Oh, never mind about that whole 'breaking news' on East Second Street thing

Heh. Well! Upon closer inspection, it appears that the DOT closed off Second Street between Avenue A and Avenue B so that WABC can film crews filling potholes...

Thanks to Samo for the photos.

Breaking: Something big happening on East Second Street

We don't know yet... but Samo sends along this shot... East Second Street between Avenue A and Avenue B is blocked off... news crews on the scene...

[Updated: Oh, never mind!]

The next sliver of space for development: The parking lot at 277 Seventh St.

In recent years it seems as if, say, some restaurant gardens and single-level buildings have a shorter and shorter life expectancy around here. Soon, they may all be pricy apartments. Massey Knakal now has a listing for the 22-foot-wide parking lot at 277 E. Seventh Street west of Avenue D... Per the listing:

A 22’ wide vacant development site on the northern side of East 7th Street between Avenues C and D. The site benefits from a curb cut. Currently, there are 10 cars parked at an average rent of $300/month. It would be suitable for a single family or multi-unit development.

And the price for the parking lot: $1.95 million. This space is adjacent to the new Lower Eastside Girls Club building presently under construction here on Avenue D between Eighth Street and Seventh Street.

On St. Mark's Place, terminal salvation

Last night, EVGayBear took a few photos of the FDNY removing that giant hand duct thingee from atop 79 St. Mark's Place...

Bob Arihood was there too, and passes along some photos of the scene around 9:15 p.m. ... the problem was with the the stainless steel flue terminal ... which had come loose...

...and apparently now sitting in front of the building...

Coming soon to Seventh Street: coffee and ice cream

The city issued permits last week for the former City Copies on Seventh Street just east of Second Avenue. We've been curious what might be going in here... Workers on the scene told an EV Grieve reader that the storefront will soon be home to "coffee and ice cream."

DOH gives Yerba Buena a clean bill of health

Last Friday, the city inspected Yerba Buena at 23 Avenue A near Second Street ... and found enough violations to immediately shutter the Latin eatery...

The DOH returned Monday, and found zero violations... and the DOH gave YB the OK to reopen...

B Bar aiming for sidewalk cafe and takeout window; promise more community discussion

We've been keeping an eye on the construction/renovation on the wall at early Bowery ruiner B Bar at East Fourth Street... According to the DOB, the B Bar is adding "an additional opening in existing exterior wall on Bowery." But! That's just part of it...

Via a post at Grub Street, it appears that the B Bar wants to add a 28-seat sidewalk cafe and a takeout window. The NoHo News blog has the story and details...

NoHo News has an update from Monday evening's CB2 Sidewalk Committee hearing:

"The CB#2 Sidewalk Committee agreed that the B Bar needs to address how they are going to handle the patrons they already have before they are granted public space for even more. That said, Eric Goode has agreed to more detailed discussion regarding the B Bar and its new plans."

East Village soon to be home to restaurants called The Beagle and Marry the Ketchup

I couldn't attend Monday night's CB3/SLA meeting. However, Eater's Jackie Goldstein was there ... here are a few highlights:

• Heartbreak Cafe on Second Avenue and Second Street gets the OK for a sidewalk cafe. This, though, after the Heartbreakers apparently agreed that they wouldn't seek a sidewalk license... Regardless, they were OK'd for eight tables and 32 seats on the Second Avenue side. This whole episode put a committee member in a snit.

• Momofuku Milk Bar gets the OK for a new location across the street from their current 13th Street digs. The booze will only be served in the desserts or something. And they'll have two beers on the menu. Rather, two different kinds of beer.

• Marry the Ketchup is approved at the old Permanent Brunch space on First Avenue. They'll seafood and oysters.

• I've heard the most about The Beagle, which is OK'd to take over the Orologio space at 162 Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street. One resident told me their menu had entrees priced between $26-31. But, a Beagle rep said that was an old menu, and of the 31 items, 20 are $12 and under. Still, one resident told me how unhappy he is with menu items such as whole pigs and foie gras.

Read the full Eater post here.

Octavia's Porch really wants you to know that they're delivering now

Earlier this month, we noted that Octavia's Porch on Avenue B was starting delivery service ... Meanwhile, we've been spotting the menus to the restaurant co-owned by Nikki Cascone from "Top Chef" season four taped up on city property on corners from Houston to Seventh Street, Avenue A to Avenue C...

