Here's Golden Cadillac, the '70s-nostalgic bar' opening at the former Boca Chica space

Boca Chica, the inexpensive Latin American restaurant on First Avenue at First Street, closed its doors back in February.

By April, we learned about the bar-restaurant called Golden Cadillac that was in the works for the space... it's the latest venture from Giuseppe Gonzalez, a bartender who has worked at places we've never been before like PKNY, Clover Club, Dutch Kills and Flatiron Lounge.

Eater had more details on Golden Cadillac yesterday...

The food from Miguel Trinidad, the chef behind Maharlika and Jeepney:

[T]he food menu ... consists of variations on New York classics that have been 'inspired by vintage editions of Gourmet Magazine.' A few of those dishes include knish fondue, a Monte Cristo, and hunters stew for four.

The drinks:

There's "a menu of 'classic' 70s-era cocktails like the grasshopper and the Miami Vice (that's a pina colada topped off with strawberry daiquiri)."

The decor:

The bar's aesthetic takes its cues from the "sad glamour" of a seedy late-70s dive bar, furnished inside with wood paneling and patterned wallpaper mixed with mirrored surfaces.

The opening date is set for Nov. 6. And this isn't the first time that we've heard about Golden Cadillac. Time Out reported in November 2011 that the bar was opening on East 13th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue. But that never materialized, for whatever reasons.


[The mural on the rolldown gate from the other week]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Boca Chica apparently won't be reopening on First Avenue; and the return of Golden Cadillac

So is this what James Renwick, Jr. had in mind when he designed 27 Stuyvesant St. in the 1860s?

Via Curbed, we learn that the Anglo-Italianate townhome at 27 Stuyvesant St. is back on the market for $5.25 million. (Original asking price was $6.7 million.)

It's a beautiful townhousehome — especially from the outside. And, per the listing, it was designed in 1861 by James Renwick, renowned architect responsible for the Smithsonian Institution and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, among other renowned structures.

And this inside? It has been staged to sell...





Not sure how to describe this decor — Early 21st Century Real Housewives Revival?

Today's fall shot

Tompkins Square Park in the late afternoon via Bobby Williams...

Noted

I read about this last week... but just saw it for myself tonight... last Thursday, Uniqlo opened a pop-up shop selling puffy jackets and non-puffy parkas in the Union Square subway station ... part of a new MTA program to bring businesses into vacant retail subway spaces.

From the official MTA news release:

The shops will receive month-to-month leases from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for small retail spaces that are temporarily vacant while the agency is arranging long-term leases.

And!

The pop-up store initiative allows small entrepreneurs, online businesses and established corporations to rent space in generally “as-is” condition to provide high visibility exposure for products or services where the emphasis is on displaying merchandise as much as actually conducting on-site transactions. In some cases, retail customers would be encouraged to make their purchases online or at larger stores off site.

And!

“Pop-up stores will provide a fresh and beneficial element to our stations while also improving the image and desirability of retail space in the subway,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast. “This is another example of the MTA working to make better use of its real estate portfolio and improving the subway environment for customers at the same time.”

The store will be open through the December holidays...

Soooo... what kind of pop-up shop would you like to see from the MTA in the future? (To get you thinking about it...) Egg shop? Zine store?

Roseland Ballroom makes closure official

On Saturday, we posted the scoop from Billboard about the Roseland Ballroom's closure... at the time of Billboard's report, there hadn't been any announcement from Roseland's ownership.

They made the it formal today with the following release received via the EVG inbox...

NYC’S ROSELAND BALLROOM SCHEDULES CLOSING IN 2014

Today, Roseland Ballroom announced that it will cease operations in April 2014. Roseland Development Associates, LLC, owners of Roseland, issued the following statement in response to media reports about the venue’s closure next year:

“The owners of 239 West 52nd Street have operated the Roseland Ballroom for over three decades. Managing Roseland has been a labor of love, which is why we have deferred major changes for all these years. Plans to redevelop the property are now underway and will be made public when they are finalized. Roseland will cease operations at the end of April 2014.”

