we covered the saga of Mikey's Pet Shop on Seventh Street near Avenue A... the shop eventually closed...



At the time, some readers and Mikey's patrons passed along several tidbits....one reader said that she was told a nail salon is already in place to take over the store... and that Mikey's had to close because the landlord was reportedly raising the rent to $20,000 a month.

A "for rent" sign is now out front....



According to the listing:

Approx 600 SF

$4,500/month

Available Immediately

Available for any use as per Zoning

So no nail salon — yet. It will cost a bundle to turn this place into any kind of eatery...but that's my guess now...something to complement Butter Lane, Porchetta and The Bourgeois Pig on this stretch of Seventh Street between First Avenue and Avenue A....

Previously on EV Grieve:
Mikey's Pet Shop closing at the end of the month

Action at the former Cookout Gill, where vandals beheaded their mascot

Next door to the new Tallgrass Burger ... something is going into the former Cookout Grill... We haven't heard what just yet. But from the looks of things, there's a way to go...



Hope they hurry, though: We just can't take the sight of beheaded restaurant mascots much longer... of course, this was the worst restaurant mascot in restaurant mascot history...





Previously on EV Grieve:
Another cartoon beheading in the East Village

The inevitable iPad backlash

Surprised this wasn't done sooner. On St. Mark's near First Avenue.

Are the "bad old days" here again...again?

From the Times:

It is impossible to know if the recent increase in violent crime in the city is legitimate cause for concern that the “bad old days” of crime may return, or if it simply represents a blip in a trend line continuing a descent of nearly two decades.

Homicides are up nearly 22 percent in 2010, compared with the same period last year. Shootings are up in the city, to 293 from 257, a 14 percent increase. And there are more victims of gunfire: 351 through April 4, up from 318 in the same period a year ago.

But it is not statistics, but rather the tenor and pace of 2010’s spasm of disorder that are suggestive of a bygone era, and have again raised questions about whether New York City is finally at the end of crime declines.

Read the whole article here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Trend alert! The bad old days are here again!

We're No. 10!

New York's cover story this week is on The Most Livable Neighborhoods in New York ... and it should provide plenty of discussion ... the editors have created this quantitative index (below) of the most satisfying places to live in... and the East Village finishes... No. 10! Here's there explanation:

The neighborhood with the highest concentration of bars in the city (if not the world) scores off the charts in all the expected areas: retail diversity, restaurant density, proximity to nightlife, and desirability to the creative classes, with only schools and affordability truly lacking. With a typical two-bedroom running at about $3,300 per month, it’s expensive. But thanks to nearby NYU, the East Village has more income and ethnic diversity than most of its neighbors.

So the East Village is No. 1 in bars/nightlife... and 49th out of 50 for housing cost? Surprised?

Overall, Park Slope is No. 1 while those LES upstarts (heh) are No. 2. Read the whole thing here.

Graceland is closing in the next 10 days

Last Thursday we reported that Graceland, the corner deli on Avenue A and Second Street, is going to be forced to close because the landlord wants a substantial rent hike.



Several EV Grieve readers who shop at Graceland, which opened here in 1991 with a $4,000 monthly rent, got confirmation of the closing this past weekend.

Per EV Grieve reader Ryan:

Talked to people at Graceland last night and they confirmed the landlord was asking for a 35%+ raise on rent. I'll be really pissed ... there's a lot of fun characters that work there, and with the continued storefront wasteland of Avenue A, who knows what we'll get in there, if anything.

And EV Grieve frequent commenter BaHa, who also blogs at With Leftovers, was told by a worker on Friday that Graceland closes in 10 days. The Graceland employee said they clear about $800 a day... "so, with a rent increase to $20K, they didn't have much choice. We were both choking up a bit."

This New York magazine feature from 2005 has more about Graceland's owner, Grace Dancyger.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Nicky's staying in the East Village; Graceland moving out?

What's coming to the Robot Daycare/Missing Sock/Mime Academy space

Well, for those of you have have been following the goofy sign saga at 70 E. First St. ...



According to an EV Grieve operative, the space will be home to a smoothie shop. No joke. Opens on May 15.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Another day, another wacky new store sign on First Street

Superdive now only open two nights a week -- but new hours are on the way

Uh-oh, though -- new spring hours on Monday, May 3. Does this mean the joint will be open during the week when/if the new owners take over?

The former Atomic Passion space is for rent

As Jeremiah pointed out on Friday, Atomic Passion on East Ninth Street has closed... and the space has quickly gone on the market...




I'm curious what happened to the two cutouts who adorned the wall above the store for so many years...


[Bottom photo via Jeremiah]

Zerza moving to Avenue B

The long-empty Carne Vale space on Avenue B near Fourth Street finally has a new tenant...(and the Carne Vale Web site is still alive...)



... it appears to be Zerza, the Mediterranean/Moroccan Restaurant & Bar that's now at 308 E. Sixth St.



They're on the docket for the next CB3/SLA meeting next Monday. According to the Zerza Web site, they feature hookas after 10 p.m. ... and there is belly dancing on the weekend ... I know nothing about Zerza, but the mere idea of hookahs and belly dancing in an Avenue B bar/restaurant brings up unpleasant memories of Le Souk and Layaly... and the Horus Cafe... By the way, as you may know, Carne Vale was owned by the Jacob brothers, who also run Le Souk...

Le Souk owners offer new sign to explain what happened

A new sign adorns the door at the former bane of Avenue B, Le Souk... and how are they describing what went down there...?

Tallgrass Burger shows its beef and wings sign

The work on Tallgrass Burger at the former Elvie's Turo-Turo on First Avenue continues...



...and we now have a better idea of their menu agenda...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Burger joint fad continues: Select Burger coming to First Avenue (aka Burger Alley)