East 10th Street near Avenue A this afternoon… via Bobby Williams
Friday, October 3, 2014
Tie me up, tie me down
Here is Primetime with "Tied Down." The London-based band released their debut 7" EP in August via La Vida Es Un Mus Records.
Doggone it: Someone stole the annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade posters
[Photo from 2013 by Derek Berg]
That's the word from organizer Garrett Rosso, who reports that someone stole the FedEx delivery boxes from outside his apartment door yesterday.
It will be another week before more posters will arrive.
Meanwhile, he shared the information with us... the date is Saturday, Oct. 25 ... the rain date is Oct. 26...
Per Garrett: "Runway competition will be from Noon to 2:30 p.m. Then all pawticipants will follow this year’s BEST IN SHOW for a pawsitively posh, costumed canine parade around the entire park. All donations go to City Park Foundation for the maintenance and upkeep of the Tompkins Square dog run."
East Village now down a dorm
Renovations continue at 101 E. 10th St., the former SVA dorm at the corner of Third Avenue.
The 5-story building that houses a TD bank hit the market back in the spring. However, it appears that real-estate investment firm Atkins & Breskin still retains the property.
Regardless, the job site has a partial approval from the DOB, which notes a "gut rehabilitation of existing apartment building and change in the number of dwelling units. Obtain amended [Certificate of Occupancy]." So we're looking at a conversion to residential.
The Real Deal originally reported in March that "an additional 7,802 square feet of as-of-right air rights" existed for the building. There's nothing yet on file with the DOB to note any extra floors.
SVA students reportedly left the dorm after the spring term. A school official told The Villager that the school would use a new residence on East 24th Street at First Avenue.
More about Yaffa Cafe closing
[Photo from 1997 by @JenniferKellow]
As we first reported yesterday, Yaffa Cafe is now officially closed at 97 St. Mark's Place.
The DOH temporarily closed the restaurant on Sept. 5. In addition, the city ordered Yaffa's owners to shut down the backyard garden.
Last night, ownership posted this statement to their Facebook page:
Yes, Yaffa is closed. We really want to thank everybody who came to Yaffa and kept it open for 31 years.
I know we helped a few families to start a relationship at our establishment.
We had a great years and some not great, but now its time to go.
The city closed our garden, one of our not friendly neighbours complained to the building department, and they came and put 35 families out of work.
I am sure she is very happy.
Thank you all for supporting us.
Throughout the day yesterday, Yaffa fans took to Twitter to express their feelings.
I wouldn't care if the backyard was on fire or a rat was tap dancing on my tuna melt. I wish I could sit down at @YaffaCafe one more time.
— Francine (@FrancineD) October 2, 2014Heartbroken over the closure of @YaffaCafe. It held a very special part of my soul. #stripperinmanhattan #nyc pic.twitter.com/qb0r2kpGcr
— Bella Luna (@bawdybelle) October 2, 2014I have lots of fond memories from @YaffaCafe in #NYC; so much good conversation and carrot-ginger salad dressing. Now it has closed :-(
— Elizabeth Landau (@lizlandau) October 2, 2014Grub Street has a collection of the tweets here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
A Google ad now covers the iconic Yaffa Cafe mural on St. Mark's Place
Yaffa Cafe will be back, though likely without its backyard garden
Yaffa Cafe is officially gone; back garden dismantled
How you can help save Siempre Verde Community Garden from luxury housing
[Photo from June via Facebook]
The following news release is via the EVG inbox from Wednesday evening...
The Siempre Verde Garden – located at 181 Stanton Street and 137 Attorney in the Lower East Side – is threatened by new residential luxury development proposed by a city agency, HPD.
The issue is coming before the Community Board 3 Land Use, Zoning, Public & Private Housing Committee meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 6:30 pm. We are calling on community members to join us there to make their voices heard. A petition can be signed here.
Siempre Verde Garden was created by the community in the 1980s. In the summer of 2012, a diverse group of volunteers began transforming two rubble-strewn city-owned lots into an oasis where neighbors, children, plants, trees, birds and bees congregate. New foliage, plants and raised garden beds were put in. With the support of Greenthumb and the unanimous support of Community Board 3, Siempre Verde was given a license by November.
Since then, pounds of tomatoes, greens, herbs and other vegetables have been harvested and shared with neighbors. The garden has held over 70 community workshops and events including worm composting, children’s story time, art,
music & yoga workshops. Green space for residents is sorely lacking in the garden’s vicinity and the garden is home to some of the only trees in the immediate area.
The luxury development is backed by the Gottleib Bender family who own an adjoining lot bought for $5,000 in the 1970s. Since their lot has no street access and is too small for any development, they are proposing to add the garden’s small two city-owned lots to their parcel.
