A development at the dormant Pride and Joy space that doesn't involve a lawsuit

[Photo Saturday of an entrance on East 2nd Street]

There's a doozy of a lawsuit going on over at 24 First Ave., the former Lucky Cheng's space where the remaining Pride and Joy BBQ partners are hoping to open a restaurant.

Things are stalled at the moment as Pride and Joy is suing landlord Hayne Suthon for $22 million for allegedly lying to them about the condition of the space and trying to evict them for not paying the rent … this after the restaurant was apparently ready to open for business last May before celebrity BBQ chef Myron Mixon filed a lawsuit accusing his partners of "trademark infringement, breach of contract, and misappropriation of name and likeness."

Meanwhile, in a development that doesn't involve a lawsuit, someone needs to pay the Con Ed bill (again) …



The outstanding charges are for $1,820.71 … given the recent Con Ed rate hikes, this might just be for one week of service.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Myron Mixon's Pride & Joy BBQ now in the works for the former Lucky Cheng's space

Fire reported at incoming Pride and Joy BBQ on East Second Street

Myron Mixon lawsuit puts opening of Pride and Joy BBQ in question at former Lucky Cheng's space

More alterations for the Pride and Joy space

Report: Pride and Joy BBQ partners suing landlord Hayne Suthon for $22 million

Pride and Joy's unpaid electric bill

Bhakti Center vegetarian buffet on hiatus through March

The Bhakti Center launched the Bhakti Buffet last October at 26 First Ave.

However, the cafe is closed for the time being… per an e-newsletter item from the Bhakti Center…

Our Bhakti Buffet has been off to a great start, nourishing body and soul through the Fall and Winter. As the Spring approaches, we are looking forward to an exciting season of increased services and offerings. Our chefs and host team are working to provide you with expanded hours, developing menus, and enhanced dining experiences.

To make this happen, we will need to close our doors for a few short weeks to facilitate a few renovations and upgrades to our operations. Beginning Monday February 24th and through the month of March, the Bhakti Buffet will be closed; we will re-open the first week of April. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause any of you and we deeply hope that you can share the excitement with us as we patiently await the coming Spring and look to re-open in April.

And they are not the only folks patiently awaiting the coming Spring.

Because several people started commenting randomly about Chipotle the other night

[Via Gothamist]

A Chipotle conversation broke out in the comments section in the post about Japadog closing Friday night. So this is for you!

Chipotle is introducing its new tofu-based burrito, sofritas, in NYC locations today.

We'll let Gothamist explain what goes into this. Or these.

Watery, chalky supermarket tofu this is not. The chain sources their product from Oakland-based Hodo Soy, which crafts artisanal tofu with beans sourced from organic, sustainable farms across the country. The partnership reflects the company's commitment to natural products, as well as the desire for the best-tasting product they can find. The quality stands out, both in the tofu's slightly chewy texture and the subtle nutty flavor.

To create the sofritas, the tofu gets seared and then ground into crumbles similar to the chorizo bits you might find in a taco. The tofu is also braised with chipotle chilies, roasted poblanos and lots of spices, in a treatment similar to the ones given to other protein offerings. The resulting product has a deep, earthy flavor with bright notes of cumin and lots of heat from the peppers.

Meanwhile, in the post last week about the 139th Chipotle opening around Union Square, I said that I had never eaten at a Chipotle.

Per EVG commenter Axis of Eville: "I can't comprehend the idea that someone hasn't had Chipotle."

It's true!

But I will try this new tofu thingy. Some day.

[Updated] Reader report: Cab crashes into Optyx on Second Avenue and East 14th Street

An EVG reader sends along the above photo from a little earlier this afternoon (roughly around 4:45), noting "Multiple fire trucks, cops, etc. Fortunately it appeared that no one was injured."

And via @amybraun7 …



At this point, we don't know any other particulars… such as the cause of the accident…

Updated 6:19

Plate on cab that crashed store today at 14th/2nd has 18 violations on record, 4 for running red: https://t.co/4Z2tpKitJs h/t @alter_spaces

— newyorkist (@Newyorkist) March 2, 2014

Updated 6:23

Here's a photo by ddartley via Flickr, where you can find a few more shots…



And several people have pointed out the fact that the driver crashed into a storefront with an awning reading "eyes examined."

