How you can help Punjabi Grocery & Deli stay in business

Jeremiah first reported on this campaign yesterday at Vanishing New York.

Given the never-ending East Houston Reconstruction Project, the folks at Punjabi Grocery & Deli on East First Street near Avenue A/East Houston are struggling to stay in business. The storefront, which arguably serves the best inexpensive vegetarian food in the neighborhood, is losing a big chunk of its audience: cab drivers.

The construction site has taken up all the parking spaces for cab drivers, making it nearly impossible for them to stop in for a meal. (Those who do stop face a getting a ticket.)

So Punjabi is petitioning the city to bring a taxi relief stand to the front of the deli, "a place where taxis can park for an hour so drivers can get a meal, use the rest room, and relax before getting back behind the wheel."

Here's more from the petition:

Though the City and state government collect taxes for each trip from commuters in the form of surcharge through hard working of drivers, they do not create or give much facility and respect to taxi drivers. Since last many years this particular area is under major road and other repairs.

On the top of that construction companies using this area as their personal storage and stocking facility. Due to that in this all area you only see no parking signs. Parking to use the facility become more and more difficult and drivers get parking violation tickets. But the city government official do not think about creating facility but they are only interested in creating more hardship to their hardworking community.

[East First Street disaster construction zone]

You can find the petition here.

This is exactly the kind of business that we need around here. As it stands, the inexpensive, quick-serve restaurants are disappearing (Bereket ... Cafe Rakka on Avenue B ... First Avenue Pierogi and Deli ... and soon, Snack Dragon, to name a few).

As for the East Houston Reconstruction Project, it is now scheduled (PDF!) to be completed by mid-2016, according to the latest city estimates. It doesn't seem possible that Punjabi Grocery & Deli can last two more years at this rate.

Actually, the new rent for the Snack Dragon space is $4,495

[Image via]

Late last week Snack Dragon proprietor Josephine Jansen told us that her tiny taco stand at 199 E. Third St. will have to close for good on July 31. The reason: Landlord Steve Croman wants to triple the rent to $3,900.

Turns out the rent for the next tenant will somehow even be higher. In a follow-up article on Monday, DNAinfo's Lisha Arino noted that the rent on the 9300 Realty website for No. 199 is $4,495.

Small, vented restaurant available for 1 August move in on East 3rd St, steps from Ave B. Good dining corridor - Fonda, Root & Bone, Ethiopia Meskel, Café Cortadito, Poco NYC and others.

The COO of 9300 Realty told DANinfo that Jansen was the one who wouldn't negotiate a new lease and only offered to pay $200 more a month for the "way under market rate" space.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Watch a lot of people speak out against Steve Croman and 9300 Realty

Cromanated: The East Village Snack Dragon Taco Shack is closing

Meanwhile near City Hall....

Oh no! Someone doesn't like NYC? But we love you!

And what about our teeth? And why take it out on a Metro box?

Tonight's sunset

Photo by Bobby Williams

The animal extras of Judd Apatow's comedy 'Trainwreck,' which filmed in the East Village today

Not much is apparently known about the movie, which filmed in part today on East Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... Bobby Williams spotted a few of the extras...





The human co-stars in the comedy are reported to be Daniel Radcliffe, Tilda Swinton, Marisa Tomei, Brie Larson, Bill Hader and Amy Schumer, who wrote the script, among others.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Outlaw Bobby Steele photographed on 1st Avenue by jdx]

Here's the family behind Mimi Cheng's Dumplings, now open on Second Avenue (Fork in the Road)

Sports bar taking over for Sutra, where there have been 659 311 complaints — most allegedly for any bar in the city (BoweryBoogie)

A visit to the Tompkins Square Dog Run (Curbed)

Photos from Brian Rose's book "Metamorphosis: Meatpacking 1985 & 2013" now only display at the Dillon Gallery (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

A look at The New Museum's latest exhibition (The Lo-Down)

Those darn hawks! (Gog in NYC)

Inside the Cooper Union Building Clock (Untapped Cities)

Top 5 punk drummers of all time (LA Weekly)

And congrats to the Brooklyn bloggers who are coming together to create a hyperlocal network (The New York Times)

... and Derek Berg spotted a new mural by Mark Samsonovich on the northwest corner of Second Avenue and East Seventh Street ...

