Over the East Village last night. Shot by James and Karla Murray. See more here.
Gothamist notes that the Empire State Building was struck by lightning three times during the storm.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Just after midnight, that crazy sky
Over the East Village last night. Shot by James and Karla Murray. See more here.
Gothamist notes that the Empire State Building was struck by lightning three times during the storm.
On East Ninth Street, hot plates and hell
On Monday, we posted a video showing what life was like for residents living through a gut renovation in a Suffolk Street building.
We've also heard from a tenant at 610 E. Ninth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C, where residents say they've have been without gas for cooking since late February as, one tenant put it, "[the landlord] continues their 'renovations'/shock-and-awe strategy to get the rent-stabilized people out."
The landlord isn't offering buyouts, just one-month-rent offers to exit, according to the resident. At least three residents in the building have been there for 20-plus years.
Aside from not being able to cook at home, there are some more serious health issues, the resident says. One neighbor has reportedly been coughing up blood due to the extreme dust from the ongoing renovations.
Also, the tenant says there are no abatements in the works for the inconvenience of not being able to cook at home, among other things. The management company did drop off hot plates for residents to use 10 days ago. However, they do need to be returned once the gas is restored, the resident said. (ConEd is scheduled to inspect the building today.)
The Icon Realty Management website is currently listing four units for this address — three that are available immediately and one that is ready May 1. Prices range from $2,300 to 3,200.
Here is the listing for the two-bedroom going for $3,200:
According to Streeteasy, it appears that nine of the building's 24 units have been renovated.
Said the tenant, "Everyone in the building has been going through hell since September."
[Updated]
A reader sent along a few shots of the building from today...
[Top image via PropertyShark.com]
We've also heard from a tenant at 610 E. Ninth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C, where residents say they've have been without gas for cooking since late February as, one tenant put it, "[the landlord] continues their 'renovations'/shock-and-awe strategy to get the rent-stabilized people out."
The landlord isn't offering buyouts, just one-month-rent offers to exit, according to the resident. At least three residents in the building have been there for 20-plus years.
Aside from not being able to cook at home, there are some more serious health issues, the resident says. One neighbor has reportedly been coughing up blood due to the extreme dust from the ongoing renovations.
Also, the tenant says there are no abatements in the works for the inconvenience of not being able to cook at home, among other things. The management company did drop off hot plates for residents to use 10 days ago. However, they do need to be returned once the gas is restored, the resident said. (ConEd is scheduled to inspect the building today.)
The Icon Realty Management website is currently listing four units for this address — three that are available immediately and one that is ready May 1. Prices range from $2,300 to 3,200.
Here is the listing for the two-bedroom going for $3,200:
All apartments are newly renovated featuring: bleached-plank hardwood floors, recessed lighting, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, cherry wood cabinets, crown and baseboard moldings, marble bathrooms, along with premium washer-dryers. This new apartment has never been lived in!!!
According to Streeteasy, it appears that nine of the building's 24 units have been renovated.
Said the tenant, "Everyone in the building has been going through hell since September."
[Updated]
A reader sent along a few shots of the building from today...
[Top image via PropertyShark.com]
Arun Bhatia reps listen, but make no promises about the future of 35 Cooper Square
Yesterday afternoon, developer Arun Bhatia met with concerned members of the community about the fate of 35 Cooper Square. It was an invite-only meeting closed to the media.
I asked Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, one of community members slated to speak, for his quick take on hour-long discussion with Arun Bhatia representatives:
They expressed openness to considering our suggestions that they explore ways of integrating 35 Cooper into a development on the site, but made no promises. There are some considerable financial and physical hurdles that would have to be overcome. They said they would think about it and get back to us. They gave no details as to what they are currently planning.
Previously.
DNAinfo has more here.... The report from The Local East Village is here.
One other question about 35 Cooper Square
A few readers have brought this up about the empty lot adjacent to No. 35 at Sixth Street:
How do you build on a sinkhole?
