Westside Market opens tomorrow

[Photo from last month by Stacie Joy]

At noon, according to reps for the grocery on Third Avenue at East 12th Street.

This is the fifth location in the city for the family owned Westside Market.

You can read our preview of the store here.

At The Nathaniel, named after a hated secondary character in an Ayn Rand novel

Speaking of Third Avenue and East 12th Street... the luxury rentals at The Nathaniel hit the market back in the summer.

Curbed took a tour of the building for a post yesterday.

Curbed clears up one minor mystery: Just who or what is The Nathaniel named for: Turns out it's for Nathaniel Taggart, who is the grandfather of the protagonist of Ayn Rand's 1957 novel "Atlas Shrugged."

Per the always reliable Wikipedia:

Nathaniel Taggart was the founder of Taggart Transcontinental. He built his railroad without any government handouts, and ran the business for no other reason than to turn a profit. He began as a penniless adventurer and ended up as one of the wealthiest men in the country. He never earned money by force or fraud (except for bribing government officials and throwing an opponent down a flight of stairs), and never apologized for becoming wealthy and successful. He was one of the most hated men of his time.

Perhaps, then, The Nathaniel will become the most hated apartment building of its time in the East Village?

Off to a good start! The Nathaniel's least-expensive offering is a $3,273 studio, which, Curbed notes, is just slightly less than the median rental price ($3,300) for an apartment in the neighborhood.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Those persistent rumors about 74-76 Third Avenue and the future of Nevada Smiths

The East Village will lose a parking lot and gain an apartment building

Bendy thing sighting as 84 Third Ave. eclipses the AMC Loews Village 7

Upscale rentals and a rooftop reflection pool at The Nathaniel on 3rd Avenue

The Nathaniel on 3rd Avenue and East 12th Street is apparently in Greenwich Village

Tonight, a discussion on the urban photography of Marlis Momber and Lisa Kahane

Via the EVG inbox...

Sense of the Lens
Regarding Urban Survival and Resurgence in the Photography of Lisa Kahane + Marlis Momber

Join photographers Marlis Momber and Lisa Kahane at the new Loisaida Center for "Sense of the Lens: Regarding Urban Survival and Resurgence" tonight from 7-9 at 710 E. 9th St. & Avenue C. Presentation starts at 7:30 pm and is free to the public.

Simultaneously but unknown to each other, Lisa Kahane and Marlis Momber documented the life of people and places caught in cycles of urban disinvestment in the 1970s and 1980s in shattered, depopulated neighborhoods in the South Bronx and in Loisaida. Ms. Momber and Ms. Kahane both document the history and conditions of each place at the same time.

This discussion will also consider the circumstances that originally opened each place to work in. How did and does each photographer engage with people and groups, including local Puerto Rican activist communities, and what alliances did each photographer forge with other artists and peers? How does the personal, including gender, affect approach, alliances, method and regard? And is there a specific connection between what we now call social practice and photography?

Marlis Momber and Lisa Kahane will be introduced by Amy Westpfahl and Laura Napier, artists and photographers who live and work on the Lower East Side and in the South Bronx today.

Find more information about the Loisaida Center here.

Can someone lend me a $1 so that I can become a gypsy?

Noticed a listing on Craigslist for the psychic's space about the Dunkin' Donuts on First Avenue and East Sixth Street…



Sounds like a good deal for $1! Here's more from the ad:

For sale
Great location nyc
Well established 17 yrs
2 yr lease renew it with no problem
1 bed room living room. Reading room
2nd flr corner plc neons move in condition
No back bills

Who's in?

From Five Points to Vic's on Great Jones

Five Points, the 15-year-old restaurant on Great Jones between the Bowery and Lafayette, closed in early August for a revamp.

The place received more like a major overhaul... Grub Street noted in September that the new chef "will cook a rustic Italian-Mediterranean menu." (Pizza is on the menu too.)

EVG roving restaurant façade photographer Derek Berg noted lots of activity at the space yesterday... as staff preps to reopen...



There is a Vic's website, though for now it only sends people to Open Table for reservations. Open Table isn't accepting reservations until next Tuesday.

Former Ton-Up Cafe space on the market

Back in May, the Ton-Up Cafe closed at 127 St. Mark's Place just west of Avenue A closed. A sign on the door promised "we'll be back soon."

Since then, brown paper covered the front door and windows. A large QR code brought people to a "temporarily closed for renovations" page.

