A few more details about Mars Bar 2.0, which doesn't sound very Mars Bar-ish at all

As you probably heard, Mars Bar owner Hank Penza (along with a new group of partners) will be returning to his former home at 11-17 Second Ave. ... now the luxury Jupiter 21 building.

Just what is going in here in the retail space adjacent to a TD Bank is still rather murky. Here's how CB3 is listing this application:

Paul Mil Cafe Inc, 11-17 2nd Ave (op/alt/gut renovation) (Mars Bar)

The kinda illegible handwritten responses to the questionnaire (PDF) provided ahead of this month's CB3/SLA committee meeting provide a few clues...

Aside from Penza, the other names of the principals appear to be Alain Palinsky, a co-founder of Juice Press, Chris Reda, an owner of The Griffin in the Meatpacking District, and Robert Montwaid, an owner of the club The Pink Elephant...



Also, according to the paperwork ... the proposed hours are 6 a.m.-4 a.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m.-4 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. (That is a 6 a.m. down there right?)



The application also lists that there will be 15 tables good for 80 seats ... with one bar featuring eight seats. The new establishment will employ 15-20 people. And get this: "All Star Security Services will be providing security guards" — "3-4 nightly."



So there you go. What the hell? Maybe a club that will also serve breakfast? Sounds like the original idea for The General over on the Bowery.

Anyway, RIP Mars Bar.

Actual Indian restaurant opening in Little India

[EVG file photo from March 30]

Over on East Sixth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, we have a taker for Red Pepper, which closed in March after six months.

EVG reader Morten sends along the following photo of the former Sichuan restaurant …



Morten reports that the new restaurant is called Pearl of India, with an opening expected as soon as next week.

The most recent additions to (the dwindling) Little India include The Eddy, the Italian-influenced restaurant from Brendan McHale, a former chef at Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar, and Figaro Villaggio, the Italian wine bar-restaurant in the former Banjara space.

Demolition commences along East 14th Street

[EVG file photo from March 12]

Workers began erecting the sidewalk shed along the doomed section of East 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B on March 12.

And the single-level buildings have been sitting there ready for rubble ever since.

Until yesterday, when the demo crew finally arrived and started taking apart 532 E. 14th St. (the former ABC Animal Hospital, now located at 200 Avenue A)… as these photos by Michael Paul show …





Incoming: Two, 7-floor retail-residential buildings featuring 150 residential units in nearly 189,000 square feet of space.

By the way, in case you missed this post during the Great EVG Blackout of March 14 … Here's a reminder that the Blarney Cove sign is in good hands.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The disappearing storefronts of East 14th Street

[Updated with correction] 8-lot parcel of East 14th Street primed for new development

Sidewalk bridge arrives for start of demolition on East 14th Street; last chance for Blarney Cove sign

New 7-floor buildings for East 14th Street include 150 residential units

Why the East Village may have a few glum underage drinkers

[Couldn't think of a better way to illustrate this post]

The State Liquor Authority yesterday announced the results of a two-week investigation to curb underage booze sales in New York City.

Per the the official news release on the bust:

From April 17 through May 1, 2014, the unit conducted seven details, with decoys visiting 74 grocery and liquor stores [in the] five boroughs of New York City. In total, the undercover minors were able to purchase alcohol at 32 of premises visited, including one out of 15 stores in the Bronx, 15 out of 16 stores in Brooklyn, 5 out of 21 stores Manhattan, 8 out of 16 stores in Queens, and 3 out of 6 stores on Staten Island. During the investigation, SLA Investigators entered the grocery and liquor stores separately from the undercover minor to observe and verify when illegal transactions occurred.

And it turns out that all five places busted in Manhattan happened to be in the East Village…

• Uncle Johnny Grocery Corp., 55-57 Avenue D
• Loma Deli Market Inc., 133 Avenue D
• Avenue C Food Corp., 185 Avenue C, Store 2
• Yankee Two Deli Inc., 122 Avenue C
• Loisaida Ave Deli Corp., 301 East 4th Street

Probably better that the SLA did this as opposed to some newspaper intern.

H/T The Observer

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Moving day for fake rocks on East 4th Street via Derek Berg]

A look at Mayor de Blasio's affordable housing plan (Curbed)

Man dies after a night of stage-diving at Webster Hall (DNAinfo)

About the new neon at Russ & Daughters Cafe (The New Yorker)

Cinco De Mayo at La Palapa on St. Mark's Place (CBS New York)

Details on the next Egg Rolls & Egg Creams Festival (BoweryBoogie)

Michael Alig released from prison this morning (Gothamist)

Why are New York taxis generally supposed to be yellow, anyway? (Ephemeral New York)

Getting to know... Jacob Riis (Off the Grid)

Another bad day to be a pigeon in Tompkins Square Park (Gog in NYC)

A $7 million infusion for the Blue Moon Hotel on the LES (The Lo-Down)

A look at the new-look Caffe Dante on MacDougal (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

The Miss Lily's 7A Cafe sidewalk awning is going up

Last Thursday, we got our first glimpse of the new sign at the former 7A space — Miss Lily's 7A Cafe ... this morning, workers here on Avenue A and East Seventh Street have been installing the sidewalk awning...



