Boulder patrol: Granite blocks now surround Astor Place

[Photo by Derek Berg]

When the boulders started arriving yesterday at Astor Place, I thought we were in for another immersive fan event for "Game of Thrones" ahead of its premiere Sunday on HBO®.

That's not the case, though. The Astor Place Instagram account explains:

Today the @nyc_dot placed new granite blocks around the perimeter of the Astor Place South Plaza, and soon-to-be portions of the North Plaza. While it wouldn’t be unreasonable to ponder if these might be our latest public art, they are in fact new additions to enhance the safety of pedestrians and visitors using the plazas. The actual public art, cafes and seating remain just as open and accessible as always, except it’s now even safer for all to enjoy.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Astor Place NYC (@astorplacenyc) on Apr 11, 2019 at 1:30pm PDT

'Spiritus Mundi' at the 292 Theatre/Gallery

[Pastel on paper by Regina Bartkoff]

A group show of paintings and drawings — titled "Spiritus Mundi" — opens Saturday evening over at the 292 Theatre/Gallery, 292 E. Third St. between Avenue C and Avenue D...



The opening reception is Saturday from 6-9 p.m. And the exhibit is up through June 29. You can check out the gallery Saturdays and Sundays from 1-4 p.m. or by appointment.

The Starbucks on 2nd Avenue and 9th Street closes on Monday

Store closing signs are now up at the Starbucks at 145 Second Ave. (Thanks to Steven for the photos and tip!)

Per the signage, this outpost closes on Monday here on the northwest corner at Ninth Street...



This was expected, as the storefront was recently listed for rent. (Price is "negotiable.")

No word on why this location is closing.

Last June, Starbucks announced that it would close 150 "poorly performing company-operated stores" in 2019, "mostly [in] urban areas that are densely populated with Starbucks locations," as CNN reported.

This makes the second local Starbucks in recents months to shutter. The outpost on Broadway at Ninth Street closed in early January.

Other EV Starbucks are located on First Avenue at 13th Street, First Avenue at Third Street and Avenue A at St. Mark's Place. The 23-year-old location on Astor Place received a major interior renovation last fall.

Previously on EV Grieve:
145 2nd Ave., currently a Starbucks, is for lease

Spring comes alive in East Village community gardens this Sunday

Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens (LUNGS) is hosting its sixth Spring Awakening on Sunday in honor of the neighborhood's community gardens.

The day of garden-related activities begins at 11:30 a.m. at El Sol Brilliante on 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

You can follow the parade route below with the help of the twisty green arrow... the parade wraps up on Avenue C and Ninth Street at La Plaza Cultural and the Ninth Street Community Garden ...



Find more details at the LUNGS website.

Workers on the clock at 250 E. Houston St.

The renovations are now in the rooftop-clock phase at 250 E. Houston St., the former Red Square here between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The west-facing clock wall is undergoing a makeover now...





The original Red Square developers, Michael Rosen and Michael Shaoul, reportedly put the clock in this spot to cover the water tower and elevator shaft. The distinctive clock is a take on MoMA’s "Askew" watch that features a random sequence of numbers. (Hungarian graphic designer Tibor Kalman created this version.)



The Dermot Company, which bought the 13-floor building for $100 million in 2016, has stated they are "creating a more updated style and fit for the cool East Village neighborhood" with the renovations at the retail-residential complex.

While the 18-foot statue of Vladimir Lenin, which stood atop Red Square for 22 years was removed in 2016 (before eventually returning not too far away), the clock appears to be in the renovated building's plans.

Renderings of the new-look No. 250 include the clock with the numbers still out of sequence...





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

Timna is now closed on St. Mark's Place

On March 22, Timna chef Nir Mesika announced on Instagram that the Israeli-Mediterranean restaurant at 109 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue was closing after service on April 14.

Apparently Timna decided to wrap up their nearly four years in service early. Yesterday, EVG correspondent Steven spotted the contents of the restaurant — including chairs and kitchen equipment — stacked on the sidewalk...



... and getting loaded into a waiting truck...



Later yesterday the space was looking desolate...



