Week in Grieview

[Photo in Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Affordable housing lottery underway at 79-89 Avenue D (Friday)

Cherche Midi space on the market for new retail development on the Bowery at East Houston (Wednesday)

Jane's Exchange is not closing! (Wednesday)

Christo and his new lady hawk friend Amelia have at least one egg in their nest in Tompkins Square Park (Thursday)

Rue St. Denis is closing after 25 years of selling vintage clothing and accessories on Avenue B (Tuesday)

The Hard Swallow returns on 1st Avenue (Friday)

Former East Village Cheese space for rent on 7th Street (Monday)

On Avenue A, Coney Island Baby debuts; live music returning to the Pyramid (Thursday)

FDNY: Wiring blamed for April 21 fire on 9th Street (Saturday)

Activities at the the Tompkins Square Park library branch (Thursday)

Pop-up theater in the former Pork Pie Hatters on 9th Street (Tuesday)

Makeshift dog run in Tompkins Square Park has been padlocked (Friday)

LPC nixes proposed addition for 827-831 Broadway (Tuesday)

Former Rainbow Music shop will be a Chinese restaurant (Thursday)

No Malice Palace is closed again (Wednesday)

Y7 Studio bringing the hip-hop yoga to 250 E. Houston St. (Thursday)

Plywood arrives at Webster Hall (Monday)

Counting down to the Joe and Pat's opening (Monday)

Ace Hardware closes on 4th Avenue (Friday)

High praise for Mani in Pasta’s Roman-style pizzas on 14th Street (Thursday)

The return of Gothamist (Thursday)

Reader report: Economy Foam & Futon is leaving 8th Street for Chelsea (Wednesday)

Cafe in the works for 2 St. Mark's Place, previously Ayios and St. Mark's Ale House (Tuesday)

The force is apparently no longer with Suffolk Arms (Monday)

MoMa officials not really into MoMaCha's name on the Bowery (Monday)

Slurp Shop signage (Monday)

Discarded painting of the week (Thursday)

... and EVG reader Steph noted that the Man in White — the longtime LES resident seen for years dressed head to toe in white — was spotted in blue jeans and a blue jacket this past week...



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Revisiting Rue St. Denis

As you may know, Rue St. Denis, the decades-spanning vintage clothing and accessories shop, is closing on Avenue B between 10th Street and 11th Street after 25 years at this location.

Founder Jean-Paul Buthier and his partner Riccardo Bonechi are closing the store for a change of pace, not because of rising rents or declining sales, as The New York Times reported last week.

The photos here are by East Village-based photographer Gudrun Georges, who featured the boutique on her blog in July 2015... revisiting that post here...


[Riccardo Bonechi]


[Jean-Paul Buthier]

A commenter on her post had this to say about Rue St. Denis:

[C]alling it a store doesn't quite capture the experience of Rue St Denis — It feels more a like a day trip to a world where effortless chic and sporty glamour are forever percolating to create for you a new memory of a day when life was magical.

Find the full post here.

Meanwhile, the closing sale continues... haven't heard a final day just yet...

Saturday's parting shot

Tonight's sunset via Bobby Williams...

Citizens of the Anthropocene in Tompkins Square Park

[Photo Thursday by Steven]

In case you haven't seen these things hanging out in Tompkins Square Park the past few days... the one above is in the center of the Park.

Look up!

Hello up there!

A post shared by Citizens of the Anthropocene (@citizensoftheanthropocene) on Apr 23, 2018 at 10:43am PDT

And this one is near the entrance at Seventh Street and Avenue A


[Photo Thursday by Goggla]

And the explanatory laminated note...


[Click on image to go big]

As explained on Instagram: "We are the Citizens of the Anthropocene ~ an anthropomorphic race of plastic-bag humanoids."

Anyway, One word: Plastics.

FDNY: Wiring blamed for last Saturday's fire on 9th Street

[Photo from this morning]

A quick follow-up to last Saturday's two-alarm fire at 218 E. Ninth St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

The FDNY called the fire accidental, citing building wiring...

