RIP Adrian Gilboe

Family members of Adrian Gilboe shared the following...

Longtime East Village figure Adrian Gilboe, who was in his 50s, passed away on Sept. 29.

In the early 1990s, Adrian opened the antique store Wandering Dragon Trading Co. at 263 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. The store later became Obscura Antiques & Oddities, which has since relocated to Avenue A.

Wandering Dragon was known for being home to some of the neighborhood’s most eccentric characters. Adrian had a unique style and eye for the obscure that was ahead of its time. He was a dramatic, generous, smart and charming enigma that seemed to live in another era entirely.

Adrian grew up in Manhattan and began collecting just about everything at a young age. As a teenager, he would break into abandoned buildings set to be demolished and salvage everything from door knobs and light fixtures, to bone saws and anatomical models. Much of his life was spent fixing up and finding an appreciation for the discarded; he was a pioneer in his avid collecting of the unusual.

Most notably, Adrian offered a window into a secret and wonderful world of oddities.


[Adrian, Sierra and Tinton]

Said East Village resident David Wolen:

The Wandering Dragon Trading Company was an amazingly strange and impossibly tiny store in the East Village. It was NEVER open but we would walk by all the time and stare in the windows at the weird antiques, taxidermy, wax mannequin heads, glass eyeballs, and skulls. One night we were coming home from a bar at 3 o’clock in the morning and the door was open and 1920s jazz was playing inside. We went in and entered the magical world of Adrian Gilboe.

The store was a constant array of characters wandering in an out, street people, artists, writers, occasional celebrities and celebrities to be. A lot of weirdos! Although rarely open, it was never dull.

This article from The New York Times in 1991 describes Adrian’s unique aesthetic and love of items rich with history.

His daughter, Sierra, will be hosting an informal memorial tomorrow (Oct. 22). Those who knew Adrian are welcome to stop by and share their memories. Please email her here if you’d like more details about the memorial.

A $19,500 rental on Avenue A; 'Drama, drama everywhere'

[Image via Douglas Elliman]

There's a new listing for an apartment in 12 Avenue A (in the building that houses Kelly's Sports Bar — go Sabres!).

Here's the dramatic pitch via Douglas Elliman:

LIVE/WORK
Formerly a theatre, this 4 bedroom 4.5 bathroom home marries modernist chic with NYC edge and authenticity.

Uber renovated to pristine perfection. Sparkling Viking chef kitchen and stunning new baths, this dreamspace is totally turnkey.

Drama, drama everywhere. Soaring loft ceiling heights on 2 floors, outfitted with a state of the art commercial lighting system, this loft is the very definition of Downtown Cool.

An entertainers dream come true — it's no surprise that it hosted many, many Hollywood fetes.

Asking rent: $19,500/month.

The price has gone up since we last looked at this vacancy in 2011, when the monthly ask was a mere $12,000. (And there wasn't any mention of the unit's previous Hollywood fetes.)

You can find more interior photos here.

A few more details about renting the former Capital One® on 14th Street and 3rd Avenue

The for rent signs arrived at the former Capital One® branch on the southeast corner of Third Avenue and 14th Street way back in early September.

And we've been waiting patiently for the listing to arrive online at RKF ... and that blessed event finally occurred yesterday.

Well, there's not a whole lot to the listing (like the monthly rent)... here ya go:

SPACE
Ground Floor — 3,000 SF

POSSESSION
Immediate

TERM
Sublease through December 31, 2025

FRONTAGE
40 feet on Third Avenue
85 feet on East 14th Street

NEIGHBORS
5 Napkin Burger, Duane Reade, Dunkin’ Donuts, New York Sports Club, P.C. Richard & Son, Raymour & Flanigan, Sleepy’s, Trader Joe’s, Westside Market

COMMENTS
Immediately adjacent to the Third Avenue subway station serving the L train with annual ridership of 2,386,533 (Ed note: Hopefully it will be a business that can stay afloat for 18 months starting in 2019 when the L train shuts down.) Located at the base of a 19-story luxury condominium building

The Capital One® closed in July with the big move to 14th Street and Broadway.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive first look inside the new Capital One® bank branch at 123 Third Ave.


[Exclusive photo from September 2011]

There's more of a sense of urgency with getting a flu shot at Duane Reade this flu season

Spotted by @edenbrower outside Duane Reade on Third Avenue and 10th Street...don't put it off!

At the Moxy hotel protest on 11th Street last evening

[Photo by Derek Berg]

A group of residents, preservationists, local elected officials and union reps came out early last evening to protest the incoming hotel by Marriott's Moxy brand slated to replace a row of buildings at 112-120 E. 11th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.

