EV Grieve

Friday, March 2, 2012

First sign of Schwimmer Manor

Workers at 331 E. Sixth St., site of David Schwimmer's future six-story home, are making noticeable progress now... Yesterday, the house made its first appearance above the plywood...

And more bricks were arriving this morning...

Anyway, moving forward, we should probably come up with a name for the house... a way to refer to it in future posts. Going with Schwimmer Manor at the moment. But that's a little meh. Anyone?

Going in deep at 51 Astor Place; plus, survey results!

Just checking in on the progress over at 51 Astor Place... Bobby Williams took this shot yesterday...

Meanwhile. Good lord! We forgot about our exclusive poll from a few weeks ago ... in which we asked what you would rather see at 51 Astor Place — green space/empty or the Death Star.

Here's how you voted America. (And parts of Canada) ...

Hmm, only 218 votes ... (and thank you for checking in Texas, Florida and Nebraska...)

Note: There is a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points. Or not.

The Coen Brothers returning to the East Village

People seemed to enjoy their company last time (aka, a few weeks ago) ... the "Inside Llewyn Davis" crew is filming Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday... on parts of Second Avenue between Sixth Street and Ninth Street ... and Sixth and Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

The tow truckers will start towing Sunday night for all this...

And a recap: 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.

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

Here's your Boukiés signage

[Bobby Williams]

Workers put up the new Boukiés signs yesterday here on Second Street and Second Avenue... the new Greek eatery from restaurateur Christos Valtzoglou opening in the spring...

...already more inviting looking than the previous establishment here on the corner...

Billy Leroy will battle baggage starting April 11

So you know that the iconic tent that houses Billy's Antiques on Houston at the Bowery is coming down to make way for a two-story brick building ... the place is now closed... Proprietor Billy Leroy told us in December that he'd be keeping busy in the interim by, among other things, serving as co-host on a new antiques reality show called "Baggage Battles" on the Travel Channel.

And we just received the show's official news release.

So, from the EV Grieve inbox...

Ever wonder what happens to your lost luggage? Travel Channel provides a glimpse into the very profitable business of bidding, buying and reselling unclaimed property in the new original series “Baggage Battles,” premiering with a special one-hour season opener featuring back-to-back episodes on Wednesday, April 11 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The weekly half-hour series follows three teams of savvy “auction specialists” who travel to some of the most important and unknown auctions where their bids are based on sight unseen instincts. The season premiere will kick off at Miami International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world, and then the auction pros will jump across “The Pond” to London.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

NY1 features Avenue C sinkhole

Posted this photo by Bobby Williams from Avenue C at 13th Street early last week... and tonight, the sinkhole made its New York TV News Debut... over at NY1, who reported on its NY1 For You feature:

Pedestrians who routinely walk along Avenue C at 13th Street know to avoid a huge crack in the sidewalk which they say is slowly caving in. But with a school around the corner the cavernous hole is a danger to those who aren't aware of it.

"It's extremely dangerous," said one concerned parent.

"If you don't know that the hole is there it's dangerous for people with children," said another.

Pedestrians say the deep hole has been this way for a while and they've seen no attempt by the city to repair it.

When a rat plays possum

So. Here's what we have from Tompkins Square Park today.

A red-tailed hawk in the tree. A rat, possibly stuck, maybe either dazed or playing possum. Rat out of the hole. Rat in tree to be dinner.

Photos by Bobby Williams.

The great white Houston-Bowery mural wall

Well, the FAILE mural here at Houston and the Bowery is now... very white. Someone finished whitewashing the wall today in preparation for the next installation...

Vancouver now has an East Village

From the EV Grieve inbox...

One of Vancouver's Historic Neighbourhoods Has a New Name - The East Village

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — (Marketwire - March 1, 2012)
Running along East Hastings Street from Commercial Drive to Renfrew Street and including the Powell Street light industrial area, The East Village is distinguished by its vibrant, multicultural population. Local residents are served by more than 400 businesses, which also draw other city dwellers and suburbanites into the area.

