Hanjoo has apparently closed on St. Mark's Place

The well-regarded Korean cold-noodle specialist from Flushing has apparently called it a day here at 12 St. Mark's Place.

There isn't any sign of life at the restaurant… the phone is disconnected … the website is down … and they are no longer active on Seamless.

CB3 granted Hanjoo's request to extend their beer-wine license to the sidewalk cafe back in June.

Hanjoo opened here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue in October 2012… and it seemed poised to stop the recent revolving door that included Hirai Mong, Gama, San Marcos, Siren and @Cafe. The address was also once home to the St. Mark's Bookshop.

Friends trying to help East Village resident stay in his home of 43 years

Some EVG Grieve readers shared the following about longtime resident Bobby Gorman's housing situation …. information via GoFundMe…

I have lived in the same East Village apartment in New York City since 1971. As I am the only surviving original tenant, the co-op board now wants me out so they can realize a high profit from my low income apartment. For over 10 years they have used every trick in the book to get me to leave …

In April 2014, the co-op filed the case in New York Supreme Court to force me out. I am a cater-waiter by profession with a very modest income. All I could afford was a low-priced attorney who failed to file the correct documents, then coerced me into signing an affidavit that saved him and condemned me. As a result, on September 15th I got a Sheriff’s Vacate Order. I’ve since had three appearances before Judge Barbara Jaffe who decided on January 9th to terminate my tenancy. In addition I will lose all of my shares in the coop and be libel for a whopping $60,000+ for the coop’s legal fees.

What I desperately need now is to raise $80,000 to cover the costs of an appeal and trial.

I have a good lawyer on board this time who feels strongly about a successful appeal, and trial.

To date, Gorman, a 67-year-old Vietnam veteran, has raised nearly $6,500. Find more details at GoFundMe.

The 4th annual Poetic License starts tonight at the Wild Project

The Poetic Theater festival starts tonight at the Wild Project at 195 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B... here's a quick overview via the EVG inbox...

Now in its fourth year, Poetic License is Poetic Theater Productions’ annual festival of new poetic theater, which has grown from five days to three weeks, features two fully realized mainstage productions of thrilling new poetic plays written by company members, a reading series of six new works of poetic theater, and three special events: Love Redefined, an evening of new work devoted to non-traditional love; Breaking Our Silence, a celebration of LGBT voices; and Generation Now, a showcase of youth voices in poetic theater.

POETIC LICENSE 2015: subconscious kicks off tonight and runs through Sunday, Feb. 22. Performances are at the Wild Project. Tickets to each event are $18; the 6@6 Reading Series is free. Tickets can be purchased from OvationTix on 212.352.3101 or online at www.poetictheater.com.

Rent this charming 5-bedroom duplex on East 7th Street where a hammock awaits out back

Over at 264 E. Seventh St., on the lovely block between Avenue C and Avenue D, you can rent a new-to-market five-bedroom duplex in a 1842 Greek Revival house (one of six along here).

Let's check out the Spire Group listing:

This is a rare unit in a charming brownstone on one of the most scenic blocks in the east village. It's directly across the street from the beautiful Flowerbox Building [EVG note: This is a selling point????]. This is an absolutely enormous duplex with a private patio, leading down to a large private garden.
• Enormous living/ dining with white washed exposed brick wall
• 12 foot ceilings with halogen dimmer lighting
• Large Eat in kitchen on top floor leading out to private patio with staircase down to garden
• On top level, one large bedroom, one enormous one
• 2nd private exit to garden on bottom level
• On garden level, 3 large bedrooms

The asking rent is $5,500.

While the inside looks all fine and dandy... the garden is the selling point... (not sure if the hammock is part of the deal)...



If you like the rental, then consider buying the whole building, which has been on the market for the past five months. The current price is $4.395 million.

Per the Streeteasy listing:

No. 264 "offers a rare opportunity to create a unique single family townhouse with approx. 4,000 additional square feet available to enlarge the house to a total of 8,200 buildable square feet."

So it's possible your rental might be on the short-term side... ditto for the charming brownstone in its current state.

Reader report: Nike building a pop-up shop on the Bowery for the NBA All-Star game

Crews are erected some kind of structure this afternoon on the Bowery at Great Jones… home of the Downtown Auto & Tire until April 2012…



A tipster said that workers are building a "Nike sneaker box" ahead of next week's NBA All-Star game in NYC…



Quite a production at the moment… No word just yet when any of this goes live…



This corner space previously housed the Deth Killers of Bushwick pop-up shop.

Updated 6:25 p.m.

Goggla shared a few photos from this evening…

[Updated] Man armed with boxcutter attacks 4 around Union Square

[Image via the NYPD]

An apparent argument on an uptown 4 train early this morning sparked a slash attack that left 3 people in the hospital, police said.

The Daily News reported that the spree started when the attacker cut a man during an argument around 1:30 a.m. on the 4 train. The man left the train at Union Square, where he preceded to slash two other men as well as slap a woman in the face.

DNAinfo noted that the attacks happened after the victims refused the suspect's request for money.

