Fire under sidewalk bridge on 13th Street temporarily brings an end to homeless encampment

[Reader photo from October]

In recent months, several residents have said that a growing number of travelers/crusties have been living under the sidewalk bridge next to the Verizon building on 13th Street between Second Avenue and First Avenue.

Early Sunday evening, there were reports of a small fire under the sidewalk bridge.

Shortly after the FDNY departed, a dump truck arrived, and a crew discarded the various mattresses and furniture.


[Scorched-wall photo yesterday by Steven]

One resident on the block shared this about the recent activity under the sidewalk bridge "where the crusties have made home."

They live and sleep there. They openly shoot up, get drunk, fight, party all night and block the sidewalk with mattresses, chairs — even tables.

The situation has become a total nightmare now. This scaffolding — I swear it seems like it's been up 10 years and I've seen them do about maybe 10 days work on the building that entire time. It's become the homeless heroin spot now and it's incredibly disturbing to watch people shooting up. We really don't know what to do but something definitely has to be done.

Said one nearly 20-year resident of 13th Street:

Our block has been gross for the last six months. The homeless have moved in under the Verizon scaffolding ... I witness drug deals on the regular and the cops have only parked on the block one day — I’m ready to move! And now they cause a fire?

EVG correspondent Steven spoke with a super who works on the block. The super said that residents have called 311 "to no avail."

A few scattered items remained on the sidewalk yesterday...


[Photo yesterday by Steven]

As for the Verizon-owned building, there are multiple work permits on file with the city, including for "mechanical chiller replacement. Removal and replacement of chiller along with related piping." There are also permits for "new steel dunnage and steel framing to support new generator and fuel piping." There doesn't appear to be any current tenants in the circa 1923 building. (The building was also the site of a major fire in 1975.)

In several recent years, Verizon was engaged with the local graffiti community in the ongoing brown paint vs. tagging battle.

Meanwhile, one of the readers said that a few people had returned last night to sleep on 13th Street.


[Reader-submitted photo]

7 years later, a Ben & Jerry's is returning to the East Village

Back on Friday, we noted that the former Caffe Bene space was under renovation at 24 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

And yesterday, EVG contributor Derek Berg spotted the coming soon signage for the next tenant — Ben & Jerry's. (H/T to Bayou, who noted in the comments on last Friday's post that a Ben & Jerry's was coming to the block. The former DF Mavens space was also a contender.)

There was a Ben & Jerry's outpost at 41 Third Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street for 22 years before its closure in September 2010.


[41 3rd Ave. from 2011]

No word on the opening date just yet on St. Mark's Place.

Caffe Bene closed back in April after 17 months in business. Before Caffe B, the address was a Pinkberry.

Vape in store for 2nd Avenue?

It looks like a new tenant is in place for the recently departed Village Eyecare space at 150 Second Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street...

EVG correspondent Steven spotted a note for the Post Office on the gate...



Vape N Smoke – "Please throw mail here."

Previously a reader stated that the Village Eyecare merged with Eyes on Second at 170 Second Ave. (If anyone else can verify that.)

Watch a bike theft in progress on 3rd Street

An EVG reader shared this surveillance video from early Saturday morning... showing a man (with a lookout) cut through two locks with a portable angle grinder and leave with a bike on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B... (the bike owner filed a police report and shared the footage, minus the musical accompaniment ...)

Today in sidewalk finds

Earlier today, EVG contributor Derek Berg spotted this Singer antique treadle sewing machine with cabinet table up for grabs on Seventh Street ... a short time later, he spotted this couple taking it home...

Agozar! is closing this week on the Bowery

Agozar!, the 15-year-old Cuban bistro-bar on the Bowery near Bleecker Street, is closing after service on Thursday.

The restaurant's owners — the brother-sister team of Gerardo Perez and Diana Mastrodimos — made the announcement on Facebook...



The post reads:

After 15 years of serving the East Village and the Bowery, we would like to regretfully inform everyone that we will be closing on December 1st. Our last day of service will be November 30th. It has been a pleasure serving the community for over a decade. Our family would like to thank our hardworking dedicated staff, our customers, and regulars for your loyalty and patronage throughout the years. THANK YOU! We hope to see you soon!

H/T EVG reader Erin!

Kona Coffee and Company now open on 2nd Avenue

The coffee shop opened during the holiday weekend at 57 Second Ave. between Third Street and Fourth Street.

Their Facebook account notes that their beans "come from small, family-owned farms in Kona." Sidewalk signage shows a few of their offerings ... as well as the hours — 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Kona Coffee and Company coming to 2nd Avenue

[Updated] Gino Sorbillo opens his pizzeria tomorrow on the Bowery

Tomorrow marks the official grand opening of Sorbillo, the first U.S. pizzeria from "the Neapolitan celebrity super-chef" Gino Sorbillo at 334 Bowery between Bond and Great Jones...







