Would you be surprised to learn that the East Houston Reconstruction Project is further delayed?

[What lies beneath East Houston]

Anytime that you've tried to cross East Houston from Avenue A west to the Bowery these past, oh, six years, you've probably wondered, When, dear [____], will this construction ever end?

To answer that very broadly — sometime this year. Probably!

Various reps for the never-ending East Houston Reconstruction Project appeared before CB3's Transportation & Public Safety/Environment Committee on Tuesday night. BoweryBoogie was there and learned that — ding! ding! — there will likely be another delay in completing the project.

Per BoweryBoogie:

Not only is the project delayed three years, but the September 2016 completion date previously provided was stretched again by another month. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s easily the third revised end date in recent memory. Blame more of the “utility interference” that contractors encounter each time the roadway is torn asunder (i.e. encountering issues with different agency wiring that needs attention).

Oh, and here are some photos of the Greenstreets pedestrian plaza outside Punjabi Deli from the fall... the work was finished around that time, but the final planting inside of the planters and bench installation likely won't happen now until the fall...





As, as previously posted, here's how the new Greenstreets and street configurations at Avenue A and Houston will look ...



And here are some general highlights from the city's latest East Houston Street Reconstruction Project newsletter (PDF!):

Proposed Work Schedule Winter 2016
1.Continue excavating and install 36” trunk water main at the Bowery and East Houston Street
2.Continue excavating and install trunk water main on East Houston Street between 2nd Avenue and the Bowery
3.Continue installing new catch basin and chute connection at 2nd Avenue
4.Begin excavating and install new center median planters

The DDC is reconstructing/replacing combined sewers, trunk main, water mains, catch basins, fire hydrants, sidewalks, etc., etc., along East Houston Street, from the Bowery to the FDR Drive. This work phase started in June 2010, when the Lakers beat the Celtics to win their 16th NBA Championship and "Jonah Hex" was playing in theaters.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Coming soon to East Houston: Construction, hell, rodent control stations

Long-threatened East Houston reconstruction starting this month

East Houston Street construction will be a living hell for an extra year

How you can help Punjabi Grocery & Deli stay in business

Never-ending construction continues to hurt Punjabi Grocery & Deli

Taxi Relief Stand arrives on Avenue A; Punjabi Grocery & Deli relieved

FedEx Ground takes on a new meaning on East Houston

An EVG reader shares the following...

Is the reason FedEx Ground is called FedEx Ground because this is a service that involves your packages being left standing on the GROUND on Houston Street?

We have noticed this ourselves... it appears that FedEx is using the former check cashing storefront in the Shoppes at Red Square between Avenue A and Avenue B as a storage space. That's all fine.

Except, as the EVG reader noted, there are piles of boxes on the sidewalk here on a daily basis — often without much adult supervision.





Back to the reader, who travels this route on a daily basis...

Surely this can’t be a good idea. Do things go missing? Do dogs pee on the boxes? One day we saw a set of three car wheels among the boxes.

We wondered what had happened to the fourth wheel. Stolen?

3 East Village restaurants that are expanding into new neighborhoods

[Image via]

1) Whitmans at 406 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue is opening its second NYC location ... in the Hudson Yards development on 10th Avenue between East 29th Street and East 30th Street, per DNAinfo. Co-owner Larry Kramer said that he hoped to be serving their style of burgers by the end of the summer or early fall.

2) Flinders Lane at 162 Avenue A between East 10th Street and East 11th Street is bringing their Australian cuisine down to West Broadway in Tribeca. CB1 gave them the OK for a liquor license this week, per the Tribeca Citizen.

3) Two Boots, with its flagship location on Avenue A at East Third Street, already has a fairly large pizzeria footprint ... and now they are adding to that. For starters, the 2 Boots in Grand Central is shutting down at the end of the month, as Eater first reported. Founder-owner Phil Hartman is moving nearby to 337 Lexington in the beginning of March. In addition, Eater notes that Hartman and his son Leon are adding locations in Jersey City, Stamford, Conn., Washington, D.C. and in the Financial District. This will up the 2 Boots total to nearly 20 in the United States.

