East Second Street, 6:32 p.m., March 26

How you can learn to use tools on the DOB website just like a blogger!

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Community Board 3 and Cooper Square Committee are co-hosting:

Department of Buildings Workshop: How to Use Tools on the DOB website

Thursday, March 28 at 6:30pm
Seward Park Extension, Community Center
56 Essex Street (between Grand & Broome Streets)

Learn from DOB how to navigate their website to find out what is happening at an address, what permits have been issued, and how to submit a challenge. DOB will also answer frequently asked questions.

The DOB website! A blogger's best friend! Learn how to see how many Stop Work Orders have been issued against your landlord! Find out if the work crew gut renovating the apartment next door actually has permits! Do those workers have permits to work on a Saturday?

And, despite the rumors, you DO NOT receive one of these for attending...

Instant umbrella collection available

If you're interested, per EVG regular William Klayer ... now on St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Checking in on Louis 649's post-Sandy recovery on East 9th Street

[Katie Sokoler]

Louis 649 on East Ninth Street at Avenue C is one of the many East Village businesses along this corridor to feel the wrath of Hurricane Sandy. The low-key lounge, which offers free jazz, opened in 2000. Zachary Sharaga has been the owner since 2004. He answered a few questions about Louis 649 via email.

-----

How long was the bar closed after Sandy?

Louis 649 was closed for business a total of 11 days/nights. As soon as we were able to get back into the bar, three or four days after the hurricane, we deep cleaned for a few days. At that point a lot of people were opening by candlelight but we decided that for safety reasons, we'd better hold off until the power was restored to the streets at the very least.

Five days after Sandy, when most of the neighborhood had power, we were still down due to the building's power box being completely fried in the basement and being held hostage to the eponymous "waiting for Con Ed." We had a party scheduled for Nov. 8 to celebrate a book release, which featured Louis 649's mascot Hamsa that we were debating cancelling. However, we decided that it would be best for the neighborhood to have something festive, so we went ahead with the party with the intent of a intimate candlelit book signing and the power came on five minutes before opening.

What has been the biggest challenge for you since then?

Our biggest challenge has been recuperating financially from the lost goods and the need to replace them and our limited operating capacity since most of our equipment was knocked out from the saltwater damage. We had just received a full shipment of wet and dry goods the Thursday before the storm, so in addition to losing most of that, we had to replace it all. Not to mention having to pay ALL of our bills regardless of any unforeseen natural disaster.

As far as the equipment goes, we lost a lot of refrigeration, which directly affected our purchasing patterns, inventory control and food offerings, so adapting to the limitation was a challenge that we fought day after day. Catching up after such an economic blow to us, our neighbors, our longtime patrons, and the city has been a challenge worth fighting.


[Photo of Lola and Zachary by Farhad Parsa]

Are you seeing the bar return to a pre-Sandy number of patrons?

Yes and no.

The weekends have gotten back to normal but the weekdays could surely use some momentum. Our first Sunday and first live jazz gig of the season was this past Sunday. Thankfully we had a full house.

How have you seen the East Village evolve (or, de-volve) since you opened the bar?

I guess this question is all a matter of perspective. One on side of the coin, there's a food and beverage renaissance rapidly evolving in the East Village, which is bringing in a healthy amount of traffic to support all of the new businesses opening up. The expectations and standards are being raised every day with every "new" innovation.

At the same time, the commercial rents are becoming astronomical, which is leading to a rapid turnover rate in small businesses, which brings me to the other side of the coin. Too many of these businesses are gone before they're even broken in and we're left with an unstable economy of empty storefronts and a lot of unemployed people with no money to spend. Pair this with the high residential rents and we're effectively relying on people outside of our neighborhoods to inject revenue into the East Village.


[Inksy]

The bar's Tuesday Night Tastings return tonight. Find more information on that and more here.

Pangea presenting The East Village Film Series, starting this Thursday night

The folks at Pangea Restaurant & Bar, 178 Second Ave. near East 11th Street, passed along word about The East Village Film Series:

The Series was founded to showcase award-winning works from local and international filmmakers, and to celebrate the silver screen. Aiming to take cinema off the computer, and back on the big screen, the EVSF is dedicated to sharing important, entertaining, and challenging works of art with New York City.

The Film Series is a perfect opportunity for filmmakers to meet meet and mix, for old friends to get together and new friends to be made. Designed for everyone from cinephiles and to the cine-curious, the Series blends fine art and incredible stories, with a fantastic, comfortable environment, for a great evening of work by award-winning New York filmmakers. An event by a community, for a community.

NYC-based director Matt K. Firpo is the series founder.

The series kicks off Thursday night with A Night of Short Films... showcasing "Nomadique." Read more about that here.

The films start at 8 p.m. The filmmakers are expected to be around afterward to discuss their work and what not.

