Too many restaurants-cafes have closed in the East Village so far this year

[Photo outside Cafecito via EVG reader Holly]

• Bago, First Avenue between East 13th Street and East 14th Street. The quick-serve Filipino restaurant has been closed now for several weeks without any explanation. The restaurant just opened back in June.

• Ballaro, Second Avenue between East Fourth Street and East Fifth Street. The Italian cafe closed after some seven years. Per the owners: "With rising cost of operating a small business in NYC and the changes in the neighborhood, we could no longer stay afloat."

• Blythe Ann's, East Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. The former Lula’s Sweet Apothecary, which sold vegan ice cream and other dairy-free desserts, closed without any official explanation. Lula's opened in 2008.

• Cafecito, Avenue C between East 11th Street and East 12th Street. The 14-year-old Cuban restaurant closed, according to one insider, because business had been dwindling "and the Cafecito team didn't want to see it go out of business slowly and sadly."

• DF Mavens, Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place. The vegan ice cream shop and cafe abruptly shut down after 13 months. No reason given for the closure.

• Mumbles, Third Avenue at East 17th Street. Business had dropped off in recent years, and the family-owned restaurant decided to sell the restaurant a few blocks north here in Gramercy Park.

• Ninth Ward, Second Avenue between East 11th Street and East 12th Street. The New Orleans-themed bar with a small menu closes Sunday after six years in business. No reason given for the closure, though there's a rumor that the landlord is going to renovate the building.

• Nonna's Pizza, Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street. The pizzeria closed at the end of 2015. A new owner bought the place on New Year's Day, and Baker's Pizza will arrive very soon.

• Northern Spy, East 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. The early farm-to-table purveyor closes after service on Feb. 17. Per the owners: "We've had a great run and are very proud of what we accomplished in this space in the last six years, but 2015 was a tough year and we did not manage to pull the nose up to restore the flight altitude we once enjoyed. We're hanging it up while we still have the buttons on our pants."

• NY Macaroni, St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue. The quick-serve mac-and-cheese spot shut down at the end of 2015, though the news about the 6-month-old restaurant's closure didn't start circulating until early January.

• Poppy's Gourmet Deli, Avenue A at East 12th Street. The inexpensive deli, which served a variety of sandwiches, closed because the owners said they couldn't afford to pay the new higher rent.

• PYT, the Bowery between Great Jones and Bond. The Philadelphia stunt burger joint closed after just three months. No reason given for the closure.

• Subway (sandwich shop), Fourth Avenue at East 12th Street. This marks the sixth Subway sandwich shop to close in the immediate area in the past three-plus years.

• Tut, East Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. The landlord took legal possession of the short-lived hookah bar-restaurant at the end of January.

• Winebar, Second Ave. between East Third Street and East Fourth Street. The owners are teaming with chef Matthew Kenney to open a plant-based pizzeria and wine bar in the space.

Temporary closures:

• Empire Biscuit, Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street. Temporarily closed until March, per the paper-plate sign on the door.

• Pak Punjab Deli and Grocery, Second Avenue at East Third Street. The corner market that sells inexpensive homemade Pakistani-Punjabi food at the counter has been closed since early January. There aren't any signs about about a closure. Several EVG readers believe the space is just undergoing a renovation.

• Yakitori Taisho, St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. The popular subterranean space has been closed for several weeks. (The below photos are from Jan. 28)





--

Unfortunately, I don't think this is a complete list. Any other bars-restaurants-cafes close in 2016 from the neighborhood?

These charming East 6th Street studios still have the bathtub in the living space

An EVG reader on the hunt for a studio apartment shared this listing with us... for an apartment at 328 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue... particularly notable was that the renovated studio kept its tenement roots with a claw foot bathtub in the living area/kitchen...





Here's the listing via MNS:

This East Village 1 bedroom/ Studio + office, offers a generous space and lots of light on a charming tree lined east village block, on the 4th floor of a well kept walk up building, this is the best deal for the dollar in this hood. The apartment has a Beautiful claw foot tub in the living space.

The monthly rent: $1,800.

Oh, and the ad mentions studio + office. Maybe it's in here...



And it turns out there's another studio apartment in the same building where the tub also sits in the kitchen... for $1,900 you can rent unit #12...





...which included another detail from decades past — a so-called "tuberculosis window" ...



Head to the Streeteasy blog for more on these units.

Photos via MNS

Report: Lawyer for suspect in East 6th Street slashing says his client is 'a good guy'

John Godfrey, the lawyer representing a man accused of two slashings, called his client "a good guy," according to published reports.

