Sidewalk bridge arrives at 145 Avenue A

Workers are erecting a sidewalk bridge on the northwest corner of Avenue A and East Ninth Street right now… some debris apparently fell from a window unit on Sunday evening … closing Cafe Pick Me Up's sidewalk cafe for the time being.

There could be bigger problems with the building. According to a complaint on file with the DOB, in their all-cap style: "STEP CRACKING AT FLOORS 2 THRU 4 WITH BULGING PROMINENT AT AREA BETWEEN 2 AND 3RD FLOORS."

No other new work permits have been issued just yet.

Meanwhile, Cafe Pick Me Up remains open.

I Cipressi will not be happening on Avenue A

Back in early October 2012, we heard that Lorella Innocenti, who operated I Coppi on East Ninth Street, was opening a new restaurant on Avenue A in the storefront that previously housed Vampire Freaks.

She was going to run it with her sister Maristella, who owns Matilda on East 11th Street near Avenue C.

However, a few weeks after the news of the Avenue A project, Hurricane Sandy hit … and Matilda was was one of the businesses that struggled to get back up and running … all the while, the plans for the new Italian restaurant stalled. The sisters took to the streets last summer to find investors to make the new place a reality.

Apparently they didn't have much luck. The storefront at 189 Avenue A near East 12th Street is now for rent … a sign that follows the eviction notice last month.



It will be interesting to see what might take the space. The two buildings here will be dwarfed by developer Douglas Steiner's 7-story retail-residential complex coming soon to the former Mary Help of Christians complex.



But for now…



Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: I Coppi team opening new restaurant on Avenue A

Owners of I Cipressi take to the streets to find investors

New residential complex at former Mary Help of Christians lot may include rooftop swimming pool

Meet your new neighbor on Avenue A

6 St. Mark's Place now asking $16.75 million

Barcade is looking to open an outpost of their craft beer bar-retro video game arcade at 6 St. Mark's Place, as Gothamist first reported last week.

A notice arrived on the door last week noting that Barcade is seeking a liquor license during the June CB3/SLA committee meeting.

Meanwhile, turns out the whole building is for sale, again apparently…

[EVG file photo]

We spotted a listing for No. 6 back in August 2012, when the asking price here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue was $14.5 million.

The listing is back, though this time it is for $16.75 million Per Massey Knakal:

An elevatored, five story plus lower level mixed-use building located on the south side of Saint Mark’s Place between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue. The ground floor is currently vacant but is expected to be leased out shortly. The 2nd floor is leased to an art gallery and cafe through November 2018 who pays $11,000/month and 20% of the real estate taxes. Floors 3-5 are occupied by a karaoke lounge who has a lease in-place through September 2031. The karaoke lounge is currently paying $28,000/month and 50% of the total real estate taxes. This is an excellent opportunity for an investor to receive a steady stream of cash flow from the in-place units in a rapidly growing neighborhood.

Public records show that the building just changed hands for $13.875 million in January.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Barcade eyeing new outpost on St. Mark's Place

6 St. Mark's Place on the market for $14.5 million

Today in apartment rentals with roof decks

177 Second Ave. via Streeteasy:

Massive 3 bedroom or very convertible 4 bedroom - currently has 5 students from NYU. This place has its own PRIVATE DECK!

Currently a 3BR but very simple conversion that will STILL have a MASSIVE living room.

Awesome place with 2 separate entrances! Bigger than the other 3/4 bedrooms in the area at this price and amazing location!

Price: $6,500

Spicy House arrives on 3rd Avenue

[Photo from February 2014]

We spotted a new retail listing for 96 Third Ave. between East 12th Street and East 13th Street back in February … at the time, the space was home to the three-year-old Teriyaki Express & Sushi.

And the new tenant is up and running as of this past weekend — Spicy House … featuring "Asian cuisine and sushi."



Maybe worth noting: the retail listing for the address did specifically state "NO COFFEE, NO CHINESE FOOD, NO BURGERS, NO FROZEN YOGURT."