Soothsayer is open at 171 Avenue A

Soothsayer started service this past week at 171 Avenue A near East 11th Street.

Here's the restaurant's description via its website:

Soothsayer offers a unique blend of authentic and contemporary Vietnamese food, which is complimented by exceptional and accessible craft beers, creative cocktails, and wines. Owned and operated by Stephan Brezinsky and his family, Soothsayer endeavors to create meaningful experiences through warm hospitality, high-quality food, and inspired drinks — all with an emphasis on local, seasonal, and sustainable ingredients.

Soothsayer is located on Avenue A between 10th and 11th, in the heart of New York City’s East Village neighborhood, where the Brezinsky family has lived and worked for 40+ years

You can find their menu here.

And the space is hardly recognizable from its previous tenant, B.A.D. Burger, which closed in early 2015.

Kitchen counter dining. #restaurant #vietnamesefood #nyc #alphabetcity #eastvillage #openkitchen

A photo posted by Soothsayer NYC (@soothsayer_nyc) on Jan 12, 2016 at 4:16pm PST

Previously on EV Grieve:
Incoming restaurant on Avenue A asking residents to rally for their liquor license and back patio (42 comments)

How much to rent the Long Bay (who?) space on East Sixth Street?

[EVG photo from August]

After just five weeks in business, Long Bay, the reasonably priced Vietnamese restaurant, shut its doors last spring at 503 E. Sixth St. just east of Avenue A. Homemade for rent signs arrived later in the summer... and the space remains on the market.

We just noticed the listing pop up at the real-estate firm of Voda Bauer. Here's the listing:

Nestled in the heart of the East Village off Avenue A, this space is near near restaurants, bars, retail stores and Residential buildings. New construction around the corner will provide a captive audience to any business! Full basement included with a second bathroom. Handicap Bathroom in place on the ground floor and outdoor space available upon request.

The asking rent: $7,000. (There's 1,600 square feet of space.)

And a bonus photo of the interior...



Place looks as if it has been empty a longer than just seven months.

The rats apparently tried to eat The Do Not Feed the Pigeons sign in Tompkins Square Park

The rats will need bigger holes to complete the job. (Maybe they are using the wood for their fireplace?)

Photo today by Bobby Williams.

Report: Fontana's packing it in on the LES

The owners of Fontana's will be closing their bar and performance venue at 105 Eldridge St. this spring, The Lo-Down reports today.

Proprietors Holly Ferrari, Mary Finn and Deannie Wheeler told The Lo-Down that "it has become increasingly hard to be an independent business in New York city without compromising your vision." With a new lease, their monthly rent in the space between Broome and Grand would have exceeded $30,000.

They haven't set a closing date just yet.

20 St. Mark's Place, home of the Grassroots Tavern, has been sold

[Image via LoopNet]

For months now we've been hearing that 20 St. Mark's Place was in the process of being sold.

And now details on the sale of the historic building between Second Avenue and Third Avenue are public. Real Estate Weekly noted last week that Klosed Properties is the new owner. There wasn't any mention of the price. According to public records, it appears that Klosed Properties paid about $5.6 million for the building, which includes a 2nd-floor co-op that also served as an art studio.

We don't know too much about this real-estate company. Among their newer properties in their vast portfolio: 837 Second Ave., which was home until last spring to the original, 90-year-old Palm Restaurant. As several news outlets reported, workers wiped away the Palm's iconic murals and magazine covers that lined the walls last August. Klosed principal Steven Kachanian told The Real Deal the following about the Palm space in August: "We're working with some high-end tenants looking to do some major work to the property."

So what does the sale mean for the lone tenant at No. 20 — the 40-year-plus old Grassroots Tavern? They are staying put. The bar's majority owner, Jim Stratton, also owned the building. According to a source with some background of the deal, the bar has a lease for the next five years... with an option after that for renewal.


[An early morning look at the Grassroots from last month]

The other retail tenant in the building, Sounds, closed in October after 36 years in business. (Sounds owner Brian Fair died in early December after a short stint in the hospital.)

