More about the Birdman closing Rainbow Music on 1st Avenue this month

[Photo in March 2014 by EVG reader Chris F.]

As you may have heard, the Birdman, who works amid the stacks of used CDs, videos and cassettes at Rainbow Music, is retiring and closing his 17-year-old store at 130 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and East Seventh Street at the end of the month.

The Times today has more about his decision.

“I don’t need the aggravation anymore, and this is aggravation,” he said, looking around at the clutter. “It kept me busy, but now I’m tired.”

And!

He estimates that he has crammed 250,000 CDs and perhaps 50,000 more video and audiocassettes into the small space. Just to enter the store, at 130 First Avenue ... seemed to risk setting off a cascading avalanche of thousands of plastic cases.

“The store is so jammed, people are amazed by it, but then they see I got good stuff,” he said. “I can dig out anything I want. The thing is, I just don’t want to dig anymore.”

To date, the Birdman has never revealed his name, not even for Jessie Auritt's 10-minute short about the store...

However, in the Times, he "reluctantly confirmed that his given name was Bill Kasper."

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Birdman of the East Village

You can read our Q-and-A with Auritt here.

The shoe repair post that you've been waiting for

For rent signs arrived Friday at the former A.K. Shoe Repair on East Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

The shop closed at the end of August. The proprietor told DNAinfo that his rent went from $2,000 to $4,500. Coupled with other expenses, he said that he couldn't make the business work any longer.

At the end of July, Alex Shoe Repair closed on Second Avenue between East Third Street and East Fourth Street. The owner was paying $4,000 a month in rent. The new asking rent from Icon Realty is $14,000.

Other neighborhood cobblers to close in recent years include David's Shoe Store on East Seventh Street and A. Fontana Shoe Repair on East 10th Street ... while East Village Shoe Repair closed on St. Mark's Place, only to relocate to Bushwick.

Here's DNAinfo with an explanation for the cobbler closures:

Across the city, experienced cobblers are closing the doors of their small businesses as they see their rents rise, potential customers buying new shoes rather than repairing old ones, and a dearth of apprentices interested in learning their trade.

As for who's left in the East Village, we counted four, including two shops with Alex in the title (neither are related to the Alex who closed on Second Avenue…)



Alex Shoe Repair, 99 Avenue C between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street…

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Alex Shoe and Watch Repair (and barber shop!), 71 First Ave. between East Fifth Street and East Fourth Street…

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Firm Shoe Repair, 116 Fourth Ave. at East 12th Street…

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Steve's Express Shoe Repair, 311 E. 14th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue…

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Ugh… forgot this one...



14th Street Shoe Repair Shop, 428 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue…

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And there are a few shops on the periphery of the neighborhood, such as Star Shoe & Watch Repair at 74 Bleecker between Crosby and Broadway … and John’s Shoe Repair at 30 Irving Place between East 15th Street and East 16th Street.

I'd take my business to John's when I worked nearby. Once, I brought in a pair of shoes that another shop kinda screwed up. The proprietor looked at the shoes, and with a great deal of disgust, said, "The person who did this wasn't a cobbler." He paused. "He was a butcher."

East Village Cheese, now with an East Village Cheese sign

Still no word on an opening date just yet here at 80 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... but this is a good sign, so to speak.

Updated 9:15 a.m.

Two photos showing how the interior is shaping up...





Previously on EV Grieve:
Rumors: Duane Reade expansion will take over adjacent storefronts, including East Village Cheese (74 comments)

[Updated] Confirmed: East Village Cheese will be moving to Avenue A later this year

East Village Cheese makes move to 7th Street official

[Updated] Work starts on new home of the East Village Cheese Shop

Looking at the incoming East Village Cheese shop on East 7th Street

Party progress at Icon Realty's 205 Avenue A

Icon Realty's 205 Avenue A has a bit of a reputation for its rooftop ragers, which in the past attracted the attention of the neighbors, the police and the media. (Brokers did once dub this an "East Village frat house" in a listing.)

