Still the one

Today on Avenue A at East Seventh Street... still my favorite East Village intersection... photo by Bobby Williams.

[Updated] Citi Bike docking station arrives on Lafayette Street

Right alongside the Puck Building... per EVG reader Clint Smeltzer.

And look for them to arrive closer to the East Village (here) very soon...

Updated 2:10 p.m.

Docking station... now docked! Two more photos from Clint...





And: "[A]s I was walking away another truck load of them drove by and continued up Lafayette."

Updated: Fire reported at 224 Avenue B

MAN ALL HANDS 224 AVE B, MIXED OCCUPANCY FIRE IN BASEMENT AND WALLS,
— FDNY (@FDNY) April 22, 2013

Firefighters are at the scene at 224 Avenue B...



Per EVG reader Derrick Loris, who took these photos: "Light smoke, sound of saws.... got under control pretty quick. Never saw a flame."

Standing by for more information.

Updated 11 a.m.



Per Derrick, who is at the scene:

"Amor Bakery is the victim of the fire at 224 Avenue B. No extension into the floors above or Mona's is the word at the moment..."

Updated 11:40 a.m.

And from ace photographer East Village Hawkeye...





Per East Village Hawkeye: "A tenant's husband was allowed to remain in building with his cats, so that may confirm the danger was minimal."

Updated 12:31 p.m.

A resident at 224 Avenue B shares a few photos from inside the building...













Per the resident: "Roof above the bakery was torn off. (Photo above) You can see the debris discarded in one of the pics. FDNY did not require us to evacuate and were in my unit several times during the course of the fire to check for smoke ..."

The resident noted that the apartment shown in the photos had been vacant...

All the King's neon

Shawn Chittle notices some new neon at Papaya King, coming very soon to 3 St. Mark's Place.

Call for an East Village 'slow zone'

[Click image to enlarge]

Catching up with an op-ed that appears in this week's issue of The Villager. Here, CB3 member Chad Marlow, and the group that he founded in 2011, the Tompkins Square Park & Playground Parents’ Association (TSP3A), are kicking off a major neighborhood safety initiative.

It involves applying to the Department of Transportation to have them create what the group is calling the "Tompkins Square/Alphabet City Slow Zone" (TSACSZ).

The TSACSZ, in short, is an effort to improve pedestrian safety for children and all others who live/work/play in the proposed 0.38 square-mile zone by reducing motor vehicle speeds. As Marlow writes, the slow zone program "takes a well-defined, relatively compact area, and reduces its speed limit from 30 miles per hour to 20 miles per hour, with further reductions to 15 miles per hour near schools."

The above map previews the proposal, using crash data demonstrating how dangerous the area is. Per the op-ed:

According to Transportation Alternatives, from 2005 to 2009 (the five most recent years for which State Department of Motor Vehicles data is available), there were 143 pedestrian injuries and 70 cyclist injuries in the proposed TSACSZ. There were also two pedestrian fatalities. That means the proposed TSACSZ averages 42.6 injuries and 0.4 deaths annually. By way of comparison, only one existing slow zone — Elmhurst, with an average of 44.6 annual injuries — is even in the same ballpark as the proposed TSACSZ.

The group believes that the proposed TSACSZ will benefit the neighborhood's residents, visitors and businesses by creating a safer, cleaner neighborhood with less traffic noise, among other things.

Aside from other NYC neighborhoods, Marlow points to the successful implementation of such zones in several international cities, including Berlin, Zurich, Dublin, London and Helsinki.

Finally, Marlow reveals a personal reason behind this proposal. In 1995, a drunken driver struck Marlow's father, an accident that left him with quadriplegia and a severe brain injury. His father died 13 years after the accident.

Read the entire op-ed here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A proposal to help curb the East Village crusty population

Parents group upset about number of rats in Tompkins Square Park

Meanwhile in London, the Barclays Cycle Hire

Well, with all that talk about Citi Bikes coming here soon, probably ... here's a dispatch from EVG London Correspondent Dave on 7th from a few weeks ago...



