Photo via an EVG reader on 14th Street this morning...
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
The New York City Rescue Mission is in urgent need of clothing donations
Signs have been posted around the neighborhood via the New York City Rescue Mission asking for donations of gently used clothing (and plus-size clothing) for men and women.
The photo on the flyer shows the current (empty) state of their Clothing Closet. Items mentioned that are needed include coats, scarves, gloves, sweaters, pants, shirts and blankets.
You can make donations in person 24/7 at the New York City Rescue Mission HQ at 90 Lafayette St. between Walker and White.
Other drop-off centers (hours vary) nearby, per the sign:
• Maryhouse, 55 E. Third St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue
• Graffiti Church, 205 E. Seventh St. between Avenue B and Avenue C
• Middle Collegiate Church , 50 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue
• The Catholic Worker St. Joseph House, 36 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue
• The Bowery Mission, 227 Bowery near Prince
A name change suggested for Church of the Most Holy Redeemer on 3rd Street
In July 2015, the Church of the Nativity on Second Avenue between Third Street and Second Street shut its doors, part of a consolidation by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York ... the parish consolidated with the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.
Now there is a movement afoot via the pastor to change the name of the historic church, which was consecrated in November 1852.
The following message is from the church's bulletin from Sunday...
It reads:
We are now a new parish in the eyes of the Church and the civil government. Our official name is The Roman Catholic Church of Most Holy Redeemer and Nativity. However, we can opt to change our name. It can be something totally different — for example — St. John Paul II, St. Theresa of Calcutta, etc. If you have any suggestions, please put your suggestion and why you want this name in writing, and leave it at the office for Fr. Sean McGillicuddy before, Friday, October 21.
One neighbor and parishioner opposed to a random name change explained in an email:
"A modification of the name could imperil and erode its long-standing identity and history ... it is a cherished institution that has no reason to be known as anything other than Most Holy Redeemer."
Possible new name aside, the neighbor said that several of Father McGillicuddy's initiatives have been perceived as "ruinous" by some of the parishioners, who don't feel comfortable speaking out about the changes.
"He never consulted the parish or its council on matters that affect the interior or architectural cosmetics of the church — such as the four statues of Mary now inserted in the churches facade, for example. The interior is being desecrated: florescent spot lights at the shrines, thrift shop prayer stools and electric candle alters cluttering the alters. And he is having the larger-than-life hand-carved wooden statues (works of masterful European craftsmanship) painted over with metallic paint. What were once works of art now look like cheap trinkets and chachkas.
And...
"The church ... belongs to history, the community... the Lower East Side."
The nail salon One Plus One has closed on 1st Avenue
Tht's it for One Plus One on First Avenue between First Street and Second Street. A note on the door thanks customers for their patronage (and offers an apology for any inconvenience the closure may have caused) ...
The same folks apparently own Joyful Nail at 35 Avenue A.
The closing of One Plus One may also effectively end any confusion that people may have with the bar One and One a storefront away...
Benjamin Restaurant & Bar closes on 2nd Avenue in Kips Bay
Leaving the East Village for this post... where EVG reader Stephen Popkin shares this news: the Benjamin Restaurant & Bar on Second Avenue at 33rd Street has abruptly closed as of yesterday.
Here's the sign greeting patrons...
Per the note:
"Due to the incredible strains put onto small neighborhood Restaurants, the current economic environment, the totally unmanageable Labor Laws to small businesses, the incredible Greed of the City's Health Dept., this incredibly popular neighborhood favorite has no choice but to close its doors. Once a very successful neighborhood meeting place, Beginning as Mumbles in 1974, we have totally enjoyed all of the great relationships that we have formed in the neighborhood."
As the sign says, Benjamin Catering will live on "hopefully very soon."
The second location of Mumbles closed after 22 years in business at Third Avenue and 17th Street back in February.
As for the Benjamin, it was a pleasant, unpretentious neighborhood spot for a drink or meal after, say, a movie at the AMC Loews Kips Bay.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Oct. 18
Carol from East 5th Street found what appears to be a Christmas/holiday tree...
Why discard this today? Perhaps the balmy temperatures made it ideal for spring/summer cleaning...
Brooklyn-based Bakeri now serving bread, croissants and coffee on East 6th Street
The owners of Bakeri, with locations in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, have just opened a cafe at 627 E. Sixth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.
The East Village outpost — called Bakerita — carries Bakeri's homemade bread and pastries as well as Counter Culture Coffee.
And here's more about them, via the Bakeri website:
We opened in 2009 with the goal of bringing small batch, European-style bread to our community. We added a small café with homemade pastries and high-quality coffee. Our roots are from Northern Europe but our day-to-day changes depending on what we’re inspired by...
Bakerita is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday; and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.
Another rally to protest the incoming Moxy hotel on 11th Street
As we've been documenting, workers have started the demolition process at 112-120 E. 11th St., where a 300-room hotel is coming for Marriott's Moxy brand.
There's another protest now planned tomorrow evening here between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue. Here are details via the EVG inbox...
