Report of a fire at 85 First Ave.

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

The FDNY came out in force around 1:30 to respond to a fire at 85 First Ave. just north of East Fifth Street (at the location of the former wine shop Tinto Fino).

MAN ALL HANDS 85 1 AVE,

— FDNY (@FDNY) January 17, 2015

The FDNY had things under control in about 10 minutes…

MAN ALL HANDS 85 1 AVE, 1 FRL AWNING, UNDER CONTROL

— FDNY (@FDNY) January 17, 2015

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

No word on the cause or the extent of the damage. There weren't any reports of injuries. And the fire didn't seem to have any impact on Three of Cups next door… which remained open.

This is the second reported fire along this stretch of First Avenue this past week. There was a basement fire at 133 E. Fourth Street at First Avenue on Tuesday morning.

A new mural on 12th and C that addresses gender-based street harassment

Brooklyn-based illustrator/painter Tatyana Fazlalizadeh created a new mural yesterday on East 12th Street at Avenue C ...



It's part of her ongoing project titled "Stop Telling Women to Smile," where, as the Huffington Post describes it, "Fazlalizadeh places portraits of women in public spaces, encouraging victims of gender-based street harassment to fight back."



Find more of her work on her website. And here's more about Fazlalizadeh in the Times last year ... and NPR in 2013.

Thanks to Robert Galinsky for the photos...

[Updated] Win tickets to see Marky Ramone tonight

Here is the latest clue via @MarkyRamone to the whereabouts to that golden ticket...

#NYC scavenger hunt winner still up for grabs! Find my book & win tix to my show 1/17 @GramercyTheatre MIght be here: pic.twitter.com/GSq2nG1U1i

— Marky Ramone (@MarkyRamone) January 15, 2015

Updated 1:18 p.m.

We're told that someone has claimed the tix…

Gag reflex

Jersey City's Vomitface continues their Monday night residency at Cake Shop on Ludlow Street this coming Monday ... here they are with "Sloppy Joes" ...

EV Grieve Mourning Edition

[Avenue A and St. Mark's Place]

Phase 1 of Essex Crossing revealed, and with concerns of overcrowding (Curbed)

A new development opportunity for Delancey at Clinton (BoweryBoogie)

Report: High-opportunity neighborhoods in NYC are losing affordable housing (NYU Furman Center)

Cyclist fatalities spiked in 2014 (Gothamist)

The hawks escort a surprise visitor out of Tompkins Square Park (Gog in NYC)

You can buy a T-ahirt to help support Tompkins Trees (Our Nature)

Staff revolt for unpaid wages at Food & Wine on Irving Place (Eater)

Go see something at Under St. Marks Theatre, 94 St. Mark's Place (Under St. Marks)

About the sale of 430 E. 10th St. between C and D (The Observer)

Henry Street Playhouse turning 100 (The Lo-Down)

Revisiting the Rivington School (Flaming Pablum)

When Keith Haring did animation for "Sesame Street" (BoingBoing)

RIP Kim Fowley (Pitchfork)

... and when did Zoltar get his oil lamp back outside Gem Spa????


[Photo by Goggla]

Remembering Jodie Lane, who died on this date in 2004

[Photo by Todd McCraw via Facebook]

Reposted from Jan. 16, 2014

Jodie Lane was a 30-year-old doctoral candidate at the Teacher’s College at Columbia University. During the late afternoon of Jan. 16, 2004, Lane, who lived on East 12th Street with her boyfriend, was walking her dogs. She was electrocuted on a snow-covered Con Edison junction box on the southwest corner of 11th Street at First Avenue.

The street was named in her honor in the spring of 2005. Former Councilmember Margarita Lopez joined Lane's family and friends for the street co-naming ceremony.

"The name of Jodie Lane is going to be there forever," Lopez said, "for Con Ed to remember what they did — that they didn’t care about the residents of New York City — and for it not to happen again."

As The Villager reported:

The young therapist’s death horrified the city, and brought heightened awareness to the problem of stray voltage leaking from street fixtures. With pressure from Lopez, Con Ed agreed to do annual stray-voltage inspections for all street lampposts and other electrified street fixtures.

In November 2004, ConEd agreed to pay Lane's family more than $6.2 million and to set up a $1 million scholarship fund in her name at Columbia.

Read more about the Jodie S. Lane Public Safety Foundation here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
In Memoriam: Roger M. Lane

[Updated] Report: Landlord forcing Ess-a-Bagel from its longtime home

[Image via]

Ess-a-Bagel, which has anchored the corner of First Avenue and East 21st Street since 1976, is being forced out of its longtime home.