The new space will apparently be a combo of Melvin's Juice Box and Miss Lily's on West Houston ... mixed with the cafe ambiance of 7A.

Photos today by Shawn Chittle

Previously on EV Grieve:
Some part of 7A will stay in the new 7A's name

Details emerge about what's next for former the 7A, Odessa Cafe & Bar spaces

The former 7A will apparently be called Miss Lily's 7A Cafe (27 comments)

Another round of plans to convert the Whitehouse Hostel on the Bowery into a 9-floor hotel

The Whitehouse Hotel, the hostel/flophouse combo on the Bowery, has been on Deathwatch for years now. Dating back to 2008, developer Sam Chang had been trying to convert the property at 338-340 Bowery into a 9- (or 10-) floor hotel.

As The Commercial Observer reported this past Friday afternoon, Chang is now selling the property (officially called Bowery's Whitehouse Hotel and Hostel of New York) between Great Jones and Bond to an unknown buyer for $12 million.

We looked at DOB records and found that plans were filed on April 23 for a 9-floor hotel with a proposed 68 rooms. (Total cost of the project is listed at $5 million.) Michael Lisowski of Otte Architecture is the architect of record. It's not clear if the Whitehouse would be demolished for the new hotel, or if new floors would be dropped on top of the existing structure. (We're leaning toward the full demo, of course.) Sixteen Hotel LLC, the company affiliated with Chang, is still listed as the property owners on the latest permits.

According to the DOB, the city disapproved plans here for a 10-floor hotel in July 2011 with Gene Kaufman as the architect of record.

Despite a renovation to make itself more appealing to backpackers and other thrill seekers in 2011, the Whitehouse had retained some of the Bowery edge of yore. For $45, guests can stay in a tiny room where the walls don't go up to the ceiling.

Meanwhile, it might not to be too much longer before that sidewalk bridge returns here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
More tenant meetings for White House residents; plus the bed bugs will be exterminated

NoHo flea market gutted ahead of new condo project on Broadway

[EVG file photo from May 2013]

The long-running, open-air shops in NoHo on Broadway near East Fourth Street are no more… EVG Facebook friend Michael Hirsch noted that workers gutted the space on Saturday…


[Photo by Michael Hirsch]


[Photo via EVG Facebook friend Melanie Martinez]


[MM]

… and a little later …









This has been in the making now for the past 18 months or so. There are plans on file for a new 12-story building. Here's a look at a rendering…



The DOB hasn't approved the plans for the new building just yet. The 12-story, 13-unit project (which includes a set-back penthouse) will have 3,970-square-feet of commercial space on the ground floor. Read more about the project at Curbed here.

According to Off the Grid, the space at 688 Broadway has been a parking lot since 1960 when two loft buildings were demolished.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Retail plans revealed for 12-floor condo building replacing open-air market on Broadway

New dorm reaches street level on Cooper Square

[EVG photo from March 22]

The other morning we took a look through the blogger portals on the plywood at 200 E. Sixth St. at Cooper Square… where a 13-floor dorm is in the works for Marymount Manhattan College.

And the building is now up to the street level …





One of these days it will look something like this rendering…


[Photo by Robert Miner]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Here's what's coming to 35 Cooper Square: 9-story dormitory

City OKs 13-floor dorm for Cooper Square

Updated: Here's what the newest East Village dorm will look like

Dig bottoms out on Cooper Square; here comes the dorm, here comes the dorm!

The Marshal takes possession of The Sunburnt Cow after its closes for good

The Sunburnt Cow called it a day on April 27 after 11 years at 137 Avenue C.

Meanwhile, several EVG readers noted the arrival of a "marshal's legal possession" flyer on the former bar's front door later last week…



Meanwhile, there's still an active listing for the space at Misrahi Realty. (Asking rent: $5,400 a month.) However, the whole (now-empty) building is getting a gut rehab and an extra floor courtesy of architect Ramy Issac.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Renovations in store for 137 Avenue C, home to the Sunburnt Cow

The Sunburnt Cow closes for good at the end of this month

Contrada offers a sneak preview in the former Calliope

As we first pointed out last week, Calliope, the nearly two-year-old French bistro at 84 E. Fourth St. and Second Avenue, has closed … with the ownership promising a quick reboot of the space with a new restaurant called Contrada. (The owners apparently won't need to change the C on the marquee.)

