Stringer issues conditional approval for NYU's 2031 expansion plans

From the EV Grieve inbox ... a news release following Stringer's 11 a.m. press conference...

April 11, 2012, New York, NY – Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer today issued conditional approval for New York University’s (NYU) 2031 core campus expansion plan. In developing his Charter-mandated Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) recommendation, Stringer secured major commitments to and mitigations for the project, which include a significant overall density reduction; designation and preservation of public-strips as parkland; elimination of a temporary gymnasium on the site of two community playgrounds; elimination of proposed dormitories on the Bleecker Building; and an affirmation of NYU’s commitment to provide space for a K-8 school.

“Today I am proud to announce my conditional approval of one of the most significant university expansion plans in our City’s recent history,” Borough President Stringer said. “This blueprint is the culmination of an unprecedented, five-year planning process launched by my office—a model for future growth that strikes a balance between a great university’s need to grow and the importance of preserving Greenwich Village’s distinctive, historic character. There was nothing easy about this: Everyone had to give up something. No one got everything they wanted. But at the end of the day, I am pleased that we came to a resolution in the best interests of the City, Greenwich Village and the University.”

"This is a good and important step, and a recognition that universities need to grow to maintain excellence and that strong universities are important to keeping our city strong," said NYU President John Sexton. “The agreement we have reached, which comes after five years of deep involvement with the Borough President and committed efforts by him, will enable NYU to meet the long-term academic space needs of its faculty and students while being sensitive to the concerns of our surrounding community. We understand that the public review process involves many stakeholders, and we look forward to working with the City Planning Commission and the City Council to secure their support in the coming months."

There's more. Oh God, so much more. You can go here for the whole release/statement.

Reaction from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (via The Real Deal):

"This is really just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic," said GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman. "A slight decrease in the size of a few buildings does not change the fact that this massive plan is fundamentally wrong for the Village, wrong for New York City, and wrong for NYU, as evidenced by the growing chorus of resolutions from NYU faculty departments opposing the plan."

Breaking international news: 7-Eleven sign arrives on St. Mark's Place

Thanks to Charlie on 7th for the photos.

And this sign is going right here...

[File photo via Bobby Williams]

Previously on EV Grieve:
7-Eleven continues to feast on the East Village; next up, St. Mark's Place

John Milisenda's Lower East Side

[Photos © John Milisenda]

John Milisenda's roots on the Lower East Side run deep. His father lived all 72 years of his life on the Lower East Side, never more than one mile from where he was born on Chrystie Street in 1919. His mother moved to the Lower East Side in 1939 from Brooklyn. She has lived in the same Pitt Street apartment since 1964.

Milisenda was born (1947) and raised in the neighborhood. He started taking photos of his friends as a teen. And he never really stopped taking pictures. His work is in the collections of the Museum Of Modern Art, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Brooklyn Museum. Milisenda has taught photography at Drexel University, The New School and Parson's School of Design.

His photographs from the Lower East Side during the 1960s are now on display through April 20 at the Grand Central Library (135 E. 46th St. between Lexington and Third Avenue).

On Saturday morning at the Grand Central Library, Milisenda will discuss the photographs and recollections of the Lower East Side. (The talk is from 10:30 to noon.)

Milisenda, who now lives in Brooklyn, answered a few questions for us via email.

Your talk on Saturday is titled "Recollections on the Lower East Side during the 1960s." What are some of your earliest recollections of living on the Lower East Side?

In the 1950s a kid was standing in front of The Settlement house with a transistor radio. The music from the small radio bellowed out, "Rock Around The Clock," by Bill Haley and his Comets. There were memories of the kids transforming their roller skates into scooters, (soapbox racers) playing with fireworks, playing ring-o-levio (a game of tag) and stickball.

Why did you decide to start taking photos of your friends? Did you ever envision that one day there would be such keen interest in this time period?