The lot certainly does appear to, uh, sag a bit...
Perhaps this could be used as a new skateboard park for Cooper Union?
P.S.
And how long will the couch/mattress stay in the lot? Swear that combo has been there for more than a year...
How do you build on a sinkhole?
The lot certainly does appear to, uh, sag a bit...
Perhaps this could be used as a new skateboard park for Cooper Union?
P.S.
And how long will the couch/mattress stay in the lot? Swear that combo has been there for more than a year...
A CB3/SLA recap: 'Everyone wants a piece of the EV gold rush'
Here's a little more on Monday night's CB3/SLA meeting... We heard that the whole thing ran eight hours... and a good crowd was present.
"The place was packed," East Village Dale Goodson told me later. "So many applicants. Everyone wants a piece of the EV gold rush."
Indeed. Meanwhile, EV Grieve reader Mike sent along his account from the four hours or so that he spent there...
1) Team New Superdive showed up, but they didn’t have a representative so they had to wait a while. When they finally did come up, they decided to define the word “salon” and talk about how they were an art gallery that just needed to stay open really late at night for no apparent reason. They gave endless introductions about who they were, to the great non-interest of the audience, and then were asked, by both the Community Board and the audience why they were presenting the same plan they presented five months ago with no modifications after making no effort to communicate with the community about their concerns. They responded that they were “advised not to.” Their lawyer did some quick backpedaling about how he had certainly not suggested such a thing, and then they were forced to withdraw their application. The audience, who was out for blood, was disappointed, but victorious.
2) Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop at 129 Rivington St. brought along a bunch of supporters who talked about how much they liked to eat sandwiches after work and wished they could have a glass of wine. After a bit of wrangling, it was granted, with restrictions on the hours it could be open.
3) Percy's Tavern (210 Ave A) was requesting an outdoor cafe. There was significant community opposition because Percy's has apparently not kept its promises to the residents of the community about reducing the noise level. Its owner kept saying the noise was not his fault and talking about how he moved the stage, but neither the neighbors or the Board were impressed. They were denied, and told to try again when they’d proven themselves to the community.
4) A restaurant whose corporate name is “133 Essex Restaurant LLC” wants to take over the Mason Dixon space that apparently houses a bunch of frat boys and a mechanical bull. The budding restaurateurs wouldn’t accept a midnight closing time during the week and a 2 a.m. closing time on the weekends. They told the community members that if they didn’t let them operate later into the night, the community would continue to be saddled with Mason Dixon (which is apparently closed right now for some sort of violation) and that there would be vomit everywhere. So in any case, that was a bit ugly, but they withdrew.
5) Angels and Kings is closing so that a restaurant can open. But wait, Angels and Kings has a kitchen? Apparently they even have a menu. Who knew? They are going to hire the chef from the troubled Forbidden City on Avenue A that is now called the Fat Buddha. The neighbors opposed the transfer because there wasn't any community outreach. Neighbors also complained about their proposed hours (4 p.m. - 3:30 am sounds a lot like bar hours) and one Community Board member questioned why they planned on having one security guard inside and another outside, which sounds like bar security, not restaurant security. One also wonders why a small restaurant needs a full liquor license anyway, but that’s another story. Anyway, they withdrew to go meet with community members.
6) Finally, the owners of the Tonda space wanted to get the stipulations about closing time and a coffee window taken off their license (a transfer). They got their coffee window (they will now apparently have pastries and coffee starting at 7:30 a.m.), but the residents of East 4th Street won the hours battle: 12 p.m. closing on weekdays, 1 a.m. on weekends.
One further note on Angels and Kings. Another attendee told me about a letter from a social worker who works with the elderly residents of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Apartments that face the bar on 11th Street. The social worker said that some of the residents are feeling depressed and anxious — aided in part by sleepless nights courtesy of noisy nearby bars.
