Red-tailed hawk making it easier for you

Just sitting there on the railing right out in the open ... just waiting to be photographed...

Photos by Bobby Williams.

Today on East 10th Street and Avenue B

Photo by Bobby Williams.

...a little earlier via Andrew Adam Newman on Ave C.

Yu've likely seen other sukkahs around the neighborhood... the Jewish holiday of Sukkot continues through Sunday.

A quick Bowery retail inventory

Change seems to be happening quickly on the Bowery... or maybe not. So we thought we'd add up some of the recent developments.

Starting at East Fourth Street.

1) 2 Cooper Square
The plentiful retail space remains on the market... minus a pop-up tenant here or there, the storefront has been empty since the building officially opened in 2010.

2) 350 Bowery
The address was recently home to Gallery 151, which is now in Chelsea on West 18th Street. One reader thinks another gallery is going into the space. Anyone else hear differently?

3) Bowery at Great Jones
Downtown Auto & Tire moved away in April. There were all sorts of rumors of suitors — Eddie Bauer, Quicksilver — though no takers just yet.

4) 332 Bowery
Steve's on the Bowery closed last week. BoweryBoogie has reported that the Intermix brand is taking over the Steve's space.

5) Bowery and Bond
Jeez, The Washington Mutual closed up in March 2009 ... and the space has gone though an assortment of brokers... and remains empty...

6) 302 Bowery
The Patricia Field boutique moved a few storefronts away in the spring. The space remains on the market for $30,000 a month.

7) 319 Bowery
The Amato Opera building has sat vacant since the company closed on May 31, 2009. The new renderings are a hoot, though sadly realistic.

8) 313 Bowery
Most recently, the space was home to the Morrison Hotel Gallery and the Steven Tyler pop-up shop Riff (and once, the CBGB Gallery). BoweryBoogie got word that it will become the first East Coast Patagonia Surf Store.

[Bobby Williams]

9) 3 E. First St.
Loris Diran, the high-end Bowery boutique in Avalon Bowery Place, has moved away. Their assistant designer and tailor Robert Pendleton recently died due to heart failure.

10) 303 Bowery
I only just noticed that the Mischa Nicole boutique is gone... no word of a move on their website... the store opened in early 2011...

...and two quick notes south of Houston...

11) 263 Bowery
The Karl Fischer-designed building is now on the market for $5.95 million. Per the listing:

263 Bowery, located between East Houston and Stanton Streets, is a newly constructed 7-story mixed-use condominium building with three commercial condominium units totaling approximately 6,500 square feet. The combined Basement and Ground Floor commercial unit is currently vacant, while the Second Floor commercial unit is currently in contract to be leased for a 10 year term and the Third Floor unit is currently leased through 2012.

263 Bowery presents an opportunity for a retailer to establish a ground floor presence in a vibrant neighborhood that includes an array of trendy restaurants, boutique retail shops, hotels and bars.

[Via BoweryBoogie]

12) 260 Bowery
Currently home to the Standard Sheetmetal Fabrication Corp. It remains on the market.

Empty East 11th Street lot will yield to 8 stories of affordable housing

The long empty lot here on East 11th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

[Google]

... will soon be home to eight stories — 46 units — of affordable housing for formerly homeless and mentally disabled East Villager residents, according to Curbed. Here is the design by Edelman Sultan Knox Wood Architects...

Per Curbed, the building "is subsidized by HPD's Housing Loan Program, and the community space on the first floor will go to local organization Community Access. The design includes a passageway between East 11th Street and Joseph Sauer Park on East 12th Street."

Read more about the project here.

Second floor returns to East Sixth Street church

[EVG file photo]

Back in May, we noted that work had started on Iglesia Pentecostal Sarepta at 701 E. Sixth St. (just east of Avenue C). Some years back, the DOB OK'd plans to "build a new 2nd story over exiting one-story masonry building." But not much happened with the church.

In May, though, workers removed the existing second level ...

[Bobby Williams]

We went back for a progress report this week. The new second floor is under way. The DOB permits say that this space will hold the church offices and an activities room.

Meanwhile, the Avenue C's own little Mystery Lot remains mysterious, and with the large hole still in place...

[From 2011]

4 views of the incoming 51 Astor Place

Yesterday, we noted that 51 Astor Place was getting its outer shield... thought we should take a look at how the new 430,000-square-foot tower has been shaping up in recent weeks from various views...

[Bottom photo by Donna Delmas via Facebook]

Previously.

Marketing some prime-time Union Square space

The cheapo Shoe Mania that anchored the southwest corner of 14th Street and Broadway abruptly closed on July 17. It's prime Big Box space that's now being heavily promoted...

I looked at the listing (PDF) to see how the brokers are marketing the space...

About what you'd expect here:

Reminders: Free marijuana screenings tonight

From the EV Grieve inbox... a reminder from the folks at the Medical Marijuana Association of New York...

