A now-and-then look at the former Provident Loan Society on Houston and Essex

Over the years, we've been posting about the former Provident Loan Society building at 225 E. Houston St., on the southwest corner of Essex. 

The circa-1912 building underwent a gut renovation in 2021 and became a broadcast production facility, which has been in business at the address in recent years. However, only the other day did a business sign finally appear above the front entrance for NMP Stages. (Read more about them here.) 

Before becoming an outpost of NMP Stages, the building had been on redevelopment/demolition watch in previous years.

Let's revisit that!

Longtime owners Elsa and Dunnie Lai unveiled plans several years ago — amid neighborhood opposition — to enlarge and convert the property into a 38-unit residential building with a 12-story addition atop the existing bank structure.

What could have been!

Those plans never materialized (the DOB did approve the building permits), but by July 2018, the building went on the market for $20 million as a "prime development opportunity." No. 225 never sold, however.

Before these development plans, a string of clubs and concepts came and went here (Element, the Bank, etc.). The space also served as a studio for Jasper Johns in the 1970s. 

Here are some pics from the NYPL Digital Gallery..... the first photo isn't dated (the Provident Loan Society building is on the right, mostly cut off) ...

And from the Great Depression-era 1935... you can see the unmarked truck parked near a hydrant, ready to clog the sidewalk with Amazon packages for locals killing off the area haberdashers ...

Signage alert: Bungalow from restaurateur Jimmy Rizvi on 1st Avenue

Signage arrived last week for Bungalow, a new Indian concept from restaurateur Jimmy Rizvi, whose portfolio includes GupShup in Gramercy Park. 

CB3 approved a liquor license for the space in May 2023. (Find the original questionnaire here.) 

Vikas Khanna is serving as chef and partner for Bungalow, which is expected to open on March 23. 

In an Instagram post, Khanna said March 23 would have been his sister Radhika's 50th birthday. "We open Bungalow on the auspicious day as a tribute to her life and also to honor millions of kitchens, chefs, cook book writers, street vendors, home cooks across India — and most importantly to our MOTHERS who have nurtured our souls forever." 

The signage's arrival coincided with a recent refresh of the First Avenue storefront just south of Second Street  ... in the retail portion of the 101 Condominium (the residential entrance is on Second Street).

Two addresses — 24 First Ave. and its property mate 99-101 E. Second St. — were demolished several years ago to make room for the new residential building.

No. 24 's previous occupants included the cabaret Lucky Cheng's (1993-2012) and Club Baths, the first openly gay-owned bathhouse (1971-1983)... and Cave Canem and La Nouvelle Justine in between.

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

Movie signage day on Seventh Street and First Avenue for "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire."

Go go Godzilla, yeah!

EVG readers have early access for tickets to see The Damned this May in NYC

Happy to see that one of EVG's all-time favorite bands, The Damned, will be in NYC this May. 

Details via the EVG inbox... 

Mammoth Northeast cordially invites you to punk pioneers' The Damned's Black Strawberry Ball with special guests Lenny Kaye & Friends Celebrating Nuggets and The Dictators at Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC on Friday, May 31. 

This special concert extravaganza will bring their full 80's line-up back together in the U.S. for the first time since 1989 with the return of Rat Scabies. The legendary lineup will include David Vanian, Captain Sensible, Rat Scabies and Paul Gray — together again after 35 years. The songs you want to hear, by the people you want to play them. 

Tickets are available for presale purchase via Ticketmaster today (Wednesday, March 6) at 10 a.m. ET through Thursday at 10 p.m. ET. 

EVG readers have access to buy tickets early with the password EVGRIEVE. Use this link for the tickets.

Restaurants can now apply to participate in NYC's new outdoor dining program

Workers removed the curbside dining structure outside the 

former Huertas space on 1st Avenue last week. Photo by adammash

A new era for the city's permanent outdoor dining program began yesterday.

And you may not noticed — yet. Yesterday marked the first day that food service establishments could start applying online to join the Dining Out NYC program. (Apply here.)

