Monday's parting shot

Photo on Second Avenue today via Derek Berg...

StuyFitness debuts on 14th Street

StuyFitness, the new gym on 14th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C for residents of Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village, opened today. (Thanks EVG reader Brian!)

As previously noted, the gym — "7,500 Square Feet of Awesome" — features four Peloton spin bikes and a GYM RAX Storage and Suspension system, among other things.

This site has membership info for residents of Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A gym for Stuy Town on 14th Street — aka '7,500 Square Feet of Awesome'

Tree Bistro's back garden badly damaged in last week's 1st Avenue fire

The low-key Tree Bistro, known for its cozy backyard garden, has not been open since the early-morning fire last Wednesday.

EVG regular Lola Sáenz shared these photos from Saturday...







There is currently a partial vacate order at the address — issued for the rear yard, per the DOB.

To date, there isn't any message to patrons on the Tree Bistro website or Facebook page. Attempts to reach anyone at the restaurant weren't successful.

Report: 188 1st Ave. survives fire; back extension must be demolished

There were concerns about the future of 188 First Ave. after last week's 6-alarm fire. There was speculation that the fire-damaged five-story building might need to be demolished here between 11th Street and 12th Street.

However, city officials said that No. 188 withstood the blaze and won't need to come down.

As Patch reported:

Department of Buildings engineers "have determined that the structural stability of [the building] was unaffected by the fire," according to department spokesman Andrew Rudansky. The structure won't face the wrecking ball.

However, Rudansky said that the extension behind Uogashi will need to be removed...


[Photo on Oct. 3 by Hillary Johnson]

There are eight apartments in the building. Residents have been allowed back in to retrieve personal belongings, but No. 188 is still under a full vacate order, per the DOB.

Officials said they believe the fire, which injured 17 people, including 14 firefighters, began in the restaurant. An exact cause has not been determined.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A look at the fire-damaged Uogashi; plus video of when the fire started at 188 1st Ave.

Post-fire updates on 1st Avenue

Watch this drone footage of the fire at 188 1st Ave.

[Updating] Post fire, 1 lane of northbound traffic returns to 1st Avenue

[Updating] Report of injuries during major fire at 188 1st Ave.

Heavy-duty fencing arrives as playground renovations continue in Tompkins Square Park

Renovation work started last Monday on the Tompkins Square Park Avenue B children’s playgrounds. (This project has been three-plus years in the making.)

Later last week, more sturdy fencing arrived on the southeast portion of the Park...



The entrances on Seventh Street at Avenue B and Eighth Street at Avenue B are closed, and will likely be that way for the duration of the renovations that are estimated to take 12 months.



According to the Parks Department website: "This project will reconstruct two playgrounds with new play equipment, safety surfacing, spray showers, seating and fencing.

And a schematic from the website...



The Parks Department is supplementing the project's funding with its Parks Without Borders initiative that would lower the fences from its present height of 7 feet to 4 feet, a move that stirred plenty of concern in early 2017.

Parks officials believe the shorter fences make the play areas safer — "lowering barriers that block sight lines discourages negative behavior while at the same time making the green space more open and aesthetically pleasing," as DNAinfo reported at the time.

Last we heard, in March 2017, Parks Department Commissioner Mitchell Silver was reportedly going to make the final determination on the fence lowering.

In an email last week, a Parks official confirmed that the new fence height will be 4 feet.



The newly fenced-off area is also where Christo and Amelia's nest is ... limiting access for prime hawk watching.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Your chance to brainstorm ideas to renovate the Tompkins Square Park Playground (27 comments)

Reminders: Meeting on possible improvements to the Tompkins Square Park Playground

Join Rosie Mendez to discuss improvements to the Tompkins Square playgrounds tomorrow night

Community meeting set to discuss lowering the playground fences in Tompkins Square Park (28 comments)

Report: There's opposition to lowering the playground fences in Tompkins Square Park

Playground renovations underway in Tompkins Square Park

The Marshal seizes Papa John's on 1st Avenue

The Marshal came calling to the Papa John's outpost on First Avenue last Wednesday...



The storefront between 12th Street and 13th Street is now in legal possession of the landlord.

There have been recent reports that Papa John's could close up to 250 stores if sales do not improve.

Per CNBC:

In July, same-store sales at the beleaguered pizza chain plunged 10.5 percent after it came to light that Papa John's founder had used a racially charged slur on a conference call. That trend continued in August.

This Papa John's opened in November 2010.

Our Papa John's archives can be found here.

