[Updated] Report: Icon Realty serves the Stage an eviction notice

[Photo by Grant Shaffer]

Attorneys for Icon Realty served an eviction noticed last night to the Stage, the beloved diner at 128 Second Ave., WNYC is reporting.

Stage owner Roman Diakun has until the end of this month to leave his 35-year-old neighborhood favorite. According to WNYC, the eviction notice cites a Stop Work Order the city had issued for unauthorized work being done on gas pipes in the basement. Here is the copy of the eviction notice, first obtained by WNYC...

brlclter.not 4-13-15

At the end of March, the city issued a Stop Work Order at 128 Second Ave. for what they say was installation of a gas pipe and fittings without a permit.

According to DOB documents, a city inspector on March 29 observed this taking place in the cellar of the under-renovation building across Second Avenue from the site of the gas explosion that killed two men and brought down three buildings.

Per Gothamist on April 1:

Tim Neithercott, a tenant of 128 Second Avenue, told us that his landlords would intermittently turn off the building's gas during renovations, but that Con Ed was never notified, suggesting the landlord was doing so independently. "They've definitely been tampering with the gas on their own," Neithercott says, and indeed, on Sunday, a Con Edison inspector discovered that a new gas pipe was being installed on site without a permit.

Mitch Kossoff, a lawyer representing Icon, told WNYC earlier in the month that the owners were "puzzled" and not aware of any gas work being done.

There was also complaint filed with the city on March 31 claiming the following: "Customer is reporting a restaurant hooking up gas pipes. Name of restaurant is Stage."



Stage owner Roman Diakun's son Andrew started an online petition last week … collecting signatures to help generate support for the restaurant between East Seventh Street and St.Mark's Place.

Meanwhile, the city issued a Full Stop Work Order last Thursday at 128. According to the DOB, there was work being done in several apartments without proper permits, including electrical and plumbing. Residents are still without gas for cooking and heat, a tenant tells us.



Icon bought the building in the fall of 2013.

Updated 10:38 a.m.

DNAinfo's Lisha Arino talked with Roman Diakun.

“They don’t want me,” he said, referring to his landlord, 128 Second Realty LLC. “I didn’t do any crime.”

Diakun declined to comment further, but previously said at a small business meeting that he was making an emergency repair on the line and did not realize he needed a permit to do the work. He also denied that he was siphoning gas. The landlord, he added, refused to fix the line so he could reopen his business.

Arino also has quotes from Icon lawyer Joseph Goldsmith, who disputed Roman's claims.

Updated 4-15

Goldsmith told amNY that the Stage was "trying to cover up the siphoning that they had previously done and the Department of Buildings went for an unnanounced inspection and caught them in the act."

Goldsmith said the landlord is waiting for gas use records and pictures that a DOB inspector had taken during the visit.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The possibility that the Stage won't reopen on 2nd Avenue

City serves stop work order on Icon Realty-owned building for installing gas pipe without permit across from deadly 2nd Avenue blast zone (48 comments)

Petition to help reopen the Stage

Tenants at 128 2nd Ave. file suit against Icon Realty in housing court

Troubling talk about 128 Second Ave, and the long-term future of the Stage

Long-stalled 16-story residential building still stalled on 3rd Avenue

Some residents who live near 133 Third Ave. just north of East 14th Street can't even recall the last that any work has been done on the long-stalled 16-floor residential building adjacent to the NYU dorm...



The carcass of the development looks the same as it did in our last post on the address in March 2014. Everything is the same, except the work permits and the rendering have disappeared from the plywood...


[March 2014]

So what happened? In December 2012, a construction mishap "sent wet concrete oozing through a wall and into an NYU dorm next door," DNAinfo reported. The owner of the building that NYU leases the dorm from subsequently sued to halt the project.

According to DOB records, a Partial Stop Work Order exists on the property. (There are also active DOB violations.)

"In the interim, two-thirds of the sidewalk is impassable due to scaffolding," nearby resident Harry Weiner told us. "The remaining third of the sidewalk, directly in front of a bus stop, has broken pavement — which presents a dangerous tripping hazard to pedestrians walking down the street, as buses pull in and out of the bus stop."