Per DNA:

As the suspect left the station, climbing the stairs near the Food Emporium at 10 Union Square East, he asked a 46-year-old man for $2, police said. When the man refused, the suspect slashed him on the right side of his face.

The suspect then crossed 14th Street near Fourth Avenue, demanded a dollar from a 59-year-old man who was waiting for the M14 bus and then cut the man's face, police said.

EMTs took the three victims to Bellevue, where they are reportedly listed in stable condition.

According to an NYPD report cited by the Daily News, the suspect is "a heavy-built and clean shaven black man with a missing tooth, 5-foot-9, 180-pounds, age 20-25."

He was last seen wearing red and white sneakers, a black knit hat and a grey hoodie.

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.

Updated 2-6 6:30 p.m.

Police have arrested and charged a man in the attacks, CBS New York reports.

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.



By James Maher

Name: Adrianna Grezak
Occupation: Photographer, Photo Editor
Location: 4th Street and 2nd Avenue
Time: Tuesday, Jan. 13

I emigrated from Poland when I was seven and I grew up in a town in northern New Jersey that was a majority Polish immigrants. I emigrated in the 1990s, when people were still coming over here.

This is the only Polish stereotype that’s true for my family – my father’s in construction and my mother’s a cleaning lady who started her own cleaning service. That’s always been inspirational to me, watching someone start their own business from scratch in a new country, like both my parents.

I moved to New York City in 2007 to attend NYU. I studied anthropology. Well, I studied a bunch of things like every other kid interested in human thought. I started off with psychology and then I realized that there were other fields that covered that, so I switched over to anthro.

I was at NYU through 2011. The recession was an interesting time to be in New York City, watching all these businesses close and get replaced by Starbucks and 7-Elevens. I like supporting small independent businesses, especially since they’re disappearing. Especially the immigrant thing, because I’m a little biased. If I notice that it’s run by immigrants, then I’ll go there. And attending NYU, this was before the recession hit, the students were kind of going crazy, not worrying about finances, whereas a year later that’s what the conversation was about. All of a sudden every student was very aware with what was going on in the economy and how that affected them directly.

I’m really lucky to live in the East Village ... I rent a room from someone who bought her apartment in the 1980s. NYU dorms weren’t for me because I’m a quiet person and I wasn’t really into the scene. She’s a professor at a different school and she posted a listing as an NYU off-campus housing that nobody really used, which is why I found it.

It’s funny that I told her, ‘Yeah this is great for the two years that I’m in college.’ Three years after that and I’m still here. I’m not leaving. We get along great. It’s a true two bedroom with a dining room and a living room. People say, ‘Oh you live with somebody from a different generation from you.’ But it has brick walls and we don’t hear each other. You don’t see these apartments anymore. It’s a true old-school apartment.

When I graduated my first job was actually connected to anthropology ... working in publishing. I left the publishing job in 2012 [to pursue photography], and especially then everyone was saying, ‘It’s really hard. You’re not going to be able to do it.’ I think back to my mom’s personal story, being an immigrant. She was able to create her own business. I guess I wouldn’t take no for an answer. Yeah, I had a lot of anxiety about it. It’s something I love to do regardless of whether I’m paid for it, so that helps.

I started off by exploring different avenues in photography and what is good now about all these different technologies is that e-commerce is a giant thing and that’s how I got my foot in the door beyond doing some gigs with portraits. I started off doing fashion photography and product photography for different consignment stores. I worked for INA NYC.

That job helped me get my current job. My title is production specialist, but it’s kind of a photo-editor job at a company called 1stdibs, which is actually in that new building on Astor Place — the Jeff Koons building. 1stdibs is an online marketplace and their tagline is ‘The Most Beautiful Things on Earth.’ It’s tables, antiques, fashion.

I saw the building being built and obviously there are a lot of negatives about it being built there. I think a lot about how the East Village has changed, but on the flip side it took me awhile to get long-term employment and [this] helped me. There are two sides of every coin. The fact that all these new businesses are coming in, it’s personally helped me, whereas I also completely agree and see the negatives of it.

In some ways I guess [studying anthropology] connects to my interests in photography. It was always something that I did, kind of an impulse to take photographs. I’ve done it with disposable cameras before digital cameras were a thing.

I’m interested in people’s diverse experiences and that’s what I try to do with my photography. I’ve been drawn to demonstrations. I’ve photographed them for a few years. My first one that I really set out to capture was the New York City Postal Service rally, where I snuck my way in the press pit. It helps that I’m a tiny girl who no one really pays attention to.

The goal of my new project at On Second Avenue is to show people different sides of New York City ... especially as an immigrant, even though I’ve been here for almost 20 years and now that I’m living my white-collar life. But I grew up working class, and I still kind of feel like an outsider. That’s one of the reasons I love living in the East Village because it’s so diverse. You hear all different kinds of languages here.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Black Seed bringing bagels to the former DeRobertis space on 1st Avenue

[EVG file photo]

After 110 years at 176 First Ave., DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe closed its doors this past Dec. 5.