Also, a few weeks ago we mentioned that South Brooklyn Pizza is expanding to open a restaurant — serving beer and wine — next door at 122 First Ave. in the former Ruben's space. The South Brooklyn folks have been collecting signatures in support of the move, and showed up at the meeting with more than 2,000 signatures.
As Eater's Jackie Goldstein reported, the owner started his presentation by saying that South Brooklyn Pizza was known as the "best pizza place in New York City right now." To Jackie's recap:
No word on whether the EV location will host Fondle parties. You can read more about them here.
Find more recaps at Eater and The Lo-Down.
"The place was packed," East Village Dale Goodson told me later. "So many applicants. Everyone wants a piece of the EV gold rush."
Indeed. Meanwhile, EV Grieve reader Mike sent along his account from the four hours or so that he spent there...
1) Team New Superdive showed up, but they didn’t have a representative so they had to wait a while. When they finally did come up, they decided to define the word “salon” and talk about how they were an art gallery that just needed to stay open really late at night for no apparent reason. They gave endless introductions about who they were, to the great non-interest of the audience, and then were asked, by both the Community Board and the audience why they were presenting the same plan they presented five months ago with no modifications after making no effort to communicate with the community about their concerns. They responded that they were “advised not to.” Their lawyer did some quick backpedaling about how he had certainly not suggested such a thing, and then they were forced to withdraw their application. The audience, who was out for blood, was disappointed, but victorious.
2) Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop at 129 Rivington St. brought along a bunch of supporters who talked about how much they liked to eat sandwiches after work and wished they could have a glass of wine. After a bit of wrangling, it was granted, with restrictions on the hours it could be open.
3) Percy's Tavern (210 Ave A) was requesting an outdoor cafe. There was significant community opposition because Percy's has apparently not kept its promises to the residents of the community about reducing the noise level. Its owner kept saying the noise was not his fault and talking about how he moved the stage, but neither the neighbors or the Board were impressed. They were denied, and told to try again when they’d proven themselves to the community.
4) A restaurant whose corporate name is “133 Essex Restaurant LLC” wants to take over the Mason Dixon space that apparently houses a bunch of frat boys and a mechanical bull. The budding restaurateurs wouldn’t accept a midnight closing time during the week and a 2 a.m. closing time on the weekends. They told the community members that if they didn’t let them operate later into the night, the community would continue to be saddled with Mason Dixon (which is apparently closed right now for some sort of violation) and that there would be vomit everywhere. So in any case, that was a bit ugly, but they withdrew.
5) Angels and Kings is closing so that a restaurant can open. But wait, Angels and Kings has a kitchen? Apparently they even have a menu. Who knew? They are going to hire the chef from the troubled Forbidden City on Avenue A that is now called the Fat Buddha. The neighbors opposed the transfer because there wasn't any community outreach. Neighbors also complained about their proposed hours (4 p.m. - 3:30 am sounds a lot like bar hours) and one Community Board member questioned why they planned on having one security guard inside and another outside, which sounds like bar security, not restaurant security. One also wonders why a small restaurant needs a full liquor license anyway, but that’s another story. Anyway, they withdrew to go meet with community members.
6) Finally, the owners of the Tonda space wanted to get the stipulations about closing time and a coffee window taken off their license (a transfer). They got their coffee window (they will now apparently have pastries and coffee starting at 7:30 a.m.), but the residents of East 4th Street won the hours battle: 12 p.m. closing on weekdays, 1 a.m. on weekends.
One further note on Angels and Kings. Another attendee told me about a letter from a social worker who works with the elderly residents of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Apartments that face the bar on 11th Street. The social worker said that some of the residents are feeling depressed and anxious — aided in part by sleepless nights courtesy of noisy nearby bars.
Also, a few weeks ago we mentioned that South Brooklyn Pizza is expanding to open a restaurant — serving beer and wine — next door at 122 First Ave. in the former Ruben's space. The South Brooklyn folks have been collecting signatures in support of the move, and showed up at the meeting with more than 2,000 signatures.
