Cleaning the rabbit ears at 51 Astor Place

Wash day again for the 14-foot-tall, 6,600-pound red rabbit sculpture by Jeff Koons inside the lobby at the IBM Watson Building/51 Astor Place/Death Star... photo via EVG reader 8E.

Report: The Ziegfeld Theatre is closing, will become high-end event space

Venturing up to Midtown for a post...In the past, oh, three years, I figured this would be my last trip to the Ziegfeld Theatre on 54th Street. The grand single-screen theater has seemingly been on Deathwatch for years. But it always managed to survive.

Now the time has come to really say goodbye (if you are the type to say goodbye to movie theaters): Steve Cuozzo at the Post is reporting this afternoon that the space will become "a spectacular high-end event space ... a mecca for society galas and corporate events, to open in fall 2017 after a two-year renovation of the space."

The theater, which opened in 1969, will close in a few more weeks. "The Force Awakens" is currently playing.

A little history:

The Ziegfeld Theatre was a Broadway theatre formerly located at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 54th Street in Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1927 and razed in 1966. The theatre was named for Florenz Ziegfeld, who built the theatre with financial backing from William Randolph Hearst.

The 'new' Zeigfeld Theater, built just a few hundred feet from the original Ziegfeld theater, opened in December 1969 and the movie house was one of the last big palaces built in the United States.

The theater features 1,169 seats, with 863 seats in the front section and 306 seats in the raised balcony section in the rear. The interior is decorated with sumptous red carpeting and abundant gold trim.

EV Grieve Etc.: Man arrested after following 12-year-old girl home; snow forecast hysteria

[Late afternoon yesterday on East 7th Street]

Man arrested after following 12-year-old girl to her East Village apartment, asking if he could hide inside (Daily News)

Deals via Jared Kushner: Puck Building condo price cut from $66 million to only $58.5 million! (Curbed)

Affordable housing for seniors eyed for Elizabeth Street Garden (DNAinfo)

A Cup & Saucer Luncheonette appreciation (The Lo-Down)

55-60 feet of snow expected this weekend, or it might rain (The New York Times)

Orchard Street down another hosiery shop (BoweryBoogie)

Report: Increased resident participation in city planning produces extreme wealth segregation (BoingBoing)

Honoring folk legend Lead Belly on East 10th Street

There's a ceremony this afternoon at 414 E. 10th St. between Avenue C and Avenue D, the former apartment building of Huddie William Ledbetter — better known as blues and folk great Lead Belly.

Via the Facebook invite:

The ceremony will highlight Lead Belly's time in New York, when he played for children in Tompkins Square Park, performed at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, and the Vanguard, was the subject of two New Yorker pieces during his lifetime, and laid the groundwork for the folk revival.

A plaque will be affixed to the building which Lead Belly called home for around a decade in the 1940s, and where he hosted folk greats including Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Cisco Houston.

The event will commence at 3 pm (the start time was originally scheduled for 4:30), and will include special guests. Music may follow at a nearby establishment.

Lead Belly, who died on 1949, was born on this date in 1888. There is a Lead Belly Fest at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium on Feb. 4 featuring Buddy Guy, Eric Burdon of The Animals and Marky Ramone, among many other musicians.

The new owner of Nonna's Pizza on Avenue A says hello

[Photo from Saturday]

As we noted on Jan. 7, the current incarnation of Nonna's Pizza has closed on Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.

The new owner left a comment on that post yesterday... and we're sharing what he had to say here:

My name is Jordan Baker ... and I purchased the pizzeria from Astro (previous owner) on New Year’s Day. I’ve heard some gossip about the place (mostly untrue) so I wanted to introduce myself.

I’ve lived and worked in the neighborhood for 3 years, first on 10th street, now on Avenue A and 11th. I love Avenue A and the small businesses that comprise it (with the exception of two franchises that have recently opened that are eye-sores) and I want to keep it small-business friendly as long as possible! I had a good relationship with the previous owner, as a customer and a friend, and I’m taking the spot over, partially as a favor to him (for personal reasons), and partially because opening a pizzeria has been a dream of mine as long as I can remember.