Businesses in The East Village range from the essential to the exotic. There are stores, services and eateries — many independently-owned — that serve the day-to-day needs of local residents and visitors. But you can also find unique items, such as one-of-a-kind delicacies for foodies, exceptional flies for fishing enthusiasts and the factory store of Canada's most famous boot-maker.

Soon to appear on distinctive street banners, The East Village name was devised by the Hastings North Business Improvement Association (HNBIA) with the help of the local community.

"People really liked The East Village name because it's in keeping with our friendly and progressive neighbourhood," says Patricia Barnes, Executive Director of the BIA. "We are also fortunate to have an active, independent business sector that contributes to the village experience."

What dessert to pair with Rodell Napoleon

Spotted earlier on Seventh Street... But only for the sophisticated traveler...

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

Ed Sanders on the good old days (The Lo-Down)

Who was that large man lurking in the hallways, knocking on doors and taking photos at 118-120 E. Fourth St.? (Occupy East 4th Street)

The Lower East Side as a quarry (BLDG BLOG ... via Curbed)

East Village Community School students learning to cook healthy stuff (DNAinfo)

Bill's Gay 90s closing, moving (Tripping with Marty)

127 years of the mutton chop at Keen's (Eater)

Endangered local signage (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Renoir’s The Umbrellas makes first NYC appearance since 1886. (Nonetheless)

Remembering Jackie Curtis in Tompkins Square Park (BoweryBoogie)

Claim: Former Life Cafe space will be split in two

[Photo yesterday by Michael Sean Edwards]

Last week, we spotted a "for lease" sign up at the Life Cafe space at 10th Street and Avenue B...

Owner Kathy Kirkpatrick closed the 30-year-old cafe last September ... while the two landlords completed long overdue repairs. Life "spans a space belonging to two different buildings with two different landlords whose dispute over the price of the work contract has prevented construction from starting," as The Villager reported last fall.

So a tipster tells us that the Life Cafe configuration will be split into two separate spaces... which probably makes sense since there are two landlords involved...

So far... we've only spotted one listing ... this one at NYREX...

[Updated] Big Reveal Week continues: Here's 100 Third Ave.

Earlier this week, we saw the new building at the long-dormant 219 First Ave. ... Yesterday, workers removed the netting/scaffolding here at 100 Third Ave., which had been in various stages of arrested development through the years...

Eventually (probably), the ground-floor level will be the new home of Nevada Smith's, which is moving up the Avenue...

Updated 10:06 a.m.

Here's Curbed's take on the new building: "a sleek, dare we say featureless, facade with all the clean-scrubbed character of a 19-year-old fresh off the bus and ready to make it big in New York."

And here's how the building looked in November 2009...

There's a lot of history at 100 Third Ave., which we'll discuss later.

Meanwhile, down the Avenue, the cycle of building life continues... as prep work for the demolition of 74-76 Third Ave., the former home to Nevada Smith's, winds down...

Previously on EV Grieve:
100 Third Ave. looks to be Nevada Smith's new home

Those persistent rumors about 74-76 Third Avenue and the future of Nevada Smith's

The East Village will lose a parking lot and gain an apartment building

100 Third Avenue's lonely add-on

Workers spotted at previously dormant 100 Third Ave.

On the March CB3/SLA docket: 200 Avenue A (again) and Bikinis (woo!)

Hey now. The CB3/SLA agenda for March is out...

First, the details: Monday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. — JASA/Green Residence, 200 E. Fifth St. at Bowery.

As you can see, we circled one of the applicants — something called Bikinis slated for 56 Avenue C. We have no idea what this is all about. (And 56 Avenue C is two storefronts as far as we can remember ... Nublu Records and an empty space?)

Woo! Bikinis! This could keep us in posts for the next, oh, 18 months... However, the name and concept might not have anything to do with swimwear.

Now...

A few other items of note:

Corporate Change

• Luzzo's (Luzzo's 211 LLC), 211 1st Ave (op)

???