The Villager discussed the screenings in this article on Aug. 2. Longtime East Village activist Kenneth Toglia says that there is a cancer-causing fungus called Aspergillus fumigatu found in a lot of NYC street pot. The screenings are free and anonymous Thursdays at 6 p.m. at the University of the Streets on East Seventh Street and Avenue A.

This is what 12 Avenue A looked like on Sept. 30, 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...

EV Grieve Eatery Etc.: Gruppo moving news; Maltida's new outpost

A reader sends along a photo of the chalkboard outside Gruppo on Avenue B ... As noted earlier, the pizzeria will be moving into the former Layalay space, the onetime B&T hookah hotspot at 98 Avenue B, from its current home at 186 Avenue B .. per the sign, this will happen in the "late fall."

----------

And Matilda is now serving tapas at La Zarza on First Avenue (as of last night) ... However, the Maltida folks said that they will continue to serve their Tuscan-Mexican cuisine from their main outpost on East 11th Street near Avenue C...

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EVG reader JB sends along a few photos of Ballaro, the new bakery that opened last week on East Fifth Street between Second Avenue and First Avenue...

Try it yet?

Noted

Spotted on East Fourth Street near Avenue B today.

Death Star getting its shield!

EVG reader MP takes note of the following today at 51 Astor Place...

Per MP: "How long before the Empire attacks?"

And one day...



Hat tip to MP for the headline too...

Study: Bicyclists and pedestrians power local East Village businesses

Here's part of a news item from StreetsBlog from yesterday...

Transportation Alternatives has released a new study [PDF] showing that people who walk, bike and take transit to the East Village are local retailers’ best customers.

In a random survey of 420 East Village pedestrians, 95 percent of respondents said that they usually walk, bike or take transit to the neighborhood, with only 5 percent using a taxi or private automobile. TA asked respondents how often they visit the area and how much they usually spend per visit, using the replies to calculate how much each person typically spends per week in the area. The interesting patterns emerge when you segment that information by how the respondents got to the neighborhood. It shows that bicyclists and pedestrians are bigger spenders than those who arrive by taxi and car.

StreetsBlog has a few charts and some analysis if you'd like to dig into it here. The report itself is 19 pages.

Bonus chart!

Angel Memorial House for sale on Avenue B; condos or single-family home in the offing

The longtime home of the New York Gospel Mission at 149 Avenue B near East Ninth Street just hit the market for $5.5 million. According to the Massey Knakal listing:

This 5 story plus lower level elevatored building is located directly across from Tompkins Square Park and will be delivered vacant. The property was gut renovated in the mid 90’s and is currently constructed of concrete and steel. This is an excellent opportunity for either a user to convert to a single family or a boutique condo conversion.

According to its website, New York Gospel Mission was founded in 1895 by Dr. Bernard Angel. He died in 1929, and his daughter Ruth became the director. In 1944 the mission purchased the five-story building at 149 Avenue B, and named it Angel Memorial House after the founders.

God's work is no longer necessary in the East Village, just more places for people to enjoy $27 cocktails.

Here's what's coming to the former Life Cafe space

We've been interested in learning about who was taking over the former Life Cafe corner space on Avenue B at East 10th Street. As mentioned on Monday, an applicant going by Yardbird LLC is on the October CB3/SLA docket for a wine-beer license. (9th Street Espresso is expanding into the other half of the storefront.)

Nialls Fallon, one of the partners in the new venture, sent me an email on Monday night. "We will be opening a cafe and wine bar in the coming months," said Fallon, who's still working with his business partner Gareth Maccubbin on refining the concept.

Both partners live in the East Village (Maccubbin directly across the street) and both have restaurant experience at two buzzy Mulberry Street eateries. Fallon was the general manager at Torrisi while Maccubbin held the same position at Torrisi spinoff Parm next door. Both resigned from their respective GM positions to work on this new project.

I mentioned that a lot of people were curious about the space's future, given that things around here have a knack for turning into either Subways/7-Elevens/Starbucks or bro-tastic bars. Plus, for some people, Life Cafe had been a regular spot for many years.

"We decided on the space for two reasons, the first being we didn't want to see the 7-Eleven-Starbucks scenario you mentioned happen there. Second, we wanted to be in an iconic space that carried on some form of community identity and East Village-ness," Fallon said. "I am excited to create something new and make sure that the corner remains owned and operated by locals."

Oh, and are they really opening a place called Yardbird next door to a newish bar called Blackbird?

"Yardbird is a reference to being on the corner of Charlie Parker Place, and was named before Lakeside turned into Blackbird," Fallon said. "Nonetheless, 'bird' will not be included in the name of the space."

Previously on EV Grieve:
After 30 years, Life Cafe closes — 'until further notice' — in the East Village

Mystery Lot killer REVEALED; bland, glassy box in custody

Good lord.

Curbed yesterday posted parts of the news released trumpeting the arrival of development sprouting right now at (officially) 211 E. 13th St., formerly the longtime home to the Mystery Lot.

