Let there be new lights on Cooper Square

Oh, just noting the recent arrival of new lamp posts for Cooper Square...



...as part of the ongoing reconstruction of Astor Place.

Anyway, the lamps look pretty nice, and will capably help illuminate the way to the new CVS on Astor Place.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Alamo has been away from Astor Place for 1 year now

Today in stretch limo parking on East 6th Street

Practice makes... via an EVG reader this afternoon...

The ghost in you

Today in Tompkins Square Park by Bobby Williams...

Openings: Autre Kyo Ya, Tac N Roll

Autre Kyo Ya, the sister restaurant of Kyo Ya, the Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant at 94 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, is now in soft-open mode at 10 Stuyvesant St.



As Eater points out: "Autre Kyo Ya is slightly different, with more affordable price points and more inspiration from western cooking." (Eater has a copy of the menu for the restaurant just off of East Ninth Street and Third Avenue.)

GM Erina Yoshida and her father Tony also own Sunrise Mart and the cocktail bar Angel's Share. Autre Kyo Ya last housed the tapas bar The Barrel.

Meanwhile, Tac N Roll, a quick-serve Mexican restaurant at 124 E. Fourth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, is also in soft-open operations.



Here's a look at their menu via their still under-construction website...



And for now, the second taco is free...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Autre Kyo Ya coming soon to the former Barrel space on Stuyvesant Street

For those about to Cookie Walk

In case you didn't see the signage up at St. Nicholas of Myra Orthodox Church on Avenue A at East 10th Street ... the 7th annual Cookie Walk is happening here next weekend...



Dec. 12 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Dec. 13 from noon to 3 p.m.

Head over to the official site for more details. But basically:

This is not your average church bake sale!
Let us transport you back in time.
As you enter the Cookie Walk, you will be greeted with the smell of baking cookies made from only the best ingredients. We have been baking non-stop for days so that tens of thousands of fresh baked cookies await you. There is nothing hi-tech here - just holiday goodness and old-fashioned fun.

Take a walk through our Cookie Wonderland and fill a box with your favorites from over fifty varieties of homemade confections. There are two sizes of boxes: $15 & $25 plus special Gluten Free options at our yummy Hot Chocolate Bar! And, the hot chocolate - no mix here - a secret recipe that is hand-stirred for a half hour and topped with marshmallows, whipped cream or both!

After the last cookie is packed, be sure to visit Tinseltown a holiday gift market for everyone on your list.

Perfect for young families! At our Little Elves Bakery & Workshop, children 10 and under can create their own sweet masterpiece to take home – no charge except to have FUN! Santa will also visit through the day for pictures at our awesome Photo Booth.

Let's hope that the wrong Santa doesn't show up on the 12th...

Developing/breaking: Lights going up on the Tompkins Square Park holiday tree

After waiting 75 minutes in line for lights at the Rite Aid on First Avenue, Crews were out this morning to start the annual tree decorating (aka putting up the lights in an often haphazard fashion)...


[Photo by John Greally]

Meantime, we haven't heard anything yet about the official tree lightning ceremony (this year will mark the 24th annual). Last year's event was on Sunday, Dec. 14. So maybe Dec. 13 this year? We'll find out!

Updated 10:43

Via Steven...





And later... via Bobby Williams...



-----

From the archives ...


[Photo by Bobby Williams]

Jenny from the bloc

Oh, was just reading about !!! serving as their own opening act, renaming themselves Stereolad to play a set of Stereolab covers at a show in Seattle Tuesday night.

So here is the real (now-retired) Stereolab from 1993 with "Jenny Ondioline," the lead single from the album Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements.

