Christo keeping cool in Tompkins Square Park today... photo by Bobby Williams...
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Thursday's parting shot
Christo keeping cool in Tompkins Square Park today... photo by Bobby Williams...
Film Forum now closed for renovation, expansion
[Image via @filmforumnyc]
As expected, the Film Forum over on West Houston closed after its screenings Tuesday night for the next two months to add a fourth screen and upgrade its three existing auditoriums.
As the Times reported last fall:
The updates will also involve a full renovation of the theater’s other three screens, including new seats, more leg room and a more dramatic slope (with stadium seating in the rear rows) to improve sightlines.
Those seats were really awful.
Oh, and Film Forum director Karen Cooper on the expansion via a news release:
Too often, New York landmarks disappear, only to be replaced by nail salons and chain drug stores. Happily, New Yorkers are committed to seeing films that take risks and break the mold, as well as discovering movie history.
You can read more about the renovations at the Film Forum website here.
The Film Forum has been in its Houston Street space between Sixth Avenue and Varick since 1990. It was established in 1970.
Closer to home, there are plenty of movie-theater choices... such as the Anthology Film Archives on Second Street and Second Avenue ... the Village East Cinema on Second Avenue at 12th Street ... the Angelika Film Center on Houston and Mercer ... Cinema Village on 12th Street near University...the Metrograph down on Ludlow near Canal ... and the Quad Cinema on 13th Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue.
Sales office vacated as Ben Shaoul reportedly sells Liberty Toye; building to return to rentals
Workers yesterday stripped away the Liberty Toye signage from the sales office with tinted glass at 44 Avenue B as rumors circulated that developer Ben Shaoul's Magnum Real Estate sold the nursing home-turned-residential building down the block.
The Real Deal reported yesterday that Shaoul was in contract to sell the condo conversion at Fifth Street and Avenue B for $85 million. The 81-unit building hit the sales market — bitcoin accepted! — as condos back in November, complete with a new name (Liberty Toye taking over for Bloom 62) and paint job.
Per The Real Deal:
Sources said Magnum now plans to withdraw the offering plan from the New York state Attorney General’s office and return deposits to buyers who’ve gone into contract. The property is expected to continue to operate as a rental, sources said.
At least 14 units are in contract, according to StreetEasy, ranging from a studio last asking $675,000 to a two-bedroom that was asking $1.55 million.
So this will apparently end Shaoul's nearly seven tumultuous years owning the former Cabrini Nursing Center, which shut down in June 2012. The 240-bed center — sponsored by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus — provided health care for low-income elderly residents in the East Village. Shaoul reportedly paid $25 million for the property and closed down Cabrini.
[Photo from 2014]
Apartments at the new Bloom 62 — "the right place to plant your roots" — arrived in the spring of 2013, with prices topping out at $7,600 for a four-bedroom apartment. Despite the upgrades, some people thought that the units still looked like nursing home rooms, though with better lighting.
Under Shaoul's watch, the rental building gained a reputation for its rooftop DJ parties that annoyed neighbors. Shaoul finally cracked down on the ragers in the summer of 2015.
Shaoul attempted to sell the building several times — $72 million in 2014 ... and $80 million in 2015.
[April 2018]
Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Ben Shaoul is the new owner of Cabrini nursing home, will convert to condos
Report: Local politicians reach out to Ben Shaoul as re-sale of the Cabrini Nursing Center seems likely
More details on Cabrini's closing announcement
A look at the 'Hip young crowd planting roots at Bloom 62'
Have you heard the rooftop parties at Ben Shaoul's Bloom 62? (52 comments)
Ben Shaoul looks to make a whole lot of money converting nursing home into high-end housing
Ben Shaoul is selling Bloom 62 for $73 million — all cash!
1st signs of Ben Shaoul's Bloom 62 going condo on Avenue B?
More details on Ben Shaoul's condo conversion Liberty Toye, where you can buy with bitcoins
A return of the East Village Tavern?
