Ludlow Hotel is starting to look like a hotel

A few things here on Ludlow Street ... where work continues at the longtime-coming Ludlow Hotel, subtly nestled next to the Ludlow...

[Last week, probably]

First, a reader sent us this close-up shot of the hotel... so we're posting it. Look, bricks! Windows!

...and secondly... the Ludlow Hotel is on this month's CB3/SLA committee agenda for a liquor license ...

In October 2011, Curbed reported that BD Hotels — the team involved with the Maritime, Chambers, Greenwich, Jane and Bowery hotels — bought the stalled site for $25 million.

For more on the background here, you can check out BoweryBoogie and The Lo-Down.

Previously on EV Grieve:
People behind fabulous hotels opening another likely fabulous hotel on Ludlow Street

Actual work being done at the long-stalled Hotel Ludlow site

Stogo says goodbye

Several readers sent along the goodbye note posted on the door at Stogo, the vegan ice cream shop that closed this past Sunday on East 10th Street ... these photos are from EVG regular samo...

H/t @Mylestanzer

Fall Friday Flashback — Now and then: 10th Street and Avenue A

On Fridays this fall, and probably winter and spring and... we'll post one of the 12,000-plus EVG, uh, posts from yesteryear, like this one, from Dec. 30, 2009...
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At Flickr, rollingrck has a great set of old East Village postcards, including this undated shot of 10th Street and Avenue A...


I tried to line it up to compare to today's corner...

Might as well jump...

A brief moment in time earlier today in Tompkins Square Park... disembarking from the rather fragile elm... Photo by Bobby Williams.

Headline h/t.

Noted

Just passing along some toilet-tank decorating ideas... via EVG reader Mike on Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street...

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[East Seventh Street... photo by Bobby Williams]

The LES photos of Rebecca Lepkoff, 96 (The Villager)

Stanton Street Synagogue raising funds for Sandy-related damages (BoweryBoogie)

Blondie's Clem Burke on the good ol' days (The Age)

Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan likes Northern Spy (Eater National)

Original Nathan's Famous won't reopen until the spring (Brooklyn Paper)

Life after Pathmark on the LES (The Lo-Down)

Spotting an old sign in Harlem (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

The last wooden escalators in NYC? (Ephemeral New York)

...and EVG reader c ring passes along these photos from Facebook... showing the Bánh mì Zòn owners cooking for Daryl Hall...

... and, sorry — I keeping doing this. Taking photos of the sunrise...Like this one this morning on First Avenue and East Seventh Street...

Report: Barnes & Noble closing Greenwich Village location

In his column at The Villager this week, Scoopy notes that the Barnes & Noble on Sixth Avenue at Eighth Street is closing for good on Dec. 31.

Meanwhile, entertainment columnist Roger Friedman had this to say about the closure:

In the mid 1980s, Barnes & Noble swallowed up Marboro Books, Bookmasters and B Dalton, among other booksellers. They killed off small booksellers all over the country, eventually destroying business for many beloved New York landmarks like Colosseum, Books & Co., Gotham, Doubleday, and many others. St. Marks Bookstore, in its reduced form, is rumored to be downsizing and moving again.

B&N wanted to rule the world. They took over the B Dalton store at what used to be the gateway of Greenwich Village, but also added a behemoth store at 21st and Sixth (now gone), Lincoln Center (now gone), and downsized the famous main store at Fifth Avenue and 18th st. On upper Fifth Avenue, they ravaged Scribner Books, the best bookstore in New York, which became Rizzoli and is now a Benetton or some clothier.

[Image via Showbiz 411]

Mobil station on Avenue C provides screen for 'Hurricane Exxon' film

Per Nick Pinto at Runnin' Scared:

The Exxon Mobil station on 2nd Street and Avenue C became an impromptu movie theater last night, as a coalition of climate-change activists projected a short film about Hurricane Sandy recovery onto the wall above it.

Said Josh Fox, one of the filmmakers: ""We're dealing with a hurricane that was supercharged by climate change. Really, we should be calling it Hurricane Exxon."

The New York Times had more on the screening here.

[Photo by Jenna Pope via Facebook]

Unfortunately, we didn't find out about the screening until it was too late... But! The 24-minute film is on vimeo...


OCCUPY SANDY from JFOX on Vimeo.

Myron Mixon's Pride & Joy BBQ now in the works for the former Lucky Cheng's space

Leading up to this month's CB3/SLA meeting on Nov. 19, public documents showed that the owners of the new Acme (and Indochine, among others) were proposing to take over the former Lucky Cheng's space on First Avenue. (You can read more on the concept here.)

However, for whatever reasons, those plans never materialized and the group did not appear at the meeting.

Meanwhile, yesterday, CB3 released the SLA committee docket for December, which includes this item:

Pride and Joy (Pride and Joy BBQ LLC), 24 1st Ave (op)

Turns out that this will be the first NYC outpost for renowed BBQ chef Myron Mixon, who, among other things, serves as a judge on TLC's Destination America's "BBQ Pitmasters." (Per his bio, he is known as "the winningest man in barbecue," and authored a best-seller titled "Smokin' with Myron Mixon.")

