Roll It Up is back open (as of yesterday) at 63 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. The nautical-themed shop specializing in rolled ice cream opened last Aug. 26 ... then closed in November for the season...
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Roll It Up returns on 7th Street
Roll It Up is back open (as of yesterday) at 63 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. The nautical-themed shop specializing in rolled ice cream opened last Aug. 26 ... then closed in November for the season...
Closing ceremony for the Squirrel Hotel & Resort this evening on 7th Street
This is happening tonight over at the Sam & Sadie Koenig Garden on Seventh Street between Avenue C and Avenue D...
"Finally, we can celebrate Spring's uprising with the closing reception for the Squirrel Hotel & Resort."
The event is 6-8 p.m. Per the sign, nuts and World Peace cookies will be served.
Actress Drea de Matteo on her life at 123 2nd Ave.
de Matteo, born and raised in Queens, was 21 in 1993 when she moved into the second-floor apartment at 123 Second Ave., one of three buildings destroyed following the explosion and fire.
“I was holding parties there. It was wild,” she said. She put her funky stamp on the space with Gothic tables and chairs from her dad, Albert, who owned a furniture company. She added black lights “so at night it was [like] a discotheque — the whole apartment glowed. It was a little gypsy caravan,” she said.
The apartment, above Sam’s Deli and the restaurant Pommes Frites, saw her through life changes: opening a vintage clothing store, Filth Mart; landing her first big role, on “The Sopranos,” in 1999; winning an Emmy in 2004. As her star grew, de Matteo stayed put — even once she became engaged to musician Shooter Jennings, son of country music legend Waylon Jennings, and gave birth to their two children. (Jennings and de Matteo later split.)
“I brought both of my children home from the hospital to that apartment,” she recalled.
The pad also became a sanctuary at the end of 2014, a year after her father died. De Matteo’s mom downsized from the Whitestone home where the actress had grown up and moved the family’s most treasured possessions into the loft. The pad housed “everything meaningful and valuable” in her life, de Matteo said. She lost it all in the blaze. “Every single photograph is gone, every videotape of my dad . . . my children’s footprints.”
Nonetheless, the actress said, “I can live without all that stuff. I am just happy to be alive.”
In June 2016, de Matteo and several dozen other residents filed a $17 million suit in Manhattan Supreme Court, alleging the city and Con Edison, along with the owners of the restaurant Sushi Park and contractor Neighborhood Construction Corp., failed "to observe significant and dangerous 'red flags' … failing to take any steps to protect the public and their property."
Last fall, the owner of No. 123, who is not implicated in any of the various lawsuits, sold the empty lot to Ezra Wibowo under the LLC 123 Second Ave. Corp. for $6 million.
Meanwhile, multiple readers have noted the arrival (last Sunday night/Monday morning) of this graffiti on the east-facing wall of 43 E. Seventh St. ...
[Photo by Steven]
Previously on EV Grieve:
Updated: 2nd Ave. explosion — landlord, 3 others charged with 2nd degree manslaughter; showed 'a blatant and callous disregard for human life'
Former residents talk about landlord Maria Hrynenko: 'it was clear she wanted to get rid of anyone with a rent-regulated apartment'
Report: 123 2nd Ave. is for sale
Selling 123 Second Ave.
A few more details about the sale of 123 2nd Ave.
Start your Sunday off right
Baguettes and cigarettes on Avenue B between Second Street and Third Street.
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Diversions: Watch Iggy Pop's 1st appearance on Letterman 35 years ago
Dangerous Minds yesterday uncovered the clip showing the first time that former EV resident Iggy Pop appeared on "Late Night with David Letterman" ... back in December 1982.
As cherrybomb summarized:
After being introduced by Dave, Iggy jangles out onto the stage wearing bright red boots, turquoise blue eyeshadow, fierce black cat eyeliner, and blush. He spazzes brilliantly through the frenetic single “Eat or be Eaten” and then heads to the couch for the interview segment with Dave. And that’s when we get to the really good stuff.
Best wishes to David Peel
[Photo of David Peel, 2nd from left, from last summer by Steven]
Several readers have passed along word that longtime LES resident David Peel suffered a heart attack yesterday.
Here's an update from a friend of the musician: "After life-saving open heart surgery, David Peel is on a pump resting in the hospital but he needs additional surgery, next week, to remove critical blockages."
Good vibes to David Peel who has suffered a heart attack and is in surgery.
— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) March 31, 2017
As The New York Times noted in a 2012 profile, Peel was "a fixture at counterculture marches and demonstrations beginning in the late 1960s."
He is best known for his seminal counter-culture albums, such as 1968's "Have a Marijuana" on Elektra Records, with his band the Lower East Side.