As Eater's Jackie Goldstein reported, the owner started his presentation by saying that South Brooklyn Pizza was known as the "best pizza place in New York City right now." To Jackie's recap:
Then someone mentioned "Fondle Parties," an event that has occurred at South Brooklyn Pizza which basically sounds like a grope fest. But it was okay, one committee member even said "nothing's wrong with a little fondling as long as it's consensual." The board voted to deny unless they agreed to stop serving booze at 1 a.m. on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends.
No word on whether the EV location will host Fondle parties. You can read more about them here.
Find more recaps at Eater and The Lo-Down.
Pedal Power, baby
From the EV Grieve inbox...
The East Village Community Coalition is hosting the 4th Annual LES Kids' Art Bike Parade on Saturday, April 30 in East River Park. The event celebrates sustainable streets in our neighborhood while turning bicycles into moving works of art. Previous parades have been successful and it's free of charge. For more info and register here.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
NYPD searching for missing East Village teen
Cops are looking for Alexander Vorlicky, 14, who is missing from his East Village home. Vorlicky was last seen at his home at 297 East 10th Street. Known to frequent Central Park, he's 5-5, 115 pounds and was last seen wearing a heavily zippered black jacket, black jeans and white sneakers. Tipsters can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or submit tips at nypdcrimestoppers.com or text info to 274637 (CRIMES), entering TIP577.
April 11
Slum Goddess, facing a 100-game suspension by the International Coalition of Tree Tossing in the Spring (ICTTS) for submitting a photo of what might have been an old potted plant the other day, unearthed this treasure early this morning near the Mars Bar.
And, without a newspaper, Slum Goddess displayed daring and ingenuity by using a dated ATM receipt to verify when she spotted this tree.
In a statement, ICTTS spokesperson Gruber MacDougal commended Slum Goddess' "grace under pressure" and "MacGyver-like MacGyverness."
However, the celebration may be short-lived. Per a reader earlier this evening: "just spotted a big- ass Christmas tree in front of 222 east 3rd st, avenues b and c. someone with a newspaper go shoot it!"
And, without a newspaper, Slum Goddess displayed daring and ingenuity by using a dated ATM receipt to verify when she spotted this tree.
In a statement, ICTTS spokesperson Gruber MacDougal commended Slum Goddess' "grace under pressure" and "MacGyver-like MacGyverness."
However, the celebration may be short-lived. Per a reader earlier this evening: "just spotted a big- ass Christmas tree in front of 222 east 3rd st, avenues b and c. someone with a newspaper go shoot it!"
Breaking: New food cart appears on Houston and First Avenue
EV Grieve contributor Samo notes a new food cart on the northwest corner of Houston and First Avenue...
His name is Kies, and he tells Samo that today is his first at this location...
Competition then for the kiosk in First Park?
His name is Kies, and he tells Samo that today is his first at this location...
Competition then for the kiosk in First Park?
A quickie CB3/SLA recap
We were unable to attend last night's tonight's CB3/SLA meeting... Several people said that the meeting lasted eight hours ... and that an exchange involving Hitler took place...
Anyway, we posted this pic last night... Residents had "Enough is Enough" signs up while hearing about a sidewalk cafe for Percy's on Avenue A and 13th Street... The committee denied this request, and several others...
One other note... the folks looking to take over the Superdive space had to withdraw. As one meeting attendee noted, they came in "with this huge art complex idea of classes and gallery and grants for studio and a live-in artist in residence — oh, and of course a bar/restaurant that will be open until 4 in the morning."
They forgot one detail: Getting together with residents and neighborhood block associations before the meeting.
We'll have more later...
The Lo-Down and Eater have more on the Mason-Dixon portion of the meeting.
Anyway, we posted this pic last night... Residents had "Enough is Enough" signs up while hearing about a sidewalk cafe for Percy's on Avenue A and 13th Street... The committee denied this request, and several others...
