Remembering East Village blast victim Nicholas Figueroa

[Image via Facebook]

Friends and loved ones filled the R.G. Ortiz Funeral Home in Washington Heights this afternoon to pay their respects to Nicholas Figueroa, 23, one of the two victims in the Second Avenue gas explosion on March 26

From the Post:

Nicholas Figueroa was the kind of man fathers would want to marry their daughters, his Scoutmaster said at his wake...

“He was very young, so motivated,” Luis Benitez said as services got under way. “He was a pillar of the community.”

From the Daily News:

"It's devastating," Neal Figueroa said. "There are no words adequate to describe my brother. This room speaks for itself. Look at all these people who have come to honor my brother."

From DNAinfo:

"He had all the love for everybody," his father, Nixon Figueroa said. "Everywhere he goes he gave a good smile, he brought life into people. He was a caring kid."

The funeral for Figueroa is tomorrow at the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, 207 W. 96th St., at 10 a.m.

Services for the second victim, Moises Ismael Locón Yac, 27, will reportedly be in his native Guatemala.

The East Village residents who launched a crowdfunding campaign to help with Locón's funeral expenses have been unable to track down any of his family members. If his family can't be found, then the money will be returned to the individual donors. The campaign has raised $6,361 in eight days.

Meanwhile, the NYPD is "poised to launch a homicide investigation" into the deadly blast, according to published reports.

Report: 2nd Avenue blast 'is likely going to end up a homicide case'

[Outside Gem Spa on 2nd Avenue]

The NYPD is "poised to launch a homicide investigation" into the deadly blast at 121 Second Ave., the Daily News reports this afternoon.

This is likely going to end up a homicide case,” a high-ranking police source told the Daily News. “The DA will probably bring it to the grand jury.”

The focus of the criminal investigation is building owner Maria Hrynenko and contractor Dilber Kukic, sources have said.

Both are suspected of tapping into a gas main meant to serve only a first-floor sushi restaurant to provide heat to Hrynenko’s tenants on upper floors. Kukic is no stranger to the law. He was arrested in October for allegedly trying to give a city inspector a $600 cash bribe to make two violations on buildings he owns on W. 173rd St. in Manhattan go away.

“No one's going to be charged for doing sloppy work, but if it can be proved that someone was told to do this, then it's a criminally negligent homicide,” the source said.

Nicholas Figueroa, 23, and Moises Ismael Locón Yac, 27, died in the blast at Sushi Park restaurant on March 26. More than 20 other people were injured as three buildings at 119-123 Second Ave. were destroyed.

Jupiter and moons tonight

Local astronomy buff Felton Davis passed along the following...

If it's clear I will set up on the corner of East 3rd Street and 2nd Avenue at 8 pm to show Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, presently high in the constellation Cancer.

Jupiter was in Leo last fall, has been shifting retrograde (clockwise) toward Cancer all winter, and in a few weeks will turn and move back (counter-clockwise) toward Leo. This is due to the relative positions of Earth as an inner planet versus Jupiter as an outer planet.

One of Jupiter's largest moons, Europa, will disappear behind the planet at 8:30 pm, and re-emerge from the other side, at around 11:30. Although Ganymede and Callisto are both larger than our moon, Europa and Io are a little smaller.

Shakespeare in the Parking Lot has a new parking lot on the Lower East Side

[Photo from 2012 by Lee Wexler/Images for Innovation]

Via the EVG inbox this morning...

The Drilling Company's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot has found a new home in the Parking Lot behind The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center, 114 Norfolk St. located between Delancey and Rivington Streets, just three blocks from the parking lot where the cultural attraction started in 1995.

In 2014, after losing its space in the Municipal Parking lot at Ludlow and Broome Streets, the company engaged in a nine-month search for a new location to continue the 20-year tradition, presenting free Shakespeare for a generation on the Lower East Side. The annual two-play festival will now have a new home for its 21st season and into the future.

This year's productions will be "As You Like It," directed by Hamilton Clancy, July 9 to 26 and "Macbeth," director TBA, July 30 to August 15.

Shakespeare in the Parking Lot became a treasured urban tradition in two decades of productions in the neighborhood known as the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area, which is now giving way to Essex Crossing, a giant mixed-used development.

Report: Plumber claims landlord's son ordered him to illegally tap gas line at 121 2nd Ave.

[Photo from March 26 by George Jarema via Facebook]

In an exclusive today, the Post reports that an unnamed plumber "has admitted to illegally tapping into a gas line" at 121 Second Ave. at the orders of the landlord's son, Michael Hrynenko Jr.

