Another opportunity to talk about the L-train shutdown

[EVG file photo]

Via the EVG inbox...

Please attend the CB3 Feb. 13 Transportation Committee meeting regarding the coming L Train shutdown in April 2019. MTA and DOT representatives will present the latest plans and answer your questions.

The Transportation Committee will vote on a resolution to send your concerns to the MTA and DOT and ask for plans to address these concerns.

We need your help identify possible impacts and problems that need to be addressed.

Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m.
Grace Church School, 46 Cooper Square (at 6th Street/the Bowery)

The shutdown of the L — between Bedford Avenue and Eighth Avenue to repair the Sandy-damaged Canarsie Tunnel — is expected to last 15 months with a start date of April 2019.

Last days for Ricky's on 3rd Avenue

As noted back on Jan. 16, the Ricky's location on Third Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street is closing. In case you missed the signs in the window, Sunday is the last day.

Ricky’s NYC president, Michael Long, told the Commercial Observer last fall that the chain is closing "underperforming stores" and that the company is now profitable. Apparently the East Village isn't so profitable: The Ricky's on First Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street closed without any notice in March 2016.

Still, there's a Ricky's set to open on Broadway near 12th Street.

The mini chain (there are 18 locations) selling accessories, cosmetics and novelties started as Ricky Love in 1989.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Ricky's is closing on 3rd Avenue

The Ricky's on 1st Avenue has apparently closed

Once again, the rent is past due at the long-empty DF Mavens space

[Photos yesterday by Steven]

There's another notice "Demanding Payment of Rent" taped to the front door of the long-empty DF Mavens storefront on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place....



The owners of the vegan ice cream shop owe the January and February rent ($25k plus change) and some taxes for a $54,111.85 total.

DFM closed in January 2016 after two years in business on this northwest corner.

The storefront has sat empty these past two years without even a for rent sign in sight.

The holidays live on at the Astor Place Kmart

Kmart on Astor Place may be in a state of flux, downsizing from three floors to two... but it looks as if they won't be giving up on offering early opportunities to prep for the holidays.

Goggla spotted this St. Patrick's Day (St. Partick's" per the sign) display, complete with red plastic cups, Corona, green bow ties and other things that you'll find lying on the street come March 18.

Midday snow photo break

[Click to go big]

Photo in Tompkins Square Park today by Allen Semanco...

Reminders: CB3 committees to hear more about the Union Square tech hub tonight

[Rendering via RAL Development]

As noted back on Jan. 25, CB3's Joint Economic Development Committee and Land Use, Zoning, Public & Private Housing Committee will hear more about the Mayor's proposed 20-story tech hub on 14th Street during its meeting tonight. (It takes place at 6:30 at the Henry Street Settlement, Youth Services Gymnasium, 301 Henry St.)

Mayor de Blasio is proposing to turning the city-owned P.C. Richard site on 14th Street at Irving Place into a "workforce development and digital skills training center," among other things.

Here's more about the proposed 240,000 square-foot facility via Crain's:

Civic Hall, a nonprofit that promotes collaboration to solve civic problems with technology, would operate six floors of the building. Half the space would be used for co-working and meetings for the city’s philanthropy, business and tech sectors. The other half is slated to be occupied by five organizations offering tech training. General Assembly, for example, hosts intense coding courses. Per Scholas, a national nonprofit, offers its free tech training to underserved populations that, on average, make less than $20,000 per year before enrolling in and roughly double that income after graduating.

To make this happen, the site/area needs to be upzoned. This zoning change is of particular concern to some area residents and preservationists, who have stressed that the fabric of the neighborhood could be lost with a rash of new developments south of Union Square along Broadway, University Place and Fourth Avenue. (The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation has been leading the efforts behind a rezoning of the area to enforce some height restrictions and affordable housing requirements. The group makes their case here.)

On Jan. 29, the Economic Development Corporation, the city agency overseeing the hub's development, presented the proposal to the Planning Commission, the first step in the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), as Curbed reported.

