Troubling talk about 128 Second Ave, and the long-term future of the Stage

There is talk about 128 Second Ave. near St. Mark's Place. Word is the building is in contract... A resident with knowledge of the situation here said that the building is being sold "to a group of four relatively young guys" ... who were heard "talking about 'clearing out' the shop in the front — which is the Stage."



The Stage has been serving delicious and inexpensive Eastern European cuisine since 1980... While all this is far from official, the resident remains worried. "I can't stand another one of our wonderful places going down." And if you're a Stage fan, then the resident figures it's time to show them some more love.


[Photo by freelance photographer Michael Seto]

Previously on EV Grieve:
An appreciation: Breakfast at Stage

The street-smart style of Serendipity in Tompkins Square Park

Back in June, we saw the arrival of "Serendipity," the life-sized sculpture of Christopher Gamble's silhouette in Tompkins Square Park. The silhouette is in honor of Gamble, who was homeless for nearly 28 years. Fanny Allié's creation will be in the Park through November.

And throughout the summer, someone saw fit to add a few accessories to the sculpture, from the always dashing caution-tape scarf...



...to the Duct tape waistband-headband combo...



... to the Master Lock choker...



Here today, on Project Runway Season 14 in a year or two...

Photos by Bobby Williams.

There was something about Mary

Photos from yesterday of the late Mary Help of Christians complex by Dan Efram.





Previously.

Noted

And an incident to report over in Stuy Town... via the Town & Village Blog's Police Watch:

A resident of 310 First Avenue reported that her apartment was broken into last Friday at 4:09 p.m. She told police that when she entered the apartment, she saw a man inside her bedroom without permission to be there. He was also naked in her bedroom and when she went in the room, she saw him putting on her skirt. She said that she was unsure if she had locked the door and there was no forced entry. No arrests have been made.

There was not a description of the man provided in the report.

H/T Crazy Eddie

New business now open on Second Avenue

Meant to mention this earlier in the week... Twister, a family owned and operated, self-serve frozen yogurt shop, is now open on Second Avenue near East Seventh Street. (First spotted the sign at the former Spa Belles location back in January.) The employees handing out free samples outside were very nice.

And to head this off at the pass in the comments, Twister does NOT serve anything in a hoof. So no FroHoHo™. (Frozen Hoboken Hoof.)

Also making headlines, David Schwimmer

And in the last 36 hours or so, there was some media interest in the EVG post about someone painting "Ross is not cool" on the plywood outside David Schwimmer's new home on East Sixth Street. (Supermarket tablet The Globe will have it in its next print edition. Really.)

And because several people asked: We did not receive any compensation for the photo, which came from Marc, a neighbor. (Also, no one actually offered us money for the shot.)

Also, while the story did attract media attention, the number of page views paled in comparison to high-profile posts here that featured topless women. Like this one. Or this one. So, the takeaway? Celebrity sells, but you need boobs apparently.

Hey! There's a free surprise screening of 'Easy Rider' tonight in Tompkins Square Park

Hey now! From the Films in Tompkins website:

TONIGHT! Join us for a special surprise screening of EASY RIDER! That's right, we couldn't let a beautiful Thursday slip by without reviving one of our screenings that was rained out earlier. Gates open in 15 minutes and the film will start at sundown. Music before the film by MR. REED!

IT'S A THURSDAY AND IT IS NOT RAINING!

Workers are setting up the screen now.

Photos by Bobby Williams

Breaking (yes): Glass truck accident on 10th and B

Oh. @RTSNYC passes along these photos from East 10th Street and Avenue B just now... some sort of collision that wiped out the cargo on half of this glass truck... no word on any injuries at the moment.



Watch those bike tires later.

Updated 12:58

More from @RTSNYC:

"I think the glass shifted and shattered when the truck made the turn. No injuries that I could see. Woman in that SUV looked pissed."