Per the Post:

“I feel really bad for him,” said John Godfrey of Francis Salud, 28, at Salud’s arraignment. “He’s a good guy.”

Salud, who remains in jail without bail, is accused of slashing Anthony Christopher Smith near Third Avenue and East Sixth Street on Jan. 16.

As previously reported, Smith underwent eight hours of surgery, and needed nearly 150 stitches for the wound from his right ear to his lips after the attack. Smith, who says the attack was unprovoked, has partial paralysis on the right side of his face because several nerves were severed.

Salud was previously arrested and charged for a slashing that happened Oct. 18 behind Bellevue. The victim needed 73 stitches on the left side of his body, per media accounts. Salud was out on a $30,000 bond at the time of the East Sixth Street attack.

Previously

[Updated] Someone stole this bike tonight on Astor Place

[This photo is not from tonight]

Was locked outside 1 Astor Place between Broadway and Lafayette... happened around 6:30... I have the owner's info...

Updated 2/10

An EVG reader spotted a similar-looking bike today (below) outside Au Bon Pain on Union Square East between 14th and 15th. Per the reader: "Seems pretty ballsy to steal it and park it in the neighborhood but it looks awfully similar so thought I'd let you know..."



We alerted the bike's owner... but the bike was gone by the time he got there... he also confirmed that the bike was his. The person who took it spray-painted the frame silver.

Annual Citi Bike membership will increase 4% in 2016

[Photo by Derek Berg]

Here's the official word from Citi Bike:

Beginning on March 1 2016, annual memberships will increase from $149 to $155 to keep up with the costs of administering a growing and improving system at the level of quality riders have come to expect from Citi Bike. Annual members will also have the option to pay in monthly installments of $14.95, with an annual commitment.

NYCHA residents will continue to receive discounted $60 annual memberships and, for the first time, will have the option of paying for their membership in $5 monthly installments.

They also note that the Citi Bike network is 40 percent larger today than it was at this time in 2015 ... with 100-plus more stations on the way in 2016.

The retail-wine bar possibilities for the former Chase space on Avenue A and East 2nd Street

As you probably know, the Chase branch on Avenue A at East Second Street closed last Nov. 12 (along with the Chase on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place).

While the space had been for rent going back to last summer, when we spotted a smallish sign above the storefront... there's now a new broker and rental signage along the storefront here at 20 Avenue A...



And there are some realistic scalies too...





The renderings on the Town Real Estate PDF show potential retail and wine bar usage... with two outdoor cafes (one on A and one behind the property...)


[Click to go big]


[Ditto]

Overall, the upscale presentation of the property is so much more glamorous than the charmless bank-branch corner... the cover of the marketing materials announces "Your corner. Your brand. Your town." ... with images of a woman who forgot to open her mouth for the meatball on a fork... and, oddly enough, a photo of a woman's calves...


[Definitely click to go big]

The rent is available upon request. You may visit the PDF here for the different layout possibilities for the space.

Also, someone has finally discarded the half of a roll, half of a bagel and dead pigeon that were in the former Chase lobby.

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

Concern over the city's rezoning proposals, and 5 EV developments without affordable housing

[EVG file photo of The Nathaniel]

The de Blasio administration's rezoning proposals Zoning for Quality and Affordability (ZQA) and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing have been making the rounds at the Community Board level.

The proposals have, to date, reportedly concerned some neighborhood politicians, housing activists and preservation groups.

Now the plans go before City Council tomorrow (Wednesday!) for final review.

Here's more on how these proposals could impact the East Village in the opinion of The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP):

Under the Mayor’s ZQA plan, in virtually the entire East Village, new market-rate developments would be allowed to grow five feet higher. While this seem like a modest amount, it’s a noticeable difference — in much of the East Village, existing buildings often average forty to fifty-five feet in height. A five foot difference is therefore significant.

The bigger change will come on East Village avenues and the blocks between 3rd and 4th Avenues. There new development will be able to grow by 25 feet or 31% over existing allowable height limits if they include 20% affordable housing – lifting height limits in these areas from 80 to 105 feet or 120 to 145 feet.

Some may say the height limit increase is worth it for the affordable housing produced. But all evidence points to the height limit increases not resulting in a single additional unit of affordable housing being built, and potentially only resulting in developments which would have been built anyway growing up to 25 feet or 31% taller.

Right now, East Village avenues and the blocks between 3rd and 4th Avenues have what is called “inclusionary zoning.” This means including 20% affordable housing in new developments is incentivized (but not required) by allowing developers to add additional market-rate square feet to help pay for the affordable housing they include. The new developments must currently abide by the existing height limits; currently about 50% of new developments in the East Village chose to include the affordable housing.