"A well-worn program here in London. Must say they are everywhere, and fairly innocuous. It's been quite cold, so I don't think many people have been riding much. I've been told they are quite popular for commuters to the point that there are sometimes arguments over trying to grab the last spot in a corral. But, there always seems to be another corral nearby."





The Barclays Cycle Hire launched in July 2010.

A sign at Croxley's mentions the 'incompetent contractors next door'

[Last Thursday at 26 Avenue B via EVG reader Eric]

As we previously reported, there's a full Stop Work Order on 26 Avenue B, the construction site adjacent to No. 28, the building that had to be evacuated late last Monday afternoon..

Construction recently commenced in the empty lot on a new 6-story apartment building. DNAinfo reported that a resident at 28 Avenue B started to notice cracks in her ceiling after construction began.

The DOB noted the following about No. 28:

FDNY REQUESTS A STRUCTURAL STABILITY INSPECTION DUE TO VERTICAL CTACK AT REAR OF BUILDING FROM THE 1ST TO TOP FLOOR AND

Category Code: 30 BUILDING SHAKING/VIBRATING/STRUCT STABILITY AFFECTED

Aside from displacing residents, the evacuation shut down the tenant on the ground floor — Croxley Ales. And this sign arrived to greet would-be patrons this past weekend...



Also, the DOB is allowing partial work to continue at the construction site...to "perform stabilization" to 28 Avenue B, according to city records.

[H/t EVG reader Chad]

New Nino's will be the old Nino's

[Bobby Williams, from Thursday]

You may have noticed some renovations going on at the former Nino's space on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place... A tipster shared this:

A friend said they saw work going on in Nino’s space and asked what was happening? An older guy said he was Nino’s brother and they were re-opening. He said they sold it to this other guy and he screwed the place up so they are coming back and put it back the way it was. If it is true it is pretty cool.

Indeed, it is true... Via Eater, we learned that Nino Nino Camaj is returning to reopen the pizzeria that he previously sold, as first reported by the Local.

Do you think this means the return of the fountain drinks and year-round holiday decorations?


As for the last version of the non-Nino's Nino's, well, let's just try to forget about that stripped-down, charmless place.

Previously.

Bank branch becomes bank branch at former site of the Fillmore East

And over on Second Avenue near East Sixth, EVG contributor peter radley notes that the Emigrant Savings Bank will become an Apple Bank starting today...

And the address had a long history as various theaters and clubs... most notably the Fillmore East...



... and here's a photo of Timothy Leary circa 1966 from its days as an off-Broadway venue:


The Emigrant Savings Bank started going up in this space in 1997...

Previously.

Jeremiah wrote about the Fillmore East here ...

Reminders: Town-hall meeting tonight on the future of Peter Stuyvesant Post Office

Repeating from April 8...


[Click image to enlarge]

A follow-up on our item about the the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office closing/relocating... An EVG reader sent us this letter by the front doors at the branch on East 14th Street near Avenue A ... the letter has more details about what's happening here...

From Joseph J. Mulvery, facilities implementation, U.S. Postal Service:

"The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is proposing the relocation of the Peter Stuyvesant Station Post Office...to a yet to-be-determined location with the same zip code area.

The reason behind this proposal is the upcoming expiration of the lease on the present location. The lease will expire in February 2014, and we have been unable to reach agreement with the landlord on a new lease."

Jeez, the USPS can't even afford it here...



And as a reminder:

There's a Town Hall scheduled on the matter between Community Board 3 and Community Board 6 on April 22. Location: — Campos Plaza Community Center (gym) at 611 East 13th Street (btwn Aves B & C)

Previously on EV Grieve:
UPDATED: Did you hear the rumor about the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office branch closing?

Noted

Bobby Williams was walking north along the East River yesterday... and he spotted this sea plane with a familiar-looking logo...