As for reasons behind the closure, Mesika wrote: "This is undeniably a very difficult decision, which I did not really want to make but was really forced to make. Financial issues and all sort of disagreements have led me to deal with running the restaurant without support, to such extent that it can no longer be sustained."

Reader mailbag: 'Ever hear sirens and wonder?'

On Monday night, there was a report of a fire in an apartment at 70 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. Thankfully the damage was minimal, though the tenant had to temporarily relocate.

This incident prompted a building resident to share this public service announcement:

If you were home, it was scary. Smoke. Flames. Lots of firefighters.

There is only one fire extinguisher (by the trash) for the entire building, which is basically all wood construction with a brick shell. One kitchen accident, faulty appliance, overloaded outlet or untended candle – and it all goes.

Even if the fire is small, smoke and water damage would make at least half or all of the building inhabitable. Bye-bye apartment.

Picture coming home to everything gone or evacuating in minutes (like those of us who were home thought we might have to Monday night) and not being permitted to return, and you know it’s time to — get a fire extinguisher for your apartment!

Saifee Hardware, First Avenue at Seventh Street, has a good selection ... as well as Bed Bath & Beyond, Home Depot, Amazon, etc.

Residents believe a faulty hot plate was the culprit for the fire scare, which led the resident to offer another tip: Check outlets, stove and unplug appliances — like hot plates — not is use.

Wednesday's parting shot

Go straight to hell boys...



Seventh and A.

A 'Lucky 20' reminder: Group show opening reception tonight at the Theater for the New City Art Gallery

Tonight is the opening reception for "Lucky 20," a group show curated by East Village resident (and EVG contributor) Lola Sáenz at the Theater for the New City Art Gallery, 155 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

The exhibit features works — paintings, sculpture, photography and mixed media — by artists who live or have worked in the East Village/Lower East Side. (The show includes photos by James Maher, who, for five-and-a-half-years, contributed the feature Out and About in the East Village to this site. We miss you James!)

The opening reception happens tonight (April 10!) from 5:30 to 8. And the gallery is open for viewing daily from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. through May 11.

Previously.

Review documents are now available for the East Side Coastal Resiliency project

[East River Park view from Monday]

Back on Friday afternoon, the New York City Department of Design and Construction released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, quietly moving forward (via a tweet at 3:59 p.m.) the public review phase for the $1.45 billion project to stormproof the east side.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the East Side Coastal Resiliency (#ESCR) project has been completed and is now publicly available on the City’s dedicated ESCR website https://t.co/DtglzMVDjW pic.twitter.com/gJRPKwaYCl

— NYC DDC (@NYCDDC) April 5, 2019

There are hundreds and hundreds of pages of documents with footnotes and collateral materials (the table of contents alone is a unwieldy 32 pages).

To date, Patch is the only media outlet that I've seen cover the release of these documents.

For starters, you can find all the materials at this link.

The documents offer several alternatives to protect the east side, though, as stated, the preferred method is the updated one unveiled last fall that caught community groups, residents and local elected officials by surprise ... the one in which the city plans to "lift" East River Park by up to 10 feet when work starts in March 2020.

However, to do this, the city will need to close East River Park for up to three and a half years, shutting down the current amenities, cutting down many of the trees and rebuilding the recently renovated running track, among other things.

City officials have said in various presentations that this approach will provide a reduced construction time, resulting in an operable flood protection system for the 2023 hurricane season.

The city is accepting public comments through Aug. 15, which might be enough time to make it through all the documents. This link has details on how — and where — to comment. (Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that the city is offering any quick recaps/overviews of the various alternatives to burying the park — you've have to wade through pages of impenetrable copy. I'm still going through the materials myself.)

A public hearing is set for July 31 with the City Planning Commission along with the Office of Management and Budget and the Parks & Recreation Department. More on the when and where closer to the date.

Meanwhile, the newly formed community group called the East River Alliance continues to help organize various East River Park stakeholders and to ensure that the design and reconstruction "reflects our community’s needs and values."

The group is hosting an informational meeting tonight between 6:30-8:30 at PS15, The Roberto Clemente School, 333 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D. Alliance members have been documenting life along the East River Park on Instagram. As they note, this is the last spring to enjoy the Park for the next several years...