Here's your Möge Tee signage on Cooper Square

The Möge Tee signage arrived back on Friday here at 69 Cooper Square between St. Mark's Place and Seventh Street... As first noted on Sept. 4, this will be the third location for the Flushing-based bubble-tea business specializing in cheese teas.

This will be the second bubble/cheese tea purveyor to open in the immediate area. Mi Tea is coming to 19-23 St. Mark's Place as reported on Aug. 14.



This space at 69 Cooper Square was previously Cafe Zaiya, the Japanese bakery-cafe that closed in the spring.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Möge Tee bringing bubble tea and other teas to Cooper Square

80 stories of glass now at One Manhattan Square

An EVG reader notes that the glass has apparently reached the top of One Manhattan Square, Extell's 80-story, 847-foot-tall tower down at 252 South St. (basically the former Pathmark) ... looks that way from down here...



... but not here...


[Photo from Sept. 26]

The building will have 815 residential units starting above $1 million as well as 100,000 square feet of outdoor and indoor amenities, including an indoor basketball court, a bowling alley, a tea pavilion and a private theater. (Movies, not plays!)

Previously on EV Grieve:
The changing downtown skyline as seen from Avenue B

Sunday's parting shots

Any day spent with you is my favorite day.

A Winnie the Pooh day on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... above via Derek Berg ... and below, later in the day, via an EVG reader...

Week in Grieview

[Signs of fall in Tompkins Square Park]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Report of injuries during major fire at 188 1st Ave. (Wednesday) ... Watch this drone footage of the fire at 188 1st Ave. (Wednesday) ... After the fire: A look at 188 1st Ave. (Wednesday) ... A look at the fire-damaged Uogashi; plus video of when the fire started at 188 1st Ave. (Friday)

Exclusive: The Boys' Club of New York puts the Harriman Clubhouse on the sales market for $32 million (Friday)

Report: NYU student dies jumping in front of L train at 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

CB2 SLA committee OKs license for new ownership of Great Jones Cafe (Wednesday) ... Petition asks new owners of the Great Jones Cafe to keep the wings on the menu (Friday)

East Village history at the Tompkins Square Library branch this month (Tuesday)

Playground renovations underway in Tompkins Square Park (Monday)

This week's NY See (Thursday)

Liquiteria closing 2nd Avenue outpost after 22 years in business (Monday)

Feltman’s moving away from Theatre 80 on St Mark's Place (Monday)

On 6th Street, the Ukrainian Museum debuting Andy Warhol exhibit this weekend (Friday)

It's October, which also means it's Hitchcocktober (Wednesday)

Why El Jardín del Paraíso is temporarily closed (Tuesday)

Marshalls opens on Houston Street (Thursday)

A look at the coming-soon signage at the Moxy East Village (Thursday) ... and a few Moxy East Village details (Monday)

A note for a bicycle thief (Monday)

Tropic Bowl brings the açaí bowls to 1st Avenue (Monday)

787 Coffee now open on 7th Street (Wednesday)

Milestones for LinkNYC; ongoing concerns about tracking movements (Tuesday)

Here's Mister Paradise (Wednesday)

Full reveal at 363 Lafayette (Monday)

The return of the cowboy on Avenue A (Thursday)

Report: Supreme leasing temp space at 190 Bowery (Wednesday)

The 13th Step loses the 13th on 2nd Avenue (Thursday)

... and flyers/stickers from a tumultuous few weeks...


[1st Street]


[11th Street]


[Avenue A]


[2nd Avenue]


[The Bowery]

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Tales from the crypto: Thirteen East + West tokenized on blockchain

[Plywood rendering of Thirteen East + West]

An item of of interest from this past week about Thirteen East + West condos, the recently constructed twin residences on 13th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The condoplexes are reportedly the first major assets in NYC to be tokenized on Ethereum.

Per Forbes:

Ryan Serhant ... is the listing broker on the deal. He and the developer are turning to tokenization as a new method of financing, which could serve as a better alternative for the project and investors.

Tokenization is the process of representing the ownership of real world assets digitally on a blockchain. This new method of financing is the result of the partnership between Propellr and Fluidity, two companies that have joined forces to offer compliant products and services for the creation, distribution, and transfer of digital securities.

[EdNote: I have no idea what any of that means.]

And a look at the residences...


[No. 442]


[No. 436]

Each 6-floor building features six full-floor, two-bedroom homes with prices ranging between $2.350 million and $3.7 million.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Tracking the coming changes to East 13th Street between Avenue A and 1st Avenue

A look at the new luxury condos coming soon to East 13th Street

Temporary art and future condos on East 13th Street

Demo time for East 13th Street garages that will yield to luxury condos

A look at the residences coming to Thirteen East + West on East 13th Street

Full exposures at Thirteen East + West

A look at 'Ribbons of Justice'

A new mural will be officially unveiled today at the 12C Outdoor Gallery on Avenue C and 12th Street. (195 Avenue C.)

