Here are 17 current East Village construction projects, bringing in 534 new residential units

Does it seem as if there's a lot of new construction going on in the East Village these days?

To me, there's more going on now than any other time in the five years that I've done this site.

So here are all the current projects in one post.

But a few things first. I didn't include commercial ventures such as the Hyatt Union Square ... or other non-commercial jobs such as St. Brigid's (but I did include 51 Astor Place — mostly because of its size and scope and neighborhood-changing potential).

I also didn't include rumored construction sites, such as Mary Help of Christians, which likely faces the wrecking ball one day... or partial building rehabs...or jobs that haven't started in earnest just yet, such as 33 Second Ave. and 227 E. Seventh St.

Anyway.

• 219 E. 13th St. (aka, The Mystery Lot)
What: 8 stories, 82 units of residential. Plus retail on the East 14th Street side.

..and the plywood went up on the East 14th Street this week...

• 74-84 Third Ave. at East 12th Street
What: 9 stories, 94 units of residential. Plus retail.

• 51 Astor Place (aka The Death Star)
What: 12 stories, all commercial; some educational use.

[Bobby Williams]

• 27 E. Seventh St.
What: Interior demolition and gut rehab of former rectory for the pastor and priests of the Order of Saint Basil the Great; later the illegal hotel the Village Inn. Conversion to residential. Per the DOB, there will be 11 units of residential.

[From April]

• 21 E. First St. (aka the former Mars Bar) at Second Avenue
What: 12 stories, 65 units of residential. Plus retail.

• 154 Second Ave.
What: Conversion of former funeral home into residential; plus addition of 3 new floors. 12 units of residential (still confirming final number). Plus retail.

[Terry Howell]

• 331. E. Sixth St. (aka Chez Schwimm)
What: Demolition of formerly historic townhouse; new 6-floor single-family mansion for David Schwimmer

• 427 E. 12th St.
What: 6 story, 11 units.

• 130 E. Seventh St. at Avenue A
What: Per the DOB: "Convert portion of existing commercial building to general residential use on floors 4 thru 7 ... reconstruct portion of existing penthouse."

• 315 E. 10th St.
What: Conversion from nonprofit use to residential. 9 units of residential. Plus one additional floor for penthouse apartment.

[Bobby Williams]

• 526 E. Fifth St.
What: Conversion of three-story multiple-dwelling building to a single-family residence

• 185 Avenue B at East 12th Street
What: 7 stories, 40 units of residential. Plus community facility and church.

[Demolition of the former theater via Kimberly Fritschy on Facebook]

• 542 East Fifth St. at Avenue B
What: Conversion of former Cabrini Nursing Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation into residential apartments (90 units). Plus retail.

• 710 E. Ninth St. (aka the Henry Street Settlement Day Care #3 building)
What: Conversion of former school into community facility plus 46 units of housing to serve homeless young adults and young adults aging out of the foster care system

[Bobby Williams]

• 316-318 E. Third St.
What: Demolition of formerly historic townhouse; construction of 7 stories, 33 units of residential

• 326-328 E. Fourth St.
What: Conversion of former two-building artist collective; addition of two floors and 18 units of residential.

...and the doorway...

[EVG reader Steven]

• 101 Avenue D
What: A community facility, the HQ for the Lower Eastside Girls Club, retail space and 78 affordable and market-rate rental units of residential.



If my math is any good (not really), then this makes 17 construction projects ... with an estimated addition of 534 residential units...(and various retail space).

Any construction projects/developments that I missed?

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.

By James Maher

Name: Roger Jazilek
Location: 3rd Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue
Time: 5:50 p.m., July 25

"I’m reading the New York magazine about Martin Amis. He just moved to Brooklyn from London, so I find it interesting since I’m from England.

I’m a painter. I do hard-edge abstraction and I cut paper. I used to have a studio on 2nd avenue but I work out of my apartment now. I’ve lived in the neighborhood for 23 years, in this same building. It was very quiet around here. The Hells Angels are still down here, of course. It used to be the safest block because anyone robbing around here would be chased by them. But I think that’s calmed down now due to their bad knees. Now there are lots of kids everywhere — gangs of girls and boys running around all day and night.

I don’t know if you know the story of the tenement apartment right here where the owner turned it into his own mansion [the Economakis mansion]. It must be a big family but I haven’t seen any of them yet. Maybe they have a tunnel somewhere.

My favorite restaurant near here is Il Buco, and Mermaid Inn is also good."

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

A 'haunting annoyance' on Avenue A

Urban Etiquette Sign spotted on Avenue A by Jose Garcia...

Nicoletta product placement or just trash?

Spotted early last evening on St. Mark's Place at Second Avenue... earlier in the day, Pete Wells bestowed a crushing 0 stars on Nicoletta in his review at The New York Times.

Damaged tree in Tompkins Square Park appears OK for now...

