July CB3/SLA highlights: Holiday Lounge, Brick Lane Curry and more tacos

[99 Second Ave. from August 2012]

The July CB3/SLA docket is now out... We'll look at the whole thing later... but a few quick highlights... (The meeting is July 15.)

Applications within Saturated Areas
• 117 Ave A Food & Drink LLC, 117 Ave A (op)

The mystery applicant looking to take over the Odessa Cafe and Bar on Avenue A is back on the agenda.

Sidewalk Cafe Application (unenclosed)
• Mighty Quinn's Barbeque (CMH BBQ Holdings LLC), 103 2nd Ave

• Brazen Fox Kitchen and Bar (106 3rd Ave NYC Inc), 106 3rd Ave

The folks from the White Plains-based bar The Brazen Fox are opening a bar-restaurant in the former Friend House space at East 13th Street ... the space is still under construction and they are already seeking a license for a sidewalk cafe. Very Brazen!

• Boulton & Watt (Downtown Dining LLC), 5 Ave A

New Liquor License Applications
• Holiday Lounge (75 St Marks Place LLC), 75 St Marks Pl (op)

Barbara Sibley, the owner of La Palapa next door here on St. Mark's Place, will be opening a bar-restaurant in the former Holiday Cocktail Lounge space... we're looking forward to the end results of the work... She told Grub Street last year that "We're going to try to preserve as much of the history as possible."

• Otto's Taco LLC, 141 2nd Ave (b)

Ah! Last week, contractors told EVG regular William Klayer that a "taco place" was opening at the former Good Guys, the burger-fries-salad-wraps-waffles-smoothie eatery that replaced a Subway on Second Avenue. Good Guys closed a few weeks ago.

• Bricklane Curry House (BLCH I LLC), 99 2nd Ave (op)

Looks as if there's finally activity here ... most recently home to Sea Salt, the upscale fish eatery that closed in early 2008 after a seven-month stint... Brick Lane announced in April 2011 that they'd be taking over the space ...

Old Porch receives new awning for Apartment 13

New awnings arrived this morning at the former location of The Porch on Avenue C between East Seventh and East Eighth Street... Apartment 13 is the new restaurant from Paul Seres, the former president of the New York Nightlife Association and a partner in The DL on Delancey and Ludlow... You can read more about plans for this space here.

In summary:

All entrees at Apt 13 will be market driven and will be served in the same style as Korean barbeque. Every dish will be served with side dishes, appetizers, condiments, sauces, salads, and garnitures. Seasonally and locally driven. Family styled dinners. Meant to feel reminiscent of an intimate sit down dinner in our apartment.

Thanks to EVG reader Jared for the photo.

The Lion in Summer

Avenue A near East 14th Street ... via Andrew Adam Newman on Ave C ...

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Whip Man in Tompkins Square Park via Bobby Williams]

There used to be A LOT of bars on the Lower East Side (DNAinfo)

The latest NYC landmarks (Curbed)

Remembering The Christopher Street Liberation Day Rally from 1970 (Dangerous Minds)

About the new sushi place that took the address of the beloved Polonia on First Avenue (Fork in the Road)

A new tenant for the soon-to-be-departed Motor City Bar? (BoweryBoogie)

"Untitled" (1982) by Jean-Michel Basquiat fetches $29 million (Bloomberg News)

Weiner is the new Democratic frontrunner for mayor (Runnin' Scared)

CB3 approves Danny Chen Street co-naming (The Lo-Down)

Looking at the now-shuttered Whitestone multiplex cinema in Queens (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

...and because we like the Empire State Building (mostly!) ... that new video released Monday from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs that 5,000 sites have already posted this week... first band to film atop the Building...

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: Phillip Giambri
Occupation: Storyteller, Submariner, Actor, Theatre Sound Tech, OTB Announcer, Computer Systems / Network Administrator.
Location: St. Marks between 1st and 2nd Avenues.
Time: 1:00pm on Monday June 17th

I’ve been here a long time. I’m from Philadelphia originally. I was in the military when I was 18 and I got out at 22. I was down in a submarine. It’s a strange life. Then I went back to Philly and I went to a drama school for 3 years. Then I moved to New York for Summer Stock [Theatre]. I was passing through New York on my way to California and was taking some acting classes with Stella Adler and I kind of got sidetracked.