GVSHP investigated new developments in the East Village's affordable housing zones and found that at least five were approved by the city without requiring affordable housing, as DNAinfo reported.

The GVSHP identified these developments as: 84 Third Ave./138 E. 12th St. (The Nathaniel); 152-154 Second Ave.; 118 E. First St.; 438 E. 12th St.; and 67 Avenue C. (You can find a PDF of their letter revealing their findings to the city here.)

Andrew Berman, executive director of the GVSHP, told DNAinfo: "We are losing out on the affordable housing we should be getting. In return are buildings that are larger than they are supposed to be."

A Department of Buildings spokesperson told DNAinfo that they "will review each of the projects listed to ensure compliance with inclusionary housing requirements."

Reaching the top at 347 Bowery

Looks as if workers have reached the top at 347 Bowery. (We've been waiting for some kind of ceremonial flag atop the structure at East Third Street.)

By our count, that's 13 floors... (these photos are from Sunday...)





And the recap: Workers demolished the Salvation Army's former East Village Residence that was on this corner … to make way for a 13-story, 30,000 square-foot mixed-use residential development.

Per developer Urban Muse, the project will feature five 3-bedroom homes ranging from 2,100 to 4,000 square feet, two 2,000-square-foot commercial units and one 6,800-square-foot retail unit.

Annabelle Selldorf, who designed the nearby 10 Bond Street, is listed as the architect of record.

And this is the most recent building rendering that we've seen...



And a few years ago...

[EVG file photo]

Do you remember when Koi wanted to turn the space into an upscale sushi restaurant back in 2009?


Previously on EV Grieve:
The Salvation Army's former East Village Residence will be demolished on the Bowery

Looks like 347 Bowery will be home to a 13-floor mixed-use residential development

The future of 347 Bowery (sorta!) revealed

Let's take a look at 347 Bowery, now and in the future

Report: Ravi DeRossi is turning his empire meat-free, starting with Mother of Pearl on Avenue A

Ravi DeRossi has plans to make as many of his 15 bar-restaurants animal-free as possible, Eater reports.

Per Eater:

DeRossi feels strongly about the environmental impact of meat and restaurants, as well as the impact to animals, he says. Taking animal products out of his businesses is his way of helping. "If we're going to do something to help this planet, it needs to start," DeRossi tells Eater. "It needs to be me not just preaching, but me just doing it. I'm in the position to do it."

He'll start with Mother of Pearl, his tiki-Hawaiian-themed establishment on Avenue A and East Sixth Street. Starting on Sunday, MoP will unveil a new vegan menu featuring "Polynesian-inspired dishes, like coconut rolls with coconut miso butter and black lava salt; and green mango with tomato, jicama, crispy rice, and macadamia." The drink menu will also be revamped, eliminating any spirits that use animal products.

In other related news, DeRossi is expanding his vegan restaurant Avant Garden on East Seventh Street near Avenue A to Williamsburg. In addition, The Bourgeois Pig, which moved from East Seventh Street to the West Village early last year, will be converted into "a vegan wine and tapas bar called LadyBird," according to Eater.

Mother of Pearl image via

Today in pretty cool looking broken lamps on 2nd Avenue

Photo by Derek Berg...

The Honey Fitz in the works for St. Mark's Place and Avenue A

There are ambitious plans in the works to convert and combine the former Hop Devil Grill space on St. Mark's Place with the temporarily closed Nino's Pizza next door on Avenue A, according to public documents (PDF) on the CB3 website.



A team led by James Morrissey (The Late Late on East Houston) and Gerard McNamee (Webster Hall) are proposing an operation called The Honey Fitz that would offer quick-serve breakfast as well as lunch and dinner ... in addition to a bar with "upscale craft cocktails." During the week, The Honey Fitz would offer free Wi-Fi and printers for "all local creative entrepreneurs."




[Screenshots via the CB3 website]

According to the paperwork filed ahead of this month's CB3-SLA meeting on Feb. 16, The Honey Fitz is named for the yacht owned by the Kennedys.

The configuration shows two bars in the conjoined spaces ... with seating for up to 90 people. The proposal includes a plan for a sidewalk cafe with 5-7 tables for two along St. Mark's Place.


[Click to go big]

As mentioned, the plan calls for the conversion of longtime tenant Nino's pizzeria, which has been anchoring the corner of Avenue A and St. Mark's Place.

Nino's had to close on Oct. 21 due to a gas leak in the building, according to a sign on the door. On Nov. 17, the pizzeria was hit with an eviction notice. Owner Nino Camaj has said that the gas was shut off in the building without any notice to him.