I plan to have a soft-opening sometime next week, and I’ll be giving out free pizza and soliciting feedback from anyone who lives in the area. We’re renovating right now, but I’m usually there all day every day, so pop in and say hi! If you have any questions about the restaurant (I’ve heard a lot of gossip — mostly untrue) don’t hesitate to come by and introduce yourself.

Tatyana Boutique is closing on the Bowery

The upscale fashion brand that sells retro dresses, shoes and accessories is closing its outpost in the Avalon Bowery Place complex at East First Street.



The store is expected to wrap it up next Monday... or possibly a few days after that, according to an email to customers that an EVG reader forwarded to us.

The Las Vegas-based chain (it launched at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino) with a dozen locations in the United States (and one in Toronto) started its life on the Bowery in late 2012 as Bettie Page Clothing. (A lawsuit took care of the licensing rights.)

This marks the third high-end store in several blocks here on the Bowery to close... Patricia Fields recently announced that she is closing her Bowery storefront, telling the Times that at age 74, she is "no longer interested in devoting the time necessary to operating this place." In addition, Environment Furniture is shutting down its retail space two blocks to the north on the Bowery.

A sign of hope for St. Mark's Bookshop

[Image via Facebook]

There's a positive development to note in the ongoing saga of St. Mark's Bookshop. Most recently, there were published reports that the rent-challenged shop at 136 E. Third St. between Avenue A and First Avenue was facing eviction by its landlord — the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)

Now according to Publishers Weekly (via a post on the St. Mark's Bookshop Facebook page), an investor stepped forward to help the shop that has been in business in the neighborhood for 39 years.

Per Publishers Weekly:

An investor responded to the bookstore’s latest financial appeal on GoFundMe. He will take over the store’s lease and pay the back rent of $62,000, if the store raises enough money to stock the store. “He believes, as I do,” wrote co-owner Bob Contant on Monday, “that if we fill the store with books, our business will increase and we’ll be able to pay our way.”

In addition, the NYCHA has agreed to settle. However, as Publishers Weekly noted, the bookshop still has a long way to go. As of last night, they had raised just under $22,000 of their original $150,000 goal. It was not noted just yet how much money is necessary to stock the store.

Previous on EV Grieve:
Report: Latest woe for St. Mark's Bookshop — possible eviction

Ghost signage uncovered at the now-closed Loisaida Ave. Deli on Avenue C

[Image via]

The deli on Avenue C at East Fourth Street was open for business yesterday ... but closed today... and @artisanmatters passes along the ghost signage that workers uncovered ... a few years back when it was the Los Muchachos Supermarket ...



Not sure the status at the moment of the Loisaida Ave. Deli ... perhaps a renovation?

Reward offered for information about the slashing on East 6th Street Saturday

The NYPD has posted posters near the scene of the assault on Saturday afternoon on East Sixth Street near Taras Shevchenko Place (between Cooper Square and Second Avenue).

The current reward is $2,500.

The NYPD also released part of a surveillance video...



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.

Updated 1/21

The police have made an arrest in the case.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Man's face cut in random slashing on East 6th Street

Police release photos of suspect in East 6th Street slashing

Report: Wi-Fi kiosks on 3rd Avenue ready for Internet action and smartphone charging

Several of the payphone-replacing Wi-Fi kiosks offering free gigabit Internet along Third Avenue are now fully operational, The Verge reports.

The network is still officially in beta, and the group anticipates some changes as the network expands, but the current version is significantly faster than many commercially available connections. A Verge test found both upload and download speeds faster than 300 Mbps.

And!

Connecting to the network takes users to a login screen, where they are asked to provide their email. LinkNYC officials say emails are collected for informational purposes only and will not be sold or shared, in accordance with the system's privacy policy.

The location on Third Avenue and East 15th Street was the city's first. There's another Wi-Fi hub on Third Avenue and East 14th Street.

Watch the Occultation of Aldebaran tonight from 2nd Avenue

East Village astronomy aficionado Felton Davis sends along the following...

