Join Rosie Mendez to discuss improvements to the Tompkins Square playgrounds tomorrow night

City Councilmember Rosie Mendez is taking part in this month's CB3 Parks, Recreation, Cultural Affairs, & Waterfront Committee meeting tomorrow night. The topic: A look at ideas for improving the Tompkins Square Park Playgrounds near East Seventh Street and Avenue B.

As previously noted, Mendez has allotted some $900,000 to renovate the playgrounds.

Based on previous community input, the Parks Department now has some schematic designs for the two spaces... and your thoughts are welcome at the meeting. (Or in the comments. Beer store will already be noted.)

The committee meeting starts at 6:30 at Casa Victoria, 308 E. Eighth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Your chance to brainstorm ideas to renovate the Tompkins Square Park Playground (27 comments)

Reminders: Meeting on possible improvements to the Tompkins Square Park Playground

A look at Drunken Dumpling, now open on 1st Avenue

Drunken Dumpling is now open at 137 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.

Grub Street checks out the 11-item menu and talks with owner Yuan Li.

Li’s real secret weapon, though, is his mom, Qihui Guan, a mathematics professor and amateur cook turned professional dumpling-maker. When she emigrated to the United States 15 years ago and couldn’t find work in her chosen field, Guan’s hobby became her profession, leading to a position at soup-dumpling dynasty Joe’s Shanghai.

As for the "Drunken," Li says that in this case "the term alludes to the juiciness of the dumplings." A monster soup dumpling called the XL XLB is served with a straw.

The morning line on the Gray Mare, now open in the former Dempsey's space on 2nd Avenue

On Aug. 24 we noted that the former Dempsey's space on Second Avenue had been transformed into a new bar-restaurant called the Gray Mare.

The new space debuted last week at 61 Second Ave. between Third Street and Fourth Street.

DNAinfo spoke with bar (and building) owner Tom O'Byrne about the new concept ("we wanted it to be a little more upscale") ... and why he decided to close Dempsey's:

The problem, he explained, was that the appeal of the neighborhood pub had run its course — the time was right to fold the business and start over with something new and fresh, capable of casting a wider net.

“When we opened Dempsey’s, it had been current and of its time, and it had been popular and much beloved of many years, but generationally things change,” he said.

And while Dempsey’s was known for its pints of beer, trivia nights, and simple pub fare, The Gray Mare is offering a colorful menu including Short Rib Nachos with Avocado Creme Fraiche and a Ribeye Cheese Steak Hero.

The food is accompanied by craft cocktails such as the Native Dancer, featuring tequila, lime and mint, the Final Furlong, featuring bourbon, muddled strawberries and ginger beer, and The Outsider, with mezcal, cognac and sherry.

After 24 years, O'Byrne, who also owns Slainte at 304 Bowery and Cooper’s Craft and Kitchen on Second Avenue at Fifth Street, decided to close Dempsey's in April.

London-based luxury leather popping up on 9th Street

[Photo by Steven]

Signage arrived yesterday on Ninth Street for Ellesd, a London-based ready-to-wear clothing store specializing in luxury leather for women.

The store's Instagram account describes the location here between Avenue A and First Avenue as a pop-up shop. No word yet on an opening date.

The address (No. 434) was previously home to Delto-Meest, which shipped parcels to the Ukraine and surrounding areas. I have no idea what happened to the store (if it's a permanent closure). The address hosted another designer pop-up shop last month.

[Updated] The Alamo returns tomorrow (Wednesday!)

According to this community advisory anyway (via an EVG reader) ... no mention of what time, though, for this blessed event...



These bulletins have been wrong at least once, when the city said the cube would be back on June 22. The Parks Department then announced that the Alamo was "being inspected by a conservator for final preparation," and that the return would be delayed until August. And then September.

The return, if does indeed happen tomorrow, will coincide with the first Astor Alive! Festival happening this weekend.

Workers packed up and carted off the Alamo for safekeeping for the duration of the Astor Place-Cooper Square reconstruction back on Nov. 25, 2014. The cube was installed here in 1967.

Updated 9/14
AARRGH...

Cube News - The Cube's anticipated return today, by @NYCDDC has been delayed due to logistical issues. Stay tuned for news about a new date.