Updated March 3

A witness told 1010 WINS reporter Gary Baumgarten that the vehicle was driving fast when it crashed through the front window. "He was driving extremely, extremely fast," Richard Ciero said.

The impact was so loud that a nearby store owner came outside thinking that a bomb had gone off.

And an EVG reader left this comment:

It was my daughter in the back of the cab. She was on her way to the airport. She has severe whiplash. Very grateful her injuries were not worse.

Hey, have you guys seen Sabrina's bear coat?

Spotted on Third Avenue at East 13th Street… Dang.







Well, it does sounds rediculous, Sabrina, but we hope you get your bear coat back. As you said, it brought joy to the people, as does this sign.

The Houston/Bowery Mural Wall gets 1st celebrity endorsement

As long as you consider Lindsey Lohan a celebrity. Via her Instagram account this past week.

Maya Hayuk's criss-crossy mural is currently on the wall.

[H/T Marjorie Ingall]

Week in Grieview

[At the Ukraine memorial on 2nd Avenue via Derek Berg]

A look at the all-new USPS retail outlet (Monday)

40 years of Ray! (Friday)

Here's that TD Bank taking over the former Mars Bar space (Tuesday)

Japadog has closed (Friday)

Out and About with Dina Leor (Wednesday)

35 years later, East Village resident auctioning off the work of her former lover, Basquiat (Wednesday)

A "Physical Graffiti" anniversary on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

Introducing the Chocolate Egg Cream Candle from Katz's (Monday)

Another Chipotle for the Union Square area (Wednesday)

Former San Loco space for rent on Avenue A (Monday)

Company Bar & Grill is for sale (Thursday)

Nesting on the Christodora (Wednesday)

Tree removal on Avenue D (Thursday)

Is this cause for a rent abatement? (Wednesday)

A special Lou Reed delivery (Monday)

Building that houses Brickman & Sons on First Avenue is for sale (Friday)

Facebook arrives in Midtown South/Astor Place/East Village/BroDo (Tuesday)

Vivi Bubble Tea coming to East 14th Street (Monday)

Rotating art program at Louis 649 continues tonight

[Photo by Michael DeBruyn]

From the EVG inbox… from the folks at Louis 649, the 10-year-old bar/lounge on East Ninth Street at Avenue C...

Launched in late 2013, Louis 649 is now proud to be featuring a unique Rotating Art Program that showcases the work of talented local artists from across the five boroughs. Artists display their work on the walls at Louis for a duration of six weeks; all displayed artwork is available for purchase, with a price list available at the bar.

We're celebrating the gallery opening of our second artist, photographer Michael DeBruyn aka 'insky', tonight at 7. DeBruyn will be in attendance.

His gallery is themed around F Scott Fitzgerald's "The Crack-Up" — a selection of his pieces on display may be found here.

The ice water is ready

Oh… @occupy12thst pointed out this partially frozen wooden water tank over on East 13th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B …

You have a few days left to see the work of East Village photographer Sally Davies

East Village-based photographer Sally Davies has been showing her work from around the neighborhood at the Bernarducci Meisel Gallery (37 W. 57th St. at 5th Avenue) this month. Here's your last chance to see it… The exhibit has been extended an extra day… today and on Tuesday…

You can see her work like this…



The gallery hours are 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. (Closed Sunday and Monday)

Ad changer on the loose!

In recent days someone has taken a Sharpie (or whatever) to various ads around the neighborhood… providing some social commentary…


[Photo via ‏@MeredithJM]

… and pop-cultural observations…

Breaking: Japadog is closing for good after tonight on St. Mark's Place

[January 2012 photo by Bobby Williams]

The Japanese-inspired hot dog restaurant by way of Vancouver opened the first U.S. outlet at 30 St. Mark's Place to great fanfare in January 2012.

And now, word is circulating that Japadog will be closing after business tonight. No reason given at the moment for the closure.

A quick reaction via Twitter…

No more Japadog after today. Sad face. 😢 (at @Japadog w/ 2 others) http://t.co/IkuyBR9Jrn

— Calvin Williams (@ccwii) February 28, 2014

We spotted the listing for the Japadog space yesterday on Craigslist, though we didn't realize the place was closing this quickly:

***Exclusive Listing by Exit Realty Landmark***
Newly renovated restaurant with full basement. Vented both on the grand floor and basement. 9 ft ceiling.
No Key Money.
W & B in place
New 10 Yr Lease available.
1500 sqft, same basement
Wide Front approx 20 ft
3 seasons of outdoor seating

St. Marks Place, located at heart of East Village. Amazing foot traffic.