Haven't heard too much from the address this past summer ... until an EVG reader who lives nearby noted that there was a sizable party with maybe 100 guests between the rooftop and backyard area on Friday evening.

Per the reader:

Most interestingly was what was going on in the backyard. There was a DJ, and lots of lights, but the noise was minimal. It took me a minute to piece it together, but all of the lights were coming from headphones that everyone was wearing — they literally set up a silent disco in their backyard.

I don't really want to pan these guys cause it's definitely progress from last year and I guess I appreciate them coming up with a creative way to keep the noise down (even if the thought process almost certainly was more about not having the cops called than thinking about their neighbors).

Previously on EV Grieve:
Friday night's rooftop party at Icon Realty's 205 Avenue A (49 comments)

Your 6-bedroom dream 'frat house' awaits you in the East Village

Icon Realty's new Avenue A 'frat house' is attracting attention

At 205 Avenue A, where the NYPD stops by 'almost every weekend'

Construction watch: 222 E. 13th St.

Just noting that work has commenced here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue at the future location of the Bea Arthur Residence for homeless LGBT youth.

Per some previous posts:

Bea Arthur, who died in April 2009, left $300,000 to the Ali Forney Center, an organization supporting homeless LGBT youth, in her will. In 2012, City Council as well as then-Borough President Scott Stringer awarded the Ali Forney Center and the Cooper Square Committee $3.3 million for the residence, which will house 18 residents.

And here's the rendering ...



Previously on EV Grieve:
A haunted house on 13th Street?

Abandoned 13th Street building becoming the Bea Arthur Residence for homeless LGBT youth

Here's what the Bea Arthur Residence will look like on East 13th Street

Groundbreaking today on East 13th Street for the Bea Arthur Residence for homeless LGBT youth

Plywood report

Neighborhood watchdog keeping an eye on the construction at the former Mary Help of Christians property, where there will be a mixed-use building with ground-floor retail and 82 market-rate condos some day...



Photos by Shawn Chittle

Week in Grieview

[Lion among the flowers on East Houston via Derek Berg]

Community Board 3 member Morris Faitelewicz, his wife and daughter's fiancé die in upstate car crash (Tuesday)

First Flight Music closing at the end of the month (Thursday)

Raphael Toledano completes purchase of 16-building East Village portfolio (Friday)

First look at the new Puebla Mexican Food in Essex Street Market (Tuesday)

Out and About with Lisa Arbetter (Wednesday)

More about Edwin and Neal's Fish Bar, coming soon to East Sixth Street (Tuesday)

A partially opened gate at the Stage on Second Avenue (Wednesday)

Graffiti legend Futura next up on the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall (Thursday)

Bar Virage closes to debut a new menu (Wednesday)

Sitting empty on St. Mark's Place (Thursday)

Building progress at 27 Avenue D (Friday)

Big Lee's makes it official on First Avenue (Wednesday)

26 Avenue B is alive again with the sounds of dump trucks and digging (Friday)

Ramen Zundo-ya opening first U.S. outpost on East 10th Street (Tuesday)

Images from the summer of 2015 (Monday)

Double rainbow! (Thursday)

Thoughts on NYC nostalgia of the late 1970s (Thursday)

Preparing for the papal visit (Sunday)

So Zoltar is a cat? (Monday)

Puebla Mexican Food opens today in the Essex Street Market

[Photo by Stacie Joy]

Back on Tuesday, EVG correspondent Stacie Joy reported that Irma Marin had found a new home for her restaurant in the Essex Street Market.

And Stacie says that everything has quickly come together for Marin and her Puebla Mexican Food food stall: She is opening for business today.

Marin hopes to be serving by noon. (Today's Market hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. And 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.)