Per #FDNY Fire Marshals: Cause of 4/21 2-alarm fire at 218 E 9 St. Manhattan was accidental, electrical, building wiring. Smoke alarm present and operational

— FDNY (@FDNY) April 23, 2018

A fire official said the building is now "unlivable." The address houses Yakiniku West, the Japanese steakhouse, and three apartments. Previous reports said that five adults and one child were displaced. No one was injured.

Here's more via The Villager:

Two families were said to occupy the upper floors but were not there when the Red Cross arrived, according to spokesperson Michael de Vulpillieres. The Villager spoke briefly to the owner of Yakiniku West on Sunday evening, shortly after he emerged from the building’s blackened first floor with several associates. Asked when his restaurant would open, he said, “in two months,” and abruptly walked away, declining to give his name.

Last weekend for Bakeri on 6th Street

Tomorrow (Sunday) is the last day for Bakeri NYC, the cafe-bakery at 627 E. Sixth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.

Bakeri, with locations in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, opened here in October 2016. The cafe carries homemade bread and pastries as well as Counter Culture Coffee.

However, as we understand it, the space won't be empty long — new owners are taking over the storefront for a similar venture in the weeks/months ahead.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Bakeri closing at the end of the month on 6th Street

You've got Snail Mail

From Snail Mail's debut album Lush, out on June 8 via Matador Records. The video here for "Heat Wave" debuted yesterday.

Sunday afternoon in Tompkins Square Park

It's time for the first free concert of the season/year in Tompkins Square Park via The Shadow.

Sunday at 2 p.m.: May Day with Haram, Rubber, Olor a muerte, Headsplitters and Junta.

EVG Etc.: Remembering Joe Heaps Nelson; prepping for the L-train shutdown

LES artist Joe Heaps Nelson died on April 16 of brain cancer. He was 49. (Des Moines Register)

Single-digit turnout as Democrats win big in city’s special elections (City Limits)

84-year-old man sitting on bench on Lower East Side punched in face (ABC 7)

ICYMI: An interview with artists "who defined the East Village’s avant-garde scene" ... and other early-1980s influencers (The New York Times Style Magazine)

Your L-train shutdown checklist (Gothamist)

A call for restrictions on the Williamsburg Bridge during the L-train shutdown (The Lo-Down)

The 1970s-80s on the LES as seen through the camera of Meryl Meisler (Creative Boom)

Pinky's Space & Mighty Quinn's are quoted in this piece on restaurants trying to meet the demands of the delivery boom (USA Today)

Victoria's Secret model buys home in Steiner East Village (New York Post) ... while another Victoria's Secret model lists her 11th Street penthouse (The Observer)


[That awkward moment with the gate at Zum Schneider on C]

East Village amnesiac regains life after vanishing in 1990 (Daily News)

Judge: De Blasio may be deposed if mayor had hand in axing city official (Daily News)

Inside the Moxy hotel brands Manhattan invasion (Skift ... previously)

HUD’s proposed rent hikes on low-income families would affect thousands of New Yorkers (Curbed)

Paul Schrader and four of his classic films coming to the Metrograph (Official site)

"Hypnic Jerk," an exhibit featuring the work of Gina Volpe (the guitarist for the Lunachicks), remains up through May 17 (Art on A Gallery)

Governors Island will bring back Friday late-night hours this season (Curbed)

Iggy Pop at his most ferocious (Dangerous Minds)

Op-ed: The Mayor's mistaken attempt to supersize NYC buildings (Gotham Gazette)

Legal woes for the 32nd Street location of Caffe Bene; slows expansion plans (Eater)

... and as previously reported, Coney Island Baby debuted last night at 169 Avenue A with a set by Murphy's Law ... as well as a special appearance by H.R. from Bad Brains... The venue's neighbor is the onetime home of Rat Cage Records and 171A, the illegal club-turned-rehearsal studio that produced records by Bad Brains and the "Polly Wog Stew" EP by the Beastie Boys.

Here's a look at the Coney Island Baby marquee, that went up yesterday...



Brooklyn Vegan has photos from last night here.

The Hard Swallow returns on 1st Avenue

[Photo by Steven]

The Hard Swallow (aka Big Lee's) reopened last month at 140 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street... and the bar is holding its grand re-opening party tomorrow (Saturday!) night at 8:30.