— Astor Place NYC (@AstorPlaceNYC) September 14, 2016

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Alamo returns to Astor Place this Halloween

Five years later, Astor Place apparently ready for its 2-year reconstruction project

This is what it might be like living inside the Alamo on Astor Place

RIP Tony Rosenthal, the sculptor who created the Astor Place cube

Breaking: LinkNYC up and running on 2nd Avenue

At least the kiosk just north of Seventh Street has its Information Superhighway as of this morning... and it appears family friendly fare is playing in that YouTube video...

Photo by Derek Berg

New 6-story residential building OK'd for 7th Street

[What's left of No. 253]

The city has signed off on permits for a new 6-story residential building at 253 E. Seventh St. between Avenue C and Avenue D.

As previously reported, workers demolished the former four-story residence here late last year. However, the new building plans never met with the city's approval. Then the developer, BSD Realty, filed new plans with Issac & Stern Architects designing the project.

In April, New York Yimby noted that the six residences here should average "a spacious 1,498 square feet apiece, indicative of condominiums."

There is also a penthouse unit. (Bit of a duh.)

The property also has a new owner. Public records show that an LLC going by DRK East 7th Street paid $5.7 million for the plot in a filing posted on Aug. 22.

Thanks to the EVG reader for the tip on this!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Options for this lovely East 7th Street townhouse include demolition

New building in the works for 253 E. 7th St.

The disappearing 253 E. 7th St.

253 E. 7th St. is now a pile of bricks

Property at 253 E. 7th St. now for sale; perfect for a 'dream custom mansion townhouse'

New plans for a 6-story building at 253 E. 7th St.


[Image from 2014 via Massey Knakal]

Raphael Toledano is selling 444 E. 13th St.

[Photo at No. 444 from May 2015 by Stacie Joy]

Raphael Toledano of Brookhill Properties has put another of his East Village buildings on the block.

As noted last week, Toledano is in the process of selling multiple EV properties.

Now the latest address for sale is 444 E. 13th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

First, to the 444 listing at Cushman & Wakefield:

The building consists of a vacant ground floor space with 16 apartments above. Of the 16 residential units, all are subject to rent stabilization. Eight units are renovated with condo-level finishes that include wide plank wood floors, white marble bathrooms, re-finished exposed brick, gray washed stained wood cabinetry, and stainless steel appliances. The average in-place rent is approximately $70 per square foot which is below market. The newly renovated ground floor space is currently vacant.

The building is located less than a block from the 1st Avenue L train stop and within close proximity to neighborhood hot spots such as Hearth and The Redhead. Additionally, the building is less than a block from 500 East 14th Street where Extell is developing a large mixed-use condo building with over 40,000 SF of retail that will drive long term foot traffic.

The asking price is $9.9 million. Toledano bought the building for $6.1 million in January 2015, per public records.

And this was the address where many people first heard about the 26-year-old Toledano. In the spring of 2015, rent-regulated tenants at No. 444 accused Toledano, and a management company he reportedly hired (then later fired), of harassment and intimidation.

There are tape recorded conversations where a rep for Goldmark Property Management reportedly said, among other things to a rent-stabilized tenant: "I'm here, really, to help you. Because if it were up to the owners, they would just drop dynamite on the whole building and everyone would figure it out."

(The Times published the audio recordings here... Gothamist posted them here.)

Back in May, Toledano agreed to pay a little more than $1 million to settle claims that he harassed the tenants, according to The Real Deal. The Times reported that most of the the tenants are "low-wage workers of Mexican descent who pay modest rents for the neighborhood and have lived in their building for decades."

In the past year, Toledano purchased 28 buildings in two separate portfolios from the Tabak family for a total of $140 million.

The Brookhill Properties website shows that the company owns 21 buildings in the East Village. Of those, 9 are now for sale:

• 27 St. Mark's Place — $16.5 million
• 66 E. Seventh St. — $12 million
• 253 E. 10th St. — $11 million
• 510 and 514 E. 12th St. — $24.5 million (must be purchased together)
• 97 Second Ave. (bids now being accepted)
• 221 E. 10th St. and 58 St. Mark’s Place (part of a four-building portfolio with 2 Kips Bay addresses asking $36 million)
• 444 E. 13th St. — $9.9 million

Experienced real-estate players have raised red flags about Toledano's heavy reliance on debt, per The Real Deal.