Meanwhile, court records show that litigation continues...

Previously on EV Grieve:
133 Third Ave. lives on with 16 floors of glass and NYU dorm views

Looking at 67 Avenue C, where the condo views are spectacular and surreal

Just checking in on the progress at 67 Avenue C, where 8 boutique condos have risen from part of the former Kingdom Hall that was owned by the Jehovah's Witnesses … workers have removed the scaffolding and construction netting here just south of East Fifth Street…



Developer Natan Vinbaytel's website now includes pricing for the units… the one-bedroom suites run between $825,000 and $860,000 … the one-bedroom penthouse is $950,000 … the two-bedroom penthouse is $1.85 million…

According to the site, the one-bedroom penthouse has "spectacular views" while the two-bedroom penthouse has "surreal views."



Adding: the rending to see what the final product will look like...



Previously on EV Grieve:
First sign of the new 7-floor condo rising above the Jehovah's Witnesses on Avenue C

Maybe 67 Avenue C will eventually look like this random building some day

Condos rising on Avenue C will feature 'surreal views'

Have you tried Long Bay yet?

Long Bay opened on March 12 at 503 E. Sixth St. just east of Avenue A (the building behind Sidewalk).

We looked inside the Vietnamese restaurant right after they opened last month... the karaoke setup seems to be the centerpiece of the space... (we were treated to two songs by Air Supply). The hostess said that the owners will also, on occasion, play along on guitar.



The place was still in soft-open mode at the time of our visit ... they were cash only... and they didn't have their menus printed up yet and weren't offering delivery.

Long Bay is run by the folks who had the second iteration of Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches on East Second Street. (They closed back in February.)

As for the food, we've heard good things about their pork chop sandwiches ... and the Yelp reviewers have been mostly kind.

Here's a look at some menu items... from when the menu was taped to the front window...









Gladiators Gym was the last retail tenant here a seemingly long time ago...


[Photo from 1997 by ~evilsugar25]

City hosting business recovery meeting for merchants affected by the East Village explosion

[EVG photo from last week]

Via the EVG inbox this afternoon...

On Tuesday, April 14, at 9:30 am, the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) in partnership with Council Member Rosie Mendez will hold a Business Recovery meeting for small businesses impacted by the March 26 explosion in the East Village. Representatives from various government and nonprofit agencies will be available to answer questions and discuss assistance services available to affected businesses.

The SBS Emergency Response Unit has been conducting daily outreach and offering assistance to the 38 impacted businesses from East 7th Street between 1st and 3rd Avenues and 2nd Avenue between St. Mark’s and 6th Streets, including pro-bono legal services, help with insurance matters, navigating government, facility disruption, and retrieval of key business documents.

Impacted businesses in need of assistance should call 212-618-8810 or email here to see how the City can help.

WHERE: Middle Collegiate Church (Community Room)
50 East 7th Street between 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue

A good sign outside B&H Dairy?

EVG contributor Derek Berg spotted a delivery this morning hanging outside B&H Diary at 127 Second Ave. ...



The 73-year-old lunch counter has been closed since the deadly explosion several storefronts away on March 26.

B&H Dairy owner Fawzy Abelwahed told the Times of Israel that the restaurant needed to have new gas pipes installed. He said that he was waiting for a final inspection of the new gas pipes scheduled for today.

"Hopefully we can reopen after that," he said.

To date, supporters have donated $18,225 toward the $20,000 goal of a crowdfunding campaign posted on Smallknot.

That recognizable warm, pink glow of the new business coming to 14th Street and 1st Avenue

[Photo via EVG reader Pinch]

Workers have removed the paper from the storefront on the southeast corner of 14th Street and First Avenue that previously housed The Pizza Bagel Cafe.



Per EVG regular Pinch: "I think you said it's going to be a fish monger, TM Obile's? I could be wrong though!"

Heh.

As we noted back in November, a T-Mobile store is taking over this space… and it is starting to look all T-Mobile-ly inside...