City officials released the new guidelines, "Dining Out NYC," early last month. As previously noted, the significant change is that enclosed, year-round roadway dining structures will no longer be permitted. The revised regulations stipulate that roadway cafes must now be open-air, easily portable, and simple to assemble and dismantle. Additionally, these establishments are restricted to operating only from April through November. 

According to city officials, if restaurants plan to offer diners open-air options, owners will have to remove their old outdoor dining setups and replace them by the summer. 

"We're getting outdoor dining right, getting sheds down, getting trash off our streets, and fundamentally changing what it feels like to be outside in New York City," Mayor Adams said in a statement yesterday announcing the new dining portal.

Per the city's release announcing "Dining Out NYC" ...

Final program rules include clear design requirements, siting criteria on where outdoor dining setups can be located in relation to other street features, like subway entrances, fire hydrants, and more, and the types of materials that can be used in outdoor setups. They also require that the setups preserve clear sidewalk paths and emergency roadway lanes — including water-filled, rat-resistant protective barriers for roadway setups — and use easily moveable furniture and coverings. Ultimately, the final rules will create a lighter-weight outdoor dining experience with lines of sight, as compared to the fully enclosed shacks of the temporary COVID-19-era program. 

This link has guidelines for roadway and sidewalk dining.

Meanwhile, last week, the city unveiled a prototype for a new style of outdoor dining structure. One of the test-pilot restaurants was Sunday to Sunday on Orchard Street.  

As for the existing structures that went up during the pandemic, per CBS 2: "Any restaurant participating in the temporary outdoor dining program that does not apply to join Dining Out NYC by the deadline will need to remove their structures after Aug. 3."

The New Colossus Festival gets underway today at East Village and Lower East Side music venues

The 2024 edition of the New Colossus Festival takes place TODAY through Sunday at East Village and Lower East Side music venues, including Arlene's Grocery, Berlin, Bowery Electric, Heaven Can Wait, Knitting Factory at Baker Falls, Mercury Lounge, Pianos, and the Rockwood Music Hall. 

This is a great (and budget-friendly) opportunity to catch many local bands as well as emerging artists from the U.S. and abroad. Check out the schedule and find tickets here. 

Signage alert: Nosh Up on St. Mark's Place

Photo by Steven 

Signage has arrived for a new deli and grill called Nosh Up at 24 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

The business takes over for Jewels, the body jewelry and piercing parlor.

The address has a lot of recent history... Ben & Jerry's! Pinkberry! No. 24 was also the Ice Cream Connection in the early 1970s before the owners of Dojo opened the Japanese restaurant here in 1974 (RIP 2007).

Closures: Wild Rabbit Coffee on 7th Street

Photos by Steven 

A for-rent sign recently arrived in the front window at 110 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, marking the official end of Wild Rabbit Coffee here.

There's also a Marshal's notice dated last month on the front door stating the landlord is now in legal possession of the storefront...

Wild Rabitt, which opened in February 2023, featured coffee beans sourced from Bushwick's Sey Coffee ... and offered menu items like Hong Kong-style egg waffles. 

As EVG commenters will be quick to point out, there are a lot of coffee choices in the neighborhood.

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo by Steven 

The changing of the signage at the Orpheum on Second Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place ... as previously noted, Eddie Izzard's solo performance of "Hamlet" is getting a four-week run from March 19 to April 14... tickets are now on sale here.

City unveils 3 refurbished East Village buildings with affording housing opportunities

Photo yesterday courtesy of the AAFE

Yesterday, city officials celebrated "affordable homeownership opportunities" in three refurbished East Village tenements at 406-8 E. 10th St., 533 E. 11th St., and 656 E. 12th St. 

The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place yesterday afternoon outside No. 656, the five-floor residential building on the SW corner of Avenue C.

Here's more about the program via the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) ...

The project was financed through HPD's Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program, which selects qualified developers to rehabilitate distressed city-owned multifamily buildings to create affordable co-ops for low and moderate-income households. 

Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) and city officials have worked closely with residents in planning for the $22.3 million renovation. A total of 23 households, longtime residents of the formerly dilapidated buildings, were temporarily relocated during the two-year construction project. An additional 21 apartments will be offered through a New York City affordable housing lottery, which is expected to launch in the coming weeks. 