We'll have more on this later… but if you want one one last umami dog with those bonito flakes, better hurry…

[H/T EVG Facebook friend Leslie Feffer]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cue the long lines: Japadog opening first New York City location on St. Mark's Place

Blast from the 'Past'

Glasgow natives The Wake with "Talk About The Past" from 1984.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[The Stage, Second Avenue]

A tour of the East Village's 'Borscht belt restaurants and lunch counters' (Serious Eats)

Go 'soak up the atmosphere' of the Subway Inn (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

New La MaMa musical taking inspiration from this month's revolution in Ukraine (DNAinfo)

Check out the 1980s NYC photography of Amy Arbus (The New York Times)

Robert Plant stands outside Physical GraffiTea on St. Mark's Place (Gothamist)

EVG contributor James Maher guests on the "ReW & WhO?" show at Otto's (YouTube)

Wrapping up the Streit’s Matzo documentary (BoweryBoogie)

Do you remember this Dinosaur at the Continental? (Flaming Pablum)

Revisiting NYC's Newspaper Row' (Ephemeral Row)

It will never stop snowing in NYC this season (Gothamist)

40 years of Ray

Ray's Candy Store is entering its 40th year now on Avenue A ... on the occasion, NY1 stopped by this morning for a quick segment.

Per Ray:

"I'm here, and paying top price but I love it. I want to be here forever."

Watch the segment here. [Updated: Ugh, sorry — didn't realize that Time Warner made you sign in to view. We'll see if we can get a copy another way...]

OK, here's the segment via YouTube (thanks Shawn Chittle)



[H/T @RTSNYC]

[Updated] Stray voltage warning on Second Avenue

Con Ed is investigating here on Second Avenue between St. Mark's Place and East Seventh Street, via a report by EVG reader Stephen Popkin...





Hey, you're right by B&H Dairy too. Get some soup.

And on the topic of Con Ed... As a reminder:

Con Ed officials will be present to answer any questions or hear any concerns at the CB3 Public Safety/Transportation meeting on March 11 at 6:30 p.m. Location: University Settlement at Houston Street Center, 273 Bowery

Updated noon

Stephen sends along another photo... Con Ed crews are working on the scene now...



And via Stephen, the mushroom barley soup and blintzes were quite good at B&H...

First Avenue home of Brickman & Sons and 22 apartments is for sale

OK, first of all, Brickman & Sons, the longtime hardware store here between East Third Street and East Fourth Street, isn't going anywhere.

However, the building at 53-55 First Ave. that houses the store is now for sale.

Here are the details via Massey Knakal:

The two 5 story buildings are situated on the west side of First Avenue between East 3rd and East 4th Streets. Combined, the buildings total approximately 18,240 gross square feet and contain 22 residential apartments and 1 commercial unit. Of the residential units, 9 are currently fair market, 12 are rent stabilized, and 1 is rent controlled, ranging in size between studios through 2 bedrooms.

Overall, both the rent regulated and fair market units are operating approximately 33% below market. By achieving market levels through renovations, vacancy turnovers, and deregulation of units, future ownership has the opportunity to substantially increase their top line and realize the building’s full potential.

Additionally, the single commercial space is owner occupied by H. Brickman & Sons and encompasses the ground floor of both buildings totaling approximately 3,840 rentable square feet. Current ownership is requiring a lease-back of the commercial space with an initial term of 20 years at $20,000 per month with 2% annual increases.

H.Brickman & Sons will also be responsible for 25% of the increase in real estate taxes. The company’s origin dates back to the 1930’s when it first opened at 53-55 First Avenue. Since then, Brickman & Sons has expanded with two additional locations in Manhattan illustrating it’s long-lasting success and providing prospective investors with long-term commitment to their space.

Asking price: $14 million.

[Image via Massey Knakal]

CB3/SLA committee March highlights: A new applicant for El Sombrero on Stanton Street?