So yesterday, workers arrived in Tompkins Square Park to take care of the broken limb from that majestic elm in the meadow... the branch came down late Saturday night...

After examining the damage...

[Dave on 7th]

...workers cleaned up the downed limb...

[Via @kxd8053]

...and a little bit later in the day, via peter radley...it appears the tree is OK for now... workers applied some tree paint (wound dressing) ...

Hopefully all is well... we're waiting to hear back from a Parks official with more...

Bowery bums

[Bobby Williams]

Speaking of Patricia Field ... head over to Vanishing New York where Jeremiah posted a mid-1980s video of the Patricia Field shop ... long before she moved to the Bowery...

Behold the Cyclo-Phone in Astor Place

[Curbed]

Here's something that you can take for a spin during the next two Summer Streets on Saturday and the Saturday after that (aka Aug. 18).

Curbed has the details on the above:

The Cyclo-Phone is a bicycle-powered musical instrument, in which the kiddie pools with protruding PVC pipes are hooked up to a bicycle's drive mechanism, and powered by hopping on the stationary bicycle and pedaling away.

And it's there for you to play with between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. There's also a $1,200 penalty if the Cyclo-Phone is stolen while you're on it.

Is the 108-year-old Lanza's Italian restaurant going Mexican?

EVG reader Tony Devers sent along these photos from outside the 108-year old Italian joint Lanza's (an EVG favorite) on First Avenue...

What's that? Help wanted for ... "Mexican cuisine" ...?

Are they changing concepts?

Not at all, said Hugo Alonso at Lanza's, which is part of the Sal Anthony family. They are actually opening a Mexican restaurant on 13th Street and Broadway.

OK, phew...

And more about the new restaurant on 13th Street and Broadway later...

Sliding home is now slightly less expensive now in the A Building

A reader yesterday sent us a link to the Freshome site, which had a feature on everyone's favorite East Village helical-slide-showcasing duplex penthouse ...

We had almost forgotten about this SliPlex in the A-Building... We wrote about it back in March 2011... turned out that Phil Galfond, a professional poker player, owned this place. In February, The Wall Street Journal reported that the home was for sale with a $3.99 million price tag.

You'd figure any penthouse duplex with a game room, terrace putting green and a giant slide would be snapped up in a hurry around these parts ... Actually, we looked, and found that the place is still on the market — now just $3.699 after a 7 percent price cut on July 27, according to Streeteasy.

You can take a video-slide tour of it over at Curbed.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Just your everyday penthouse combo connected by a stainless steel slide

Is a member of the NYPD listing his apartment on Airbnb?

The New York Times recently published an article about a group of Stuyvesant Town tenants turned detectives who uncovered nearly two dozen short-term rentals on Airbnb.com.

One new listing the tenants discovered is of particular interest because the Airbnb host says that he is a police officer.

Here is the Airbnb ad titled "Room Available 18th St & 1st Ave" ...

"I’m a Police Officer from New York who secretly takes singing and dancing lessons. And I make a mean peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I'm Greek and yes I do put Windex on everything."

One of several accompanying photos on Paul's Airbnb profile page shows him in uniform, posing with a civilian in front of an NYPD police cruiser.

Stuy Town's spokesperson, Joe DePlasco, recently told the Times that Stuy Town is actively pursuing the tenants listing their apartments as short-term rentals on Airbnb. He says nearly 50 cease-and-desist letters have been sent to residents since the middle of last year, 15 of which have moved out.

(For most residential buildings, a 2011 law prohibits rentals of fewer than 30 days. Although those who microsublet for fewer than 30 consecutive days and remain present in the unit along with their guests — and those who don't accept money from renters while away on vacation — are exempt, according to city officials, as the Post recently pointed out.)

If it is in fact true a member of the NYPD is listing his apartment as a short-term rental, this will only fuel the Airbnb controversy. We'll no doubt be hearing more about this.

On the August CB3/SLA docket: Cafes for East 12th Street and Avenue A; a bar for St. Mark's Place

This month's CB3/SLA Licensing Committee is coming up on Aug. 20 ... in advance of that meeting, CB3 is posting more information from the applicants.

We took a look at three of them.

• To be Determined, 139 E 12th St (wine-beer)

Something is coming to the long-closed D&M Convenience store at Third Avenue.

The applicants, listed as Paul Typaldos and Andreas Typaldos, are aiming to open a small (five tables!) cafe that would be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday, and 7 a.m.-2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. They describe the food as "simple organic fare: sandwiches, paninis, salads."

And according to the application, Paul Typaldos is a majority member in Greensquare Tavern over on West 21st Street. Read the application here. (PDF)

[From May]

• To be Determined, 79 St Marks Pl (op)

Something new for the former Typhoon Lounge space... which closed in May here near First Avenue.

