EV Grieve Etc.: Attempted rape on the LES; Essex Crossing housing lottery underway

[Photo by Derek Berg]

Police looking for this suspect in attempted rape in building on Norfolk and Rivington (ABC 7)

Mayor de Blasio claimed he had nothing to do with the recent firing of the city official who lifted the deed restriction at Rivington House (DNAinfo)

How de Blasio stacks up against Bloomberg on rezoning (The Real Deal)

The annual CineKink NYC Film Festival starts March 14 at several EV theaters (Time Out)

NYPL's Library for the Performing Arts acquires Lou Reed's archives (Gothamist)

The U.S. English language premiere of Guillermo Calderón’s "Villa" on stage through April 1 at the Wild Project on Third Street (Official site)

Cholo Noir, a forthcoming West Coast-style Mexican restaurant and art gallery, opening with or without a liquor license on Sixth Street (DNAinfo ... previously)

Villanelle, serving "serving vegetable-forward fare," opens on 12th Street between Fifth and University (The New York Times)

A look at the 1980s zines of Raymond Pettibon (Dangerous Minds) ... and his retrospective at the New Museum on the Bowery continues through April 9 (Official site)

Essex Crossing Site 5 affordable housing lottery is open (The Lo-Down)

"Citizen Kane" this weekend at Anthology Film Archives (Official site) ... while Ingmar Bergman's "Shame" plays at the Metrograph down on Ludlow Street (Official site)

This week's hawk action in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography)

It's the 'End of the Week'

Here's something from Merchandise's sixth studio album (and second for UK imprint 4AD), A Corpse Wired," which came out last fall.

The video is for "End of the Week." Merchandise is touring now, but no upcoming NYC dates as of now.

1 week left to apply for the Stuy Town Lottery

Via the EVG inbox...

The StuyTown Lottery, a middle-income affordable housing lottery at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, has one week left to run.

The deadline to apply is March 10. Anyone with between $84,150 and $149,490 in pre-tax, combined household income might be eligible. We are offering one- and two-bedroom apartments.

More information, including floorplans, FAQs and instructions on how to apply can be found at www.stuytownlottery.com.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Lottery open for below-market rate apartments in Stuy Town

With court date looming, Babu Ji 'is taking a break' on Avenue B

The dining room was dark last evening at Babu Ji, the popular Indian restaurant on Avenue B at 11th Street.

A sign greeting patrons at the door noted that they are "taking a break." (There isn't any mention of this on the restaurant's social media properties.)



The temporary closure comes after a report yesterday by Eater's Ryan Sutton outlining details of a second wage-theft and overtime lawsuit against owners Jessi and Jennifer Singh.

Per Eater:

The first lawsuit against owners Jessi and Jennifer Singh was filed in July 2016 by two employees. By late September, the Singhs agreed to pay a total of $95,000, split almost evenly between the employees and restaurant labor attorney Maimon Kirschenbaum. The owners did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement, according to public court records.

The second wage lawsuit was filed in September 2016, but an amended version from February 2017 contains newer, more incendiary allegations, accusing an owner of making profane and threatening remarks against a server and his family — including insinuations of violence in retaliation for bringing the wage suit. That owner is also accused of berating another server with an incest-laced profanity and threatening him with a countersuit. The case is set to be tried by a jury.

According to the lawsuit, Jessi Singh allegedly made threats against one of the plaintiff's relatives — "you know that in India a man paid $100,000 rupees to have someone’s family killed." Jessi Singh also allegedly threatened one of the plaintiffs by saying, "I’m going to fuck you up." The lawsuit says that he called the other plaintiff a "sisterfucker." You can head over to Eater for more details.

The parties involved in the lawsuit are due back in court on Tuesday.

Babu Ji opened in June 2015.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Babu Ji on Avenue B hit with another wage lawsuit

Former David Barton space on Astor Place will become an 'elite' New York Sports Club

Back in December, the four David Barton Gym locations in Manhattan, including on Astor Place, shut down without any warning to its members or staff.

That prime Astor Place space won't be staying vacant for too much longer. Yesterday, Town Sports International, the owners of the New York Sports Clubs brand, announced that they had bought the 10,000-square-foot space ... which will become one of New York Sports Clubs' collection of Elite clubs.

Here's more from an announcement that arrived in the EVG inbox:

New York Sports Clubs will pay homage to the rich neighborhood culture originally created by David Barton at 4 Astor Place by retaining many of the club's original finishes and signature touches while bringing in a new fresh new wave of equipment, facilities, amenities and class offerings.

