Here kitty kitty

We posted a few photos last week of the gorgeous cat seen at times hanging around Tompkins Square Park ... Bobby Williams spotted the cat again yesterday, and he/she was happy (mostly) to pose for a few more photos...

City approves new building for Mystery Lot

Construction equipment arrived at the Mystery Lot back on July 23. As you are painfully aware know by now, the space will be home to an 82-unit, eight-story development.

While workers have been digging into this sacred ground, the developers were still waiting for the city to OK the final plans for the building. Just a formality. After a few disapproved marks from the DOB, the examiner finally signed off last Friday...

Now we're just waiting to see the renderings for the building. BKSK Architects are behind the designs. Their previous work includes The Tribute WTC 9/11 Visitor Center and 25 Bond Street (below)...

Know anything about the plans here? Please send them our way via the EV Grieve email

Taureau has moved away from the East Village

Taureau, the BYOB fondue place at 127 E. Seventh St., recently moved away from the East Village. The place opened in April 2010, and I never met a person who had eaten here. Myself included. Not a dig. Just never quite in that fondue mood.

According to the sign on the door, the eatery relocated to 558 Broome Street. The Taureau website says "the new location is more spacious, more romantic and more convenient to the subway, and still BYOB!"

More romantic? What could be more romantic than being located right next door to the Peter Jarema Funeral Home on East Seventh Street?

No one EVER said moving was easy

Contrary to what the slogan says on the moving truck. On East Fourth Street at Second Avenue.

Photo by Bobby Williams.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

[Spotted on Avenue A and 12th Street this morning by EVG reader Allison]

Farewell to the University Diner (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York ... Flaming Pablum)

Update on the new ABC No Rio building (Scoopy's Notebook, last item)

Update on the CBGB movie (RollingStone.com)

Swanky Luxx NYC opens on Houston and Essex (BoweryBoogie)

A great ad for Bigelow’s Pharmacy (Ephemeral New York)

Happy birthday Dee Dee (New Times)

LES fall arts preview (The Lo-Down)

...and a reminder about the "Art Around the Bowery" exhibit opening today at the New Museum...

Read our piece on Bettie and the Ramones, one of the featured pieces, here.

It's hard out here for a droid

Tweet and photo on Broadway near East 11th Street by @willphoto ...

Yet another child actor falls on hard times: R2 hocking bootleg DVDs and bottled water.

7-Eleven alert: Are 2 chain stores replacing Bar on A and Angels & Kings?

[From August]

In recent years, when a business closes around here, it's inevitable that the Starbucks-7-Eleven-Subway rumor makes the rounds as a replacement.

We heard this after Graceland closed ... when 34 Avenue A was looking for a new tenant ... when Kate's Joint closed on Avenue B ... when 219 First Avenue had retail space available; ditto for the Copper Building retail ground floor — and so on. Sometimes it turns out to be true, and other times, it's just a rumor. Or something people use merely as a threat.

So we heard the Starbucks-7-Eleven-Subway whispers about the recently shuttered Bar on A at East 11th Street. In part, these rumors surfaced because Ben Shaoul of Magnum Real Estate owns the building ... and two of his East Village properties are now home to a Starbucks (First Avenue at East Third Street) and a 7-Eleven (Broadway and East 12th Street). On Monday, one of the construction workers gutting 170 Avenue A told told a reporter from The Local that a 7-Eleven was taking over the former Bar on A space.

[Photos by Shawn Chittle]

However, in addition, workers have cleared out Angels & Kings, Pete Wentz's onetime emo hangout behind Bar on A at 500 E. 11th St. (aka 170 Avenue A). According to the work permits for No. 500: "REMODEL EXISTING STAIR CONNECTING CELLAR AND FIRST FLOOR. REMOVE INTERIOR NON-LOAD BEARING PARTITIONS AT FIRST FLOOR."

[Last evening via EVG reader Cheryl Pyle on Facebook]

An EVG regular who has been watching all this unfold thinks that the two spaces together are too big for just a 7-Eleven, and believes that the two spaces would yield both a 7-Eleven and a Subway. Or a Starbucks. This is only a theory. But plausible.