Now there's a for rent sign on the space. (The listing at EVO Real Estate Group doesn't appear to be online just yet.)

The cafe opened in April 2013 … and served paninis named in honor of Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry and Elvis.

One of the owners here also operates Falanghina, the pizzeria which remains open at the former Whole Earth Bakery across the street.

The previous tenant here was Motek Creperie, which also lasted about a year.

Late this afternoon

Tompkins Square Park around 5 p.m.

Catching a cab on Avenue A

Photos today by Grant Shaffer

Q-and-A with Richard Ocejo, author of 'Upscaling Downtown: From Bowery Saloons to Cocktail Bars'

Richard Ocejo, an assistant professor in sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, is the author of the new book "Upscaling Downtown: From Bowery Saloons to Cocktail Bars" (Princeton University Press).

As we're cutting-and-pasting from the news release:

The product of four years of fieldwork in the East Village and on the Lower East Side, "Upscaling Downtown: From Bowery Saloons to Cocktail Bars" in New York City uses nightlife as a window into understanding urban development and explores what community institutions, such as neighborhood bars, gain or lose amid gentrification.

Ocejo considers why residents continue unsuccessfully to protest the arrival of new bars, how new bar owners produce a nightlife culture that attracts visitors rather than locals, and how government actors, including elected officials and the police, regulate and encourage nightlife culture.

Ahead of a panel discussion on the topic tomorrow night (see details at the end of this post), we asked Ocejo a few questions via email about his research.

Why was this topic of particular interest for you to explore?

I started by studying one bar, Milano's, on Houston. It was an old Bowery bar, until the area started to gentrify and newcomers — artists, students, writers, musicians — started moving in, around the 1980s and 1990s. These folks joined the homeless men who had been going to the bar for decades, until they began dying off or simply leaving as the Bowery became less of a Skid Row and more of a place for downtown luxury.

Then, in the 2000s, the "newcomers" were mainly people who wanted to visit the bar because it was a "dive." I was fascinated that these three generations of customers were all hanging out at this place, while the neighborhood was completely changing.

As a sociologist, I was taught to look at the larger context to truly understand what happens to specific people, small groups and places. So I decided to learn more about these changes in the surrounding area and in the city to see if there was any connection to what I had been observing at Milano's. It led to me exploring how downtown's nightlife scenes grew, who was involved with their growth and who was effected by it. I was really interested in what I thought was a unique form of gentrification, namely an advanced level in which forms of everyday life become upscale, as examined through the lens of bars and nightlife.

You spent four years in the neighborhood doing legwork for the book. How would you describe the changes that you witnessed during that time?

In that time I witnessed a lot of piecemeal changes — old businesses closing and new ones opening, old buildings getting renovated and new ones going up, community groups fighting gentrification both dissipating and forming. These changes happen in most neighborhoods, but what they look like and how they occur always vary.

I would describe them in these neighborhoods as like a slow death, I'm sorry to say, more so than a rebirth, as gentrification is often characterized, although these neighborhoods certainly have a lot of life in them, of a certain sort. It's both, and I came to appreciate many of the new cultures in these neighborhoods now. But I felt I was witnessing the spirit of downtown fading over the years. The new people and cultures don't have the same spirit.

Vanishing New York blogger Jeremiah Moss describes what happened on the Bowery as "the quintessence of hyper-gentrification." What do you think of that assessment?

I agree with him, and I believe his term is similar to my "advanced gentrification" concept. The British geographer Loretta Lees has also used the term "super-gentrification" to describe when really wealthy people gentrify an already wealthy neighborhood — certainly a possibility in these neighborhoods.

A difference between them, I believe, is their emphases. Bowery (the avenue) is interesting because historically the avenues and streets to its east gentrified earlier and more gradually than it did. I think it took a while for it to lose its Skid Row stigma. But once Bowery started to transform, it really went into hyper-drive. My concept deals with the result of the gentrification enterprise in a neighborhood. But I'd agree that what's happened on Bowery happened at a pace and scale unique among streets in the area.

Why do you think the Bowery is so appealing to developers, restaurateurs, bar owners, etc.?

Well, its zoning allows for tall buildings and mixed uses as of right. It's also right in between SoHo/NoHo and the East Village and Lower East Side. I'd like to say that its historical importance as a place for working-class culture is what attracts people there, but at this point, I think its history is insignificant to the people building and opening businesses there, at least in the sense that it doesn't seem to play a role in the places they open.