Films in Tompkins series returns tomorrow night with 'Fast Times At Ridgemont High'

As we noted a few weeks ago, the Films in Tompkins series would return this summer, though sligtly later than usual.

The organizers have just released the roster, starting with "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" tomorrow night...


[Click on image for more details]

The series ends Aug. 14 with "Midnight Cowboy."

We originally heard that "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" would be on the bill. Unfortunately, the organizers were unable to secure a copy of the film from the distributor, we heard.

Anyway! Gates open at 6 p.m. and the films will start at sundown.

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: Alex Shamuelov
Occupation: Barber and student
Location: Ace of Cuts, 518 E. 6th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B
Date: 9 a.m., July 9

I’m from Uzbekistan, but my background goes back to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Because of the Soviet Union, it was really tough there but it was a little bit easier in the southern part, so that’s why my ancestors moved down there. So I was born in Uzbekistan and I came to New York when I was 3 years old.

I never thought I’d be a hairdresser. My dad has been a hairdresser for a long time, but when he was young he was a mechanic. His father’s a hairdresser, his brother’s a hairdresser, his mom used to be a hairdresser, and his sister’s a hairdresser. Everybody in my family from both sides — everybody’s a hairdresser. That’s how it was from the old country. Everybody was a hairdresser.

My father always said, ‘You know, listen — it’s better for you to learn a talent than it is for you to hop from one job to another.’ He said, ‘This is something that you’re going to have and something that you’re never going to lose. You never know what could happen in life. Let’s say one day, God forbid, you lose your job, then you have something to turn to. Hair always grows. Everybody always needs haircuts.’

So I took those words into consideration. I was only 15 years old. Imagine when you’re 15 years old, for six months for almost two summers after school, standing next to a barber and not making anything, whereas I wanted to go become a counselor or something, you know. I wanted to make some money. No, my father kept pushing me toward it and I’m happy for that. This is something that I like to do, and not to brag, but I’m good at it. I’ve won competitions and stuff like that. I like to draw and I’m artistic, so this helps me sculpt a person, sculpt a head. So everything worked out well.

I’m 20 years old now and I just opened my own barber shop with my father. [July 9] is actually a month since we opened. Everybody is shocked about that. It’s not easy trying to succeed in this life right now. I have the support of my family. We’re all together. We live next to each other, in a two-block radius in Queens.

The landlord of this building is my previous customer from Long Island. He currently goes to my uncle, because that was my uncle’s barbershop, so he told my uncle about it. So I came one day with my parents and uncle and I loved the place, and now we’re here. I love the East Village. Everybody’s very neighborhoody; everybody’s very friendly. Say if you go to Midtown, neighbors don’t know each other. Here everybody knows each other and they say hi to each other. It’s the same thing where I live Queens — in Rego Park.

You know how landlords are — they want their rent on the spot, so we had to do it quick. I renovated this whole place in about three weeks. I did it for my father mostly. I don’t want him to work for somebody all his life. I wanted him to become his own boss, so that’s why I’m here now. I’m on break from school. I’m helping him out. I’m in the middle of the street so it’s really hard to advertise. You have to be patient. I went from cutting 35 to 40 people a day to cutting five people a day. Psychologically that hurts you.

In Park Slope I used to cut 40 people a day. We were right next to Mayor de Blasio’s house. I’ve cut his hair. I used to see him every day; every day he walked by. It was shocking because you see somebody, you take care of somebody, and then all of a sudden, boom — he’s an icon of New York. Over there you need speed and you need technique, and you need a sense of style. Imagine in 12 hours cutting 40 people. That means about 100 to 150 people come in every day. They used to call me Ferrari because I used to be very quick.