[Photos by Shawn Chittle]
Signage arrived yesterday at the former East Village Tavern space on 10th Street and Avenue C for – East Village Tavern.
The signage notes that someone is "bringing it back" along with "Cocina Mexicana." The sign also features branding for Pilsner Urquell ...
A quick recap of what has happened with this space in the past 18 months...
East Village Tavern closed here in November 2016 after eight years in business. Bar management blamed a disagreement with landlord Steve Croman for the closure. A Croman rep reportedly said that the Tavern owners were behind on rent to the sum of $78,000.
Over the course of eight months, starting in April 2017, three applicants went before CB3 for a new liquor license for the space .... and the Board issued denials in all three cases. The operators of a Miami-based restaurant called the Irish Times Pub and Eatery looked at opening an outpost here. Those plans never materialized.
Last December, CB3 didn't approve a license for the Snow Leopard, a jazz club whose applicants didn't have any ownership experience. And in January, an applicant wanted to open the place to serve "Classic and New American cuisine" with a menu featuring a variety of sandwiches.
In any event, we don't know yet who is behind the new East Village Tavern. It's difficult to imagine that the former Tavern ownership would want to deal with Croman again — and vice versa.
H/T Shawn Chittle!
The boozy Taco Bell on Broadway doesn't appear to be happening
Last fall, Taco Bell announced that it was opening a slew of outposts in the city, including a booze-serving Bell at 647 Broadway near Bleecker.
There hadn't been any activity at the former ZiGi Shoes space... and now a for rent sign has arrived on the storefront.
TB refers reportedly refers to these outposts as cantinas, which "boast flashy millennial-baiting features like digital menu boards, digital queues, open kitchens, and shareable tapas-style menus," per Eater. Popular cantina drink menu items include "Twisted Freezes" — a slushy-like, uh, slush that mixes flavors like margarita, piƱa colada, lemonade and cherry blue raspberry with tequila, rum, vodka, whiskey or spiced rum.
The cantina on the Bushwick/Bed-Stuy border — announced at the same time as the Broadway locale — is reportedly awaiting its liquor license.
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Free Count Dankula on 4th Street
Thanks to EVG reader Liz S. for sharing this from Fourth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... another call to free Count Dankula written on a discarded sofa...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Free Count Dankula on 9th Street
Go on a free walking tour of Tompkins Square Park this Friday afternoon
[Photo from March 31 by Peter Brownscombe]
The Tompkins Square Park Library is hosting another free walking tour of Tompkins Square Park (the one on March 31 was quite popular) ... happening this Friday at 1 p.m.
Per the NYPL website:
Enjoy a visually informative one hour walking tour of Tompkins Square Park with your hosts, East Village street photographer Michael Paul and Tompkins Square Library Manager Corinne Neary, through the East Village's gathering place for picnics, festivals and community events ever since it opened in 1837.
In the mid 19th century the Square offered reprieve from a hard life for our country's new immigrants, in what was once the most densely populated neighborhood in America. See the statues, memorials, landmarks and yes, the trees that currently play home to our park's 21st century residents, the red-tailed hawks Christo and Dora [Ed note: and Amelia]!
The walking tour starts promptly at 1 p.m. (rain, shine or heatwave — oh, and bring water) in front of the Tompkins Square Library, 331 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. RSVP here. This neighborhood walking tour is part of Jane's Walk at Municipal Art Society.
Speaking of Tompkins Square Park and the library... here's a photo by P.L. Sperr from the NYPL Digital Collections ... from Avenue B at Seventh Street circa April 1935 ... with the Empire State Building in the background...
[Click to go big]
As we noted in this EVG post from April 1935, the cart on the corner was the last to sell churned buttermilk before being replaced by yet another peanut vendor.
The Earth School Spring Party and Auction is Saturday night
This Saturday evening, the Earth School (on Sixth Street and Avenue B) is holding its largest fundraising event.