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Quiet early morning in Tompkins Square Park]

More on the rent hike that may KO Army & Navy Bags on East Houston (DNAinfo)

More about the 51 Astor Place parody account (Commercial Observer)

About the sale of Kossar’s Bialys (BoweryBoogie)

13 Portals hooks up with Clayton Patterson (The Lo-Down)

Weighing in on Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken on Second Avenue (Eater)

Third Avenue survivor gets a new neighbor (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Fast Food workers strike (Gothamist)

Union Square West now and then (Flaming Pablum)

Belated birthday salute to Charlie Parker (Dangerous Minds)

Sometimes East Village resident Daniel Craig greets the paparazzi outside Gemma on the Bowery (E! Online)

Davey's Ice Cream set for Sept. 13 grand opening on First Avenue

[William Klayer, from June]

Summer is winding down (or not!) ... thought we'd check in with David Yoo, the proprietor of the incoming Davey's Ice Cream at 137 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and East Ninth Street.

Yoo, a graphic designer who switched careers to ice cream shop entrepreneur, originally had hoped to open in late July or early August... We asked him for the scoop (sorry, that was awful): The grand opening is set for Sept. 13.

Here's more:

"We're pretty late into the summer season, so we've been revising our seasonal flavors for the late-summer/early-fall."

And!

Our year-round flavors include:

- Mexican vanilla bean (real vanilla)
- chocolate chocolate
- strong coffee (Kenya single-origin coffee beans from Birch Coffee)
- roasted pistachio nut (real pistachio)

Our rotational flavors reflect seasonal themes using the best available ingredients at farmer's markets when possible. These flavors will change often:

- camp s'mores (graham cracker ice cream with chocolate chunks and roasted marshmallows)
- fresh peaches & cream
- fresh sweet corn with salty caramel swirl
- blackpepper watermelon sorbet

"We make the ice cream entirely from scratch in the store. We use the best milk and cream from Battenkill Creamery and crack egg yolks into our ice cream mix every morning," Yoo said. "I know It's been taking me some time to get this shop open, but I want to be absolutely sure I'm providing only the freshest and highest quality ice cream out there. It will be worth it! I hope..."

Previously on EV Grieve:
More details on Davey's Ice Cream, opening later this summer on First Avenue

Amor Bakery will not reopen on Avenue B

[Derrick Loris]

Back on April 22, a small fire broke out at 224 Avenue B at the Amor Bakery... the FDNY quickly put out the blaze... neighbors reported minimal damage... Still, it was apparently enough to permanently shutter Amor ... the bakery never did reopen here near East 14th Street ... and workers have recently cleared out the interior ...



The space is available, though not officially on the market with a "for lease" sign just yet.

Among other things, the neighborhood bakery was known for creating a variety of "specialty" cakes fit for any occasion that called for abs and boobs...




[Cake photos by Robert Sietsema via Fork in the Road]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Updated: Fire reported at 224 Avenue B

Another mysterious bike rack removal at Astor Place

EVG reader 8E points out the arrival of "no bike parking" tags this week near the Alamo on Astor Place... the signs note that the city has scheduled to remove the bike racks tomorrow...





Similar signs also appeared in July 2012... and that turned out to just be a temporary removal ahead of a Summer Streets activity here. Nothing else so sinister. (Of course, some people find Summer Streets sinister.)

So. What now? Is the city finally ready to break ground on the new pedestrian space here?

Luxury home at 238 E. 4th St. continues to sort of confuse

The luxury home at 238 E. Fourth St. (just west of Avenue B) has been on and off the market the past year or so ... When we last checked in on the property in the spring, the 6,500 square-foot condo with an "Open Eat-In Boffi Stainless Steel Chef's Kitchen with a Wolf Stove" was asking a now-reduced price of $6.995 million.

But! Those first four floors were also available to rent for $27,500 (a month).

Apparently someone took up the realtors on that generous offer. The listing reappeared on Streeteasy this week... According to the listing at Meisel — "For Investors: Unit is leased until 2015. Purchaser can buy with tenants in place."

So there you go. Buy it now... let someone else keep the Wolf Stove warm for you for the next 15 months or so.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is this home fit for James Bond?

[238 E. 4th St. in November 2008]

Just in case a precast concrete plank gets loose

[From July by Ron Z]

The big crane returns to East 11th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B today to work on The Mary Spink Apartments. And, once again, residents next door have to be out of their homes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ...



Also, watch out for the Hole. (You were warned!)

The Mary Spink Apartments will one day be home to eight stories — 46 units — of affordable housing for formerly homeless and mentally disabled East Village residents.