One other note... the folks looking to take over the Superdive space had to withdraw. As one meeting attendee noted, they came in "with this huge art complex idea of classes and gallery and grants for studio and a live-in artist in residence — oh, and of course a bar/restaurant that will be open until 4 in the morning."
They forgot one detail: Getting together with residents and neighborhood block associations before the meeting.
We'll have more later...
The Lo-Down and Eater have more on the Mason-Dixon portion of the meeting.
'Blank' generation: Q-and-A with Céline Danhier
"Blank City," from French director Céline Danhier, had its U.S. premiere last Friday at the IFC Center on Sixth Avenue. The documentary provides an oral history of the No Wave Cinema and Cinema of Transgression movements in the Lower East Side in the late 1970s into the mid-1980s via interviews with Jim Jarmusch, Nick Zedd, John Waters, Deborah Harry, Fab 5 Freddy, Richard Kern, among many others.
Danhier, who makes her film debut with "Blank City," answered a few questions via email.
What inspired you to want to make this film?
I was living in Paris and I had worked a bit in theater and in some production companies but I have always been a very visual person and I had this feeling that I wanted to work on my own film. I went to see a lot of retrospectives and one day I happened to catch a screening of "Rome ’78," which was part of a “NO WAVE FILM” retrospective at Beaubourg.
In Paris, I was as well dj-ing with my friends and I loved playing music from that late 70s, early 80s period in New York like Lydia Lunch, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, The Bush Tetras, The Contortions and DNA. So when I saw this film, I was excited to see so many of my favorite musicians on the screen like James Chance, Lydia, John Lurie or Gordon Stevenson.
I had no idea that they had been in experimental films like this and I had never heard of any “No Wave” film movement coming out of New York so I was very intrigued. I think I really connected to the energy and the creative freedom I saw or heard in the music from that period in New York and so to find out that there were all these films that existed — it was inspiring to me. After doing a bit of initial research it seemed that these films were almost impossible to see or get copies of and I began to realize I needed to track down the filmmakers themselves.
Around that same time, I found myself moving to New York for work and very quickly I met Aviva Wishnow and Vanessa Roworth, who are the producers on "Blank City." They also shared a similar interest in that period in New York, in the music, the art, the film and they were able to tell me some things like, “you can find this Beth & Scott B film on VHS at Kim’s video” or “Yes, Richard Kern still lives in the East Village” and then I set about tracking people down. So the film really unfolded that way.
Do you think such a creative movement such as No Wave Cinema is possible again in the East Village?
Of course the East Village is a very different place now and there is a lot more money here, but still I would have to say yes. I think art movements are very cyclical and I do think that a lot of that same raw energy and creative frequency is here. It is still what brought me to New York in the first place. Perhaps now that same youthful creative explosion is happening more in Brooklyn than the East Village, but the City is always in flux. As Jim Jarmusch notes in "Blank City," New York was initially a trading post and then a city grew around it and it is always constantly changing. There are new people coming in and out of the city and the East Village daily from all over the world and I think you can’t help but find inspiration from that sort of environment. All the ingredients are there for something new to happen in the future.
A few of the No Wave films are, to be honest, difficult to watch. Do you think there's a tendency to over-romanticize some of this work?
There was a great spirit and energy behind the making of these films that I think comes across strongly on the screen. The filmmakers shot with a very raw freedom and had this empty run-down city as their playground so to speak.
There also was a lot of collaboration in the filmmaking process with other visual artists, writers, musicians, and all the great characters Downtown. I think as a viewer, that is what you take away from watching these films the most and so I don’t know that it is an over-romanticization. I think the filmmakers and the viewers share a knowledge that some of the films may be naïve or a spontaneous experiment between friends, but I think that is the magic of them. There is a kind of a “pure” creative spirit that is captured that is really unique and inspirational.
What would you like people to take away from "Blank City"?
I think you can find a lot of inspiration in the way these films were created and in that whole creative community in the New York of that period. There were no boundaries and nobody telling you that you couldn’t do something. You had an idea – you found a way to make it happen. I hope that in the end, "Blank City" can inspire other people to get out there and make their own form of creative expression and not to be afraid to just go out and do it.