Even the combined lot would remove light and air from nearby tenements with limited income residents. Siempre Verde is calling for all those who support the garden to go to the CB3 meeting to show their opposition to more luxury housing being built in a community with very little green space. The meeting will be held at University Settlement, at 184 Eldridge St (between Rivington nd Delancey Streets) on Oct. 14 at 6:30 pm.
For more information about Siempre Verde Garden:
Website
Here's more on the story via The Lo-Down ... and BoweryBoogie.
Fit to a Teavana
The TEAVANA letters went up yesterday on Broadway at East Ninth Street.
As previously reported in July, the Starbucks-owned Teavana, a specialty tea and tea accessory retailer, was taking over the former Silver Spurs corner space.
Last December, Silver Spurs got rent-hiked out of its 34-year-old home here.
Thanks to EVG reader @elivalley for the photos!
Previously on EV Grieve:
After 34 years, Silver Spurs is closing on Broadway
Starbucks-owned Teavana coming to the former Silver Spurs space on Broadway
Bless your pets
From the EVG inbox…
Blessing of Pets
In Honor of St. Francis of Assisi
Saturday Oct. 4
1 PM
Immaculate Conception Church
East 14th Street and 1st Avenue
Note: Pets need not be Catholic to be blessed.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Yaffa Cafe is officially gone; back garden dismantled
[EVG file photo]
Turns out Yaffa Cafe at 97 St. Mark's Place will not be reopening after all.
They tweeted the news out last evening.
Bad news bears: Yaffa is officially gone. But good news: all recipes have moved to @SimoneMartiniNY on the corner!
— Yaffa Cafe (@YaffaCafe) October 1, 2014Apparently sister restaurant Simone on the corner at First Avenue will carry on for Yaffa.
As we first reported, the DOH temporarily closed the 32-year-old restaurant on Sept. 5. Making matters worse, the city ordered Yaffa's owners to shut down the backyard garden. (There isn't a secondary form of egress. So in case of a fire…)
However, despite the setbacks, Yaffa tweeted that they would be back in three months or so after renovations.
Meanwhile, workers yesterday dismantled the backyard garden, as these photos by EVG reader Sam Teichman show …
And the Google ad remains covering the Yaffa Cafe mural outside…
[Photo via John A. Cecil]
Previously on EV Grieve:
A Google ad now covers the iconic Yaffa Cafe mural on St. Mark's Place
Yaffa Cafe will be back, though likely without its backyard garden
At Westside Market, opening soon on 3rd Avenue
In recent weeks, reps for Westside Market have invited local media outlets to preview the new store opening this month on Third Avenue at East 12th Street. We decided to take them up on the offer.
Text and photos by EVG contributor Stacie Joy
George Zoitas wasn’t sure if quotemaster Peter (“the Cheese Guy”) would be able to put Grateful Dead quotes on his cheese packages at the new Westside Market, opening soon at 84 Third Ave.
[George Zoitas]
It was my first question in our interview and one that seemed to surprise him. The Dead quotes are an unusual touch that I recall from shopping in another Westside Market location. That and the fact that there were plenty of vegetarian options and a pizza bar, not to mention a live-lobster tank.
George's parents, Ioannis (aka Big John) and Maria, opened the first Westside Market on Broadway near 110th Street-Cathedral Parkway in 1977. The East Village location is the family's fifth location.
George and his brother-in-law, Jimmy Beleses, are managing this store, which they want to be a one-stop destination for East Village residents.
That looks possible, with seriously credentialed pizza ovens, a sushi section, a separate vegan area, convenience items, a juice bar, and lots and lots of prepared foods (helmed by Maria, who is also famous for her cheesecake) filling up the 15,000-plus square foot space.
Prepared foods are made at the on-site kitchens in the lower level (so much stainless steel!) and blast-chilled in enormous fridges before sale. Big John handles the produce section, which although empty when I went to photograph it, looks potentially amazing.
George moved to the neighborhood for the year prior to the store’s opening, and says he’s ready to cater to the East Village’s special needs (see aforementioned vegan section). He says he loves the neighborhood and is passionate about serving the area’s denizens.
When I asked him what makes his store different than, say, Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s two short blocks away, he says that the family has the ability to buy from many suppliers, vendors and providers, and aren’t locked into carrying certain brands. In addition, he says that each Westside Market has its own buyers, so nothing is centralized, making for a localized experience.
