Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Storm supplies: Where you can buy Four Loko

Forget the Four Loco Black Market... Apparently you can still buy the stuff at our old friends over at Robin Raj on Third Avenue near 14th Street...

The signs have been up at least a week or so... dunno if they actually have the goods, but.... it's probably worth walking in a blizzard for...


Another lost corner market?

Several readers sent along word that the Olympic on First Avenue at 13th Street abruptly closed ... it could simply be for renovations, though you think they'd leave a sign....



... plus, there aren't any work permits on file with the DOB...

Meanwhile, speaking of shuttered delis... The East Side Gourmet Deli closed last month on East Fourth Street and Avenue B.... word is another deli is taking over the space... EV Grieve contributor Bobby Williams took this shot yesterday....



The 13th Street and First Avenue location is particularly troublesome... There are four chains in close proximity — Dunkin Donuts, Subway, the Vitamin Shoppe and Papa "Is in the house!" John's.

Seems like the kind of set-up that 7-Eleven is getting a Slurpee Boner for.

A look inside the old Sin Sin space

Paper and works permits went up last week at the former Sin Sin space on Second Avenue and Fifth Street...

EV Grieve reader Pedro caught some of the gutting action in the two-level bar yesterday....






Wonder when workers will chuck that Sin Sin awning... Meanwhile, the space remains on the market for $20,000 a month.

Check out previous Sin Sin coverage here.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

[Updated] It doesn't show signs of stopping

9:28!



10:22



11:00


Midnight (with football players)




[Courtesy of EV Grieve correspondent Shawn Chittle]

Live Team Coverage of Hysteria



54 minutes later

9:28!



Now!



[Courtesy Shawn Chittle]

In snow

We're getting all kinds of reports on what's happening outside now... including with the snow... Crazy Eddie was able to get this shot, with a simple message — "white out."



Thank God I'm missing all this while I'm at my place in Bermuda!

Exclusive first look at tomorrow's snowfall tonight

Snow plows tagged, ready for action




On Houston near the Bowery.

Workers arrive to chop down trees at 326-328 E. Fourth St.



EV Grieve reader Ileana sends along these photos, noting the activity in front of 326-328 E. Fourth St. ... which is being prepped to become luxury housing...



"Tree service company came today to start cutting down the townhouse trees. As of this afternoon, they had not yet gotten to the mulberry trees in front that are growing out of the steps and provide East 4th street residents with delicious berries in June."



Previously on EV Grieve:
Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

City doesn't give a shit about these historic East Village townhouses

Max Fish farewell tour extended for another year



Paper has the scoop here. The Ludlow Street bar will remain open at least one more year.

Nerds wonder when Queen Amidala of Naboo will finally take off her shirt on the Bowery



EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition



East Village-based firefighter, a 9/11 first responder, loses battle with cancer (Daily News)

Snow job: Bloomy was in Bermuda during the great blizzard of Dec. 26-27, 2010 (Gothamist)

Next for 250 Bowery (BoweryBoogie)

Next for 52E4 on the Bowery (Curbed)

BaoHaus a better deal than Katz's? (Fork in the Road)

The story of Oscar's Salt of the Sea (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

How Walmart Would Hurt NYC's Economy (The Observer)

RIP Zig Zap Records (Sheepshead Bites)

Bedbug complaints up 7 percent (The Real Deal)

And several readers have passed along the link to this "Saturday Night Live" skit ... featuring the band A Taste of New York... [Oops — sorry, the embed got wonky...]



... "from an area called between Avenue B and Avenue C." You'll likely have to watch a 30-second car commercial first...

Oh, nothing to do with anything, but kinda funny...What really happened to Endor when they ganked the Death Star (BoingBoing)

Possible delay in emergency responses today from local fire companies



We'll periodically have information on local fire company activities, including when they are closed for periods of time... particularly the FDNY’s Engine 28 and Ladder 11 — the two fire companies quartered at 222 E. Second St.

The following companies located in the East Village OR that respond to emergencies in the East Village will be on Building Inspection at the following times on Tuesday (and every Tuesday):

E-5, E-15, E-28 — 10 AM-1 PM.
L-9, E-55, E-9 — 1 PM-4 PM.

On eve of another snowstorm, world-famous bike in full view

As you read here first, it may snow tonight. And tomorrow. A lot.

And over on Eighth Street at Avenue C...

Dec. 27!



Now!



Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive: Q-and-A with the bike that became an iconic symbol of the 2010 Holiday Blizzard

CB3 denies La Vie; owner responds by calling Susan Stetzer a 'racist'

The CB3/SLA committee meeting last night got off to an ugly start thanks to an often contentious 45-plus minute discussion about a renewal for La Vie, the hookah-flavored club at 64 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

First, a little about the address... which has seemingly been home to a succession of clubs in recent years...



A quick refresher from their Facebook page:

Open Daily 5 pm-4 am
Happy Hour: 5 pm-10 pm
Kitchen: 5 pm-3 am (Daily)
DJ: 6 nights a week
Wednesday: Live Middle Eastern Band


There is no mistake that this venue, designed to take a regular evening and turn it into a spectacular one, is called La Vie. Upon entering, life as you know it stops and your definition of New York nightlife changes, as French-Moroccan cuisine, cocktails, and décor fuse to attract a multitude. Come for happy hour, dance all night long, or come when our doors open and stay until the doors close, La Vie is on every night.