With the Department of Education cutting funding for enrichment programs like P.E., music and overnight camping trips several years back, the Parents Association turned to raising funds to help make up for the deficit.
Here are details via the EVG inbox...
The Earth School Spring Party & Auction
Venue address: Saint Nicholas Hall 157 Avenue A (corner of 10th Street)
Event dates and times: Saturday, May 5, 6-10 p.m.
Event prices: Admission is $30 (pre-sale at link) and $40 at door.
Age range: Adults 21+ only
This isn't just any adult school fundraiser. This is an underground party with plenty of food & drinks to get you warmed up, live and silent auctions, and a DJ for dancing the night away! Some of the items up for grabs during the silent and live auctions: Bowery Hotel one night stay plus Gemma restaurant gift certificate, 3-year Select Membership to Equinox, a VIP Tour of the David Bowie Exhibit, gift certificates to Veselka, Hearth, and many other local restaurants and much more. All proceeds benefit the kids at the Earth School.
In addition, the Parents Association is raffling off a pair of "Hamilton" tickets for $5 each. All proceeds go to the Earth School. Details here.
Pile driving phase over (for good?) at 11 Avenue C
[Photo from yesterday]
After another month of noisy construction on Avenue C and East Houston, the pile driver departed the lot over the weekend.
EVG reader IzF, who lives nearby, shared the news. Now there's hope among neighbors that this is it for the pile driving. There was nearly a one-month reprieve from March 2 to March 29, when the foundation support work started up again, which IzF described this way: "It feels like my bed is being kicked hard by a giant. Horrible."
[Photo from yesterday]
As previously reported, a 10-floor building with 45 luxury rentals via BLDG Management will rise in this triangular lot. (This previous post has a summary of what's been happening here.)
... and from earlier this spring ... someone paid tribute to the NEKST tag (read more about Sean “NEKST” Griffin here) that was visible above the now-demolished gas station here...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Pile driving resumes at the site of the East Village's last gas station, where a 10-floor building will rise
The demolition of the Mobil station and full NEKST reveal
[Photo from September 2016]
Meryl Meisler's Lower East Side of the 1970s and 1980s
[On the Bowery in 1977]
NYC-based photographer Meryl Meisler's work will be on display starting tomorrow in an exhibit coinciding with Lower East Side History Month.
"LES YES!" showcases some of Meisler's photography taken on the Lower East Side during the 1970s and 1980s.
The opening reception is tomorrow night from 6-9 at the Storefront Project, 70 Orchard St. between Broome and Grand. The exhibit is up through June 3. Find more details here.
Meisler was born in the South Bronx and raised in North Massapequa, Long Island. After college in Wisconsin, she returned to NYC in 1975. Here's part of a recent feature on Meisler in the Times:
"I felt like I belonged," she said. "I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, even though I had a teaching degree. Maybe because the city itself was out of joint. I had just come out as a lesbian, but I felt like I belonged here. I felt safe.”
She eventually spent 31 years as a NYC public school art teacher.
Here's a sampling of the LES photos that will be on display...
[On East Houston]
[At the Henry Street Settlement]
[At Famous Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse]
In a recent interview with Bedford + Bowery, she said that she still sees some of the old LES here despite all the changes. "It’s busy and alive and yet, there are still people on the street that are true New Yorkers. New York is always changing, but I still see the essence of it there."
All photos by Meryl Meisler ... and courtesy of The Storefront Project & Stephen Kasher Gallery. Reprinted with permission.
Former New York Central Art Supply store serving as a temp home for the Brunch Theatre
New York Central Art Supply, which closed in September 2016 after 111 years in business, is the home for the fifth season — titled "Black Coffee" — of the Brunch Theatre Company.
Haley Jakobson created the collective in 2015 "as an initiative to bring young people back to the theatre, and to give millennial actors, writers, and directors an opportunity to create new work."
