The reason for the closure is a steep rent increase, to $15,000 per month including real estate taxes. The last day in business will be next Monday, July 17.
Name: Grace Kang
Occupation: Owner, Pink Olive, 9th Street between 1st and A
Photo Location: 8th Street
Date: Wednesday, June 21
I was born in Korea and we emigrated when I was 7 to Las Vegas. We later moved to California, then my father got a job for the City of New York. So we moved to New Jersey when I was in 7th grade. I grew up there and New York was the place where I came to start my adult life.
I was always in retail. I was a buyer for Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys New York. I was in the fashion space, which was competitive and fast-paced. I always said that if you can survive fashion in New York, you can survive anything.
The East Village has a very special place in my heart since it was [the location of] the first Pink Olive store. The East Village is where I feel like I grew up and found my home when we moved to the city. It was one of those places where I just felt comfortable. The city can be very overwhelming for a lot of people and the East Village is very neighborhoody.
I remember the East Village being a place where I could discover new things, whether it would be new inspirations or ideas. Especially Ninth Street, when it was starting to come into its own. Usually side streets are not the best location for commercial spots, it’s usually all about the avenues, but there was something about Ninth Street that felt like there was something happening. I wanted to be part of that, so when I found the space it was kind of a no-brainer to open my first shop. That was 2007. I just celebrated 10 years. We’re a whimsical gift and lifestyle boutique. We carry an eclectic mix of a lot of creative gifting ideas for little ones to loved ones.
I always thought I would open up a clothing store because that was my background, but looking back, I think I didn’t because that space is not only competitive, which I don’t mind, but it was also a different world back then from where it is now. To be honest, I’m not sure I would have survived that world, because it’s even hard for the big companies, not to mention the little ones. I managed to luck out with the landlords that I ended up meeting. That’s half the battle with any retail business.
There are still some good landlords out there, and when you find one of them, you have to jump on [the opportunity]. I’ve heard the opposite side of that — so many scenarios. I have friends with retail businesses and heard stories of going to court with landlords or getting booted out. It happened on Ninth Street near us. All of those businesses had to leave when Icon bought the building [at 441-445 E. Ninth St.]. It’s sad when that happens. Those were my neighbors, my friends — they really completed that Ninth Street experience.
Summer Streets is an annual celebration of New York City’s most valuable public space—our streets. On three consecutive Saturdays in August, nearly seven miles of NYC's streets are opened for people to play, run, walk and bike. Summer Streets provides space for healthy recreation and encourages New Yorkers to use more sustainable forms of transportation. In 2016, nearly 300,000 people took advantage of the open streets.
Summer Streets is modeled on other events from around the world including CiclovÃa in Bogotá, Colombia and the Paris Plage in France and has since inspired other such events around the world such as CicloRecreo Via and London's Regent Street Summer Streets.
Held between 7:00 am to 1:00 pm, Summer Streets extends from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park, along Park Avenue and connecting streets, with easy access from all points in New York City, allowing participants to plan a trip as long or short as they wish. All activities at Summer Streets are free of charge, and designed for people of all ages and ability levels to share the streets respectfully.
To explore all of your senses, the Astor Place Rest Stop will for the first time feature The Citi Experience inviting the public to tap into all of their senses with a 360 degree Mt. Everest VR experience and a New York-centric mini golf course.
Smellmapping Astor Place
DOT Art and the Village Alliance have partnered with designer Kate McLean to produce a Smellmap of the Astor Place neighborhood. Three smellwalks were hosted over the past few months with local residents and stakeholders to gather smell data/information. Participants were asked to explore the environment strictly through their sense of smell by smell catching (receiving smell info), smell hunting (searching for smell info) and lastly free smelling (a mini smell research project). Mclean has collected all the smell data and visualized the findings as a colorful smellmap. McLean will be on-site to lead two walks at 9 am and 11 am to continue building on this research and invites participants to incorporate their findings into a large-scale smellmap available on-site.
Take the #smelltour ( not kidding) at #SummerStreets 2017. Yes, dog poop and garbage is in the list #1010WINS pic.twitter.com/tYxVFxAkww
— Juliet Papa (@winsjuliet) July 11, 2017
Welcome to 29 Second Avenue, a building recreated with newly renovated interiors. The residences at 29 Second Avenue boast all of the essentials of new construction: central air conditioning and heating, washer and dryer in the unit, custom kitchens with luxury appliances, white shaker cabinetry, quartz counter tops and backsplashes, and porcelain tile-clad bathrooms with custom vanities and glass-enclosed showers. The apartment features extra wide white oak plank floors throughout, solid core wood doors with chrome hardware, LED dimmable lighting with smart technology capabilities, USB electrical outlets, an HD video intercom, exposed brick and ample closet space.