Marin closed her 25-year-old location on First Avenue in March due to a rent increase.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Puebla Mexican Food is closing after 25 years on 1st Avenue

You'll now have until March 23 to visit Puebla Mexican Food on 1st Avenue

Puebla Mexican Food closes on 1st Avenue; Villacemita opens on Avenue A

First look at the new Puebla Mexican Food in Essex Street Market

NYPD apparently helping crack down on abandoned-looking bikes

EVG reader Mike H. on the Ninth Street spotted these flyers this morning on non-abandoned-looking bikes along East Ninth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D…



Per the sign:

"Please be avised due to the number of 311 calls and community complaints regarding the bikes on the sidewalk which have been left for extended time and seem to be abandoned.

You are requested to remove the bikes to a proper location within the next three (3) day from today (September 16, 2015) otherwise they will be deem abandoned and Department of Sanitation will remove and discard."

Hmm, not sure if these are legit NYPD signs or the creation of an annoyed resident. Anyway, per the signs, people have until Wednesday to move the bikes… Anyone spot these bike flyers elsewhere?

Probably a good idea for the city to be proactive on this to head off an expose by the Post. ("Even abandoned bikes say de Blasio has been a failure...")

The New York City Marble Cemetery is open for a visit today

Today at the New York City Marble Cemetery on East Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... via the EVG inbox...

A reminder….. that we invite you to join us at our Neighborhood Open Day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

And upcoming!

Fall Open Weekend, with historic displays, photos and artifacts
Saturday and Sunday
Oct. 17-18
11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Read more about the cemetery here.

Image via

The 44th annual East 10th Street Block Fair is today

From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on that nice block go East 10th Street between Third Avenue and Second Avenue… featuring antiques, collectibles, food, music and likely no tube socks.

UV index

Cold Beat has a new record out... and the San Francisco-based band will be in Brooklyn for two shows on Sept. 18 (Union Pool) and Sept. 19 (Shea Stadium).

Here's a look at "UV" from last summer.

Updated 9-12
Cold Beat will be doing an in-store performance at Other Music, 15 E. Fourth St., on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.

EV Grieve Etc.: East 2nd Street bomb scare; East Village photos from the 1980s

[What the hay? Avenue A and 7th Street via Derek Berg]

Bomb scare leads to evacuation of firehouse on East Second Street (New York Post, last item)

The paintings of longtime East Village resident Patricia Melvin (Off the Grid)

More 1980s photos of the East Village via photographer Tony Mangia (The Daily Mail)

Going back to school on the Lower East Side — in 1890 (Ephemeral New York)

Former Bialystoker nursing home on the LES goes for $18 Million (The Lo-Down)

Ken Auletta on Bratton's NYPD (The New Yorker)

Cookbook in the works from Superiority Burger (Grub Street)

The Louis Zuflacht building sells on Stanton Street (BoweryBoogie)

A look back at "The Warriors" (The Village Voice)

There's still some unreleased Velvet Underground material out there (Dangerous Minds)

... and font lovers take note... via the EVG inbox...

Exhibition Celebrates 30th Anniversary of The Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography, 1985–2015

What: The exhibit "thirty" reveals the many hidden gems amongst the more than 50,000 pieces of design ephemera in The Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design & Typography’s collection.

Made to recreate the archive in the gallery space, visitors will be able to see highlights from the collection arranged in flat files, the same ones used by researchers in the center. The work on view will span two centuries and several continents, including several one-of-a-kind, rarely seen pieces of design, like the pilot issue of Life magazine, a sketch of a logo for MTV and a 19th century bill of sale.

Ongoing Exhibition: Sept. 11 – Oct. 3
Monday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Sunday noon – 5 p.m.

Where: 41 Cooper Gallery at The Cooper Union, Third Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets.

Report: Raphael Toledano completes purchase of 16-building East Village portfolio

[233-235 E. 5th St.]

Raphael Toledano’s Brook Hill Properties has completed the purchase of 16 East Village buildings from the Tabak family, paying $97 million, according to The Real Deal.