EV Grieve Etc.: Manitoba on Manitoba's; love for Love Gang

[Photo on 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg]

Talking with Handsome Dick Manitoba at Manitoba's (The New York Times)

Meeting the the proprietors of "rocker babe emporium" Love Gang on East Ninth Street (The Village Voice)

Where to find bikers, drugs and rock-&-roll onscreen (Anthology Film Archives)

Hawk interlopers in Tompkins Square Park (Gog in NYC)

A new chef for Avant Garden on East Seventh Street (Eater)

Crazy amenities alert: Extell is giving buyers in Asia dibs on luxury apartments in the new 80-story tower on the Lower East Side (The Lo-Down)

The alleged tenant harassment continues at 135-137 Eldridge St. (BoweryBoogie)

Perfect Pussy singer Meredith Graves now has a weekly column featuring recipes and record reviews (The Village Voice)

A review of Garth Risk Hallberg’s sprawling new novel, "City on Fire," set in 1970s NYC (The New Yorker)

A look at Ben Shaoul's rental-to-condo conversion on First Avenue and East 23rd Street (NY Yimby)

The great La Taza de Oro is gone for good in Chelsea (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

That time someone thought it might be a good idea to fill in the Hudson River (Ephemeral New York)

Uncovering the documentary about an all Ace Frehley cover band (Dangerous Minds)

Moby trades the Lower East Side for Los Angeles for his new vegan restaurant venture, Little Pine (Well + Good)

The disappearing Hogs & Heifers (DNAinfo)

Diversions: The Swedish punk Peanuts (BoingBoing)

From the EVG inbox...

Bayside! The Musical! will makes its return to NYC and run alongside the hit show Full House! The Musical! at Theater 80 (80 St Marks & First Avenue) from Jan. 7 through Feb. 26. (Details here.)

And tomorrow at the Lower Eastside Girls Club...



And, lastly, EVG contributor Grant Shaffer finds that people can be sooo plastic on the L train...

History reimagined with $4.4 million penthouse at former 6th Street synagogue

[Photo from last month by Michael Hirsch]

Sales on the three luxe condos at the former Congregation Mezritch Synagogue at 415 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue are underway, as Curbed noted yesterday.

There are just two renderings to gawk at for now in the building with the tagline "History reimagined … For modern living."





And here are some of the amenities via the official 415 site:

Residences:
Direct entry via keyed elevator
4”-wide plank oak flooring throughout
Original stained glass windows in second and third floor residences

Kitchen:
Statuarietto Venato marble countertop and backsplash
Dornbracht Elio pullout spray faucet
Summit 24” two-zone wine refrigerator in Penthouse
InSinkErator garbage disposal

Master bathroom:
Herringbone pattern Cambric Persian White Classico honed marble tile floors
Bianco Bello polished marble tile walls
Custom double-sink vanity with honed Bianco Bello marble countertop
Deep soaking bathtub

And what will that Herringbone pattern Cambric Persian White Classico honed marble tile floors cost you?

Per Curbed:

[C]onsidering the size of the apartments and the location, they're pricey: the second-floor two-bed is $2.95 million; the third-floor unit is $3.25 million; and that penthouse, which has two private terraces, is asking $4.4 million.

Not mentioned anywhere is the proximity to the all-new Dunkin' Donuts on First Avenue and East Sixth Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Plan to add condos to historic East Sixth Street synagogue back on

Play spot the potential penthouse atop the East Village synagogue

A final look inside the Anshei Meseritz synagogue on East Sixth Street

Stained-glass windows removed ahead of condo conversion at Congregation Mezritch Synagogue

Condos at former East 6th Street synagogue will start at just under $3 million

Sidewalk bridge comes down as condo conversion continues at former East 6th Street synagogue

More Italian in store for the former Perbacco space on East 4th Street

Last summer, Perbacco, the well-regarded regional Italian restaurant on East Fourth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, quietly closed its doors.

In the months that followed, we expected to hear more about the situation ... or at least spot a for rent sign on the gate. That never happened.

Now, however, there is an applicant down for a new beer-wine license during this month's CB3-SLA committee meeting on Monday. (This item will not be heard before the committee.)

According to the public documents (PDF!) on file at the CB3 website, an Italian restaurant going by the name of IL Mago is in the works.

The paper work shows 18 tables accommodating 48 diners, with a six-seat bar. The proposed hours are 3 p.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, with an 11 a.m. opening time on Saturday and Sunday. We don't know anything about the proprietor of the new venture just yet.

