Adventures in trespassing at 190 Bowery

[Via Wikipedia Commons]

In case that you haven't seen this video making the rounds today ... Bucky Turco, editor-in-chief of ANIMAL New York, made his way inside 190 Bowery, the historic Germania Bank Building on the corner of Spring Street.

He was able to breach security several different times to document the mysterious (and now mostly empty) six-story, 72-room, 37,000-square-foot building as it awaits its likely condo fate. Aby Rosen of RFR Realty purchased the place from photographer Jay Maisel for a reported $55 million. (RFR is currently marketing the building's first and second floors for retail use.)

Check out the result of Turco's expedition inside in this video...



... and over at the ANIMAL website here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Take a last look inside the mysterious 190 Bowery

A sign of spring, sort of

EVG reader Pinch spotted the second-story facade that flips open like a garage door, uh, open today at 224 E. 14th St. near Third Avenue. We've actually never seen the retractable wall open before (ditto for Pinch).

5 car collision on Avenue A this morning

Happened just before 11:30 a.m. at East Second Street... with the cab apparently colliding with the back of one car, which caused a chain reaction of fender bending... no word about any injuries... thanks to EVG reader Mayra Diaz for the photo...

Here's what Peter Brant wants to do with his new exhibition space on East 6th Street

We finally have an idea of what art collector Peter Brant plans on doing with the renovations of 421 E. Sixth St., the former home-studio of artist Walter De Maria here between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Tonight at 6:30, CB3's Landmarks Committee will discuss a Certificate of Appropriateness application for the building that Brant bought last year for $27 million. (The address falls in the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District.) Brant told the Times last October that he plans on opening an exhibition space here.



Among other things, the proposal calls for:

Exterior work includes the restoration and repair of the existing brick facade, replacement of the existing windows with new thermally broken steel windows to match existing, new window openings on the west and north facades, a new occupiable roof terrace with a new glass skylight. there is an increase in height of the bulkhead to accomodate the elevator and the addition of a roof mounted hvac unit which will be screened from view on all four sides.

Here's a side-by-side look… showing the existing building (left) and the proposed front...





Some of the most noticeable changes would occur on the lot's East Seventh Street side … where there is currently a wall/rolldown gate leading to the back of the property…



… that would be converted into a garden space… (no word if this space would be open to the public, or just guests of the Brant Foundation).



In addition, Brant's reps are calling for a rooftop terrace and a garden to the west of the building, currently an empty lot that was also part of the sale…



You can find a PDF with all the proposals (diagrams! renderings! photos!) right here.

If you want to see if all for yourself, the 6:30 meeting tonight is at the JASA/Green Residence, 200 E. Fifth St. at the Bowery.

The building was a Con Ed substation built in 1920. De Maria, who died in July 2013 at age 77, bought it in 1980 to use as a home and studio.

Previously on EV Grieve:
About that "giant-robot laboratory" on East Sixth Street

RIP Walter De Maria

What is your East Village dream home?

Walter De Maria's 'giant-robot laboratory' going for $25 million; inside is amazing as you'd expect

Walter De Maria's home/studio on East 6th Street is now on the market for $25 million

Rumor: The Brant Foundation buying Walter De Maria's E. 6th St. studio for an exhibition space (19 comments)

Confirmed: Peter M. Brant buys Walter De Maria's amazing East 6th Street home and studio

1st permits filed for renovation of Walter De Maria's former home-studio on East 6th Street

A soft opening at the Brant Foundation's new space at Walter De Maria's former East 6th Street studio

More about the 1st show at Walter De Maria's former home-studio on East 6th Street

How East 6th Street mainstay Mitali East lost its lease

As we first reported back on Saturday, the owners of East Sixth Street mainstay Mitali East have lost their lease.

According to posted signs in the restaurant between First Avenue and Second Avenue, Mitali East "is being forced to close" courtesy of the building's new owner, Steve Croman of 9300 Realty.

And now Mitali East has posted a letter outlining how the 42-year-old Indian restaurant lost their lease.

It's a little complicated... here's part of the letter:

It all started in 2010 when we had modified a lease agreement with the Previous landlord due to business becoming slow after the 2008 financial meltdown. Which we followed and paid by according to that modified lease agreement.

