First signs of the Alphabet City-Tompkins Square Slow Zone

You may have noticed a few new street signs around the neighborhood.

The Department of Transportation has installed signs showing the new speed limit for part of the East Village under the Slow Zone Initiative, which is expected to launch next month. (Read the background about all this here.)



Yesterday, crews started putting in speed bumps on several streets, including East Eighth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C and East Sixth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D …


[Photo by Dave on 7th]

The map below shows the designated Slow Zone — First Avenue east to the FDR, and from East Second Street north to East 14th Street.


[Click image to enlarge]

In addition to the 20 mph speed limit (15 mph near schools), a Slow Zone area features speed bumps (21 here) and new striping and signage to slow drivers.

CB3 member Chad Marlow helped put the plan in motion for the East Village early last year. In 1995, a drunken driver struck Marlow's father on Harlem River Drive, an accident that left him with quadriplegia and a severe brain injury. His father died 13 years after the accident.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Call for an East Village 'slow zone' (34 comments)

More about the timing of the Tompkins Square/Alphabet City Slow Zone

Alphabet City-Tompkins Square Slow Zone to take effect in August

Reader mailbag: Where are the best coffee shops with WiFi in the East Village?

From an EVG reader:

Can you ask readers to weigh in on the best coffee shops in the neighborhood with WiFi? Please help!

OK!

So I can't help … I only know about the places with good Fax machines.

Anyone? Coffee and WiFi?

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

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?

Learn about the trees of Tompkins Square Park

[Click on map for a better view]

Michael Natale, a longtime LES resident who maintains the GammaBlog site, has been keeping tabs on the trees in Tompkins Square Park for the past three years.

He posted an updated map (above) this week.

Mostly I’ve indicated which trees died over the winter (X marks the spots). We lost three large Crab Apples within the Park, and several other small trees on 10th Street. The street trees along 10th Street have a high mortality rate, probably due to proximity to the Con Edison steam pipe running next to the south curb there. Also I’ve added an icon for all the Shingle Oaks that were planted around the perimeter this Spring.

Tomorrow, Natale is hosting two tree walks in Tompkins Square Park. (This is free, by the way.) If you are interested, then you can meet him near the Hare Krishna Tree in the Central Plaza of the Park at 9 a.m. or 5 p.m.

"We'll walk around and share our knowledge about the trees and the Park," he said.

You can print your own tree map here. (He'll have extras in case you don't have the chance to print one.)

"I'm particularly hoping that we'll attract local tree experts who can identify the few trees that have eluded positive identification," he said. "I'd also love to have gardeners on hand to help identify the various flowers and bushes, etc."

Community 54 arrives on Avenue B

Community 54 opened this week at 186 Avenue B between East 11th Street and East 12th Street.

The street wear boutique moved here from the doomed stretch of 50-62 Clinton St., where they closed up shop back in January.

Business partners Daymon Green and Jason Jacobs describe the store this way on their website:

Community 54 is a neighborhood lifestyle boutique inspired by creative nostalgia. From classic arcade games and vintage street wear, mixed with new indie brands and contemporary art, the space is a destination for curators of unique collectibles and clothing.

The space was previously home to Gruppo, who moved down Avenue B in March 2013.

[Updated] The Rodeo Bar closes for good after Sunday

Back on July 10, the folks at Rodeo bar — billed as "NYC’s longest running honky-tonk" — announced that they were closing at the end of the month.

In a message on Facebook, the owners said that recent rent increases, "combined with a changing landscape, have made it impossible for us continue."

At the time, the final gig was set for July 26. However, the last show now will actually be on Sunday. The Facebook invite says that the Dirty Water Dogs will host the final night that will feature "many special guests." The show is set for 9 p.m.

As a tipster told us, the building at 375 Third Ave. at East 27th Street is for sale. According to a listing at Buchbinder & Warren Realty, the asking rent is $58,333. The realty group's past clients have included Starbucks, Duane Reade, 16 Handles and Diesel.

Updated 7-27

Now the Rodeo Bar Facebook page says that LAST NIGHT was the final show. Details for tonight's show have been removed.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rodeo Bar is closing; last show set for July 26 (51 comments)

The man who has his butt photographed all over New York City

[Photo by Jim Tews]

Jeremy Levenbach, who lived in the East Village for seven years before moving to Brooklyn, started having people take photos of his butt about two years ago.