His 1972 record "The Pope Smokes Dope" on Apple was produced by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
Here's footage of Peel and the Lower East Side performing with Lennon and Ono in December 1971 on "The David Frost Show"...
Peel remains a regular presence at summer concerts in Tompkins Square Park.
H/T Rob D.
A look at the scene from yesterday's manhole explosions on 12th Street and Broadway
Crews from Con Ed and Verizon along with some personnel from the FDNY and NYPD remain at the site of yesterday morning's manhole explosions on Broadway at 12th Street
The streets have reopened ... the sidewalk on the east side of Broadway near the Strand is closed...
A scene from yesterday morning...
3 manholes were smoking, 2 blew from pressure & fire. No injuries to civilians -#FDNY Dep Chief Bob Carroll pic.twitter.com/PMbvJx6OrU
— FDNY (@FDNY) March 31, 2017
Per the Daily News:
The blasts were likely caused by damage from salt laid down during winter snowstorms and washed into the underground system by Friday morning’s rainstorm.
No one was injured and a Con Ed spokesman said there was no disruption in service.
The corner businesses were open ... the Bean and Pret a Manger ...
The Strand, which was not open for the day at the time of the blasts, lost several windows. They will be back open today.
👋🏻We will be open for business today!👋🏻 Come see us at noon 👀
— Strand Book Store (@strandbookstore) April 1, 2017
'Karma Police' at the Gatsby Hotel
The Gatsby Hotel on East Houston at Forsyth has a new mural to liven up its rather generic exterior ...
The piece is by Brooklyn-based Rubin415 and titled "Karma Police."
Here's a much better look at it...
Friday, March 31, 2017
Reality of the 'Situation'
Alison Moyet is releasing her ninth solo record this summer ... and heading out on a tour, which includes a stop at Irving Plaza on Sept. 15. Tickets for that show went on sale today.
The above video for "Situation" is from her time with Yaz (Yazoo!) from 1982.
Updated: Manhole explosions reported near Union Square
The Strand "currently closed" but "safe" after multiple manhole blasts this morning https://t.co/k8LXqjgaFU pic.twitter.com/VN55fDFE4P
— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) March 31, 2017
Emergency responders have been on Broadway between Union Square and 12th Street after a series of manhole explosions just after 8 this morning.
No word yet on the cause. There weren't any reports of injuries either. Will update when more information becomes available.
Hi Strand fam, thanks for checking on us this morning. The Strand (& books) are safe!! We are currently closed, stay tuned for updates. ❤️
— Strand Book Store (@strandbookstore) March 31, 2017
Updated noon:
Some details from the Daily News:
The blasts shattered the windows of the Strand Bookstore, which had not yet opened for the day, and forced the evacuation of 826 Broadway next door after eleveated carbon monoxide levels were detected, officials said.
The second manhole exploded under an FDNY firetruck that had rolled up to respond to the first explosion, damaging the vehicle, officials said.
The blasts were likely caused by damage from salt laid down during winter snowstorms and washed into the underground system by Friday morning’s rainstorm.
Updated 1:15 p.m.
Here's more from an updated WABC 7 report:
Multiple manhole fires that led to evacuations and building damage Friday, likely were caused by salt used on roads during snowstorms.
Salt laid down during winter washed into the underground system, according to the New York City Fire Department. When snow melts and mixes with salt, it can spark fires and explosions.
As for damage..
Three buildings had broken windows: 60 East 12th St., 70 East 12th St., 77 East 12th St.
There was interior damage and high carbon monoxide readings in 826 Broadway, which led to evacuations. In the basement of 817 Broadway, there also were high carbon monoxide readings.
There weren't any injuries reported.
That was then
[East 6th Street]
Though the years, Gregoire Alessandrini has shared some early 1990s photos of the city with us... (like here ... and here).
He recently added another set to his blog — New York in the 1990's Photo Archives.
Here are a few of the East Village-related shots...
[East 13th Street]
[East Houston]
[7th and B]
[10th Street and Avenue A]
Check out the rest of the set here.
The usual background: As a student here in the early-to-mid 1990s, Alessandrini always carried a camera around with him ... and he has been uploading the photos from that time to his blog. He lives in Paris these days.
Those Starbucks rumors continue to percolate on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place
[Photo from October]
Back in the fall, an EVG reader told us a worker was upgrading the electricity at 131 Avenue A ... because he said a Starbucks was going to be renting the former Nino's and Hop Devil Grill spaces on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place.
Meanwhile, last week, an Avenue A business owner asked us if we heard about a Starbucks opening on Avenue A. Now the rumor continues to pick up steam, as The Villager cites an unnamed source who tells the weekly paper: "I would say it’s a 90 percent certainty that Starbucks will be in the space."