Please join GVSHP, union and labor groups, preservationists and neighbors this Wednesday, October 19 at 5:30 pm in front on 112-120 East 11th Street to protest the city’s approval of demolition of these five 19th century Beaux-Arts tenements which formerly housed long-term tenants in affordable housing. These five buildings were ruled “landmark-eligible” by the city in 2008, and yet this summer when they faced the threat of demolition and GVSHP urged they be protected, the city refused, claiming they no longer qualified for landmark status.
What changed? Nothing about the buildings – only the ownership. The buildings had been purchased by the Lightstone Group, whose head was a major campaign contributor to and political ally of Mayor de Blasio, whom he had recently appointed to the city’s Economic Development Corporation.
In spite of the Mayor’s purported dedication to affordable housing, he is allowing the buildings to be demolished to make way for a ‘millennials’-oriented Moxy Hotel. And in spite of the Mayor’s purported commitment to organized labor, the developer has been using companies on the project with a history of wage theft, unsafe practices, and mistreatment of workers, and the demolition and construction as well as the planned hotel will use non-union labor. As a result, organized labor is joining us in our campaign against this development, which we also protested this August.
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)
New building permits filed for 13-story Moxy Hotel on East 11th Street across from Webster Hall
There will be several eating-drinking choices at the incoming Moxy hotel on 11th Street
Chipping away 112-120 E. 11th St. to make way for a Moxy hotel
122 2nd Ave., home of the Ukrainian Sports Club, being pitched for retail or a restaurant
The retail/restaurant for rent sign has arrived outside 122 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.
According to the listing, two levels are available in the space whose current tenants include the Ukrainian Sports Club.
Here are more details (PDF here) via KSR Realty:
• Floors can be leased together or separately
• Incredible East Village retail opportunity
• Landlord will install ventilation
• Ownership is installing new façade
• Close proximity 400,000 SF office tower at 51 Astor Place
• Consistent foot traffic with St. Mark’s Place and Astor Place steps away
• Adjecent to Orpheum Theater
And here's a conceptual rendering showing the possibilities...
This is not the first time this space has been available. As we reported in January 2011, the two floors were going for an asking rent of $26,500. The retail-restaurant plans never materialized at that time. There isn't any mention of the asking rent today.
As previously noted, La Mama Experimental Theater Company was here until 1969.
The storefront at 332 Bowery, current home of Intermix, is for lease
There's a new listing for 332 Bowery between Bond and Great Jones... the space currently houses Intermix, but the multi-brand fashion retailer is apparently looking to sublease the space, per the listing at RKF. (The rent is arranged, and the sublease is through 2022.)
Until September 2012, the address was home to Steve's on the Bowery, which had been around 30-plus years. Intermix opened in May 2013.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Steve's on the Bowery has closed, more 'glam fashionistas' on the way
Steve's on the Bowery is for lease
Intermix arrives on the Bowery
Timbuk2 now open on Lafayette
On Saturday, the San Francisco-based Timbuk2 opened its first two East Coast retail shops ... in Williamsburg and at 325 Lafayette St. between Bleecker and Houston.
Per their website, "Timbuk2 is a designer and manufacturer of Made in San Francisco custom and ready-made bags and accessories. Our cycling roots and love of all things urban inform our design decisions to make products that work hard for you."
The media advisory about the store opening notes that the store will also have a "complimentary bike share program."
Monday, October 17, 2016
Restored 'Taxi Driver' plays Union Square Wednesday for film's 40th anniversary
A restored version of "Taxi Driver" returns to theaters on Wednesday in celebration of the Martin Scorsese-directed film's 40th anniversary.
Per Entertainment Weekly:
The program also includes a 10-minute excerpt from a Q&A with the cast and crew — including director Scorsese, screenwriter Paul Schrader, and star Robert De Niro — recorded at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and not previously released.
The Taxi Driver restoration, which was overseen by Scorsese and cinematographer Michael Chapman, will also be available on Blu-ray on Nov. 8. Bonus features on the two-disc set include the full 40-minute Tribeca Q&A as well as commentaries, a making-of documentary, storyboards, and animated photo galleries.
There are two screenings on Wednesday — 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. — at the Regal Union Square. Afterwards, you can walk by 13th Street and Third Avenue to spot some "Taxi Driver" filming locations.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Revisiting: East 13th Street and 'Taxi Driver'
Reader report: Man allegedly fondles himself in Tompkins Square Park while staring at 2 women
An East Village writer shared this with us this morning. She wants residents and Parkgoers to be aware of the man:
My friend and I were sitting on a bench in Tompkins Square Park on the Avenue B side of the park just past the dog run talking about 11:30 this morning. We were enjoying the lovely weather when I looked to my left and made eye contact with a man sitting on a bench. He was staring right at me, and I thought maybe I knew him, then he starting moving his hand around his crotch and stuck it up his shorts and started playing with himself. I turned to my friend and asked her to look past me and tell me what she saw, and like me, she saw him staring toward us while he was playing with himself.
I got up and walked over to Avenue B and walked down a bit and re-entered the park so I could walk by him from the other direction and get some good footage of him while my friend remained on the bench. As you can see in the photo, he has a newspaper on his lap and is wearing loose-fitting shorts. I suspect he is an old pro at this.