Some things that make this supermarket different: no self-checkout lanes, which I appreciate; the new and eco-friendly compressors and water-cooled machines and dedication to environmentally friendly processes; the ability to order and stock customers’ preferred favorites, like a particular brand of cat food, your kid’s yogurt, or a cleaning product that’s hard to find (suggestions are welcomed by the Zoitas family). And the fact that it’s a family owned and operated business, with George crediting his parents for his knowledge and achievements.
Reader report: Kotobuki has closed on 3rd Avenue
Kotobuki, the two-and-a-half-year-old sushi restaurant at 56 Third Ave. near East 10th Street, has closed.
Signs up in the window note the impending arrival of Saki, a sushi restaurant "produced by Sushi of Gari."
[Photo via@JaredDaniels]
The Michelin-starred Sushi of Gari from sushi chef Masatoshi Gari Sugio has four other restaurants around the city.
Kotobuki makes the second affordable Japanese option to close along here of late. Menkui-Tei at 63 Cooper Square is now closed for renovations. Word is they will reopen with new management and staff.
Noted
EVG reader Raquel Shapira spotted this handwritten sign on an ATM outside 117 First Ave.
"Dear ATM User:
You money will probably be stolen by someone in South America if you use this ATM."
Make it work: Frank Ape as a crop top on 'Project Runway'
Frank Ape, a familiar wheat-pasted character around the neighbor, is making his cable debut tonight at 9 … on an episode of Lifetime's "Project Runaway."
This info that arrived in our inbox explains:
"On the episode, the remaining designers must make outfits from the contents of provided storage lockers. A rainbow embellished Frank Ape canvas is one of the items found in the storage lockers. The found Frank Ape canvas ultimately becomes a crop top on the runway."
Frank Ape is the creation of artist Brandon Sines.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Planet of the Frank Ape: Q-and-A with artist Brandon Sines
Going Ape on Avenue C
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Noted
Long story, but earlier today, we jokingly told EVG regular Pinhead via Twitter that we were going as a cupcake for Halloween.
Haha, blah blah.
The response.
Haha, blah blah.
The response.
@evgrieve Uh, cupcakes are little 2005, don't you think. I prefer my costumes to be a bit more topical. pic.twitter.com/TblptltpOC
— Pinhead (@evpinhead) October 1, 2014EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition
[High chair on 7th Street the other morning via Derek Berg]
The Bowery Bar protest sign (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)
More about the last resident living at 338 E. Sixth St. (The Post)
The CBGB of David Godlis (Mashable)
The East 11th Street windmill from the 1970s (Gothamist)
Christo and Dora, together again! (Gog in NYC)
History of the Stuyvesant Polyclinic on Second Avenue (Off the Grid)
170 Suffolk primed for development (BoweryBoogie)
Pier 42 park designs coming soon (The Lo-Down)
Revisiting Rocks in Your Head (Flaming Pablum)
Citistrikes? Bike-rental company unionizes (The Post)
...and Blondie's 40th Anniversary Exhibition is now up through Oct. 6 at the Chelsea Hotel...
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
Read Part 1 here.
James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.
By James Maher
Name: Michael “Mikey” Cole, Pete Rosado
Occupation: Owner and Head Chef, Operations Manager and Sous Chef, Mikey Likes It Ice Cream
Location: 199 Avenue A (Between 12th and 13th)
Time: 1:30 pm on Wednesday, Sept. 17
I had a sneaker store a couple years ago with a kid who caught the Barry Bonds baseball. It was ahead of its time. It was called Soul Food NYC on the west side of Tribeca. It was a sneaker store that looked like a restaurant. People would come in the store and ask what time is lunch being served. So then I started serving food. I’d make cornbread and ice tea and people would come in and grab that during the summer. Then I made candied yams ice cream and people came in and were like, ‘Yo, my man, these sneakers are okay, but this damn ice cream you got right here, you need to put this in pints.’
When the store closed my mom was sick for like a year and I would take care of her every day. I started to realize that I wasn’t living the right life at the time. I used to sell weed as a kid, so I never had a full-time job. I was trying to figure things out. Let me just turn over a new leaf and do something right. So you know what, ice cream it is. My dad was like, ‘Ice cream?’ I was like, ‘Trust me dad, ice cream.’ So my father said, ‘If you really feel like that’s what it is and you promise you’re not going to get locked up, ice cream it is. Let’s do it.’
This was about two summers ago. I got my cart off of selling these buckets of ice creams on 14th and 1st. I’d be just like this with a pair of shorts on, all day. No one’s buying ice cream from a kid standing on the corner. It was crazy but I would not go home until it was gone. Then it came to the point where people would see me at the bus stop or I’d be going somewhere and people would be like, ‘There’s the kid that sells ice cream on 14th Street.’