My father introduced me to photography. He was a creative and curious person. He photographed our family every chance he got. I learned from him how important it was to capture everyday life experience. He learned how to process film and make contact prints in a make shift darkroom. He would drape a blanket over the window and place a folding table over the bathtub. My mother would complain no one could use the bathroom when he was in there working. It never dawned on that me these images would be of any interest or value. These pictures were old early work and I thought had no value.

Talk about the contrasts of the Lower East Side then. On one hand, there's this romanticized version of kids playing stickball in the streets, hanging laundry between tenements ...and, as you have said, it could be a violent place as well.

The Lower East Side in the 1960s was a neighborhood of stark contrasts. Its citizens were Italians, Jews, Ukrainian, Poles and Puerto Ricans. Primarily made up of the working class, all living together in an uneasy alliance. It was also peppered with southerners and educated people.

Growing up I witnessed violence there. My mother and I were walking along when a man suddenly hit the sidewalk. Later on we found out he was thrown from the roof by the local mob. When I was a child, I remember a commotion taking place across the hall from our apartment. It sounded like two people arguing in a drunken brawl. Next evening, the police were knocking on our door asking my parents questions. It turns out the women had stabbed the man and killed him. She dragged his body to the basement. Someone had seen the body and reported it to the police. She was nabbed.

Did the Lower East Side ever stop feeling like home to you?

The Lower East Side never did stop feeling like home. I can step into Katz's Delicatessen and instantly be transported back to 1965. Back then the counter men were tattooed with numbers on their arms. They were Holocaust survivors. A hot dog was 15 cents and a glass of Coke was 10 cents.

What do you think of the Lower East Side today? Do you still feel a connection to it?

The Lower East Side today is gentrified, and with that, thank goodness, most of the violence that was common during the 1960s is gone. It also lost something — the atmosphere of being a neighborhood with families and children everywhere. Each block of the Lower East Side was a neighborhood unto itself. The mom-and-pop stores are all gone. Hoch's candy store with its wood-lined glass cases full of penny candy. My dad's barbershop was on 80 E. First St. for over 20 years. My dad would look at the kids playing on the street and say, "See that kid over there, I gave him his first haircut."

[Photos © John Milisenda ... on Houston near Avenue A looking east]

For more information on Milisenda, including information about his photography books, please visit his website here.

Tenants at 50, 54 and 58 E. Third St. banding to together in face of building sale

As we've been discussing here, Abart Holdings LLC has sold (or is selling) the buildings at 50, 54 and 58 E. Third St. on between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Seventeen residents of the building received letters that stated, in part: "It has been agreed with the impending new owners that your lease will not be renewed and that you will be expected to vacate at the expiration of your lease."

However, the residents have banded together... and they recently held their first tenants' meeting. One of the residents shared the following with us:

"Thought you'd be interested in hearing that things are progressing well with our 3rd Street Tenants' Group. We've gotten support from other tenants' groups in the neighborhood that have gone through the same struggle!"

There's another meeting coming up... April 18 at 7 p.m. at the Perseverance House Community Room, 535 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Said the resident, "If the landlords have their way — and these buildings become what they're intending — it's seriously going to increase the douchebag factor of the neighborhood. Three buildings worth of tenants is a lot of douchebags. I'd like to keep the douchebag factor to a dull roar, if at all still possible."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Three apartment buildings sold on East Third Street

Know your rights: Help with understanding NYC rent laws

More about the lease renewals at 50, 54 and 58 E. Third St.

The 2012 NYC Anarchist Book Fair starts Friday

Here's the flyer...

...and here's the website with all the details.

In addition, the film festival starts Thursday at Theatre 80 on St. Mark's Place... go here for more information.

This is what payphones on East Houston and Second Avenue looked like on April 7, 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...

Manhattan Borough President's decision on NYU’s 2031 expansion plans due tomorrow

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Tomorrow at 11 a.m., Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer will release his recommendation on NYU’s 2031 campus expansion plan.

Who: Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer
NYU President John Sexton
Community leaders

Where: 1 Centre Street South, 19th Floor

When: TOMORROW, April 11th at 11 a.m.