Here's more on Sorbillo from a profile at Eater in September:

Though he's unknown to most Americans, Gino Sorbillo is one of the most famous pizzaioli in Italy, with regular guest appearances on MasterChef Italia, three restaurants in Naples, and a reputation for having fought the mafia — beating back crime in Centro Storico, the neighborhood that’s home to his flagship pizzeria.

The pizzeria will be open from noon to 11 p.m. daily (until midnight on Friday and Saturday). You can find their menus here.

...and a look at the product via the pizzeria's Instagram account...

Gino Sorbillo on the Bowery! @sorbillonyc official opening on TUESDAY 11/28 🍕🚀 📷: @sharibayer

A post shared by Sorbillo (@sorbillonyc) on Nov 25, 2017 at 2:12pm PST

A post shared by Sorbillo (@sorbillonyc) on Nov 16, 2017 at 12:34pm PST

A post shared by Sorbillo (@sorbillonyc) on Nov 17, 2017 at 2:00pm PST

Will Sorbillo be able to break the streak of quick openings and closings at this address on the Bowery? Most recently, the hyped PYT — "Home of America's Craaaziest Burgers" — imploded here after just three months in business in early 2016.

The space was home to Forcella Bowery for nearly three years until November 2014 … only to be replaced in December 2014 by the tapas-friendly Espoleta, which closed six months later to make way for Gia Trattoria. They quickly closed.

Updated 7 p.m.

The Mayor was unhand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony this afternoon...

De Blasio defends New York pizza from own spokesperson https://t.co/LLqKTAiqHg pic.twitter.com/QOwZ5bWwnX

— New York Post (@nypost) November 28, 2017

Previously on EV Grieve:
A step back in time on the Bowery

Pizza-master Gino Sorbillo marks his arrival on the Bowery

Former Jennifer Way's Bakery space for rent

Jennifer's Way Bakery closed at the end of the summer here on 10th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue. At the time, owner Jennifer Esposito, the Brooklyn-born actress, said she would be moving the organic, gluten-free bakery.

While there isn't any word of a new location, the old spot is now on the market as the for rent sign arrived last week.

The bakery opened in March 2013.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Jennifer Esposito's Jennifer's Way Bakery is moving from 10th Street; destination unknown

The rent is due at Dojo Noodle House

Dojo Noodle House has been closed since mid-August here on Avenue B near Third Street. At the time, a sign on the door noted a September return. That never happened.

This past week, the landlord taped some legal documents to the front door for ownership ... with the notice that the restaurant owes some recent base rent and an assortment of legal fees that add up to $18,903.32 ...

The small restaurant opened as Dojo Izakaya in November 2014 and received positive notices. This Dojo was an offshoot of chef David Bouhadana's Sushi Dojo on First Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. (Bouhadana reportedly parted ways with the Dojo camp the following year.)

80 E. 10th St. tops out

Just noting that 80 E. 10th St., the 10-floor condoplex at Fourth Avenue, topped out this past week.

The flags are now flying atop the development called Eighty East Tenth ...



There will be 12 residences in total at No. 80. More background on this project here.

And how was your holiday weekend?

Photo on Avenue D between Ninth Street and 10th Street via @davidpiz ...

Art is what you can get away with

EVG regular Raquel Shapira bumped into Paris-based artist-illustrator Tomadee, who's in town for a few days... he brought three of these posters with him... he put one up in Bushwick and two in Manhattan, including here on Avenue A...

Week in Grieview

[Sky view from 6th Street]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

The International Bar closing, merging with the Coal Yard on 1st Avenue (Tuesday) ... iBar signage arrives at the Coal Yard ahead of tomorrow's merger (Wednesday)

Tompkins Square Library hosting the East Village Arts Festival on Dec. 13 (Tuesday)

Report: Participants were paid to take part in a rally in support of 9th Street dorm project (Monday) ... Claims of paid pro-dorm supporters are 'fake news' says developer Gregg Singer (Friday)

Thanksgiving at the Bowery Mission (Wednesday)

Queens-based bakery bringing Hawaiian-inspired desserts to 9th Street (Monday)

Space Mabi is open on 1st Avenue (Friday)

A look at Orchard Street's transformation into the 1970s for Martin Scorsese's Jimmy Hoffa film (Sunday)

Topping off Thirteen East + West on 13th Street (Monday)

The Strummer days of Christmas (Tuesday)

Potted palm mystery in Tompkins Square Park (Thursday)

The 26th annual Unsilent Night returns on Dec. 17 (Tuesday)

Swiss Institute revamp now in sidewalk bridge phase (Wednesday)

A new generation for 'Blank Generation' (Saturday)

Wax on: Avänt Candle takes long-empty Avenue B storefront (Monday)

Former Caffe Bene space under renovation on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

Boarding up the former Papaya King on St. Mark's Place (Friday)

Tompkins Square Bar opens at 110 Avenue A (Monday)

Miracle on Ninth Street now open for the holidays (Saturday)

Kellogg's Union Square cafe closer to snapping, crackling and popping (Friday)

...and via EdenB ... there's a homemade memorial for Lil Peep outside the now-closed Webster Hall on 11th Street ... the rapper played at the venue back in April...