Daphne Arthur and Robert Galinsky created the work, titled "Ribbons of Justice."

Here's more via the EVG inbox...

With support from a grant from the SOZE Agency, artists Daphne Arthur and Robert Galinsky work in collaboration with various criminal justice reform groups and individuals, to create "Ribbons of Justice", a mural that features writings, commentary, and advice from boys and girls, men and women, who are currently serving time at Rikers Island Jail and/or have served time incarcerated. Through workshops and interviews, Arthur and Galinsky engaged with scores of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people and distilled the writing into short powerful statements that address mass incarceration.

The mural image is the Statue of Liberty wrapped in unraveling and flowing ribbons, each printed with affirmative quotes and conscientious demands for justice and prison reforms. Echoing sentiments and experiences from formerly incarcerated individuals, we are confronted with a sense of hope and responsibility to restructure and create a healthier society.

The ceremony starts at noon.

Steamy Saturday

At least on 10th Street and Avenue A where Con Ed (continues) to work... thanks to Brian Orce for the photo!

Time for the 6th and B Garden Harvest Festival

Here are a few details about today's Harvest Festival at the 6th Street and Avenue B Community Garden via the Facebook Events page:

Once again we have our annual neighborhood harvest festival with our legendary free to the public, delicious chicken and corn bar-b-cue and great entertainment on our stage. Plus our famous neighborhood raffle with dozens of great prizes from local businesses. Drop by, have some food, listen to the entertainment, buy a raffle ticket or two or three or more. All proceeds go to the upkeep of the garden.

BRAZILIAN DANCE MUSIC with David Acker and Dale Kleps will be performing Brazilian Sambas, Choros, Bayonnes and more at 4:30 p.m.!

The festivities take place from 2 to 7 p.m. (The rain date is tomorrow same time.)

This note is nothing to sniff at

Spotted on 13th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... the sign says: "perfect for heavy cocaine use."



Thanks to Bayou for the photo (and headline)!

'Spacewoman' odyssey

The video for "Spacewoman" by The Breeders was released this week. The song is off the band's 2018 release All Nerve.

The Astor Place Starbucks is back open FYI

The 23-year-old Starbucks on Astor Place went dark on July 30 for a much-needed (apparently) interior rehab.

Anyway, they are back in action today (or was it yesterday? The place was still closed in the a.m.). A quick glance shows new, more comfortable seating and a larger area for checkout.

The restrooms likely received an upgrade too. As one Yelp user noted: "The bathrooms look like they run a cockfighting ring out of them."

This outpost opened in the spring of 1995. As The New York Times noted then, this 5,000-square-foot, 80-seat Starbuck's was "the chain's largest outlet in Manhattan."

Updated 5:19 p.m.

Here's an interior pic via @unitof ...

Noted

Spotted on 11th and A today...

[Updated] Exclusive: The Boys' Club of New York puts the Harriman Clubhouse on the sales market for $32 million

Officials at the Boys' Club of New York (BCNY) are moving forward with their plans to sell the Harriman Clubhouse on 10th Street and Avenue A.

A listing for the 7-story building is now active on the Cushman & Wakefield website.

The listing notes that the property's new owner could continue on with an "educational/recreational use," though the emphasis seems to be on the recent luxury development in the area:

The building is currently configured as a 7 story walk up building and features and expansive 119’ of frontage on East 10th Street and 71.25’ along Avenue A. The 9,067-square foot (119’ x 102.21’ IRR.) lot is split zoned as R7A/R8B with a commercial C2-5 overlay – commercial FAR 2.0, Residential FAR 3.45/4.0, with IH 4.6 community facility 4.0. The building will be delivered vacant making for an ideal conversion opportunity or continued educational/recreational use by an end user.

The 50,000-square foot building is comprised of classroom, office, gymnasium, auditorium, music studios, recreational and pool space. Every floor boasts 10’+ ceilings with many touting double height ceilings. The concrete slab construction enables virtually beamless floor plates and allows for large open rooms.

The East Village is home to a number of newly completed condo and rental developments. Many of which has already been absorbed by neighborhood demand or sold before building completion. The Steiner at 437 East 12th Street, The Jefferson on 211 East 13th Street and 100 Avenue A are among many of the condo developments that are rapidly selling in the neighborhood.

The asking price: $32 million. (The set-up PDF is here.)