Mayor Bloomberg has already provided a spirited defense of the university's expansion plans, according to DNAinfo. Meanwhile, according to the Times, NYU has agreed to reduce the scale of its plans for four tall buildings in Greenwich Village by almost a fifth.

[Updated] The march for Trayvon Martin is happening now

The march tonight for Trayvon Martin began at Union Square... it's now in the East Village... we're following along with @patrickdehahn on Twitter... Witnesses say there are at least 15 empty NYPD vans following the march...

...down St. Mark's Place...

... and Tompkins Square Park...

As of 7:50 p.m. or so, the march is at Ninth Street and Avenue B...

Here's a quick snippet of video from Avenue C and East Ninth Street from a reader...



[Above photos by @patrickdehahn]

A few residents from Jacob Riis are handing out Skittles and ice tea... via @RDevro of the Guardian...

Earlier tonight via @RDevro ...

Countdown to April 15

This afternoon on Third Avenue. And it's Cooper Square Committee Co-founder & Chairperson Frances Goldin.

Why we're writing about Duke's Bohemian Grove Bar in Buffalo

Because they go by DBGB for short.

And there is a place called DBGB on the Bowery.

And DBGB chef-owner Daniel Boulud is now suing the owners of Buffalo's DBGB for trademark infringement, the Daily News reports.

We learned about the lawsuit via Eater, who noted: "Boulud's people apparently sent the owners a cease and desist letter in 2010, right after the Buffalo restaurant opened. The owners initially agreed to change the name, but never actually made the switch. A note on the bar's site reads: 'Please be advised that Duke's Bohemian Grove Bar has no affiliation with DBGB Kitchen & Bar located at 299 Bowery St. in NY, NY.'"

Wonder if the Buffalo DBGB has a sidewalk cafe too?

A Blue moment on Astor Place

This afternoon... Anyone?

Via Matt LES_Miserable

East Fifth Street gets part of its sidewalk back

The demolition of the townhouse at 532 E. Fifth St. and the construction of its replacement started in November 2008... @zmack passed along the above photo this morning, noting that the "scaffolding on 5th st *finally* came down today! It's been at least 2.5 years since I've seen that sidewalk."

Indeed. Welcome back, sidewalk.

Anyway, as Curbed pointed out a few weeks back, some of the units in the building located just west of Avenue B are on the market. "The entire building consists of 2BR, 2BA rentals with a sustainable bent. Amenities: common roof deck and garden, in-apartment washer-dryer, building-wide secure WiFi, and general eco-friendliness."

There is an active listing for a unit at $5,695.

Previously.

Lucky Cheng's looking to move by mid-July

Last evening, Eater reported that "Steve Kamali Hospitality is currently searching for an operator to take over the massive Lucky Cheng's space."

After nearly four years of speculation, the famed drag bar on First Avenue is moving to Midtown. (Grub Street first heard the latest rumor on the move back in December.)

We asked owner Hayne Suthon for an update on all this.

"There are several interested parties, but no lease out yet," she said via email. "[We] should be making the move by mid-July. Getting the keys and finalizing the lease today for the Times Square location."

In December, Suthon told Jeremiah Moss that the building is not for sale. She is "looking for a great operator to create something truly fantastic, in keeping in the tradition of the building. God forbid someone upsets the resident ghosts."

For more on the history of the space, visit Jeremiah's Vanishing New York.

[EVG file photo]

How much longer will the East Village have gas stations?

On Sunday, the Post had two articles about landmarking under the Bloomberg administration. One article points out that the BP station on Houston and Lafayette is in a landmarked area. And that's a problem for station owner Marcello Porcetti, "who hoped to turn his 11,000-square-foot lot into a seven-story condo development."

[Google]

As the Post notes, Porcetti is angry because he can't sell it for big bucks to a developer. Now he'll have to jump through a lot of hoops to get anything done here.

This made me wonder how much longer the East Village will have any gas stations, now numbering two... at Houston and Avenue C...