The applicants are aiming to open a yet-to-be-named bar-restaurant open daily from 4 p.m.-4 a.m. They describe the food as "American grill," and there will be four TV sets. The applicants previously were licensed for the bar The Brews Brothers on Second Avenue in Yorkville from January 2009-2011. Read the application here. (PDF)

[Bobby Williams]

• Croissanteria (Croissanteria Inc), 68 Ave A (wine-beer)

Last week, we reported that a new cafe, called Croissanteria, is in the works for 68 Avenue A between East Fifth Street and East Fourth Street...

Applicant David Simon (don't think it's this David Simon) is planning a 14-16 seat cafe open Monday-Friday from 7 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday 8 a.m.-10 p.m. (Wait: Open till 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.)

And the application included a sample menu...

Read the application here. (PDF)

Cake Shop will rock on

Some good news here for fans of Cake Shop... and live music venues... You probably read back in late April that the Ludlow Street cafe-bakery-bar-club was in some financial difficulties ... Anyway, Gothamist reported that the Cake Shop's crowdsourcing fundraiser, which ended today, was a success... As Gothamist noted, "Cake Shop had help from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Surfer Blood, who both played secret shows in support."

Noted

Spotted by EVG reader Blaine this evening on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place...

Watch a video titled 'Nazi chased out of Tompkins Square Park'

The 24th Annual Tompkins Square Park Riot Reunion shows took place this past weekend with free concerts ... while we were there yesterday, it was mostly a low-key affair... a lot of bands, some speakers... Toward the end of the set by Yuppicide, the last band of the day, a man with a "flaming Swastika tattoo" on his chest was chased out of the Park after he took a few swings at people in the crowd... and it's on video.



It carried over from the day before, when the same man, joined by a female companion, were throwing punches. Also on video here.

Meanwhile, on a more peaceful vibe, here's Mickey Leigh joining David Peel for a song on Saturday...

Report: Big City Records NYC closing on East 12th Street

Jared Boxx has been selling records in the neighborhood for the last 15 years... now, according to a report at WNYC, his store of the last six years, Big City Records NYC on East 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, is closing at the end of the month. The reason: Increasing rent.

WYNC notes that Boxx will still sell their hard-to-find vinyl on eBay and Discogs.

And it will be the third record store to close in the neighborhood this year ... following Rockit Scientist Records ... and Norman's Sound & Vision, who heads to Brooklyn after Aug. 16.

[Stephen Nessen/WNYC]

The East Fifth St. Tree Committee is alive and well, and they do not mess around

Been nearly a year since we checked in with the East Fifth St. Tree Committee ... a reader sends along the following update to the group's activities between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Before...

Later...

There is a store for rent sign directly above BaoBQ

As you can see, there's a store for rent sign above BaoBQ here on First Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street... the latest from Michael "Bao" Huynh opened in December... Not a good sign... But perhaps not surprising... Huynh seems to go through quite a few concepts, such as DOB 111 and Barbao on St. Mark's Place... The Croman 9300 listing says the space is available starting Sept. 1. The asking rent is $13,995.

Meanwhile, we'll see if BaoBQ is moving or closing...

Reader report: Woman on a stretcher outside Solas early Saturday morning

Per a reader early Saturday morning regarding Solas, the bar-lounge on East Ninth Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...

"I heard some screaming coming from the street but I ignored it at first. It's utter chaos outside Solas on the weekends.

But the screaming got louder and more hysterical so I looked out the window and saw EMTs lifting some chick onto a stretcher. They took her away in an ambluance. This all took place around 1:40 AM"

The reader wasn't sure what transpired... though noted it didn't seem to bother many of the other Solas-goers...

We're not too familiar with Solas... So we took a look at what Yelp users thought. The latest review, 5 stars, is from a Queens resident who noted: "When I feel like dancing my face off and drinking like a fish, I come to Solas! Yes it gets really packed in the dance area and making your way over to the bar past the crowd is difficult but you get the club experience without having to pay cover or ridiculous $$$ for drinks. It's a win-win!"

Barrier hijinks in Tompkins Square Park

EVG reader Yuppie Scum Scott on 7th passes along these shots from the Park last night... Maybe it was the wind from that storm?

Or, as Scott suggested, just urban artists creating French Barrier Sculpture?

Either way, a far less gruesome discovery than a fake human kidney.

Asbestos abatement on East Seventh Street, then a new 6-story building

On Friday, notices arrived on the door here at 227 E. Seventh St. near Avenue C...

As you can see, the asbestos removal completion date is listed as March 13, 2013 ... Meanwhile, it turns out there are permits on file with the DOB for demolition of this structure ... then a new six-story "masonry building" here... (the DOB disapproved the first round of plans last month)...

And, per the DOB, plans for this building date back to 2004 ... though the job was withdrawn then...

Meanwhile, across the street at No. 222, all is seemingly quiet at the moment on the plans to turn the building into the Villa Capri condos...

The sign that appeared last fall is gone...

[Dave on 7th]

The DOB disapproved the plans for the extension/renovation in March.