In late November, Camaj's lawyers were reportedly in discussion with landlord Citi Urban Management to dispute the rent charged for the month during which they had to close due to the gas leak. As we understand it, Camaj still has a lease on the space, and is currently in court over the matter.

You can read the comprehensive questionnaire for The Honey Fitz at the CB3 website. (Here.) The questionnaire includes several letters of no objection from nearby neighbors who said they would welcome this concept to the block.

The SLA committee meeting is Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the CB3 office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

A for rent sign at the former Sounds space on St. Mark's Place

As you know, Sounds closed in October at 20 St. Mark's Place after 36 years selling records, tapes and CDs. The second-floor retail space had been on the market since February 2014.

We never saw any for rent signs on the space... until now...



We didn't spot the listing at the Halstead site just yet. There is a listing, which was first posted in February 2014, for the space at LoopNet ... it was updated this past Jan. 21. The asking rent is $22,000...



There was a rumor that the former Sounds was going to be fitted for an Indian restaurant. (That seems like a really expensive proposition to convert/vent this landmarked space for a restaurant...)

The historic building between Third Avenue and Second Avenue was recently sold to Klosed Properties. The building's lone business tenant, the Grassroots Tavern, has a lease for the next five years... with an option after that for renewal.

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

So long Sounds

RIP Brian Fair, owner of Sounds

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

Boglioli brings its Italian tailoring to 10 Bond Street

And over at 10 Bond Street (Curbed recently asked if this was the prettiest new building in New York), the coming-soon signage is up for the first commercial tenant... a retail outlet for Boglioli, which is known for the light hand it applies to traditional Italian tailoring (I cut-and-paste that)...



This looks to be the fashion brand's first dedicated U.S. outpost... joining Milan, Seoul and Tokyo.

Anyway, what were you expecting to open here at the corner of Lafayette, where the $12.5 million penthouse sold in less than two weeks, a Dollar-Plus store? (Though that idea isn't too farfetched.)

Updated

Via Racked, we learned that the first U.S. outlet of activewear line Yogasmoga is also opening here at 10 Bond.

Week in Grieview

[Photo Wednesday p.m. via the EVG Instagram]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

An 83rd birthday celebration for Ray at Ray's Candy Store (Monday)

1983 to 2016: An East Village blizzard then and now photo essay (Friday)

Douglas Steiner's church-replacing condos emerge from the pit; plus new renderings (Wednesday)

Empire Biscuit is taking a sabbatical for the month of February; will retool for the apocalypse (Monday)

Out and About with Niall Grant, owner of the Tuck Shop (Wednesday)

The Alchemist's Kitchen takes over the short-lived NatureEs space on East First Street (Monday)

With CleaNYC, Mayor de Blasio declares war on litter, graffiti (Wednesday)

Northern Spy closes for good on Feb. 17 (Thursday)

Police looking for suspect in a string of area armed robberies (Monday)

NY Village Deli reopens in new First Avenue home (Tuesday)

Blythe Anne’s (the former Lula’s Sweet Apothecary) has closed on East Sixth Street (Tuesday)

Rumors: 348 Bowery will house new food market (Monday)

Ninth Ward closes for good on Feb. 14 (Thursday)

Updated: Ballaro has closed on Second Avenue (Friday)

An incentive to spend some time on East Ninth Street this month (Friday)

Cafecito has closed on Avenue C (Monday)

Take a look at the inside of Ben Shaoul's condos at 100 Avenue A (Thursday)

332 E. Sixth St. is for sale — air rights too (Thursday)

The Subway (sandwich shop) has closed on Fourth Avenue and East 12th Street (Tuesday)

The Marshal seizes Tut on East Third Street (Monday)

The former Poppy's Gourmet Corner is for rent (Wednesday)

If you are looking for Smoke & Beer on Avenue A, then this store is for you (Tuesday)

Bago hasn't been open recently on First Avenue (Tuesday)

A look at the residences coming to Thirteen East + West on East 13th Street (Wednesday)

The Baker's Pizza signage is up on Avenue A (Monday)

Mumbles has closed on Third Avenue (Wednesday)

NYPD makes real arrest while 'Law & Order' is filming nearby on Avenue A (Tuesday)

...and as a reminder, please do not recycle your holiday trees on a bicycle...


[Photo on East 7th Street by Derek Berg]

[Updated] These are likely the last days for St. Mark's Bookshop

This past Thursday, St. Mark's Bookshop launched a cash-only, 50-percent-off-everything (except cards and consignment books) sale.

You're correct in thinking that's likely not a good sign for the rent-challenged store's future. For starters, the clerks have been telling customers that they'll only be around for "a few more days."