...and Second Avenue and East First Street...

According to an article last fall at Crain's:

Gas stations are nearly facing extinction in Manhattan after years of sell-offs and closures. Just last month, the Lukoil station on West 13th Street and Eighth Avenue shut its mini-market doors and plugged its pumps. That leaves a mere 41 stations on the island, versus 58 two years ago, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs. The city's five boroughs host 835 locations in all — meaning Manhattan's share is less than 5%.

Now I'm not lamenting the loss of gas stations... I don't have a car... and, even with an occasional rental, have never used either East Village gas station... I'll echo the sentiments of Jeremiah Moss on the matter: "And while I'm not a fan of oil, I like gas stations for their smudgy, blue-collar existence, and their vanishing from the face of Manhattan is worth noting."

Anyway, there's always the what replacing the gas stations that prompts some unease — usually something glassy and expensive ... like here on Avenue B and Houston, where Gaseteria closed in 2005 (look at the price of gas!) ...

Then!

[Via]

Now!

With the unused air rights, gas stations are just too valuable to be gas stations on such prime real estate.

As Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of retail leasing at Prudential Douglas Elliman, told Crain's: "Gas stations ... just make so much sense. You don't have to empty tenants out of a building. You don't have to buy people out. You just have to acquire the land."

Bona Fides is closed for renovations

Bona Fides, the Italian restaurant on Second Avenue between Third and Fourth Streets, has been closed of late... The small sign out front says "closed for renovations." There isn't information about the closure on the eatery's website or Facebook page... we called, though there isn't an outgoing message.

Bona Fides has always been a reliable, unpretentious place... able to survive despite the ever-changing tastes and demographics of the neighborhood since opening in 1990...

Anyone hear about what's going on here?

Oh and, we spotted these photos on the Bona Fides Facebook page... "30 Rock" filmed a scene here for the show's 100th episode, which aired last April...

Rubble on the menu at the former Life Cafe

On Sunday, a tipster sent us the following email: "I'm told they are tearing down the old Life Cafe today."

Seemed odd, being Easter Sunday and all... but we took a look... We did see two workers leave the space... as well as a few piles of rubble...

We waited to see if there was any further work done on the space yesterday... (answer: a little, though still mostly intact.)

Anyway, the former Life Cafe space here on East 10th Street and Avenue B is being split up... with part of the space accommodating the new, larger home of 9th Street Espresso next door, as The Villager noted.

Previously.

Scenes from Miron Properties new office on East 10th Street

Last month, we noted that Miron Properties took took over the space that previously belonged to the 123 Third Avenue sales office on East 10th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue...

Something compelled up to take a look inside... where we noted the bladder buster from Subway left behind on the table ...

... and a foosball table...

Marshal seizes Cafe Amore on East 14th Street

Per the paperwork on the front door, the Marshal has seized Cafe Amore, which seems to be advertising for a new cashier every other week ... the paperwork is dated from Friday... and we have a feeling that we haven't seen the last of this Union Square pizzeria ....

Today in Tompkins Square Park

A photo shoot alongside two sleeping men. Photo by peter radley.

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[Saturday afternoon in Tompkins Square Park. Photo by Bobby Williams]

Steve Cannon continues fight for A Gathering of the Tribes (The Villager)

Legacy Russell's "Rite of Rearrangement" (Runnin' Scared)

Q-and-A with City Council member Margaret Chin (The Lo-Down)

Fake Ryan Gosling Easter egg hunt yesterday in the East Village, LES (The Daily Mail)

Popular noodle joint Cocoron opening outpost on Kenmare (BoweryBoogie)

The latest on the Domino Sugar development (The Brooklyn Paper ... via Curbed)

Cha Cha's of Coney Island has relocated (Amusing the Zillion)

10 reasons why you can't — and shouldn't — text in the theater (The Wall Street Journal)

And several people told us about the new trees that workers planted last week next to the Tompkins Square Park Dog Run...

[BW]