And news broke yesterday who the next retail tenant will be here between East 10th Street and East 11th Street: Black Seed bagels.


[Image via Facebook]

Per Zagat:

The new outpost, designed by the hOmE group, will maintain many of the original details of the iconic bakery including the tiled floor and handcut tile walls. The new space also feature a wood-fired oven like the flagship as well as original tin ceilings. Expect expanded sandwich and coffee options although no word on what those items will be just yet.

A Black Seed opened on Elizabeth Street last April ... and there were soon insane lines out front.

Here's Gothamist with more on the Montreal-NYC hybrid bagels:

Black Seed's bagels are smaller than most of those currently on offer in the city, boasting a bigger hole and more crust-to-innards than their puffier NYC counterparts.

Anyone else want to weigh in on Black Seed's bagels?

The East Village Black Seed location is supposed to open in the late spring.

The economy, age and health concerns reportedly weighed on their De Robertis family's decision to sell the building.

While the next tenant is known, there isn't any word just yet who actually bought 174-176 First Ave. The building had a $12 million price tag.

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

[Updated] 110-year-old DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe looks to be closing once the building is sold

174-176 First Ave., home of DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe, is for sale

Let's take a look at the DeRobertis in-house bakery

Former Terroir space quickly converted into Fifty Paces on East 12th Street

[Image via]

The original East Village outpost of the wine bar Terroir at 413 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue closed after service this past Saturday night.

And as promised, Hearth chef-owner Marco Canora quickly turned the space around — the new venture, Fifty Paces, debuts tonight, as Eater first reported.

We'll head to Eater (who also posted the menu) for more:

The drink menu at Fifty Paces is still focused on wines by the glass, served in either three or six ounce pours, and also includes a few sherries and ciders, and a handful of beers ... The food menu, meanwhile, now consists of dishes "inspired by" the food at Hearth. It's an on-trend bar menu, with small snacks, toasts, and large shared plates like pork ragu sloppy joes, yoshi fried chicken, and braised rabbit legs with polenta.

Fifty Paces will also serve some of the broth that Canora sells at Brodo, the newish to-go spot on First Avenue.

This Terroir closed after six years following a business split between Canora and Paul Grieco, who will continue operating three of the other wine bar locations in the city.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Terroir closes tomorrow night on East 12th Street; new concept on the way soon

It's the Full Snow Moon

EVG regular Grant Shaffer took this tonight in Tompkins Square Park...

Hey, where's Jupiter???

Some background via Universe Today:

February’s full moon is aptly named the Full Snow Moon as snowfall can be heavy this month.

And!

The Full Moon celebrates Jupiter’s coming opposition by accompanying the bright planet in a beautiful conjunction tonight.

And here is the moon from 2:03 a.m. overnight via Bobby Williams and his EV Observatory...

The Williamsburg warehouse fire 4 days later

EVG reader Daniel Root was back in East River Park this afternoon ... where you can see FDNY crews still pumping water onto the smoldering ruins of CitiStorage, a record storage facility, in Williamsburg.

The fire broke out early Saturday morning at 5 N. 11th St. (at Kent Avenue).

Officials reportedly said this afternoon that it might be days before authorities had any information on how the fire started.

According to various published reports, such as NBC New York, the warehouse primarily stored records for more than 100 health care organizations and law firms, according to Recall Holdings, the parent company of CitiStorage.

The Times reported that charred medical records, court transcripts, legal letters, sonograms, bank checks and more — many marked confidential — were found around the neighborhood.

"They're like treasure maps, but with people's personal information all over them," Spencer Bergen, 24, said of the half-charred scraps that he said he had seen strewn around the Williamsburg neighborhood as far inland as Berry Street, several blocks from the warehouse.

The fire required more than 60 units and 275 firefighters to get under control.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Scenes of the 7-alarm fire in Williamsburg from East River Park

A sign from...?

EVG reader Rik Rocket notes an upward pointing icicle stalactite on the cross at The Church of the Most Holy Redeemer on East Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B... it's a sign, right?

Free rat (prevention) training

Via the EVG inbox...

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Yesterday in Tompkins Square Park via Bobby Williams]

Sheldon Silver's 21-year reign as speaker comes to an end (New York Post)

The secretive, sleazy process to replace Sheldon Silver (The New York Times)

Longtime Silver crony is overseeing property-tax cases (The Real Deal)

Meet Carl Heastie, New York's new Assembly Speaker (New York)

Penny Arcade talks about her longtime home (The Lo-Down)

Late nights at Ichibantei on East 13th Street (The New York Times)

Tompkins Square Park posers (Gog in NYC)

Snack Dragon closes Orchard Street location (BoweryBoogie)

The NYC skyline from Union Square in 1849 (Ephemeral New York)

NYC’s first gentrification movement was all about pigs (The Real Deal)

Vintage NYC films (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Philip Glass will score "The Fantastic Four" (BoingBoing)

... and one more photo from yesterday in Tompkins Square Park ... this one via Derek Berg...