Obviously I’m not going to be the same here because I don’t have that competition going on. That’s why I made this barbershop like this, you know. I have Jameson. I have vodka. I have beer. I have everything for someone to come in and relax. I have a 65-inch TV. People come in, they watch TV. I charge $15. So yeah, hopefully I’ll make it. I was trying to go for a different image for someone to come and relax.

I am also currently in school at LIU, Long Island University, in downtown Brooklyn. I’m trying to get into the pharmacy program out there. It was a challenge for me to pick my profession that I wanted to go for, that I wanted to succeed in. My dream is now opening a pharmacy and having a barber chair, to build a barber shop in the pharmacy, so while you wait for your medicine you get your hair cut real quick. Cause you know how everybody in New York is trying to get things done quick.

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

Reader mailbag: Where do I get a flat tire fixed in the neighborhood?

[Random flat tire photo from the Internet]

From the EVG reader mailbag:

What happened to all the auto tire repair/flats fixed places? Are there any left? I need a tire repaired.

Let's see. Downtown Auto & Tire left the Bowery two years ago. The BP station on Second Avenue is gone now.

Um. I thought there was one on East Houston between Clinton and Attorney. Nope! The Mobil station on East Houston and Avenue C? Nope! No tire service.

So anyone know where you get a flat tire fixed around here? Seemed as if there were several around here not that long ago...

-------------

We often get reader queries ... asking for help with, say, donating clothes or books ... or finding an East Village-based caterer... If you have a question for the masses, then try the EV Grieve email...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader mailbag: Places to eat that have that old East Village vibe (45 comments)

Reader mailbag: What do I do about my new neighbors who smoke pot all the time? (52 comments)

Reader mailbag: Where is a good place to get a cup of coffee in the East Village before 6 a.m.? (25 comments)

Reader mailbag: What has happened to the Cooper Station Post Office? (41 comments)

Reader mailbag: Can the landlord 'drill' the lock to gain access to my apartment for simple repairs? (15 comments)

Reader mailbag: Should we receive a rent abatement for having sporadic heat and hot water?

Reader mailbag: How often does your mail get delivered?

Options for this lovely East 7th Street townhouse include demolition

[Image via Massey Knakal]

There's a new listing for 253 E. Seventh St., a townhouse between Avenue C and Avenue D.

Let's check out the listing over at Massey Knakal:

The subject property is a 4-story vacant townhouse located on the north side of East 7th Street, between Avenues C & D. There are 4 floor-through units including a garden and parlor floor. The building is in an R8B zone with a residential FAR of 4.0 which would allow for a total buildable square footage of approximately 9,312 SF. The existing building is approximately 3,860 SF with an additional 5,451 SF of available air-rights. Therefore, the buyer could keep the existing structure and add floor area. Alternatively, the buyer could demolish the existing and structure and build a new ground-up development.

Whatever the option, this address will likely get much taller in the future.

Asking price: $4.25 million.

What a nice East Village 'micro loft' is going for these days

This unit at 186 E. Second St. caught our eye… a listing for an "East Village micro loft."

Here are the details via Douglas Elliman:

This affordable space has high ceilings, large windows, exposed brick, hardwood floors and a large kitchen in excellent condition. Everything you could want in a loft at a fraction of the price! Conveniently located in the heart of the East Village with amazing restaurants and nightlife at your doorstep. 186 is a boutique building that’s well managed and has an incredible sense of community.

Here are more photos and the floor plan …



… looks like the bed is tucked away under the floor of the raised living room…





So less than 400 square feet of living space here between Avenue A and Avenue B ... the price is $300,000. (Streeteasy estimated the monthly payment at $2,173 — that's with 20 percent down.)

Looks like a cool enough space, though is a single step really considered a loft?