L.E.S. Dwellers make the case against Soho House expanding to Ludlow Street

As you likely heard, Soho House is planning an expansion to 139 Ludlow St. They've already made their pitch to neighbors. (Read BoweryBoogie's post on it here; and The Lo-Down here.)

During this past weekend, L.E.S. Dwellers sent around their campaign again Soho House. (You can read it here.) It's slightly outside my usual coverage zone. But I wanted to share with you what they have to say. (And, of course, there's a major spillover effect from all this to this neighborhood...)

An excerpt from the L.E.S. Dwellers campaign:

Rival gangs of frat boys, sororisluts, suburbanite wannabes, tramps with stamps, and bridge & tunnel douchebags converge on our streets, and a bloody turf war ensues between residents and the drug and alcohol-fueled gangs. If Soho House comes, new gangs arrive with them - Jimmy Choo stiletto girls, newly minted tech-set, B-list models, I-bankers disguised in Thomas Pink and Gucci loafers, trust fund wannabe hipsters, expense account ad men, label whores, and Eurotrash. Our streets will become bloodier and messier than it already is, with the residents further outmatched by the increasingly uncontrollable mobs.

And!

The L.E.S. will officially become the "Eastpacking", unless we as a community do something about it. We can choose to remain silent and compliant, marking our doors with black crosses in anticipation of the Soho House virus incubating at 139 Ludlow Street. Or we can rise up and fight back.

Soho House reps are expected to appear before the CB3/SLA committee next month to apply for a liquor license. Reps have said they wouldn't expect to open on Ludlow Street until the summer of 2014.

Meanwhile, yesterday, Lower East Side documentarian Clayton Patterson explained why is he supporting the Soho House's expansion to Ludlow Street in a post published at The Lo-Down.

An excerpt:

If not them then who? Soho House is not going to build up. They are going to save the look and integrity of the façade architecture. The fact that they are private keeps the crowds down, will be more low key… and so on. Imagine this: it is a large double wide lot- has at the very least 6 stories worth of air right to build up. Imagine a brand new 12 story luxury hotel or apartment eating up the block.

[Updated: They are back open] DOH temporarily closes Vinny Vincenz on First Avenue

Ugh. Crazy Eddie passes along word that the DOH temporarily closed EVG favorite Vinny Vincenz this afternoon.

The pizzeria near East 14th Street was carrying an A rating. Inspectors handed out just 13 violation points during their last visit on Oct. 10. Among the infractions: "'Wash hands' sign not posted at hand wash facility."

The DOH has not updated its website with the record of today's visit.

The 10-year-old Vinny Vincenz is currently in a $1 pizza battle with its new neighbors, 2 Bros.

Updated: Gruppo Thin Crust Pizza opens at new Avenue B location tonight (free beer alert)

The renovations are done here at 98 Avenue B between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street... Per the Gruppo Facebook page:

Grand Opening at our new location, 98 Ave B (6-7 st), Free Draft beer when you dine with us! See you tonight!

Their previous home at 186 Avenue B is now closed.

Updated 8:21

The sandwich board out front via @dens

Iowa teens dance to the Velvet Underground and Bush Tetras — in 1956

A little time waster via Dangerous Minds ... The above footage is from the dance show “Seventeen” that aired in 1956 on Iowa station WOI-TV. The video was uploaded to YouTube without sound. But Dangerous Minds decided to add a soundtrack, and did a pretty damn good job of synching up the dance moves to the likes of the Velvet Underground and the Buzzcocks ... Worth the look: "Too Many Creeps" by the Bush Tetras starts up around the 14-minute mark.

Outrage over proposal to turn the green space at the Meltzer Tower into private development

More details were circulating last week about the city leasing the park space at Max Meltzer Tower to private developers... among other things, the new development would wipe out the park at the senior citizen development at 94 E. First St. near First Avenue ... Flyers appeared in the vicinity during the weekend...





You can see what would be lost ... trees, opens space, light, etc.







Per the NYCHA website, this is what is proposed:

Meltzer Tower has a $10.5 million unmet need for capital building improvements over the next 5 years.

Proposed Development on Land Lease Site(s)
East 1st Street Site
Site Area: 13,000 SF (Approximate)
New Construction: 121,500 SF of Residential Floor Area (Approximate)
18,500 SF of Commercial Floor Area (Approximate)
97 New Apartments

In the self-created FAQs, officials say this with a straight face:

Wouldn’t this be disruptive to the community?
Construction would not take place forever, and would be conducted in a strictly monitored fashion.

Right!

One longtime East Village shared his thoughts on the proposal via email:

All they have to say about disruption is that construction doesn't last forever. How encouraging. They don't mention that the building will be devastating to the dozens of residents of the adjacent buildings on 2nd Street. NYCHA explains that the development of the site is necessary because the Meltzer Tower needs $10.5 million for deferred maintenance. We don't know the terms of the deal, but if that's the sale price it's peanuts for 140,000 sf. And they don't mention that the new apartment building will certainly block light from the west for Meltzer residents. Selling off public assets is always sad and usually a bad idea. The density of building in the East Village has always been an issue and it's getting worse quickly.

