Thursday, December 28, 2017

Report: 9th Street resident battling with Kushner Cos. to clean up black mold infestation

The Daily News has an update on Uta Winkler's ongoing legal fight with Kushner Cos. to clean up a black mold infestation in her Ninth Street apartment. (DNAinfo previously reported on her legal battle in December 2016.)

Winkler, a rent-stabilized tenant, said in court papers that her kitchen was destroyed several days before Thanksgiving in 2013 by construction workers renovating an unoccupied unit above her apartment.

To the News:

During the past year she has been locked in a legal fight in Manhattan housing court to get [Jared] Kushner’s real estate firm, Kushner Cos., to remediate the mold.

Even though an inspector she hired detected the spores in March, Winkler said she had to go to court several times before Kushner Cos. agreed to conduct its own mold test in the fall.

It took more court dates to get Kushner to agree to pick a remediator who will actually get rid of the mold — which has been shown to cause respiratory problems and to inflame allergies.

It’s still unclear when the remediator will actually make the fix, Winkler said.

“It’s harassment to get me out,” she said. Kushner Cos. did not respond to requests for comment.

Winkler had to endure more mayhem when she came home in late 2013 to find that a construction worker carrying dirty water and debris on the floor above hers had crashed through her bedroom ceiling, landing on her bed, court document said.

The fall destroyed her bed and other furniture, but Kushner's management firm, Westminster, refused to reimburse her for the damage or even return her calls, court papers said.

Without a response, Winkler withheld her monthly rent, which reportedly prompted Kushner to sue her for the unpaid rent in 2015 in Manhattan Housing Court. DNAinfo previously reported that the company also sued tenants in two other units, include new market-rate residents, in the building for also withholding rent because of the disruptions from construction. (Those two other tenants then each filed counter-suits against Kushner.)

Winkler's "suffering with Kushner" reportedly started shortly after Kushner bought the five-building parcel on Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue in 2013.

The Kushner Cos. now own some 30-plus apartment buildings in the East Village

Per the News:

Tenants in several of these buildings have accused Kushner Cos. in court records of trying to drive them out through harassment, construction and dilapidated conditions.

State records also show that, in the past five years, the agency that oversees rent-stabilized and rent-controlled apartments has penalized Kushner Cos. in at least 11 instances over diminished services or poor conditions at one of its buildings in the city.

In those cases, the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal has ordered the monthly rent reduced for one or multiple rent-regulated units in the building until the problems were fixed.

Now even the lawyers Kushner worked with are taking the company to court. Several weeks ago, the News reported that Cornicello, Tendler & Baumel-Cornicello, a law firm that represented Kushner Cos. in dozens of eviction and housing court cases, is now suing Kushner for unpaid bills totaling more than $100,000.

As for Winkler: "For four years, they’re dragging me around, wasting money. I’m paying my lawyer constantly. It just makes no sense and it is so obnoxious."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Tenants claim: Kushner and Westminster want to destroy this building's beautiful garden

Reports outline how Kushner Companies is aggressively trying to empty 170-174 E. 2nd St.

Local politicos join residents of 2 Jared Kushner-owned buildings to speak out about poor living conditions, alleged harassment

Jared Kushner's residents at 118 E. 4th St. would like gas for cooking and some heat

Jared Kushner's East Village tenants wish he'd resolve issues closer to home

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Today in epic poems discarded on 2nd Avenue



Derek Berg spotted a copy of "Hermann and Dorothea" up for grabs on Second Avenue... hard to read the inscription, dated 1883, because of the lack of emojis...

Out and About in the East Village 2017 recap and news about 2018

On Aug. 1, 2012, we introduced a new feature by East Village-based photographer James Maher called Out and About in The East Village. The feature, which provided a snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village, is going on hiatus. Here's more from James:

Thanks everyone for helping create this nearly five-and-a-half-year Out and About project. I'm going to have to step back from it for awhile as my wife is due soon with our first child, which we're really excited about.

It's been an incredible experience that has taught me so much more about the spirit of this neighborhood. I can't imagine there are many other places where I could run outside for 30 minutes or an hour and come across such inspiring and interesting people, week in and week out, so willing and enthusiastic to stop and chat about their lives and the neighborhood.