20 St. Mark's Place, known as the Daniel LeRoy House, was built in 1832. It received landmark status in 1971... and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. (Find more history of the Greek Revival house here.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
The last record store on St. Mark's Place is closing

So long Sounds

RIP Brian Fair, owner of Sounds

A celebration of Punk Magazine starts tonight; plus EVG on EVR

The first issue of Punk Magazine debuted on Jan. 15, 1976... on this occasion, Howl! Happening is presenting an exhibition commemorating the 40th anniversary of the first issue, which featured cover-boy Lou Reed as drawn by founding editor John Holmstrom.

The exhibition showcases work by Holmstrom, an East Village resident, as well as some of the artists and illustrators who contributed to the magazine during its three-plus year run, including Robert Romagnoli (who replaced Robert Crumb at The Village Voice) and Ken Weiner, who will be drawing "Ugly Portraits" during the opening tonight. There will also be artifacts from the magazine, including the Sex Pistols Puppets featured on the cover of Punk No. 14.

The exhibition continues through Jan. 30 at the Howl! Happening gallery space on East First Street. The opening reception is tonight from 6-8. Visit Howlarts.org for updates and a full schedule of events during the exhibition.

Details:
Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
All events are free
Howl! Happening: An Arturo Vega Project, 6 E. First St. between the Bowery and Second Avenue

Meanwhile!

Tomorrow morning (Friday, Jan. 15!) from 10-noon, I'll be talking with Holmstrom and some other Punk alum for an interview airing on East Village Radio. Listen in via dashradio.com/EVR or the Dash Radio app.

The show will be rebroadcast at some point during the weekend. (I will update with the time...)

Previously on EV Grieve:
Q-and-A with John Holmstrom, founding editor of Punk Magazine

John Holmstrom on the CBGB movie and the East Village of 2013

Empire Biscuit is taking time for housekeeping this month; will open for limited hours

[Reader photo from last week]

As a follow-up to our post from yesterday, Empire Biscuit owner Jonathan Price (he recently bought out his partner Yonadav Tsuna, who moved to the West Coast) assured us in an email yesterday that the quick-serve restaurant at 198 Avenue A is just taking a break for parts of this month.

"It's a slow time of year," he said. "We're doing some housekeeping. We refinished the floors in the kitchen Tuesday, for example. It's been over two years and there's just a lot of maintenance to do."

The restaurant has posted two "closed for brief winter break" signs on the front door so far this month.

Starting tonight, EB will be open Thursday night through Sunday night during January here between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.

As for the Empire Biscuit website that was offline, the domain issue is being resolved and they should be back live soon... online and behind the counter.

Previously on EV Grieve:
What's going on at Empire Biscuit?

We'll always have the L train

The MTA is reportedly mulling over plans to repair Sandy-damaged tunnels on the L train between Manhattan and Brooklyn ... including one scenario that shuts them down entirely during the duration of the repairs — roughly three years.

That was one eye-opening takeaway from a report published at Gothamist, who noted that the MTA is also considering keeping one tunnel open during the process.

Richard Barone, the director of transportation programs for the Regional Plan Association, told Gothamist:

"It really depends on how quickly it takes the MTA to get the job done versus the severity of the shutdown. So if they can get it done in a year, but they have to shut both tunnels down, it's one thing. If it takes them three or four years to do it, and they have to alternate shutting down the tunnels, you have to question, which is better? Is it better to get it done faster but with massive disruption? Is it even possible to do that? Is there an another alternative that these folks can take to get to Manhattan for work?"

In the shutdown scenario, Manhattan-bound L trains would terminate at Bedford Avenue, the line's busiest station, per Gothamist. More than 300,000 people take the L on an average weekday.

Thoughts on how a prolonged L train shutdown would impact this neighborhood...?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is an Avenue A entrance for the L train in our future?

Avenue A L train entrance closer to a reality … some day

City council members talk up new L train entrance coming to Avenue A

Demolition permits filed to level the former Rite Aid and 2 other empty storefronts on Avenue D

[EVG photo from Sunday]

On Monday, we reported that the Rite Aid on Avenue D has relocated one block to the north.

