The other secret old movie theater in the East Village

There's not much new to report on the long-empty 185-193 Avenue B at East 12th Street. There is a demolition application on file already with the city (dated Sept. 20). And, according to the DOB, plans for a mixed-use seven-story building with 44 units are pending with the DOB. (You can read a short history of what's happening with the space here.)

On Friday, EV Grieve reader Ron Z. noted some activity at the building...

Yesterday, another reader noted, "Construction work going on this AM, door wide open. They appear to be drilling un middle of auditorium floor."

Given the interest in the hidden theater behind the now-shuttered East Village Farms on Avenue A, thought it might be a good time to revisit this space.

The address was a movie theater for many years, first the Bijou in 1926, then the Charles. (The theater closed in 1975, and a church took over the space.) A fire nearly destroyed the building in October 2006.

A reader got inside the space back in July 2009 ... at the time, he sent us these photos — and diagram!







We went inside the space in June 2010...

Here's the Charles in 1966. (Via.)


You can see the Charles here in this shot from 1949. We're looking north from 11th Street. (Via.)


Anyway, just wanted to take another look here before the building comes down.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Revival planned for church and theater on Avenue B

Inside the Charles

Former landmark countercultural theater now for rent on Avenue B

7-story building in the works to replace former countercultural theater/church on Avenue B

[Updated] What would you rather see at 51 Astor Place?

Yesterday, we posted updated photos (thanks to Curbed's discovery) of 51 Astor Place ... and there was pretty much a Universal Ugh from commenters here and on Facebook about the look of the building... (Alex calls it DisAstor Place at Flaming Pablum...)

One of our favorite responses, via Richard Bensam:

It dwarfs its surroundings and is actually less appealing than the building it replaces -- something many previously thought impossible.

On the upside, now the herbivorous primates of the East Village will finally learn how to use the femur of an antelope to crack open the skulls of tapirs and become omnivores, ensuring their future evolution into humanity. Later, their remote descendants will discover an exact duplicate of 51 Astor Place buried on the Moon.

Several people asked if the developer could just keep the empty lot the way it looks now...

Bobby Williams took the above shots on Monday afternoon.

Well, anyway, the developer probably has a few dollars tied up in this project (whistling)...

Still, we can be democratic about it. Let's put it to an unbiased vote.

Online Surveys & Market Research

Updated:

Curbed is offering a $100 gift card to St. Mark's Bookshop for the best redesign of 51 Astor Place. Smurfs are always good.

Previously on EV Grieve:
51 Astor Place demolition begins July 1; 17 months to build new black-glass tower

East Village — the new Midtown?

Workers chopping down the trees at 51 Astor Place

An apartment for power-tool lovers

Here's a newly refurbished apartment at 91 E. Third St. ... kind of difficult to get a feel for the place now. Several of the photos the real-estate folks posted on Streeteasy look like this...

Decorating ideas or proof that the place really is renovated? Anyway, two bedrooms for $1,990 per the Streeteasy listing. Which seems a little too good to be true (I know!) given that the median price for two bedroom apartments is $3,600. The median price for a studio, per Streeteasy, is $2,000.

Strange how one day $1,990 seems like a deal.

[Updated] Coming soon

More canopies and signs and stuff at 5 Napkin Burger on 14th Street and Third Avenue... Opening "really, really soon" per their Twitter account ...

[AC]

Grub Street is reporting that 5 Napkin is opening on Monday.

...and a new sign announcing the spring arrival of Boukies on Second Avenue at Second Street...

[Bobby Williams]

Real bar part of fake set now on East Ninth Street

Kettle of Fish joins the East Ninth Street Coen Brothers's brigade for tomorrow's "Inside Llewyn Davis" filming...

What time is the Packers game on...?

Previously.

Breaking: Starbucks sign has arrived on First Avenue

Happening right now on First Avenue at Third Street...

Via EV Grieve reader Steph....

Any guesses when it will open, get tagged?

51 Astor Place Death Star more Death Starry than previously thought

Hoo boy.

Curbed has the news this morning that a 51 Astor Place website is up and running... featuring new, more imposing, renderings....

Curbed notes several of the building features: a private green roof on the fifth floor, a tenant-accessible green roof on the 13th floor, and an urban plaza on the corner of Astor Place and Third Avenue.

And Curbed also hears that IBM and Microsoft are looking at office space here.

We'll be back with more after running over to the Continental for five shots of anything for $10.

Previously on EV Grieve:
51 Astor Place demolition begins July 1; 17 months to build new black-glass tower

East Village — the new Midtown?

Workers chopping down the trees at 51 Astor Place

Coen cars

RyanAvenueA sent along these shots from East Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... a few of the jalopies cars that the Coen Brothers will use in filming "Inside Llewyn Davis" today ...

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Coen Brothers want to dress up East Ninth Street

Meanwhile, on East Ninth Street...

Prep work continues for tomorrow's shot between Avenue A and First Avenue...

[Via @melissa0sue]

[Via @saywhatagain]

Anyone know if the Gaslight Poetry Club has a 2-1 Happy Hour?

A question outside the new First Avenue Subway (sandwich shop)

"Where did all the weirdos go?"

Spotted in front of the new Subway (sandwich shop) at 108 First Ave. by EV Grieve reader Alex.

This morning outside 21 E. Second St.

The scene of a three-alarm fire last night. Read more about it here.

No one on the scene this morning except for a reporter from NY1 and, possibly, the super.

John Legend's Bowery condo now $55,000 off asking price

Late last September, we learned that Grammy Award-winner John Legend was selling his two-bedroom condo at 52E4 — the 15 stories of condo on the Bowery and East Fourth Street — for $2.95 million.