In January, the CB3/SLA gave the OK for the people behind Keybar on East 13th Street to take over the Angels & Kings space and open a bar-restaurant serving Hungarian food. No word on whatever happened to those plans.

However, there's nothing just yet on the DOB permits pointing specifically yet to a 7-Eleven, Starbucks or Subway. One connection: The applicant of record for both 500 E. 11th St. and 170 Avenue A is Bentonville, Ark.-based Harrison French & Associates, an architecture and engineering firm whose clients include 7-Eleven, Starbucks and Subway. (Harris French did the 7-Eleven on Broadway at East 12th Street and East 14th Street.)

In any event, nothing official has been released about the corner's future. But given NYC's current retail environment, you may want to get ready for the first national, non-bank chain/franchise on Avenue A. And probably not the last.

Because we need more bars and restaurants and fewer things like laundromats in the East Village

There's a new listing on the books for Klean & Kleaner, the laundromat on East Second Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

There's isn't any mention of rent... but under the "comments" section...

That's right! "Ideal for a bar/restaurant. Tremendous night and weekend traffic."

And the Gold Rush continues.

Recap: Out and About in the East Village

Since Aug. 1, East Village-based photographer James Maher has provided us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works hereabouts for our new series named Out and About in the East Village.

I really like the feature, and look forward to see who James interviews each week. Given that we started this during the summer, we thought it would be a good time to pause and look back at our first seven interviews before moving forward into the fall.

And remember to wear pants when greeting the delivery person at the door. (See Mike Stupin below to get that joke.)

• Aug. 1 — Mike Stupin

• Aug. 8 — Roger Jazilek

• Aug. 15 — Madeleine Von Froomer

• Aug. 22 — Patrice Suncircle

• Aug. 29 — Joey McGibbon

• Sept. 5 — Anthony Pepe

• Sept. 12 — Rembrandt Duran (and Lucy)

Noted

I came across this headline in the Free Stuff section at Craigslist — 3 cans of Campbell's Soup (East Village)

Per the listing:

"Two tomato, one chicken noodle. No, it's not much, but if you're in the nabe, you're welcome to swing by and grab 'em. Near 14th St & Ave A."

Relive the memories: In case you missed the storm

On a rather flooded Second Avenue and East 10th Street a little bit ago via Tompkins Square Bagels proprietor Christopher Pugliese...

Noted

Via a reader on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Rex is missing

As several readers have noted, there seems to be a rash of missing-lost pet flyers of late... Here is another. A little background. The person who sent along the email said that a friend moved to another country, and needed to find a new home for his cats. An East Village resident took in Rex, but later apparently abandoned him somewhere in the neighborhood.

There is a permanent home for Rex now once he is found.

Pre-storm storm damage, maybe

Ahead of the severe storms headed our way this afternoon, some readers are already reporting wind damage.

Like here on Avenue A and Seventh Street... via @biggayicecream ...

Meanwhile ... here's what's headed our way...

And we'll be with you all afternoon. Until the power goes out.

[Updated] Reader reports: Gun shots in the middle of the night

We've heard from a handful of residents along the northern part of Avenue A today... Each with a similar experience. A sampling:

• Heard gunshots at 3:47 Tuesday morning. Five or six shots rang out with a slight pause between each shot. I'm at 12th and Ave A. Sounded like north of here.

• Heard what sounded like 10 gunshots (?) maybe fireworks at 4am last night in the vicity of 11th and Ave A. Anybody know what it was?

• Did anyone else hear gun fire on E 13th St between A & B last night a little before 4am? We did...We heard sirens in the near distance, and saw a police van drive by with the lights blaring. It was odd because we saw the flash of the gun fire and it seemed to have been right outside our window, but no police cars stopped on our block at all.

In each case, the residents heard distance sirens... but no NYPD helicopters swooping in afterwards. Unfortunately, we don't have more to go on at the moment. Anyone else hear this?

Updated 3:36 p.m.

A reader reminded me of this sign from a post I did on Aug. 28 ... about fireworks coming from 516 E. 11th St. ...