Boulton & Watt is now open for lunch

[Image via]

And here is part of the official announcement about lunch service via the EVG inbox yesterday…

Besides the Boulton & Watt’s signature mason jar pickles (in seasonal varieties such as pineapple with habanero, mint and basil and beets with peppercorns and red wine vinegar — $5 each or three jars for $13) and modern classics such as Boulton and Watt mac and cheese (white cheddar persillade bread crumbs, $10) and “The Burger” (house-made blend on brioche bun and fries — $14 and up), new items include a refreshing baby arugula, date and orange salad with lime vinaigrette, toasted pistachio and ricotta salata ($12), soft scrambled eggs (with a side of avocado toast and watercress — $10), an heirloom tomato sandwich that is sure to be a summer favorite (baby arugula, charred red onion, basil, roasted garlic mayo on seven grain toast — $10 or $12 with bacon) and the intriguing “Hangover” (two fried eggs, cheddar, avocado, bacon, chipotle aioli on seven grain bread - $12), the perfect pick-me-up after a late East Village night.

You can find the full lunch menu here.

The restaurant at 5 Avenue A at East First Street/Houston opened in January 2013.

Listen to a wide-ranging interview with Richard Hell

[March 2013 Richard Hell photo for EV Grieve by James Maher]

In the latest RiYL podcast at BoingBoing, Brian Heater interviews novelist-poet-artist-musician Richard Hell about a whole lot of everything, from becoming a writer to living in NYC today.

The interview took place at Hell's longtime East 12th Street apartment. "It has good light, it's quiet and it's cheap."

Hell's book "I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp" recently came out in paperback.

July 15

'Tis definitely the season over on East Fifth Street near Cooper Square! Goggla spotted this beauty today.

Not sure if the owner is discarding it or just letting nature water it...

FYI

FYI - Valet service in the East Village has been cancelled this evening (7/15) due to a Severe Thunderstorm Watch.

— Citi Bike (@CitibikeNYC) July 15, 2014

2:25 p.m.

AKA, It was a dark and story day.

Photo by Bobby Williams

Anyway, no need to paaaaaaaaaaanic...

FLASH FLOOD WARNING UNTIL 5:15 PM FOR ALL OF NYC. 2" to locally 4" of rain can fall causing rapid flooding: pic.twitter.com/RKApBHY6o3

— Storm Team 4 NY (@StormTeam4NY) July 15, 2014

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[EVG did this for no apparent reason]

More about the 21-year-old woman killed by a 4 train at Union Square (Gothamist)

Bill Cashman on Homeo-Empathy, 9th and C, a zine history of 155 Avenue C (Maximum Rocknroll)

A visit to Snack Dragon ahead of its closing (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

The Elmore Leonard retrospective continues (Anthology Film Archives)

Proposals wanted for First Park murals (DNAinfo)

First Avenue market scenes from the 1930s (Off the Grid)

Eulogizing The Ramones after Tommy's death (Flaming Pablum)

Kaufman Shoe Repair Supplies and Downtown Floor Supplies leaving Bleecker and Lafayette ahead of rumored development (BoweryBoogie)

Update on the incoming Essex Crossing Park (The Lo-Down)

Soho Dive Cody's Bar & Grill closes for good (Grub Street)

...and a quick holiday greeting via Mary on E. 12th Street ...

Bright ideas: A lighting shop for East 7th Street

On occasion we'll take a quick look at a new (or old!) business around the East Village. Today we visit Bulb Concepts Inc., 13 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

Article and photos by Stacie Joy

Jessie Lee and Anthony Wong created Bulb Concepts in October 2013 in a tiny (less than 400 square feet) and charming sales/work space on East Seventh Street.

Jessie and Anthony (partners in business and in life) will help you design any lighting project you may have on your mind.



When I was there visiting, the store was humming with cyclists who dropped by to buy some household bulbs, a couple busy worrying/fussing over a lighting project for their apartment (Jessie very patiently wired and repaired a lamp for them while they waited) and assorted restaurant owners and locals who needed emergency Edison bulbs and lighting supplies.





I’m not a huge design enthusiast, and my knowledge of lighting is fairly poor (except, of course, for photography-based lighting concerns) so I asked a lot of questions, all of which the couple was happy to answer.

Jessie started her lighting career on the Bowery seven years ago. She began as a bookkeeper in a light shop, then worked her way up to manager.

There is plenty to look at inside the shop. I am particularly impressed by the strings of lights inside the mason jars as well as the Cooper Union student projects Jessie was crafting in the back of the shop in its wee workspace.