DNAinfo pointed out yesterday that there are now permits on file with the city to demolish the one-story storefronts at 79-89 Avenue D between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street.

As previously noted, a 12-story building with a total of 96,038 square feet (7,868 of them for the retail component) will rise here. There are 108 dwelling units in the works. A spokesperson for L+M Development Partners confirmed to DNAinfo that the building will also feature some inclusionary housing.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Space that houses Rite Aid on Avenue D hits market for $22.5 million

Report: New 12-story, mixed-use building in the works for Avenue D

Permit pre-filed for new 12-floor building at 79-89 Avenue D

Rite Aid relocates ahead of new development on Avenue D

Live from 'The Chintz Age'

The latest book from Ed Hamilton was released late last year... and the author of 2007's "Legends of the Chelsea Hotel: Living with the Artists and Outlaws of New York’s Rebel Mecca" will be taking part in several readings for "The Chintz Age: Tales of Love and Loss for a New New York" in the days and weeks ahead...

• Thursday, Jan. 14, 7 p.m. — Inspired Word's monthly series, hosted by Michael Phillip Geffner, presents NYC writers at the Parkside Lounge, 317 E. Houston St. at Attorney Street.

• Friday, Jan. 22, 7 p.m. — Bluestockings, 172 Allen St. near Stanton Street

• Wednesday, Feb. 10, 6 p.m. — The Salmagundi Art Club of New York, 47 Fifth Ave. Hosted by the Greenwich Village Society of Historic Preservation

• Thursday, Feb. 18, 7 p.m. — KGB Bar, 85 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery, part of the "Drunken Careening Writers" series hosted by Kathleen Warnock.

Here's a quick synopsis of "The Chintz Age" via its press materials:

In seven stories and a novella, Ed Hamilton takes on this clash of cultures between the old and the new, as his characters are forced to confront their own obsolescence in the face of a rapidly surging capitalist juggernaut. Ranging over the whole panorama of New York neighborhoods — from the East Village to Hell’s Kitchen, and from the Bowery to Washington Heights — Hamilton weaves a web of urban mythology. Punks, hippies, beatniks, squatters, junkies, derelicts, and anarchists ... searching for meaning and a place to make their stand.

EV Grieve Etc.: Skateboarder killed on Delancey; EV restaurateur arrested for indecent exposure

[Turning back time on East 6th Street via Derek Berg]

Greenpoint skateboard shop owner killed skating and hitching a ride yesterday afternoon on Delancey (Gothamist)

East Village restaurateur Dan Hoyt arrested again for indecent exposure (Daily News)

An interview with the Ancient Mariner of St. Mark's Place (The New York Times) Read our interview with Phillip Giambri here

Notes from Monday night's CB3/SLA committee meeting (BoweryBoogie)

A crowd to replace Sheldon Silver (The Lo-Down)

A Q-and-A with the partners and sisters behind the boutique Duo on East Ninth Street (Racked)

"St. Marks Is Dead" author Ada Calhoun has several local readings this month (Schedule here)

When AC/DC played CBGB in 1977 (Dangerous Minds)

... and from the EVG inbox...

"Bayside! The Musical!" is back in NYC, playing alongside "Full House! The Musical!" at Theater 80 on St. Mark's Place (Ticket info here)

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: Spike Polite
Occupation: Musician, Lead Singer for SEWAGE, Actor, Model
Date: Thursday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: The Edge, 3rd Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue

I was born on a military base. I think it was Buffalo. My father was in the Cold War and in the end of Vietnam. We lived on military bases and then upstate, but I was forced to come here as an early teenager. My mom had me institutionalized, like for suicidal tendencies. I never thought you could be forced to be stuck in New York City, but it happened to me. I was 14 going on 15. Then they put through me the person in need of supervision, even though I wasn’t in need of supervision and then they sent me to Lincoln Hall. I had to go through all these foster homes and they kept me down here. Then when I got out of that they wouldn’t have me back.