The no-frills bar had been closed for more than a year as husband-and-wife owners Leroy “Big Lee” and Maria "Sasha" Lloyd (pictured above) were locked in a legal battle with the previous owners. The Lloyds also had to go before CB3 and the SLA for a new liquor license. (This archived DNAinfo piece from March 2017 has all the background.)

The bar opened in the summer of 2015 in the former Spanky and Darla's space. Big Lee is a former doorman/bouncer at Hogs & Heifers as well as Coney Island High on St. Mark's Place (he is also originally from Coney Island).

Affordable housing lottery underway at 79-89 Avenue D

The affordable housing lottery is now open for 79-89 Avenue D (aka 751 E. Sixth St.).

The 12-story retail-residential building via L+M Development Partners here between Seventh Street and Sixth Street features 28 permanently affordable units (out of 110 total).

The mixed-income units are available to those earning 40, 60 and 130 percent of the area median income. These units range from $596 a month for studios to $2,519 a month for two bedrooms.



Amenities here will include a fitness center, landscaped roof deck and an outdoor terrace.

The address was previously one-level storefronts that included a Rite Aid, which relocated one block north to the ground floor of the Arabella 101 building. Rite Aid signed a lease to return to the retail space at No. 79.

Residents who qualify for the housing have until June 26 to apply for one of the units. Find the details here.

The other units in the building have not yet hit the rental market.

H/T 6sft!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Space that houses Rite Aid on Avenue D hits market for $22.5 million

Report: New 12-story, mixed-use building in the works for Avenue D

Permit pre-filed for new 12-floor building at 79-89 Avenue D

Makeshift dog run in Tompkins Square Park has been padlocked

Two weeks ago, officers from the Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP!) came to Tompkins Square Park to warn dog owners about letting their pets roam off-leash.

Park regulars said that there were complaints about more and more people letting their dogs run loose in sections of Tompkins, especially in the West Lawn near the entrance on St. Mark's Place... and not clean up after their dogs... in this area right here!



Parkgoers said some dog owners continued to ignore the various warnings and homemade signs... especially early mornings and on weekends...

Now someone (presumably from the Park office) has padlocked the entrance to the West Lawn in an attempt to thwart the dog owners from using this area ...


[Photo yesterday by Bobby Williams]

Previously on EV Grieve:
A warning about off-leash dogs in Tompkins Square Park (29 comments)

Ace Hardware closes on 4th Avenue

EVG reader Sheila shared this photo from yesterday... showing an auction sign at the now-closed Ace Hardware outpost at 130 Fourth Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street...

City Council member Carlina Rivera hosting community resource fair Saturday

Via the EVG inbox...

Carlina Rivera is holding her first Community Resource Fair of her City Council term, giving residents of Council District 2 the opportunity to access a number of programs and informational booths. Attendees will be able to access free-blood pressure screenings, information about affordable housing applications, information about volunteer opportunities, and more.

The event takes place from 1-4 p.m. at Grand Street Settlement’s main building, 80 Pitt St. (between Rivington and Stanton). You can RSVP by emailing District2@council.nyc.gov, or by calling 212-677-1077, ext. 107.

Today in discarded paintings on 5th Street

Near Avenue B...

Activities at the the Tompkins Square Park library branch

[Via NYPL]

As previously mentioned, the Tompkins Square Park library branch on 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B has a lot of free activities daily... poetry readings... jewelry making... film screenings ... find their schedule of events here.

The library is hosting another free walking tour of Tompkins Square Park on Friday, May 4. Details here.

And a highlight to note happening tonight...

East Village writer/memoirist Alan Kaufman of book “Jew Boy” and performer/playwright Robert Galinsky of play “The Bench” will be here this Thursday at 6pm, being interviewed live by local podcast @pernyc. Please join us for the first of this limited live series! Link in bio. #pernyc #alankaufman #robertgalinsky #tompkinssquare #eastvillage #lowereastside #libraries #books #reading

A post shared by Tompkins Square Library (@tompkins_square_library) on Apr 24, 2018 at 10:57am PDT

And there are buttons and magnets for $1 that help support the library...

Our buttons are back, with a new design! Pick one up at the circulation desk. And, we now have magnets too! ❤️ #libraries #tompkinssquare #eastvillage #buttons

A post shared by Tompkins Square Library (@tompkins_square_library) on Apr 23, 2018 at 6:41am PDT

New era for Gothamist begins today

Back in action here. Some back story here. Some thoughts on the revival here.

