Sidewalk bridge arrives on Houston and Avenue B

Last Tuesday evening, debris from atop the corner building on Avenue B at East Houston fell, reportedly breaking the foot of a 57-year-old man passing by on the sidewalk.

On Friday, workers arrived to erect a protective sidewalk bridge.



The FDNY promptly ordered a structural stability inspection and logged a complaint with the Department of Buildings. There aren't any work permits on file yet on this long-vacant building.

Given that mostly nothing has happened here the past few years, we imagine that the sidewalk bridge will be up for some time… perhaps even breaking an EV record in the process.

H/T EVG reader Magic Brian

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cleaning out the long-closed liquor store on Avenue B and East Houston

Is something finally happening to the long-vacant, mysterious 6 Avenue B?

Something new for the old fortress of East 7th Street

Korzo Haus, the deep-fried burger place on East Seventh Street just west of Avenue B, closed at the end of October.

On Saturday, EVG regular Dave on 7th spotted workers, uh, working on the exterior.

According to one of the workers, here's what's next: "Coffee place, take out. American cuisine."

Whatever the place will be, it appears that the new owners have apparently opted not to keep Korzo's fortress look.

Extra Place now graffiti free (for the moment)

On Friday, someone painted over all the tags in Extra Place…



…the seven-years-in the-making-and-failing-so-far pedestrian mall behind the former alley behind CBGB…



Not sure why the tags were painted over. Because someone deemed them unsightly? Too make way for some new art project? Patrons of the recently opened Momofuku Ko didn't like looking at them?

Dunno!

As for the Momofuku Ko here that took the place of the restaurants Heidi and Extra Place… Per Eater:

Momofuku Ko... has raised the price of dinner to $175, an increase of $50 over the old menu. With that higher cost come more indulgences: the two-Michelin-starred restaurant has lengthened the menu to 17-courses.

So what does this all mean for your wallet? A meal for two at Ko, after tax and tip, will cost $451, a 40 percent hike over the old cost of $322. Add on beverage pairings at $155, and a dinner date will run you $851.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A look inside the incoming Momofuko Ko on Extra Place

With new restaurant opening, will Extra Place finally become a dining destination?

Extra Place now officially a Dead End

Extra Place and Heidi currently 'closed for renovation' in Extra Place

Espoleta now serving tapas and stuff on the Bowery

Forcella Bowery recently closed … and it didn't take long for a new tenant to revamp the space at 334 Bowery.

Espoleta is now open and serving tapas and the like … here's the menu…



Urban Daddy got the first look at the interior and dishes if you're interested in seeing more.

Forcella's take-out Slice of Naples remains open next door, as BoweryBoogie reported.

Previously on EV Grieve:
On the Bowery, Forcella pizza shows a sign, Twitter account

Week in Grieview

A night of protests over the grand jury decision not to indict the NYPD officer involved in the Eric Garner chokehold case (Thursday … and later)

City deems East Village Bed & Coffee an illegal hotel on Avenue C (Tuesday)

Simone Martini Bar closed for good (Monday)

Farewell De Robertis (Friday)

Discussing that explosion/bang/boom (Friday, 35 comments)

Out and About with Arthur Nersesian (Wednesday)

Movement underway to reoccupy the Yippie Museum (Thursday)

Two dessert closures on Second Avenue (Thursday)

Fresh & Co. coming to former Pie Face space on Fourth Avenue (Monday)

Decking the halls at 7B (Tuesday)

A new laundromat for Avenue B (Tuesday)

Dee Dee Ramone exhibit opens next week (Wednesday)

Fire at 251 E. Houston St. temporarily closes Gaia Cafe (Monday)

The ABCs of a new mural on Avenue C (Tuesday)

S & P Liquor & Wine back in business on East 5th Street (Thursday)

More about the End of Avenue A Block Association (Friday)

A bar called Matty's in the works for Idle Hands on Avenue B (Wednesday)

176 E. 3rd St. changes hands for the third time in seven years (Friday)

d.b.a is temporarily closed for renovations (Thursday)

Checkers check (Friday)

Don't dress up as Santa for this happy hour special (Monday)

… and on Tuesday morning, the Keith Haring sculpture arrived outside 51 Astor Place… it was still a little dark out, so our photos, well — they sucked… these are a little better…





… and we do enjoy the rotating monthly murals at Mikey Likes It on Avenue A… This month's Flavor of the Month is Home Alone.