The portfolio amounts to 301 apartments and 15 retail spaces. Here are the addresses (updated this list 9/12):

• 27 St. Marks Place – 20 residential units; 2 commercial units
• 66 East 7th Street – 22 residential units; 2 commercial units
• 95 East 7th Street – 20 residential units
• 223 East 5th Street – 18 residential units
• 228 East 6th Street – 20 residential units; 2 commercial units
• 229 East 5th Street – 10 residential units
• 231 East 5th Street – 8 residential units; 2 commercial units
• 233 East 5th Street – 10 residential units
• 235 East 5th Street – 10 residential units
• 253 East 10th Street – 20 residential units; 1 commercial unit
• 323-325 East 12th Street – 37 residential units
• 327 East 12th Street – 22 residential units; 2 commercial units
• 329 East 12th Street – 24 residential units
• 334 East 9th Street – 20 residential units; 2 commercial units
• 510 East 12th Street – 20 residential units; 2 commercial units
• 514 East 12th Street – 20 residential units

The deal moved forward despite the fact that Toledano’s uncle, power broker Aaron Jungreis, is suing him. According to the Daily News, the two allegedly agreed to form a joint venture to acquire the buildings, but Toledano reportedly went behind his uncle's back to buy them himself. Jungreis accuses his nephew of being "motivated solely by greed." (This suit was settled. See update below.)

In other East Village Toledano legal action... In May, rent-regulated tenants at 444 E. 13th St. filed a lawsuit against Toledano and his Goldmark Property Management for "deplorable conditions" as well as for alleged ongoing threats and harassment.

Then in August, state officials served subpoenas on Goldmark Property Managmenet, investigating whether the company threatened tenants with police raids, evictions and the shut off of essential service, as The Real Deal put it.

Updated 11:30 a.m.

Real Estate Weekly had more details on the sale...

Toledano, who at 25 is the youngest landlord in New York City with a portfolio of this size, and Brookhill Properties are focusing on this neighborhood because of its appeal to millennials (18-35 year-olds) and the significant potential for continued growth. Toledano is currently under contract to purchase an additional 11 buildings in the East Village, West Village and Murray Hill for $55 million.

“We are committed to being a force for good in the neighborhood and providing our tenants with high-quality apartments,” Toledano said. “Our company is not just a property owner, we are members of this East Village community and look forward to partnering with local groups to show our dedication.”

Updated 12:30 p.m.

The Real Deal reports that Jungreis and Toledano have settled...

“I am glad that we were able to amicably settle with Mr. Jungreis and continue focusing on what matters – serving our tenants and asserting ourselves as the largest landlord in the East Village while continuing to better the community,” Toledano told The Real Deal.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Landlord of 444 E. 13th St. threatened 'to drop dynamite on the building'

Reader report: Large portfolio of East Village buildings ready to change hands

Report: State investigating East Village landlord Raphael Toledano

Report: Uncle suing nephew broker Raphael Toledano over $100 million East Village deal

26 Avenue B is alive again with the sounds of dump trucks (and digging)

The onetime Croxley Ales beer garden is now a full-on construction zone again. Work has resumed at 26 Avenue B between East Second Street and East Third Street, where there are plans for an 8-unit, 6-floor residential building.

EVG regular Salim shared these photos, showing the activity starting Wednesday at the site…



Work stopped in April 2013, after excavation here caused the evacuation of the residents (and Croxley Ales) next-door at No. 28. A resident at No. 28 started to notice cracks in her ceiling after construction began, DNAinfo reported. Debris also reportedly fell from the building.

The current rendering on the plywood still shows the building next door … with a completion date of — !!!!!! — January 2016.



Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] 6-story apartment building ready to rise from the former Croxley Ales beer garden

[Updated] Report: 28 Avenue B has been evacuated

Full-stop work order served at construction site adjacent to evacuated Avenue B building

Resident wants stuff back that workers took from not abandoned apartment

Is 26 Avenue B ready for its new building now?

Take a Load OUT tomorrow on East 3rd Street

[Image via Facebook]

The annual Load OUT! event is happening tomorrow (Sept. 12) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Here are details via the EVG inbox…

FABNYC is hosting Load OUT!, a creative recycling and repurposing riot during which we bring together gently used materials from arts organizations throughout the East Village and LES. Take home costumes, props, and furniture for your next artistic endeavor!