There were many weeks where I was overworked or tired and not feeling like standing on a street corner, and those were always the times where I came back having shared a small moment with the most incredible people. I would often walk back feeling so much more inspired and energetic than when I had walked out the door.

Thanks to everyone who has stopped for an interview and opened up to a complete stranger. I hope I did you all justice — I definitely tried my best. Thanks to everyone's comments each week, of which I read every one of them. And thanks to Grieve for the sharp editing and advice. It's been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

And now, here's the 2017 recap...



Jan. 11 — Ali Sahin

Jan. 18 — Eric Rignall

Feb. 1 — Lola Sáenz

Feb. 8 — Lola Sáenz, Part 2

Feb. 15 — Delphine Blue

Feb. 22 — Delphine Blue, Part 2

March 1 — Mark Seamon

March 8 — Merle Ratner

March 22 — Jennifer Brodsky

April 5 — Terry and Harmony

April 12 — Elizabeth Atnafu

April 19 — James, the Leather Man

May 3 — anonymous

May 18 — Gustavo Roldan

May 24 — Jerry Shea

June 1 — Roberta Bayley (and Stella)

June 14 and June 21 — Miss Joan Marie Moossy

June 28 — Sierra Gilboe Zamarripa (and Cecilia)

July 12 — Grace Kang

July 19 — Brian Breger (and Molly)

Aug. 9 — Puma Perl

Aug. 16 — Heidi

Aug. 23 — Felix Velazquez

Aug. 30 — David Anderson

Sept. 20 — Pepe Flores

Sept. 27 and Oct. 4 — Nancy Blum

Oct. 18 — Jay Yang

Oct. 25 and Nov. 2 — Siobhan Meow

Nov. 8 — Margie Segal

Nov. 15 — Ronald Rayford

Dec. 6 — Holly DeRito and Tulip

And previous recaps by year:

• 2012 here

• 2013 here

• 2014 here

• 2015 here

• 2016 here

Neapolitan Express pulling into 29 2nd Ave.



Late last month we noted that a pizzeria was coming to the empty retail space at 29 Second Ave.

Reps for Neapolitan Express are on CB3's SLA committee docket in January for a beer-wine license for the space between First Street and Second Street. As of now, only the application, which doesn't provide as many operational details as the questionnaire, is on the CB3 website.

Neapolitan Express, a growing chain that started as a food truck in 2013, is also opening an outpost adjacent to the Ed Sullivan Theater in Midtown. Their other locations are in East Harlem and on Wall Street.


Here's more about them via the Neapolitan website:

Originally launched in 2013 as the world’s first Eco Friendly Food Truck, Neapolitan Express was officially introduced by lead investors, energy innovators and business tycoons T. Boone Pickens of Clean Energy Fuels. Powered entirely by alternative energies, the Neapolitan Express pizza truck reduces greenhouse gases by up to 99%. Our patent-pending fueling technology fully powers truck operations, while simultaneously cuts down pollutants to a fraction.

The Cock moved moved a few blocks north from No. 29 in December 2015.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Pizza in the mix for former Cock space on 2nd Avenue

Classic Man Barber Lounge coming to 9th Street

A small sign is up for Classic Man Barber Lounge on one of the renovated storefronts at 445 E. Ninth St.

Here's more about them via their Facebook page: "A premium barber shop offering New York's professional and progressive gentlemen excellence glooming services in a therapeutic and multicultural environment." The shop's website points to an early 2018 opening.

This will be the fourth business to take up occupancy in Icon Realty's renovated storefronts here along Ninth Street at Avenue A ... joining Poke N' Roll, Beetlebug and Mahalo New York Bakery. GelARTo anchors the corner slot.

As for Classic Man, they will provide another option in a fairly crowded nearby hair-cutting market, including Neighborhood Barbers a few doors away at 439 E. Ninth St. Bonefade Barbers recently opened at 115 Avenue A between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. Also nearby: Three Seat Espresso & Barber at 137 Avenue A between St. Mark's and Ninth Street and Ben's Barbers at 217 Avenue A between 13th Street and 14th Street. There are three barbers/salons on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue as well as Ace of Cuts on Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Thanks to Steven for the photo!