The first job I got was on 4th Street between 2nd and the Bowery. It was a good theater block. Cafe La MaMa was there and the Playwrights Horizons and the Fortune Theatre. There was a lot going on in that little neighborhood. So the first job I got was as an assistant stage manager, a sound man, and an understudy for Michael Douglas for the very first play he was ever in in New York, called 'City Scenes.' Dominic Chianese, the Uncle from 'The Sopranos' was in it as well as Raúl Juliá.

I got to move down here by way of the West Village. I moved in with a lady on Washington Place for awhile and when that ended I had nowhere to live. I was going to the School of Visual Arts for awhile and I slept in my instructors loft until he got tired of me, so I moved in with acting friends from Summer Stock on East 9th Street for a couple months. It was really awkward because there were four of us living in a tiny apartment. We had to smoke a lot of dope to stay sane.

So they helped me get the apartment on St. Mark's Place across from the Electric Circus — building number 26. In the ‘60s and early 70s, the Electric Circus was like the Studio 54. It was like a happening place. You would take acid or mescaline or mushrooms or something and go in there and the whole place was designed to make you go bizarro.

I only wanted to be an actor and at the time I erroneously thought that if I worked in the theater rather than doing some regular menial task that at least I would get to know people. Just the opposite happened. Over 3 or 4 years, I gained such a reputation as a competent technical person, who were hard to find outside the union, that it was all the jobs I was getting. I would audition for a part for a Broadway producer, who would know me cause I did his sound work and he would say, ‘C’mon Phil, actors are a dime-a-dozen. We need a stage manager.’

I wound up managing a recording studio that worked with the theater for several years, while I was still looking for acting work. I was the manager, but every summer I laid myself off because we did only theater recordings mostly, and rented sound equipment to theaters and there was no work in the summer. So we’d sit out front on the stoop and smoke dope and drink wine all summer. I did that for like 4 or 5 years in the early ‘70s. It was kind of like a four-year party. People were in and out all the time, crashing, the building was very liberal in terms of sexuality and drugs and stuff. That was around ‘70 to ‘75 or ‘76.

I started to grow up a little when I met my wife. We went on our first date to the midnight movie show at the St. Marks Theatre to see 'Reefer Madness.' It cost $1 and you could bring your own food in and your own weed in and you could sit there all night and nobody would ever hassle you.

In ’74, we formed a St. Marks block association. There was a very influential guy in the neighborhood, Jim Rose, who ran the The Eastside Book Store. He became the head of the block association and we were just overwhelmed with crime in the neighborhood. Once the hippie thing wore off, all that were left were drug addicts and opportunists. It turned from the Summer of Love in ‘67 and ’68 and started really getting dark around ‘73. We realized there were 17 Methadone clinics in the neighborhood and there were all these junkies going there regularly and supporting their habits by beating us up and taking our money. We had the men’s shelter on 3rd street where every crazy person in New York State that got out of a mental hospital or prison was sent to, who were going around killing people and beating people up. We had several cops shot in the neighborhood. It was getting ugly.

I was the police department representative of the block association, so I would get all the crime statistics every month and what a wake up call that was, when you’re actually getting the numbers. We also had fundraising street fairs to try and improve the neighborhood. We got gates and window boxes put in front of the ground floor apartments.

We succeeded in getting the police commander changed in the Precinct. I used to go to all the police meetings and this new guy came in named Gunderson, back in ’75, and he changed everything down there. The 9th Precinct had the reputation, if you got out of the Police Academy you had to learn to be a bag man, and they sent you to 5th Street to learn that. It was a very crooked place. That was part of our problem — the cops had their own thing going on and they couldn’t give a shit about what we did. So with a little muscle and a little politicking, we got rid of the commander down there and they brought this guy Gunderson from Staten Island. He was a hard case who didn’t smile. Nobody liked him over there. We loved the guy. He cleaned the whole Precinct up.

At the time, all the cops kept their windows rolled up and just drove by everywhere and didn’t get out of the car. So we fought to get a permanent foot-beat cop, which they never did in those days. Gunderson said he couldn’t justify one permanent person there since they were so shorthanded in cops, so a friend of mine and I went around at night and took pictures of all the cops, what they used to call cooping, when they’re sleeping on duty in their car and they’re supposed to be patrolling. We had a picture of about 25 cops cooping and we brought them in and said we either get a beat cop or somebody uptown is gonna see this.

