Report: Upper West Side old-timer Emerald Inn will likely close for good this spring

Stepping away from the neighborhood for a minute. The Emerald Inn, the Upper West Side saloon that has been serving up drinks since FDR was in office, looks like a goner, again. A huge rent hike nearly killed it a few years back, but the landlord couldn't find a tenant who'd pay $35,000 a month for the 800-square-foot space during the recession.

Now, though. The West Side Rag reports this afternoon that the landlord has already been showing the space to other prospective tenants. As they report: "The unpretentious bar now has some very tony neighbors, including high-end retailers like Helmut Lang and Club Monaco, and rents have escalated."

The current lease is up May 1.

Previously.

H/t Eater

Ev Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Via EVG reader Raquel Shapira]

The plan to build three towers around St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery — in 1930 (Curbed)

Why yes — building luxury developments on public housing property is the worst idea ever (Gawker)

Kindergarten choices in the East Village/Lower East Side (DNAinfo)

Big crowd at yesterday's SPURA RFP information session (BoweryBoogie)

Dining with a hawk in Tompkins Square Park (The Gog Log)

At the 2013 Firecracker Festival (The Lo-Down)

Bloomberg aims to crush Styrofoam (Runnin' Scared)

RIP Memory Keeper on 14th Street (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

A look at the Costume Institute's punk exhibit (Racked)

Madonna is posting photos of her boobs on Instagram (Gothamist)

The latest indignity for Times Square — Señor Frog's (Eater)

And via Shawn Chittle this morning on St. Mark's Place... the Tanks A Lot truck...

And you say, "You're welcome."

OK, I'll be over here...

If you're traveling on Avenue C this morning...

... then please mind the gap here at East Sixth Street... and there are unconfirmed reports that brokers are already showing the property.

Photo by EVG reader Steven Matthews.

This morning

[Click image to enlarge]

Looking south from the East Village... a beautiful morning ... plus, making up for the dead rat on the windshield photo a little further down on the site today.

3rd East Village Juice Press now open

Now open on East 10th Street just east of Second Avenue ...

...as previously noted here ... and here.

'Out of Shaoul’s frying pan and into Kushner’s fire?' Super Tenants Association meeting planned

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Out of Shaoul’s Frying Pan and into Kushner’s Fire?

Are you or do you know someone who lives in one of the buildings that Ben Shaoul just sold to Jared Kushner? The tenants association of 118/120 East 4th Street is looking to get together with other tenants in the same parcel of buildings for a Super Tenants Association Meeting. The idea is to get together, talk about our past experiences, what we may have to look out for in the future and how to establish a network for support and information sharing.

Please email the organizers here

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Jared Kushner paid $49 million for 7 more Ben Shaoul-owned properties in the East Village

Ben Shaoul and company put East Fourth Street buildings on the market for $25 million

4 East Fourth Street apartment buildings hit market for $32 million

Rumors: Is Ben Shaoul selling his East Village properties?

What Lower East Side hotels have special rates for some afternoon delight?

Saw this headline fly by on Twitter yesterday morning: "Afternoon sex, affairs can be part of life on the road." Naturally, I clicked on the link to the USA Today article... about a newish website called Dayuse-hotels.com that lets people book "boutique" hotel rooms in New York City for a few hours of afternoon romance. Or rest. Or Internet. Or whatever you'd need a hotel room for from, say, noon till 4 p.m.

Anyway, I went to the Dayuse site to see if any local hotels were in their database.

There are two – the Blue Moon on Orchard and Off Soho Suites on Rivington... Randomly picked Feb. 19 to see the rates...

It's $275 for three hours at the Blue Moon...

..or $119 for five hours at the Off Soho Suites...

If this is too much, then you could always opt for the Days Inn at JFK — just $79 for six hours.

No 7-Eleven organizers are guests tonight on 'Let’s Get Real With Chef Erica Wides'

From the EV Grieve inbox... the organizers behind the East Village No 7-Eleven movement are guests tonight at 6:30 on "Let’s Get Real With Chef Erica Wides" on the Heritage Radio Network...

[Click on image to enlarge]

Here's the "Let's Get Real" Website.

Previously on EV Grieve:
'No 7-Eleven' movement goes global with BBC report

OK, who tossed the dead rat on this car's windshield?

Gruesome reader discovery yesterday afternoon on East 10th Street and Avenue A. Theories?

Chloë Sevigny had a fashion show at St Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery Saturday

Chloë Sevigny, who may or may not still be living on East 10th Street, threw a fashion show at St Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery Saturday. The Daily Mail had a report on all this yesterday.

Per the article:

Chloë Sevigny returned to her model roots on Saturday, starring in the fall 2013 presentation for her own Opening Ceremony line ... the 38-year-old actress and fashion designer stood amongst her mod-themed models with blank stares, who, like the protests staged by youthquakers in the Sixties, held signs that said things like: 'The agony of power.'

And!

Ms Sevigny showed the kinds of clothes she likes to wear herself: hip, indie, and cool. And the Sixties-style-meets-music-festival collection of thrown-on separates and mini-dresses neatly fits in with this East Village cool-girl image.

Among the musical highlights: Kim Gordon and DNA's Ikue Mori played with Bleached, the all-girl surf rockers.

And here's a snippet about the show from... MTV...

