Tuesday, March 26, 2013

L.E.S. Dwellers make the case against Soho House expanding to Ludlow Street



As you likely heard, Soho House is planning an expansion to 139 Ludlow St. They've already made their pitch to neighbors. (Read BoweryBoogie's post on it here; and The Lo-Down here.)

During this past weekend, L.E.S. Dwellers sent around their campaign again Soho House. (You can read it here.) It's slightly outside my usual coverage zone. But I wanted to share with you what they have to say. (And, of course, there's a major spillover effect from all this to this neighborhood...)

An excerpt from the L.E.S. Dwellers campaign:

Rival gangs of frat boys, sororisluts, suburbanite wannabes, tramps with stamps, and bridge & tunnel douchebags converge on our streets, and a bloody turf war ensues between residents and the drug and alcohol-fueled gangs. If Soho House comes, new gangs arrive with them - Jimmy Choo stiletto girls, newly minted tech-set, B-list models, I-bankers disguised in Thomas Pink and Gucci loafers, trust fund wannabe hipsters, expense account ad men, label whores, and Eurotrash. Our streets will become bloodier and messier than it already is, with the residents further outmatched by the increasingly uncontrollable mobs.

And!

The L.E.S. will officially become the "Eastpacking", unless we as a community do something about it. We can choose to remain silent and compliant, marking our doors with black crosses in anticipation of the Soho House virus incubating at 139 Ludlow Street. Or we can rise up and fight back.

Soho House reps are expected to appear before the CB3/SLA committee next month to apply for a liquor license. Reps have said they wouldn't expect to open on Ludlow Street until the summer of 2014.

Meanwhile, yesterday, Lower East Side documentarian Clayton Patterson explained why is he supporting the Soho House's expansion to Ludlow Street in a post published at The Lo-Down.

An excerpt:

If not them then who? Soho House is not going to build up. They are going to save the look and integrity of the façade architecture. The fact that they are private keeps the crowds down, will be more low key… and so on. Imagine this: it is a large double wide lot- has at the very least 6 stories worth of air right to build up. Imagine a brand new 12 story luxury hotel or apartment eating up the block.

Monday, March 25, 2013

[Updated: They are back open] DOH temporarily closes Vinny Vincenz on First Avenue

Ugh. Crazy Eddie passes along word that the DOH temporarily closed EVG favorite Vinny Vincenz this afternoon.

The pizzeria near East 14th Street was carrying an A rating. Inspectors handed out just 13 violation points during their last visit on Oct. 10. Among the infractions: "'Wash hands' sign not posted at hand wash facility."

The DOH has not updated its website with the record of today's visit.

The 10-year-old Vinny Vincenz is currently in a $1 pizza battle with its new neighbors, 2 Bros.

Updated: Gruppo Thin Crust Pizza opens at new Avenue B location tonight (free beer alert)

The renovations are done here at 98 Avenue B between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street... Per the Gruppo Facebook page:

Grand Opening at our new location, 98 Ave B (6-7 st), Free Draft beer when you dine with us! See you tonight!

Their previous home at 186 Avenue B is now closed.

Updated 8:21

The sandwich board out front via @dens


Iowa teens dance to the Velvet Underground and Bush Tetras — in 1956



A little time waster via Dangerous Minds ... The above footage is from the dance show “Seventeen” that aired in 1956 on Iowa station WOI-TV. The video was uploaded to YouTube without sound. But Dangerous Minds decided to add a soundtrack, and did a pretty damn good job of synching up the dance moves to the likes of the Velvet Underground and the Buzzcocks ... Worth the look: "Too Many Creeps" by the Bush Tetras starts up around the 14-minute mark.

Outrage over proposal to turn the green space at the Meltzer Tower into private development



More details were circulating last week about the city leasing the park space at Max Meltzer Tower to private developers... among other things, the new development would wipe out the park at the senior citizen development at 94 E. First St. near First Avenue ... Flyers appeared in the vicinity during the weekend...





You can see what would be lost ... trees, opens space, light, etc.







Per the NYCHA website, this is what is proposed:

Meltzer Tower has a $10.5 million unmet need for capital building improvements over the next 5 years.

Proposed Development on Land Lease Site(s)
East 1st Street Site
Site Area: 13,000 SF (Approximate)
New Construction: 121,500 SF of Residential Floor Area (Approximate)
18,500 SF of Commercial Floor Area (Approximate)
97 New Apartments

In the self-created FAQs, officials say this with a straight face:

Wouldn’t this be disruptive to the community?
Construction would not take place forever, and would be conducted in a strictly monitored fashion.

Right!

One longtime East Village shared his thoughts on the proposal via email:

All they have to say about disruption is that construction doesn't last forever. How encouraging. They don't mention that the building will be devastating to the dozens of residents of the adjacent buildings on 2nd Street. NYCHA explains that the development of the site is necessary because the Meltzer Tower needs $10.5 million for deferred maintenance. We don't know the terms of the deal, but if that's the sale price it's peanuts for 140,000 sf. And they don't mention that the new apartment building will certainly block light from the west for Meltzer residents. Selling off public assets is always sad and usually a bad idea. The density of building in the East Village has always been an issue and it's getting worse quickly.