And Bedford + Bowery spoke with the shop's lawyer, James West, who said that the bookstore was served with a Marshal's Notice about a week ago. They reportedly owe $62,000 in back rent to the landlord, the New York City Housing Authority. And there's more.

Per B+B:

“The people they owe money to are, among others, the State – there are some taxes due – but there are some other creditors, one of them was a book distributor. That was the pressure point.”

“The State doesn’t usually play games,” West added. “That was pretty much it.”

According to New York’s Department of State, a warrant was issued on January 21, 2016 for a $34,408.76 tax lien. The only way out of a tax warrant is to pay the bill in full or file for bankruptcy. Then, as Contant explained, as a result of losing a legal dispute with the book wholesaler Baker & Taylor (which boasts the title of “world’s largest distributor of books and entertainment”) a U.S. Marshal Auction has been scheduled for Wednesday, February 10.

Still, the shop, which has been in several locations since 1977, seems to find a way to hold on. Last Wednesday, The Awl had a post titled "The Mystery Money Keeping St. Mark's Bookshop Alive." There are apparently several investors, including longtime East Village resident (since 1959) and building owner Charles FitzGerald and a man named Rafay Khalid, "who covered the bookstore’s $22,000 down payment on its lease with NYCHA," per The Awl.

What Khalid and FitzGerald propose, and what they hope the city will agree to, is a new lease, with a new company — under a new name, Khalid said repeatedly — that will pay a higher rent than it is currently paying. In return, it will forgive the back rent. FitzGerald, any investors, and a management committee will direct how to allocate any funds raised, including whatever is left of the $200,000 Khalid said he’s already raised. “I think of this as a startup,” Khalid said. “St. Mark’s 2.0.”

Meanwhile, there's the 50-percent-off sale. The store is getting picked over, as you'd expect ... last night, I noticed one copy each of Richard Hell's "Massive Pissed Love," Romy Ashby's "Stink" and Kim Gordon's "Girl in a Band," to name a few titles that I have an interest in ... and there were several copies left of the latest Maximum Rocknroll and Mojo "Punk Anniversary Special" with a CD of "15 pre-punk nuggets" (Hawkwind!)...


[Photo from last night]

St. Mark's Bookshop is at 136 E. Third St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. They are open today (Sunday) from noon to 10 p.m.; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays.

Updated 2/8

Here's more via Publishers Weekly:

Jim West, a lawyer with his own firm who has been providing pro bono legal assistance to St. Mark's, explained that New York City would probably prefer not to see the execution sale happen. The reason, West explained, is because the cost of the auction would likely be higher than the money it will bring in.

If the execution sale does not happen, West said St. Mark's could stay open until March 9, which is the date of the next hearing about the back rent.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: St. Mark's Bookshop prepping fundraiser ahead of possible move to Avenue A.

Is this the new home for the St. Mark's Bookshop?

Report: St. Mark's Bookshop signs lease for East 3rd Street space

Renovations at the future St. Mark's Bookshop on East 3rd Street

St. Mark's Bookshop seeking buyers with an ownership interest

Report: Last stand for St. Mark's Bookshop

Report: Latest woe for St. Mark's Bookshop — possible eviction

Just picking up some breakfast before heading out to LaGuardia

Cooper Square and St. Mark's Place this morning... (and there aren't actually any docking stations at LaGuardia. Closest you'll get is 21st Street and 41st Avenue in Long Island City...)

Another smoke shop for Avenue A

Several readers have told us that a smoke shop is opening in the former D-Lish Pita space on Avenue A at East Sixth Street... we haven't been by when anyone has been working on the space... though the gate is partially open, revealing some of the items that will be for sale...





The store is next door to 99¢ Pizza, which opened in late December. As for smoke shops on Avenue A, Smoke & Beer opened between East 13th Street and East 14th Street earlier this month.

Anyway, it's nice that some new retail shops are opening ahead of the residential developments going up ... like this one... and this one.. and this one ... and this one.. and this one.

Pumpin' it up

Well, with Iggy Pop in the news of late with his Josh Homme collaboration... I went back to 1981 to dust this off from Iggy's sixth solo album, Party ("A bizarre train wreck of an album...") This is "Pumpin' for Jill."

An incentive to spend some time on East 9th Street this month

Several of the merchants on East Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue are having a block-wide sale this month.

Here's info that we received: "From now until Feb 29, come and take advantage of some great bargains. Each participating merchant will have their own take on the 9.99% off sale theme. Shop the block, score some fab deals, meet the neighbors, and even better, support small, local businesses."




[Images via Clayworks Pottery]

H/T EVG contributor Steven