As I first reported in June, Executive Director Stephen Tosh told alumni of the BCNY's plan to sell the clubhouse, which opened in 1901. The BCNY would continue to use the space through June 2019. (You can find more background here.)

According to the letter to alumni, the BCNY will look to rent space elsewhere on the Lower East Side to continue with programming for Harriman members after the closure next summer. The letter also stated that the sale of the East Village building would allow BCNY the opportunity to start new programs in other communities, including Brownsville, East New York and/or the South Bronx.

In his letter. Tosh wrote that: "The neighborhood surrounding the building has changed dramatically since Mr. Harriman built this building, especially in the past few decades."

In August, the Daily News obtained a copy of the Feb. 24, 2015, BCNY board meeting minutes, in which Tosh stated that "enrollment was actually rising sharply, based on an increase over the preceding five-year period, mainly among boys and young men from low-income families."

This past Saturday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Sen. Brad Hoylman, Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, City Council member Carlina Rivera and Manhattan Community Board 3 officials held a press conference outside the Clubhouse to urge the BCNY board to postpone the sale until they consult with the community in "good faith."



According to Hoylman, a sale of the Harriman Clubhouse would make it "the latest casualty in the battle against gentrification in the East Village," citing the 2012 sale of the Mary Help of Christians property on Avenue A and 12th Street to developer Douglas Steiner. (During the summer of 2013, workers demolished the church, school and rectory to make way for ultra-luxury condos that Steiner named after himself.)

"More than a quarter of Lower East Side residents live below the federal poverty level," Hoylman said in a statement. "Clearly, families in the East Village and Lower East Side still need the services and programs offered at the Harriman Clubhouse. I urge the Boys’ Club of New York to identify the needs of boys and young men in our community and meet with us to try to find a solution to save this precious neighborhood resource."

As Patch reported last week, Tosh declined meeting with elected officials in a Sept. 14 letter. "Our role in the neighborhood defines us," Tosh said. "It is also bigger than any one building. Wherever our East Village clubhouse is situated, we remain a vital part of an ever-changing area."

Updated 11:45 a.m.

Upon learning of the this listing, Sen. Hoylman issued this statement:

"It’s extremely disappointing that the Boys’ Club is putting the Harriman Clubhouse on the open market for $32 million without community engagement, an analysis of local needs or concrete plans to continue their services and programs for young men and boys in the East Village and Lower East Side. The local community has good reason to be angry and confused, and will, unfortunately, see this as another example of a nonprofit selling out the neighborhood, putting real-estate profits ahead of the needs of young people and contributing to the wholesale gentrification of their neighborhood."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Local elected officials urge Boys' Club officials to postpone sale of the Harriman Clubhouse

Boys' Club of New York selling East Village building; will remain open through June 2019

During noon rally today, local elected officials will seek postponement of Boys' Club building sale

On 6th Street, the Ukrainian Museum debuting Andy Warhol exhibit this weekend

Here's part of the announcement via the EVG inbox...

The Ukrainian Museum is delighted to announce that it will open the exhibition "Andy Warhol: Endangered Species" to the public on Sunday, Oct. 7. Commemorating the 90th anniversary of the birth of Andy Warhol (1928-1987), this is the first Warhol exhibition ever organized by a Ukrainian American organization.

"Endangered Species" is on loan from the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyo. James Warhola, an artist, writer, book illustrator and nephew of Andy Warhol, is a special contributor to the displays in the exhibition.

The exhibition includes the 10 silkscreens in the "Andy Warhol: Endangered Species" series from 1983 — Bighorn Ram, Black Rhinoceros, Grevy's Zebra, Orangutan, San Francisco Silverspot, African Elephant, Bald Eagle, Siberian Tiger, Pine Barrens Tree Frog, and Giant Panda — as well as the silkscreen Sea Turtle (1985).

An important component of the show at The Ukrainian Museum will be a section dedicated to Andy Warhol's early years growing up in Pittsburgh. At the vanguard of the Pop Art movement, Warhol is recognized as one of its greatest architects. But the influences from his youth, when he was immersed in the culture of his Carpatho-Rusyn origins, impacted his evolution into a world-renowned artist.

This exhibition not only features the still relevant "Endangered Species" series, but also looks at Warhol's heritage and other inspirations from his early years that spurred him along the path toward becoming one of the most influential American artists. Augmenting the "Endangered Species" exhibition are several early drawings by Warhol, as well as a few personal artifacts and family photo prints.

You can find more details at this link.

The Ukrainian Museum is located at 222 E. Sixth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square. Museum hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"Andy Warhol: Endangered Species" will be on view through Feb. 17.