Upset by this proposal? Here's who you can contact, via the flyers...


[Click image to enlarge]

Here comes The Fourth, with a crazy bed frame installation and private-label coffee



Over at the five-years-in-the-making Hyatt Union Square, signs just went up for one of the restaurants in the space on Fourth Avenue and East 13th Street.

Here's a description of The Fourth via the Hyatt's website:

Our signature Lower East Side restaurant boasts 30-foot ceilings and wide French doors for open-air dining, attracting hotel guests and local denizens alike with fresh baked bread and neighborhood appeal. The 100-seat room will offer three distinct dining areas: a café with a European style espresso and wine bar, a 24-seat communal bar and dining space, and a 45-seat full service formal dining area. Open virtually all day, The Fourth will serve traditional brasserie fare with a modern American interpretation: upscale fare with a continental flair.

Taking its name from the elegant and sophisticated right bank neighborhood in Paris, the vibe at The Fourth is Union Square meets the 4th arrondissement - a stylish place to meet for coffee, dine at the bar after a movie, or enjoy a business dinner. The wine and beverage program at Hyatt Union Square New York is skillfully designed by Roger Dagorn, MS, whose vast knowledge and approach to wine selection makes The Fourth not only a delicious place to dine, but also an intriguing place to explore the vineyards of the world.

This Lower East Side restaurant serves espresso drinks made with Café Quatrième, a private label coffee, offering various blends and roasts throughout the day for an excellent coffee experience to stay or to-go.

Repeat: "Union Square meets the 4th arrondissement."

Also, we took a look inside and spotted this hanging from the ceiling...



Maybe that's one of the hotel's specially priced courtyard studios?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Through the years with the sunlight-blocking Hyatt Union Square, opening Nov. 15

Retail space for The Jefferson is also moving on up



The Jefferson's retail space on East 14th Street near Third Avenue is shaping up, as you can see now that the scaffolding and stuff has come down...



There are two spaces available, as we've pointed out previously here ...



Here's the official retail listing...


In the renderings, the two available storefronts are called "Dapper Drake" and "Karmic Koala."

Also, a different broker has the listing for the currently-empty 212 E. 14th St. space, former home of the Super Saving Store, which closed in June 2011. (It was no Dapper Drake, but...)

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

The last days of the Mystery Lot

Before it was the Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot developers using famous dead comedians to sell condos at The Jefferson

Prepping for the new 6-floor residence on East Seventh Street



Taking the time to check in on a few construction projects... Last week, we looked at the start of the digging for a new 6-floor building at 327 E. Ninth St. ... and 316-318 E. Third St.

Here's an update on another new 6-floor building — 227 E. Seventh St. near Avenue C... DOB permits show that each floor will contain one residential unit. (And we have not seen the final rendering just yet.)

Until then...





The sign says that the work be complete by March 31, 2014.

In late October, the body of Christine Ebel, the co-owner of Arcane, which is adjacent to the property on Avenue C, was found in this lot.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Asbestos abatement on East Seventh Street, then a new 6-story building

Here's what's left of the former 227 E. Seventh St.

Happy 5th Birthday to the sidewalk shed of St. Mark's Place!



A belated 5th birthday to the sidewalk shed outside 32 St. Mark's Place. And thanks to @Ewingweb for the reminder and photo above... Saturday was the anniversary...

According to the DOB, the city issued the permit for the sidewalk shed in February 2008.

[March 2012 via Bobby Williams]

As far as anyone can recall, no work had ever been done on the buildings at 30 32 or 34 St. Mark's Place.

But the DOB did approve the following work back in October:

PROPOSED ALT 2 FOR RESTORATION OF FACADE EXTERIOR AND MINOR INTERIOR RENOVATION TO SPACKLE & PAINT CORRIDORS, NO CHANGE IN USE OR EGRESS

Still, five years for an abandoned sidewalk bridge is nothing, as a report in the Post noted yesterday. The Milford Plaza Hotel on Eighth Avenue has reportedly had a sidewalk shed dating to 1990.

Per the Post:

The number of the ugly overhead structures has steadily climbed each year since 2009 — to 8,514 last year — as the city’s new rules for façade inspections kicked in.

Under the law, owners of buildings higher than six stories must hire engineers to inspect for cracks, loose bricks and other deficiencies every five years. In 2010, the Buildings Department began staggering inspection deadlines to ensure 12,000 buildings weren’t filing reports all at once and scrambling for contractors the same day.

Previously on EV Grieve:
St. Mark's sidewalk shed celebrates fourth anniversary

Red Boutique space for lease on East 7th Street



Red, the boutique featuring jewelry and apparel from owner Donatella Quintavalle, has apparently closed here at 123 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. For lease signs went up late last week. (The listing isn't online yet at Besen Realty.) No word of a closure or relocation on the Red website, Facebook page or Twitter account.