High drama in the skies tonight, as Orion's long pursuit of the Pleiades is interrupted by Aldebaran disappearing behind the 10-day-old waxing Moon. Orion has been chasing the "Seven Sisters" across the winter heavens since antiquity, and will not catch them for another 30 million years. Of course by that time, both the hunter and the sisters will be 30 million years older, and the urgency of the chase somewhat dimmed.



In the meantime, the Moon passes through Taurus tonight and will occult Aldebaran — the 14th brightest star after the Sun — at about 9:30 p.m. Join me in front of The Bean at 2nd Avenue and East 3rd Street, at 9 p.m., to witness the occultation.

Police release photos of suspect in East 6th Street slashing

Police have released photos of the suspect wanted for slashing a man's face late Saturday afternoon on Sixth Street just east of Cooper Square.


[EVG photo from Sunday]

The NYPD said that the suspect is an Asian male between 20-30 years old, 5-3 and 150 pounds. He was said to be wearing a dark-colored coat and a dark-colored skull cap. He did not take anything from the victim.

Around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Anthony Christopher-Smith, a social worker from Newark, N.J., was walking east on Sixth Street to meet a friend for a meal when someone came up from behind him, shoved him down and cursed. Per the Post: "The attacker cut his face and back with a knife while screaming, 'Fuck you! Fuck you!'"

According to published reports, Smith underwent eight hours of surgery, and needed nearly 150 stitches for the wound from his right ear to his lips. He has partial paralysis on the right side of his face because several nerves were severed. Doctors told reporters that Smith should make a full recovery and he'll be able to smile again in about six to nine months after physical therapy.

He was released from Bellevue last night. Smith said this about the suspect to NBC 4:

"I hope somebody gets him. He needs to be either in the psych ward or at Rikers, or somewhere, but you know, there's someone who's clearly deranged on the streets and I hope they get him."

CBS 2 has more with Smith here.

Update 5:33 p.m.

There's now a reward for information in this case. Details here.

The NYPD also released part of a surveillance video...



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.

Updated 1/21

The police have made an arrest in the case.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Man's face cut in random slashing on East 6th Street

Where the empty storefronts are

[Photo from Jan. 8]

As we noted last week, Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and East Ninth Street is awfully quiet at the moment. For now, just two of seven businesses are open on the block.

This situation will likely change soon enough. Lucy's will return. (The sign on the door says closed until further notice. She usually does take several breaks during the year, though those generally occur in late July-early August and late November-early December.)

The former 10 Degrees Bistro space will become a cajun-style restaurant via the team behind Shoolbred's and Ninth Ward. And the for rent signs have been removed from the former Sustainable NYC storefront. One EVG reader saw the folks from Top A Nails next door in here. (That could have just been a coincidence.)

Anyway, seems like a good time to look at a few other blocks with multiple empty storefronts... such as East 14th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... Danny's Cycles closed this location (due to a rent increase, according to some longtime customers) ... next door, the space has been Vegtown Juice, Chubby Mary's and Led Zeppole in the past three-plus years...



---

The west side of Third Avenue between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street has seen a lot of turnover in the past year, including the departures of East Village Cheese and Excel Art and Framing Store (both found new locations) and Organic Avenue. Five spaces are vacant (two of them are for rent).

There have been rumors that the Duane Reade at East 10th Street will eventually expand into at least two of the empty storefronts (and there are now approved work permits for the renovation on file with the city)...



---

... and directly across Third Avenue — the retail strip in the base of NYU's Alumni Hall between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street has many vacancies: Four of six storefronts are empty ... Citi Habitats moved out in June 2014 ... Birdbath Neighborhood Green Bakery closed in July 2014 ... the Subway sandwich shop closed early last October ... followed by Saint's Alp Teahouse ...



---

... the north side of St. Mark's Place has been hard hit... starting with the (temporary for now) closure of Nino's on the corner... then four of the next five storefronts are empty. The former Hop Devil Grill, Ton-Up Cafe, the Belgian Room and Luca Bar.