Applications within Resolution Areas

• Yong Fa Restaurant Inc, 507 E 6th St (wb)

This is the former 6th Street Kitchen space, which never reopened after that awful fire in Janaury 2011. The space had been for rent. One neighborhood told us they heard it would be "an Asian fusion" restaurant.

• San Matteo Panuozzeria E Birra (San Matteo Panuozzeria Inc), 121 St Marks Pl (b)

[File photo of 200 Avenue A]

• Ave A Hospitality LLC, 200 Ave A (op)

They're back! Good lord. The one-time home to Superdive... This is a little complicated... A group calling themselves Hospitality LLC with a concept for an "art gallery with a full-service restaurant" (smell machine!) concept has appeared before and been rejected by the CB3/SLA committee three times. The group then decided to go directly to the State Liquor Authority for its license. Read the background here.

• Bikinis, 56 Ave C (wb)

Woo!

• Babel, 129 Ave C (op)

• 116 Avenue C Restaurant LLC, 116 Ave C (op)

The former Lava Gina space.

• Drop Off Service, 211 Ave A (op)

???

Alterations

• Prime & Beyond (Prime & Beyond NY Inc), 90 E 10th St (wb/extend to backyard)

By the way, has anyone ever eaten here?

• Wechslers (Eichstatt LLC), 120 1st Ave (wb/extend to backyard)

Oh! The part of the backyard that used to belong to the International...

New Liquor License Applications

• Hotel East Houston (Soho New York Lodging LLC), 151 E Houston St (op)

This is the hotel for sale at Eldridge. The marketing materials say the roof would be a good place for a bar. Neighbors likely have another opinion.

• Village Grill 82 Inc, 202 2nd Ave (wb)

Not sure where 202 Second Ave. is... the Verizon Building is 204; the Little Pakistan Deli and Little Poland are 200 Second Ave.

• Sahara Citi, 137 E 13th St (wb)

This is an empty storefront on the north side of the street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue. Near the Cruises.

• Iconic Hand Rolls (IHR One LLC), 83 St Marks Pl aka 135 1st Ave (wb)

Quite a name! Of course, we thought it said Ironic Hand Rolls at first. Anyway, this must be the empty storefront next to JoeDoe...

• Angelica Kitchen Inc, 300 E 12th St (wb)

----

b=beer only | wb=wine & beer only | op=liquor, wine, & beer | alt=alterations |up=upgrades

San Matteo now open on St. Mark's Place: Get your panuozzo

A 12-seat branch of the Upper East Side-based San Matteo Pizza and Espresso Bar opened Monday on St. Mark's Place near Avenue A (in the space left vacant by Motek, the crepe place...)

A panuozzo is a pizza-panino hybrid that looks like this...

[Via Grub Street]

And via Time Out:

The bread, made with pizza dough, is what sets the panuozzo apart. Here, the flat, chewy loaves come from the flagship Upper East Side restaurant, where they are baked for 25 seconds in a 900-degree wood-fired oven to achieve a moist crumb. Choose from 11 sandwiches, like dry-cured pancetta with provolone and artichokes, honey turkey with smoked buffalo mozzarella and sun-dried Sicilian peppers, and burrata cheese with arugula, roasted peppers and truffle oil.

Did anyone try one of these things yet...?

7-Eleven on the Bowery will be quite festive tomorrow (PRIZE WHEEL!)

The 7-Eleven on the Bowery opened last Dec. 23... and now, it's finally time for the Grand Opening Celebration — 7-Eleven style! Lookee. Lots of free stuff. AND A PRIZE WHEEL.

As the sign says, "Yum!"

[Updated] Reader report: No water (or sleep) on East Ninth Street

EV Grieve reader MP sent along this photo, noting that work crews were busy here overnight on East Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue repairing a broken water line... we understand the water was shut off on the block...and it was running a mucky brown. Any updates?

Updated 7:08 a.m.
The workers got the job done... water is back on this morning... the street is patched back up...