A Pride & Joy opened earlier this month in North Miami. Per Eater Miami:

Mixon will be using his custom-made smokers and his own line of sauces and spices to serve up some the darn best ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and wings you've ever had.

I asked Lucky Cheng's owner Hayne Suthon (who also resides in the building here on First Avenue) about her new tenant.

"I am beyond excited to have this group comprised of a stellar team covering all bases of food, design construction and operations," she said in an email. "I have found them to be nothing short of super down to earth, sharp, creative and talented."

In addition to the restaurant, the Pride & Joy team apparently has some ideas for other uses of the space.

"As a resident of 1st Avenue and 2nd St since 1986, observing the good and bad trends over the past 26 years, they have been very receptive to my ideas as to what is needed in the neighborhood," Suthon said. "Aside from all of that, I CANNOT wait for them to open; I'm obsessed with good barbecue. I've already had a dream about dining there."

[Pride & Joy photo via Eater Miami]

[Updated] La Vie closed for now on East First Street

An East First Street tipster told us last Tuesday that the State Liquor Authority had, that day, revoked La Vie's liquor license on East First Street. (The license had apparently expired in February 2011, but La Vie had been operating under the NY State Administrative Procedures Act, aka SAPA).

However, since last Tuesday, the club had remained open.

BoweryBoogie's tipsters passed along word of this too... and last night, BoweryBoogie reports that a "due to an emergency La Vie will be closed" sign appeared on the club's front door.

[Via an EVG reader]

Per BB: "La Vie can still apply to have its license reinstated at a future SLA hearing, when the board will also take complaints into consideration."

In January 2011, the CB3/SLA denied a liquor license renewal for La Vie. Several angry and frustrated First Street residents were in attendance to address the ongoing issues with La Vie (and its predecessors), and the fact that they have been operating as a club under the guise of a restaurant.

[Via Facebook]

The session ended on an ugly note, when one of La Vie's partners inexplicably called CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer a racist. You can read our account of that meeting here. DNAinfo's coverage of the meeting is here.

Digging in for a new Karl Fischer-designed rental on East Third Street

Every so often we'll post an update on an incoming development...

Here's a look at the progress at 316-318 E. Third St., where a Karl Fischer-designed, 33-unit apartment building is in the works...

...workers finished demolishing the house back in March. The home was last owned by Barden Prisant, a former member of Community Board 3, who now lives in Brooklyn. According to an article on living in Prospect Park South in the Times dated Oct. 6, 2011, Prisant and his wife "decided to sell their house in the East Village because a tall building was to go up next to their beloved backyard." (The in-progress Alphabet Plaza.)

Preservation groups to try to protect the circa-1835 house here, but the Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected a hearing. Construction on the new rental is expected to be completed by the end of November 2013.

Previously on EV Grieve:


Another parcel of East Village land ready for development

33-unit, Karl Fischer-designed building rising at former home of Community Board 3 member

Landmarks Preservation Commission rejects hearing for 316 E. Third St., paving way for 7-floor condo

Lovely townhouse with bucolic gardens on East Third Street ready for "creative expansion"

Is a Koffeecake Corner coming to East 13th Street and Fourth Avenue?

We noted yesterday that Brothers Deli on Fourth Avenue and East 13th Street is closing at the end of the week... now an EVG tipster hears that the corner space is earmarked for another NYC branch of Koffeecake Corner, a bakery-coffee shop with locations in Chelsea and the UES.

Per our tipster: "Seems like lousy timing to me with Think Coffee down the block and The Bean a block away."

Anyone been to a Koffeecake Corner?

DOH temporarily closes Blue 9 Burger

The DOH paid a visit to the burger joint on Third Avenue and NYU on Wednesday... found 40 violations points (down from 50 in an Oct. 18 inspection), including for evidence of various critters...

This is what the southwest corner of Avenue A and St. Mark's Place looked like on Nov. 27, 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...

'Get Crazy' with the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

From the EV Grieve inbox .. details on a benefit for the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation ...

Come rediscover the rowdy days (and nights!) of the East Village of the Fillmore East Days as the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation screens the film Get Crazy. This campy satire — from the mind of director Alan Arkush — is packed with drugs, booze, and rock and roll.

Featuring Malcolm McDowell and Ed Begley Jr., with cameos by the likes of Lou Reed, John Densmore, and Fabian. This 90-minute screening is followed by an in-depth discussion about the film and the East Village cultural and music scene. Moderated by culture critic Jesse Kornbluth, the panel will feature actors and production staff along with Joshua White, the director of the Fillmore’s famed Joshua Light Show.

The craziness continues at Veselka Bowery, where unlimited drinks and appetizers, including famous Veselka pierogies ... are on tap.