An East Village resident's bid to keep the East River waterfront free of garbage and debris

Two years ago, East Village-based artist Alan Gastelum began documenting the East River Park waterfront.

But what started as a photo project became part of a larger endeavor to help raise awareness about the garbage and debris that collects along the East River Promenande between East 10th Street and the Williamsburg Bridge.

He joined forces with Beth Bingham of Partnerships for Parks, a joint program of City Parks Foundation and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, to organize several volunteer cleanup days.

This past Saturday, some 20 volunteers joined Gastelum to collect trash and debris along the river.

Gastelum has released a book titled "East River And The Sanctum We Walk," which features more than 180 photos of the East River Park. (Part of the sales will go toward efforts to keep the park clean.)

Meanwhile, Gastelum is planning to host more volunteer days. He is also looking for the city to fund a more permanent solution to the problem in the form of debris collecting booms.

Gastelum answered a few questions for me about the book and project via email.

What first inspired you to start taking photos of the East River waterfront?

I was first inspired to document East River Park as a self-considered project. It was to document a place that was my personal refuge from the city. It quickly turned into a project that was much bigger than just documenting my personal sanctum.

What has been the most unusual object/artifact that you've found along the waterfront?

The most unusual — well, we haven't found anything too unusual. A lot of plastic bottles, baseballs and styrofoam. We did find a few syringes with needles this last cleanup. I suppose the most unusual, for the fact that it was still intact, was a household light bulb. (You can see some found objects here.)

What is the status with the city funding permanent floating trash/debris booms?

The last we heard was that a budget was purposed, but not approved. To my understanding the booms would cost $5,000 each.

What do you ultimately hope to accomplish with the project?

A few things. We want to raise awareness of this ongoing problem with the debris building up, by showing city officials that the community does care about this park and we will be out here every four months to clean it up until they install a permanent solution. (Or raise enough money to pay for it on our own.)

We want to get more of the community involved with the park, in general. It's such a beautiful place and we want the community to take advantages of the different activities.

How can residents get involved in a volunteer cleanup day? And when will you host the next one?

They can follow my blog, as I always post flyers for every cleanup and also updates on the project in general. People can also get onto the mailing list of Partnerships for Parks not only for our cleanups, but a lot of other volunteer opportunities in the park.

The next cleanup may be in November before it gets too cold out. If not, then we will have to wait till the Spring.

[All photos by Alan Gastelum]

A memorial at 236 E. 13th St.

Last Friday night, an EVG reader noted the presence of two fire trucks and two ambulances around midnight on East 13th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. According to the reader, the NYPD "would only say mind your own business." Paramedics were working to revive a young man who "looked dead."

We never heard anything else about this until last night, when another reader said that the stoop at 236 E. 13th St. was covered in flowers and candles. The word among neighbors was that the young man had died.

We don't have any other information at this time.

David Schwimmer's brick job

Nearly two months have passed since we last looked at 331 E. Sixth St., the new home for David Schwimmer or at least someone who looks and sounds like him.

It's tough to make out what's happening under the construction netting... But!

You can see the single-family mansion's brick facade taking shape...

Previously.

Photos by Bobby Williams.

Bleecker Bob's still looking to move to the East Village

Back in January, we first heard the news via our friend Ken Mac at Greenwich Village Daily Photo that venerable Bleecker Bob's Records was closing on West Third Street... And after the usual Starbucks-Subway rumors ... it turned out that the store would move — possibly to the East Village. And the hunt for a space was on... But we haven't heard anything about a possible move since March.

The store posted this update on its Facebook page:

still looking at retail spaces in the east village.
really hoping for an Oct 1 reopening somewhere, we'll stay at 118 West 3rd until we either (a) find a good new rent deal or (b)are forced to leave by the current landlord. STAY TUNED!!!

Previously on EV Grieve:
[UPDATED] Let's help Bleecker Bob's find space in the East Village

Bleecker Bob's is for rent

'To the person who stole my rainboots'

Spotted on East Ninth Street yesterday ... (This one looks a little familiar... I looked through the Urban Etiquette Sign archives but didn't see it...)