The new location at 4 Astor Place will feature several new programs and will also boast Rogue rigs, Woodway treadmills, lifting platforms and expanded training zones.

New York Sports Clubs Elite membership gyms are the evolution of the Sports Clubs brand. This new tier of membership will offer customers a higher level of service, amenities, programming and partnerships as well as providing access to the nearly 150 clubs within the TSI network.

For more information about the Astor Place location, you can visit the official gym website here.

Last month, State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit against Club Ventures Investments LLC d/b/a David Barton Gyms

David Barton arrived on Astor Place in 2009.

From Rustico to Paquito's

[Reader photo]

As noted yesterday, Rustico, the cafe at 135 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street, has closed. And a source tells us that a rent increase was behind the closure.

Meanwhile, the owners were selling off what was left of the small restaurant yesterday.

And some of Rustico will be staying nearby... the owners of Paquito's, a few storefronts away at 143 First Ave., bought some of Rustico's tables and chairs...


[Photo last night by Raquel Shapira]

H/T Lola Sáenz

Blue 9 Burger is officially closed

As we noted in early February, Blue 9 Burger appeared to have shut it down at 92 Third Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street ... we haven't seen any activity at the space... EVG reader Harry Weiner shares these photos from yesterday, showing that the quick-serve burger place has been emptied out...



Blue 9 opened in 2003... several EVG commenters noted that the place served a tasty burger, but that the quality had deteriorated in recent years.

The Blue 9 Burger on the Upper East Side has also closed.

Christo in flight

Thanks to Steven for these photos of Christo the red-tailed hawk from Tompkins Square Park today ...

A loving butt wanted on 2nd Street

EVG reader Mark White spotted this treasure up for grabs today on Second Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

The sign reads "free to a loving butt" ...



Your move, @LinkNYC

Taking in the Tompkins Square Park dog run this morning

[Click to go big]

Panoramic shot by Allen Semanco

Rustico has closed on 1st Avenue

Rustico, the cafe that specialized in crêpes and Italian coffee at 135 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street, has closed.

The owners are selling off the contents of the restaurant ...



There isn't any mention of the closure on Rustico's website or social media properties. It was a small place, so it always seemed busy, particularly during high brunch time on the weekend. (I never ate here, so I can't speak to the quality of the food or service.)

Rustico opened in November 2013. Before this, the address was home to everyone's favorite — Iconic Hand Rolls, which closed in April 2013 after 10 months in business.

Thank you to Lola Sáenz for the photos

Celebrate 'the Art of New York Waste' starting tonight

Tonight is the opening reception for "The Art Of New York Waste," a show celebrating 20 years of the work of what's billed as "NYC's only Rock'n'Roll Underground Newspaper."

The opening is from 8-10 p.m. at Art on A Gallery and Shop, 24 Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street. The exhibit will be up through March 23. Find more details here.

On CB3's SLA docket for March: The return of Mono + Mono and Poco's sidewalk cafe

[EVG file photo of Mono + Mono]

CB3 has released its rundown of meetings for March... including for the SLA & DCA Licensing Committee.

Here's a quick look at a few of the items on the docket. (The questionnaires with more information about the applicants and their intentions haven't been posted online just yet.)

But first! The meeting is Monday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the Thelma Burdick Community Room, 10 Stanton St. (corner of the Bowery).

And now...

Sidewalk Cafe Applications

• Poco (Becaf LLC), 33 Ave B

CB3 voted to deny the renewal of a sidewalk cafe permit for Poco, who advertises having a "legendary boozy brunch," in December 2015. Neighbors have described Poco as being a "horror show," particularly during the brunch hours.

The restaurant's website notes: "Poco was built for one purpose — to be home away from home for the local residents of NYC's most unique, authentic neighborhood — Alphabet City."

• Mamak (Love Mamak Corp), 174 2nd Ave.

The Thai restaurant at the corner of 11th Street is vying for a sidewalk cafe.

New Liquor License Applications

• Monomono Inc, 116 E 4th St (wb)-EXPEDITED APPLICATION

Nearly four years have passed since a two-alarm fire swept through the single-level building that housed Mono + Mono, which specialized in Korean fried chicken.