Early newcomers, like B Bar, at least referenced the street's past (not very delicately, but still). Now new bars, restaurants, hotels, and other businesses draw from a broad array of themes when they open their establishments, many of which point to upscale forms of leisure and consumption.

What can local residents and preservationists do, if anything, to slow down this nightlife gold rush on the Bowery?

The conclusion I reached in my book is, not much. They can certainly have little victories, like reducing a business's hours or altering its method of operation or even withdrawing from the space. But we haven't seen many examples in New York of gentrification reversing itself, if we've seen any at all (slowing down or stagnating, sure, but not reversing).

This pattern of growth is quite entrenched in New York politically and economically; it's what most officials and leaders feel it needs to operate.



So where do you see the Bowery in 10 years?

Barring some major economic catastrophe, I see the street becoming even more upscaled. Perhaps more so on the lower parts of the street, which still have lighting stores, jewelry stores and a strong Chinese presence.

But with many new Chinese immigrants living in less-expensive areas of the city, with increasing rents in Manhattan's Chinatown, and an aging Chinese population, it's likely that Chinatown will shrink further, giving way to similar developments we see on the upper parts of Bowery.

-----------

Via the EVG inbox...

"Upscaling Downtown" book launch

Please join the University Settlement and the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors for a panel discussion to celebrate the publication of Richard E. Ocejo's "Upscaling Downtown: From Bowery Saloons to Cocktail Bars in New York City."

Representing groups examined in the book, panelists will express their thoughts on its arguments based on their own unique backgrounds. A Q-and-A period will follow.

Where: University Settlement, 184 Eldridge St.

When: Wednesday, Oct. 15, reception at 6:30 p.m., panel begins at 7 p.m.

Free and open to the public

About the panelists
• Rob Hollander: Neighborhood Historian and Activist
• Bob Holman: Poet, Founder, Bowery Poetry Club
• Matt Krivich: Director of Operations, The Bowery Mission
• Mike Stuto: Owner of HiFi Bar
• Richard E. Ocejo: Assistant Professor of sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY
• Sara Romanoski, Director of East Village Community Coalition

Wondering what's next for the former Odessa Cafe and Bar, now being gutted on Avenue A

[EVG photo from May]

As far as we know, at least three different applicants have kicked the tires on the former Odessa Cafe & Bar, which closed Aug. 31, 2013.

However, we hear a deal is in place for a new operator to take over the space at 117 Avenue A between East Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

The applicant was on the August CB3/SLA agenda, but the item was not heard before the committee (meaning the public didn't have a say in the matter). Paperwork on file with CB3 points to a corporate change, with a Robert C. Payne as the new partner.

As we understand it, applicants who opt for a corporate change instead of a new license then inherit any debt, outstanding issues, etc. (if any) by assuming this corporation. However, it also means that this is a way around any hearing, ensuring the new applicant a license and the old owner a key fee. (State Authority Liquor records show that the license is currently inactive.)

At this point, we don't know who Robert C. Payne is. There was a Robert Payne who was part of the ownership prepared to open a Latin-themed restaurant at 106 Rivington St. (Neighbors vehemently opposed this restaurant, which they feared would just be a club. The State Liquor Authority ultimately denied the group a full liquor license in April 2013.)

Meanwhile, in recent weeks, workers have started to dismantle the former Odessa Cafe and Bar...





And on Friday, the gutting got serious, as workers were hauling out parts of the former kitchen, as these photos by EVG regular peter radley show...





We hope to have more information soon about what is taking over the former Odessa Cafe and Bar. The Odessa restaurant, of course, continues to operate next door at 119 Avenue A.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Building that houses Odessa Cafe and Bar for sale on Avenue A

Former GM from Tribeca's Tiny's & the Bar Upstairs part of team to buy the Odessa Cafe

Reader report: Odessa Cafe and Bar will remain open through Sept. 6

Former Odessa Cafe and Bar will serve comfort food specializing in Nashville Hot Chicken

Now what for the Odessa Cafe and Bar?

Boarding up the former La Vie

[Photo by @SeanCarlson]

Workers yesterday began boarding up the former La Vie space at 64 E. First St., the unpopular-with-neighbors club that closed in June 2013 after a protracted battle with the State Liquor Authority.

Permits show — pending DOB approval — a 6-floor residential building going up in this space between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Back in April, New York Yimby reported that there will be six residential units (likely condos) — "two duplexes, one spanning the cellar and first floor, and another located on the sixth and penthouse levels; each of the other four residences will be full-floor."