The tech-hub project will eventually need Planning Commission and City Council approval. The public-review process is expected to take about around seven months. Crain's lays out here why the hub faces "a thorny approval process."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Behold Civic Hall, the high-tech future of Union Square — and NYC

Speaking out against a 'Silicon Alley' in this neighborhood

P.C. Richard puts up the moving signs on 14th Street; more Tech Hub debate to come

Veselka among the first food vendors to anchor the Market Line at Essex Crossing

[Rendering by SHoP Architects]

The developers of Essex Crossing yesterday announced some of the food vendors that will help anchor the Market Line, a 150,000-square-foot retail destination. Several familiar names will be part of the first phase of the market, including outposts of Ippudo and Veselka.

Here's Eater with more:

Anchored among three buildings underground near Essex and Delancey streets, with window access that looks up to the sidewalk level, the Market Line at development Essex Crossing will unfurl with a three-phase rollout.

By fall, it will house more than 40 food vendors picked to complement the city landmark, the 70-plus year old Essex Street Market — with Shopsins, Saxelby Cheesemongers, and Luis Meat Kitchen among vendors making the trek to the new complex, slated to open in conjunction with the phase-one Market Line purveyors.

And you can head to The Lo-Down for more on the other vendors.

As previously reported, the Market Line will stretch over three city blocks. An estimated two-thirds of the retail spaces will be devoted to food. Per The New York Times: "The market’s developers are already comparing it to world-class establishments like the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul; Boqueria in Barcelona, Spain; and Borough Market in London."


[Click for the big view]

This will be Veselka's second attempt at opening an outpost away from the mothership on Second Avenue and Ninth Street. Velselka Bowery closed in 2013 after a 17-month at Avalon Bowery Place.

1st sign of activity at the former Cafe Orlin space on St. Mark's Place

People have been asking about the former Cafe Orlin space on St. Mark's Place. There hasn't been much activity — outside the "no trespassing" notices since the Cafe closed last fall.

One item to note: The recent arrival of a work permit (note the helpful arrow above).

Per the ALL-CAP stylings of the DOB: APPLICATION FILED FOR MINOR INTERIOR CONSTRUCTION WORK AND INSTALLATION OF BANQUETTES WITH PLUMBING WORK AS PER PLAN. The estimated work cost is nearly $40,000.

Emporium Design is listed as the applicant of record. Their East Village interior-design résumé includes Boulton & Watt, Drexler's, the Blind Barber and Pourt.

Anyway, no word just yet on what's to come here between First Avenue and Second Avenue. Grub Street reported in September that the Cafe Orlin owner is also the building's landlord, "and a new restaurant will open in its place."

Cafe Orlin closed on Oct. 15 after 36 years at the address.

A new playground is coming to P.S. 19

[Photos by Steven]

Several readers pointed out that work started in late January on the playground behind P.S. 19 on First Avenue between 11th Street and 12th Street...





The project was announced more than a year ago to the school's community... here's more from a letter at the time (January 2017) from Principal Jacqueline Flanagan:

We are thrilled to announce that due to a generous grant from Council Member Rosie Mendez and the Trust for Public Land, the schoolyard at P.S. 19 will be getting a new playground. Starting this January, The Trust for Public Land and landscape architects will work with students, staff, parents and community members to design and build a new school and community playground on our schoolyard.

Established in 1972, The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a nonprofit organization that is committed to bringing open space and recreational resources to communities underserved by parks. TPL’s NYC Playgrounds Program has created 66 new playgrounds in NYC over the past 20 years. In addition, TPL has led community design at another 123 schools participating in the former mayor’s Schoolyards to Playgrounds Initiative.

One of the unique features of TPL’s Playgrounds Program is that students, parents and community members design the new park. Previous playgrounds have included running tracks, basketball courts, artificial turf fields, trees, gardens, outdoor classrooms, game tables, water fountains, playground equipment and murals.