I was also learning from somebody else at the time. That person owned their own ice cream company downtown and they told me they couldn’t help me anymore. So a friend of mine who owns a bakery in Brooklyn where I get all my stuff from said, ‘You’re going to learn to make ice cream yourself. You’re going to put your own spirit into it.’ He closed his bakery at 9 at night and I would come and watch him bake for like 2-3 hours and I’d make ice cream.
I was actually in a competition for writing business plans. [I won $100,000] but they didn’t give me the earnings. So that set me back. From that day on I got depressed for like two weeks and I ended up going to a training called Landmark Forum and that taught me to break through my fears. I got courage and I was connected to a guy who had a farm upstate through Landmark and he was like, ‘Mikey, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in your ability, people will help make it happen.’ I didn’t understand what the hell he was talking about, but from that day on, I decided to drop everything that I was doing as an extra-curricular activity, and I said I’m going to hone in on this ice cream until it gets somewhere.
Pete and I are buddies, so I called Pete to come to my house and I said, ‘You with me? It’s going to be hard but we’re going to break some barriers.’ So Pete came on board, and I started to teach him how to make ice cream. We’d be at my house for hours filling up the freezer with ice cream until my mom was like, ‘You gotta get that shit out of here.’ I had people coming to the apartment buying ice cream. It was crazy.
But Landmark was telling me to keep fighting no matter what. So when I thought I was getting money from the school I started talking to the landlord about the space here. It was originally a print shop called Milo’s Printing. When it was taking a long time, the landlord said he couldn’t wait any longer. I had some money saved up and I gave it to him to hold the space for two weeks and someone else donated the money to me to get the rent. The guy from the farm came in and gave me $2,000 to paint the place and do what I had to do.
Right now all the ice cream is made right here. Now what I decided was, through the farm we’re going to expand and take it for real. So I have a building on this 32-acre farm — this breathing space it’s called. They’re breathing life into my business. They gave me the building and the whole bottom of this building. We gutted it, we painted it, did everything to it, and now we’re putting a ‘Mikey Likes It’ sign on it. There are two one-bedroom apartments on the top, so I’m able to go up there and make ice cream for three or four days. Now I’m saving up to get a bigger machine.
What makes us different is that we use fresh [ingredients]. As a child we associated mint ice cream with green dye number 5, peppermint extract and chocolate chips. We didn’t want that, so we fresh pressed mint ourselves. Pete cooks as well and Pete having a Puerto Rican background, it gives me something different to land on. It’s good that we have two different palates. Pete tries to control me, he’s like, 'Stop doing that' [trying new flavors]. I’ve got like ADHD. Me, I just want to make everything.
Read Part 1 here.
James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.
Neighborhood's priciest rental now selling for $9.5 million
We've seen #3C at 38 E. First St. on the rental market on and off through the years. The asking price had been $35,000 monthly back in July, which we believe made it the most expensive rental in the East Village.
Now, the whole unit between First Avenue and Second Avenue can be yours for $9.995 million.
Here's a refresher on the place via Corcoran:
Approx 5000, this loft, once a school house with 16' ceilings, 33 windows across four exposure, immediately commands your attention. Grand entrance gallery leads to the double sized living room, paneled library, and festive dining room, are well served by sun-flooded and well appointed chef's eat-in-kitchen.
Generously-sized walk-in closets and a spa-like marble bath compliment a gracious master bedroom. The second and third bedrooms are equally well proportioned, each with en-suite baths. The thoughtful renovation includes such modern conveniences as central air-conditioning, a kick ass central sound system, and of course, the ever important W/D, and also enjoys a uniquely low maintenance. Your search for a truly magnificent loft located within epicenter of the art world is over.
There's an open house this afternoon. Bring your own music to test out how kick ass that central sound system is.
Hitchcocktober begins at Village East Cinema
All this month, Village East Cinema on Second Avenue and East 12th Street will be screening an Alfred Hitchcock classic on Thursday evenings.
Here's the schedule for Hitchcocktober:
• Oct. 2, "North by Northwest"
• Oct. 9, "Rope"
• Oct. 16 — "Psycho"
• Oct. 23 — "The Man Who Knew Too Much"
• Oct. 30 — "Strangers on a Train"
The films start at 8 p.m. Head to the Village East Cinema website for more info and tickets.
To get you in the mood for Hitchcocktober...
Menkui-Tei has closed for renovations
[Photo from 2012 via Facebook]
The reliable ramen joint at 63 Cooper Square between St. Mark's Place and East Seventh Street is now closed.
A message on Menkui-Tei's Facebook page states the following…
One EVG reader said that the restaurant will still serve Japanese fare upon reopening, but the place will be under new ownership.
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