Sure enough, as these reader-submitted photos show, Contrada was open for a sneak preview of sorts this past weekend… apparently they don't have a new liquor license yet. The chalkboard below in the photo is cut off … it reads "They won't let us serve booze yet … but the food is INTOXICATING."



Here is a look at the menu … Contrada is serving food and wine "inspired by the Mediterranean."


[Click on image to enlarge]

Here's the Contrada website with menus and hours. The Contrada Facebook page has some photos of the various dishes and interior.

As for Calliope, Grub Street reported back in January that chefs Ginevra Iverson and Eric Korsh split with the restaurant's financial partner, Eric Anderson.

Hummus and Pita together again … on Broadway

Oh, not really the most exciting news to pass along… unless you like hummus. And pita! Together! Just noting the recent arrival of the new signage for The Hummus & Pita Co. at 815 Broadway near East 12th Street (the former home of the David Z shoe store) … this will be the third Hummus & Pita Co. in the City.

Going Ape on Avenue C

Last night at Specials on C, artist Brandon Sines unveiled a new exhibit titled "Dealing With Things Is Tricky" … an immersion into the world of his character Frank Ape…

Photographer Walter Wlodarczyk was on hand and shared these photos…











Previously on EV Grieve:
Planet of the Frank Ape: Q-and-A with artist Brandon Sines

Everyone loves a parade

[Photo by peter radley]

The scene from outside St. Brigid-St. Emeric on Avenue B and East Eighth Street today … a parade/march in honor of St. Martin de Porres (we think — this isn't really our strong suit)…


[pr]


[Photo by Dave on 7th]

Week in Grieview

[The 6th & B Garden yesterday by Bobby Williams]

20 years of Flower Power in the East Village (Tuesday)

Car slams into Saifee Hardware (Monday)

Q-and-A with Frank Ape creator Brandon Sines (Friday)

More about Kim's closing (Monday)

Writer Greg Masters revisits the 1980s art scene (Tuesday)

Smoking battle in this Avenue A apartment building (Tuesday, 33 comments)

Work resumes at 27 Avenue D, where the Educational Alliance is adding an extension (Monday)

Calliope has closed (Wednesday)

No more "Serendipity" in Tompkins Square Park (Monday)

A 15-story retail-residential complex coming to East 14th Street and Avenue C (Wednesday)

The ongoing development concerns at 243-245 E. Second St. (Wednesday)

Signage revealed for Miss Lily's 7A Cafe (Thursday)

Out and About with Karen Fleisch (Wednesday)

Here are the protected bike lanes for Fourth Avenue/Lafayette (Monday)

Chubby Mary's has closed (Thursday)

Recreating the Tompkins Square Park riot of 1988 for "Ten Thousands Saints" (Friday)


[Photo by Grant Shaffer]

The new luxurious corners of Lafayette (Monday)

The Launderette of Second Avenue is closing (Wednesday)

Full reveal at 227 E. Seventh St. (Monday)

More about a possible Mars Bar comeback (Thursday)

Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield bringing cafe-bar concept to 151 Avenue A (Friday)

Get your free roses at Phebe's right now

Following yesterday's Kentucky Derby-themed party, EVG contributor Derek Berg notes that Phebe's is unloading all of its roses and other floral arrangements used for decorating the place on the Bowery and East Fourth Street…

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[East Houston near Avenue D]

Cab driver convicted in 2011 rape of East Village resident (New York Post)

Rallying to support attorney Stanley Cohen (East Villager)

City settles false arrest claim at Blue Door Video on First Avenue (Gay City News)

Thoughts on the new Russ & Daughters Cafe (BusinessWeek)

Watch monks breakdance in Union Square for MCA Day (Gothamist)

New exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York features Coney Island in the early 1960s (The New York Times)

An interesting history of noise (The Atlantic)

… and El Diablito Taqueria at 60 E. Third St. is celebrating its one-year anniversary today …



… and the documentary "More Than the Rainbow," which chronicles street photographer and former taxi driver Matt Weber, opened at the Quad Cinema on Friday …



We saw it and liked it… the film is more than a look at Weber's work … it involves a discussion of New York City as a medium for photography and the relationship between artist and subject … all set to the music of Thelonious Monk.

An Open Day at a closed cemetery

As you can see on the sign, it's another Open Day today at the historic New York City Marble Cemetery on East Second Street… From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.



Read more about the cemetery here.