There is one incoming tenant — Sweethaus Cupcake Cafe is apparently opening at the old Luca Bar space at No. 119.

---

Staying on St. Mark's Place... we've previously noted how long (since late 2011) 37 St. Mark's Place at Second Avenue has sat empty. Four retail spots are available...


[Photo from October]

---

...and another long-empty block to note: Avenue B between East Fourth Street and East Third Street... these four storefronts have been unoccupied for years now, including the old Max restaurant at No. 51, now entering its fourth year of vacancy ... and No. 47, the former Le Souk, has been mostly barren for nearly seven years.

There have been a number of brokers trying to rent these spaces. For now, there aren't any for rent signs on the retail properties...



Previously on EV Grieve:
There are more than 20 empty storefronts along Avenue B (2008)

There are 21 empty storefronts along Avenue A (2010)

'Good riddance' Chase, and — a development to watch in 2016

The Chase branch at 130 Second Ave. and St. Mark's Place closed back on Nov. 13, consolidating with the branch two blocks to the north.

This past weekend someone took notice to this development...


[Photo by Steven]

Had we actually got around to doing one... this would have made some kind of "developments to watch in 2016" listicle or something. To recap! The retail space via Icon Realty has been on the market, with an asking price of $72,000 a month... the listing notes the address is acceptable for "General Retail Use, Restaurants/Bar, Office Space, Gyms/Fitness Centers."

As previously reported,, the former Chase space allows for redevelopment of the current 2,380-square-foot site into a mixed-use retail and residential project of 9,520 square feet.


[Photo from December by Steven]

A few EVG regulars figure we'll be in for a few extra floors here one of these days...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Chase space on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place is for rent

2 East Village Chase Bank branches are closing for good on Nov. 12

Chase branch on 2nd Avenue at St. Mark's Place has the potential to get 4x larger with new owner

The East Village is down 2 Chase branches

Icon wraps former Chase branch at St. Mark's Place with retail ribbon

North Star Tattoo has closed on East 7th Street

Dave on 7th notes that North Store Tattoo at 74 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue closed down earlier this month...

Per Dave: "Completely cleared out and people are seemingly already redesigning the space."



Proprietor Rodrigo Melo left a message on the shop's website:

After 8 great years of tattooing on East 7th Street ... we have decided to close our shop.

I would like to thank all the great customers and friends that got tattooed with us.

Also a big thanks to all the tattoo artists that worked in North Star throughout the years.

He and his wife will be working out of a private studio in Brooklyn moving forward. The contact info is on the website.

The adjacent space at the address, the former David's Shoe Repair, remains on the rental market.

Till dawn

Photo this evening via Bobby Williams

EV Grieve Etc.: FDR overpass replacement at East Houston; David Bowie singalong in Union Square

[Sunday afternoon photo via Bobby Williams]

DOT ready to replace the bridge above the FDR at East Houston Street (BoweryBoogie)

At the David Bowie singalong in Union Square (Slum Goddess)

A 4th birthday for the East 10th Street Historic District (Off the Grid)

Hearth on East 12th Street and First Avenue has revamped its dining room and menu (Grub Street)

1969 Oscar winner "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" screens again Wednesday at the Regal Cinemas Union Square (Official website)

A picket at the REBNY Gala in Midtown on Jan. 21 (Tribeca Trust)

The city's best "hook-up bars" apparently include the 13th Step and Niagara. About the 13th Step, Gothamist writes: "If it's bros you seek, or the women who love them, this East Village nightmare is the place to go." (Gothamist)

Newly released black-and-white photographs via the New York City Tenement House Department (The Daily Meal)

Emptying out the Tammany Hall building on Union Square East (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Bruno Pizza on East 13th Street is testing a "hot dog-centric lunch menu" (Eater)

New York's medical marijuana program off to a slow start (NBC News)

Native American cinema series continues through Thursday (Anthology Film Archives)

NYC real estate assessed at $1 trillion (The Real Deal)

Upcoming free events at the Manny Cantor Center (The Lo-Down)

An explanation of NYC's now-expired 421-a Tax Program (Curbed)

The Max's Kansas City tribute (The Village Voice)

Anthropologie is selling a "West Village" trash can (The Atlantic)

Remembering 1970s glam rocker Brett Smiley (Dangerous Minds)

Enjoying the first dusting of snow in 2016, almost

[Photo early this morning by Peter Brownscombe]

The light snowfall last evening provided that Dec. 25th holiday feeling (especially given that it was like 75 degrees here this past Dec. 25)...

