A cleaner Ray's still not clean enough for the DOH

Speaking of Ray's Candy Store... We've heard from several residents who worked till the wee hours of the morning helping Ray clean up his shop after the DOH closure on Monday.

Unfortunately, despite an improvement, the cleaner space wasn't enough to pass muster with the DOH. As Bob Arihood reports at Neither More Nor Less, an inspector found more mouse droppings upon a return visit yesterday afternoon.

Also in front of Ray's — Jewels wiggles his dick at the NYPD. Bob has that post here.

356 E. Eighth St. back on the market

The building at 356 E. Eighth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D has been on the market a few times in recent years...

And the listing appeared again last Friday. It's now going for $3.75 million. Here are the details via Streeteasy:

AMAZING EAST VILLAGE TOWNHOUSE OPPORTUNITYPOSSIBLE OPTION TO CREATE A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE, OWNERS RESIDENCE PLUS INCOME, OR INVESTMENT PROPERTY. This historic townhouse is located on a beautiful tree-lined street, just a block away from Tompkins Square Park in the chic East Village! With approx. 3000sf already built, and 6211sf in total potential use, this is the ultimate investment opportunity. The building consists of 4 fair market apartments and a basement level. The current rent-roll potential is $144,000, but with minor renovations to each unit could reach $164,000 (potential cap-rate over 4%). The building borders a huge and beautiful planted garden offering views from the building’s east side. The lot size is 18.5 X 97.5 and the building is 18.5 X 40 with the potential to extend at least 25 additional feet from the back of the building (the first floor has already been extended). First floor: Owner’s bi-level floor thru with private deck and garden. Second Floor: 2 bedroom floorthru with one bath paying $3000/mo. Third Floor: 1 bed with home office, wide plank floors, amazing garden views paying $2600/mo. Third Floor: 2 bedroom, great views paying $2825/mo. BUILDING CAN BE DELIVERED VACANT WITHIN 90 DAYS. The annual taxes are an exceptionally low $1,139! BE THE THIS BEAUTIFUL TOWNHOUSE’S FIRST OWNER IN ALMOST 30 YEARS

Previous listings didn't mention anything about being delivered "vacant" though.

With restaurant approval, an end to the GIANT SUSHI ROLL photos on First Street

As I first reported on May 6, August Cardona, owner of Dell'Anima, L'Artusi and Anfora, is buying the Bowery Wine Company and expanding to the empty storefronts next door on East First Street.

On Monday day, the CB3/SLA committee approved this transfer. According to Eater: "They didn't say much about the food but spoke eloquently about their project: they want to be really good and active neighbors."

The good news here is that this means an end to the GIANT photos of the sushi rolls and ties that Avalon Bowery Place has subjected us to for the last few years.

It's just embarrassing.

Previously on EV Grieve:
August Cardona buying Bowery Wine Company, expanding next door

In case you miss the sun

Burn your retinas on this.

Seventh Street and Second Avenue one day not too long ago when the sun was coming up in the morning.

Can you 'adjust and grind?' — Van Leeuwen is hiring

The Van Leeuwen location on Seventh Street must be opening soon given the "immediate start" part.

Previously.

Joey Ramone would have been 60 today

And to celebrate ... at the Irving Plaza tonight...(I don't know if any tickets are left...)

And because you haven't seen this since the last time that I posted the clip...

35 Cooper Square no longer suitable for framing

This evening.

Meanwhile, next to the Cooper Square Hotel...

The town cars are lining up for Special Event of the Night.

Just before 5, when you can never find a free jet ski

Photo by Bobby Williams.

For your rainy evening commute

EV Grieve International Jet Sports Boating Association correspondent Bobby Williams took this shot the other day on 10th Street near Avenue C. And yes, this is Mayor Bloomberg's first public jet-ski-sharing program that will encourage commuters to rent jet skis for 30-minute intervals in a zone south of midtown Manhattan and some surrounding neighborhoods when it's raining. Largely geared at those running errands or with short commutes, the jet-ski share proposes allowing renters to pick up jet skis from one location, and drop them off at another, with stations located every few blocks.

New East Village Brewery hopes to win you over with a stolen menu

On Monday, we reported that something called the East Village Brewery and Beer Shop hopes to take over the space at 14 Avenue B. We even ran photos of the menu the budding brewers taped to the front door.

Well! As several readers noted in the comments, the menu was exactly the same as two-star Brooklyn restaurant Prime Meats.

Indeed, Eater did the detective work today, and put the menus in a side-by-side comparison.

Exact matches.

The brewmasters were on Monday night's CB3/SLA agenda, but the committee postponed the vote because "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."

Plus, they don't have a menu, apparently.

Off to a fine start!

This find awaits your 8-track collection

EV Grieve reader BH discovered this on East Fourth Street. And in case you were curious, the panel on the bottom part is not a speaker — it's a light show box. Oh yeah.

Dessert Row lives: Here comes the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop to Seventh Street

Xoom, the nearly 18-month-old smoothie shop, moved out from its Seventh Street location in March. (Jennifer at Xoom is planning to open in another East Village location.)

Meanwhile! Serious Eats (via Eater) reports that the folks behind the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck are opening a shop in the former Xoom space. And this will likely happen next month or so.

Meanwhile! (Again!) Big Gay Ice Cream is the second trucker to open an ice cream shop on Seventh Street. We expect to find Van Leeuwen open soon near Second Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
On East Seventh Street: Dessert Row seems a little deserted -- Chocolate Bar has closed

Keep on truckin': Van Leeuwen opening dessert shop on Seventh Street

A bad sign at the former countercultural theater on Avenue B

So, the other day I noticed that Chico (and friends) had created new murals on the long-abandoned former church on Avenue B between 11th Street and 12th Street...

Then I noticed this. An asbestos abatement notice for work starting May 24.

I've been waiting for something to happen to this space for the last few years. It was a movie theater for many years, first the Bijou in 1926, then the Charles. (The theater closed in 1975.) A fire nearly destroyed the building in October 2006.



There had been talk of fixing up the place for the tenant — the Elim Pentecostal Church. But those plans never panned out. Last June, I toured the space with the Rev. Carlos Torres. (See that post here.)

He had plans to sell the space to a developer. The ground-floor would house the church and a community center. The upper levels of the new building would be for (likely, luxury) housing. He didn't have a timeline for any of this; and there seemed to be a lot of red tape involved in any plans. However, what was clear: The building was beyond repair and needed to come down. (Having been inside, I can vouch that it would take a fortune and a few miracles to get this place up to code.)

So the asbestos sign. Asbestos removal often precedes a demolition. However, there aren't any permits on file for the space with the DOB.

I'd love to see this space returned to its previous life as a theater, such as when it was the Charles here in 1966. Ha,right?



(Read more about this addresses' history as a theater here.)

Regardless, I hope that any new plans do include a rebuilt church and community center along with the nice apartments. Anything other than another lost block of just high-end housing in the East Village.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Revival planned for church and theater on Avenue B

Inside the Charles

Former landmark countercultural theater now for rent on Avenue B