In 2010, we noticed that local theaters were “loading out” sets and materials directly into dumpsters after productions ended their runs. Not only were the materials being disposed of inefficiently and unsustainably, but were often of great value to other artists.

As a creative response, FABnyc initiated “Load OUT!” inviting neighborhood arts and cultural groups, non-profits, and community members to donate sets, costumes, props and office equipment they no longer needed, to be made available to other artists.

Among the listed items up for grabs: 200 candles, costumes from La MaMa's production closet, 20 gallons of white paint, 70 cowboy hats, prop cigarettes, printers, a voodoo doll… (we saw something about tennis balls too)…

Load OUT! is happening at 11 E. Third St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery. Visit the FABNYC website for more details. Admission is $5; free for artists (not sure how you prove this) and students.

Construction watch: 27 Avenue D

Checking in on the progress at 27 Avenue D, where the Educational Alliance is adding an extension to their existing building here between East Third Street and East Fourth Street.

This location of the Educational Alliance, a co-ed outpatient facility for adults struggling with chemical dependencies, will use the new 6-story building for housing patients in their treatment programs.

The rendering shows the final product looking like…



As previously reported… after digging the foundation for the extension, the site sat dormant for several years, collecting water and reportedly breeding mosquitos.

In the summer of 2012, the Orchard Alley community garden on East Fourth Street had to close due to the mosquito infestation coming from the water-filled site at 27 Avenue D.

[EVG photo from July 2012]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Work on Educational Alliance extension, the former 'mosquito hazard,' resumes on Avenue D

In case you missed the double rainbow this morning

A photo posted by Seán Ó Grállaigh (@johngreally) on Sep 10, 2015 at 6:30am PDT

Photo from the Bowery by John Greally… Gothamist has more double rainbow action here.

Thoughts on NYC nostalgia of the late 1970s

[Photo by Michael Sean Edwards]

The Times has posted content from the fall issue of T Magazine, which includes an essay by novelist Edmund White titled Why Can’t We Stop Talking About New York in the Late 1970s?

Specifically he's talking about 1977-1982… an excerpt:

Those were years when rents were low, when would-be writers, singers, dancers could afford to live in Manhattan’s (East, if not, West) Village, before everyone marginal was further marginalized by being squeezed out to Bushwick or Hoboken. Face-to-face encounters are essential to a city’s vitality, even among people who aren’t sure of each other’s names, for the exchange of ideas and to generate a sense of electricity. In the ’70s, creative people of all sorts could meet without plans, could give each other tips or discuss burgeoning theories or markets or movements.

You can read the whole piece here … there's also an accompanying slideshow that provides a sneak preview of "The Downtown Decade: NYC 1975 – 1985," on display now through Oct. 10 at Rare/Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, 17 W. 54th St.

First Flight Music closing at the end of the month

[Undated photo via the Voice]

First Flight Music, billed as the most complete music store in downtown Manhattan, is closing shop at the end of the month.

Owner Daniel Wollock confirmed the closure in an email to us yesterday.

"After 20 years we have to vacate this store by the end of September," he said. "We thought we had secured a new, albeit smaller location nearby, but it has not worked out."

The 1,500 square-feet of space one level up at 174 First Ave. includes soundproofed practice rooms for shoppers to test out the instruments as well an area for music lessons.

Wollock did not disclose the reason for the closure.

The building here between East 10th Street and East 11th Street was previously owned by the DeRobertis family, who sold it and closed their bakery-cafe last December after 110 years in business.

According to public records, an LLC that shares an address with Jonis Realty paid just under $10 million for the building. (It originally hit the market asking $12 million.)

As previously reported, Black Seed bagels is close to opening in the former DeRobertis space.

First Flight is the second music shop to close along the stretch of the East Village of late. A-1 Music shuttered at 186 First Ave. in early 2014.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] 174-176 First Ave. is in contract