Archie & Sons now 'closed for remodeling'

[Photo by EVG reader Russ]

Ugh. As the sign shows, the 50s-style luncheonette on Third Avenue at St. Mark's Place is closed for the month of August.

They opened just about a year ago to the date.

We're big fans of their food. However, the closure, temporary or not, doesn't come as a total shocker. In recent months, the hours became more sporadic, the offerings became more varied (juice bar! smoothies!), the quality of food seemingly deteriorated, the staff changed. Plus, we were the only people inside the last six or so times inside. (And we were not there at off hours.)

We were hoping that they would catch on — particularly with all the office bodies (and students) coming to the IBM Watson Building across the street.

Still, it wasn't also tough to opt for Archie's over old favorites the Stage and B&H …

Previously on EV Grieve:
Archie & Sons, a new luncheonette, opening very soon at 23 Third Ave.

Coolest building on the Bowery may or may not be for sale

[Via Wikipedia Commons]

Yes, that graffiti-filled one at the corner of Spring Street … long a source of mystery!

In 2008, New York had what is believed to be the media's one and only inside look at the place:

The building at 190 Bowery is a mystery: a graffiti-covered Gilded Age relic, with a beat-up wooden door that looks like it hasn’t been opened since La Guardia was mayor. A few years ago, that described a lot of the neighborhood, but with the Bowery Hotel and the New Museum, the Rogan and John Varvatos boutiques, 190 is now an anomaly, not the norm. Why isn’t some developer turning it into luxury condos?

Because Jay Maisel, the photographer who bought it 42 years ago for $102,000, still lives there, with his wife, Linda Adam Maisel, and daughter, Amanda. It isn’t a decrepit ruin; 190 Bowery is a six-story, 72-room, 35,000-square-foot (depending on how you measure) single-family home.

Anyway, Crain's New York is reporting that the circa-1898 building has been listed at RFR Realty. ("The ground and second floors have 18-foot ceiling heights and are ideal for retail use.")

But is it really for sale? Per Crain's: "RFR declined to comment and the photographer, Jay Maisel, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the fate of the ornate six-story, granite and brick building."

Real-estate experts figured the landmarked would fetch $50 million on the open market. And those were 2008 estimates.

Landlord tells residents of 149 First Ave. that they need to vacate ahead of demolition

There's a lot of drama unfolding at 149 First Ave. just north of East Ninth Street.

All tenants (and all rent stabilized) received the following letter from the landlord this week — a "notice of non-renewal and vacate request."

"We have been advised by our engineer that the building has serious deterioration issues and has to be rebuilt and most probably demolished.

"As a matter of safety, we have to vacate all the apartments in the building."

And it doesn't matter how long the tenant has left on his or her lease — "please do not take longer than 90 days to leave. Thank you."

There's nothing on file with the DOB about either a gut renovation or probable demolition. The most serious recent infraction appears to be that the landlord failed to file an annual boiler inspection report for 2012.

It appears that tenants aren't ready to pack their bags. They are already organizing, as this notice on the front door shows.



Meanwhile, if the building is truly going to be gut renovated/condemned/demolished, etc., then the landlord likely not need bother trying to fill the vacated storefront, still on the market for $9,500 rent per month since This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef closed in March.

Updated 2:31
Now with an updated flyer showing the correct date for the meeting with tenants.

4 years later, Le Jardin Bistro returns, opens in former Apartment 13 space on Avenue C

[Image via Facebook]

Here's more information about the new restaurant that opened Monday in the former Apartment 13 space at 115 Avenue C between East Seventh Street and East Eighth Street.

Turns out it is Le Jardin Bistro, which was originally housed on Cleveland Place until its 2010 closure. (They opened in 1995. Here's a review from the Times.)

A rep for the restaurant emailed us info yesterday:

The new outpost of Le Jardin Bistro will serve well-priced classic dishes like rich and hearty Cassoulet, traditional Steak Frites and Bouillabaisse paired with an equally accessible wine list.

Divided between two floors, Le Jardin Bistro boasts a stately and inviting oyster bar, dining room and small patio on the first floor with an open kitchen, additional dining room and namesake ‘jardin’ seating open year-round on the second floor.

Here's a dinner menu.


[Click on image for more details]

You can find the wine and dessert menus here.