So we got a beat cop named George and he lasted here almost 10 years. He was a really sweet guy who used to go to everybody’s birthday parties, christenings, Bar Mitzvahs, and that was at a time when everybody hated the cops. He was like a part of the neighborhood and I don’t think he ever drew a gun in his life.

To be continued... next week...

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

This morning outside the Blarney Cove

Wasn't sure what to expect walking by after last night's Grand Closing send off... The bar is still standing — at least from the outside.

Someone did remove the Blarney Cove sign that was attached above the door...



Anyone go for the last night?

Many businesses on East 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B are either relocating or closing to make way for some yet-unspecified development.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated with correction] 8-lot parcel of East 14th Street primed for new development

The Blarney Cove will close for good at the end of June

New Tompkins Square Park sculpture will return

[Bobby Williams]

We noted on Monday that the life-sized sculpture of Christopher Gamble's silhouette arrived in Tompkins Square Park this past weekend. French artist Fanny Allié created this in honor of Gamble, who was homeless for nearly 28 years... he spent a lot of time in the Park.

However, later in the day on Monday, we noticed that the sculpture was gone...


[BW]

We contacted Allié, who the Parks Department commissioned to create the art, to see what was happening...

"I removed the sculpture temporarily ... in a few days it will be at the exact same location but behind the fence and under the tree (that's why I left the plaque there)," she wrote in an email. The sculpture is slated to remain in the Park through the summer for about five months ...

She expects the sculpture, named Serendipity, to (hopefully) be re-installed on Friday evening.

Allié also shared photos from Sunday... where she unveiled the sculpture ... Gamble, who now lives in an apartment run by the Bowery Residents' Committee, was on hand and posed with the silhouette...



...and Gamble and Allié...



Serena Solomon at DNAinfo interviewed Gamble and Allié about the sculpture last month.

"I thought it would be good. Why not?" said the 67-year-old Gamble, on why he agreed to pose for the sculpture. "It's exciting for a person that doesn't really mean anything to anyone."

Read more about the background here.

Halfway home at Alphabet Plaza

A milestone, of sorts, to note on the incoming Alphabet Plaza, the 12-story mixed-used apartment building at East Houston and East Second Street/Avenue D ... As far as we can tell from the picture by EVG reader Ray, it appears the building is now at the 6th floor mark and climbing... on its way to...


[Via The Real Deal]

Will this thing be as enormous as it looks?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 12th-story 'Alphabet Plaza' in the works for Second Street and Avenue D

Alphabet Plaza ready to rise on Avenue D

Alphabet Plaza is rising on East Houston and Avenue D

Easy as...: Alphabet Plaza makes first appearance above ground

Alphabet Plaza starts to apply sun block

Report: Whynot Coffee expanding into the East Village

Catching up to this item in the Post from Monday... where Jennifer Gould Keil reported that Whynot Coffee is expanding in the city... including in the East Village.

Each of the locations has a theme ... the 40-seat shop at 14 Christopher St., which opened last month, is inspired by 1960s and 1970s Paris, with murals of Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin and Brigitte Bardot...

Per the article:

The East Village coffee house will be based on “tattoo culture” and the Chelsea shop will be a “coffee island in the midst of an art gallery displaying work from upcoming artists,” a spokesperson said.

We reached out to the Whynot folks to learn where the East Village location might be... will let you know if we hear back... Are you familiar with Whynot? We're not... they serve La Colombe Coffee ...

Noted... and, Noted

East 10th Street near First Avenue... and Tompkins Square Park this afternoon...



Photos by Bobby Williams.

52 new security cameras arrive at Campos Plaza

News release from the EV Grieve inbox...

New York City Council Member Rosie Méndez, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chairman John B. Rhea, and Campos Plaza Resident Association President Dereese Huff formally announced the completed installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in targeted areas of NYCHA’s Campos Plaza I and II. The cameras should greatly enhance security and reduce the likelihood and incidence of crime at the development. NYCHA is only able to provide this additional security because of discretionary funding provided by elected officials such as Council Member Méndez.

“The safety and security of our residents is of great importance to NYCHA, and installing CCTV cameras deters crime and enhances the quality of life of our residents,” said NYCHA Chairman John B. Rhea. “Through our roadmap for providing safe and secure housing for our residents, Plan NYCHA, we have been actively working with all public housing community stakeholders, including the NYPD, to ensure that issues of safety and security are addressed through a more collaborative approach.”