"Just me naked from the back (no covering in the front) in a bunch of different places," he told us via email. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to get pulled off of Instagram soon. Also I have them on a Tumblr (Levenbutt). I think ... they are usually pretty well composed."

OK!

So, to ask an obvious question, why?

"It started out as a joke. I sent the original one to a bunch of friends. They liked it so I kept taking them and sending them and eventually posted them online. I think they're funny and hopefully nice to look at."


[Photo by Jim Tews]


[Photo by Liz Devine]

Today's sunset tonight

The headline made sense for a second.

Photo by Bobby Williams

[Updated] Get your Jack Daniels in Tompkins Square Park!

Hey now. Dave on 7th passes along this photo, noting that there is a Jack Daniels booth/tent set up in the lawn in Tompkins Square Park as part of tonight's screening of "Fight Club."

Per Dave on 7th: "I find it hard to believe that the Parks Department approved this. Are they actually serving bourbon at the movie?"

Woo! We'll find out!

Also, please drink responsibly.

Updated 7:20 p.m.

Oh! The booth/tent was gone!

Report: The Subway Inn will close next month

[EVG file photo]

We started wondering about the fate of one of our favorite bars outside the neighbor back in February when a developer bought up a good part of East 60th Street between Third Avenue and Lexington, including the building that houses the Subway Inn.

Now we know. Via Gothamist, we learned this morning that the place will close next month.

Here's the message on the Subway Inn's Facebook page:

Subway Inn Patrons,
As you might know, Subway Inn was established in 1937, and has been proudly serving customers since.

We are sad to inform you that Subway Inn will be closed for business on or about the 15th of August. That's not to say we aren't opening another location. Subway Inn WILL be relocate.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Should we start worrying about the Subway Inn?

Dr. Dave is fighting eviction on East 2nd Street

[Photo via Facebook]

Dr. David Ores, a general practitioner who has long served the uninsured and low-income residents on the Lower East Side, recently received an eviction notice at his office on East Second Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Here's background on the situation via GoFundMe:

Lease/Commercial real estate tax problem. Briefly, after 2 + years at my office I get a bill for $18,000 in back taxes out of nowhere. $9,000 a year. Now it's $27,000 due. We are a J-51 tax abatement building as are others in the LESPMHA, Inc. (the non-profit housing org./41 buildings).

I was told that when I moved in and AND my lease says that as well. I will challenge this in court, but I can get evicted in the meantime. I held off eviction one week ago in court and my new court date is July 29th. I need to pay all or most of these NYC taxes to stay here... and THEN I will research/investigate what happed to our J-51 tax abatement and why it went away. Or was never in place. Does not seem kosher to me.

If I had that money, I would just pay it, but I don't. So the plan is pay all or most of the "back taxes" and then dig into what went wrong where. IF I had know there were RE taxes due, I would have kept up from the beginning. So I am asking for community help to pay NYC real estate taxes I was assured I was NOT responsible for. AND I was never informed I owed ANYTHING until it was $18,000 due last Sept.

I thank everyone and it has always been my pleasure to provide Medical Care to anyone I can help on the LES.

You can find the GoFundMe page here.

For nearly 20 years, Dr. Dave, who founded a health care co-op for restaurant workers in 2008, has treated the uninsured, telling people to simply pay what they can. Following Hurricane Sandy, he provided free food and medical care for anyone who needed it.

You can read more about Dr. Dave and his work at The New York Times here and Crain's here.

The mural wall will remain on the Bowery and East Houston

[EVG photo from June 27]

Workers erected a sidewalk bridge around the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall in late June, as we first reported here.

This was done ahead of a new two-floor building that will rise from the former home of Billy's Antiques on East Houston and Elizabeth.

We were unsure what this meant for the mural, which dates back 30-plus years to Keith Haring.

Renderings of the new building showed the mural still in place.

However, on Tuesday, we noticed that workers had started ripping down Cope 2's mural ...





By yesterday afternoon, the mural had been removed and hauled off. And then workers started wrapping up the rest of the mural wall...









Through the handy blogger portal we spotted photographer Martha Cooper, who has chronicled subway graffiti and urban art for several decades. She was taking photos of the work in progress as well as salvaging what she could of Cope 2's mural.