View this post on Instagram

Great weekend to enjoy one of the last springs in the East River Park for some time before the city rips everything apart for some long overdue flood protection. However there are still serious questions about the plan. Come join the East River Alliance at our next general meeting to learn more about how you can fight back and advocate for our LES community: Wednesday, April 10th, 6:30-8:30pm, PS15, The Roberto Clemente School, 333 East Fourth Street, NYC. #eastriveralliance #lowereastside #ps15nyc #robertoclementehighschool #les #saveourparks

A post shared by East River Alliance (@eastriveralliance) on Apr 7, 2019 at 11:18pm PDT

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: The reality of storm-proofing East River Park in 2020

Storm center: Questions linger over updated plans for the East Side Coastal Resiliency project

Report: Landmark Theatres now booking films at the Quad on 13th Street

[EVG file photo]

Back in December, distributor, producer and real-estate magnate Charles S. Cohen bought the Landmark Theatres chain from Mark Cuban.

So perhaps it isn't a surprise to learn that Landmark Theatres is now booking the films nearby at the Cohen-owned Quad Cinema (an EVG favorite) on 13th Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue, as IndieWire first reported last evening.

Moving forward, the fourplex theater — Manhattan's first multiplex when it opened in 1972 — will be known as the Landmark Quad Cinema.

Per the IndieWire article:

[The Quad has] played specialized films for most of its existence, but never with the clout and expertise of Landmark. Still, it’s unlikely to vault ahead of its Lower Manhattan competition.

And...

Under Landmark, it remains to be seen whether the Quad will continue to provide a haven for viable titles that don’t conform to 90-day theatrical windows and don’t want to four-wall screens to play them. In New York City, reportedly the IFC Center is the only other theater willing to provide this opportunity to select distributors.

Consistent with Cohen Releasing’s acquisition of primarily foreign-language titles, the Quad has played many first-run subtitled films. One question to be confirmed is the continuation of repertory programming, which has previously been a priority for Cohen. ... According to Cohen, the Landmark Quad Cinema will continue to showcase restored and classic films.

As previously reported, Cohen bought the Quad Cinema in 2014. The theater reopened after extensive renovations in April 2017.

Landmark operated the Sunshine Cinema on East Houston Street until January 2018. The theater, which dates to 1898, is awaiting demolition to make way for an office building.

And one more tidbit from the IndieWire piece: Regal's Union Square theater will temporarily lose six screens this summer to renovation. Meanwhile, as first noted on Sunday, the Regal Essex Crossing is now open.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A quick look at the all-new Quad Cinema

A look inside the former Sidewalk

Gut renovations continue inside 94-94 Avenue A, previously home to the Sidewalk Bar and Restaurant for nearly 34 years.

As you can see, workers have stripped down the interior of the former restaurant space on the Sixth Street side ...


[Photo by Steven]

As noted in previous posts, the new owners of the bar-restaurant space are hospitality veterans Laura Saniuk-Heinig and Alyssa Sartor. (Saniuk-Heinig was the general manager at the Bar Room on East 60th Street; Sartor co-owned August Laura in Carroll Gardens.)

A live music element is expected to continue when the new place opens, but most details haven't been made public.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The building housing the former Sidewalk sells on Avenue A

New owners set to take over the 33-year-old Sidewalk Bar & Restaurant on Avenue A

Tuesday's parting shots

Some chilly spring shots today via riachung00 from along Ninth Street/Stuyvesant Street...

In the ruff: Repairs continue at the small dog run in Tompkins Square Park

Several EVG readers have shared photos from this past week showing repair work underway in the small dog run in Tompkins Square Park.

Work started last Thursday...


[Photo from Saturday]

... and is expected to be complete for a reopening on Thursday...[Updated: Saturday is the new reopening date]


[Photo from today]

One regular noted that the renovated space will include artificial grass designed specifically for dogs. More details on this later.

All photos here by Steven. And H/T Derek Berg for first reporting on the coming changes!