Le Jardin's hours are: Monday - Wednesday 5 p.m.-midnight; Thursday - Saturday 5 p.m.-2 a.m.; closed Sunday.

Apartment 13 closed during the July 4 weekend.

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

Free tonight in Tompkins Square Park: 'Labyrinth' and David Bowie as Goblin King Jareth

Tonight brings Jim Henson's fantasy adventure "Labyrinth" from 1986.

Let's hit that plot:

Fifteen-year-old Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) accidentally wishes her baby half-brother, Toby, away to the Goblin King Jareth (David Bowie) who will keep Toby if Sarah does not complete his Labyrinth in thirteen hours.

OK!



The summer film series wraps up next Thursday night with — !!! — "Midnight Cowboy."

As always, bring mosquito repellent. Or put some on at home. It's your West Nile Virus!

Horse Trade Theater Group becoming Frigid New York

[EVG file photo]

We get news releases! From the EVG inbox...

After 16 years as a for-profit producing organization Horse Trade Theater Group will merge into FRIGID New York. Horse Trade will still operate as a venue manager for The Kraine Theater at 85 East 4th Street and UNDER St. Marks at 94 St. Marks Place, but all in-house productions, festivals, and the Resident Artist Program will now be presented by the nonprofit organization FRIGID New York, producers of the annual FRIGID Festival.

"After many years producing indie theatre we've found that we can offer our artists more opportunities as a nonprofit organization” said Managing Director Erez Ziv. “This will also allow us to consolidate our programming, and invest more in each production. We're very excited for what the future holds."

FRIGID New York’s 2014/2015 season will include RadioTheatre’s HP Lovecraft Festival, Clay McLeod Chapman’s The Pumpkin Pie Show, new resident artists The Battalion, The Drafts play reading series, Gotham Storytelling Festival, the Winter Burlesque Blitz, The Fire This Time Festival, the FRIGID Festival, the first annual LGBT Festival, Downunder Improv Festival, and monthly residents Stand Up and Take Your Clothes Off, Sketch Block, Thank You Robot, Adam Wade, The Wasabassco Hellfire Club, Naked Girls Reading, Open Mic Downstairs, Ten-Foot Rat Cabaret, Cabaret Showdown, Radical Vaudeville, and The History of Beer.

New retail space for 165 Avenue B revealed

[EVG file photo from January]

The new retail space at 165 Avenue B, currently undergoing a head-to-toe renovation, made its first appearance this week.



Let's take a different angle!



The listing for the storefront here just north of East 10th Street arrived back in May via RKF :

NEIGHBORS
Back Forty, Discovery Wines, Eleven B, Mercadito, Ninth Street Espresso, Waffles [sic] & Dinges

COMMENTS
Newly created retail space
New storefront, HVAC, bathroom and mechanicals
Non-contiguous Basement space can be made available
Situated at the base of a luxury residential building
Steps from Thompkins (sic) Square Park
Venting is possible
All uses considered

Aside from a bank, froyo or anything served in a hoof, what do you think might work for the space?

Previously on EV Grieve:
165 Avenue B back on the market

165 Avenue B has been sold, and 2 apartments are on the market

'All uses considered' for new retail space at 165 Avenue B

A new book with a 'Point of View' on NYC

East Village resident Janko Puls has a new book out titled "Point of View New York City," featuring photos of well-known NYC landmarks taken from unusual angles.

Tomorrow night at 6:30, he'll be giving an "Illustrated Talk" at the Mid-Manhattan branch of the New York Public Library. Find more details here.

At Vanishing New York today, Jeremiah Moss talks with Janko about the book and NYC. Head here for the Q-and-A.

Meanwhile, here are two aerial shots of the under-construction 51 Astor Place that Janko shared with us in April 2012

Tommy Ramone memorial set for Aug. 16 at the Bowery Electric

Tim Hayes, founder and executive producer of the CBGB Festival, is hosting a public memorial on Saturday, Aug. 16 for Tommy Ramone, the last surviving original member of the Ramones who died last month.

"We will have many special guests telling personal stories about Tommy," Hayes told us about the event, set for 7:30 p.m. at the Bowery Electric, 327 Bowery.

Hayes has said that tickets will be $5, with 100 percent of the money going to a cancer charity. (Tommy died on July 11 of bile duct cancer.)