We spoke with her briefly. Here's how we understand it. What remains is the original wall with the mural from 2009 by Os Gêmeos, the twin brothers and street artists from Brazil. This work was apparently the favorite of Tony Goldman, the curator of the wall and property owner who died in September 2012. Subsequent artists painted over a temporary canvas, the one which workers just removed.

Cooper seemed pleased to say that the mural wall would remain adjacent to the new building.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Houston/Bowery Mural Wall has been boarded up

Mystery French bistro arrives at former Apartment 13 space on Avenue C

[Photo from July 4]

Apartment 13 at 115 Avenue C between East Seventh Street and East Eighth Street temporarily closed during the July 4 weekend — never to reopen.

In a letter posted to the Apartment 13 Facebook page on July 15, Chef John Keller and his partner Lorrae Doig thanked everyone who supported them, before noting that the restaurant "became collateral damage and fell through the cracks of a faulty foundation due to no fault of its own."

They ended the noted saying they looked forward to seeing people at their next venture.

Just like that yesterday, signs arrived on the former Apartment 13's front doors … noting some kind of French bistro on the way.



Dave on 7th, who took the above photo, also saw a wine delivery to the new bistro. Per Dave on 7th: "Looks like they're just rebranding as a French bistro. The 90s are back!"

However, Keller and Doig have NOTHING to do with this new venture, likely the work of Paul Seres, a partner in The DL on Delancey and Ludlow who was originally behind the Apartment 13 venture.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Apartment 13 will not be reopening on Avenue C

Free tonight in Tompkins Square Park: 'Fight Club'

The Films in Tompkins series continues tonight at sundown with 1999's "Fight Club."

Does anyone really need a ploy synopsis?



And upcoming ...

July 31: "The Harder They Come"

Aug. 7: "Labyrinth"

Aug. 14: "Midnight Cowboy"

The films start at sundown... and there will be local bands or DJs performing from 7 to 7:45 p.m.

Also, bring mosquito repellent.

Yonekichi bringing rice burgers to East 9th Street

There's a new tenant for the sliver of a space occupied last by Otafuku at 236 E. Ninth St. before they moved a few storefronts to the west here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Yonekichi will be exclusively serving rice burgers when they open some time next month.

Both Otafuku and Yonekichi are part of Bon Yagi's East Village stable of restaurants.

We reached out to learn more about what to expect here via the handy media email on the coming soon sign…



H/T William Klayer

The Nathaniel on 3rd Avenue and East 12th Street is apparently in Greenwich Village

[EVG photo outside The Nathaniel from the other day]

Here's part of the official news release that we received yesterday about The Nathaniel, the new luxury rental on Third Avenue and East 12th Street, which has apparently seceded from the East Village.

THE NATHANIEL LAUNCHES LUXURY RESIDENCES IN COVETED GREENWICH VILLAGE

(New York, NY) – The Nathaniel, a luxurious new development in Manhattan’s sought-after Greenwich Village neighborhood, has officially launched leasing for its rentals. The nine-floor building offers 85 residences ranging from studios to three-bedrooms. Douglas Elliman Development Marketing is exclusively handling the marketing and leasing for project.

Developed by YYY Third Avenue LLC, and designed by Karl Fischer with interior architects McCartan, The Nathaniel is located at 138 East Twelfth Street at the corner of Third Avenue.

“In Greenwich Village, you need to deliver a product worthy of the location” said Eli S. Weiss, a Principal with YYY Third Avenue LLC. “The finishes and amenities at The Nathaniel are best in class and create a boutique hotel atmosphere for residents.”

Uniquely modern kitchens feature high gloss cabinetry with wenge wood details, Caesarstone Blizzard White counters, Calacatta porcelain backsplash, paneled dishwashers and Liebherr refrigerators, and built-in wall ovens and cooktops. All residences also feature White Oak floors, generous closet space and individual washer and dryer, with private terraces in select residences.

Additional building amenities include a 24-hour attended lobby, access to The Nathaniel Club lounge, a stunning Sunset Deck complete with a reflecting pool, bicycle storage, and a private gym.

Residences are available for August 15 occupancy. Studios start from $3,345, one bedrooms from $4,615, two bedrooms from $6,950, and three bedrooms from $10,950.

Wow. A shame they don't know that this is actually Midtown South!

Also! Interior photos!