Spink, a respected community activist, CB3 member and executive director of Lower East Side People’s Mutual Housing Association, died in January 2012 at age 64.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East 11th Street lot prepped for the Mary Spink Apartments

Empty East 11th Street lot will yield to 8 stories of affordable housing (49 comments)

Big crane work at the incoming Mary Spink Apartments on East 11th Street

Your guide to construction hell on East 11th Street

Chess set

A makeshift shelter at the Tompkins Square Park chess tables this afternoon during the showers...





Photos by Bobby Williams.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[St. Mark's Place]

Rent hike will likely KO Army Navy store on East Houston (BoweryBoogie)

Meatpacking District now and thens (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Lost Talking Heads video project from 1975 (Dangerous Minds)

Interview with with Thomas Degeest of Wafels & Dinges on Avenue B (East Village Vibe)

LES cell phone bandit (The Lo-Down)

The New York Public Library will keep the stacks (Curbed)

Finding a really big fish by the Brooklyn Bridge (Gothamist)

... and checking in on one of the newer Twitter accounts...

The photography of Michael Sean Edwards at 9th Street Espresso (on 10th Street)

[Leshko's on Avenue A at Seventh Street circa 1979]

Through the years, we posted some of the 1970s-1980s photography of Michael Sean Edwards (like here ... and here) ... as well as some of his more recent work ...

[Outside Life Cafe, 2011]

Michael now has a few of his large prints up at 9th Street Espresso (on East 10th Street near Avenue B)...



9th Street will feature his work through Sept. 27...



Find more of Michael's photos 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: Angel “Petroleum” Luis Roman
Occupation: Security, Construction.
Location: East Ninth Street and 1st Avenue
Time: 4:10 pm on Monday, Aug. 26

I’ve been here since 1952. I was 12 years old when I came to the neighborhood from Puerto Rico with just my mother. It was a big change. Rent used to be $17 a month.

I graduated from Seward Park High School in 1958. I retired last year from security. I used to work in construction for awhile. I worked as a security guard and I worked in the stock market from 1986 till 1994. I used to be what you call a messenger.

One of the oldest places around here is Katz's Delicatessen. I worked for them for awhile. I used to wash dishes for them — making a living, you know. I also occasionally work at Moishe’s for the Jewish holidays sometimes. Sometimes they need me to work for one week. I like working with people.

I saw this neighborhood grow up. It was a poor neighborhood. Years ago people used to play dominoes in the streets, getting fresh with the ladies, throwing beer bottles on the street. Now you don’t see that. To tell you the truth, there were a lot of gangs, a lot of racketeering, but it was better than it was now — 100% percent better. Give me the old neighborhood and I would take it anytime. I liked the Dominican places, the Puerto Rican places, but I don’t eat in restaurants so I’d go there to drink my beer and that’s it.

For fun, I’ll have a few drinks with my friends — enjoy myself. You can ask anybody around here, you know Petroleum? They will know me. They call me that because I can outdrink them. I also used to go to the skating rink. I used to be a good ice skater. I’d go up to 57th Street.

The old people that used to live here, the Puerto Rican, the Jewish, whatever it is, they moved to New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Miami. A lot of people moved to Florida. I like to live right here. I’ll tell you one thing, I love New York, but I don’t recommend nobody to come here. It’s tough. The good thing about New York is that it is one of the safest places to live now. You go to Puerto Rico, Miami — it’s much more dangerous. Here I am not afraid. New York is one of the safest places.

I have my wife and my daughters. They are doing good. One is 41 and one is 37. They’re doing better than I did. They have houses with pools in New Jersey.

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

Noted

A scene from yesterday morning over on East Sixth Street, where David Schwimmer is apparently moving into a newly created mansion ... someone left the above message on the plywood for the actor who played Ross Geller on "Friends" ... Marc, who lives across the street, snapped the photo and noted that workers later painted over the Rossffiti.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is David Schwimmer the 'Friends' star who now owns the demolished 331 E. Sixth St. townhouse?

Outrage over total demolition of historic East Sixth Street townhouse

Here is David Schwimmer's East Village home

Mary Help of Rubble

[Greg Masters]

Demolition complete at the Mary Help of Christians lot on Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 11th Street.

Next: Luxury residences and months of noisy construction.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Permits filed to demolish Mary Help of Christians church, school and rectory

Preservationists call for archeological review of former cemetery at Mary Help of Christians site

Scaffolding arrives for demolition of Mary Help of Christians

The 'senseless shocking self-destruction' of Mary Help of Christians