The speakers blasted Mayor de Blasio's administration, who despite the purported dedication to affordable housing, is allowing the 300-room hotel aimed at millennials to move forward.

The Lightstone Group paid Pan Am Equities $127 million for the portfolio.

In July 2015, Mayor de Blasio appointed Lightstone Chairman and CEO David Lichtenstein to the New York City Economic Development Corporation’s Board of Directors.

According to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), who helped organize the rally, the five buildings were ruled "landmark-eligible" by the city in 2008. However, when the buildings faced the threat of demolition this past summer, the city said that they no longer qualified for landmark status, per GVSHP.


[DB]


[DB]


[Photo by Peter Brownscombe]


[Photo by PB]

Here are a collection of comments distributed to the media following last evening's rally..

"Community groups, preservationists, affordable housing advocates, and labor all agree that this development stinks. Something is wrong when a Mayor who claims to care about neighborhoods, average New Yorkers, affordable housing, and organized labor allows his campaign contributor and political ally to avoid landmark protections so he can demolish historic buildings with affordable housing to put up a high-end hotel with non-union labor. Preserving these buildings and the housing they provided represents everything New Yorkers and residents of this neighborhood want; the hotel plan represents everything they do not want." — Andrew Berman, GVSHP Executive Director

“It is disappointing, but sadly not surprising, that a project like Lightstone Development’s Moxy Hotel on 11th Street has been approved by the City of New York. Disappointing because it will eliminate desperately needed neighborhood affordable housing, provide no decent career pathways for New Yorkers, and is being driven by a developer known to use contractors with a history of safety violations and worker exploitation ... Not surprising because Mayor de Blasio’s appointment of Lightstone’s CEO David Lichtenstein to the EDC raises serious concerns about who is watching out for the public good of the city’s economic driver plans." — John Skinner, President/Political Director Metallic Lathers Reinforcing Ironworkers Local 46


[Photo of Rosie Mendez by PB]

"I stand by my original statement and my continued disappointment that we are losing five buildings in my district that contained several dozen affordable rent regulated units, as well as the fact that these were architecturally and historically significant buildings built in the late 1800s. Instead we will have a hotel that will be architecturally out of character and out of scale with our neighborhood. I am extremely disappointed that this mayoral administration has not come forward with any legislative/zoning solutions to prevent these types of 'as of right developments' from reoccurring. — Council Member Rosie Mendez


[Photo of Brad Hoylman by PB]

"It’s wrong that units of affordable housing on an historic East Village block are slated to be demolished and replaced forever by expensive hotel rooms by a developer who has a poor safety record in protecting workers. This case is a glaring example of the work we need to do to protect the historic fabric and character of our neighborhoods and ensure we use union labor for new construction." — State Senator Brad Hoylman

Previously on EV Grieve:
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)

A second newsstand in the works for Astor Place

Since 1987, Jerry Delakas has been operating a newsstand outside the downtown 6 entrance on Astor Place. (After a 3-year eviction battle, the city granted him the proper permits in early 2014.)

Now it looks as if Delakas might have competition. A vendor has submitted an application with the city to open a newsstand on the reconstructed Astor Place.

According to materials (PDF) on file ahead of tonight's CB3 Transportation & Public Safety/Environment Committee, the proposed newsstand will be on the northeast corner of Fourth Avenue and Astor Place across from 51 Astor Place/the IBM Watson Building/Death Star.

It appears from a diagram at the CB3 website that the newsstand, facing Fourth Avenue, would be somewhere in this vicinity ... north of the uptown 6 entrance...



A newsstand did not appear on the rendering for the renovated plaza...



We asked William Kelley, executive director of the Village Alliance, the business improvement district that oversees the new Astor Place pedestrian plaza, about the application.

"There was not [another newsstand] included as part of the plan," he said via email. "However, due to First Amendment protections, newsstand applications can be made at any time and at any location that fits the siting criteria," such as distance from building entrances and curbs.

"We will oppose the location," Kelley said, "but the city does not take into account competition with other newsstands, unfortunately."

The meeting tonight is at 6:30 at Downtown Art, in the 1st floor theater, 70 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Reader report: Tracking the source of 'a mid-range whining or humming noise' on 8th Street (and beyond)

[Random ConEd plant photo]

A 30-plus year resident of East Eighth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C shares the following...

Beginning approximately this summer, I noticed a noise that is very irritating and sometimes wakes me up. If I am awake when the noise is occurring, I cannot get to sleep.

The noise is difficult to describe but I will attempt: It is a mid-range whining or humming noise. It permeates everything and sounds industrial. It sounds as if someone is blowing in an empty soda bottle and then amplified 100,0000 times. Each occurrence of the noise lasts anywhere from approximately 3-10 minutes and continues on an intermittent basis (sometimes several times an hour), day and night, seven days a week.