I just met other people and it was always my goal to do something with music. I went to CBs. This was in 1988. When I was a kid skateboard fashion was coming around and people were listening to a lot of punk rock. As a child, my mother always took away my guitars and took away all the stuff. I grew up loving the Ramones, Sex Pistols, the Exploited, GBH — I liked them from both sides of the pond. I used to literally play over and over all the Sex Pistol songs on the album through my guitar and amp as a kid, and of course AC/DC and Black Sabbath too.

I started living in the squats. I just knew that this was rough and tough but it was easier than being in all of those foster homes and detention centers. At least here I had a fighting chance that I could have allies. The thing was, I didn’t have any direction or anything like that. I didn’t have a family to say, here is a trust fund, now you should go to college and blah blah blah. I didn’t have anything like that. I had a survival-level type of thing ... so I banded together with these other people and we lived in this abandoned building.

We’d find things on the street because New York was a different place then. Everything was on the street. They’d throw it away and you could take it yourself and sell it, right from the garbage where you found it. So we would go and take that stuff and we’d put it up in the squat and we’d make these little kingdoms and comfy crashpads and flophouses and then we’d go out during the day. Everybody would go out to make some kind of money and figure out whether they wanted to delve deeper into having nothing and do drugs and raise money for drugs, or if you wanted to go out and try to elevate yourself or to get up out of that stuff.

The 8th Street squat came after 3BC. 3BC was the headquarters of punk rockers, with spiked-up jackets and spiked-up hair, and colored hair and tight jeans and all that good business, whereas the other squats were mainly for the crusties. They were like the downtrodden with the pieces of rope for hair, and they would wear the baggy clothes and they looked like the color of concrete. They thought they were peaceful, so we were the anarchy punks, the punk rockers with the spikey hair, so we were different than them. 3BC was a flophouse of just like 50 to a 100, 200 punks crashing up there. A lot of them were visiting from out of town and most of the people in the squats, even the crusties, were from out of town too. Very few of them were from here or even from the state.

Punk rock ... I would define it from my point of view, basically it was working class, up to middle-class people. It was a rowdy, rebellious culture who had a reason to be rebellious because their way of life and everything was messed up. We were independent rebellious. We’re more like cats. Skinheads act like dogs; they want to be in packs. Punk rockers are independent people and they could take it or leave it. A lot of those people were Oliver Twist-type people. They’re paupers; they’re poor, but they’ll give you anything, the shirt off their back. They have nothing but you have their loyalty, almost like William Wallace of "Braveheart." The heart matters good, but it matters if the order is with you, but then in runk rock if you get too close to the order, you’re a sellout.

James will have more from Spike Polite in the next Out and About in the East Village...

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

Guayoyo has been closed now for 1 year

[Photo from Jan. 14, 2015]

On the morning of Jan. 13, 2015, a fire broke out in the basement of Guayoyo, the Venezuelan restaurant at 133 E. Fourth St. and First Avenue.

Residents in the building were briefly evacuated, but the FDNY allowed them to return a short time later.

In the months that followed, we saw a few workers inside cleaning up the restaurant space. One employee on the scene last April told us that he hoped that Guayoyo would be back open "soon."

The space has sat empty now for months.


[EVG photo from last week]

We haven't seen any signs of life. The restaurant's phone is no longer in service ... and no one responded to a message we sent to Guayoyo's public email account.

During a follow-up inspection after the fire, Con Ed discovered a gas leak in the building, according to a spokesperson for landlord Icon Realty. Con Ed then shut off gas service to the building. For the past year, a temporary boiler has sat outside the residential entrance on East Fourth Street.

According to Chris Coffey, the Icon representative, a majority of tenants have now had their gas service restored.

And Guayoyo?

"We're continuing to work with the restaurant to get them up and running as soon as possible," Coffey, managing director with Tusk Strategies, told us yesterday. However, he said that there wasn't any timeframe for their return, citing the ongoing involvement with DOB and Con Ed representatives.