Upset by this proposal? Here's who you can contact, via the flyers...


[Click image to enlarge]

Here comes The Fourth, with a crazy bed frame installation and private-label coffee

Over at the five-years-in-the-making Hyatt Union Square, signs just went up for one of the restaurants in the space on Fourth Avenue and East 13th Street.

Here's a description of The Fourth via the Hyatt's website:

Our signature Lower East Side restaurant boasts 30-foot ceilings and wide French doors for open-air dining, attracting hotel guests and local denizens alike with fresh baked bread and neighborhood appeal. The 100-seat room will offer three distinct dining areas: a café with a European style espresso and wine bar, a 24-seat communal bar and dining space, and a 45-seat full service formal dining area. Open virtually all day, The Fourth will serve traditional brasserie fare with a modern American interpretation: upscale fare with a continental flair.

Taking its name from the elegant and sophisticated right bank neighborhood in Paris, the vibe at The Fourth is Union Square meets the 4th arrondissement - a stylish place to meet for coffee, dine at the bar after a movie, or enjoy a business dinner. The wine and beverage program at Hyatt Union Square New York is skillfully designed by Roger Dagorn, MS, whose vast knowledge and approach to wine selection makes The Fourth not only a delicious place to dine, but also an intriguing place to explore the vineyards of the world.

This Lower East Side restaurant serves espresso drinks made with Café Quatrième, a private label coffee, offering various blends and roasts throughout the day for an excellent coffee experience to stay or to-go.

Repeat: "Union Square meets the 4th arrondissement."

Also, we took a look inside and spotted this hanging from the ceiling...



Maybe that's one of the hotel's specially priced courtyard studios?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Through the years with the sunlight-blocking Hyatt Union Square, opening Nov. 15

Retail space for The Jefferson is also moving on up

The Jefferson's retail space on East 14th Street near Third Avenue is shaping up, as you can see now that the scaffolding and stuff has come down...



There are two spaces available, as we've pointed out previously here ...



Here's the official retail listing...

In the renderings, the two available storefronts are called "Dapper Drake" and "Karmic Koala."

Also, a different broker has the listing for the currently-empty 212 E. 14th St. space, former home of the Super Saving Store, which closed in June 2011. (It was no Dapper Drake, but...)

Previously on EV Grieve:
City approves new building for Mystery Lot

The last days of the Mystery Lot

Before it was the Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot developers using famous dead comedians to sell condos at The Jefferson

Prepping for the new 6-floor residence on East Seventh Street

Taking the time to check in on a few construction projects... Last week, we looked at the start of the digging for a new 6-floor building at 327 E. Ninth St. ... and 316-318 E. Third St.

Here's an update on another new 6-floor building — 227 E. Seventh St. near Avenue C... DOB permits show that each floor will contain one residential unit. (And we have not seen the final rendering just yet.)

Until then...





The sign says that the work be complete by March 31, 2014.

In late October, the body of Christine Ebel, the co-owner of Arcane, which is adjacent to the property on Avenue C, was found in this lot.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Asbestos abatement on East Seventh Street, then a new 6-story building

Here's what's left of the former 227 E. Seventh St.

Happy 5th Birthday to the sidewalk shed of St. Mark's Place!

A belated 5th birthday to the sidewalk shed outside 32 St. Mark's Place. And thanks to @Ewingweb for the reminder and photo above... Saturday was the anniversary...

According to the DOB, the city issued the permit for the sidewalk shed in February 2008.

[March 2012 via Bobby Williams]

As far as anyone can recall, no work had ever been done on the buildings at 30 32 or 34 St. Mark's Place.

But the DOB did approve the following work back in October:

PROPOSED ALT 2 FOR RESTORATION OF FACADE EXTERIOR AND MINOR INTERIOR RENOVATION TO SPACKLE & PAINT CORRIDORS, NO CHANGE IN USE OR EGRESS

Still, five years for an abandoned sidewalk bridge is nothing, as a report in the Post noted yesterday. The Milford Plaza Hotel on Eighth Avenue has reportedly had a sidewalk shed dating to 1990.

Per the Post:

The number of the ugly overhead structures has steadily climbed each year since 2009 — to 8,514 last year — as the city’s new rules for façade inspections kicked in.

Under the law, owners of buildings higher than six stories must hire engineers to inspect for cracks, loose bricks and other deficiencies every five years. In 2010, the Buildings Department began staggering inspection deadlines to ensure 12,000 buildings weren’t filing reports all at once and scrambling for contractors the same day.

Previously on EV Grieve:
St. Mark's sidewalk shed celebrates fourth anniversary