When I open my window to get a read on where the noise is coming from, it is always from the direction of the ConEd plant. I believe that this is where this noise comes from. Over the years the ConEd plant has been the cause of many, many irritating, disturbing and dangerous noises and explosions that have plagued the neighborhood.

The noise is very disturbing. I am sure it can be heard for more than a six-block radius surrounding ConEd (if indeed it is the source).

Anyone else have similar experiences with the noise the reader describes?

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village residents ask: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT NOISE LAST NIGHT?

About that really loud noise around 14th Street and Avenue B last night

Con Ed apologizes for the 'inconvenience' of waking you up at 4:30 a.m.

The breaker pop heard 'round the neighborhood

On the rental market: 66 E. Seventh St. and 115 Avenue A

Looking at two storefronts where "for rent" signs arrived this week....

66 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue



Back in June, Barbara Feinman Millinery closed here. Feinman retired, and the shop moved a few storefronts away to No. 80. Julia Emily Knox, who started working for Feinman in 2012, is now running East Village Hats. Check them out.

As for No. 66. Here are details per the listing at Sinvin:

Description
• Charming boutique space
• Landlord will deliver as a vanilla box
• Good for any use, including food
• Located in the heart of the East Village

Neighboring Tenants Tokio 7 • East Village Cheese • Studio Duarte • Van Leeuwen Ice Cream • Via Della Pace • Elevate • Cupcake Market • Agavi Juice Bar • Luke's Lobster • Roll It Up Ice Cream • Below 7th Paper & Gifts

There's a 10-year lease available for $3,650/month.

The storefront is located in one of the buildings that Raphael Toledano's Brookhill Properties is currently unloading selling.

115 Avenue A between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place



This space is empty again now that the Blink Fitness office moved into the new Blink Fitness that opens Tuesday at 98 Avenue A. No. 115 previously served as a sales office for Ben Shaoul's condoplex at 100 Avenue A.

The gift shop Alphabets closed here in in February 2014, merging with their (at the time) newly opened location at 64 Avenue A between Fifth Street and Fourth Street.

Per the 9300 Realty website, the 500-square-foot space (plus basement) is $6,995/Month. The listing doesn't get too specific, save for: "Across from Tompkins Square Park, next to the legendary Odessa Bar and other wonderful restaurants and stores."

The Odessa Cafe and Bar closed in August 2013 after 33 years in business.

This property is owned by Steve Croman, who was charged with 20 felonies and a civil suit accusing him of chasing low-income families out of their homes.

Hitchcocktober move of the week: 'Dial M for Murder' in 3D

Tonight's Hitchcocktober movie of the week at Village East Cinema on Second Avenue and 12th Street is ... "Dial M for Murder" in 3D.

The one-sentence IMDB plot: "An ex-tennis pro carries out a plot to murder his wife. When things go wrong, he improvises a brilliant plan B."



And upcoming:

Oct. 27 — "The Trouble With Harry"

Oct. 31 (Halloween night!) — "Psycho"

You may buy advance tickets here. The movies start at 8 p.m.

Boogie nights

Crews for "The Deuce," HBO's upcoming drama series starring James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal, continued to film in parts of the neighborhood today (they were shooting a scene at Josie's on Sixth Street earlier)... the above photo via @slicksean shows the altered exterior of the City Cinemas Village East on Second Avenue at 12th Street ... transformed into an adult theater...

Here's more on the series via Deadline:

Written by "The Wire" creator David Simon and longtime collaborator George Pelecanos and directed by Michelle MacLaren, The Deuce follows the HBO blue logostory of the legalization and subsequent rise of the porn industry in New York’s Times Square from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s, exploring the rough-and-tumble world that existed there until the rise of HIV, the violence of the cocaine epidemic, and the renewed real estate market ended the bawdy turbulence.

It will now be more challenging to tag the front of the former Chase branch on 2nd Avenue

Workers this afternoon are installing roll-down gates outside 130 Second Ave. at St. Mark's Place...



People had been tagging the front of the former Chase on a regular basis... this one arrived overnight on Oct. 11...





The space will eventually be converted into the Swiss Institute, a non-profit cultural center currently located on Wooster Street. The Chase branch here consolidated with the one two blocks away last November.

Updated 10/20


[Photo by Steven]

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

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

A few more details on the Swiss Institute's move to the East Village

Noted

Photo via an EVG reader on 14th Street this morning...

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.

It is nice out today

10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B ... via

Oct. 18

Carol from East 5th Street found what appears to be a Christmas/holiday tree... freshly plucked from the Earth (there's still some green on it)...on Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...



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

A photo posted by Bakerita NYC (@bakeritanyc) on Oct 15, 2016 at 6:37am PDT

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