Saturday, December 1
Screening and Discussion
Anthology Film Archives, 2nd Avenue at 2nd Street (F train to 2nd Avenue)
2 PM (doors open at 1:30 PM)

After Party at Veselka Bowery, 9 East 1st Street
Ticket includes open bar and appetizers
5:00 – 7:00 PM

Screening and Discussion Only: $35 GVSHP and Anthology Film Archives Members; $45 All Others

Screening, discussion, and After Party: $60 GVSHP and Anthology Film Archives Members; $70 All Others

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit the GVSHP website here.

Equal time: To counter all the photos of sunrises that we've posted of late

A little moon action last night. Photo by Bobby Williams.

Previously.

Updated: 'Jane Doe' found on Avenue A early this morning

Police officials are looking for help in identifying this woman found outside 145 Avenue A early this morning. According to reports, the woman was disoriented and did not know her whereabouts.

Per an account at CBS New York:

EMS responded and transported her to Beth Israel Hospital, where she underwent a medical evaluation.

The woman goes by the name of Martha or Marta. She is Hispanic, between 80 to 90 years old, is 5 foot-three-inches tall, weighs approximately 100 lbs and has short grey hair, police said.

She was wearing a green zip up fleece sweater, yellow pajama pants with multi-colored stars, a white and red wool hat and white and grey New Balance sneakers.

Information can be submitted to Crime stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

[Photo courtesy of the NYPD via CBS]

Updated 11-30: Marta has been reunited with her family.

Report: Former 9th Precinct cop sentenced to 15 years in prison for selling guns

Nicholas Mina, the cop who reportedly stole guns from lockers at the 9th Precinct on East Fifth Street, was sentenced to 15½ years in prison today, according to the Associated Press.

The four-year veteran of the NYPD was reportedly hooked on prescription drugs, and gave four stolen guns and a bulletproof vest to his drug dealer to pay off debts, per previous reports.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Former Internet millionaire part of 9th Precinct gun heist story

[Image via New York Songlines]

A benefit for Trinity's Services & Food for the Homeless

From the EV Grieve inbox... Trinity's Services & Food for the Homeless is a 501c3 that feeds 250-300 meals per day at 9th Street and Avenue B. We do it all with two part time staff who work so hard. We lost about 10,000 pounds of food due to Sandy — so this year our fundraiser is really important. We are trying to raise $60,000. Each entry ticket covers the cost of 20 meals.

Find info about Trinity's SAFH here.

Find out more about tickets for the fundraiser 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: Michael Feeney (and Misty)
Occupation: Electrical Contractor, Marine
Location: 6th Street between 1st and A.
Time: 2:55 pm on Monday, November 26

I'm 79 and this coming April 16, I'll have been living in this same building for 50 years. I came here with my family when I was 10; that was in 1943. I grew up on 9th Street between C and D and there were no projects around there; it was all tenements. These buildings (Village View) were tenements also. It was all together different around here. Everybody hung out on their stoops. The women sat with other women; the men sat together listening to the baseball games on the radio; the kids played stickball, kick-the-can, ringalevio. People on these blocks were not neighbors; they were all friends.

This neighborhood was Russian, Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish. It was a working-class neighborhood. You had a lot of greasy spoons back in those days; nothing like this. There were a lot of Polish and Jewish restaurants. The prices were, forget it, dirt cheap. Back in those days when summers rolled around, everybody slept with all the windows and doors opened. Some people slept on fire escapes and some slept on the roofs to get some air. Nobody had a fan or air conditioning.

I was only a kid when I got here and when I was 13 the courts put me and my brother into a home on Staten Island. I was supposed to be there until I was 18, but I was so bad and they were so angry with me that they threw me out when I was 16. I was Catholic and went to Catholic school.

They whooped you in those days when you did something wrong. They would whoop me all of the time. I said little gems like, “Jesus was not the son of God, he was the son of Joseph of Arimathea,” and they did not like that. So I got whooped for that. And then I said, “I have a brain. God gave me a brain and I like to use it. How can you in good conscience, how can any religion call her the Virgin Mary when she was married and had two kids before Jesus. How in the hell was she a virgin?” I got whooped for that one.

At 16, I was working uptown in Hell’s Kitchen, loading and unloading trailer trucks. Then, in 1950, I located my old man and got him to sign the papers so I could enlist in the Marine Corps and I made it to the Korean War. I didn’t turn 17 until two and a half weeks before we landed in Korea.

After that I just hung out for awhile and then worked for a laundry where I made $35 a week, plus tips. Then I went into the electrical business, working for contractors and my salary went up to $50 a week for 40 hours. That’s a buck and a quarter an hour. I worked in that business for 29 years.

Misty is a rescue dog. She’ll be a year old next month; I just got her about 3 months ago. They used to use her as a bait dog to train pit bulls to fight. She had three infections. They tied her up at a factory in Jersey and left her to die. For four days she didn’t have any food or water until a night watchman heard her crying and saw her laying there. He called up animal rescue, who got her and took care of the infections. Then, when I got her she was all skin and bones. She loves people; she’s so friendly, but you can’t bring her anywhere near other dogs or she’ll attack.

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