[Updated] Maharlika is closed for now

Several readers have pointed out that Maharlika, the well-regarded Filipino restaurant on First Avenue at East Seventh Street, has been closed the past few days.

A sign on the door states: "Due to building complications, the Maharlika kitchen is not able to operate."



Would-be diners are directed to Jeepney, Maharlika's other restaurant a few blocks up First Avenue.

The sign coincides with a DOH closure dated Thursday…



According to the DOH, there were 41 violation points, including for evidence of various critters.

Updated: Maharlika reopened on Dec. 11.

E-xciting news from Gem Spa

[Photo by Derek Berg]

Yesterday morning, a worker arrived at Gem Spa, one of our favorite places… to finally fix the E in the Gem here on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place…

And now!

And then there was 1 floor

The Salvation Army's former East Village Residence on the Bowery at East Third Street is nearly gone… Goggla's photo from Friday shows the remains of the ground floor.

Workers are demolishing the building to make way for a 13-floor, 30,000 square-foot mixed-use residential development.

Two Boots is getting out of the video rental business on Avenue A

The pizzeria has been selling off its DVD collection from the Two Boots Video Nook the past few days.

Probably not a shocker. Does anyone rent movies anymore?



Anywhere, we hear that the DVDs are going for $1, Blu-Ray and new releases $5, and Criterion Collection films $10.

But! The sign outside the pizzeria on Avenue A and East Third Street promises something new...



The Pioneer Jr. "The world's smallest screening room." OK!

Two Boots Video closed in the fall of 2008, with a much smaller rental collection merging next door in the pizzeria. (The video space and Pioneer Theater are now part of the Upright Citizens Brigade.)

Thank you to @geofffree for the tip!

Clinton Street Baking Company expansion underway

EVG reader Magic Brian passed along these photos yesterday… showing workers plywooding up the southeast corner of East Houston and Clinton Street.



As BoweryBoogie first reported back in June, pancake-line-waiting hotspot Clinton Street Baking Company will expand into the space last held by Min's Market.

Co-owner DeDe Lahman shared this with Gothamist Thursday:

The new space will boast 55 seats — up from 32 in the old space — which should help ease some of the brunch time congestion. Lahman says the old space will also stay open, eventually transitioning into more of a take out spot for coffee, baked goods and pickup orders. "The rest of the plans for that spot will take shape as we open the new space and suss out what will work for us and our guests," she explains.

And the space today…

If you like songs, caroling and storytelling

Several East Village residents are among the talented collection of singers who are taking part in this tonight…

An evening of song, caroling and storytelling
7:30 pm
Gustavus Adolphus Church
155 E. 22nd St.
FREE

The church is between Third Avenue and Lexington…

Thank you and good night

EVG reader William Klayer was outside De Robertis around 8 p.m. when the family closed the gate for business for the last time at 176 First Ave. The last words were a simple, "That's all she wrote."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Ugh: The 110-year-old DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe closes after Dec. 5 (43 comments)

Search continues for missing Stuy Town resident

We were asked to repost this information from the Town & Village Blog:

Police are looking for Andreas Robbins, a 25-year-old resident of Stuyvesant Town who was last seen on Monday leaving his apartment at 521 East 14th Street.

He is described as being 6’1” tall and thin, weighing 200 pounds. He has brown eyes and black hair. He also has a prominent birthmark on the right side of his nose and tattoos on both shoulders and his right wrist. Robbins’ family said he may be wearing a grey herringbone dresscoat and a scarf.

Robbins’s parents Elsa Stamatopoulou and Bruce Robbins have also requested that anyone with information contact them at (212) 431-5872 or (917) 318-9707. Fliers have been posted at places Robbins frequents.

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is also asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.

Over the 'Rainbow'

Helmet led by former EV resident Page Hamilton is performing its 1994 release "Betty" in its entirety on Feb. 21 at the Bowery Ballroom. The show is already sold out... but maybe there'll be another one...

Here's a track from that record — "Wilma's Rainbow."