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Dead leaves and Lime-A-Ritas in Tompkins Square Park

Scenes from this morning...

Mom jailed for leaving toddler outside Dallas BBQ speaks out 20 years later

The Post has a feature today on Anette Sørensen, the Danish woman who made front-page news 20-plus years ago after being arrested for leaving her baby in a stroller while dining at Dallas BBQ

She said that she was treated unfairly by the city and the media, and never had the chance to tell her side of the story.

Sørensen, and the baby's father, a playwright named Exavier Wardlaw, reportedly stopped for dinner at Dallas BBQ on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place in May 1997. She left her daughter Liv, 14 months old at the time, outside sleeping in her stroller.

I had lived in New York [during school], so, of course, I knew that I didn’t see prams all over the city," said Sørensen. "But ... I had been living in Copenhagen, I had given birth to my daughter in Copenhagen, I was raised myself in Denmark ... That’s just how you do it in Denmark."

Someone called 911 about the child. Sørensen said at the time that she and Wardlaw were keeping an eye on the child.

Officers charged both parents with child endangerment and Wardlaw with disorderly conduct.

Sørensen spent 36 hours in prison, where she said she didn’t get much sympathy from the other inmates. Liv was put in foster care by the city’s Administration for Children’s Services. The case made the front page of the Post.

“I didn’t know where my child was,” said Sørensen. “I don’t think there’s any greater punishment than to have your child taken away from you.”

Mother and daughter were reunited four days later.

In 1998, Sørensen, who nows lives in Germany, sued the city for $20 million.

Per the Daily Mail:

She was awarded $66,400 by a civil jury, which found only that she should not have been strip-searched and that the city commonly failed to advise arrested foreigners of their right to notify their consulates.

In 2012, she used the experience as a basis for a novel published in Denmark. Now she has launched a crowdfunding campaign to get it translated into English. Liv, the 14 month old at the center of this story, created the graphic design for the book's cover. She's 21 now.

Miracle on Ninth Street now open for the holidays

[Photo yesterday by Bobby Williams]

For the fourth consecutive year, Miracle on Ninth Street — a Christmas inspired pop-up bar — is open for the season (as of yesterday) inside Mace, the cocktail bar at 649 E. Ninth St. at Avenue C.

Per Facebook:

Escape the cold and soak in the festive atmosphere while enjoying a glass of Jingle Ball Nog or a Christmapolitan.

Miracle on Ninth is open 11/24 through 12/24. The pop-up ... will be open Mon-Fri 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. & Sat-Sun 2 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Previously

La Palapa turns 17

[Image via Facebook]

La Palapa, the Mexican restaurant at 77 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue, is celebrating its 17th birthday... Per their Facebook page: "Love our fabulous team, guests and the whole La Palapa family! Special people make a special place."

Seems like a good time to revisit our January 2014 interview with owner Barbara Sibley (right here).

A new generation for 'Blank Generation'

In honor of the Black Friday edition of Record Store Day, Richard Hell and the Voidoids’ "Blank Generation" received the reissue treatment on the occasion of its 40th anniversary.

The Village Voice has a piece on the reissue, and Hell's initial reluctance to take part:

He’d already mined his memories and exorcised his demons from the period in his colorful autobiography, "I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp," and he wasn’t exactly eager to resurface those emotions.

On top of that, as Hell admits, he’s scrupulous and a control freak. “I knew it was going to be really demanding, because whether or not I thought that it was meaningful or justifiable — as opposed to being a marketing idea — it was going to take a lot of attention from me,” he says. “And it did. I oversaw every aspect of it, but as it went along, I got more engaged and now I’m feeling really satisfied and fulfilled.”

Hell, a longtime East Village resident, signed copies yesterday at Generation Records on Thompson Street. He'll do the same this afternoon (starting at 2) out at Rough Trade in Williamsburg.

Back to the Voice:

Working on the reissue of "Blank Generation" certainly evoked the time and place, mainly the essence of the Lower East Side in 1976, but it was as if he was observing moments rather than reliving them. For Hell, it’s another world entirely.

“It’s really like you’re looking at another person, but you know at the same time that it’s actually you,” Hell says. “You can feel a kind of affection or horror at this person that you once were, but it’s only personal in a very uncanny, eerie way. It’s not like a direct nostalgia because you were somebody else at that time. There is this sense of fondness — it’s almost a pattern for some previous self.”

Friday's parting shot

The view downtown tonight via Bobby Williams...