FDNY removes dangling duct on St. Mark's Place

A little earlier this evening, the FDNY was on the scene at 77 79 St. Mark's Place just west of First Avenue... Reader EVGayBear sent along these photos with a short narrative: "So this duct was hanging off the roof of the building, and the firefighters went up in their ladder, ripped it off, and took it down before it could fall and crush people. I guess the high winds knocked it over."

I was also thinking that duct looked familiar for a moment... like, a hand...

You have until midnight to help the Lower Eastside Girls Club win $50,000

You have until midnight to help the Lower Eastside Girls Club win $50,000 in the 2011 DVF People's Voice Award. Vote here.

Read more here at the Daily News.

5:52 p.m., Cooper Square, Feb. 15

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

Prosecutors: East Village man behind Ponzi scheme (The Wall Street Journal)

A fatality at Kenmare and The Bowery (BoweryBoogie)

Introducing Marty After Dark. First up: Ray's! (Marty After Dark)

Harvey Wang discusses Adam Purple's earthwork The Garden of Eden (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

A Valentine's Day scene from Tompkins Square Park (Nadie Se Conoce)

Bloomy likes his beer with ice (City Room)

Using East Village graffiti as teachable moment in the classroom (DNAinfo)

A very large box of mac and cheese (Neighborhoodr)

Transient Pioneers! O Transient Pioneers! (Lux Living)

And Fashion Week at Billy's ... where the new theme is "this ain't Rag and Bonehead."

[Photo: Kristian Holm]

Interpreting the 35 Cooper Square Stop Work Order

As Runnin' Scared reported earlier today, the DOB slapped a Stop Work Order on the front of 35 Cooper Square. Like this one...

I don't know much about the law or lawyers, though Sam Waterston has his moments. EV Grieve reader Patrick made some sense of it...

So the provision they violated was Section 28-105.1 of the NYC Administrative Code. Title 28 of the Admin Code is the Construction code, Chapter 1 is the Administrative chapter, and Article 105 is the Permits article.

Section 105.1 says they can't do work until the commissioner issues a permit for the specific work they want to do. Given how fast they started working, we're guessing they just didn't file permits for a bunch of stuff. By not applying for permits, the owners were probably trying to cut some costs (either of filing or of complying with something). Entirely illegal work happens all the time in NYC, of course.

Here's the text of the section. He broke it down for readability purposes.

§ 28-105.1. General.


It shall be unlawful

- to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, remove or change the use or occupancy of any building or structure in the city,

OR

- to erect, install, alter, repair, or use or operate any sign or service equipment in or in connection therewith,

OR

- to erect, install, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any gas, mechanical, plumbing or fire suppression system in or in connection therewith

OR

- to cause any such work to be done

UNLESS AND UNTIL a written permit therefore [sic; therefor? -Ed.] shall have been issued by the commissioner in accordance with the requirements of this code, subject to such exceptions and exemptions as may be provided in section 28-105.4.

The exceptions in 105.4 are 1) emergency work, 2) minor alterations & ordinary repairs, 3) public utility work, 4) ordinary plumbing work, and 5) sign permits. Also note that "unlawful" doesn't mean violation of the section exposes you to criminal liability or liability in tort; just means you gotta comply with it if you're going to go forward.

Writes Patrick: "It's likely only a temporary issue. Go get your last glimpses in, because they'll apply for the permit, have it approved (little in the way, given that it's not under Landmarks protection), then proceed as planned."

[Image via Runnin' Scared]

Stop Work Order signs posted at 35 Cooper Square

Likely just prolonging the agony for the moment. But! Myles Tanzer at Runnin' Scared notes that Stop Work Orders have been posted at 35 Cooper Square. To no surprise, when Tanzer called the DOB for comment, DOB officials didn't know anything about the permits. Read the post here.

[Image via Runnin' Scared]

35 Cooper Square, 'this much-beloved little building,' dies at age 186

35 Cooper Square, an active part of the Lower East Side community for nearly 200 years, died yesterday following a short bout with new developers. The cause was impending demolition, said the New York City Department of Buildings.

Historians believe 35 Cooper Square was born in 1825.

The oldest building on Cooper Square, and one of the oldest buildings of the original Bowery, this charming Federal style building with the traditional gambrel roof, twin-pedimented dormers, and large end chimneys also boasts historical and cultural associations ranging from a direct descendant of Peter Stuyvesant to much later habitation by Diane DiPrima, the most influential woman of the Beat Generation.