According to Sabina Mollot at the Town & Village Blog, none of the restaurants on that corner — Ess-A-Bagel, Grill 21 and Rose Restaurant — are getting their leases renewed.

Per the article:

David Wilpon, the owner of Ess-A-Bagel said the longtime bagel joint may be moving somewhere close by but it’s nowhere near a done deal. “There’s a lot that’s up in the air,” he said, adding that he’s still holding out some hope of staying put. He’s also requesting a holdover and is in the midst of negotiations.

Wilpon said the trouble with his lease started when his aunt, Florence Wilpon, who’d founded the businesses in 1976, died. This was in September, 2013 during the midst of negotiations for a renewal. After that, while the family was dealing with the will and related issues, “They claimed we weren’t getting back to them in a timely fashion.”

The landlord, L&M Development Partners, reportedly already has a Bank of America and Tower Bagels fitted for the Ess-a-Bagel space.

And this sounds familiar: "Wilpon chalked up the impending closure as part of the pattern of the city’s landlords preferring to oust mom-and-pops in the hopes of getting a corporation that can pay more."

Head over to the Town & Village Blog for more details.

There's a second Ess-A-Bagel at 831 Third Ave. in Midtown East.

Updated 6:08 p.m.

A spokesperson for East 21 Retail LLC sent us the following statement:

"When we purchased the property, our main priority was to keep Ess-A-Bagel as a tenant. Ess-A-Bagel is a tradition in this city and we had no desire to see them leave. In the three years since, we’ve bent over backwards to come to a mutually fair agreement with Ess-A-Bagel’s owners. Our offer would have allowed Ess-A-Bagel to remain — and even gave them the option to expand — in the space they are in currently. Unfortunately, it takes two sides to make a deal, and Ess-A-Bagel’s owners repeatedly refused to meet us between their below-market rent and current market value.

We regret that Ess-A-Bagel chose to misrepresent our intentions in the press. We take our responsibility as landlords very seriously and worked diligently to keep Ess-A-Bagel as a tenant. At a meeting in September, Ess-A-Bagel confirmed they were actively negotiating a lease at a new location. We wish them the best of luck in all their future endeavors."

H/T Brian Van

Your chance to help create a Community Gardens District

[EVG file photo of Orchard Alley on East 4th Street]

Community Board 3 (CB3) member Bill LoSasso, who's a community gardener, passed along the following letter...

As you may know, a Coalition has formed to pursue permanence of the community gardens within the boundaries of CB3. Our community has an wonderful abundance of community gardens which provide numerous environmental, ecological, cultural, social, historical, aesthetic, and economic benefits, and more, to our neighborhoods.

If you believe that these gardens are valuable assets to our community that deserve every type of protection possible, please take 20 seconds to sign the petition below as we pursue the cause of having all gardens declared parklands and designated as part of a designated Community Gardens District. Once designated as parklands, it would take an act of the New York State legislature to alienate the land for a use other than open space.

Help preserve community gardens right here.

And here are more details from the petition...

CB3 is the birthplace of community gardens in New York City and New York State. In 1973, the first garden was established in CB3 by local activists who worked to reverse years of decline and neglect by public and private property owners.

At one time, there were 57 registered community gardens in CB3, and dozens more operating independently. As the neighborhood evolved, however, numerous gardens were bulldozed as development proceeded.

Today, there are still 46 community gardens located in CB3 — the highest density in New York City. Community Board 3 has been strengthened by the history of its community gardens, which provide environmental, cultural, aesthetic, ecological, economic, and artistic benefits to this community, and more.

Let's take a look at Seven East Village, the new luxury condos now for sale at 7th and D

Sales are now underway at 277 E. Seventh St., the luxury condos near Avenue D now going by Seven East Village ... complete with this for the branding — the shirtless, bearded guy riding a (Citi?) Bike on First Avenue at St. Mark's Place (inexplicably standing in for East Seventh Street)...



Curbed swung by the kick-off event (we were not invited!) the other night (where they raffled off a Vespa!). You can head over there for a lot of photos of the model units and people in suits and stuff.

So far, just two of the six units are on the market, including Penthouse B ($2.05 million).

Let's take a look at the OMG listing from the gang at Nest Seekers (the official building site is here):

Penthouse B spans its own private floor and encompasses more than 1,300 Square Feet. With direct and exclusive entry via your own private keyed elevator entrance, you are welcomed to a grand living room with 12 feet of southern facing, fully-collapsible, floor-to-ceiling windows that open onto a generous balcony. Wide-plank, Forest Stewardship Council white oak floors grace the home throughout.