You can find more details about the evening here as they become available.

Meanwhile, the third annual CBGB Music & Film Festival is scheduled for Oct. 8-12.

Out and About in the East Village, Part 2

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: Melissa Elledge
Occupation: Musician, Subway Performer
Location: East 9th Street and 1st Avenue
Date: July 31, Second Avenue F stop

I just finished a solo CD a few months ago for a suggested donation. I’ve met so many people and I’ve gotten a lot of gigs from it too. You’re a walking business card. That’s the reason why I’m in probably half the bands I’ve been in.

I also decided to tryout to get a permit for Music Under New York (MUNY). They give you a permit to play. There are certain stations that you need a permit to play in, like Grand Central and Union Square. It’s kind of hard to get a permit. About 300 people apply every year. When you apply you send in a CD or DVD and they choose about 50 to audition and, of those, about 25 get permits.

So I got one in 2012, but I don’t really play in those spots a lot. I tend to stick to 2nd Avenue on the downtown F and at 14th Street and 6th Avenue. The MUNY spots are not actually lucrative. Times Square is just a million people walking by and they have all these different paths. On a platform they have to walk by you. It’s a captive audience. I feel closer to the public down there. People think that I get most of my tips from tourists, but it’s really not. It’s people who work and live in the neighborhood.

There are people who give me a dollar every single time they see me. And tourists appreciate it like it’s part of their tour package. You’re constantly looked at like you’re in a fishbowl and I’m like, ‘No, I’m doing this for a living.’ I’m not just a statue. People sometimes see me down there and they think, ‘Oh she’s so mysterious, where does she live?’ I want people to know that I’m not a mole person. I actually live somewhere. I live in the East Village. This is my job.

I did actually get robbed and assaulted when I was busking once. This was two years ago. It was bizarre because even that was under the guise of being loved. It was this crazy crackhead lady. I saw her the day before and even that was weird. She was like, ‘Oh, you are so great, you go girl’ and just chatting me up and everything. She was like, ‘Hey I just have a $5 bill, I’m just going to get change.’

I had this weird feeling that day that she took more than she put down and I kind of made a mental note that it was time to stop letting people do that. So the very next day I was in the same spot at the same time and I saw her again and once again she was like, ‘Oh man, you’re so great, I love it when you’re here’ and she was chatting up everybody on the platform. I was watching her and she started standing closer and closer to me and the train comes up and then all of a sudden her hand plunged into my case. I stopped playing and pushed her hand away and said, ‘What are you doing?’ She was like, ‘Oh, I just dropped a $20 in there and I’m just getting change.’ There wasn't a $20 in there.

The train was there but nobody was noticing. There were hundreds of people around and it was like 2 p.m. on a Tuesday. I’m trying to attract attention. She was huge, like twice my size, and she’s trying to push me back. I’m just grabbing at her and then she just turns around out of nowhere and just punches me in the mouth. I’ve never been hit in the face in my life. It was like a dream until I felt the taste of blood in my mouth. I didn’t know what to do and so I just kicked her as hard as I could and then she turned around and punched me in the nose as hard as she could. But the funny thing was that the whole time she was taking her time to get into the train. She was not running down the platform or into the train. She was still obeying the law of etiquette where you let people off the train. She was waiting in a line of people to get on ... You can rob people, but you’ve got to follow the rules of the train. It’s been enough years where I can forgive her and say at least she knew that part.

I spent the rest of the day with the cops and they asked me, 'So are you going to keep doing this? Are you going to be back tomorrow or next week?' I was sitting there covered in blood and tears and sweat in early July, and I said I didn’t know. I felt very differently about what I was doing but they all said independently of each other that 'this is just an isolated incident. You can’t let this keep you from doing this. This is what you love to do and the city likes subway musicians.' I took a week off and then went back to the same spot.

There are people who come to this city and they expect something from it. They expect the city to give them something. I’ve never taken that viewpoint. I always felt like if I wasn’t giving something, I felt bad.

There were a couple of dark years after I got my master's and before I started playing the accordion and I would look at people collecting the trash or doing construction and I would envy them because they were actually putting something back into the city. I wasn’t doing that. I was just checking coats at Don Hills. I never want to feel like that, to feel like I wasn’t contributing, and for me that is playing in the subway. It’s a small thing to do. It’s not like I’m building places for the homeless but it’s my contribution.

