About the new development coming to 20 Great Jones St.

The NE corner of Lafayette and Great Jones — an Edison parking lot since the early 1970s — is the next local parcel primed for development. 

According to Crain's last week, Edward J. Minskoff Equities and Edison Properties are planning a "luxury rental project " that would span between roughly 260,000 and 300,000 square feet with 238 residential units and 10,000 square feet of retail space."

Minskoff, the developer behind 51 Astor Place/Death Star, closed on a 99-year ground lease for the property in June, per Crain's. 

To date, no work permits have been filed for the address, aka 20 Great Jones St. Crain's noted that the developers hope to break ground in 2027. 

CityRealty reported that SHoP Architects previously created a schematic design for developer MAG Partners that showed a residential building, which would have included 199 units (about 50 affordable). However, that project never moved forward. 

Here's a vision for the space.. via ShOP...

Whatever comes next will likely be just as luxurious.

Crain's also pointed out that this project is "an example of both the promise and pitfalls of New York's contentious affordable housing tax break 485-x." 

The developers had once considered putting an office building on the site, but the 2021 SoHo/NoHo rezoning — which opened the door to more residential projects — along with the 2024 485-x affordable-housing tax break reportedly made an apartment development far more appealing. 

This will be the second significant development on Great Jones in the coming years. 

As we previously posted, Lonicera Partners is assembling a potential development site on the NW corner of the Bowery and Great Jones. Lonicera reportedly signed a contract to purchase 348 Bowery, the former Bowery Market, and took a minority stake in 350 and 352 Bowery, the adjacent properties to the north.

B&H Barber Shop makes the cut on Avenue A

Photos by Stacie Joy

B&H Barber Shop is now open in its new space at 60 Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street...

The renovated storefront next to the corner liquor store in the Untitled building had been vacant since the lottery shop closed, before the pandemic.

B&H first opened around the corner on Fourth Street in 2017.

A cafe for 206 E. 6th St.

The Lazy Bulldog Cafe will be the next retail tenant for the eastern storefront at 206 E. Sixth St. near Cooper Square. 

We don't know anything about the business, other than that they signed a lease for the 500-square-foot space at the end of October, according to TradedNY. 

The Lazy Bulldog (not to be confused with the Lazy Llama on First Street) will have another new neighbor in the previously noted Jungle Cafe, a health-focused cafe that serves various açaí bowls, juices and smoothies. 

H/T Stacie Joy

The Union Square Holiday Market opens (gulp) this week

Kiosk construction continues on the southern portion of Union Square... as the Union Square Holiday Market debuts on Thursday for the 2025 season. (Thanks to EVG reader Brian for the photo.)

This year's edition includes 185 vendors. 

Hours: 

• Monday - Friday: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. 

• Saturday: 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. 

• Sunday: 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Sunday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

As seen on Avenue A today... Starting on Oct. 29 in Juneau, Alaska, he has driven 5,676 miles, with the last stop coming next in Holmdel, N.J.

Sunday's other parting shot

The thoroughly entertaining "Predator: Badlands" gobbled up the global box office this weekend with an $80 million debut ... so it felt only right to check in on our neighborhood's own Yautja from the film series.

Out front of Tokio7, the longtime consignment shop at 83 E. Seventh St., between First Avenue and Second Avenue, still features the 8-foot Predator standing guard, just as it has since March 2011 — made entirely from scrap metal and motorcycle parts.

In the immortal words of Dutch: "We move. Five-meter spread. No sound."

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo outside New York Theatre Workshop by Derek Berg) 

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• Guilty plea announced in 2023 assault spree that included attack outside Ray’s Candy Store (Monday, Nov. 3) 

• Cauz for Pawz has opened in its new home on Avenue B (Wednesday, Nov. 5)

• Planned Parenthood closes its Manhattan Health Center on Bleecker Street (Wednesday, Nov. 5) 

• ABC No Rio’s new building reaches the top on the Lower East Side (Monday, Nov. 3) 

• Another collision on Avenue A: Car slams into 2A (Wednesday, Nov. 5) 

• Election Day 2025 (Wednesday, Nov. 5) 

• Scenes from the final Show Brain concert of 2025 in Tompkins Square Park (Sunday, Nov. 2) 

