Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Reader looking for someplace to donate books

In the spirit of this post from last October about donating clothing ...a readers asks:

Where can I donate used books in the East Village or Lower East Side? Some kid stuff, some adult stuff.

The NYPL will only take five books at a time for their fundraisers, and my kids' public school only has one fundraising book sale a year, and Project Cicero only wants new or very gently used kids' books (and only has one drive a year).

The books I have are really GOOD books, but they're not new. And I wanna purge now.

Yo landlord!

We spotted a classic Urban Etiquette Sign under the gate at the coming-soon Upright Citizens Brigade on East Third Street ...


It's about the air conditioning unit. "Please have this piece of crap repaired, replaced or turn it off!"



Signed by "the people that live here and have to listen to that crappy A/C"

You will now be able to enjoy your Joey Ramone on Joey Ramone Place


Peels, home to the Joey Ramone and situated on Joey Ramone Place, received the OK from the CB3/SLA committee Monday night to put out a sidewalk cafe. As Eater reported, "Peels' sidewalk cafe will be particularly large with an additional 46 seats outside."

46 seats? Will this make it the largest sidewalk cafe on the Bowery? Gemma, DBGB or Pulino's don't seem quite big enough for 46. I dunno. What do you think? Gemma does seem pretty big.

Womp, there it is: Tagging 147 E. Ninth St.

We usually don't note this kind of thing (or do we?), but Jim Joe/WOMP broke out the fire extinguisher here on the side of 147 First Ave. at Ninth Street, which will be demolished become a motel become luxury rentals with a yet-unknown ground-floor restaurant.

This Womp went up in the last few days...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Ninth Street and First Avenue shocker: Motel ... Hello?

Blockbuster: 147 First Ave. set for demolition

A sign switcheroo yesterday at the Amato opera

Yesterday, we reported that the Amato Opera building on the Bowery is now for sale for $6.95 million. The space was previously available as a rental for $22,500 a month.



And workers quickly changed over the sign yesterday to reflect the sale.


Curbed reminded us yesterday that the building was sold back in December 2008 for $3.7 million. Will be a tidy little profit for the owner once the building sells. Per Curbed, "319 Bowery NY, LLC" closed on the property in 2008, and that LLC shares an address with Croman Real Estate, also known as 9300 Realty. Steve Croman has been named to the Voice’s 10 Worst Landlords List.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Cooper Square, 6:12 p.m., May 17

'Man cave,' get your Noho 'man cave' here...

News release from the EV Grieve inbox...

Multi-Million Dollar NYC NoHo Loft Featuring the Ultimate Man Cave


A spectacularly authentic full floor loft residence with modern flair can be found in downtown Manhattan, in the heart of NoHo. New to the market, this wonderfully expansive home has three exposures (north, east and west) and 22 oversized windows providing incredible sunlight and quintessential views of NoHo.

With approximately 3,000 square feet of living space this phenomenal loft has 11'6" barrel vaulted ceilings, exposed brick walls, extra large open floor plan and original loft detail throughout. Remarkably extensive renovation completed, no detail has been overlooked. Current configuration boasts three bedrooms, three completely redesigned full bathrooms, a home office and stunning custom library. The custom library is the ultimate in man caves.

The current owner, an avid reader custom designed every detail down to the exquisitely carved burl oak bookcases and coffered ceiling. This man cave provides the ultimate old world refuge in a sleek modern loft. Not what you would expect to find at the end of a Missoni carpeted hallway. The private master bedroom suite includes windowed dressing room and a most exquisite en-suite master bathroom with steam shower.

The landmark boutique cooperative building is firmly planted in the middle of tree-lined historic Great Jones Street. This coveted loft is situated in a vibrant and highly desirable neighborhood with an enclave of superb galleries, boutiques and restaurants. $4,200,000

Not exactly what I thought a "man cave" would look like. My former 23-year-old neighborhood described his place as a "man cave," though, despite the Megan Fox poster, he was kidding.

The listing is here.

Where to get your 100-ounce beer today on Avenue A


Cafetasia on Avenue A. Photo sent along by Shawn Chittle.

CB3 highlights: East Village Brewery and Beer Shop postponed; 200 Avenue A denied

Several readers provided some quick feedback on last night's CB3/SLA meeting.

Applications within Resolution Areas

• To be determined, 14 Ave. B (op)

This is the proposed East Village Brewery and Beer Shop that we reported on yesterday.

POSTPONED

The committee postponed a vote on this because, as one resident told me, "the secret investors were not present, they couldn't identify where they were going to get the stuff to build the brewery and they had no brewmaster!"