In making the film, we very much kept the same spirit of these filmmakers in that we had no formal training, no money, no equipment. Just a lot of determination — and somehow now it came together!
[All images, except the top one, via the "Blank City" website. Used with permission.]
3 things we hope to learn today about 35 Cooper Square's future
Today, developer Arun Bhatia will meet with concerned members of the community about the fate of 35 Cooper Square. Per the developer's wishes, the meeting is not open to the public... and no press. Sources said the meeting will last an hour. Speakers will include Kent Barwick, president emeritus of the Municipal Arts Society, Kerri Culhane, architectural historian, Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Simeon Bankoff, the executive director of the Historic Districts Council, and Victor Papa, president of the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, among others including some local politicians. David Mulkins, chair of the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors (BAN), will also be there. BAN was instrumental in getting this sit-down in the first place.
Perhaps after today, we will have a better idea of the following:
• What the plans are for this space.
• If the plans may include a portion of the original 35 Cooper Square structure
• What the developer thinks of the community support for preserving the building.
It's likely that the developer will just be there to listen, but we can hope for more...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Something 28,998 square feet or so coming to Cooper Square (and goodbye Cooper 35 Asian Pub?)
Doom and doomer: More of Cooper Square primed for development
Cooper 35 Asian Pub part of development deal on Cooper Square
World's largest Brick Lane Curry House slated for 99 Second Avenue
Sea Salt, the upscale fish eatery on Second Avenue near Sixth Street, opened in July 2007... and, despite a big buzzy introduction to the neighborhood, the place closed seven months later...
... as we have pointed out, the table settings remain inside...
In the Post today, Steve Cuozzo reports that reps for Brick Lane Curry House have signed a lease here — a 7,000-square-feet, three-level outpost.
This just seems unnecessarily enormous... and we're not sure what will become of the Brick Lane space then around the corner on East Sixth Street...
... as we have pointed out, the table settings remain inside...
In the Post today, Steve Cuozzo reports that reps for Brick Lane Curry House have signed a lease here — a 7,000-square-feet, three-level outpost.
This just seems unnecessarily enormous... and we're not sure what will become of the Brick Lane space then around the corner on East Sixth Street...
The Marshal takes Mini Burger
The owners of Marco Polo Café (home of the Moo Goo Gai Panini!) reopened as Mini Burger last October on St. Mark's Place last October...
Yesterday, the marshal took possession of the space here between First Avenue and Avenue A...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Tory Burch-endorsed Marco Polo Café cedes to mini burgers on St. Mark's Place
Yesterday, the marshal took possession of the space here between First Avenue and Avenue A...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Tory Burch-endorsed Marco Polo Café cedes to mini burgers on St. Mark's Place
Stairway to Tea Heaven?
As The Local East Village reported in February, the owners of Physical Graffiti decided to shutter their 16-year-old vintage thrift shop on St. Mark's Place...
It looks as if their new venture, Physical GraffiTea, a loose-leaf tea shop, is nearing an opening date...
Previously.
It looks as if their new venture, Physical GraffiTea, a loose-leaf tea shop, is nearing an opening date...
Previously.
Special K
EV Grieve reader Pedro notes that the above display window at the Kmart on Astor Place has been empty for some time. However, they left up the "I Love K" window graphic. After more than a week, it's still there. Says Pedro: "Perhaps Kmart has moved into the Ketamine business for all the NYUers in the neighborhood? I bet it would dramatically improve their earnings and margins!"
Rapid Realty opening on Avenue B
Rapid Realty — described as "New York's No-Fee Apartment Leader" on the RR website — is ready to open an office in this formerly empty storefront just off 13th Street...
Anyone ever use them to find an apartment...?
Anyone ever use them to find an apartment...?
14th Street getting Cemusa-d
A new Cemusa stand is going in on 14th Street just east of Second Avenue...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)