• After years of dormancy, activity stirs again at 89 1st Ave. (Wednesday, Nov. 5) 

• A look at "Loose Change" at C-Squat (Saturday, Nov. 8)

• Another unlicensed smoke shop shuttered after multiagency raid on Avenue B (Friday, Nov. 7) 

• A bold Merlot theft on Halloween night with notes of mischief (Monday, Nov. 3) 

• Friday night’s full moon over 2nd Avenue, plus talk of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS (Saturday, Nov. 8)

• Ramen by Ra returning with a reservation-only space on 1st Street (Wednesday, Nov. 5) 

• Pecking order on St. Mark’s Place (Tuesday, Nov. 4)

• 2 films to see with East Village connections — "Bunny" and "Peter Hujar's Day" (Friday, Nov. 7) 

... and even if you don't see "Peter Hujar's Day," we highly recommend the book the film was based on...

Smash it up: A post-Halloween tradition in La Plaza Cultural

Photos by Stacie Joy

The annual Pumpkin Smash is back at La Plaza Cultural today. 

Hosted by the LES Ecology Center, the event invites neighbors to bring their old pumpkins and gourds to the community garden on Ninth Street and Avenue C, where they'll be smashed (enthusiastically) and turned into compost for local parks and green spaces. 

Along the way, there will be activities, including Earth Loom weaving, painting with food scraps, a little live music from Kicki & The Fellas ... plus refreshments. 

Hours: Noon to 3 p.m.

Today in discarded rat heads

An EVG reader shared these photos from along Third Street... perhaps the former Rat Czar's headgear?

A look at 'Loose Change' at C-Squat

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Last night marked the opening of "Loose Change," a new exhibit at C-Squat showcasing the work of several young artists who grew up in the neighborhood. 

Per the invite: "This show is for the kids who make flyers for punk shows. For the kids who stay up until dawn writing graffiti. For the kids who make zines ... for people who don't make substantial profit from their work." 

Here's a look at some of the artists and attendees...

The show is open today from 1-6:30 p.m. and tomorrow from 1-5 p.m. 

You can view "Loose Change" from noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays until Nov. 23. Enter through the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) at 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

Last night's full moon over 2nd Avenue, plus talk of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

Felton Davis, retired founder of the Second Avenue Star Watchers, shared these photos from last evening.

Davis brought out the telescope once again, which drew the attention of the Friday evening crowd...

Per Felton:

The full moon was so high in the sky that three young men had to hoist the telescope and carry it over to the southwest corner of 3rd Street & 2nd Avenue.

Also:

Orion Telescopes has gone bankrupt, so I can no longer get any replacement parts for the 8-inch reflector that has served me so well for 12 years.

And... 

The conversation was dominated by the controversy about the mysterious interstellar visitor 3I/Atlas, now emerging from behind the Sun and about 204 million miles from the Earth, in the constellation Virgo. Best viewing location for this so-called "green comet" would be on the top of the new World Trade Center, but they are not open at 5 a.m., and do not allow telescopes and tripods.

Friday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

Sean Ono Lennon was at the Strand (12th and Broadway) this evening for the launch of his new kids' book, "War is Over!"

Another unlicensed smoke shop shuttered after multiagency raid on Avenue B

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

An unlicensed smoke shop at 166 Avenue B, between 10th Street and 11th Street, didn't last long before landing on law enforcement's radar. 

This afternoon, a joint operation between the NYC Sheriff's Department and the NYPD — part of the Sheriff's Joint Compliance Task Force — raided the recently opened storefront, seizing edibles, prerolls, flower, carts, flavored vapes, cigarettes and "other tobacco products." Cash was also recovered.

The space had sat empty since June 2024, when the previous tenant — also a smoke shop — was shuttered by law enforcement. 

What stood out at this raid: the volume. Officers hauled out at least 13 large trash bags of labeled items, far more than what we usually see at these busts.

The shop also drew the ire of neighbors for its very bright signage. Two business owners on the block told EVG they had complained about the storefront. 

Meanwhile, the shop is now closed...

Blade runners

 

We've been enjoying Die Spitz's debut album Something to Consume, now out on Third Man Records. 

The video here is for "Throw Yourself to the Sword." 

The Austin, Texas-based quartet plays Bowery Ballroom on Nov. 18.