Their three-week run, featuring seven new plays, starts on Saturday here at 62 Third Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street.
Here's more about the season via the Brunch Theatre website:
We'd love to invite you to our opening celebration, Sunday May 6th. Specials will include bottomless mimosas, raffle items, live music, and a talk back with the artists.
The world is ending, and Brunch Theatre has taken refuge in an abandoned art store in Manhattan's East Village. Brave the apocalypse with us for our wildest Brunch experience yet. We've partnered with NYC food trucks to provide rations (vegan and gluten free options available) and we'll keep the champagne flowing because the waters run out.
We cater to your stomach and your short attention span. Don't ditch your weekend brunch plans, make them an experience.
You can find more details about the plays as well as ticket info here. The collective's last slate of plays were staged at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe on Third Street.
Meanwhile, there hasn't been any activity at the former New York Central Art Supply. The Steinberg family, who operated the art supply store for three generations, cited "poor business conditions" and the pending sale of the building as the primary reasons behind the closure.
According to public records, the building sold for $9.3 million to an LLC in 2016 with an address of 62 Third Ave. However, a work permit from last year for a sidewalk bridge lists Jakobson Properties as the owner. Their intentions for the property haven't been made public yet.
Mochii is a new rice flour dessert shop on 7th Street
A recent opening to note... Mochii opened last month (grand opening was April 21) at 116 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.
Here's their description via Facebook (and Instagram): "Rice flour dessert shop offering a healthier alternative while being affordable in a cozy, relaxing environment."
And they serve a variety of Chinese and Japanese desserts, such as mochii ice cream, daifuku (mochi stuffed with red bean paste), Japanese sweet dumplings and Chinese sweet rice balls. You can find their menu and shop hours here.
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
A visit to Anyway Cafe
The New Yorker's Bar Tab feature heads to Anyway Cafe on Second Street near Second Avenue in this week's issue.
An excerpt:
In this cavernous subterranean space, the chairs are filled with East Village denizens out for an evening of Russian music and appropriate refreshments; chilled carafes of vodka and plates of pelmeni (Siberian dumplings) are scattered on the tables, consumed dreamily to the sound of an accordion.
Empty corner storefronts on Avenue A
Someone spray painted this message — "Tax Commercial Vacancies" — over the weekend on the side of the former Benny's Burritos space on Sixth Street and Avenue A.
In late March, Mayor de Blasio told the following to WNYC:
"I am very interested in fighting for a vacancy fee or a vacancy tax that would penalize landlords who leave their storefronts vacant for long periods of time in neighborhoods because they are looking for some top-dollar rent but they blight neighborhoods by doing it."
Anyway, by my count, there are currently six corner storefronts sitting vacant on Avenue A between Houston and 14th Street. (This doesn't count the new retail space for lease in Steiner East Village at 11th Street ... or the incoming Target at 14th Street.)
• Southeast corner of A and Second Street. The Chase branch closed here in November 2015. The space has had six or seven brokers since then. Last October, EastVille Comedy Club looked at taking part of the storefront. However, CB3 denied the application, citing, among other reasons, that this address was never licensed before and that it exists in a saturated zone.
• Northwest corner of A and Third Street. Landmark Bicycles closed here back in October.
• Northwest corner of A and Fourth Street. The Santander bank branch closed here on Friday.
• Southeast corner of A and Fifth Street. This space shouldn't be empty for too much longer: Mast Books is relocating here from a few storefronts away.
• Southwest corner of A and Sixth Street. Benny's shut down in November 2014. The owners of the bar the Black Rose were going to apply for a liquor license for this corner, but those plans never materialized.
• Southeast corner of A and 13th Street. I don't know exactly when Percy's Tavern closed. Back in August they started opening later in the day, foregoing weekend afternoons. In September, a reader told me they were done. I walked by to see — and they were open. My guess is they closed for good at the end of September, about the time applicants for the the Honey Fitz made an unsuccessful attempt for a new liquor license here.