The owners have said that they would reopen. For now, a flower shop is holding forth in the space between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

• Fresh Press Cafe LLC, 77 2nd Ave (op)

Something in the works for the former Ballaro space, the cafe that closed between Fourth Street and Fifth Street last February.

• To be Determined, 140 1st Ave (op)

The owners of Big Lee's (aka the Hard Swallow Saloon), which has been closed of late, are applying for a new liquor license.

• RSVP Hospitality LLC, 11 E 1st St (op)

Not sure about this one... the address for Bowery Meat Co. is 9 E. First St. ... and L'Apicio is 13 E. First St.

• Novo Partners, 57 2nd Ave (op)

This is one of the empty retail spaces of an Icon Realty-owned building.

• Mandolino Inc, 137 E 13th St (op)

The pizzeria opened last month between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.

• Hi Collar (Sobaya Restaurant Inc), 214 E 10th St (upgrade to op)

---

b=beer & cider | wb=wine, beer & cider | op=liquor, wine, beer & cider | alt=alterations

On 3rd Avenue, rooftop cottage back in play, though now it's $19k monthly

Just about one year ago, the penthouse cottage atop the building that houses Kiehl's on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and 13th Street hit the rental market for $17k a month...



The 1,972-square-foot rooftop duplex is once again available as a rental — but this time the asking rent is $19k a month.

Via Corcoran...

Rent an iconic penthouse, featured in a number of publications for its unique rooftop cottages perched atop this historic boutique pre-war condominium. Penthouse 4CD is a breathtaking light-filled, three bedroom, three bath duplex with four wood-burning fireplaces and two private garden terraces totaling 795 square feet.

This loft-like home features soaring 11'8" ceilings, exquisitely restored exposed brick, pristine hardwood oak floors, and carefully crafted carpentry throughout. Spanning nearly forty feet, with bright South and West exposures, the corner living and dining room are separated by a magnificent brick archway and bookended by two gracious wood-burning fireplaces.

The place is available furnished — short term or long term. The owner is listed as Keyland Ny LLC, who bought the unit in 2015 for $4.4 million.

The landmarked building, constructed in the 1850s, is known as Pear Tree Place. It was converted to condos in 1986, according to Streeteasy.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Live in tranquil cottages overlooking … 3rd Avenue (but still)

Updating: Fire reported on the rooftop at Kiehl's on 3rd Avenue

3rd Avenue penthouse cottage returns to market as a $17k monthly rental

Performance at Vector Gallery draws heavy FDNY presence on 3rd Street

Tonight over on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, the Vector Galley was hosting an event/performance described as "a Vectorian Mass dedicated to the 'Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.'"

Whether there was an issue related to over-crowding or perhaps a report of a fire, the FDNY showed up around 9:20 ...



Per one witness: "The FDNY has had 3 trucks parked outside for at least 20 minutes now. Seems like a fire code violation for capacity though I heard one person say they saw people burning stuff in the small gallery."





Here's more on tonight's event at the gallery:

B!R!A!VANA is an alchemical exorcise to advance The so-called "Peace Process" beyond the impasse that has become salient to the frozen architecture of the region.

As always, we are delighted to micromanage the political affairs of The Middle East and will employ ritual pageantry to advance the immortal will of our imperial interests.

BRAVANA will feature new visual art by Crown Prince of Hell JJ Brine as well performances by Ministers of The Vectorian Government.

Vectorian Minister of State ("The Enforcer") Lena Marquise will manifest Syrian First Lady ASMA AL-ASSAD.

Vectorian Minister of Growth ("The Soldier") Michael Bianchino will manifest UNCLE SAM.

Vectorian Minister of Ceremonies ("The Bride") Cecily Feitel will manifest THE ULTRA-ZIONIST ISRAELI SETTLER.

Vectorian Minister of Education ("The Assassin") Montgomery Harris will manifest THE PALESTINIAN PROTESTOR.

The gallery opened back in August.

Thank you to Aaron Wilson for the photos!

Report: There's opposition to lowering the playground fences in Tompkins Square Park

On Monday night, City Council Member Rosie Mendez and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation held a community meeting on the Tompkins Square Park Avenue B children’s playground renovation.

Mendez has allocated capital funds to renovate the playground on Avenue B between Seventh Street and Eighth Street. Meanwhile, the Parks Department wants to supplement the funding with its Parks Without Borders initiative that would lower the fences from its present height of 7 feet to 4 feet.

There is opposition to the fence-lowering plan.