Red opening here in 2009... taking over the space from Locks 'n' Lads, the hair salon for kids.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Callers spend weekend on hold at First Avenue and St. Mark's Place

Friday! Via an EVG reader...



Yesterday! Via IansTweets ...



And today, via Bobby Williams...



Did anyone learn who was on the other end?

Week in Grieview


[Avenue A]

Bar 82 is closing (Friday)

More details on the new community center on East Ninth Street (Wednesday)

About 'Straight Outta Tompkins' (Thursday)

8th Street Winecellar expanding to East Fourth Street (Monday)

Plans for the open space at Meltzer Tower (Friday)

Checking in on The Treehouse above 2A (Thursday)

Something Sweet hopes to revive its bakery (Monday)

Get your apartment with a 3-level zen garden (Wednesday)

Looking at the David Schwimmer estate (Friday)

What it's like working at Zaragoza (Wednesday)

Comet spotting with East Village resident Felton Davis (Tuesday)

Another laundromat closes (Monday)

Remembering St. Patrick's Day Weekend 2013 (Monday)

Renovations for new Apartment 13 (Tuesday)

At the residents meeting for Smith Houses (Friday)

More on Jennifer's Way Bakery (Tuesday)

Renaming Riceton on East 14th Street (Tuesday)

This East Village residence has its own screening room (Monday)

'This is elderly abuse' — Warhol star Taylor Mead lives in squalor during building's gut renovation

Taylor Mead's home life in his fifth-floor walk-up continues to be a living hell, the Post notes today.

As you may have read in The Villager or at BoweryBoogie, Ben Shaoul bought the building Mead lives in and two others on Ludlow Street for $16.5 million last summer. Mead, 88, continues to live in his rent-stabilized apartment while the rest of the building is converted to market-rate homes. (Mead has lived here for 34 years and pays $380 a month in rent.)

Per the article:

Workers hammer outside his door from 7 a.m. till the evening. Plaster falls from his walls and roaches crawl up his legs. The kitchen sink doesn’t work.

Mead’s friends suspect Shaoul wants the poet to evict himself.

“It’s going to kill him,” said Clayton Patterson, a neighborhood activist and longtime friend. “This is elderly abuse. It’s pretty Third World when you think about it.”

You can read more about the legendary Mead, an actor, writer and poet, here. (Read this feature on Mead from The Paris Review last summer here.)

Of course, history doesn't mean much to developers.

“[Shaoul] is out for profit. He doesn’t give a shit about who I am,” he said. “It’s going to be hell.”

The end of the Viking Age?



Avenue A this morning.

A moment with Super Bad Brad in Tompkins Square Park yesterday



Thanks to EVG reader John G. for sharing this video of Brad Prowly (aka "Super Bad Brad") from Tompkins Square Park yesterday...

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Today's hawk and squirrel show in Tompkins Square Park







Photos by Bobby Williams.

Saving the world in time for Easter



Our friend Curt Hoppe sent along these photos from today... where Arturo Vega was installing a mural on Prince and Elizabeth...



Vega says that it's "for the people saving souls."

Tomorrow is Opening Day at Coney Island, where Zoltar is only $1



Coney Island has its grand opening tomorrow... the Cyclone, Luna Park and Deno's Wonder Wheel Park are all set to reopen ... this after millions of dollars in Hurricane Sandy-related repair work and upgrades.

Our friends at Amusing the Zillion have been carefully documenting the opening-day developments. Find more details on rides and restaurants here ...

Per ATZ:

The amount of activity far exceeds anything we’ve seen in past years because of the extra added work of recovering and rebuilding from Superstorm Sandy. Even though Palm Sunday, Coney’s traditional opening day, is early this year, the great majority of the rides, games and eateries are ready to open.

Sandy KO'd Deno's Wonder Wheel Park's Zoltar. But! There is a new one...



And, as ATZ reminds us, the Coney Island Zoltar is only $1, as opposed to the $2 Zoltar outside Gem Spa.

Speaking of Zoltar... here's a shot of our own Zoltar this morning ... flashing some jewelry and his carefully placed flute, as always...



[Thanks to Amusing the Zillion for permission to repost the photos]

[Updated] Cab ends up on sidewalk outside Horus Café on Avenue A and East 10th Street



A reader sent along this photo from Avenue A at East 10th Street... we do not have any information on what happened or if there were any injuries... another reader thought it happened around 10:15 a.m.

Updated 10:41

Via @mikebarish — "didn’t see it happen but saw him extricating himself (with police help)"

Friday, March 22, 2013

This might be the largest pink limo ever in the East Village



Bill the Libertarian Anarchist spotted this on Ninth Street between Second and Third Avenues... Per Bill: "I walked off 35 feet for the length. Biggest limo I ever saw."