City Council investigating claims of tenant retaliation at NYCHA properties
[Photo of Carlina Rivera yesterday at City Hall via Twitter]
City Council members are taking action following published reports that a resident of the Jacob Riis Houses on Avenue D received an eviction notice after complaining about the NYCHA during a PIX-11 story earlier this month.
During a press conference at City Hall yesterday, New York City Council members Carlina Rivera (District 2) and Ritchie Torres (District 15), chair of the Council Committee on Oversight and Investigations, joined NYCHA residents and advocates to rally against negligent property managers at the Riis Houses. The elected officials say that the property managers are allegedly retaliating against residents who have gone public over the lack of repairs and possible lead exposure in their apartments.
Keshia Benjamin, a Riis Houses resident and organizer of the rally, had her apartment featured on PIX-11 earlier this month over numerous unrepaired health hazards, including leaking pipes that flooded her apartment, damaged doors and bathrooms, and pest, mold, and lead exposure.
Management at Riis Houses reportedly then sent Benjamin a notice that they were examining her record to possibly begin eviction processes for unpaid rent, even though Benjamin said that she had fully paid.
NYCHA officials denied any retaliation, the Daily News reported yesterday.
Following a query by the News, NYCHA officials said that Benjamin's termination notice has been canceled. Per the paper: "It was automatically generated because she had been delinquent on rent within a 12-month period, but has been rescinded because she is now up to date, a spokesperson said."
The spokesperson also said, "NYCHA does not retaliate against residents for any reason."
City Council members claim that Benjamin's story is not the only one at the Riis Houses, and "it appears that Riis property managers are held unaccountable by central staff at NYCHA and use that power to promote a culture of silence amongst residents looking for help."
The Council’s Committee on Oversight and Investigations is now investigating reported instances of retaliatory actions at Riis Houses, as well as the grievance process for tenants and the overall accountability structure within NYCHA.
In addition to the Council investigation, Rivera is planning to introduce legislation to create a formal grievance system so that NYCHA tenants can submit their complaints anonymously and have them investigated fairly. This piece of legislation comes after the recently introduced legislation from Council member Rafael Salamanca that would mandate performance reviews for NYCHA employees.
"NYCHA seems to be focused on moving bad actors around the system whenever they are in the spotlight and not on providing accountability," Rivera said at City Hall yesterday. "This simply cannot continue — the NYCHA must explain themselves in person for these actions."
VVN’s Tea bringing art and tea to the former Neptune space on 1st Avenue
VVN's Tea will mix tea and art when the shop opens at 194 First Ave.
The proprietors, three friends who list artist and designer among their occupations, reportedly signed a five-year lease for the space here between 11th Street and 12th Street.
Here's the concept via the VVN website:
VVN's TEA is a place that not only sells tea, but also promotes a lifestyle. A lifestyle that is centered around the appreciation of tea and the sharing of art.
Every cup is an open canvas, printed with artworks by local artists. When you a cup of tea, you are not just buying the drink, you are buying the whole experience.
You get to take home with you, a tiny piece of artwork and share it with your friends on social media.
The space previously housed the Neptune. The Polish-American restaurant closed in December 2016 after 15 years in business.
The landlord chopped the former Neptune space in half. Chelsea Thai has leased the storefront on the south.
5 big events in May that you may or may not already know about
[Loisaida Festival photo by Stacie Joy]
May marks Lower East Side History Month, the annual celebration created by Fourth Arts Block and Downtown Art, with other local organizations and businesses taking part.
In addition to the activities (see the calendar here) associated with the History Month, here are a few more high-profile events this May...
• May 18-20 — Saint George Ukrainian Festival, Seventh Street. Details here.
• May 19 — Dance Parade and DanceFest, Astor Place, St. Mark's Place and Tompkins Square Park. Details here.
• May 25-27 — The Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. Details here.
• May 27 — Loisaida Festival, Avenue C. Details here.
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