Crunch time at the Kellogg's NYC Café on Union Square



The Kellogg's NYC Café has been up and running on the northern section of Union Square since Dec. 14.

The space on the second level of 31 E. 17th St. (above the AT&T store) offers bowls of cereal (there's a a DIY cereal-creation station) as well as Pop Tarts and a variety of coffees and teas.

EVG reader Harry Weiner stopped in for a quick look...





Harry said that the cafe wasn't crowded ... other observations: "actually an inefficient use of space in terms of seating... and merchandise for sale. I wasn’t tempted to eat anything. I can’t imagine that sales will cover the rent."

Here are the current specialty bowls of cereal via the Kellogg's NYC Café website...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Oh Gr-r-reat! Kellogg's cafe opening slightly delayed on Union Square

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Pizza Rollio bringing its skinny slices to 9th Street


[Photo via Steven]

Pizza Rollio is opening an outpost on Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue, where it will sell its super-thin, arugula-topped pizza served in long strips that patrons can roll up.

The pizzeria is owned by Miyuki Talwar and her family, who run similar establishments in the Philippines.

This will be the third Pizza Rollio in the city, joining the Plaza Hotel Food Hall and on West 18th Street.

Here's more about their pizza from the Daily News in 2016:

In a city with pizzerias on almost every corner, Pizza Rollio serves the seemingly impossible: a totally unique pie. Its rectangular creations are light and delicate — built on paper-thin sheets of dough that are baked and sliced into wide ribbons perfect for wrapping around peppery bites of alfalfa sprouts and arugula, the salad-y condiment served with every order.



And via DNAinfo when Pizza Rollio opened an outpost on West 18th Street early this year:

In addition to its classic margherita pie, Pizza Rollio serves specials like “The Godmother" topped with fig, gorgonzola and mozzarella; the “Eggs Benedict” topped with Canadian bacon, fresh egg, chives and hollandaise sauce; and the “Mushroom Truffle Madness,” with mushrooms, truffle oil and mozzarella.

This storefront on Ninth Street was previously the longtime home of the salon Crops for Girls.

Malcriada morphing into Bar Taco on Avenue C



Malcriada, a self-described "Latino Gastropub," is closed for now at 185 Avenue C near 12th Street.

There's signage up for a new venture called Bar Taco. Not sure if the same operators are behind the next iteration of this space.

Malcriada opened on Super Bowl Sunday, replacing Kaz, which closed after nearly seven months in December 2016. Before that, Cafecito operated for 14 years. The Cuban-specialty restaurant closed at the end of January 2016.

Report: The SBS15 has the worst on-time arrival in the MTA fleet


[Old EVG photo]

Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office released details back on Friday on the city's slowest and most chronically late bus routes.

A familiar route is atop one of the lists. As the Post reported, the analysis tagged the SBS15, which goes between East Harlem and South Ferry via First or Second Avenue, with the worst on-time performance: 34 percent.

You can read Stringer's full report here.

Former Wall 88 space for rent on 2nd Avenue



The for lease sign arrived late last week at 104 Second Ave. at Sixth Street, where Wall 88 last conducted bar-restaurant business.

This officially brings an end to Wall 88, whose gates closed for good in late October. However, there was never any official closing announcement ... and the agency Wall 88's owners hired to do their social media apparently never got the news... generic happy hour and brunch messages continue to populate Wall 88's Facebook...



The restaurant serving pub fare opened back in March. There was a quick turnaround here after Lions BeerStore closed following 16 months in operation.

P.S.

Bring back Bamboo House to this corner (because someone always brings this up)!


[Photo via Jeremiah Moss]

Window watch at 32 E. 1st St.



Here's an end of the year look at 32 E. First St. (aka 24 Second Ave.), the 10-story 31-unit condoplex at the site of a former BP station... the windows are (mostly) all in... soon enough, we'll see that advertised limestone exoskeleton ...



Sales started in September, with homes ranging from $1.175 million to $8.7 million. There will be ground-floor retail too.