Landmarks Preservation Commission to hear air-rights transfer proposal today for 3 St. Mark's Place

This afternoon, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) will hear an application to transfer air rights from the landmarked Hamilton-Holly House at 4 St. Mark's Place to enable an increase in the size of a planned office building on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

This is the next step in the approval process for Real Estate Equities Corporation (REEC), the leaseholder of 3 St. Mark's Place.

Patch summarized the steps ahead for REEC in an article from February:

REEC is asking asking the Landmarks Preservation Commission to issue a report to the City Planning Commission to allow for 10-story building. If the LPC gives the greenlight, REEC would then apply for a special permit for around 8,300 square feet of air rights and modify part of the zoning resolution through a special permit.

Once in City Planning's hands, the special permit would snake through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), which is ultimately sent to City Council where the local councilmember, Carlina Rivera, would have a binding vote. Rivera has not yet weighed in, but her spokesman said the councilmember is listening to community feedback.

On Feb. 13, REEC reps appeared before CB3's Landmarks Committee, who voted 2-1 against the special permit. (You can read the recaps at Curbed ... Gothamist ... and Patch.)

On Feb. 26, the full CB3 board voted to oppose the proposed transfer of development rights — 8,386 square feet in total, per the meeting minutes.

REEC has already filed permits (last October) for an as-of-right five-story, 29,030-square-foot building on the corner. If the air rights deal is ultimately OK'd, then the Morris Adjimi-designed building at 3 St. Mark's Place would rise to 10 stories.

REEC picked up the 99-year leasehold for the properties — the prepped-for-demolition 1 St. Mark's Place, 3 St. Mark’s Place, 23 and 25-27 Third Ave. — for nearly $150 million in November 2017.

The LPC public hearing is expected to start today at 1:45 p.m. in the Municipal Building, 1 Centre St., 9th Floor North, public hearing room. Village Preservation is rallying opposition to the transfer. Read more from them at this link.

Updated 7:45 p.m.

Patch had a reporter at the hearing:

Landmarks sent REEC and the architect back to the drawing board recommending they lower the structure's first setback to better match St. Mark's street wall — though some commissioners were generally supportive of air rights transfer.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Developers of 3 St. Mark's Place are looking to increase the size of their proposed office building at 3rd Avenue to 10 floors with air-rights deal

The lobbyists behind the air-rights transfer and zoning variance for 3 St. Mark's Place

Concern over potential air-rights transfer for new office building on St. Mark's Place and 3rd Avenue

In the L-Zone: The Little Tree That Could

The following is via the residents of 542 E. 14th St.

Among the many egregious acts the MTA has foisted upon our area is the chainsawing down of all of our old growth trees in the median from the mid block (between Avenues A and B) to Avenue B — except for one tree.

This lone tree survived the chainsawing but is now in peril because its protective fencing is damaged, and the MTA workers are using the space around its trunk to pile brick, pipes, stones, debris and garbage.

After 19 months of work (with no end in sight), this tree has managed to survive the diesel fumes, bulldozing, chainsawing and pollution from this project. It's the Little Tree That Could.

We think the tree deserves to survive and thought it is also a good metaphor for the damage that's been inflicted on our few blocks. The tree, and our neighborhood, deserve better.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Nightmare scenario for residents who learn that 14th Street and Avenue A will be the main staging area for the L-train reconstruction

Report: Archdiocese of New York announces affordable-housing projects; fate of 2 East Village churches unknown

[EVG photo of Church of the Nativity from March 16]

Catholic Homes New York, the affordable housing unit of Catholic Charities and the Archdiocese of New York, announced plans yesterday to redevelop several existing properties to provide 2,000 affordable units in NYC over the next 10 years.

Not on the affordable-housing list for now, as Gothamist first noted, are the now-closed Church of the Nativity on Second Avenue between Second Street and Third Street, and the Church of Saint Emeric on 13th Street near Avenue D.

The Cooper Square Community Land Trust has been actively trying to buy and develop these two properties for use as low-income housing.

Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, said that he was not aware of the plans for these two East Village parcels.

Per Gothamist yesterday:

"While we commend the church for the good they are doing, we remain opposed to the church disposing of properties in gentrifying neighborhoods that are in danger of luxury condo development," said Val Orselli, a project director with Cooper Square Community Land Trust. "The church has not merely an obligation to do good but it also has an obligation not to do harm."