A tipster told us that the rent here is $56,000 a month. The Pizza Bagel Cafe closed for good (without any notice to patrons) this past Nov. 3.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Pizza Bagel Cafe yielding to a T-Mobil store on 14th and 1st

Teaser site arrives for the Altes House, 11 boutique condos for East 4th Street

Checking in on 324 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D, which is getting gutted as well as a three-level extension for luxury condos.

The sales signage arrived at the beginning of the month for the incoming 11 boutique condos...



There is a teaser site for the property, which for now just lists the contact info for the brokers.

Eventually, the building, now dubbed Altes House (?????), will look like…


[Image via Mortar Architecture + Development]

Previously on EV Grieve:
2 new floors, gut renovation in store for empty tenement that last housed a Hanksy art show

At Hanksy's 'Surplus Candy' art show in an abandoned East Village tenement

Gut renovations underway at 324 E. 4th St., most recently the makeshift gallery for Hanksy and Co.

The unique façade of 324 E. 4th St. is gone

324 E. 4th St. getting the 2 building look (but just 1 rooftop terrace)

Repost: Petition to help reopen the Stage

[Photo Friday by Derek Berg]

In case you missed it ... reposting this from late Friday afternoon...

The Stage, the beloved diner at 128 Second Ave., hasn't been open since March 28, as we've been reporting. It's a complicated situation involving Con Ed and the landlord, Icon Realty.

Now Stage owner Roman Diakun's son Andrew has started a petition … collecting signatures to help generate support for the restaurant between East Seventh Street and St.Mark's Place…

Stage Restaurant has been in business for 35 years in the East Village of Manhattan NYC. A few days after the explosion which happened on Second Avenue on Thursday March 26, 2015, a tenant living in the building where Stage Restaurant is located called Con Edison stating that he/she smelled gas in their apartment. As a precaution and safety measure, Con Edison shut off the gas supply to the entire building located at 128 Second Avenue. As a result, Stage Restaurant has been without gas for 2 weeks already, and has been closed as a result. Stage Restaurant has tried to reopen during this time, but is having trouble with the landlord in order to do so.

Let's not lose one of the last neighborhood staples which has been around for this long.

If you are interested in signing the petition, then you will find it here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The possibility that the Stage won't reopen on 2nd Avenue

The Dunkin' Donuts space on East 14th Street is for rent

A "for rent" sign via Ardor/Citi Habitats is now hanging above the Dunkin' Donuts at 218 E. 14th St. near Third Avenue.

According to the listing at LoopNet, the rental rate is $144 per square foot … on the 3,500-square-foot space (1,400 square feet in the basement).

We asked two DD employees if they were moving or closing. They didn't know (based on their non-response).

So moving or closing… it's all happened before in DD land here. Last summer, the Dunkin' Donuts at 520 E. 14th St. moved a storefronts away between Avenue A and Avenue B. That Dunkin' Donuts on Second Avenue between East 10th Street and East 11th Street closed back in January 2010.

Harry and Ida's Meat & Supply Co. coming to Avenue A

And speaking of mystery storefronts on Avenue A... signage is up for the incoming retail tenant at 189 Avenue A between East 11th Street and East 12th Street — Harry and Ida's Meat & Supply Co. ...



We don't know anything about the venture (Retail? Restaurant? Both!) just yet...

Previously, the space was going to be home to I Cipressi, but the Italian restaurant wasn't able to open. Vampire Freaks was the last tenant here, closing in December 2011.

Whatever is taking the place of the old Odessa has a lot of doors

The exterior of the bar/restaurant (which we don't know anything about yet) opening in the former Odessa Bar and Cafe space at 117 Avenue A continues to evolve …

Friday!


[Photo by Dave on 7th]

Sunday!



This will be the first tenant for the space (failed concepts aside) since the Odessa Cafe & Bar closed Aug. 31, 2013.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looking at the former Odessa Cafe and Bar

Reader report: Pit bull attack on Avenue A

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

We don't have all the details on this incident this afternoon on Avenue A and East Third Street (we heard about it from several people) … Here's one version:

[There was] a pit bull attack on Avenue A, on a small black-and-white dog. Despite people throwing garbage and a garbage can at it, the bull would not release its grip. Multiple cops came, dog's owners appeared to not give a fuck, and the little dog's owner went into shock and an ambulance was called for her.