[Via CityReality]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Check out the new 10-story building for the former 2nd Avenue BP station

2nd Avenue residential complex now complete with renderings on the plywood

Out East remains closed on 6th Street

As noted back on Thursday, Out East has been dark in recent nights during announced business hours here on Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The closure continued through the weekend ... and still without any note to patrons on the door or the restaurant's website and social media platforms. Meanwhile, OpenTable shows that reservations aren't available at Out East until Jan. 13.

As Eater noted: "It hasn’t been the easiest eight months for the restaurant, with at least two head chef shuffles already occurring."

Monday, December 25, 2017

Free scarves along the East River Promenade



EVG reader Bill Buchen spotted these today along the East River Promenade (in the high teens)... there are Ziplock bags filled with scarves made by students at the United Nations International School... a note on the bags say that the scarves are free for "people in need" ...



Per Bill: "A wonderful seasonal thought ..."

The remains of the Union Square Holiday Market



The Union Square Holiday Market ended its 6-week run last night at 8 ... and as these photos by EVG reader Harry Weiner show, the place was quickly torn apart for the season ...



Sunday, December 24, 2017

Sunday's parting shot



Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

From the archives: Giuseppi Logan in Tompkins Square Park



This photo of Giuseppi Logan is from December 2013.

I have not seen (or heard) him play his saxophone in Tompkins Square Park in more than three years. (You can read more about the jazz artist in this feature at the Times.)

Back in the fall, I learned via Facebook that Logan, now 82, is living in a senior residence in Far Rockaway. Matt Lavelle, a jazz musician, has been to visit Logan ... he also bought Logan a new flute.

Week in Grieview


[Someone tossed a P from Stomp on St. Mark’s Place]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

AG's office: Steve Croman agrees to pay $8 million to the tenants he harassed (Thursday)

Workers remove the sculpture fence and prep lot at 89 1st Ave. (Wednesday)

Paquito's Restaurant closing after 25 years on 1st Avenue; take out and delivery will remain (Tuesday)

Neighbor: East Village Cheese, closed now for 2 weeks, is starting to smell (Thursday) ... and a co-owner spotted clearing out the space (Friday)

Santa delivers sacks of coal to Madison Realty Capital, Rafael Toledano's lenders (Friday)

Hotel Tortuga, now with morning espresso service on 14th Street (Wednesday)

Partial vacate order and violations for sidewalk-collapse building on 4th Street (Monday)

Presenting Mercury East Presents, which brings together several local music venues (Tuesday)

How many East Village properties do the Kushner Cos. actually own? (Wednesday)

Pinky's Space bringing quick-serve food options to 1st Street (Monday)

Opossum action (Friday ... Wednesday)

GG's closes on Fifth Street (Friday)

The Ainsworth East Village debuts on 3rd Avenue (Tuesday)

Icon's 9th Street townhouse now available for $17 million (Tuesday)

Out East has not been open the last few days (Thursday)

Viking Waffles signage arrives on Avenue C (Monday)

Reader report: Beware the Amazon Fire TV Stick (Monday)

Westside Market opening in the former Met Foods space on 3rd Avenue and 17th Street (Tuesday)

Some Steiner East Village retail speculation (Monday)

... and several readers noted this bike-lock job on 10th Street and Third Avenue...


[Photo via EVG reader Doug]

---

Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Saturday's parting shot



Avenue A today via Derek Berg...

From the archives (again): 'Blast of Silence' for the holidays

Reposting this repost this from Dec. 23, 2011…

I've written about "Blast of Silence," Alan Baron's New York (slightly hokey) indie noir from 1961.

Will repeat some of it now... the movie is about a contract killer in New York for a job during the Dec. 25 holiday season ...



Of interest hereabouts... the main character, "Baby Boy" Frankie Bono, stays at the Valencia on St. Mark's Place... which is the St. Mark's Hotel today...


[Via]

In the background, you can see the former Saint Marks Russian and Turkish Baths ... which became the New St. Marks Baths ... then Mondo Kim's ... and eventually BarCade.

DOH temporarily closes Papa John's



Several EVG readers pointed out that the DOH closed the Papa John's outpost on First Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street after a failed inspection on Tuesday.

During a follow-up on Thursday, public records show that inspectors found at least one critical area to keep the shop closed. (That being "Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas.")