There is also a retail space in each of the renovated buildings.  

El Rinconcito closed in the summer of 2021 at its home of 27 years at 408 E. 10th St. between Avenue C and Avenue D. Owner Pedro Rodriguez eventually reopened the restaurant at 75 Avenue C. He plans to open a second restaurant at 656 E. 12th St., where he lives with his family. 

For several years, the walls outside No. 656 housed the 12C Outdoor Art Gallery, which featured a rotating batch of murals curated by resident Robert Galinsky.

The Gil Scott-Heron tribute —  with "the Revolution Will Not Be Televised" line — that Chico created after the jazz poet, musician, and author died in 2011 was sandblasted during the gut renovations early last year.

The wall will now feature "Puerto Rican freedom fighter and spiritual luminary" Pedro Albizu Campos. Brooklyn-based artist Danielle Mastrion is creating this mural across the street from Campos Plaza, which is expected to be completed tomorrow (weather permitting).

The Joyce Theater has rehearsal space to rent to nonprofits and freelance dance artists

The Joyce Theater's New York Center for Creativity & Dance on 10th Street and Avenue A is now offering rehearsal space (at $10 per hour) to nonprofit dance companies and freelance dance artists from this month through December. 

Details: 

Renters must meet the following qualifications to reserve space under the subsidized space program:

• Must be an independent dance artist or company 

• Must use the space for dance rehearsal use ONLY (2 hour min) 

• Must be a non-profit/freelance entity 

Space in Studios 1, 2, and 3 will be available to qualified renters on a first-come, first-served basis.

Find rental info here.

The Chelsea-based Joyce Theater Foundation became the owner of the 7-story building, the former Harriman Clubhouse run by the Boys' Club of New York, back in December. This post has more history of this property.

Previously on EV Grieve:

Inside the new home of The Joyce, which aims to be a hub for the performing arts in the East Village 

Apollo Bagels now with signage on 10th Street

Photo by Steven

Signage went up yesterday outside 242 E. 10th St. at First Avenue for Apollo Bagels. 

The business started as a pop-up in 2020 at the Williamsburg pizzeria Leo and debuted this past weekend in the East Village. 

For now, Apollo will continue with the three-day schedule — Friday-Sunday, 8 a.m. until sold out.

Previously

Noted

A reader shared this photo today from Avenue A and 13th Street ... unsure if the remains leaning against the light pole can be counted as a discarded Christmas tree on this March 4. 

Lab testing will confirm...

Veselka looks to ease back into a 24/7 schedule starting with weekends first

Reporting by Stacie Joy

Veselka plans to resume its 24-hour service in the upcoming months, starting with weekends first, according to owner Jason Birchard.

We asked the third-generation owner of the Ukrainian restaurant about the hours during a visit last week. We were there to discuss the documentary "Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World" currently playing at the Village East by Angelika. 

"I think it'll be just a Friday and Saturday to start," Birchard said. "And then work into like we did initially back in 1990 just to get our feet wet again. So, yes! It is coming. I think we're aiming for June 1, but maybe sooner." 

Before the pandemic hit, Veselka served customers 24/7 for nearly 30 years on the SE corner of Second Avenue and Ninth Street. When the restaurant started returning to in-person dining, the hours were more limited. 

In June 2022, Birchard said he couldn't find enough workers to staff Veselka for the around-the-clock schedule, Insider first reported. 

As Restaurant Hospitality pointed out, eateries nationwide have cut back their weekly operating hours.

According to a recent 2022 report by menu and restaurant research firm Datassential, restaurants have cut back weekly operating hours by 7.5% or roughly 6.5 hours, compared to 2019. The overall 24-hour model in the United States has declined too: In 2022, there were 21,345 places open for 24 hours, compared to the 25,449 in 2020, according to Datassential. 

Veselka is open daily from 8 a.m. to midnight, with an 11 p.m. close on Sunday.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• A visit to Veselka, as the East Village institution celebrates 70 years and another week for its documentary at the Village East

Top photo by EVG; menu photo by Stacie Joy