Allegra Hobbs covered the meeting for DNAinfo. A quick excerpt:

Parents who take their kids to Tompkins Square Park are begging the city Parks Department to abandon a controversial plan to lower the fences around the play area by three feet, claiming the tall barriers provide much-needed security in a park overrun by vagrants, substance abusers, and rowdy college students.

However!

[T]he Parks Department believes lowering the fences would actually make the play areas safer — lowering barriers that block sight lines discourages negative behavior while at the same time making the green space more open and aesthetically pleasing, argued Manhattan Parks Borough Commissioner Bill Castro.

The article included a comment from one parent in favor of lowering the fences. "[O]ne mother with an 18-month-old child said she could could see the alteration creating a more open and healthy environment for kids." She also said that "she would support the fences staying as they are if that were the majority opinion."

Parks Department Commissioner Mitchell Silver will make the final determination on the fence lowering. DNAinfo reports that he expects to make a decision by the spring.

Read the full article here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Community meeting set to discuss lowering the playground fences in Tompkins Square Park (28 comments)

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

Name: Mark Seamon
Occupation: Owner, Love Shine, Artist
Location: 6th Street between Avenue A and B
Date: Monday, Feb 27, at 1 p.m.

Seamon recently announced that after 20 years, Love Shine, which sells handmade bags, accessories and gifts, is closing up shop at the end of March, and moving the business online.

I grew up in Long Island, about 20 minutes outside Manhattan. My mom lived there and my dad lived in the city, so I was sort of back and forth. I moved to the neighborhood in 1980 at 19 years old. My first entry into the East Village was a friend of our family who was living on St. Mark's Place. When I was still in high school, I was coming in to visit her a lot. That got me intrigued by the East Village. It was right in the heart of St. Mark’s during the prime music time. It was so cool – I thought it was the coolest place in the world.

I stayed with her for 6 months, and then I found the apartment with my sister on Sixth Street between 1st and A. I was in college, and it’s still the apartment that I’m living in now. It was really dicey. This side of Avenue A was pretty bombed out looking.

When I got out of school, I was doing my art, and the plan was in order to keep doing my art, I needed to get a job, so I started cooking. I was a chef for a long time. I went to cooking school, and after I got out I opened up a restaurants on 14th Street with two friends from school called Babette’s. That lasted about a year. It was a really fun place — I don’t regret it, but it didn’t work out.

Then I got into catering, and I worked for "Saturday Night Live" for a long time doing catering for them. While I was doing that, I got a job at a place called Florent, which was in the Meatpacking District, and I worked there from 1986 to 1992. The Meatpacking was still the Meatpacking, but the restaurant itself was actually one of the places that began the change, because it was a super-trendy place — it was a real destination spot.

From there, I worked in a couple other restaurants, and then I started getting involved with this business [Love Shine]. I got involved in a relationship with a guy who was a costume designer, and I was doing my painting, and so we did some traveling around Mexico. We actually spend two months living there, and while we were there we started making things together. He was sewing up bags and I was painting on them. Then we started giving them to friends and that started to turn into a little bit of a business. We were just working out of his apartment. Then a friend of ours had a booth at a trade now and we started selling them through there.

Fast forward seven years later, we had a little business selling to other stores and working out of his apartment, but then he passed away. At that point, I had this business going on but I had no place to work, so I was trying to figure out my next step - if I wanted to keep it going or not. I went to a party right down the block and I met this woman who was a real-estate agent in the neighborhood. She said, ‘I’ve got this really great spot, totally cheap and you can move right in.’

It was the space next door. It used to be Shaquille’s Reggae Record Lounge, but it was actually a drug front store. It was completely a front. It had a couple records in there. I knew the space just from living around here but had never went in. There were bullet holes, and then there were also these little cubbyhole spots where they would hide the drugs in the walls. But it was perfect. That was how the shop was born.

I figured I’d put all my bags in here, and my friends in Mexico were exporting stuff here, and I thought I’d decorate the store with all their things as well. That was 1997. I had that space for 10 years. The landlords changed over a couple times and my rent almost tripled in the time that I was there, so it was no longer that cheap. Then this space opened. It was occupied by a friend of mine who is a painter.

I do think that it was the people that lived here that made the neighborhood special. It was the diversity of the neighborhood - the Latinos mixing with the gays with the musicians with the Ukranians. It was just a big melting pot. There was a lot of art coming out of here and a lot of galleries back there for awhile. there was a lot of music. There was a big burgeoning gay and lesbian scene that was going on. There was a lot of creative energy and people trying new things. People homesteading apartments and buildings. There was kind of a sense of discovery and excitement. I think that shaped the community.