The custom Chef’s Kitchen features a coordinated LG stainless steel appliance package, complete with dishwasher, built-in microwave with vented hood, and garbage disposal. The countertops and backsplash are Calacatta Quartz with a luxurious book matched waterfall enhancing the shaker style solid wood cabinetry with soft closing hardware. The vast living space is perfect for home entertaining with a custom built-in bar, complete with a wine chiller and an ice maker.
The apartment includes three full bathrooms with radiant heated flooring, imported Italian tile, linear shower drains, rain shower with additional hand shower on slide bar, full glass enclosures, quartz counter tops with fully wrapped waterfall over custom vanities, and recessed medicine cabinets.
Sad but true, the legendary and world-famous Webster Hall has been sold and will close as we know it for its final club night on Saturday August 5th, 2017, which just so happens to be my birthday, which is certainly somehow apropos. It will be closed for an undisclosed period of time for demo, reno and transition to corporate ownership under Barclays/AEG/Bowery Presents. I highly recommend that you all stop by before the end of this era to pay your respects to the Ballingers and the building for providing us with a lifetimes worth of memories.
No more club/late night parties.
No more Marlin Room.
Reducing capacity due to the addition of elevators.
Minimum closure of 18 to 24 months starting August 11th
The entire building underwent a gut renovation in 2016 that included the build out of an expansive resident accessible rear deck space, upgraded common areas, and fully updated mechanicals. Current ownership also has approved plans for a restoration of the facade from Landmarks they are currently undergoing.
The apartments feature Chef's range kitchens, custom granite countertops, dishwashers, stackable washers/dryers, wide plank oak floors, and custom lighting. 8 of the units are 3-BRs and 4 are 2-BRs. Upon being renovated, the units were leased immediately at near market rents showing the high demand for apartments in the immediate vicinity. Furthermore, each unit has a gas boiler (tenants pay) reducing operating expenses in perpetuity. There is potential upside in the RS units along with adding an an addition using the 2,950 SF of air rights subject to Landmarks approval.
This is a great opportunity to acquire a low maintenance and high cash flowing multi-family asset in the heart of the East Village.
Come out to Dallas BBQ and celebrate National Piña Colada Day today!
Even though piña coladas originated in San Juan, Puerto Rico, you don’t have to travel to the Caribbean for a delicious, refreshing piña colada. Stop by any of Dallas BBQ 10 popular locations throughout New York City to enjoy DBBQ most popular piña coladas, the ‘Blue Hawaii’ with blue raspberry flavor or if your taste buds wants something a bit stronger, try the ‘Beach Bomb,’ a Blue Hawaii topped with frozen pineapple crush with a healthy shot of 151.
No need to go to the beach, stop by Dallas BBQ today and celebrate National Piña Colada Day TEXAS-SIZE!
Prior to the tunnel closure, extensive station work will be performed that will increase operational efficiency and improve accessibility and circulation. Station improvements at the 1 Av and Bedford Av L Subway stations will include new stairways, and four ADA-compliant elevators and other work to improve customer flow.
Construction of a new Avenue B substation and other infrastructure will address power requirements that, combined with the existing CBTC signal system, will allow more trains to run on the line to accommodate growing ridership.
The existing bus stops on the westbound side of 14th Street on the island at Avenues A and B have shelters which were removed this past Friday in advance of the two bus stops being relocated this week. Both of these stops which are on the west side of the intersection now and will be moved to the east side of the intersection. The bus shelters will not be installed at the temporary stops but will be replaced at the end of the project when the stops are relocated back to their permanent location.
The existing bus stop on the eastbound side (south side of 14th Street) at Avenue A does not have a shelter. This stop will be moved this week as well. The bus stop for M14A will move around the corner on Ave A. The stop for M14D will be move to the east side of Avenue A intersection, however, since there is a building construction project occupying that space for the next nine months the bus stop for M14D at Avenue A will be eliminated until next spring (one stop is at First Avenue and the next will be at Avenue B). M14D customers who want to exit at Avenue A will be advised to take M14A bus while the bus stop for M14D at Ave A is not available.
In a letter to Veronique Hakim, president of New York City Transit, he explained, “M14A and M14D bus service is critical to the Lower East Side community. These lines provide much needed public transportation to a transit-starved area. My office receives complaints about long wait times for buses, bus bunching, and unexpected scheduling of the two lines.”
It’s happened to all of us: waiting 30 minutes or more for the M14A at Union Square while watching bus after bus after bus marked M14D pick up passengers. The MTA says there’s a 3-to-1 ratio. The question is, why the disparity?
The MTA then reviewed ridership and decided that the frequency of buses was consistent with the count of riders. Advocates ... said those counts were flawed because of how many people at Union Square just give up on getting an M14A and hop on the M14D instead.