Despite the celebrity connection and model-in-underwear-photoshoot cachet, the place is still on the market. But! Last week, the price dropped by $55,000 — or a whole 2 percent ... and it now sits at $2.895 million, according to Streeteasy.

Why just 2 percent? As Curbed pointed out in November, Legend's downstairs neighbor put nearly an identical unit on the market for $2.9 million — nearly $50k less, uh, duh. (The neighbor's unit appears to be off the market for now, though there isn't any sales info.)

Perhaps there's something else keeping away buyers ... like the 7-Eleven on the ground floor or fear of the French hotel coming (probably) some day to the corner of East Third Street ...

First look at Gaslight Poetry Club, opening tomorrow on East Ninth Street

Several tipsters were surprised to see the sudden arrival late yesterday of signage for something called "Gaslight Poetry Club" on East Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

"I don't like the look of this at all," confided one tipster. "Anything with 'gas' in the name sounds dangerous, like gasoline or gastritis."

Another resident wondered what the arrival of poets might do to property values.

We checked with the CB3, the State Liquor Authority and the DOB and couldn't find any permits for the establishment.

The proprietor of Gaslight, who declined to give his name, told us that his cafe would welcome "dope addicts, free-love cultists — anyone who loathes hypocrisy."

Eh. OK. Boo.

The work is all part of the pre-production for tomorrow's shoot for the new Cohen Brothers movie, "Inside Llewyn Davis." Parts of East Ninth Street will be dressed to look more in tune with the film's 1960s setting. The film follows a protagonist loosely based on singer Dave Van Ronk, a friend of Bob Dylan’s. Oscar Isaac stars as the title character while Justin Timberlake co-stars as another folk musician. Carey Mulligan and John Goodman are also in the film.

Bobby Williams took a few more shots earlier yesterday...

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Coen Brothers want to dress up East Ninth Street

Wow, a Subway sandwich shop actually closed in NYC

After our post the other day about the new Subway opening on First Avenue, a reader told us that one of the sandwich shops actually closed recently on Madison Avenue...

Sure enough... we found it near 33rd Street...

This is what 23 Third Ave. looked like on Feb. 10, 2012

This year, we'll post photos like this of various buildings, streetscenes, etc., to capture them as they looked at this time and place... The photos may not be the most telling now, but they likely will be one day...

[Updated] FDNY battles three-alarm fire at 21 E. Second St.

[Maria Andrea via Twitter]

A three-alarm fire involving 140 firefighters reportedly broke out late last night at 21 E. Second St., a six-floor apartment building between the Bowery and Second Avenue. NYU students living in the adjacent Second Street Residence were evacuated as a precaution, @nyunews reported.

[Jason Lester via Flickr]

Earlier accounts via Twitter reported that the fire occurred in the dorm.

According to Washington Square News, the fire broke out just after 11 p.m. Two firefighters reportedly suffered minor injuries while three civilians were treated at the scene. The FDNY had extinguished the fire by 1:30 a.m.

FDNY officials told Washington Square News that the flames spread from the second floor through an air shaft to the fourth floor of 21 E. Second St.

Per the Post: "The three-alarm inferno ran mostly through one shaft in the building and was difficult to put out because several of the apartments were heavily cluttered, the FDNY said."

[Anna Frenkel via Twitter]

BoweryBoogie has more here. The Lo-Down has photos and coverage here. Find some photos via Jason Lester here.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. NY1 reports that the Red Cross is offering temporary housing to 30 adults and four children.

Valentine's Evening, 2012

Photos by Matt LES_Miserable.

Young love, fueled by a squirrel

Today in Tompkins Square Park. Was the young man doing this to impress his lady friend looking on...? Or was he already feeding the squirrel, much to the delight of a secret admirer?

Ah. Young love.

And if this wasn't Valentine's Day, the headline might be, "This is farm to table [redacted]!"

Photo by Bobby Williams.

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[East River Park by Bobby Williams]

How Park Slope teens are helping the homeless in the East Village (Daily News)

Looking at the exterior of the Rod Rogers Dance Theater/Duo Theater on East Fourth Street (Curbed)

San Francisco's Mission Chinese Food coming to Orchard Street (Diner's Journal)

"The East 10th St. Protesters" (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Porsena opening a wine bar next door on Seventh Street (Eater)

Going on a John Lennon walking tour (Tripping With Marty)

A restaurant is opening under the FDR near the Seaport (New York Post)

[Photo by Michele Campo]

For more on the water-main break at Bowery and Delancey this morning... The Lo-Down ... BoweryBoogie ... NY1 ...

Avast! The Holiday Cocktail Lounge is becoming a restaurant that serves fish-n-chips

So you know that Robert Ehrlich, the founder of Pirate Brands, which makes Pirate's Booty, bought the building that housed the now-former Holiday Cocktail Lounge.

Last night, he went before the CB3/SLA committee and revealed his plans. (He never responded to our requests for an interview.) According to a report by Claire Nugent at Eater, the committee approved his plans to open "a new restaurant/tavern offering local, regional cuisine."

He is teaming with Barbara Sibley, the owner of La Palapa next door. Per Eater:

They said they hope their restaurant will echo the restaurants that have disappeared, with a menu offering those foods New Yorkers "miss" like Shepard’s Pie and fish 'n’ chips.

Ehrlich reportedly didn't win the rights to keep the Holiday name.

Updated 11:50 a.m.

Grub Street has more. Sibley, who will manage the space, said, "We're going to try to preserve as much of the history as possible."

Previously on EV Grieve:
The founder of Pirate's Booty is taking over the Holiday Cocktail Lounge

Why the future of the Holiday Cocktail Lounge may be in doubt