"[W]hen I first laid eyes on 35 Cooper Square, I knew it was the fulfillment of all those fantasies of art and the artist’s life, la vie de boheme ... it was my dream house," DiPrima wrote in "Memoirs of a Beatnik."

Originally called 391 Bowery, 35 Cooper Square was owned in the early 1800s by Nicholas William Stuyvesant, great-grandson of Peter Stuyvesant. When he died in 1833, the building passed through several hands, including an undertaker, a teacher, a hotelier and a saloon owner.

According to Jeremiah's Vanishing New York, "In the 20th century, it became a home for artists. Painter and photographer J. Forrest Vey lived there after World War II. He rented the upstairs dormer rooms for $5 apiece to people like Joel Grey, star of 'Cabaret,' and Claude Brown, author of Manchild in the 'Promised Land.'"

"This much-beloved little building has been both a significant participant and a surviving witness to New York City history for nearly 200 years! Under the stipulations of the Landmarks Law, it qualifies on architectural, historical and cultural criteria for designation as a NYC individual landmark," said David Mulkins, chair/co-founder of the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors

35 Cooper Square stood for 40 U.S. Presidents, from James Madison to Barack Obama, as well as the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The building was no stranger to controversy. For instance, in 2004, Cooper Union, the building’s previous owner, painted over a 9/11 tribute mural to make room for revenue-generating advertising.

"The building itself is a rare specimen that has remained standing since the transition of the Bowery from a residential area to one that was home to a variety of commercial venues in the early 19th century," said New York Assemblymember Deborah Glick. "While there have been some changes made to the façade of 35 Cooper Square, the building still retains its original twin peaked dormers, chimney, and gambrel roof, and is unmistakably representative of a bygone era in New York City history."

On Jan. 28, advocacy groups, historians, elected officials and East Village residents held a rally at 35 Cooper Square urging the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to designate the property a historic landmark. However, the LPC declined to take action, according to various published reports.

The current owner of 35 Cooper is the Arun Bhatia Development Organization, which has built dorms for the New School and seven condo towers, most recently 139 Wooster Street, and an unnamed partner. Arun Bhatia and its partner bought the land in an all-cash deal for $8.5 million last November. The combined lot size is approximately 4,833 square feet, in a C6-1 zone, with a total buildable of approximately 28,998 square feet.

35 Cooper Square is survived by several cousins on the Bowery. In lieu of flowers, loved ones are urged to help support the remaining historic properties that continue to face demolition throughout the city.

[Top images via Bowery Alliance of Neighbors]

Superdive still threatening to return

Superdive was on last night's CB3/SLA agenda... Team Dive was a no show at the January CB3/SLA meeting, though they claim they never filed the paperwork to be on the docket...

So, prior to last night's meeting, I asked the Divers via e-mail if they'd attend the meeting. Short answer: No. (And, true to that, they were not there.)

Long answer:

"Susan Stetzer took it upon herself ... to put superdive on the agenda for the renewal. which does happen until the end of april and we are not required to notify until march but alas

let the facts be clear:

since 1/24/10 there have been no incidents, complaints about or violations issued at 200 avenue A.

superdive — superclean for over a year!

we would love to attend this hatchet trial but alas in no way would poppadive not be with mommadive on valentine's day.

and one day a real rain will come, an people's uprising, and swept away in the tidal wave of history will be the despotic demonic tyrannical "community" board.

WHO NEEDS DEMOCRACY WHEN YOU HAVE SUPERDIVE?

LONG LIVE SUPERDIVE

RETURNING SPRING 2011

Gleaming the 2 Coop

You have to be a little creative around Cooper Square these days since Cooper Union officials placed metal spikes on its skateboard ramp fancy design thingee last July.

Anyway, just down the way, 2 Cooper Square, with its roof pool and $20,000 apartments, is filling the void...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Gleaming the Coop

Also at 2 Cooper Square

Skateboarders aren't the only people making use of 2 Cooper Square's currently vacant retail sidewalk space... some less-fortunate souls are also finding refuge here...

The Blarney Cove has a (fake Zagat rated) menu!

Never noticed this before... a reader sends along a photo of the Blarney Cove menu... mini burgers ($3), knishes ($1.50), pizza ($1.50) and quesadillas ($2.50). The photo is a little blurry... but you can see that someone has written in "Zagat rated."

Anyway, add a beer to these four menu items and you have the five food groups represented, of course ...