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

Cleaning up 444 E. 13th St.

Report: State investigating East Village landlord Raphael Toledano

Health Department to inspect Raphael Toledano's East Village properties for toxic levels of lead dust

Scaffolding erected at soon-to-be-demolished 112-120 E. 11th St.

Workers yesterday finished wrapping up 112-120 E. 11th St. ahead of the demolition here between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.

As you know, the five buildings recently purchased by the Lightstone Group are giving way to a 300-room hotel with Marriott International’s Moxy Hotels serving as the brand.

No sign just yet of any new building permits for the address. The Real Deal originally reported that the property will encompass 85,000 square feet.

Previously on EV Grieve:
At the rally outside 112-120 E. 11th St.

Protest reminder about 112-120 E. 11th St.; plus concerns over asbestos removal

6-building complex on East 10th Street and East 11th Street sells for $127 million

Report: 300-room hotel planned for East 11th Street

Preservationists say city ignored pitch to designate part of 11th Street as a historic district

Permits filed to demolish 5 buildings on 11th Street to make way for new hotel (58 comments)

Former Tower Records on Broadway will become a studio for AOL

Signage arrived late last week for @BUILDseriesNYC on Broadway at Fourth Street. The former Tower Records space (the part that Blink Fitness doesn't have on the second level) will house a studio for the AOL-backed BUILD.

Here's a description:

BUILD is a live interview series like no other — a chance for fans to sit inches away from some of today’s biggest names in entertainment, tech, fashion and business as they share the stories behind their projects and passions. Every conversation yields insights, inspiration and plenty of surprises as moderators and audience members ask questions.

These interviews have been held at the AOL HQ on Astor Place.

In recent years the space had served as the MLB Fan Cave. That closed after four seasons in 2015.

Tower closed in 2006.

Nail salons on 14th Street: 1 up, 1 down

The nail salon (not store) has opened at 248 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. Part of the awning remains up for the previous tenant, C & B Convenience Store (as well as the ad for Vita Coco Coconut Water).

Meanwhile! Closer to Third Avenue, Gigi Nail Spa has closed...



The space is for rent. The listing at Winick doesn't mention the asking rent.

A 'Store Front II' discussion with James and Karla Murray

East Village residents James and Karla Murray (frequent EVG contributors) will be discussing their latest book, "Store Front II," Wednesday evening at the MOSCOT Gallery & Music Space... Here are details via the EVG inbox...

The evening will feature "Store Front II" photography, with a focus on the Lower East Side, and a Q&A session, followed by a book signing and reception.

Light bites and dim sum generously provided by Nom Wah Tea Parlor.

"Store Front II" chronicles their continued efforts to document a little-known but vitally important cross-section of New York's "Mom and Pop" economy. From MOSCOT to Sammy's Roumanian Steak House, and Economy Candy to Parisi Bakery, the Murrays reveal how New York's long-standing mom and pop businesses stand in sharp contrast to the city's rapidly evolving corporate facade.

The MOSCOT Gallery & Music Space
108 Orchard Street
Wednesday, September 14
7-9 pm

Noted

An EVG reader found some amusement in the fact that crews are filming scenes for the TV shows "Friends From College" and "Elementary"on the Bowery this week...

[Updated] The return of an MCA memorial mural

This past weekend the above outline for an MCA/RIP mural arrived on Seventh Street just west of First Avenue. (Not sure at the moment if this is the final product or just the start...)

Back in May, someone vandalized the MCA mural created by @cramcept at this spot.



Adam Yauch, aka MCA of the Beastie Boys, died of cancer on May 4 2012. He was 47.

Updated 7:30 p.m.

This is the work of @cramcept,who will be working on the mural this week...



Previously on EV Grieve:
There's a new MCA in town

A few more details about the Kati Roll Company coming to 2nd Avenue

[Photo from Saturday]

As you may recall, the owners of the Kati Roll Company are opening their fourth Manhattan location at 128 Second Ave., former home of the Stage.

The Kati crew is on the CB3 SLA committee docket this month for a beer-wine license at the space between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. (Kati withdrew from the July meeting.)

According to the questionnaire (PDF!) on file at the CB3 website ahead of tonight's meeting, Kati plans to be open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday-Thursday, until 5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. (The questionnaire states that they will stop serving beer-wine at 4 a.m.)

In addition, the small space will have six tables seating 14 people.

And here's more about the restaurant via their website:

The signature dish of The Kati Roll Company, Kati Rolls, are made by wrapping warm paratha, a type of Indian flat bread, around a variety of meats, vegetables and cheese. Each ingredient is marinated in a proprietary blend of Indian spices, creating a distinctive taste available nowhere else. Rolls can also be wrapped with a whole wheat roti for a healthier option.

Diners may choose from a select few fillings like beef, chicken, lamb, egg, shrimp, mixed veggie patty, chana masala, paneer cheese or potatoes. The finished Kati Roll is wrapped in either a paratha or a whole wheat roti and served hot, making it a satisfying meal that can be enjoyed virtually anywhere.

Tonight's CB3-SLA meeting is at 6:30 in the Thelma Burdick Community Room, 10 Stanton St. at the Bowery.

The Stage, the 35-year-old lunch counter, closed on March 30, 2015. Stage owner Roman Diakun had been involved in an ongoing legal/eviction battle with landlord Icon Realty. (You can read that background here.)

347 Bowery getting its zinc supplements

Just taking a look at the schmancy, Annabelle Selldorf-designed 347 Bowery ... where the zinc panels started arriving at the 13-story luxury building at Third Street late last week...







And eventually one day, No. 347 will look like...


[Image via Selldorf Architects]

And here's more about the five homes that will reside here:

The four duplex units and penthouse triplex each have a central spiraling staircase and suspended catwalk which overlooks the main living space and provides a separation between the master and secondary bedrooms.

According to Streeteasy, only one of the units is currently on the market — a three bedroomer for $7.5 million. As previously noted, the $17-million penthouse (a record $$$$ for the Bowery) is already in contract after just three days on the market.

The homes will sit atop a two-story commercial base, which will be — FYI — "clad in light gray Kolumba brick complementing the zinc panels of the tower."

347 Bowery has risen at the former spot of the Salvation Army's East Village Residence.

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

Whatever happened to that really ugly hotel planned for 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

Former Capital One® space now for rent on 14th and 3rd

The Capital One® on the southeast corner of Third Avenue and 14th Street closed (bank branch down!) in July with the big move a few blocks to 14th Street and Broadway.

Now this prime corner space is on the rental market. The sign just went up... and the listing at RKF isn't live yet.

Will update with the rental info once it's available.

Meanwhile, what bank kind of business do you think might take this space? (We speculated that this was one possible landing spaces for the soon-to-depart M2M.)

Avenue B condos near former heroin hot spot named Poppy Lofts

The new condos at 26 Avenue B near Second Street now have a name and marketing team... Ryan Serhant's crew at NestSeekers International is behind this development called the Poppy Lofts...



Poppy Lofts is a rather generic name, though it does distinguish itself by not having a popstar moniker like newish nearby developments The Adele and The Robyn.

The Poppy Lofts website doesn't have any info yet about its origins. Maybe the name isn't actually a selection from a Random Name Generator. Perhaps the Serhant team is paying tribute to the East Village of the 1980s when the corner of Second Street and Avenue B was a notorious heroin cop spot. (Heroin is made from the resin of poppy plants, awkwardly noting.)

As Andrew Roth pointed out in "Infamous Manhattan," the intersection of East Second Street and Avenue B "probably saw more heroin retailing than any other spot on Earth."

Until the launch of Operation Pressure Point in 1984. Now the block between Second and Third is a notorious brunch hot spot.

In any event, no word just yet on the pricing for the two-bedroom lofts. You can register online here for info.

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?

First glass at Steiner East Village

In case you are keeping track at home. There, just above the artificial-turf-covered sidewalk bridge...



Avenue A between 11th Street and 12th Street. Previously.

Sunday parting shot

Photo by Bobby Williams ...