Last fall, a tipster shared the flyer in circulation for the property...
At the time, a source with knowledge of the asking rent said that the corner space was seeking $15,020 per month and the inline storefront was going for $42,072 per month. The landlord was asking $52,000 for the combined spaces.
So far, there isn't any other evidence that this space has a tenant just yet. And Starbucks has been a handy rumored tenant in recent years ... for the corner of Avenue A and 11th Street and Avenue B and Fourth Street ... the contractor who said that a Starbucks was coming to First Avenue and 13th Street turned out to be correct, though.
James Morrissey, who owns The Late Late on East Houston and now VNYL on Third Avenue, had been after the spaces to create The Honey Fitz, a bar-diner-restaurant-cafe-networking space. Those plans never materialized early last year.
[Photo from yesterday]
To recap, Nino's closed in October 2015. As previously reported, owner Nino Camaj accepted a low six-figure amount to walk away from his remaining 10-year lease and surrender the pizza shop that he opened in 1989. He had been in a dispute with the landlord over back rent and a closure due to a gas leak in the building. Hop Devil Grill and its sister bar next door, The Belgian Room, were seized by the state in April 2015 for nonpayment of taxes.
Previously on EV Grieve:
A look at the retail listing for the northwest corner of A and St. Mark's Place
The former spaces for Nino's and Hop Devil Grill have been combined
Macaron Parlour leaves St. Mark's Place for larger space on the LES
[Image via RKF]
On Wednesday, Macaron Parlour closed its storefront on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue ahead of a move to a larger shop on the LES.
Owners Christina Ha and Emilie Legrand explained via Facebook:
We are so pleased to announce that we are moving our East Village shop to the Lower East Side. Our new address will be 44 Hester St., right beside our sister company Meow Parlour. We will be opening sometime next week (TBA) once we’ve settled in. In the meantime, you can find our treats in our UWS shop or the Meow Parlour Bakery.
Macaron Parlour East Village was our very first brick-and-mortar store, which we opened in October 2012. These past 4+ years have been truly amazing. What started out as just a dream has grown beyond our wildest imaginations. We will miss being in the East Village so, so much. We’ve simply outgrown the space and are looking forward to a bigger kitchen for production!
Finally, we wanted to thank our neighbors and regulars in the East Village who we have come to know and love dearly, our friends who have provided their never-ending support for us, and our customers who continue to come from near and far to try out our treats. We hope you will visit us at our new location in the LES!
We are excited to join the neighborhood and see what the future holds!
The space at 111 St. Mark's Place was previously home (briefly) to the Chocolate Library.
Addiction NYC heads across St. Mark's Place
Addiction NYC has closed up shop at 27 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... the tattoo parlor and smoke shop is headed across St. Mark's Place to No. 18...
As we understand it... Addiction will be merging with existing businesses from the same owner ...
No. 27 is one of the properties that controversial landlord Rapahel Toledano, who just filed for Chapter 11, is trying to sell. Meanwhile, the retail tenants here have received major rent increases. The Sock Man moved away (to 99 1/2 St. Mark's Place) from his longtime home in one of the spaces last January after the rent was hiked by 3x. The tenant Toledano's brokers found to replace The Sock Man, the rolled ice cream shop Lab -320°, closed after six months in business.
Thanks to Steven for the photos!
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Training day
Become a member of the 6BC Botanical Garden; 1st orientation is Saturday
[Photos via 6BC Botanical Garden]
Via the EVG inbox... from the 6BC Botanical Garden on Sixth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C...
Hello, fellow gardeners! It's that time again! 6BC is seeking responsible persons interested in making a commitment to our community garden. Get out in the sunshine, meet your neighbors,and help us keep this lovely space green and growing for our community. And maybe make a new friend or two!
As a member of 6BC Garden, you will have year-round access to the garden, and invitations to members-only events,
Most importantly, you will be helping to maintain a priceless, serene, green space for our neighborhood and for yourself. So you know nothing about gardening? No problem! We all learn together. You don't even have to garden — there are other ways to help out.
Orientation Dates:
Saturday, April 1
Sunday, April 9
Sunday, April 23
Saturday, April 29
Sunday, May 7
Saturday, May 20
All orientations start at 11 a.m.
Find more details here.
Last year, 6BC received the Achievement in Landscape Design in the first GreenThumb Gardeners Recognition Awards ...topping 600 other city gardens.
The sign at the garden noting this distinction was recently enhanced...
Noted
An EVG reader shared these photos from Astor Place this morning... where a crew and cast were filming a commercial for the Tribeca Film Festival...
There were rumors that this was a new, quick-serve food concept...
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