After I sat back down, he bolted to the middle of the park where he had a bike. He hopped on it and quickly rode out of the park, leaving out of the exit on the corner of Avenue B and East 7th Street.
Renovations underway at Momofuku's Ssäm Bar on 2nd Avenue
An EVG tipster shared these photos from this morning... showing workers cleaning out Momofuku's Ssäm Bar space on Second Avenue at 13th Street...
As Eater reported last month, David Chang's restaurant is closing for a brief renovation — "an update that will include a switch to all chairs with backs, a move away from the Momofuku empire’s design signature." And! "Ssäm Bar’s renovation is being done in conjunction with the restaurant’s 10-year anniversary." They closed after lunch service yesterday.
And as part of all this, the adjacent cocktail bar Booker & Dax closed on Saturday night. The bar owners plan on relocating to a new, standalone space.
The pits: 10th Street and 4th Avenue cleared for new development
On Friday, workers wrapped up the demolition on 10th Street at Fourth Avenue. The crew quickly took down the single-level structure at the southeast corner in August.
However, the turn-of-the-century townhouse at 82 E. 10th St. remained... they seemed to take their time with it for some reason. I watched them slowly raze it over a two-week period.
[Sept. 24]
[Sept. 30]
These photos are from Saturday...
As previously reported, a 10-story retail-residential building is in the works. The approved permit shows retail on the ground floor and 12 dwelling units above. The residential portion encompasses more than 24,000 square feet, so those units will presumably be condos. Floors 2-5 will each have two units while 6-8 will each have one unit while a two-level duplex to top things off.
SBLM Architects are listed as the architects of record. Didn't spot a rendering at their website. However, a search of the address online turned up this rendering... I don't have any idea if this is the actual design still in play here. This comes from a now-broken link at Archinect ...
The history of this stretch includes the Tenth Street Coffeehouse, an artists' hangout run by Mickey Ruskin before he opened Les Deux Megots on Ninth Street and then Max's Kansas City. No. 82 was thought to have housed the Hilda Carmel Gallery in the late 1950s and early 1960s, where the likes of Pollock, Rothko and de Kooning showed their work.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Demo permits filed to raze southeast corner of 4th Avenue and 10th Street
The 'tremendous retail potential' of East 10th Street and 4th Avenue
10 stories of condos in the works for the long-vacant corner of 4th Avenue and East 10th Street
With new building OK'd, corner of 4th Avenue and 10th Street finally ready for razing
Happy No. 17 Black & White
East 10th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue isn't a complete lost cause. No. 86 is home to Black & White ...
...and the bar is celebrating its 17th anniversary this week with some music and a three-night celebration, as seen on the flyer below...
City of Saints is on this block too... I know several people who give their coffee high marks...
Evelyn Drinkery has closed on Avenue C
After four years at 171 Avenue C between 10th Street and 11th Street, Evelyn Drinkery has closed.
An EVG reader shared this email that the owners of the cocktail bar sent out this past Friday...
We understand that new owners will be taking over the space. We will have more on the new tenants once we get some final confirmation.
The space was previously home to TenEleven, a space that we always liked. Never made it to the Drinkery.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: TenEleven closing at the end of June
What's taking over the TenEleven space on Avenue C
Blink Fitness opens Oct. 25 on Avenue A
According to the guy at the sales office anyway. The gym is at 98 Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street in the base of Ben Shaoul's
Previously
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Week in Grieview
[Surge pricing on 7th Street via Derek Berg]
Stories posted on EVG this past week included...
Renovation work starting at the landmarked Father's Heart Ministry on 11th Street (Tuesday)
The Citibank branch on Avenue A is closing (Wednesday)
The new Beth Israel hospital for the East Village looks pretty bonkers (Tuesday) ... and more details on the new hospital (Thursday)
Report: City claims immunity in tenant lawsuit over deadly Second Avenue gas explosion (Wednesday)
(More) Condos coming soon on East Houston (Monday)
Remembering a fallen NYPD officer on the anniversary of his death (Thursday)
Out and About with Michelle Candela (Wednesday)
Local elected officials asked to vacate longtime office space on First Avenue and 14th Street (Thursday)
New renderings for the luxury building that will hang out over the Mercury Lounge (Thursday)
Report: Babu Ji on Avenue B hit with another wage lawsuit (Thursday)
Empire Biscuit has until Tuesday to pay the back rent or surrender their Avenue A storefront (Wednesday)
Dieci closes on 10th Street (Monday)
More Mosaic light poles arrive at Astor Place (Wednesday)
East Village Burritos & Bar and Apna Masala haven't been open lately (Monday)
Heights + Kenchi moves to 9th Street (Tuesday)
Being Steve Croman (Friday)
Mandolino Pizza coming soon to 13th Street (Monday)
Coming to 'Merica (Friday)
Joey Pepperoni looking closed on First Avenue (Wednesday)
Getting piggy with it: Found heart outside the Riis Houses not human, ME says (Thursday)
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