First, though, the existing one-level structure needs to be demolished. (Someone also needs to pay $5,000 for DOB civil penalties.)

DOB permits show that Ekstein Development is behind the project.


[Photo by @SeanCarlson]

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] La Vie closed for now on East First Street

New York Supreme Court upholds revocation of La Vie's liquor license

CB3 denies La Vie; owner responds by calling Susan Stetzer a 'racist'

La Vie has closed; neighbors rejoice

Former La Vie space on East First Street will be demolished

Getting rid of the rats at the former LaVie ahead of a new 6-floor residential building

Community input sought for Tompkins Square Park map project

Longtime LES resident Michael Natale has been keeping tabs on the trees in Tompkins Square Park for the past three years.

He's looking for some help in naming parts of the Park for his map. He explains in a recent post at his Tompkins Trees site:

I’m working hard to get my Tompkins Trees map ready for printing. I’d like community feedback on the names I’m using on the map for the various areas of the map before printing. Most of these areas don’t have official names from the Parks Department or its employees. There are a few that do such as The Sandra Turner Garden, The First Run Dog Park, and The Don Robert’s Garden. Other areas such as the Avenue A Playground, the Oval Garden, the Central Lawn and Central Plaza are commonly used. I’ve given names to the other areas, or Islands as I call them, they are mostly the fenced in areas of the park. I needed to name these areas to keep track of the various trees as I identified them.

Peaceful Grove, the area behind the Park Office, that was formerly reserved for children. Now it is used as a picnic area, and for quiet meditation and Tai Chi. There are also sprinklers for the kids in the summer.

I’m not sure if there are official names for the two smaller playgrounds. I’ve heard them called the smaller and larger playgrounds on B. I call them the Oak Playground and the Elm Playground because of the predominating trees surrounding them.

You may ahead over to Tompkins Trees if you have any suggestions.

Sad Pie Face?

[Photo yesterday by Derek Berg]

The Pie Face on Fourth Avenue and East 13th Street was suspiciously not open this past weekend.

Several tipsters said the place had closed for good. A look inside yesterday showed a whole lot of inactivity. (Eater noted this yesterday.)

This outlet of the Australian chain, which specializes in mini meat pies with smiley faces on them, opened here last fall after extensive renovations of the former Brothers Deli.

Comptroller: City is losing the rat race

[A rat maze in Tompkins Square Park via Scuba Diva]

Via the EVG inbox yesterday...

At a press conference today in Harlem, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer unveiled findings of a new audit showing widespread deficiencies in the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s (DOHMH) response to citizen complaints about rodents.

“This is a rat race we’re all losing and it’s one that affects our quality of life,” Comptroller Stringer said. “When people discover infestations in their homes and on their blocks, they expect a quick and effective response. Our audit found that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene wasn’t managing its pest control program effectively, even as the number of complaints about pests grew.”

The number of pest complaints in New York City jumped from 22,300 in 2012 to 24,586 in 2013. Comptroller Stringer’s audit examined whether one of the agencies primarily responsible for pest control, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, adequately followed its procedures for addressing pest control complaints during the period from July 1, 2011 through April 8, 2014.

DOHMH receives pest complaints online and through New York City’s 311 complaint call system, which are then assigned to one of five regional offices for inspection and notification, as well as the baiting and clean-up of properties if owners fail to act.

Auditors found DOHMH had weak oversight of its Pest Control Services program and failed to follow its own procedures:

• In 24 percent of the cases examined, DOHMH failed to check out citizen complaints in the 10-day target that it has established as the proper time in which to respond;

• In 160 cases, there was no field inspection attempt at all and 14 still had an open status in DOHMH’s system as of March 2014;

• There was no indication that assessments were conducted in 44 percent of 386 instances where inspectors requested clean up services during FY13, a required step before remediation can proceed; and

• DOHMH failed to give some property owners notifications of city orders to eliminate rodent conditions – thus increasing the risk that rat infestations may spread through a neighborhood.

“Rats are a daily, stomach-turning insult to New Yorkers — whether they’re scurrying over people’s feet on the sidewalks, invading homes where children sleep or swarming through restaurants,” Stringer said. “Without a vigilant and timely response by the City to citizen complaints, this problem will come back to bite us again and again.”

As NPR reported in August, the East Village will be one of the testing grounds for the city's new "rat reservoir pilot" — an initiative to try to reduce the rat population in neighborhoods with chronic infestations.

The Villager has a follow-up on this initiative here.