EV Grieve

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Guerilla gardening on Third Avenue

Third Avenue near 12th Street.

An improvment on this?

Noted

Third Avenue and 10th Street.

And what about the cargo shorts, Dickchicken?

Dickchickens are everywhere. But I hadn't seen this one, though. On Avenue B near Houston.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

CB3 says no to Koi (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Mason Dixon and other CB3 highlights (The Lo-Down)

14th and B from 1918 (Ephemeral New York)

More vintage NYC postcards (This Ain't the Summer of Love)

At Superdive: "The main problem is how drunk the people who go there are when they depart. They stand outside and scream at each other as though they are all hard of hearing even though they are way too young for such problem... I can hear this drama, most loudly on Friday and Saturday nights, from way around the block. Seriously. They aren't even on my block and I can hear them around the corner and up 76 steps." (Blah Blog Blah)

When "Gossip Girl" groupies convene (BoweryBoogie)

"The storefront vacancy rate in Manhattan is now at its highest point since the early 1990s — an estimated 6.5 percent — and is expected to exceed 10 percent by the middle of next year." (The New York Times)

Lady GaGa conducts interview in coat made of mini Kermit the Frogs (Esquared)

From The Wall Street Journal:
"During the real-estate boom, New York had between 4,000 and 6,000 sidewalk sheds. During the real-estate bust, New York still has between 4,000 and 6,000 sidewalk sheds. Construction sites have gone dark, but façades keep buckling and cornices keep cracking as if nothing had happened to the economy.

Shed builders may be the only busy hardhats left in town. In some cities, sidewalk sheds go up when work is in progress. In New York, especially if landlords are broke, sheds go up and stay up because work is making no progress. Good times or bad, the sidewalk shed is one of those things that make New York New York.

"They're ugly, dismal and ubiquitous," says Rick Bell, who heads the American Institute of Architects' New York chapter. "They define our pedestrian experience -- like the arcades of Bologna."

Subway mascot gets snappy new costume, cape, mouth -- and name!

At Second Avenue and St.Mark's. Whoa! Look at all the changes. The Subway Dude is now Subman! And he has teeth! And more veggies! And he no longer wears the old-man shoes. Look at the yellow boots! And those arms!

Previously on EV Grieve:
It's Feb. 18, and we've already exceeded our quota for stories on Subway for 2009

February Subway dude photo via Slum Goddess.

Is Sam Chang's Fourth Avenue hotel too tall?

EV Grieve reader Eric writes to say that work at 132 Fourth Ave. and 13th Street (the site of the former Plaid and Spa) has seemingly stopped. (Again.) It's the 11-story, 162-unit hotel brought to you and me by Sam Chang.

There is a stop-work order on the site.

And looking at the DOB records:

Interesting. One complaint: "CALLER FEELS THAT THE BUILDING MAY BE EXCEEDING THE HEIGHT THAT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE BUILDINGS DEPARTMENT,APPEARS THEY MAY BE 2-3 STORIES OF ELEVATOR TOWERS."

In fact, one of the open complaints notes the the "new building construction is exciding (sic) the level limits permitted and is a violation of the zoning regulations."

Well, OK. Now what?

For further reading:
McSam Hotel Rises At Union Square, Gotta Hate Those Lot Line Windows (A Fine Blog)

Looking at 11 Essex Street

The current issue of The Villager has a lengthy piece on 11 Essex Street, a tenement built in 1907.

Landlord didn’t make fixes at Essex St. building; Now displaced tenants are feeling the squeeze

By Julie Shapiro

At the center of an affordable housing battle in Chinatown is a crumbling five-story building that is tilting slowly but steadily into the street.

Across from Seward Park, 11 Essex St.’s top story leans out 9 inches over the ground floor. Inside, metal poles prop up caving-in ceilings. Out back, bricks have tumbled from the facade, leaving gaping holes behind.
“It’s a time bomb,” said Richie Acca, a construction supervisor, as he walked through the silent, dusty building on a recent afternoon. “Would you live here?”

The city agreed. On May 27, the Department of Buildings issued a full-vacate order, giving the rent-protected tenants just a few hours to pack up their apartments before the front door was locked behind them.

In some ways, the vacate was the end of a years-long battle between the Chinese tenants and Sion Misrahi, the building’s owner. In other ways, the battle was just beginning.

The article inspired me to check out the building this past weekend.

An unclaimed UPS package awaits one of the tenants.

Here's more from the article:

When Misrahi bought 11 Essex St. in 2001, the 22 apartments were mostly occupied by low-income Chinese families who had lived there for decades. Until the vacate order, some still paid less than $300 per month for the rent-protected units, in a neighborhood where market rate is now more than five times that much.

One year after Misrahi bought the building, construction by another developer on new condos at 7 Essex St. destabilized 11 Essex’s foundation. Cracks formed and walls shifted. Even after workers from 7 Essex installed bracing at 11 Essex, the 100-year-old structure continued to deteriorate.

In 2004, Misrahi launched a campaign to get the city to vacate 11 Essex St. He wrote to the Department of Buildings, saying 11 Essex was in imminent danger of collapsing and that the city needed to remove the tenants so he could fix the building.

A city engineer told Misrahi that he could make the necessary repairs without tossing out the tenants, and ordered him to do so. Misrahi appealed first to then-Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster, and then to the Board of Standards and Appeals. A panel of architects and engineers heard the case and agreed with D.O.B. that Misrahi could — and should — fix the building immediately.

Bounce Deuce to return?