As Curbed reported in February, the Archdiocese of New York was said to be considering a proposal to turn the 300,000-square-foot property that housed Saint Emeric on 13th Street, which includes a former school, over to a land trust for 400 units of below-market-rate housing.

The Cooper Square Community Land Trust is expected to host a town hall next month with Community Board 3 to discuss "how decommissioned churches can be best utilized by the Archdiocese and the communities they once served."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looking at the Church of Saint Emeric on East 13th Street

From St. Emeric's to St. Brigid's

Educator: Turning the former Church of the Nativity into luxury housing would be a 'sordid use' of the property

The fight to keep Church of the Nativity from becoming luxury housing

City reportedly winning the rat race; the return of rat-friendly trash cans to Tompkins Square Park

[Photo from December by Vinny & O]

The Wall Street Journal provides an update on the city's $32 million effort to reduce its rat population. (The article is behind the paper's paywall.)

A quick takeaway:

And while it is working, city officials said changes in temperature could make it harder to keep the fast-breeding vermin in check. Warmer winters like this season's, which didn't have sustained below-freezing temperatures, increase rat populations.

"You need three weeks of below-freezing weather so they don't come out for food," said Deputy Mayor Laura Anglin, who oversees the rat-fighting initiative.

Regardless, since the mayor launched his rat-fighting campaign in 2017, information from NYC's 311 service shows that overall rat complaints are down. "Across the city, they fell 7% in 2018 compared with 2017, the biggest reduction in more than a decade," per the Journal.

Anglin gave credit to the use of dry ice instead of poison to suffocate rats from their burrows as well as the installation of those solar-powered Big Belly garbage cans in city parks — including Tompkins Square Park. (Per the article: The 124 parks in rat zones had a 43% reduction in rat burrows.)

Those Big Bellies arrived in and around Tompkins in July 2017. (The Daily News reported at the time that each can costs $7,000.)

While the city is citing success with the Big Bellies, they'd likely have even more (as we've pointed out previously) if the city emptied the trash cans more often — especially on these nice spring days.


[Photo from Sunday morning]

Several EVG readers have also noted that the Parks crew is now using the rat-friendly trash cans again in Tompkins for some reason...



As one reader noted, people tend to use the regular trash cans over a Big Belly given the choice...


[Photos from March 30]

P.S.

Ending with some fun facts and a rather lyrical quote from Robert Corrigan, a rodentologist who has worked as a consultant for the city. He told the Journal that on some Manhattan blocks, rats likely outnumber people 5 to 1.

"They're in sewers, they're in subways, they’re in parks, they're in people’s ceilings," he said. "It's hard to think of where they are not."

Shiina closes on 3rd Avenue

Shiina, a women's boutique selling clothing, accessories and makeup, has closed at 83 Third Ave. at 12th Street.

The shop opened in June 2017 here in the base of NYU's Third North dorm.

Until Shiina arrived, the storefront had been empty for nearly two years after Pushcart Coffee vacated the space. The address was previously home to Just Sweet, which sold bubble tea and desserts.

In more positive retail news for the NYU dorm retail space, H Mart is opening soon in the long-vacant shops along the base of Alumni Hall on Third Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

Report: Brant Foundation releasing more tickets for Basquiat exhibit

The Brant Foundation is releasing a new block of tickets for people to check out the Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition at the Brant Foundation's Sixth Street home.

As artnet News reports, the foundation is expanding its daily capacity from 1,100 to 2,000 guests to accommodate more visitors.

All 50,000 of the free tickets were apparently reserved even before the exhibition officially opened on March 6.

"The demand for tickets was not a huge surprise," Allison Brant told artnet News in an email. "We knew how beloved Jean-Michel Basquiat is and that people would not want to miss an opportunity to see this many works together again, especially in the East Village."

The exhibition, featuring some 70 works collectively valued at $1 billion, is up through May 15 at the Brant Foundation, 421 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. Hit this link to reserve tickets.


[Photo by riachung00]

Previously on EV Grieve:
1 month in: Basquiat at the Brant Foundation