In any event, we haven't spotted any menus for Spicy House just yet.

Former Surprise! Surprise! space gutted

We looked inside the former Surprise! Surprise! space the other day… and workers have gutted the former housewares store at 91 Third Ave. at East 12th Street.

As noted a few weeks ago, a Basics Plus is rumored to be taking the space.

Surprise! Surprise! closed after 25 years in business on April 27.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Surprise! Surprise! will close at the end of April (42 comments)

Reader report: Basics Plus moving into the former Surprise! Surprise! space

Chick pics

A look at one of the chicks today in the hawk next on the 7th floor of the Christodora House…

Photos by Bobby Williams

Previously on EV Grieve:
Red-tailed hawks nest on the Christodora House

The hawks of Tompkins Square Park have laid an egg at the Christodora House

More eggsciting hawk news from the Christodora House

Breaking (heh) news: The hawks of Tompkins Square Park are officially parents

OMG baby hawks! (UPDATED WITH VIDEO!)

VIDEO: Watch the baby hawks of Tompkins Square Park dine on some rat

Report: David Schwimmer's surveillance footage helps NYPD in male prostitute stabbing

David Schwimmer's high-tech surveillance system helped the NYPD with details about a stabbing that took place early this morning at 333 E. Sixth St.

According to the Post, a 26-year-old john refused to pay a 21-year-old male prostitute for his services … and the slashing occurred as a result … "and eventually spilled into the hallway with the men smashing through a glass lobby door."

Schwimmer, who lives next door, let detectives into his home to watch the surveillance footage.

The 26 year old was taken to Bellevue with stab wounds while the 21 year old was treated at Beth Israel for slashes on his arms.

Meanwhile, blood stains remain on the stoop at No. 333.

Cafe Pick Me Up sidewalk cafe remains closed

As you can see, the Cafe Pick Me Up sidewalk cafe outside 145 Avenue A at East Ninth Street has been closed all day…

This after a little drama last night around 6:30 …



… when the NYPD and FDNY responded to a report of falling debris at the building…



As you can see, part of the widow framing on the third floor fell …



No word on the extent of the damage (the DOB website is down) or when the sidewalk cafe will reopen.

Unrelated, Icon Realty bought the building last month for $10.1 million, according to public records.

Thanks to EVG reader William Klayer for the photos from last evening.

RIP Karen Kristal

[Photo via CBGB on Facebook]

Word is spreading that Karen Kristal, matriarch of CBGB, died this past weekend.

We don't have a lot of biographical information at the moment. She was in her late 80s. We will update this post when more details are available.

Tim Hayes, who owns the CBGB brand and is the founder of the CBGB Festival, said that "she made a huge impact on the music scene in NYC."

"She was the godmother of hardcore music in NYC," he told us. "She took care of the kids that came to CBGB and the hardcore shows on Sundays were all hers. Her role in CBGB was immeasurable and history has not done her justice yet. I will miss her deeply."

David Poe wrote this about her on the newly created CBGB: Punk and Hardcore page on Facebook:

"I will always remember Karen on Sundays checking id's and calling kids' parents when she sniffed out a fake one Her contributions to CBGB are well-known, and it's true enough that venerated space would not have existed as it did had it not been for her efforts. Karen was a true patron of the arts and embodied the indie spirit."

Here's more on her from a Village Voice article from September 2007:

Through the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Karen was a fixture at the door of CBGB and behind its bar. In that time, she developed a reputation, among patrons, bouncers, bartenders, and musicians alike, as a bit of a humorless hard-ass. Skinheads obeyed her command. The Ramones hid their joints when they saw her coming.

"I was more scared of Karen than I was of the skinheads," said George Tabb, a founding member of the False Prophets, former CBGB employee, and longtime Kristal family friend, as well as a reporter who covered the scene at the club for Maximum Rock'n'Roll. "They all had this respect for her. She put on the matinees — it was her idea, and that basically started the whole hardcore movement in New York."