P.S. 15 (The Roberto Clemente School) on Fourth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D was the recipient of a new playground in 2016.

Here's a photo of the completed playground...


[Maddalena Polletta/The Trust for Public Land]

No word on when the new playground at P.S. 19 is expected to be complete.

This paper plate might just save you (from something)

Mystery surrounds this paper plate signage that Eden spotted (and shared on The Twitter) ... it's not immediately clear what might happen if one would remove the paper plate ... we would send a team to investigate, though Eden can't quite recall exactly where this is located (roughly Houston and First Avenue). Anyway, regardless of where you are, just leave any suspended paper plate as it is.

Now playing

The former Sunshine Cinema on East Houston looking as if it has been closed for a lot longer than 16 days...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Discarded theater seats and goodbyes at the Sunshine Cinema

The 9-story boutique office building coming to the former Sunshine Cinema space

Bank branches everywhere no more

[File photo of the former Citi branch on Avenue A]

Last week we noted that the Santander branch at Avenue A and Fourth Street is closing on April 27. At that time, Avenue A will be bank-branch free.

Apparently the days where you could count on a bank branch opening in every recently vacated retail space are coming to an end. (How far we've come from 2014!)

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) today looks at the trend of banks cutting back as more customers move online.

To the article...

The number of branches in the U.S. shrank by more than 1,700 in the 12 months ended in June 2017, the biggest decline on record, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of federal data.

Branch numbers fell again in the second half of 2017, according to related data submitted to bank regulators and reviewed by the Journal. That would add to the thousands of locations closed following the financial crisis, and is the longest stretch of closures since the Great Depression.

Many of the closings were in big cities and surrounding suburbs, where branches were consolidated largely because of falling foot traffic.

And!

Banks say they carefully consider which branches to close, examining deposit levels at each branch and commute time to the nearest location. “We continue to evolve and optimize our branch network to ensure that we’re operating as efficiently and effectively as possible,” a Capital One spokeswoman said.

For decades, banks needed to add new locations to grow, pushing the number of U.S. branches to a peak in 2009. But in the aftermath of the financial crisis, some started closing branches to save money — and then kept closing them to contend with low interest rates and higher regulatory costs.

Along the way, lenders realized they could maintain their deposit levels with fewer locations in a digital world where customers often prefer banks’ mobile apps and ATMs.

At this point we may need to retire the "bank branches everywhere" tag.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Capital One® departs 14th and 3rd (bank branch down!) for new Union Square home

Chase space on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place is for rent

The East Village is down 2 Chase branches

Today in East Village tsunami warnings

This alert is making the rounds...



There are no tsunami warnings in effect at the current time. Again, there are no tsunami warnings in effect.



H/T Ali Rogers

Some reasons to shop on 9th Street Thursday

A handful of business owners on Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue have joined forces to host a "shopping crawl" on the block from 4-7 p.m. this Thursday to help inspire locals to shop local. The participating stores are offering a discount on selected items... the map below has the details...


[Click on image for a full view]

Activity at the long-empty 204 Avenue A

Residents yesterday spotted a Davey Drill taking (presumably) core samples from outside 204 Avenue A, the bricked-up building here between 12th Street and 13th Street.

According to public records, the NYC Housing Preservation and Development owns the property. There's nothing on file at the DOB to suggest any future development just yet. (There is a recent filing for "facade repair" at an estimated cost of $4,450.)

No. 204 has been vacant since at least 2009.

A look at Google Street View shows the building in use in September 2007...



By 2009 the place had been boarded up.

H/T dwg!

Popup Florist popping up on 7th Street

Popup Florist, a plant and floral design company, is opening a storefront this month at 63 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

The company, founded by former fashion designer Kelsie Hayes in 2016, has been operating out of a 40-square foot retail/workspace in The Gansevoort Market. The Popup Florist website notes that they have worked with brands and retailers such as Theory, Barneys New York, Facebook, Covergirl and Pottery Barn.