Get More:
MTV Shows

'Rarely available' A Building penthouse now available for $3.7 million

A penthouse at the pool-topped A Building on East 13th Street is now on the market. According to the Corcoran listing:

Rarely available in the luxurious modern A Building is this unique 3 bedroom/3 bath penthouse loft condominium with spacious sunny open south facing living area in the heart of the East Village. Step out from your living room onto your beautiful terrace with panoramic views of downtown and you won't want to leave. The island gourmet kitchen is perfect for entertaining and the bedrooms are large with generous closet space. This one is a must see!

Price: $3,795 million. It previously sold for $2.9 million in May 2008, according to Streeteasy.

Noted

Dave on 7th spotted this on the door at Ricky's on First Avenue.

Sinkhole alert: East Second Street now ready to swallow your car

On Saturday we noticed a smallish sinkhole forming here on East Second Street the Bowery and Second Avenue. And it has grown. The NYPD now has the street blocked off... can definitely get a MINI Cooper in there...

Lonely snowman left to melt by himself on East 14th Street

EVG reader Michael notes this snowman who is locked in a Stuy Town playground abutting East 14th St. We're going in once it's dark for a rescue...

Report: Tom Cruise sells (one of) his East Village homes

Through the years, for some reason, we've noted that Tom Cruise has a place (or five!) in the American Felt Building on East 13th Street. This afternoon, The Real Deal reports that the actor is in contract to sell a condo here for $3 million. He bought the 2,200-square-foot apartment back in 1984.

Per The Real Deal:

The two-bedroom unit features a state-of-the-art gym which could double as a third bedroom. Though the 12-story building is known for its loft-like ceilings, the ceilings in Cruise’s 10th-floor unit have been lowered to nine feet, though it was unclear why.

Any ideas why he would lower the ceiling?

Anyway! We had some good times here...





Not sure how much he owns the the building. Page Six reported several years ago that he owns five places here. Other sorta famous people who lived in the American Felt Building have included Fab Moretti, Bret Easton Ellis and one of those guys from the Black Keys.

Previously on EV Grieve:
When 2-3 apartments in the same building just aren't enough

Your chance to be Tom Cruise's neighbor

Reader report: Motor City Bar is closing on Ludlow Street

Earlier today, BoweryBoogie noted the closure of the Pink Pony on Ludlow Street.

Now word is spreading this afternoon about the pending closure of another Ludlow Street mainstay — the 18-year-old Motor City Bar.

A tipster says that the lease is up at the end of the month for the rock-and-roll flavored bar at 127 Ludlow St. ... the bar is expected to close at some point between March and June.

Per the tipster: "Ludlow Street is done!"

Reader report: Unshoveled sidewalks in front of the incoming 7-Eleven remain treacherous

Yesterday morning, we noted that the plywood walkway outside the incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A and East 11th Street was extremely slippery... causing someone to post the above warning note...

Apparently little has changed here.

EV Grieve reader VH McKenzie notes:

"The only building on the block of 11th between A and B that DIDN'T shovel any snow from the pathway in front of their building since Friday ... the site of the incoming 7-Eleven.

"What was a slippery, treacherous sheet of ice is now, thanks to the rain, an impassable small lake. Soon to be a slippery, treacherous sheet of ice again when the temperature drops."

Walking on the other side of the street is really a good idea.

[Updated] Breaking: C-Town back open on Avenue C

[From January, via Dave on 7th]

The C-Town on Avenue C near East 11th Street has been closed since suffering extensive damage during Hurricane Sandy... Dave on 7th notes that the renovated supermarket reopened this morning ...

From the C-Town Supermarkets Facebook page:

Hey C-Town Shoppers! Help us in welcoming back our C-Town store on Ave C in Manhattan! After a long and difficult rebuild from Sandy we are proud to have you back!!

Updated 2:45

Dave on 7th randomly checked pricing on... Horizon Organic whole milk... on sale this week for $3.99...

...and the Stonyfield brand is $5.99...

Dave on 7th noted that the Stonyfield at Associated on Avenue C and East Eighth Street is $5.49 ... and the Horizon is $5.79!

No word on beer prices. Yet.

Report: East Village (ZIP 10003) leads the city in places to buy coffee or tea

The economists over at StatsBee, a blog via NYCEDC's Center for Economic Transformation, examined the Restaurant Inspection Results from the health department to find the number of cafés, coffee shops and tea shops in the five boroughs.

In total, they found 1,700 such places. According to their research:

Manhattan neighborhoods have the highest density of cafés per ZIP code. The East Village ZIP code of 10003 has the highest number of shops with 49, closely followed by Midtown/Hell’s Kitchen (10019) with 47. Midtown East (10017) and SoHo (10012) each have 41, and Tribeca/Chinatown (10013) has 40.

Researchers also looked at the breakdown between the chains and independent shops. And what they found:

With the Restaurant Inspection Results list, we counted 454 Dunkin’ Donuts (including hybrids like Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin Robbins) and 272 Starbucks locations. 42.7% of the City’s cafés are one of these two major chains, with the remaining majority made up of smaller chains or single-location establishments.

Find the full report here, including an interactive map. Not sure how telling any of this is, but we do enjoy conversations about coffee. And chains/franchises.

And this is ZIP 10003, because someone always asks ...

Reader report: Former Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen becoming an Italian restaurant

Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen, which had been at 130 St. Mark's Place since 1991 (34 years in business total), closed for good on Dec. 29, as we first reported.

Aside from rising rents, business had been down... and, of course, Sandy didn't help matters.

Yesterday, a worker at the store told Bill the libertarian anarchist that the space will become an Italian restaurant.

Know more details about the new tenant? Then please let us know via the EVG tipline.