Fast forward to June 2012 and our building was sold by the old landlord to 9300realty (aka 334 east 6th LLC). 9300realty was made aware of our modified lease agreement from us and the old landlord. 9300realty who became our new and current landlord honored the modified lease agreement from June 2012 to November 2013 for about 18 months. Not sure why after 18 months 9300realty decided that they would not abide by the modified lease agreement.

It may have to do with the fact that at that point they had almost bought out most old tenats in the building and renovated the apartments to higher rents.

On December 2013 we got a notice that our rent would increase to the pre-modified amount. We reminded 9300realty about the agreement we had and they knew about when they had bought the building, but they didn't adjust it accordingly. Since then we have been paying according to the modified agreement monthly which they cashed and they had been billing the old amounts. We kept in contacting them to adjust the amounts to reflect our balance due as $0.

So basically this is how things followed: these ARE NOT THE REAL figures for rental amounts just make believe amounts to show an example.

In this example we will use 9,000 as the modified amount and 15,000 as the old amount. Basically it went like this. During this whole time our amount due was $0 if modified lease agreement was applied.

• December 2013 Rent paid 9000 they billed 15,000 difference 6,000
• January 2014 Rent paid 9000 they billed 15,000 difference 6,000
• February 2014 Rent paid 9000 they billed 15,000 difference 6,000

This pattern went on until April 2013 when they added up the differences of the 4 months and added April 2013 rent to file nonpayment proceedings in housing court. Even though our rent due balance was $0 since it was paid up to date.

There's a lot more. You can red the whole thing here.

Back on Friday, we heard that they would be closing any day now. Mitali East was not open as usual yesterday. Calls to the restaurant were met with a generic outgoing message. So perhaps that's it. The restaurant is open for business today.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Landlord Steve Croman denies new lease for 40-year-old Mitali East on 6th Street

Workers remove 10 trees from long-empty 1st Avenue lot

[Last September]

A tipster told us last September that there were preliminary plans in place to clear out this long-emtpy lot at 89 First Ave. between East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street ahead of some kind of development. (The rumor was a 7-floor residential building that included affordable housing.)

Workers fulfilled those clearing-out plans yesterday, as this photo by EVG reader Michael Hirsch shows…



By Michael's count, workers took down 10 trees.

To date, there's nothing on file with the city for anything on this property.

The lot's owner, Florence Toledano, also owns the 2Bn2C sculpture garden on East Second Street.

Perhaps coincidentally (or not), someone recently cleaned up that space too…



Previously on EV Grieve:
Will this long-empty lot on 1st Avenue yield to affordable housing?

Previously outside 89 First Ave….


[Photo by Michael Hirsch]

Lois now serving draft wine on Avenue C

[Photo via the Lois Facebook page]

Lois made its (her?) official debut yesterday at 98 Avenue C between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street.

The bar, which specializes in wine and beer exclusively on tap, is the creation of longtime friends Nora O’Malley and Phoebe Connell — the managers, respectively, of next-door neighbors Alphabet City Wine Co. and Alphabet City Beer. (As they point out, kegged wine costs less than its bottled counterparts. No glass bottles or labeling equal lower production costs, and lower cost for the consumer.)

You can read more about the space via Grub Street.

Find more details at the Lois website.

Lois is open seven days a week; Monday-Saturday from 4 p.m. until midnight, and Sunday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Lois is also available for private classes and events.

The sad, strange saga of Tony Franzese continues

[NYPD photo from 2012]

On Sept. 28, 2010, an air conditioner fell six stories and landed on the Winebar canopy on Second Avenue at Fourth Street before striking Tony Franzese on the sidewalk.

Franzese, who lived in the building and had been out walking his dog, was badly injured, and he later filed a $21 million liability lawsuit against the landlord ... and then he disappeared several months later.

As the Post reports today, a now-homeless Franzese has turned up again... and apparently doesn't want to pursue any legal matters ... much to the chagrin of his lawyer.

Franzese, 73, remains severely traumatized and is now insisting he wants nothing to do with the seven-figure negligence payout that would easily be his if he would just agree to come to court, his frustrated lawyer told The Post.