[EVG file photo]

CB3 released the SLA licensing committee docket on Wednesday… the agenda includes a new proposal for El Sombrero on Stanton and Ludlow, which was previously going to become another outpost of Artichoke Pizza. That deal fell through, as BoweryBoogie first reported last month.

Now, an entity named Two Almontes Corp. is aiming to take over the inexpensive Mexican restaurant that opened here in 1984. We asked Regina Bartkoff, who has worked here since 1988, about all this. She has been out of work the last few weeks with a wrist injury. However! "I heard this rumor and called the restaurant and they told me no! Nothing is happening."

So perhaps chalk this up to some pre-mature paperwork. Anyway, The Hat remains open, of course — go while you still can!

Meanwhile, the rest of the docket is pretty quiet in the way of Big Ticket items…

Applications within Saturated Areas
• Zaragoza Mexican Deli & Grocery (Zaragoza Mexican Deli & Grocery Inc), 215 Ave A (b)

Not sure what is going on here… CB3 had previously OK'd a license for beer at Zaragoza back in May 2012.

• Sigmund Pretzel Shop Inc, 29 Ave B (upgrade to op)

• Paprika (Albatross Restaurant Corp), 110 St Marks Pl (op)

• Nublu (Tatu LLC), 151 Ave C (op)

• Bikinis (Eat Bikinis Inc), 56 Ave C (extend license to patio and gallery space)

New Liquor License Applications
• To be Determined, 117 2nd Ave (wb)

This was a scratch from the February agenda … A taker for the very short-lived Picnic on Second Avenue and East Seventh Street.

• To be Determined, 536 E 5th St (wb)

This is the address for the Minca Ramen Factory and Kuboya next door… not sure what space this application is for at the moment…

• Numero 28 (La Meridiana I Ltd), 176 2nd Ave (wb)

• Menkuitei (Shin Restaurant Inc), 63-69 Cooper Sq (op)

Or Menkui Tei.

• Mesa Seaview (Mesa Seaview), 41-43 E 7th St (upgrade to op)

????

• Eric Thant Corporation, 57 1st Ave (wb) (Pudgie's)

Hmm, Sushi Zayy already opened here at the former Pudgie's-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's action-packed combo.

• To be Determined, 269 E Houston St (op)

Hahahahaha. This is like the 78th time this has shown up on the agenda. The Local 269 closed here in September 2012. There have been a few potential suitors, though nothing ever came of the various proposals for the bar space. We spotted nine different for rent/sale signs on the business last summer ... The whole building remains on the market for $12 million.

• Gaia Lounge (Sams 1 Lounge Inc), 103 E 2nd St (wb)

The meeting is March 10 at 6:30 p.m. Community Board 3 Office, 59 E. 4th St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

-----

b=beer only | wb=wine & beer only | op=liquor, wine, & beer | alt=alterations

Prime and Beyond New York space for rent on East 10th Street

[EVG file photo]

Back on Jan. 28, 2013, Jennifer Gould Keil at the Post reported that Prime & Beyond, the steakhouse at 90 E. 10th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue, is leaving the East Village to be closer to the Lincoln Tunnel and its New Jersey location.

We're not sure of the status of those plans… however, a new listing for the space turned up this week at Streeteasy… Miron, who has an office upstairs, has the listing:

Amazing and well established high-end steakhouse for rent or for sale near Union Square. Greenwich Village. Wine and beer license in place. Fully vented. Great lease terms! Private garden area for outdoor seating ready for the summer season. Over 1 million invested in renovations and brand new equipment. Key money upon request. One of the best locations in Manhattan.

Not sure if the sub-level space below Miron's office is "One of the best locations in Manhattan." But that's subjective!

There are actually two listings for the space at Miron… one for $15,500 a month… the other for $16,300 (which is the one that arrived on Streeteasy this week)…

Regardless, the space itself looks pretty nice… at least from the photos … never been down here ourselves…



Prime opened in July 2011.

Don't gouge the trees

An EVG reader writes in …

I took this photo [Wednesday] morning on East 4th St. between Avenue C and D. There are two small trees that were planted last fall in front of P.S. 15 The Roberto Clemente School on this block. This morning I noticed someone gouged both of the trees on purpose. This was not done by an idiot chaining their bike to it, because they were fine yesterday. I wish people were more aware of taking care of the trees. These are in front of a school and it would be so nice to have them grow tall ...