Some details from that release:

Units will have nine foot ceilings, and a third will have "substantial outdoor space." There will also be six "private rooftop cabana terraces," which we assume will be connected to penthouses. Shared building amenities include a library, fitness center, residents and business lounges, and a rooftop terrace with an outdoor kitchen.

Back with more when we're done weeping.

[Some time ago]

Previously on EV Grieve:
City approves new building for Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot likely facing a luxurious end

The last days of the Mystery Lot

DL team hoping to take over the The Porch on Avenue C

Big things are in the works for the former Porch on Avenue C between Eighth Street and Seventh Street. People behind the LES soap opera the DL (formerly Ludlow Manor) at 95 Delancey are aiming to open a bar-restaurant concept, according to paperwork on file with CB3.

"Apartment 13, 115 Avenue C" is on the October CB3/SLA docket. Behind the new venture is Paul Seres, president of the New York Nightlife Association and a member of Community Board 4 (serving Chelsea). Ludlow Manor/DL (and The Delancey) partner Aleksandra Drozd is also listed as an applicant.

The application (PDF) lists a "restaurant-bar" opening here with 36 tables (and 80 seats) and 1 bar with 12 seats (plus a patio on the second floor). No opening time is listed, but closing time is midnight Sunday-Tuesday; 2 a.m. Wednesday-Thursday; 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Food will be served during all business hours, and sample menu items include small plates of bone marrow gremolata ($14) and lobster brulee ($15).

How is the DL? Here is BoweryBoogie on it in July: "Scourge is probably the best word to describe the new party palace at 95 Delancey Street." A Yelper called the DL "one of the douchiest, skeeviest places I've ever visited."

There's not enough time to get into all all the history with the pre-DL incarnation, the Ludlow Manor, which included the involvement of Lady Gaga ex Luc Carl.

Seres came into the operation earlier in the year, and he gave his side of the story to The Lo-Down back in March. Read that here.

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: Sarah "Sas" Stewart
Occupation: Environmental Engineering Marketing and Communications
Location: Avenue C between 7th and 8th
Time: 12:20 on Sunday, Sept. 30

I was born in Detroit originally; that’s where a lot of my family still is. I spent a couple of years in Hawaii, in Kauai, surfing, scuba diving and doing accounting — you know, the usual. Then I moved to New York about 6 years ago and have been living in the East Village for 4 years. Adventure brought me here. I had never lived here before or been here before and I just fell in love.

We were living in a small apartment that we loved a couple years ago and had very much made our own — until we got a letter saying that we were not going to be allowed to renew our lease. Then, shortly after, we got a lease and so we signed it and sent it back.

After a lot of trips to the public records department, we found out that our apartment had been illegally destabilized and they were trying to kick us out to turnover the apartment. It was a battle. The Cooper Square Committee helped us out and can tell you a lot of people’s stories similar to this. We had to get a lawyer and were lucky to find someone who would do it for free. It was terrible and they tried to take us to court and get us on a blacklist ... but it didn’t make us leave the neighborhood. We technically settled out of court and we haven’t had to really press to see if we still are on that list. A husband and wife own the building that we live in now and they’re wonderful and approachable and respectful.

This neighborhood has been a large part of our lives, but my fiancé got an opportunity to work in Vermont — and it was an opportunity that we couldn't turn down. So he moved up there recently and commutes to the city on the weekends and I will be following him up probably in the next year, but we're definitely going to be back. How can we stay away?

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

Rockit Scientist Records to become a bubble tea shop on St. Mark's Place

John Kioussis, the owner of Rockit Scientist Records, which closed on St. Mark's Place in the spring, passed along word of the new tenant: A bubble tea shop. Uh-huh. Seems about right these days.

"Thank you NY real estate," he said on Facebook.

Jeremiah Moss first reported on Rockit's departure. Kioussis told Jeremiah, "my lease is ending and i don't want to renew at the current rate, i asked for a rent reduction and was turned down. While business wasn't great, it just isn't worth paying $8500 a month."

In six-year eviction fight, 'sushi defense' keeps East Sixth Street resident in apartment

A so-called "sushi defense" has saved a longtime East Sixth Street resident from eviction. The Daily News reports today that State Appellate Division judges ruled 3-to-2 that Masako Mogi could stay in her $992-a-month studio at 409 E. Sixth St., where she has lived since 1980.

The landlord, not named in the article, had been trying to evict her for six years. The landlord's attorney offered records showing that Mogi used a below-average amount of electricity — evidence she spent most of her time in a second home in Vermont.

But! For her part, "Mogi testified that she often eats out, orders takeout or makes sushi, which doesn’t require much juice."

I looked at Streeteasy, and found that the average price for an apartment here runs $2,715.

The most recent "gut renovated" apartment went for $3,000 this past summer. The listing included one of those stalky YouTube videos of the unit...