Anyone else witness this?

Updated 9:08 p.m.: We heard from the owner of the dog that was attacked… the puppy is doing OK

Updated 4/13

The owner of Dante, a 1-year-old Yorkipoo, shared her version of the incident:

We were walking on Avenue A when a pit bull on a leash on the other side of the sidewalk made a beeline for Dante. He grabbed Dante's neck, and with a locked jaw kept thrashing him about and would not let go. My husband and I just tried to pull the dog off — a crowd was forming and the dog's walker said he was sorry but he couldn't do anything — it wasn't his dog.

People kept yelling for him to kick his dog, to do something — I don't know what he should have done ... but standing around saying he couldn't do anything probably wasn't it. Then at one point he said something like, "oh gosh, the dog is dead" or "it just killed a dog." That's when I had to turn away ... it didn't seem like we were going to be able to get the dog to let go and it looked as if Dante's neck was about to be ripped apart.

Then, somehow Dante gets free and everyone thinks he's dead. My husband felt a very faint heartbeat but he was lifeless in my arms — not moving for a few minutes. I start to run to the Lower East Side Animal Hospital but some amazing people from the Ruff Club [at 34 Avenue A] ushered me inside. That's when Dante started to move a bit, pick his head up. Poor thing was shaking and in shock. He ended up having a bite and needs to be in a cone, receive some medicine, etc., but the vet said Dante is very lucky. The people at the Ruff Club were beyond awesome — they stayed with us, checked on Dante, gave us advice and clearly cared a lot.

My husband got a small cut and I got bit, though it isn't too deep. We found out that the pit bull did not have his rabies shots and now my husband and I need to go through a series of rabies shots over the next month.

Coming together tonight at Theatre 80 to help the victims of the 2nd Avenue explosion

[GVSHP executive director Andrew Berman speaks at a community meeting on April 1 at the William Barnacle Tavern]

Text and photos by EVG contributor Stacie Joy

Tonight's all-volunteer benefit concert for those affected by the deadly Second Avenue explosion has shaped up nicely — and very quickly.

The event is at Theatre 80 starting 8 pm, preceded by a 5 pm public rally led by local activist/artist Penny Arcade.

The sold-out concert, spearheaded by East Village-based writer Alan Kaufman and artist Jim Storm, has pulled together donations (including from Sting and Trudie Styler and Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard) and volunteers both near and far to lend support. The emcee of the event is Randy Jones of the Village People, and scheduled performers include:

Patti Smith
The Blood Oranges
Kayvon Zand
Mollie King
Edgar Oliver, poet
Chris Riffle
David Peel and The Lower East Side
Roderick Romero
Malachy McCourt, writer
Spencer Tunick, photographer
Cast of The Grindr Project
Antony Zito, artist
Pablo Lopez, singer
(Visit the Facebook event page for more details)


[Theatre 80 proprietor Lorcan Otway]

The donations raised tonight will be managed by the Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES), which has aided displaced residents in the explosion's relief efforts.

The concert came together as Kaufman walked by the rubble of the three fallen buildings on Second Avenue. He wondered what he could do to help. Kaufman started talking to friends and acquaintances, and before he knew it, everyone was on board with this idea of a fundraising event. (The idea gelled during a community meeting on April 1 at the William Barnacle Tavern adjacent to Theatre 80.)

An author by trade, he seemed surprised and pleased with all the help he's received as he tries to assist others. Kaufman said he hopes to "raise money for the victims, to go to directly to restoration and recovery," and that he's "exceeded his original hopes 10 times over, money-wise." He's hopeful that people can begin to rebuild with the money raised tonight.

Starting with the 5 pm rally and continuing to the 8 pm performance, Kaufman is excited to see the community get active and help those whose lives were ruined by the tragedy … to join together in the spirit of generosity.

Theatre 80 is located at 80 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue.