The five-year-old IHOP closed for a makeover on Sept. 18.
Having never been inside the pre-makeover IHOP, I can't tell you how the place is any different. Anyone?
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Hey, the 14th Street IHOP is back in pancake biz
The five-year-old IHOP closed for a makeover on Sept. 18.
Having never been inside the pre-makeover IHOP, I can't tell you how the place is any different. Anyone?
Target's plan to be your one-stop shop on 14th Street and Avenue A (and Tribeca)
[Photo on Avenue A from last week]
The so-called flexible-format Target store opened yesterday in Tribeca.
I mention this because this is the model for the specialty Target that is set to open on 14th Street and Avenue A in, oh, 2018... the store will anchor Extell's 7-story retail-residential complex...
[Photo from yesterday]
Follow the arrow to the Target...
Here's more on Target's new concept via an article yesterday in USA Today:
The new smaller-format stores are a way of reaching customers who might otherwise have trouble becoming Target stalwarts. Of the 15 new stores Target is opening this year, 14 will be the smaller, more curated models.
The Tribeca store features several hallmarks of Target’s overall strategy to become a one-stop shop for customers, including a section where shoppers can buy fresh, organic groceries, and an emphasis on merchandise categories such as wellness and fashion.
But each of the smaller stores also is designed to cater to the tastes and needs of the specific neighborhood where it is located. The walls of the Tribeca store are decorated with a graffiti-like mural that was drawn with a felt-tip marker.
In a dense section of Manhattan where people rely on the subway and taxis to get around, there is no automotive section, unlike many of Target’s larger suburban locations. (Lack of parking, in fact, is one of the store's bigger challenges.) And in a neighborhood full of professionals and young couples with babies, there are plenty of baby strollers, and smaller furniture that would better fit into tiny apartments.
As previously reported, Target is leasing 27,306 square feet at Extell Development's development. According to a report at the Commercial Observer back in August:
The lease — for 9,500 square feet at grade and 17,806 square feet below ground — is for 30 years, at which time Target could extend it for another 10 years, according to the source and the memorandum of lease. ... The asking rent was $2.5 million per year...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Breaking (pretty much!): Target is coming to 14th Street and Avenue A (54 comments)
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
7B train closed for repairs
Eh, crews for the Amazon series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" will be filming here on Seventh Street and Avenue B tonight ... and inside 7B/Vazac's/Horseshoe Bar... (the bar is closed this evening, will return tomorrow at noon).
This marks the second night of filming around here for the 1950s-era drama
H/T Dave on 7th
That '50s show on St. Mark's Place
[Photo via @robindun]
If you walked down St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue in the past, oh, 24 hours, then you likely noticed the 1950s TV transformation for Amazon's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."
First! A recap of the pilot via Deadline:
Set in the 1950s, the project centers on Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Brosnahan), who had her life mapped out for herself: go to college, find a husband, have 2.5 kids and throw the best Yom Kippur dinners in her elegant Manhattan apartment. But when her life takes an unexpected turn, Midge will have to decide quickly what else she’s good at. Going from uptown housewife to a stand-up comic in a grungy club in the Village is an appalling choice to everyone but Midge.
Tony Shalhoub and Michael Zegen (Bugsy Siegel on "Boardwalk Empire") are also in the drama's cast.
EVG Vintage Car Correspondent Derek Berg checked out the working props...
Thankfully there's a tire repair place now on the block for all these cars...
Crews were also spotted filming a scene at Josie's last night on Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.
Signs say that crews will be filming this afternoon into the early morning hours (4 a.m.) on St. Mark's Place.
News of the filming apparently annoyed some residents (or visitors!) of 94-96 St. Mark's Place. Page Six noted that people defaced the flyer about the shoot inside the building's entrance.
“Fuck off,” one person wrote, while another added to the bottom, “You better hope I have nowhere to be during this, or your fucking ‘scene’ is ruined!”
The line for free coffee at Luke's Diner this morning on 1st Avenue
[Photo from 7 a.m. by Steven]
The East Village locations of the Bean, including the one on First Avenue at Ninth Street, are taking part in a one-day anniversary promo for "Gilmore Girls."
Today apparently marks the 16th anniversary of the show's first episode.
Per USA Today:
Netflix is turning more than 200 coffeehouses nationwide into Luke's Diners, ahead of its "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" premiere on Nov. 25. Each temporary Luke's will include décor from the show, such as Luke's signs, Luke's aprons, Luke's backwards caps and Luke's coffee cups covered in Gilmore Girls quotes.
The series ran for seven seasons, ending its run in May 2007. Luke's was the show's popular dining spot.
Out and About in the East Village
In this ongoing 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
James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.
By James Maher
Name: Jamey Poole and Rusty James
Occupation: “Being a New Yorker”
Location: 6th Street and 1st Avenue
Time: 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1
I’m from Texas originally. I’ve been in the East Village for 20 years. Art school brought me here. I went to Parsons. I went to school for photography and I work for a photographer now. And life in the city was so intoxicating that I couldn’t leave. I came directly here. It was the only neighborhood I would ever want to live in when I moved here in 1996. It was the history of the place, the creativity, the kind of people it attracted, the whole environment – all of it. There was no question about it.
It was all of downtown. It was very vibrant. Everybody you wanted to know or make friends with or do any kind of creative projects with lived between 23rd Street and Canal and river to river basically. You’d walk outside your door and meet all kinds of cool people, start a band, start a magazine, start a gallery, do an art collective — whatever. It was very concentrated.
Even though I love visiting all my friends in Bushwick or in Jersey or in Astoria, it’s like the creative nucleus has really been blown apart. So it’s hard, you know. If you’re like 22 and you move to the city now, you start a band and your keyboardist lives in Sunset Park, your singer’s in Jersey City, the drummer lives up in Washington Heights. So it’s really hard to have that creative community. I miss that. I’m not [complaining] but I do miss that. I miss having the creative concentration of everybody in one general area. It’s not too easy to go over and have dinner. It’s a whole production.
I mean it’s not like it’s not happening. It is happening. The drag scene in Bushwick is off the chain. It’s really amazing. There’s tons of cool stuff around Bushwick, but that shit is fucking far from where I live. My friend lives in Bushwick and it takes me an hour and a half to get there.
It’s just that the East Village had more time to really blossom. Williamsburg, that whole thing happened within a decade. The immigrants, the artists, the students, the money, that wave happened so quickly — 10 or 15 years in Williamsburg. So nothing took root that well, whereas in the East Village there were decades and decades for that kind of creative spirit, and so you could feel it. You could feel the character of the place, and you don’t feel that in Williamsburg. The artistic time that happened there came and went like that. I still love it. I have tons of friends who live over there and I love hanging out in Williamsburg, but it doesn’t have the deep roots.
I’m going to Asbury Park to the Zombie Walk. I love Asbury Park. The Zombie Walk is really cool. It’s been going on for around 10 years. I went last year for the first time. They start at the convention center, walk down the boardwalk, then on Main Street, and there are all these parties. Asbury Park is where it’s at. It seems a little early to dress up but whatever.
James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.
At the grand opening of Rose and Basil
Back in July, Rose and Basil opened at 104 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.
The cafe, which serves coffee and a variety of homemade desserts, is owned by Ioana Holt, who launched the business with her college friend William Wang.
The two had their grand opening this past Friday... EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by...
[Wang and Holt]
Holt shared more about her background and how this storefront came about:
I come from a humble family in Romania and have always been passionate about food. I moved to the U.S. after a driven academic career in Romania and Austria to study at NYU. I sustained myself all my life by working in the food industry. Almost a year ago I left NYU in order to pursue ... Rose and Basil.
Rose and Basil was born in a little apartment in Soho. I worked from home doing special orders and fulfilling the ones on the Rose and Basil website.
That was until this March when I reconnected with William Wang, whom I was friends with in college. William comes from China and studies economics at NYU. He’s always had a mind for business and heart for food.
I brought him some chocolates and told him about my dream of opening a cafe.
Suddenly we were looking for rents in East Village and buying fridges and chia seeds online.
About 'Merica NYC
[Photo by Vinny & O from last Thursday]
There was some confusion about what exactly 'MericaNYC is going to be at 320 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. Is it an actual restaurant? Is it just a pop-up creation for the last legs of Election 2016? Is someone just trolling neighbors?
As we understand it, 'America NYC is a venture between the owner of the previous restaurant in this space, Zerza, and his neighbors a few doors away at the Tim Burton-themed Beetle House. (The Beetle House owners, Zach Neil and Brian Link, also operate Stay Classy, the bar for Will Ferrell fans on Rivington Street.)
Zerza owner Radouane Eljaouhari left a lengthy comment about 'Merica NYC, and how it came about, on the EVG post from Friday. He mentioned that Neil would come in from Beetle House for a meal, and that they engaged in wide-ranging conversations on a variety of topics.
Yes I am a restaurateur but I have great interests in other things as well and like many of you, I enjoy debates and politics.
And being an American Muslim from Morocco, I found myself on many occasions to be a link to explain a few questions about my culture and religion, and so many times and to my delight, I find great pleasure in clarifying a few false clichés.
Some readers were turned off by the 'Merica NYC menu items, such as The Kanye, "Fried breast of chicken tossed in a creamy rich Alfredo sause served over mashed potatoes, then drizzled with a balsamic glaze. This meal will make you into a famous rapper and a narcissistic asshole. Ask the public to loan you the money for it."
The menu items have since been removed from 'Merica NYC's Facebook page. At this point we don't know if they are actual menu items or just someone's idea of humor leading up to the grand opening.
In any event, back to Eljaouhari's comment:
At the end of the day, it is going to be a restaurant that will sell two main items: Food and Beverages. It is going to be a business that will provide a few job opportunities to a few students and a few kitchen staff, like us, individuals with families that have obligations to pay their bills. We are all looking forward to succeeding.
Please be patient and give it a chance before you give your verdicts and most importantly wish us luck.
The restaurant is expected to open soon.
Here are some of Neil's Instagram posts from August promoting the new establishment... (Updated 10 a.m.:
Oh, and no one really seems to know who Hamad is from those Friday comments.
Previously on EV Grieve:
USA today: 'Merica NYC signage arrives
Zerza has closed on 6th Street; Merica NYC coming soon?
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Noted
Blue picket fence alert this evening on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place... outside the former Chase ... soon to be the Swiss Institute.
Photo by Lola Sáenz
Lines ahoy!: Trader Joe's coming to Essex Crossing on the Lower East Side
The 15-story building will include a 22,000-square-foot Planet Fitness on the second floor when construction wraps in 2018. You can head to The Lo-Down for more details on this development.
A TJ's recently opened in Kip's Bay. And maybe one will still open at 500 E. 14th St. That incoming CityTarget is only expected to take half of the retail space at 14th Street and Avenue A.
Welcoming Steiner East Village
Steiner East Village, Douglas Steiner's 82-unit condoplex rising on Avenue A at 12th Street, received welcome messages the other night.
EVG reader John shared this photo... a Cool and a SMELLS...
Report: Woman, 73, killed by M14D on East Houston
The victim, whose identity has not been released, was 73, according to ABC-7. None of the passengers on the M14D were apparently injured. The investigation continues.
Updated 5:30 p.m.
Streetsblog has more details on the deadly collision.
Anna Colon, 73, was crossing East Houston Street north to south at around 9:50 a.m. when the driver, who was also southbound, hit her while turning left from Avenue D onto East Houston, according to NYPD.
And...
East Houston at Avenue D is a wide two-way street with concrete medians in the crosswalks. Drivers injured 15 people walking at the intersection between 2009 and 2015, and had injured one other person there this year as of August, according to city crash data.
Residents told the Daily News that this intersection is dangerous.
“I feel afraid every time I cross that corner. I hold my breath and keep an eye out for a bus," said Rosalind Collazo, 49. “The buses go fast and don't stop. It's not the buses, the cars go fast too. They do U-turns when they are not supposed to.”
Colon had nine children, according to the Daily News.
The luxurious reveal of the future 253 E. 7th St.
[What's left of No. 253 as of Sept. 10]
As we first reported last month, the city signed off on permits for a new 6-story residential building at 253 E. Seventh St. between Avenue C and Avenue D.
Yesterday, New York Yimby got a look at the rendering via Issac & Stern Architects... incoming!
Per NYY:
The structure will span 10,466 square feet with six units averaging a spacious 1,498 square feet apiece. That is a strong indicator that this building will hold condos, and most units will have their own floors, including a penthouse on the sixth floor with its own private upper level.
Public records show that the property owner is an LLC going by DRK East 7th Street, who paid $5.7 million for the plot in a filing posted on Aug. 22.
This is the second new condo project to break ground on this block in the past few years ... joining Seven East Village, aka, 277 E. Seventh St. The Flowerbox condo building at No. 259 arrived in 2007.
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.
New 6-story residential building OK'd for 7th Street
[Image from 2014 via Massey Knakal]
'Indie music hall and restaurant' in the works for Colonnade Row
The other day, the Times checked in with a roundup of fall bar openings.
Here's one intriguing new venue: The owners of Elvis Guesthouse on Avenue A and Baby's All Right in Williamsburg are reportedly opening "an indie music hall and restaurant" at 428 Lafayette St. (See photo above with helpful arrow.)
The preview didn't mention that this will be in Colonnade Row, the landmarked series of Greek revival buildings near Astor Place. No. 428 is next door to Indochine.
The unnamed, two-level venue will be similar to Baby's All Right, with a bar and restaurant. Said Co-owner Billy Jones: "If you have a space and the rent is so high, you have to come up with creative ways to activate it for longer periods of time." Said co-owner Zachary Mexico: "Pay your rent with brunch."
There wasn't any mention of a possible opening date.
If it's October, then it also must be Hitchcocktober
[Photo from last week]
This Halloween season, Village East Cinema on Second Avenue at East 12th Street is once again presenting Alfred Hitchcock films (Hitchcocktober!) on Thursday evenings.
The series begins this week with "The Birds" ...
And upcoming:
Oct. 13 — "Suspicion"
Oct. 20 — "Dial M for Murder" in 3D
Oct. 27 — "The Trouble With Harry"
Oct. 31 (Halloween night!) — "Psycho"
You may buy advance tickets here. The movies start at 8 p.m.
Reader report: The trash at PS 15
An East Fourth Street resident shares this via the EVG inbox...
This is the chronic garbage situation on East Fourth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D outside PS 15.
The top photo is the garbage that was put out on Friday afternoon and sat there all weekend until it was picked up yesterday. This is the norm. The bottom 2 photos are what was left AFTER the garbage pickup — a smaller, but still disgusting mess.
As you can see, the school puts out a slew of garbage bags and has created a dump site on the block. Apparently, they are held to a different standard and have a different garbage pickup schedule than residents on the block. This situation has created a major rat problem on the block and in the nearby community gardens. Rats can be seen swarming this mess at night and in the early morning. No amount of calls to 311 is bringing any improvement.
Monday, October 3, 2016
Report: Avenue B's Babu Ji settles wage lawsuit
Eater has the story late this afternoon:
Notorious restaurant labor attorney Maimon Kirschenbaum sued Jessi and Jennifer Singh on behalf of two employees for pocketing tips and not paying overtime. Last week, the Singhs agreed to pay employees Warren Bayani and Mehmood Qureshi a total of $95,000, split almost evenly between the two of them and Kirschenbaum. The owners did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement, according to public court records.
Read the full story at Eater.
Babu Ji opened in June 2015. The owners are planning to open a location in San Francisco.
Village Style has left the East Village
Back in August, we reported that the Village Style Vintage Shop at 111 E. Seventh St. was moving to Bushwick this fall ... leaving behind its storefront here between Avenue A and First Avenue...
Workers cleared out the space late last week...
The space has been on the market ... with an asking rent of $9,750 per month.
The shop, part of the L Train Vintage family, also operates No Relation Vintage clothing on First Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street.
Ownership did not offer a reason for the move.
Thanks to Steven for the photos; H/T EVG reader Marty E.
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