Per the Post:

The unidentified tradesman confessed to rigging a gas-supply system for apartments at 121 Second Ave. but blamed it on his boss to “deflect” any fault from himself, law-enforcement sources said.

Authorities haven’t decided whether to cut a deal with the worker in exchange for his testimony or use his statement against him, one source said.

Sources told the Post that anyone suspected of causing the devastation, which killed two men and injured more than 20 people, "could face charges including second-degree manslaughter and reckless endangerment."

As previously reported, authorities believe that an improperly and possibly illegally installed gas line at 121 Second Ave. led to the destruction three buildings on March 26.

In other developments, the Post reports that landlord Maria Hrynenko has hired a new attorney, replacing Thomas Curtis who had previously spoke out on her behalf with mixed results.

"It wasn't working out between us," Curtis told the Post. "The whole thing is very strange. I think she's made a mistake."

A little more about East Village Organic, opening this spring on 1st Avenue

Last month we mentioned that a market called East Village Organic was opening at 124 First Ave. between East Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place ... at the time, there wasn't much available information, except for a Twitter account.

Now we have a few more details about the store... the owner is Ali, who has run Golden Food Market on the northeast corner of First Avenue and Seventh Street the past 35 years ... and Kim Turim, a herbalist who has operated Penny's Herb Company on East Seventh Street since the late 1970s. (You may also recognize Kim from when he worked the day shift at Ray's Candy Store.)


[Ali and Kim, photo via East Village Organic]

Among other items, East Village Organic will feature:

• Organic Grown Produce
• Full Juice Bar and Cold Press Juice
• Bulk Grain Seed Nuts
• Full Macrobiotic Section
• Roots, Barks, Flowers (Herbalist on Premises)
• Full Assortment of Pure Essential Oils
• Seaweeds
• Full Dairy Section
• Nut and Seed Butters
• Wholegrain Baked Goods
• Dried Fruits

They plan to open later this spring...

The was previously home to Kim's Video and Music until last Aug. 25.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Organic food store taking over the former Kim's Video and Music space on 1st Avenue

Shaping up the former Simone

The exterior of the former Simone Martini Bar on First Avenue and St. Mark's Place looks pretty much as it did after closing for good after 15 years at the end of November.

As previously reported, the owners of The Wayland on Avenue C and East Ninth Street are taking over the space… and on Saturday they provided a snapshot of the work going on inside…



No opening date just yet for Good Night Sonny, which will feature a tavern/seafood style menu…

Updated 6:10 p.m.

Wayland partner Robert Ceraso shared more about the name of the new venture — Good Night Sonny.

"It’s named after my maternal grandfather. Our family owned a bar on the corner of Mulberry and Hester for 40 years or so. He sold it in the 1960s. Even though he hadn’t been a bartender in 50 years, my grandfather still always kept our late hours. The name is my grandmother saying good night to him when she would go up to bed. We wanted to honor our elders as well as all the woman in our lives who put up with our crazy lifestyle and schedule."

Guayoyo and Tuome remain closed after fires

Guayoyo, the excellent Venezuelan restaurant, has been closed since a basement fire in its building at First Avenue and East Fourth Street on Jan. 13.

The temporarily closed sign remains up on the window for patrons. No word yet on a reopening date.



The dining room is still in a bit of disarray.



Meanwhile, at 536 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B, Tuome remained closed this past weekend. A small kitchen fire on March 29 temporarily put them out of commission.

There was a sign up last week noting the restaurant would be closed on Thursday and Friday. The folks at Tuome haven't mentioned the fire or a possible reopening date on its website or social media properties. And no one is answering the phone. As of yesterday morning, what appears to be kitchen equipment sat stacked up in the dining area…

Commercial space at 171 Avenue A is now on the market

The for rent signs are up now at 171 Avenue A, most recently home to B.A.D. Burger…



We didn't spot the listing online just yet for the space, which apparently includes a back garden, here just south of 11th Street.

B.A.D. Burger closed in early February after nearly three years in business.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] State seizes B.A.D. Burger on Avenue A for nonpayment of taxes

State of New York auctioning off the remains of B.A.D. Burger on Avenue A

Standings in exile

Standings, the serious sports bar at 43 E. Seventh St., remains temporarily closed (along with neighbors Burp Castle and Jimmy's No. 43) after the deadly explosion on March 26.