Oh, and if you are interested in rentals, here is The Nathaniel's website.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Those persistent rumors about 74-76 Third Avenue and the future of Nevada Smiths

The East Village will lose a parking lot and gain an apartment building

Bendy thing sighting as 84 Third Ave. eclipses the AMC Loews Village 7

Upscale rentals and a rooftop reflection pool at The Nathaniel on 3rd Avenue

We'll always have Craigslist

[The actual hottie with broccoli]

From today...

hottie with broccoli - w4m - 25 (East Village)

you were walking through the east village with broccoli casually tucked in your backpack. I knew we were meant to be, but you turned before I gathered the nerve to say something.

We should share our mutual love of broccoli. I could tell you a few of my secret recipes.

This is how hot it was today

Photo from the Tompkins Square Park dog run via Bobby Williams.

Checking the line for Veselka's turn-back-the-clock special this evening

Big crowd trying to get 1954 prices at #veselka pic.twitter.com/2mRp0xU4dM

— Kimberly Winston (@kimwinston) July 23, 2014

Officially long! Word is there are about 150 people waiting outside now to take advantage of Veselka rolling back prices to 1954 in honor of its 60th anniversary. The special runs from 6-6:54 p.m. There will be more of these 1954 specials, Veselka promises.

And here's a look at the line at 6:30 via William Klayer…

Meanwhile, outside Bull McCabe's ...

Filming for the HBO television program "Girls" is underway on St. Mark's Place...

Photo by Riley McCormick

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: Lauren Edmond
Occupation: Artist
Location: 9th Street and Avenue A
Date: 4 pm on Tuesday, July 8

I was born in Park Slope and I grew up on Long Island. I came to the East Village when I was 25 in 1977. Cheap rent brought me here. I’ve been an artist my whole life. I have been painting since I was 13. I came here so that I could not have to pay a large rent and just do odd jobs and paint as much as I can, and I’m still doing it 37 years later.

I was an oil painter for 30 years and then I got very toxic from the paint and searched around for another medium. I started painting on my computer in the mid 1990s and I’ve been doing that ever since. It’s been about 20 years that I’ve been painting using software and a Wacom tablet. Either I go completely abstract or I do landscapes of the neighborhood.

It was a slum here in 1977. It wasn’t like this at all. It was a completely different feel. There were a lot of Polish and Ukrainian restaurants. There were bars but there were no cutesy stores. There were interesting stores, clothing — second-hand clothing. There were people who did art and made little things. There were a lot of stores like that. They came and went, even then. There was not this proliferation of bars and cafes like there is now. There were a lot more divey places. It was a different economic time.

Uptown people still made money, but the people who lived uptown wouldn’t come here. They wouldn’t want to live here. I remember one Saturday night in 1978 in the summer. We sat across from the Grassroots and we could count on one hand how many people walked by in one night. I said to myself, Remember this, because it's probably not going to be this way forever, because here is this neighborhood that lies between Midtown and Downtown. How could it not be a big deal? How could it be lost and forgotten? How long could this go on?

It wasn’t until the mid-1980s when the wealthier people started coming here. By 1980 it started to change. We started to get on the map. People were having fun. We had a blast. It was just a lot less crowded. There was a lot of romance. It was very romantic for us young artists. We had a real fantasy thing doing on here.

I remember when we put together the East Village Eye in 1979. I was on the original staff of that and it was great. I got to work with a lot of very good people. The Eye was a newspaper that was devoted to the East Village scene — music, fashion, art. We kept up with politics, but it had a lot of fashion and style and scene, because there was a lot of scene and there was a lot more live music going on, not necessarily just in this neighborhood.

By the 1990s it really had completely changed and now it just keeps getting more so. It’s good and bad. It’s good because there’s more wealth and that’s not a bad thing. People of my generation think all wealth is bad. I don’t agree with that. Wealth is fine. It’s how you use it and what your values are. It’s a tool. Wealth for wealth’s sake can get out of hand, but it’s a tool.

Now they say the old East Village is done, but if you go to another neighborhood and come back here you realize that it is a lot more laid back here than any other place ... it’s got a different style to it here. It’s still the East Village. It’s still creative and it still draws creative people, although not only creative people. You can be creative and be into money. There are a lot of ways to be creative that don’t rely on just putting it on canvas.

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