Tree stands came back in business for the night...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

The snow provided a canvas for people to express their feelings for one another...



And made discarded chairs look all the more less discarded...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

Of course, being able to enjoy the 1/6th inch of snowfall didn't last long as it became apparent that this snowffiti trend continues on...



...bringing us back to the dark days of 2009 ... and reminding us of the pressures of being a child star...

Doesn't seem as if anything can stop this reckless snowffiti (except maybe more global warming): Even the block housing the 9th Precinct was particularly hard hit...

@evgrieve a huge amount of snow vandalism on car hoods on 5th st between 1st and 2nd pic.twitter.com/A8aW8Yd8ct

— James Williams (@mmmEggSandwich) January 18, 2016

And this used to be such a nice neighborhood.

After shooting Thursday night, patrol tower arrives on Avenue C and 12th Street

[Reader-submitted photo]

As previously noted, an EVG reader told us that there were three shots fired in front of 193 Avenue C at East 12th Street late Thursday night.

According to a report in the Post, a 23-year-old man had been shot in the left leg. Police said that the victim, who was trying to leave the scene in a cab, "was uncooperative and refused to give them a description of the suspect."

Yesterday, a reader as well as EVG contributor Bobby Williams pointed out the arrival of an NYPD patrol tower (SkyWatch) on Avenue C at East 12th Street.


[Photo by Peter Brownscombe]

[Updated] Man's face cut in random slashing on East 6th Street

A 30-year-old man was the victim of a random slashing around 4:30 yesterday afternoon on East Sixth Street near Taras Shevchenko Place (between Cooper Square and Second Avenue), according to published reports.

Per the Post:

The victim, who is from Newark, NJ, told cops he was walking in front of 208 E. 6th St. around 4:30 p.m. — heading to a cafe to meet a friend while wearing headphones and looking at his phone — when an unknown Asian man came up behind him and pushed him against a wall.

The attacker cut his face and back with a knife while screaming, ‘F— you! F— you!” the man told police.

The victim, who was taken to Bellevue, was reportedly slashed from his ear to mouth.

Dried blood remains at the scene of the attack on East Sixth Street...



Updated 1/18

The ABC 7 report provides a general description of the suspect, via the NYPD: An "Asian male between 20-30 years old, 5'3', and 150 pounds. He was said to be wearing a dark-colored coat and a dark-colored skull cap."

Updated 11:19 a.m.

DNAinfo reports that the victim needed 150 stitches.

Updated 4:40 p.m.

The victim, Anthony Christopher-Smith, a social worker who lives in Newark, N.J, talked briefly to ABC 7.

"I was just walking up the street. I was heading to go meet a friend for lunch and someone just came up and randomly slashed me in the face and back. I never saw this person before. I have no idea who they are. I have no idea what their motivation was. They just came up an attacked me," Christopher-Smith said. "I couldn't call 911 because I bled so much on my phone that I couldn't press the buttons."

Christopher-Smith now has partial paralysis on the right side of his face. But with physical therapy and time to heal, doctors expect a full recovery. He just hopes the suspect is arrested long before then.

"I didn't realize that I have been slashed because I was shoved against the wall, fell to the ground," Christopher-Smith said.

Updated 5:53 p.m.

CBS 2 also spoke with Anthony Christopher-Smith. You can read that here. There's another detail about the extent of the slashing on his face: "Smith underwent eight hours of plastic surgery, and his doctors said he may regain the ability to smile by this summer."

Updated 8:54 p.m.

The Daily News story includes several rather grainy images of the suspect, according to the NYPD...



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.

Updated 1/21

The police have made an arrest in the case.