Hold on. Bounce Deuce at Second Avenue and Sixth Street is closed.... but perhaps not dead. And there's a new work permit on the door. Something about expanding a fire exit.

And there's new paper on the windows....

...and all the furniture is still inside. It just doesn't look (yet?) like a joint that's closing. Except the part about not being open. And those 71 violation points.

When the place shuttered, the signs did just say "Have a great summer!" Back in time for football season?

P.S.
However, no signs of the beer tubes.

Do you remember the times that we had.....(And has it really been one year already?)

Second Avenue near 10th Street.

Just about one year ago...

I wonder how many cups this place has gone through the last year.... and where are they all now? (Photo via Jeremiah)

Reminder: East Village Community Farmers Market every Tuesday until the fall

It's the Lower Eastside Girls Club. Tuesdays 12-8 p.m. at Ninth and Avenue C.

Details.

Marshal law at former Citi-Spaces location

The Awl beat me to posting this. About the former Citi-Spaces offices on Second Avenue at 11th Street. Looks like the marshal came calling.

And did the landlord run out of paper for the windows? Or are they merely trying to keep the neighborhood children from seeing in....

Previously on EV Grieve:
A short history of Citi-Spaces at Second Avenue and 11th Street

Monday, July 20, 2009

Looking at what may be coming to 347 Bowery

Koi is one of the bars/restaurants going before the CB3/SLA tonight. Koi is applying for a full liquor license.

In preparation for this, some higher-profile Koi employees held a meet-and-greet at Sala Restaurant on the Bowery last Thursday to answer any questions about Koi possibly turning the former Salvation Army East Village Residence into another outpost of the upscale sushi eatery. (The other locations are in Bangkok, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and in NYC at Bryant Park).

There wasn't any planned presentation. It was rather informal. And awkward. Not many people were there, at least when I was around. (And no naked sushi models.) And the people who were there didn't strike me as the concerned-neighbor type. (The Lo-Down was there too and has additional coverage.)

A few random things from the evening:

— Everyone from Koi was really nice in that trying-too-hard way. But, still, nice.

— The patrons of the Bryant Park Koi were described as low-key, mellow, more mature (i.e., not a bunch of partygoers prone to peeing and vomiting in the streets — my words not their words).

— Someone from Koi volunteered that the former Salvation Army Residence would actually become a restaurant and not merely flipped to be converted into another condo/hotel/high rise. Hadn't even thought of that.

— Koi co-owner/CEO Nick Haque wasn't present, but he is expected tonight at the CB3 meeting.

There were pamphlets offering a few more details on the proposed restaurant. Two floors for the restaurant/bar...6,000-square-feet...230 total seats...overheard someone say the exterior design would be in keeping with the neighborhood.

To learn more about Koi, I visited their Web site and read the many press clippings available.

That write-up in Wine & Spirits on top is my favorite. In describing the LA Koi: "Its valet zone is standing-room-only with paparazzi hoping to catch a glimpse of Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan stepping out of an Escalade, and its bar is three deep with supermodels and those who like to be seen with them."

Hmm... Just think of the lux row lining up here...the Bowery Hotel and Cooper Square Hotel and DBGB and 52 East Fourth St and Keith McNally's coming-soon pizza joint and ....

CB3 to explore bar-related noise issues on Avenue A?

As you may know, two new bars opened this summer on Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street. We haven't talked much about Destination, now at the corner of 13th and A in the former Boysroom space. Mostly because we don't know much about it. So we looked it up. Here's a description from Grub Sreet:

Destination has what one of the operators (they include owners of Paladar and Iggy’s Karaoke Bar) has already deemed a “make-out corner,” and there are Jell-O shots with gummy tequila worms and whiskey-infused Rice Krispie treats.

The double whammy of Destination and Superdive (both taking over spaces that have been empty for more than a year, if not longer in the case of the Boysroom) are apparently creating quality-of-life issues for residents. Based on these fliers someone distributed on Avenue A, it looks as if the CB3 is ready to listen.

There is a phone number on the flier. I'll pass it along if you'd like it.

Updated:

Jeremiah has the following photo today... "NO MORE LIQUOR LICENSES."

Joe Strummer gets a splash of Niagara

A little something extra was added to the Joe Strummer mural on the side of Niagra at Seventh Street and Avenue A the other day.

Before:

Now:

Makes sense that Niagara wanted its name included on the mural — given how often fans/tourists takes its picture (though why wasn't this included when the mural was created in 2003?)...Meanwhile, there was a post/discussion on the mural last week at the Clash Blog

Previously on EV Grieve:
Joe Strummer gets a new look, skyline

Scott Stringer: Enough with the ATMs!

The Daily News had this story yesterday:

Those grubby, no-name ATMs are multiplying like bunnies, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer says they're not only a nuisance -- they could be unsafe.

Stringer's office surveyed 950 Manhattan automatic teller machines and found that some neighborhoods -- like the East Village -- have a disproportionate number.

"It's time for the city to step up and call a halt on these attempts to cash in on our neighborhoods," Stringer said of the machines, which stores install for a fee.

The study found 242 unregulated sidewalk ATMs in Manhattan.

In the East Village, surveyors found nearly 100 on the sidewalk, five of which were on one Avenue A block. Only two in the area were affiliated with major banks.

Stringer called on the city to better regulate the cash-spewing contraptions

.

Just last week, EV Grieve reader Jen pointed out the three newish ATMs along First Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's. She (correctly!) calls them hideous and asks, "Why the sudden influx? They're practically all touching."

I have my theories...feel free to leave your own.