It is André Balazs' StndAIR ... The Standard Hotel's sea plane that will take you out to the Hamptons for ... $525 (one way) for the 45-minute flight. Regular service starts up again on May 24. Book your seats now! (Make your "Snakes on a Plane" jokes now!)





The service launched in 2011.

Week in Grieview

[Tuesday outside Professor Thom's on Second Avenue]

Deadly fire at 115 Fourth Ave. (Wednesday)

Building evacuation at 28 Avenue B (Monday)

An early-morning truck accident on Second Avenue (Friday)

Former PS 64 one step closer to being a 500-bed dorm (Monday)

Remember Joey Ramone on the anniversary of his death (Monday)

David Cross says that the East Village is the worst place on earth weekend nights (Sunday)

Cute cat alert! Lil BUB was in the neighborhood (Tuesday)

Construction equipments arrives at the former PS 64 (Wednesday)

An Avenue B walkup for sale (Wednesday)

The Kushner Companies meet the neighborhood (Thursday)

A local artist, an international canvas (Wednesday)

Someone stole the Burger Shop sign on St. Mark's (Thursday)

About Showgirls! The Musical! (Wednesday)

Another attempt to revive Something Sweet (Monday)

Gandhi was leaking gas, apparently (Tuesday)

Boukiés owner sues the SLA (Monday)

Update on last night's fire at Mono + Mono

As reported earlier, a two-alarm fire swept through 116 E. Fourth St. early this morning... the single-level commercial building houses Mono + Mono.

The restaurant just updated its Facebook page:

Our big thanks to @FDNY. The fire that broke out last night at @MonoMonoNYC was quickly put out and everyone is safe. There was some water damage, so we'll be closed for a few days to make repairs. We'll be back stronger than ever! Stay tuned.

Updated 7 p.m.

DNAinfo has more on the fire...

• Fire not considered suspicious, per authorities

• Most of the restaurant's extensive collective of jazz LPs were thought to be OK

• "The heat from the blaze was so intense that it knocked out windows to the Hells Angels' East 3rd Street headquarters, which sits directly behind the restaurant.

The biker gang was having a loud barbecue in their backyard when the fire broke out, according to neighbors."

[Updated] Early-morning fire at 116 E. Fourth St., home of Mono + Mono

[Via EVG reader kke7st]

Photo of #FDNY o/s #Manhattan *66-22-0429**2nd Alarm** 116 E 4th St off 1st Ave #eastvillage #nyc twitter.com/NYCFireWire/st…
— NYC Fire Wire (@NYCFireWire) April 21, 2013

An early-morning two-alarm fire ripped through 116 E. Fourth St., a single-level commercial building that houses Mono + Mono. Bystanders were told that the fire started in the restaurant's kitchen. There were no reports of injuries here between First Avenue and Second Avenue. No word just yet on the extent of the damage at the restaurant or any adjacent buildings.

The restaurant serves Korean fried chicken and is known for playing classic jazz music — boasting a collection of more than 30,000 vinyl records that are played through vintage tube amplifiers.

Witnesses reported hearing an explosion before the fire, per Twitter. The FDNY evacuated residents at 118 E. Fourth St., according to people on the scene.


[Via EVG reader kke7st]

And via EVG correspondent jdx ...







EVG reader Marina, who shared the next two photos, praised the FDNY's speedy response...





Here's a photo via Jeffrey Borenstein looking north from First Avenue toward the flames...



And the scene on the north side of East Third Street via jdx ... where firefighters accessed buildings to help extinguish the blaze...





More from East Third Street via EVG reader Margo...







Several witnesses said that members of the Hells Angels yelled at the FDNY to watch their bikes.

This is the second major fire in the East Village this past week. Late Tuesday night, a fire claimed the life of 84-year-old Mary Lincoln Bonnell in a fire at 115. Fourth Ave. The FDNY said that a discarded cigarette caused the fire.

Updated 1 p.m.

Here's an update from Mono + Mono here.