Live Nation, the world’s leading live entertainment company, which has had an exclusive music booking agreement with Roseland Ballroom since 1990, issued the following statement:

“We enjoyed being a part of the history of the Roseland Ballroom and we will continue to celebrate its rich history with an unparalleled closing run of shows. One of the best things about New York is how our city continues to reinvent itself and we look forward to sharing our tremendous plans for live entertainment in the city for 2014 and beyond.”

The space was a sentimental favorite for me... and I agree with an anonymous commenter's thoughts on the Roseland:

Lets face it, the audio was awful and the air conditioning was worthless.

But you could get up close if you felt like it and the mosh pits were great.

One of my favorite places to see a show and I will miss it.

Image via Frankie Gale Photo Gallery

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[On East Seventh Street via Derek Berg]

Why an East Village widow's bankruptcy case poses risk to rent-stabilized tenants (The New York Times)

Lunch at the Stage (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Who's next at the Houston/Bowery mural wall (BoweryBoogie)

Claim: Airbnb is a boon to the NYC economy (Curbed)

Soho House decision day on Ludlow (The Lo-Down)

Despite CB3 and resident objections, Sweet Chick signs lease at former Max Fish space (Grub Street)

Looking at the great Carl Fischer Music building (Off the Grid)

Cooper Square at the turn of the last century (Ephemeral New York)

When Andy Warhol painted Debbie Harry on an Amiga computer (Dangerous Minds)

Remembering some more lost record stores (Flaming Pablum)

Borough President Scott Stringer voices concern over CB3's suspension of the L.E.S. Dwellers

As we first reported yesterday morning, neighborhood group The L.E.S. Dwellers are demanding an impartial investigation into their recent suspension by Community Board 3.

Upon their suspension, the group submitted a formal complaint to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, whose office oversees the city's Community Board governance.

Stringer responded to CB3 Chairperson Gigi Li and District Manager Susan Stetzer yesterday. A tipster shared a copy of Stringer's letter.


[Click on image to enlarge]

As he wrote, "the decision to exclude an organization ... under these circumstances does not serve the interest of community board transparency and democratic representation."

And later:

"While I understand the view that the organization may have detracted from community input by influencing certain applicants to withdraw from the Board's process, I do not believe a 'suspension' of the organization is the most effective response to such a concern. The act of suspending a community organization for lawful conduct from a program promoting community input without a fully deliberative process has implications for the transparency and fairness of community board governance. For these reasons, I ask that the Board reconsider its current policy of excluding organizations . . . to ensure that its mission of representing and responding to community concerns remains fully transparent and open to public scrutiny."

The L.E.S. Dwellers have been active in opposing new liquor licenses on the Lower East Side, including the proposed SoHo House on Ludlow Street ... and the ongoing battle with the DL on Delancey. CB3 first recognized the L.E.S. Dwellers as a block association in October 2012.

The CB3 suspension is to last the remainder of 2013.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Breaking Badly: LES Dwellers demand impartial investigation of Community Board 3 (33 comments)

Construction watch: 45 Great Jones Street

Plans have been in the works at least back to 2007 to add extra floors of residential above the landmarked 45 Great Jones St., the longtime home to the Great Jones Lumber Corp., between the Bowery and Lafayette.

There are demolition plans on file dated from Thursday. Per the usual all-cap DOB style: "DEMOLITION OF THREE STORY STRUCTURE. PER LPC, FRONT FACADE TO REMAIN."


[Photo via Goggla]

The Landmarks Preservation Committee OK'd enlarging the Romanesque Revival building by five floors back in July 2012, as Curbed reported.

These are older plans from June 2012 (we have not seen the final renderings) ...