The City Council capital funding at Campos Plaza provided for 52 new cameras located in all 4 buildings and the infrastructure to connect all the cameras to a Security Operations Center, where all cameras can be viewed in one place. NYCHA, the NYPD, and Resident Association leaders worked together to determine camera locations at each building. The CCTV security systems are strategically placed to monitor key areas such as building entrances, street corners, elevators, and equipment rooms. The NYPD can access footage in cases of reported criminal activity.

Serena Solomon at DNAinfo covered the event today at Campos Plaza between East 12th Street and East 13th Street off of Avenue C. You can read her report here.

Breaking (perhaps): First Avenue Rite Aid now carpet free

Exciting news to report from everyone's favorite store, Rite Aid on First Avenue and East Fifth Street!

Goggla writes in:

"Whoa! The carpet is gone — the place is looking fancified! Not sure this will improve the hellish line experience, which is now blocked from the aisles. The lighting is very romantic, though."

Indeed!

Of course, at the same time, there isn't any carpet now to absorb a shoplifter from getting tackled onto the floor.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Local man decides to hack off arm while enduring a 127-hour line at Rite-Aid

[Photo by Goggla from 2011]

The 'tremendous retail potential' of East 10th Street and 4th Avenue

There are renewed efforts to develop the long empty space on East 10th Street and Fourth Avenue ... for sale signs appeared on the corner lot last week ... There were plans to build a 13-story hotel here, though the city never OK'd that proposal, as Curbed reported in 2009.

Now what is being pitched? According to the Massey Knakal listing:

This prime residential development site is located on the southeast corner of Fourth Avenue and East 10th Street. Currently, there are two seperate buildings, but both the properties can be delivered vacant to allow for future development. Plans exist for a nine story mixed-use building with 8 floor through apartments and a bi-level retail space with double height ceilings. The existing properties are also available for lease.

This corner site has tremendous retail potential. Astor Place, which is only two blocks to the south, is a major transportation hub ... Minskoff Equities’ 51 Astor Place has been a game changer for the area. Designed by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, it reaches 13 stories with 400,000 rentable square feet. Its top office floors are asking over $100/SF and its retail is rumored to be looking for $300s/SF. The retail at 41 7th Avenue will certainly benefit from its close proximity and should be able to achieve $200/SF from a luxury retailer or top restauranteur.

And here is a rendering showing the possibilities...



Price for the lot: $24 million.

A market and St. Marx Music were the most recent tenants here, going back to 2007 ... Jeremiah Moss, who has written extensively about this corridor's history, has more about the plans for East 10th Street and Fourth Avenue today here ....

3 retail spaces available at 51 Astor Place

The 24-hour public plaza opened last week outside 51 Astor Place... there are more developments to note as well, such as the retail space for the 400,000-square-foot office building.

According to the listing at RKF, there are three retail spaces available:

Space A
Ground Floor 9,217
Lower Level 8,145 SF
Total 17,362 SF

Space B
Ground Floor 3,397 SF

Space C
Ground Floor 2,946 SF

The floor plans give you of better idea of what will fit where...



Not much other information on the listing, aside from "Flagship opportunity" and "incredible exposure to a heavily foot-trafficked area."

The marketing materials also note that there are "35,000 residents under 35 in the immediate area" as well as "53,500 undergraduate and graduate students in the surrounding area."

So what kind of "flagship opportunities" will be realized here?

More details on Davey's Ice Cream, opening later this summer on First Avenue

[William Klayer]

Last Wednesday, we noted that the sign arrived for Davey's Ice Cream at 137 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and East Ninth Street ...

We reached out to the proprietor, David Yoo, to learn more about the shop...

About his ice cream:

I will be making small batches of traditional and seasonal ice cream flavors from scratch in the shop, meaning I will be mixing and pasteurizing my own custom ice cream mix. It's making ice cream the hard way!

I lived in the East Village while in school (Parsons, I'm a former graphic designer), and I knew this was the location for my venture. Rent is getting out of control in EV/LES, but I'm excited to give it a shot here.

About his change in careers, from graphic designer to ice cream store owner:

The idea to switch career gears was definitely a lightning bolt moment. I could have continued moving from studio to studio and do more of the same, or really try something different while still being creative.