Read Part 1 here.

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

There's activity at the long-dormant corner of Avenue C and East 3rd Street

[EVG file photo]

Looks as if something is finally going to happen with the empty buildings on the southeast corner of Avenue C and Third Street.

As we've noted, there has been a full vacate order on 32 Avenue C at East Third Street since August 2012. The building is in disrepair, and will eventually be demolished — along with everything to (and including) 26 Avenue C (the former Impulse Footwear), according to various tipsters.

Plans were filed with the city in July 2005 for a new 6-floor residential building here. The city disapproved the plans in May 2006, and nothing more happened with the project.

On Monday, plans were filed for another heavy duty sidewalk shed here. More important, someone filed plans through the city's Hub self-service thing (where architects and engineers "can professionally certify plans for small construction projects without visiting a Department office").

So, unfortunately, we won't be able to see the application until it is accepted into the DOB system. So for now, we don't know what is in store for this space.

Meanwhile, Maria's Cafe has had to leave its longtime corner stand. (Maria left in January, but returned in April for weekend-only business.)

For now, she will be selling her empanadas and coffee from a cart across the street in front of the Capitol One branch.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Maria's Cafe is leaving the East Village for West Harlem

Concern for 32 Avenue C

In which Russo's kind of gives us heart failure

Nothing like turning west from First Avenue onto East 11th Street yesterday … and seeing the contents of one of your favorite shops out on the sidewalk.



Gah.

Turns out that the folks at Russo's are just doing some electrical/repair work.

Back open tomorrow, per the sign.



Now we'll go to New York magazine for a quickie overview:

Russo's has endured for a long time — they opened in 1908. Inside this diminutive shop, you'll find every Italian provision you'd expect — fresh ravioli, tortellini, gnocchi and linguini, cheese, olive oil, and canned tuna imported from Italy, as well as sausage, pepperoni, anchovies, and pignoli nuts.

Updated 8/7

Russo's reopened for business this afternoon around 3. There is a new floor and faux-brick walls ... not to mention two new display cases under the front counter... we didn't take any photos, as they were still getting things put back together. Food is the same!

2 Bros. is really gone on 1st Avenue; plus more dumplings for the East Village

[July 19]

An EVG reader spotted workers removing the ovens from the First Avenue 2 Bros. back on July 18.

And we watched workers gutting the space all weekend long. (Well, we did other stuff too that weekend, like go to Key, wash a few loads of laundry and watch some TV.)


[July 19]


[July 19]

However, one of the workers told a reader that 2 Bros. was just remodeling the space. (We've seen this closing fake-out before.)

And the 2 Bros. sign remained up here between East 13th Street and East 14th Street until this week. When this new signage arrived for Hibachi Dumpling Express.



It will be the latest in the East Village dumpling express. Mimi Cheng's Dumplings opened last month at 179 Second Ave. near East 12th Street. And The Bao just debuted at 13 St. Mark's Place.

How are they? Dunno! However, Robert Sietsema offered up a review at Eater on Monday.

His quick take on The Bao: "Though this may not be the best Chinese restaurant in the area, it has the best soup dumplings."
And Mimi's?: "The dumplings seemed a little lackluster on that first visit, but had improved considerably by the second."

Mac specialists Digital Society has closed on East 10th Street

The 20-plus year-old Digital Society on East 10th Street at Broadway closed for good after business last Thursday.



There isn't any mention of a closure on their website.

As an "Apple Authorized Service Center," they were servicing our various Macs long before the arrival of the Apple stores. Now what?

It's Enormousface … on a truck!

Well, we missed this Sunday evening after the Riot Reunion concert in Tompkins Square Park … when several people told us that street artist Enormousface put on an entertaining show outside the Park on East Seventh Street and Avenue A.

Said one spectator, "He was playing a balloon like an instrument, then climbed a truck and let the balloon launch. Then he climbed down and crawled into Avenue A, stopping traffic."

Thanks to Walter Wlodarczyk for the photo. Find more of his work here.

NYPD looking for information about a sexual assault on East 9th Street in June

These posters have been going up around the neighborhood the past few days.