The space was previously home for a short while to the Roll It Up ice cream shop.

Bejeweled NYC, a piercing studio, is Popup's new neighbor on the other side of the front steps ...

165 Avenue B is for rent — again

[Photo from November]

Back in November, the long-empty storefront at 165 Avenue B became home to a production studio for Avänt Candle, an online seller that promises "the ultimate candle experience," including the 365 Annual Candle with 720 hours-plus of burn time for $360.

It looked as if the space would become a retail outlet as well.

Not sure whatever happened to this venture. (Avänt Candle continues on online.) The storefront is empty again ... and the for rent sign arrived again last week...



As previously noted, the space between 10th Street and 11th Street has been vacant for years. A restaurant serving Cantonese-style food was in the works, but that never materialized. The last tenant was the junk-thrift shop Waldorf Hysteria more than 10 years ago.

H/T Salim!

Previously on EV Grieve:
165 Avenue B back on the market

165 Avenue B has been sold, and 2 apartments are on the market

EV Grieve Etc.: Helping the homeless in NYC; viewing the work of Peter Hujar

[Levitating in Tompkins Square Park today. Photo by Derek Berg]

Representatives from four advocacy groups discuss how New Yorkers can best channel their resources when it comes to helping the homeless (Curbed New York)

Why isn’t homelessness seen as a national crisis? (Curbed)

About the six LES nonprofits who will benefit from the $1.25 million Rivington House settlement (The Lo-Down)

Displaced tenant drama at 85 Bowery (BoweryBoogie)

Study: Airbnb is making rents in New York City spike (CNBC)

Howl! buys on the Bowery (Crain's)

Alex Ross Perry's latest film, "Golden Exits," starts Friday (Metrograph) Sing along to "Grease" next Monday night (City Cinemas Village East)

Booking a drip at NutriDrip’s Drip Lounge on First Street (NBC News)

The Morgan Library & Museum is currently showing works from the 1970s-80s of East Village-based photographer Peter Hujar, on view through May 20. Hornet has a preview today of "Peter Hujar: Speed of Life" here.

The Athenian NYC, now serving Mediterranean fare on 10th Street

Before Jason Corey opened The Immigrant Wine Bar on Ninth Street in 2009, he tended bar at Molyvos, a Greek restaurant near Carnegie Hall.

Corey and Kamal Kouiri, the current wine director and GM at Molyvos, spent years drinking Greek wine together.

Now the two have opened their own Greek cafe. The Athenian NYC debuted last Thursday at 224 E. 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

The small space was previously home to Graffiti, the well-regarded restaurant from chef Jehangir Mehta.

"The landlords are extremely nice people, so when I heard the space was going to be vacant, we jumped on it," Corey told me.

At the Athenian, he said people can expect to find "great Mediterranean food, delicious Greek wines, and happy servers and chefs."

The kitchen is open daily from 5-11 p.m. More info will be coming to their website soon.

The vintage photobooth from the HiFi needs a new East Village home

[Photo from 2012 at HiFi by Shawn Chittle]

The vintage photobooth that resided inside HiFi these past five-plus years is in need of a new East Village home.

HiFi closed at 167 Avenue A back in the fall. Trixie, the owner of the photobooth, thought that the new establishment taking over the HiFi space would keep the machine... that deal fell through, unfortunately.

"So we’re on the prowl again," Trixie told me. "We still have a booth at Otto’s Shrunken Head on 14th Street, and ideally we’d relocate the one from HiFi somewhere within walking distance of that here in the East Village."

The booth was previously at the Lakeside Lounge, which closed in April 2012, on Avenue B.

Trixie remains hopeful to find another home.

"If we can’t find the right location, a fun bar that’s busy enough to make good use of a photobooth, well then I suppose we’d have to consider selling it," she said. "I know these old photobooths are beloved in the neighborhood, but the neighborhood sure ain’t what it used to be."

Interested parties may contact Trixie via this email.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Lakeside's photobooth has a new home