However, today sports fans, there's a Standings in Exile event at Finnerty's at 221 Second Ave. between East 13th Street and East 14th Street … which includes viewing of the Mets season opener at 4 …

We'll be having a "Standings in Exile" Opening Day Party from 1-7pm tomorrow in the backroom @Finnertys on 2nd Ave #Mets w/SOUND 4pm!!

— Standings (@StandingsNYC) April 5, 2015

As of today, the Mets remain in playoff contention.

Lord Hamm's, now serving very large sandwiches on East 3rd Street

The takeout shop opened for business yesterday… an EVG reader happened by here at 226 E. Third St., between Avenue B and Avenue C and tried the smaller meatball sandwich ($8; the bigger one is $11) and couldn't finish it. (Said in a positive way, like the portion is quite large).

Lord Hamm's doesn't have a website yet, though there is a Twitter account. (Updated: Fixed the link.) Aside from four different types of sandwiches (for now), they are serving a spicy tomato soup.

New York magazine had a preview a few weeks back with sandwich porn here.

Image via Twitter

Easter greetings from Sir Gus Bear

On East Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C... a well-known bearial ground...

Previously on EV Grieve:
A brief history of humiliating Teddy bears in the East Village

Blockbusters: ('Alleged') 'Bearial Shroud' discovered on East Second Street

Report: Reopened businesses on 2nd Avenue continue to struggle after the explosion

The NYPD yesterday removed some of the barriers surrounding the southwest corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place… making it a little easier to access the businesses on Second Avenue that have been able to reopen after the explosion that killed two people and destroyed three buildings on March 26.



In this week's issue, Crain's New York Business looks at how the local merchants are struggling since reopening.

Paul's Da Burger Joint was able to starting serving again on Monday at 131 Second Ave. Here's owner Matt Wardrop:

His problems are compounded by a lack of business-interruption insurance, which would have covered losses for the days the restaurant was closed. Insufficient coverage is a frequent problem for small-business owners, who are always looking to cut what can seem like nonessential costs.

"If you're on a mom-and-pop scale, a business-interruption policy is so expensive, if you never need it, you lost a lot of money paying for it, so you take your chances," Mr. Wardrop.

Also:

But even on streets that aren't barricaded, and where stores didn't have to close for four days, the disruption of the neighborhood's foot-traffic patterns is continuing. The maze of barricades and fire trucks has cut business by 50% at New Yorkers Foodmarket, on Second Avenue between East Sixth and East Seventh streets, according to owner Michael Schumacher. That's added up to a $50,000 loss of sales during the past week.

Unlike Paul's Da Burger's insurance policy, Foodmarket's does include business-interruption coverage. But Mr. Schumacher said it doesn't extend to a slowdown in business caused by disruptions somewhere else.

The last time his store was in this much trouble was after Superstorm Sandy. But the supermarket owner says this disaster is worse.

"With Sandy, there were no businesses open, and afterwards everybody opened up at the same time," Mr. Schumacher said. "Business came right back. I don't know if business is going to come back, because people are finding other stores to go to."

Taqueria Diana, Ramen Misoya and Himalayan Visions also reopened along here last week. Meanwhile, … B&H Dairy remains closed. In a Facebook message yesterday, B&H said "we will reopen by next week." Apparently the health department gave them the go-ahead, now they are just waiting for gas service.

As for when the entire block will be open, let's go back to Crain's:

A spokeswoman for the Office of Emergency Management said that full access to [the] block — the west side of Second Avenue between St. Marks Place and East Seventh Street — will be restored once debris removal and the investigation of what is being treated as a crime scene are concluded. She could not provide a date.

2nd Avenue update (April 4)

The latest headlines

Gas lines removed from destroyed building (Fox 5)

East Village gas explosion reveals problems in city’s inspection system (The New York Times)

Sting donates $36K to East Village explosion fundraiser, organizer says (DNAinfo)

Pommes Frites calls for donations to help reopen after explosion (Eater)

Behind the scenes of the relief effort (American Red Cross)

The resource center will be open on Fri from 9 to 5, Sat 9 to 3 and Mon & Tues 12 - 9. 59 E. 4th St CB3 will be the new center

— LESReady (@LESReadyNYC) April 3, 2015

Missing Pets

The Washington Square Park Blog continues to keep tabs on the missing pets… if we have this correct: four cats have been found safe; and four cats and perhaps one dog are still missing… among the missing cats — Sylvie…



Find the latest info here … and here is her article at HuffPost