[Via Curbed]

Building owner Joseph Lauto also ran the lumber business. (He worked at the lumber yard as a kid dating to the late 1940s.) In March 2012, he told The Local that the changing landscape of NoHo contributed to his decision to develop the building.

"One of the reasons we merged the businesses was because forklifts and trucks moving lumber had to stop because of baby carriages," he said. "We never had that before."

The ground floor will remain a commercial space while the subsequent floors and penthouse will be residential. The plan is still waiting approval by the Department of Buildings, who last passed along a "disapproved" in July, according to city records.

Built in 1893, 45 Great Jones served as the home of Great Jones Lumber Corp. from 1934 to June of 2008, when the company merged with Michbi Doors Inc. of Long Island, per The Local.

Never-ending battle over additional floors at 515 E. Fifth St. promises to keep being never-ending

The saga of developer Ben Shaoul's additions to 515 E. Fifth St. continues. This was on the docket for this month's CB3 Land Use, Zoning, Public & Private Housing Committee meeting, but Shaoul's reps reportedly rescheduled it at the last minute for another month.

A quick recap to a really long story: The Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) had previously ruled that Shaoul needs to remove the 6th and 7th floors. However, his attorneys had requested that the city grant a zoning variance to "permit the constructed enlargement, minus the penthouse, to remain."

Now the Tenants Association of 515 East 5th Street, who has been fighting all this for years, passes along word of yet another delay to any resolution in the near future. Shaoul's attorneys have apparently filed an Article 78 petition to get the New York State Supreme Court to compel the BSA and DOB to reverse their decisions in the vesting case.

We'll report back to you when this is all resolved in 2023.

(You can read more about the history here at the Post, Curbed, DNAinfo and The Villager.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
Never-ending battle wages on over additional floors at 515 E. Fifth St.

CB3 hearing on illegal rooftop additions at 515 E. 5th St. re-scheduled for another month

Vella Market remains closed on Avenue B

We're getting close to the two-week mark for the Vella Market being closed on Avenue B and East Fourth Street... One reader heard the owners were in a dispute with the landlord over back rent.

Meanwhile, another reader passes along a bad sign... there is a ConEd notice on their front gate — the store's power has been shut off... according to the notice, the store owes a total of more than $12,000 to ConEd...



As we said earlier, we like Vella Market, which just opened in April at the former home of Kate's Joint.

Ronald McDonald and Banksy visit the Lower East Side

So this happened late this afternoon outside the McDonald's at Delancey and Essex... EVG Facebook friend Edward Arrocha shared these photos of Banksy's "All City – McDonalds" traveling sculpture show ... featuring a fiberglass statue of Ronald McDonald getting his clown shoes shined by "a real live boy," per the British artist's website.



The audio guide (Animal NY has it here) from Banksy's website says that this can be read as "a critique of the heavy labor required to sustain the polished image of a mega-corporation."



The Lo-Down reports that five police cars responded to the scene... though, with the crowd apparently on Banksy's side, the NYPD allowed the shoe shine to continue through to its conclusion...



...and there were rumors that the fellow carrying Ronnie off into the night was Banksy himself...

Today's hawk-on-rat action in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Bobby Williams

Updated 10-22
Goggla has some more photos here.

Today's Blue Jay

On East Sixth Street via Bobby Williams

That's a lot of kale! Thieves take Whole Foods Bowery for 26K, cops say

Three Whole Food Bowery employees transporting $26,000 in a grocery cart to a second-floor office were robbed at gunpoint last night, the Post is reporting.

Per the paper:

A store worker said that the robbery may have been an inside job, noting that a coworker saw the perps leave through the receiving door.

“They ran from the receiving door which no one outside the store knows about,” the worker said. “They know parts of the store that we only know.”

He also said that his co-worker claimed to see one of the men casing the store a few weeks ago wearing the same “dreadlocks and bad, fake beard.”

Updated 10:22
The NYPD is now saying that the thieves got away with $60,000.

File photo of three women posing with the Whole Foods Bowery pickle bar sign.