Karen had been involved in an ugly legal battle over the estate of her husband Hilly Kristal following his death in August 2007. You can find the background of that suit at the Voice.

Memorial Day on Avenue A, 1991

Bob Arihood posted this on Memorial Day 2007 at Neither More Nor Less…

This was Memorial Day 1991 : the spirit of the time was somewhat more rebelious than it is today . This night ... disorder ruled .

This is your avenue A without the boutiques , bars and restaurants . There were no doggy pastry shops on avenue A : none in the entire neighborhood for that matter .

Visit Neither More Nor Less here for more photos and Bob's narrative.

Friday night when it rained

EVG contributor Michael Sean Edwards took these photos on Friday night on East 10th Street near Avenue B during the rainy season…

Today in photos at the Tompkins Square dog run

Photo via Bobby Williams …

Week in Grieview

Raising money for the family of Wen Hui Ruan (Tuesday)

Stories from the Cadillac with the Tiger in it (Tuesday)

East Village Radio signs off (Saturday)

Flood on East Houston! (Thursday)

Is the end near for the BP station on Second Avenue? (Thursday)

Feast and the Google Glass drama (Friday)

Video: Watch the baby hawks eat! (Thursday)

Mimi Cheng's dumplings replacing Viva Herbal Pizzeria (Thursday)

Details on the luxury rental The Nathaniel, complete with rooftop reflection pool (Friday)

Move-out trash at NYU (Wednesday)

Out and About with Yehuda Emmanuel Safran (Wednesday)

Details on what's taking over for Sapporo East, and RIP Mother Earth (Monday)

New coffee shop coming to East 10th Street (Wednesday)

Barcade looking at 6 St. Mark's Place for next outpost (Tuesday)

Miss Lily's opens (Sunday)

Former Tu Case Recording Studio space for lease on Avenue B (Wednesday)

East 14th Street demolition (Monday)

Renovations at the new home of St. Mark's Bookshop (Tuesday)

Dunkin's Donuts on the move on East 14th Street (Monday)

The Mediterranean Grill and the Efendi Hookah Lounge closes (Tuesday)

Quick-serve Indian and Pakistani food coming to Fourth Avenue (Monday)

Check out the $$$$ rebranded "Eleventh and Third" (Wednesday)

This summer rental "penthouse" comes with hammocks (Thursday)

Spice Cove is moving on East Sixth Street (Tuesday)

Movie night in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday)

China Wok is back open! (Tuesday)

… and checking in on some EVG analytics or whatever for the week…

Crunch Bowery opens with a preemptive 'there goes the neighborhood'

Crunch Bowery opened for business yesterday … and they are apparently making a funny with the "there goes the neighborhood" line …



The Crunch around the corner on Lafayette will close soon … because! As BoweryBoogie reported on May 16, 708 Broadway/404 Lafayette is being converted into a — ding! ding! — hotel!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Crunch moving to the Bowery; CB3 OKs New York Sports Club on Avenue A

The Loisaida Festival street fair is TODAY; big chair photos await

Day Three of the Loisaida Festival begins soon (depending on when you are read this) … it's the street fair component of the festival … on Avenue C between East Sixth Street and East 12th Street …

There is some of the usual street festival stuff… but this one also has more unique vendors …





… and yes! Gag holiday cards on the way!



Here are more details on what to expect today noon till 5:

Kid Zone — anchored at La Plaza Cultural Community Garden 9th Street & Ave C
Children and/or Puppet Theater, Storytelling, Arts & Crafts Workshops, Capoeira demos and more.

Green Zone — a designated block featuring environmental and civic organization offering hands-on learning on topics of environmental literacy, food waste & composting, neighborhood storm surge resiliency.