You could just be like, ‘Oh that’s a nice space,’ hang up a sign, and open up a shop, and your overheard was low enough that you could kind of make it work. We would do lots of events and have these parties and fashion shows on the street. There was an energy in this neighborhood that people responded to.

Over time, people just kind of lost interest in it. There wasn’t as much of the communal feeling. It was like the whole demographic shifted in a very weird way. I actually thought it was going to turn into better business. For some reason, I feel like we became less relatable. I think that maybe this place confused people. They weren’t quite sure what we were doing here. People used to work night jobs ... but then they were around during the day and walking the streets. Now no one’s around. It’s a ghost town during the day.

Our future is that we plan on moving our workshop into a studio, which is in my friend’s apartment right now. We’re going to work on expanding our online business. We’d like to continue to do stuff in the community if we can, maybe some markets or pop-ups. We want to stay here, you know, and we might reopen at another point if we can ever find a space that we could afford, but for right now we are just going to focus on the online. That seems to be the only part of the business that’s growing for us. The rest has been going down.

You can find Love Shine via their website as well as Facebook and Etsy.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Apartment listings at 250 E. Houston look to offer glimpse of former Red Square's future

[The current No. 250]

Last fall, Red Square, the 13-floor residential complex at 250 E. Houston St. between Avenue A and Avenue B, changed hands for a reported $100 million.

A letter to residents noted some "very exciting changes" coming to the building, which was apparently dropping the Red Square moniker. Among other things, the common areas would be refurbished.

There are currently eight available units (ranging from $2,900 to $4,500) on Streeteasy.

The renderings that accompany the listings show a luxurified version of its current self... with more high-end retail than what's currently in place...







... and another view of the entrance... with some awesome scalies...



Not sure if this is really the future or just wishful thinking.

The building opened in June 1989. Workers removed the building's statue of Lenin from the roof in September.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rumors: Red Square has been sold

New ownership makes it official at the former Red Square on East Houston

Pardon My French team bringing Moroccan cuisine to 4th Street with Chouchou

The owner and executive chef of Pardon My French on Avenue B are behind this Moroccan venture that officially debuts tonight at 215 E. Fourth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Here's a description via the Chouchou website:

The restaurant offers a contemporary take on classic Mediterranean favorites with the menu featuring Tagine lamb, spiced couscous, Moroccan pastries and fresh tangy salads.

Florence Fabricant had this to say in a mini preview in The New York Times:

[Executive chef David] Pegoli, who also worked at Luksus, has created a menu of six couscous preparations, as well as four tagines, including a lobster version, served in a collection of the elegantly embossed ceramic vessels of the same name.

Traditional tajines, couscous and pastries are prepared just as they should be by meticulous chef David Pegoli who imports all his spices from Morocco 🔥🤤 . . . . #eeeeeats #eatingnyc #tastingtable #newforkcity #eaterny #forkyeah #nycfat #devourpower #hungry #westvillage #nyc #newyorkcity #onemoredish #moroccan #morocconyc #moroccanfood #couscousnyc #eastvillage #opening #restaurantopening #couscousmarocain #tajine #couscous

A post shared by CHOUCHOU NYC (@chouchounyc) on Feb 22, 2017 at 2:00pm PST

CB3 originally recommended to deny the applicant's bid for a full liquor license for the space last September... in part because of the proposed 4 a.m. closing time on a side street that already had 18 full on-premises liquor licenses within 500 feet. The local block association was also against the full license. (The PDF of the official minutes are here.) The SLA website shows that there is an active license here for Restaurant Wine.

Until May 2016, the address was home for 13 years to the Italian restaurant In Vino.

You can find Chouchou's menu here. Chouchou is open daily from 5 p.m. to midnight.

Odin's East Village location has closed on 11th Street

[Photo by Bayou]

After 12 years in business, Odin has closed its East Village location on 11th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

The men's boutique still has two other locations — on Grand Street and Greenwich Avenue. (In 2007, New York magazine named Odin "Best Fashion-y Men’s Store.")

There isn't any mention of the closure on Odin's social media accounts ... and we don't know the reason behind this decision, whether it was a rent increase or a slowdown in business — or both.

The owners also shut down Pas de Deux, their 9-year-old women’s boutique next door.