Several First Street residents were in attendance to address the ongoing issues with La Vie (and its predecessors), and the fact that they have been operating as a club under the guise of a restaurant.

According to residents, the dance music emanating from the two-level club is loud and disruptive to their quality of life ... and there's often chaos in the streets as clubgoers come and go, etc. ... Meanwhile, residents say management has been unresponsive to the issues. A manager told a resident that the club couldn't turn down the music, saying "they need to keep a good vibe for dancing."

Another resident stood up and gave one of the most heartfelt and straightforward pleas before the Community Board that I have ever heard. He estimated that he has put hundreds of hours into trying to get La Vie to be a better neighbor, even spending $3,500 on an independent sound study. He talked about the anxiety that he and his girlfriend were experiencing... being perpetually exhausted on just a few hours of sleep most nights... the dread of anticipating the nonstop thump-thump-thump of the music. "We refuse to retreat to another borough or community," he said.

The two owners were on hand... they took over La Vie this past fall... the two seemed sympathetic to the situation. One owner says they have spent $100,000 the last 45 days installing sound-proofing and getting sound testing done. The owners even offered to soundproof the apartments of any residents experiencing noise problems. "We understand there is more work to do," one owner said.

Later it came out that the previous club here also soundproofed the space, prompting people to wonder how much soundproofing was needed for one place ... Committee member Ariel Palitz, who owns Sutra around the bend on First Avenue, lectured the owners — and offered an inexpensive solution. Why not just turn down the music?

During the discussion, one of the owners said that his partner with him — Mohamed Elsayed — was the proprietor of Horus Cafe on Avenue B and Sixth Street and the Horus Cafe on Avenue A and 10th Street.

CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer mentioned that Horus on B had run afoul of the State Liquor Authority (SLA) for an illegal sidewalk cafe. There was more discussion, and the committee voted against renewing La Vie's license... sending the matter on to the SLA, where the owners already have a hearing scheduled on Feb. 2 related to several prior violations, including an illegal trade name and unauthorized alterations (La Vie put in a retractable roof).

After the dismissal, a glowering Elsayed approached the committee table and made several angry comments. Turning to walk away, he inexplicably called Stetzer a racist. This prompted an exchange.

"Your mind was made up before we got here," Elsayed semi-shouted while leaving the room.

A little later, one committee member said in jest in front of the room, "If douchebags are a race, then I'm a racist."

Previous posts on last night's meeting:

LES nightlife game-changer: Team behind 13th Step, Down the Hatch OK'd to take over Café Charbon space

[Updated] Superdive a CB3/SLA no-show tonight

On Avenue C, market known for Cobra Malt Liquor giving way to Wholesome Foods

The market on the corner of Seventh Street and Avenue C has been going under some transformations in recent months... a new name and awning appeared in the fall...


[Photo by Bob Arihood]

And now, the market — dubbed the "Cobra" store for having the best prices on King Cobra Malt Liquor — has closed...

It will soon be home to a Wholesome Foods, a gourmet deli ...



There's another Wholesome Foods on Stanton and Essex. Back in the early summer of 2008, The Villager profiled the Wholesome owners:

When Orlando Rodriguez, 34, was growing up on Suffolk St. on the Lower East Side, the neighborhood was a stark contrast to today’s scene of luxury high-rise apartment buildings and upscale hotels that are fast filling the landscape. Drugs and crime proliferated on the streets.

“All my school friends ended up in jail or dead,” said Rodriguez, whose older brother was murdered in 1987.

While Rodriguez is saddened about the effect of increasing prices and rents driving out many of the people and businesses he grew up with, he feels that the changes on the Lower East Side are a positive thing.

The Penistrator shows off his stroke outside Mars Bar


The Intern of EV Grieve (IOEVG) returns to my good graces with this masterful photo taken outside the Mars Bar the other night... This is NOT the Faux Penistrator that we've seen of late... No, this is classic Osment Penistrator.

7-Eleven set to feast on the corpse of Manhattan


In the above photo, 7-Eleven is in place on Third Avenue near 20th Street... directly next to a mom-and-pop market... Meanwhile, here are some excerpts from Adrianne Pasquarelli's piece in Crain's ... in which the Slurpee Slingers are planning to, basically, take over Manhattan...

7-Eleven is taking Manhattan by storm. The Dallas-based convenience store operator recently opened two outposts in Murray Hill and has signed leases for another two locations elsewhere in the borough.

“We are actively looking,” said Margaret Chabris, public relations director for 83-year-old 7-Eleven Inc., noting that New York is a key growth market. The company, which has several additional leases out for negotiation in Manhattan, is also moving onto college campuses and airports.

By the end of 2012, 7-Eleven plans to have between 15 and 20 Manhattan locations, according to real estate sources. In the next five years, the company aims to operate 100 outposts here.

“There are more attractive locations available now than there were in the past, and this is due to the recession," Ms. Chabris said. "A lot of small businesses are having a tough time growing, or some of them aren't able to renew leases."

Part of the company's new strategy involves a small-business conversion program where existing mom-and-pop stores, convenience shops or bodegas transition their businesses into 7-Eleven franchise locations. Each outpost costs approximately $250,000 to remodel.

So far, the company has replaced old delis and DVD stores, and even a former Starbucks on Third Avenue.

Any bets on a 7-Eleven in the East Village ... as rumored last year...?

When dessert worlds COLLIDE!



In which the cupcake truckers set up, uh, truck right in front of Pinkberry last evening on St. Mark's Place.