Opening an ice cream shop has always been an inside joke of mine. When I realized there wasn't much of an ice cream scene in NYC like there is in Portland or San Francisco, I knew I had to try this. I finally left my studio, started making ice cream a little more seriously, wrote a business plan, completed the Penn State Ice Cream Short Course in January, and signed a lease shortly after.

I'll be the sole owner of Davey's Ice Cream. I'm also the business guy, ice cream dude, designer, PR, scooper, and janitor. It's all been a very interesting experience so far…

He hopes to open the shop by late July or early August.

Looking at the penthouses atop Starbucks on First Avenue

I'm strangely curious about the apartments atop 219 First Ave. at East 13th Street... with that addition that looks as if it blew in from another building...

The building, which had structural damage, had been under renovation going back to 2007. (And the corner space was home to Mee Noodle Shop, which is returning a few doors away.)

[Via Flickr]

The apartments here hit the market last June. I never looked at the penthouse, though. Turns out there are two penthouse units, and both are on the market now. One is $4,395 ... the slightly smaller one is $4,095, per Streeteasy.

Here's a look inside the more expensive unit...









Perfect view for the First Avenue $1 slice pizza wars.

Billy Hurricane's now apparently called Station B

[Photo via @danielpmcd]

We've recently noticed some changes to the exterior of Billy Hurricane's on Avenue B near East Second Street... that neon orange is gone, for starters ... Yesterday @danielpmcd pointed out that the bar has a new name — Station B. No word on any of the Billy Hurricane's social media sites about a name change... back in March, we spotted a listing for bartenders that noted:

Tattooed Bartenders Wanted!
Job Description
Upcoming Lower East Side / East Village Bar w/ Kitchen Looking for some New Staff for New Location!
Bourbon... Beers... Burgers... Blastin' Rock!

What we are looking for...

>> Male or Female
>> Age 21- 31
>> Professional, Reliable & Punctual
>> Experienced (Mixology a Plus)
>> Outgoing & Fun
>> Tattoo'd ( not a unicorn on your ankle kind of tattoo)
>> Non-Complete-Alcoholic

Today in posts about 80-foot grills that can slow-smoke 2,000 pounds of meat in Union Square

From the EV Grieve inbox...

HISTORY BRINGS CROSS-COUNTRY COOKOUT TO UNION SQUARE IN NEW YORK CITY ON JUNE 25

World’s Largest Smoker and Grill on Wheels to Serve Up Texas BBQ to New Yorkers

WHAT: The HISTORY® Cross-Country Cookout welcomes New Yorkers

The 80-foot long Ultimate Smoker and Grill, designed and operated by grill-master Trace “Rib Whisperer” Arnold, is the size of a tanker and is hauled by a semi. In the unique smoker chamber, Arnold can slow-smoke more than 2,000 pounds of meat. Hidden beneath the 20-foot hydraulic lid is a wood-fired grill with the capacity to cook 1,000 hotdogs, 500 hamburgers or 200 16 oz. steaks at once.

HISTORY fans passing by Union Square on June 25 are welcome to visit the HISTORY Cross-Country Cookout to sample the Rib Whisperer’s tasty hickory-smoked and jalapeno cheddar sausage and play backyard games like cornhole and ladder golf to win HISTORY merchandise and prizes.

Members from Soldier’s Wish, a not-for-profit organization that grants wishes to soldiers, veterans and their families as a way to honor them for their bravery and sacrifice to our country, will also be on-site discussing their initiatives and how military members can get involved.

When: Tuesday, June 25: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

My 3 favorite photos of the Blarney Cove

Well, just from the EVG site the past few years... As noted, the Blarney Cove closes for good tonight... many businesses on East 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B are either relocating or closing to make way for some yet-unspecified development.

-----

Thanksgiving 2011...

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Start of the summer 2011...

[Photo by the long-lost Intern of EV Grieve]

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Easter 2009...


Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated with correction] 8-lot parcel of East 14th Street primed for new development

The Blarney Cove will close for good at the end of June

Everyone loves really bad baked brisket!

Spotted last evening outside Louis 649 on East Ninth Street. One way to push the brisket. Photo by Andrew Adam Newman on Ave C.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Everyone loves a really bad meatball sandwich!