Instead, on Monday, the lawyer is going to Manhattan Supreme Court — alone, but on Franzese’s behalf — in hopes that he can convince a judge to compel the detective who found Franzese to bring him in off the streets.

Franzese is too mentally troubled to make decisions without a guardian or conservator, the lawyer argues.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former East Village resident injured by falling air conditioner remains missing

1 week left for Ess-A-Bagel at its current 1st Avenue location

You have until Sunday to stop by the bagel shop just a little north of here on First Avenue at East 21st Street. Ess-A-Bagel will be closed starting on March 23, per a note on display for customers inside the shop.

As the Town & Village Blog first reported on Jan. 16, Ess-a-Bagel was being forced out of its longtime home. However, according to a statement that the landlord's reps sent us, Ess-A-Bagel’s owners "repeatedly refused to meet us between their below-market rent and current market value."

Whatever transpired between the two sides … Ess-A-Bagel is leaving its home here of 39 years… perhaps staying close by…

Don't worry fans of Ess-a-Bagel's 1st Ave location, our delicious hand rolled bagels are just moving down the block!! #NYC'sBest=EssaBagel

— Ess-A-Bagel, Inc. (@EssABagel) January 17, 2015

The note to customers emphasizes that they will not be leaving the area ... with a Grand Reopening coming at an undisclosed location.

No word yet where the new Ess-A-Bagel might be… The former home of The Frenchmen is apparently a possibility, according to a tipster.

Meanwhile, Ess-A-Bagel fans are leaving notes on the wall...



Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Report: Landlord forcing Ess-a-Bagel from its longtime home (46 comments)

Mercadito has officially closed on Avenue B

As noted last Thursday, the Marshal served eviction papers to Mercadito … and while we've seen these situations work out between the landlord and tenant a few times, that's not the case here. Mercadito has closed for good at 179 Avenue B between East 11th Street and East 12th Street.

While there isn't any mention of a closure on the Mexican restaurant's website or social media properties, the phone has been disconnected … and the Avenue B location has been removed from the company website...



Said one EVG commenter, "They closed because their lease was up and they were going to triple the rent. Hard to imagine another restaurant that would be profitable given how popular it was."

In any event, that appears to be it for Mercadito's NYC presence. Mercadito Grove in the West Village closed last fall. And Mercadito Cantina at 172 Avenue B closed in January 2011.

Previously on EV Grieve:
About Mercadito Cantina closing: 'Open letter to EV Grieve and CB3'

Ginger has closed on 1st Avenue

That's apparently it for the unique little sushi place at 109 First Ave. near East Seventh Street… we heard that they would be closing some time this month… and now someone has removed the Ginger sign from the storefront.

An EVG reader said that a rent hike wasn't to blame for the closure of the 10-year-old Ginger… rather the owners decided to sell the business for family reasons. We haven't heard yet what might be coming next to the space.

Checking in on the Duane Reade coming soon to the Adele's retail space on Avenue D

We spotted the Duane Reade coming soon signs last July here in the retail space at the new Adele residential complex on Avenue D and East Houston. (Officially 310 E. Second St.)

Anyway, work continues on the space… which will not be just a Duane Reade but a Duane Reade by Walgreens… (All new Duane Reades will have this co-branding.)



The location will also include a Photo Department…



As previously noted, a Duane Reade might be needed on Avenue D… given that the Rite Aid between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street will close to make way for the 12-story, mixed-used apartment building going up at the address.

Life at 20 Avenue A

Workers erected a sidewalk bridge around 20 Avenue A at East Second Street on Thursday. According to one building source, part of the exterior brick covering fell off along a second-floor window.

And as for the address… the 62-unit, rent-regulated building changed hands last summer for $26.2 million, as The Real Deal first reported.

Per our coverage in August:

One building resident said that the new management company has been pretty responsive so far. And there's new laundry room coming soon.

"We will see how the honeymoon period goes," the resident said.

Apparently the honeymoon is over. The resident now says that "nonstop renovation has plagued the building since Elizabeth Assets LLC purchased the address."