The poster describes a sexual assault that occurred on East Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue in the early morning hours of June 20.

The NYPD describes the suspect as a Hispanic male, 25-35 years old, 5-7 to 5-9 and between 220-250 pounds.



Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.

There goes the neighborhood!

EVG reader thomkat notes the arrival of a horse and buggy in front of the glorious crepe (or crape!) myrtle trees at 198 E. Seventh St.

It's for today's shoot of the ABC series "Forever" here on East Seventh Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

Earlier.

Have you heard the rooftop parties at Ben Shaoul's Bloom 62?

We have! A few Sundays ago from atop the former nonprofit nursing home on Avenue B and East Fifth Street that Ben Shaoul bought and converted into high-end rentals. And we've heard grumbling from residents on East Fifth Street. (The Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation wasn't really known for rooftop parties.)

Meanwhile, an Avenue B resident shared this.

Has anyone else complained about Bloom 62? I was walking on the street Saturday night and there was music so loud on the roof ... I contacted 311 and the police allegedly “resolved” the issue, but it was still very noisy through the night. I can’t believe the neighbors around the building can tolerate it.

We actually didn’t eat at Lavagna that night because the music was so loud by the restaurant.

It was clear there was a pro DJ with very serious sound system on the roof.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Local politicians reach out to Ben Shaoul as re-sale of the Cabrini Nursing Center seems likely

More details on Cabrini's closing announcement

Check out Nicolina's beautiful bee-heart art at Mona's

Richard Corton and Kirk Marcoe, the owners of Mona's (and Sophie's and Josie's), commissioned local artist Nicolina to create a mural for the bar at 224 Avenue B near East 14th Street.

She offered a sneak preview of it in Tompkins Square Park earlier this summer …



On Friday, the mural went up at Mona's.

The art is hanging between the buildings on the bar's north side … in space protected from the elements … which offers a good vantage point from inside…


[Photo via the Mona's Facebook page]

Reminders tonight: A discussion on saving our neighborhod restaurants

[Bereket Turkish Kebab House]

From the EVG inbox…

SAVING OUR NEIGHBORHOOD RESTAURANTS: EXPERTS DISCUSS HOW (AND WHETHER) IT CAN BE DONE

Tuesday, August 5, 6:30 – 8 P.M.
Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South
Free; reservations required: rvsp@gvshp.org

It could be Lucky Cheng’s or University Diner that you miss, Havana Chelsea or Manatus Restaurant. New Yorkers are in a tizzy over their favorite spots disappearing fast. The question is, what to do about it?

A panel of experts will investigate just that during this free discussion. Inspired by a Historic Restaurant Preservation Plan recently proposed by Eater.com restaurant critic Robert Sietsema, the inquiry will include Sietsema as well as former New York Times restaurant critic and longtime Villager Mimi Sheraton, who is skeptical of such a plan; Stacey Sutton, a Columbia University assistant professor of urban planning who specializes in community retail dynamics; and Robert Perl, the president of Tower Brokerage, which specializes in the sale and rental of commercial and residential property in the East Village. Karen Loew, The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation's director of East Village and special projects, will moderate.

Around the world, people are taking action to extend the lives of businesses they love – in effect aiming to preserve the “uses” inside buildings alongside preservationists’ usual target of the structures themselves. In England, traditional pubs can be deemed assets of community value, allowing community groups time to raise money to buy and preserve them, in order to compete with other buyers who may change the use. In San Francisco, the preservation group SF Heritage promotes Legacy Bars and Restaurants as a way to drive customers to qualifying businesses. Would it make sense for our capital of innovation, dining and independent business to be the next to create a path for restaurant preservation?

We’ll look at all sides of the issue, from rent hikes to owner retirement, to explore what can be done to save our favorite cafes and bars: our hangouts, our clubhouses, the places that feed our souls as well as our stomachs. Come join the discussion that could be the beginning of something: fewer endings.

Reserve your spot today at rvsp@gvshp.org or call (212) 475-9585 ext. 35.

For more background, read our blog post Maybe You Can Save Your Favorite Restaurant Before It Closes

EVG's favorite spots disappearing fast: Bereket, Caffe Rakka on Avenue B, the Odessa Cafe and Bar, Polonia, Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen, 7A, among many others…