Alterations/Transfers/Upgrades

• To be Determined (Not A Bookstore LLC), 200 Ave A (trans/op) (Superdive)

The art gallery bar idea.

DENIED

Plenty of drama on this item. Board member David McWater quickly called for a vote, so residents in attendance didn't need to speak out against the applicant. Per an attendee: "In an unprecedented feat a transfer was denied. Something that almost never happens." (Shawn Chittle has more on this vote in the comments.)

• To be Determined, 500 E 11th St (trans/op) (Angels & Kings)

DENIED

Updated:

Eater has more meeting coverage here.

Burning down the house, again

"According to Billboard and the late Hilly Kristal’s daughter, a documentary on CBGB, legendary New York City venue and birthplace of punk rock, is in the works." (Crawdaddy, with a hat tip to Karate Boogaloo.)

The folk hero of East Fifth Street

A reader shares this incredible true story from early Monday morning...

[Not the actual bus in question]

I guess the 6-12 people on the safari party bus were caught a bit off-guard last night when I began trying to kick their door in. Awoken moments before, at 4, by the shouting and music, I went to the window and saw what it was and quickly grabbed my pants, shoes, thought of getting a bat, but didn’t want to wake the kids by opening their baseball gear. It was their sleep that I was trying to preserve after all.

When I went outside I wasn’t thinking that I’d be trying to kick their door in. Maybe I tried to push the door open to scream at them to move on? I don’t quite remember...except that the door was shut hard and that I was giving it my all now, repeatedly...wham! wham! wham!

As I was doing this I think I was screaming to get the bus OFF this street (maybe not as nicely as that). At one point I exchanged some words with someone baiting me at one of the two open windows, he telling me how he was going to fuck me up and holding a kitchen scissors as if it was a knife, and me saying to come on out bitch as I leapt up and tried to grab his face off.

I should have, of course, thrown a punch but didn’t, and they weren’t coming out of the bus either. There were no real fighters there, myself included, thank god, just a lot of testosterone, booze, etc. The kid turned away when someone said let’s move down the street.

And, the bus was up and running and as I was thinking down the street isn’t going to work for me, a half drunk can of beer came whizzing by my head. I followed the bus on foot, opened a recycle bin or two and pulled out some bottles, 32oz-ers I think, three of them, and I was running now. The bus thought about parking for a sec, and then decided to hightail it as they saw me running up behind them, except that the light was against them. They paused before running it as I hurled bottle #1 at their rear and as they floored it up the Bowery I hit them once again with #2.

I do wish that I had just knocked on their door and kindly asked them to turn down their music and move their party elsewhere. Oh well, perhaps this might help other prospective traveling living rooms to steer clear of East Fifth Street.

More trouble for Ray's; additional $2k fine levied, food tossed

Bob Arihood at Neither More Nor Less has a report on yesterday's DOH closure of Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A. According to a news report, despite the DOH closure, Ray decided to stay open so that he could make his rent. Unfortunately, the DOH returned at 4:30 yesterday afternoon and slapped Ray with a $2,000 fine for defying the order. In addition, as Bob reports, Ray had to toss all of his food products and immediately close. Bob has a lot more details here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
DOH shutters Ray's Candy Store

The Amato Opera building is for sale now for $6.95 million



First, a mini recap: Last July, CB3 gave its blessing for the owners of the V Bars to open a "bar/restaurant/theater experience" in the former Amato Opera on the Bowery. However, as DNAinfo reported in late March, no work has been done on the space and its remains on the market. NYCRS has the listing at $22,500 a month.

So! This weekend, an Amato Opera listing appeared at Corcoran. Its price: $6.95 million. Here's the listing:

The Amato Opera house was an historic property founded in 1964. The original building was constructed in 1899. It was the home to the celebrated opera company for nearly a half-century since before closing in May 2009. It is a four-story building, which was converted into a theatre with rehearsal and storage space, 107-seats, a 20-foot stage and a tiny orchestra pit. It measures approximately 5,429 sq., is a four-story masonry building which stands on a 22'33" X 93' lot, and measures 22'4" wide by 84' deep and c. 7'5" wide at the rear. The property, located in a C6-1 Commercial District (R7 Residential District equivalent), is well suited for commercial, residential or mix use. The building has additional air rights. Property shark states a maximum of 9,576 sf and/or a maximum height of 85 ft. The building is currently 52.4 ft high. All due diligence has to be done by buyer and we are only providing information publicly displayed on property shark with no guarantees. 319 Bowery is between Bleecker and Bond. The neighborhood is now lined with luxury hotels, fashionable restaurants and stylish fashion stores. Bring your architect and your imagination and don't miss this excellent opportunity.

Noho-branded new art for Extra Place


Oh, that's subtle.