A red-tailed hawk and egg situation

[Photo of Christo, left, and Amelia atop St. Brigid's by Steven]

Christo and his new lady hawk friend Amelia have at least one egg in their nest in Tompkins Square Park, Goggla reports.

Here's what she says to expect:

It takes around 28-35 days for eggs to hatch, so if we count April 20 as Day 1, that puts hatching at May 17-24. Since no one can see into the nest, we will not be able to see the eggs hatch, but we will know something is up when Christo starts delivering food to the nest.

The hawks will continue mating until all the eggs are laid, and then maybe for some time after that.

Amelia conveniently came out of nowhere on April 4, the very day that Christo's longtime partner Dora went off to wing rehab.

Christo and Dora have raised 10 hawklets these past few years. So expect at least one hawklet again this summer. (Like here in 2017.)

[Updated] Preliminary vote on increases for rent-stabilized apartments set for tonight at Cooper Union

The city's Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) is holding its preliminary vote tonight to decide whether to seek increases for 1-million rent-controlled units in the city.

Members of the Rent Justice Coalition — including tenants, advocates and community organizers — as well as some elected officials will rally in front of the Municipal Building before heading to where the vote will take place — the Great Hall at Cooper Union.

The group will demand that the RGB freeze rents on rent-stabilized units to address the affordable housing crisis in the city. The Coalition released this statement yesterday:

While the Rent Justice Coalition counts past rent freezes as successes, data show landlords have been overcompensated for decades with high rent increases, including an 8.5 percent increase at the height of the recession in 2009. In fact, rent-stabilized tenants are rent burdened, with half of them paying about a third of their income for rent. At the same time, many low-income families pay as much as 60-70 percent of their income in rent.

A new report (PDF here) released by the RGB — showing that operating costs for landlords have gone up again this year — makes it seem unlikely that they will approve a rent freeze this year, per Curbed on April 18.

Last June, the RGB voted to allow rent increases on the city’s 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, with one-year leases subject to 1.25 percent raises, and two-year leases subject to 2 percent hikes — this after two consecutive years of rent freezes.

The RGB's final vote is June 26 at Cooper Union. Find the schedule, including all public hearings, right here.

Updated 10 a.m.

Per the Post:

The Rent Stabilization Association, which represents 25,000 landlords, says it will request an increase of 4 percent for new one-year leases and 7 percent for two years.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rent freeze fight underway for 2018

Y7 Studio bringing the hip-hop yoga to 250 E. Houston St.

[Rendering of the all-new 250 E. Houston St.]

The retail strip at 250 E. Houston St., the former Red Square here between Avenue A and Avenue B, has its first new tenant since the 13-floor building changed ownership in the fall of 2016.

Y7 signed a 10-year, 2,000-square-foot ground-floor lease at the base of the residential building for the growing yoga chainlet's eighth location in Manhattan, the Commercial Observer reported. The asking rent was $200 per square foot.

Here's more about Y7:

At Y7 we do things differently. We give you 60 minutes of intensity combined with heat and strength complemented by deep breathing and a calming of the mind. We ask you to step outside the chaos and embrace the fire inside. You’ll flow along to the latest beats. There are no mirrors in the candle-lit studios. The darkness, the sounds, and the heat will take you to a place you’ve never before been. Join us for the best hour of your day. Leave here feeling strong, clear and ready to take on whatever the city has in store for you. Take a class and never look back.

And a video feature from a few years back...



Not sure exactly which retail space Y7 is taking. There are four vacancies total in this strip of shops, which feature an H&R Block, Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin-Robbins combo, Subway (sandwich shop), Sleepy's/Mattress Firm, China Town Chinese restaurant and a FedEx Office Print & Ship Center. (There's also a dry cleaners, a doctor's office and East Houston Wine & Liquor.)



And we're really behind on updating the gym options post.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rumors: Red Square has been sold

New ownership makes it official at the former Red Square on East Houston

Apartment listings at 250 E. Houston look to offer glimpse of former Red Square's future

Long-vacant retail space hits the rental market at 250 E. Houston St.

Former Red Square lobby gets the plywood treatment on East Houston