Exhibitors and Vendors
Will feature local Loisaida artists and NYC based Latin American artists, creative arts & crafts, clothing, community, civic and cultural organizations, housing and health services, domino tournament, sampling of diverse Latin American foods and staple Latino restaurants from the neighborhood.

You may head over to the official website for a list of the performers today and other details.

East Houston back to its good ol' normal self

[Photo Thursday by @maraaltman]

On Thursday morning, a ruptured pipe dating to 1959 flooded East Houston Street with mucky water. Crews worked overnight Thursday to fill in the sinkhole that formed after the break between Orchard and Ludlow … here is how East Houston was looking earlier today… almost as good as its old self!



Holiday weekend or not, the arrows, pointing to the formerly broken roadway, have to work…



The DEP claims that the break was an anomaly, according to NBC News, and not related to the ongoing East Houston Reconstruction Project between the Bowery and the FDR that is set to wrap up long after we're all dead.

Summer begins with random bags of soil and a note from the East Fifth St. Tree Committee

The official start to the summer season is off to a fine start … especially with a note from the local folk heroes of the the East Fifth St. Tree Committee.

PandaCat passes along these photos from last night on East Fifth Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square … showing a few bags of soil … now with a note!



"Please don't put this soil into the tree pit because then the soil level will be too high. If the are bags are a gift for the tree committee let us know."

Reasonable!

Also, just a reminder: Please do not attach bikes or carts to the tree guards. Thank you!

Previously on EV Grieve:
The East Fifth St. Tree Committee back in action

The East Fifth St. Tree Committee is alive and well, and they do not mess around

And now, a word from the East Fifth St. Tree Committee

The East Fifth St. Tree Committee reveals its policy about carts

Today at the Loisaida Festival

From the EVG inbox...

2:00 pm-6:00 pm / New Loisaida Center, 710 E 9th Street (just east of Avenue C) / Admission free

The Production of Nabe:
Loisaida’s land-use and environmental activism, past and present

Screenings: 3 vintage documentaries about Loisaida’s sweat-equity, community garden and environmental initiatives since the 1970’s.

“The Heart of Loisaida” by Marcie Reaven & Beni Matais

“11th Street Movement” by Stuart Leigh

“Umbrella House” by Catalina Santamaria

• Real-time Oral Histories: Historians interview old-time activists/players from Loisaida’s urban appropriation movement.
• Talk/Presentation: Contemporary land use issues, recent development and its environmental impacts in the LES by GOLES
• Debut of “Memorias de Loisaida”, a theatrical piece by artists in residence Papel Machete.

Here's the Festival website with more info. You can find the street festival and live music tomorrow on Avenue C from East Sixth Street to East 12th Street.

East Village Radio says goodbye with Johnny Thunders

[Photo last night by @edenbrower]

East Village Radio wrapped up its 11-year run just before midnight last night by playing "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory" by Johnny Thunders … an appropriate song from the former New York Doll, Heartbreaker, one-time East Village native and subject of a new documentary …



East Village Radio reached out to listeners via Facebook and Twitter for suggestions of the last song … that wrapped up a four-hour sign-off party from the station's tiny First Avenue studio.

EVG reader Double U asked this in the comments of our earlier post:

Anyone recorded the final EVR hour?
Anyone who wants to share this historic recording?

Meanwhile, according to the East Village Facebook page, the station WILL NOT host any audio links to archived programming from the EVR website after this weekend. As they say, "Please follow/like your favorite DJs/show hosts for information on their archived EVR shows."

With various licensing fees, East Village Radio could no longer break even. CEO Frank Prisinzano made the difficult decision to shut down the station earlier this month, as we first reported.

I would like to thank the #eastvillage for being a place where something like EVR could happily exist. #RIPEVR east village radio
— Frank Prisinzano (@TheUnknownChef) May 24, 2014

Updated 5-26

Animal NY has an account of the station's last minutes here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive: East Village Radio is signing off after 11 years; final day of broadcasting is May 23

On the phone with Sylvain Sylvain of the New York Dolls