He said getting the gas service restored — for both the tenants and the restaurant — was a "daily activity" for the landlord. According to permits on file at the DOB website, the city has yet to approve a new fire suppression system for the restaurant. (The permit was filed on Oct. 1. The city disapproved of the plan on Dec. 1.)

As seen with B&H's labyrinth of red tape earlier last summer ... after the city OKs the permit ... and a FDNY-approved contractor does the necessary kitchen work, the FDNY must sign off on the new system. Then Con Ed steps in to test the gas lines. Once the restaurant receives final approval by all involved parties, the Department of Health arrives for an inspection before any food can be served.

So how can Guayoyo survive a year — and longer — without income but with mounting expenses?

According to Coffey, the restaurant does not currently have to pay rent ... and he says that Icon has waved over $80,000 in back rent.

The husband-wife team who own Guayoyo previously ran Kura Sushi at the address, which dates to 1988. After a lawsuit prompted by a similarly name restaurant in California, Kura later became Ishikura before closing in 2009.

There are residents who feel as if Icon has been deliberately dragging along the process so Guayoyo will eventually vacate their lease. Arthur Nersesian, a local writer, neighbor and frequent Guayoyo patron, figures the delay will allow Icon "to turn the corner into another overpriced shithole that will attract the worst and destroy what to me is still an East Village relic."

Former Gothic Cabinet Craft space for rent

Earlier this month, the longtime East Village location of Gothic Cabinet Craft packed up and left the corner of Third Avenue and East 13th Street, its home since 1969.

The two-level retail space — 1,500 square feet total on the main floor and basement — is now on the market.

There aren't many details on the listing, other than the annual rent is $350,000 per year... just a little more than $29k per month.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Gothic Cabinet Craft has closed on 3rd Avenue

[Updated] What's going on at Empire Biscuit?

[Reader photo from last week]

That's the question an Avenue A resident asked after noticing that the biscuit purveyors at 198 Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street have closed for a "brief winter break" for the second time this month.

Last week...



But then they did reopen...

Closing for two days felt like a year. Hello, EVill.

— Empire Biscuit (@empirebiscuit) January 9, 2016

... and as of yesterday... another sign appeared, noting that they'd be back open on Jan. 14...



There isn't any mention of this second winter closure on the Biscuit's social media properties.

The quick-serve restaurant's website is also down for the count...



Empire Biscuit opened in the fall of 2013.

Updated 5:53 p.m.

Empire Biscuit assured us that they will reopening... Here's a new post with comments from owner Jonathan Price. "It's a slow time of year," he said. "We're doing some housekeeping. We refinished the floors in the kitchen Tuesday, for example. It's been over two years and there's just a lot of maintenance to do."


H/T dwg

Early tree decorating ideas for 2016

Spotted on Second Avenue this evening via @edenbrower ...

The Sock Man says thank you; store closes on Saturday

As we first reported last Thursday, The Sock Man is closing on St. Mark's Place after nearly 33 years here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

The Sock Man took to Facebook on Sunday night:

The Sock Man wishes all of you all a Happy and healthy New Year! Unfortunately, after 30 years on The block, we will no longer call 27 St.Mark's Place our home. This will take place in the next week.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your support in making my business what it is. You never know where our new home will be, but in the meantime The Sock Man is still open for business at www.thesockman.com. With the low shipping rates!

Thank you for EVERYTHING!! ‪#‎SaveNYC‬

A tipster told us that the landlord is asking for 3x the current rent.

Owner Marty Rosen has been peddling socks, tights, lingerie and other accessories in this space since 1983.

In an interview in the Daily News in 2009, Sock Man customer Chloe Sevigny called Rosen the "grumpiest man on Earth." Responded Rosen: "I have my moments. I'm from New York. We all have our moments."

Updated 1 p.m.

In a follow-up comment, The Sock Man said that Friday (Jan. 15) is his last day in business.

Updated 5 p.m.

I should have noted earlier that this address was one of the 16 East Village properties purchased by Raphael Toledano’s Brookhill Properties last September.

Updated 1/15

The store will now close by 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 16.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Sock Man is closing on St. Mark's Place