Specifically:

"It's been pretty shitty. They have been doing non-stop construction that shuts off the elevator, breaks the door buzzer, turns off water without notice," among other things, according to the resident. "All the paperwork is under layer after layer of LLC so you can't even track down a legitimate place to send your complaints."

There are also accusations of unfriendly treatment toward the longtime residents, some of whom have been offered buyouts. As for all this, the residents formed a tenants association and have been working with outside housing sources for assistance.

According to Streeteasy, the newly gut renovated apartments range from $2,595 for a studio to $4,000 for a two-bedroom unit.

"The lobby and hallways are dirty and busted, and they keep telling new tenants that everything will be redone very soon," the resident said. "I wouldn't hold my breath."

13 months after opening, the USPS retail outlet on East 14th Street gets signage

Several readers pointed out that the new sign arrived here between First Avenue and Second Avenue back on Thursday… giving the former Duane Reade location that neighborhood post office look …

Perhaps this will prevent people from walking into the wrong building.

And a bonus nighttime shot via EVG regular Pinch…



The retail outlet opened on Feb. 24, 2014. This location took the place of the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office at 432-438 E. 14th St. just west of Avenue A, which will eventually yield to a 8-floor retail-residential complex.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Please note that this apartment building is NOT the new Post Office retail outlet on East 14th Street

Week in Grieview

[Photo on East 10th Street yesterday by Luke A]

Puebla Mexican Food is closing after 25 years on First Avenue (Monday)

At Pardon My French, now open on Avenue B (Wednesday)

#SaveNYC (Monday)

Organic food store taking over the former Kim's Video and Music space on First Avenue (Tuesday)

Rent hike forcing Cafe Pick Me Up into its smaller space next door on Avenue A (Friday)

East Village students, parents and teachers join in protesting Cuomo’s education reforms (Friday)

Out and About with Stephen Shanaghan and Arnoldo Caballero (Wednesday)

Rent hike dooms 42-year-old Mitali East on Sixth Street (Saturday)

The new addition for 324 E. Fourth S. (Monday)

Arturo Vega exhibition opens new Howl!-backed gallery on East First Street (Thursday)

The Marshal seizes Mercadito on Avenue B (Thursday)

Hou Yi Hot Pot coming to Second Avenue (Tuesday)

State of New York auctioned off the remains of B.A.D. Burger on Avenue A (Monday)

The future of 347 Bowery (sorta!) revealed (Friday)

Christo and Dora are building two nests on the Ageloff Towers (Tuesday)

Pasta in the works for St. Mark's Place (Thursday)

Kabin space for rent on Second Avenue (Friday)

Looks as if the Subway (sandwich shop) on East 14th Street has closed (Tuesday)

New York Sports Club is open on Avenue A (Wednesday)

Four months after moving across East 14th Street, Vegtown closes (Wednesday)

Here are your all-new trash cans on Avenue A (Wednesday)

The old Subway Inn neon sign is now up at the bar's new Upper East Side home (Monday)

… and some scenes from UNESSENTIAL CINEMA PRESENTS: THE RECKONING OF PAC LAB Thursday night at the Anthology Film Archives via Peter Brownscombe… who noted that some of the films were even in focus….

Free surfboard alert

On the southwest corner of First Avenue and Second Street as of 8:45 a.m.

And now we're humming this…

Last call for the Tompkins Square Park quinzhee

Photo this afternoon via Bobby Williams…

Previously!


[Photo from March 1 by Grant Shaffer]

Home entertainment set up for grabs

On East Sixth Street and Avenue D… via Dave on 7th

Landlord Steve Croman denies new lease for 40-year-old Mitali East on 6th Street

[Image via Facebook]

The sign on the restaurant's door at 334 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue sums up the situation...



As we understand it, the Marshal has already been by with eviction papers … and Mitali East, which has served Indian and Bengali specialties here since 1973, will be closing in another few days at most.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy dined at Mitali East last night. She said that Sai, the owner, wasn't bitter or upset — just sad. They have looked in the neighborhood for another space but, not surprisingly, nothing affordable is available.

Steve Croman bought the building in early January, according to public documents.

Just a few shopping days left

Outside Gem Spa on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place this morning…