The kitchen, a piece of art in its own right, boasts Italian crafted cabinetry, waterfall countertops, and appliances from Bertazonni and Fisher & Paykel. The master bedroom, with an en-suite bath and its own terrace, is its own paradise.

The second bedroom is equally as large with great closet space. Each feature one-inch thick windows made of sound-attenuating thermal high performance glass. The spacious baths includes custom Italian vanities, radiant heated floors, Porcelanosa tiles, a frameless shower and Zuma Collection soaking tub. The home is fit with built-in speakers, a 3-zone climate control system, and washer/dryer. The roof deck is complete with a state-of-the-art electric grill, a Caesarstone countertop, sink, and Ipe wood cabinets, along with spacious dining and entertaining space.

Let's look at some photos from this unit...









Looks nice!

Of course, it seems like a lot of the neighbors already hate this building given the incessant noise from construction. Which may be why Curbed's correspondent overheard this at the event:

A woman on the street yelling, "Hey! Look! Assholes moving to the neighborhood!" at the people on the second floor Juliet balcony.

Previously on EV Grieve:
277 E. 7th St. condos rebranded 'Seven East Village,' and will feature a bike-sharing program (23 comments)

Random shirtless, bearded guy on a bike now helping market luxury condos at 277 E. 7th St.

The next sliver of space for development: The parking lot at 277 Seventh St.

Seventh Street parking lot destined to become 6-floor apartment building

Arrow Bar has closed on Avenue A

The subterranean space with a good happy hour at 85 Avenue A between East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street recently called it quits…



The bar, owned by two former employees of Pianos on Ludlow Street, had a pretty good run here (what was it — 7 years?). One tipster told us the closure wasn't rent related, rather business was off and management couldn't make it work anymore.

There isn't mention of the closure on the bar's website or Facebook page.

The rent is due at the former Back Forty

[Image via]

Back Forty rather abruptly shut down after service on Dec. 21.

Chef and owner Peter Hoffman told Eater that "a difficult landscape and lease uncertainty" led to the decision to close the 7-year-old restaurant at 190 Avenue B near East 12th Street.

The space is now for rent.

Meanwhile, several readers noted that there are "three day rent demand" flyers hanging on the storefront.

There are two. One for the "north store," where the total due rent is $7,800.84 ($3,942 a month) for "rent due and owing" ...


[Photo via Tania Vargas]

... and at the "south store," the total rent due is $11.001.12 ($5,500.56 a month) ...



So if our counting is any good... total rent for the space was $9,442.56. Curious what the landlord wanted to jack up the rent to... if a seemingly popular place like Back Forty couldn't make a go of it anymore...

Now open: Fantastic Tea Shop on East 4th Street

EVG reader Ben let's us know that Fantastic Tea Shop has opened at 128 E. Fourth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

We don't know too much about the space just yet… but we'll add it to our growing list of new East Village cafes.

NYPD looking for suspect in 5 sexual assaults, including 2 in the East Village

A man wanted in connection with two sexual assaults in East Village buildings near the FDR last month is also suspected of three other attacks, the NYPD said.

The most recent incident occurred early yesterday morning. As DNAinfo reports:

The man, who was caught on surveillance video wearing a black Yankees baseball cap, most recently snuck up behind a 31-year-old woman as she entered her apartment building near Chrystie Street on Jan. 14 at 2:30 a.m., police said.

He grabbed her waist and pulled her pants down but pushed her away and fled when she screamed, police said.

Gothamist posted video of the suspect.



Here is the latest description of the suspect, via Gothamist: "a black male, approximately 5'4" to 5'11", 20-25-years-old, 150-180 lbs., with a dark complexion."

Gothamist also has details on each attack.

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

Open Pantry is now selling off its inventory and equipment

Last Thursday, we passed along the sad news that Open Pantry was going to close it 45-year-old coffee shop/grocery at 184 Second Ave. in the weeks ahead.



The sign above on the Open Pantry front door explains.

There's now a listing on Craigslist noting that the store is selling its inventory and equipment.

Not much info is featured on the listing (including the name Open Pantry, but the photos all show the familiar interior) ...



Several readers on our previous post said that the proprietors, the Pappas family, also own the building here between East 11th Street and East 12th Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
After 40-plus years, Open Pantry looks to be closing on 2nd Avenue