Perbacco opened in 2000 at 234 E. Fourth St. People seemed to like it. (In his last review for the Times, Frank Bruni gave it high praise with two stars.)

In May 2014, Perbacco closed for a four-month long revamp that included a new design, menu and focus on wine. They were closed for good within nine months.

Anyway, the December CB3-SLA committee meeting is Monday night at 6:30 in the CB3 office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

The Sirovich Senior Center is holding its Annual Flea Market Fundraiser on East 12th Street

From the EVG inbox via the Sirovich Senior Center, which serves nearly 300 low-income older adults, providing them with access to various activities, such as arts, education and exercise classes.

The Sirovich Senior Center is holding its Annual Flea Market Fundraiser, showcasing ceramics, sculptures, knitted clothing, and more handmade items created by older adult members. All money raised will go to support arts programming at the Center. Sirovich is one of three Educational Alliance senior centers and is funded in part by NYC DFTA and UJA Federation.

Dates & Times:
Friday, Dec. 4: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 5: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Location:
331 E. 12th St., between First Avenue and Second Avenue
Sirovich Senior Center, Auditorium

A final group photo at Vic's Pizza on Essex Street

Back in September, we shared some of the group portraits that photographer Nick McManus took during the last day at three neighborhood businesses — Sounds on St. Mark's Place, Rainbow Music on First Avenue and Bicycle Habitat on Lafayette, which merged its retail spaces.

McManus — a group portrait artist who works on Impossible Project Polaroids for gallery exhibition — visited Vic's Pizza on Monday, the last day for the 45-year-old business on the Lower East Side.

The building housing the pizzeria at 51 Essex St. at Grand will reportedly be demolished to make way for a 6-story retail-residential structure.

Owner Victor Mendez told DNAinfo that he tried to move locations, "but found that most available retail spaces were at least $5,000 per month, a major price jump from the $2,200 he was paying on Essex Street."

The photo that McManus shared with us features Mendez seated center with fellow building evictee Taylor Twist, who lived upstairs from Vic's, and his friends...



Twist created the Vic's sweatshirt and hats in the photo to raise money to help Mendez start his post-pizzeria life. (There will be more info on the Vic's sweatshirts and hats here at Twist's website.)

You can find more of McManus' work via Instagram.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Closing time: Portraits of 3 newly shuttered storefronts

You won't shoot your eye out with the Flavor of the Month at Mikey Likes It on Avenue A

As previously noted, I always like Andre Trenier's 1980s-inspired murals on the roll-down gate at Mikey Likes It, 199 Avenue A near East 12th Street.

This month it's Ralphie from "A Christmas Story."


[Via Instagram]

And the flavor of the month: "Christmas Story" — an egg nog ice cream with carrot cake chunks and pumpkin pie pieces.

Report: Lawsuit accuses Raphael Toledano of not paying his office rent

Rent-stabilized tenants at the Raphael Toledano-owned 444 E. 13th St. have claimed that they were allegedly threatened and harassed to leave their homes.

Toledano is now reportedly having landlord issues of his own.

Per The Real Deal:

Landlord HRC Corporation is accusing broker-turned-investor Raphael Toledano of failing to pay rent at his Flatiron District office.

HRC filed suit Wednesday, asking a State Supreme Court judge to award it a total of $6.4 million, the amount allegedly due over the entire 10-year lease, plus damages.

In a statement, a Brook Hill spokesperson wrote "We are not in default of the lease."

In a $97 million deal, Toledano and Brook Hill closed on a 16-building East Village portfolio back in the fall.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Landlord of 444 E. 13th St. threatened 'to drop dynamite on the building'

Reader report: Large portfolio of East Village buildings ready to change hands

Report: State investigating East Village landlord Raphael Toledano

Report: Uncle suing nephew broker Raphael Toledano over $100 million East Village deal

Report: Raphael Toledano completes purchase of 16-building East Village portfolio

More about alleged harassment and landlord visits via Brook Hill Properties

Brook Hill Properties launches chocolate offensive

In op-ed, Raphael Toledano says that he wants 'to make the East Village a better place'