The couple offer free consultations on lighting needs, and will travel to businesses to scope out any lighting issues they may have.

Another BSA hearing on Ben Shaoul's illegal rooftop addition; plus, rent 1 of the contested units!

The Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) is holding another hearing today regarding 515 E. Fifth St., where the years-long saga over an illegal rooftop addition continues.

A quickie recap: The BSA had previously ruled in 2008 that landlord Ben Shaoul needs to remove the 6th and 7th floors. However, his attorneys had requested that the city grant a zoning variance to "permit the constructed enlargement, minus the penthouse, to remain" here between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Meanwhile, ahead of today's hearing, we hear that Shaoul has moved to evict one member of the Tenants Association of 515 East Fifth Street, and has offered to discuss a buyout with two of the others.

Finally, one of the contested units arrived for rent on Streeteasy last week. Per the listing:

BEAUTIFUL EAST VILLAGE DUPLEX 1 BEDROOM WITH PRIVATE TERRACE
BRAND NEW LISTING - AMAZING EAST VILLAGE LOCATION

Brand New Listing available for SEPT 1 - Move In! 1 Bedroom. Amazing Deal. This Apartment will not last!

True, the apartment will not last if the BSA grants the zoning variance … because the penthouse will need to be removed as part of the zoning variance deal.

It looks pretty nice, though…





The one-bedroom apartment is asking $3,195.

Anyway, this story promises to not end anytime soon. The extra floors were added in 2006.

You can read more about the history here at the Post, Curbed, DNAinfo and The Villager.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] 5 years later, another BSA hearing on illegal rooftop addition at 515 E. Fifth St.

Protest at 515 E. Fifth St. this morning, site of Ben Shaoul's illegal addition

The disappearing illegal penthouse of 514-516 E. 6th St.

Never-ending battle wages on over additional floors at 515 E. Fifth St.

Never-ending battle over additional floors at 515 E. Fifth St. promises to keep being never-ending

CB3 not into Ben Shaoul's zoning variance for 515 E. 5th St.

Let's step inside the all-new Eleventh and Third, which defines 'organic with an urban twist'

[EVG photo from June 30]

There are more details now about the rebranded Eleventh and Third, the 12-story residential building at 200 E. 11th St. that Benchmark Real Estate Group paid $57 million for late last year.

The first unit as well as building renderings are now on Streeteasy. A two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment is asking $9,350. (No broker's fee!)





Here's the description via Streeteasy:

High-design gets a downtown attitude at Eleventh and Third where the only rules to live by are the ones that keep life interesting. With just 53 studio, one-, and two-bedroom homes – some with private terraces, most with amazing views, and all with top-shelf interior finishes – it’s a boutique building fueled with serious style.

Building Features:
- 24 Hour Doorman
- In Unit Laundry in All 1 Bedroom & 2 Bedroom Apartments
- Communal Roof Terrace Outdoor Space
- State-of-the-art Fitness Room
- Yoga / Meditation Studio
- Private Massage Studio
- Laundry Room

Apartment Features:
- Brand New Glass Panel Windows In Every Apartment
- Walnut Flooring
- Built in A/C and Heating
- Polished Concrete Counter tops
- Bertazzoni, Fisher & Paykel, & Bosch Kitchen Appliances
- Brizo, Lacava & Toto Bathroom Fixtures
- Self Closing Drawers and Cabinetry

What would you call this look? According to the Eleventh and Third website: "Residential interiors are what we’d call ‘organic with an urban twist’. A gallery of windows invite tons of natural light, and a neutral palette soothes the soul."

There are open houses this week in the early evening by appointment only if you'd to check it out yourself and sooth your soul.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Someone actually paid $57 million for this East Village building

Reimagining this 12-story East Village building, now on the market

NY Copy & Printing forced out of longtime E. 11th St. home, opening second location on E. 7th St.

Rebranded 'Eleventh and Third' will have rentals upwards of $10k

Retail space housing The Smith and M2M asking $25.5 million on 3rd Avenue