A visit to Gem Spa

Photos and interview by Stacie Joy

Updated: Since this post, Zoltar has been removed from the shop's front. Gem Spa has also reduced hours and discontinued newspaper sales.

Parul Patel is running a few minutes late for our appointment and she calls to say she’s on her way. So I use the time to take in Gem Spa, the iconic corner shop and newsstand at 131 Second Ave. and St. Mark’s Place that has a long history in the neighborhood — and not just for its signature egg creams. (Look at the Gem Spa Wikipedia entry for its sprawling legend.)

Patel, whose 76-year-old father Ray owns the shop, soon arrives, issuing a flurry of instructions to employees as she sets up the house special chocolate egg cream (seen below with pretzel stick and chocolate-covered jelly ring).









As her father’s in declining health, Parul has been handling the store’s management. The Patel family has owned the store since 1986.

Parul says the egg cream has been made for almost 100 years at this address. While chocolate is the current best-selling flavor, she also offers vanilla, strawberry, orange creamsicle, and black-and-white.

She plans to debut some new flavors soon – and scoop! – I saw the creation of the first-ever cookies and cream version.







Future flavors also include mocha and hazelnut or Nutella flavor. Upcoming offerings may include ice cream and milkshakes, and new flavors of e-cigs, as well as adding jewelry and handbags to the hats and accessories already being sold outside the shop.



Last month, Gem Spa lost its license to sell lottery and tobacco products (with the exception of e-cigs) due to an employee twice selling cigarettes to an undercover underage buyer. The state has suspended the store’s license for six months and also leaves them unable to apply for a license to sell beer.

Neighborhood icon (and EVG favorite!) Zoltar arrived in 2011, when the machine’s owner offered to license it to Gem Spa. (They keep 50% of the profits.) Zoltar seems to be busiest at night although he gets to pose with tourists often during the day.





The store recently joined Instagram — you can follow it here.

Gem Spa has also been enjoying some media exposure of late, including a deep dive on the shop's history at Gothamist... and a visit by NY1's affable Roger Clark.











“Gem Spa serves and loves its locals, tourists, and eccentrics,” Parul tells me, before sending me on my way with a chocolate-covered jelly-topped graham cracker and a smile.





Visit our previous A Visit To features here.

A new storefront for A Repeat Performance, and word about the next tenant

[Photo Saturday by Dan Scheffey]

A Repeat Performance received a new storefront last weekend.

As we previously reported, the bric-a-brac shop at 156 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street is closing on July 31 after 39 years in business.

Store founder Beverly Bronson died last May. Sharon Jane Smith (pictured below), who has worked at the shop since 1987, has said that it's time to move on...


[Photo Tuesday by Steven]

So why a new storefront for a business that's closing in a few months?

Smith told EVG correspondent Steven this week that her friend, jewelry designer Lisa Linhardt, will be moving into the space after A Repeat Performance closes this summer. "So it’s not going to be the disaster that people think," Smith said.

Linhardt originally had a shop right next door, starting in 2008, but moved to Mott Street in 2013. She misses the neighborhood.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A Repeat Performance, until July 31

The Marshal visits Thaimee Table, who will return next week

Several readers (H/T Laura for the photos!) noted the arrival of a notice from the Marshal on Thaimee Table, the well-regarded Thai restaurant at 99 Third Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street...



A similar notice — that the property is now in legal possession of the landlord — is on the front door of chef-owner Hong Thaimee's off-shoot, Thaimee Box, on 13th Street near Second Avenue.

There's isn't any mention of a closure on the Thaimee website or social media properties. But there is good news for Thaimee fans: In an email, Chef Thaimee's business partner, Matt Bruck, said that they planned to reopen next week. And those notices from the Marshal?: "We are working it all out."

Chef Thaimee, who previously worked in the kitchens at Jean-Georges’ Spice Market and Perry Street restaurants, opened Ngam in 2012 (The Village Voice named Ngam NYC's No. 1 Thai restaurant in 2013) ... the restaurant was later renamed Thaimee Table.

Capital One leaves the East Village

Capital One has closed its remaining two bank branches in the East Village. Wednesday was the last call for the outpost on 10th Street and Second Avenue (above) and Avenue C at Third Street (below).



Your CO banking business can now be done at the flagship outpost on Union Square. Or maybe the CO branch on Grand and the Bowery.

The Capital One on the southeast corner of Third Avenue and 14th Street closed in July 2016, and that prime spot is still on the rental market.

As noted in previous bank-branch-closure posts, this continues the trend where banks are pulling back from storefront services. Last June, The Wall Street Journal reported that banks across the United States have closed nearly 9,000 branches this decade "as more customers rely on digital tools to complete routine banking transactions."

Previously on EV Grieve:
What's in your empty storefront? Capital One is closing both of its East Village branches

Honeybee's debuts on Avenue A

Honeybee's is up and running now — as of Wednesday — at 95 Avenue A.

The restaurant, specializing in plant-based Texas BBQ and bourbon and rye, takes the place of Cienfuegos here at Sixth Street.

As we first reported back in November, restaurateur Ravi DeRossi said that it was time to change up concepts at Cienfuegos, which closed in January after nearly a 10-year run.

Time Out has a quick preview/review:

[T]he second-floor walk-up is made to look like a saloon from the Wild West meets a burlesque bar. The resulting effect is an environment that comes off a bit tacky, but with some damn good plant-based smoky dishes that are just as delicious and convincing as when made with real meat. The offerings which span "ribs," pulled "pork," and burnt ends (made from alternatives like seitan and mushrooms) are prepared with traditional BBQ techniques: brining, marinating, smoke-infusion and roasting.

Food & Wine also has a preview/review, only with more adjectives:

[Chef Amira] Gharib — who spent the last six months at chef Daniel Boulud Upper West Side Mediterranean fixture Boulud Sud, and before that two years at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s lauded Matador Room in Miami — prepares bites like crispy cauliflower hot wings and queso chorizo dip to pair beside longtime New York bar vet Sother Teague’s bourbon and rye-soaked libations.

And...

“I tried to keep my [barbecue] methods as traditional as possible,” says Gharib, who says that she’s conjuring flavors of the American South with a low temperature smoker, a stove top cooker, and a cold smoker. Her menu is built from a balance between vegetables and protein replacements made from soy or gluten, and enriched with house-made, plant-based takes on staple Southern ingredients like heavy cream, buttermilk, and sour cream — each made from a soy milk base.

The corner space on Avenue A and Sixth Street also houses two other DeRossi operations — Mother of Pearl and Amor y Amargo.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A concept revamp for the Cienfuegos space on Avenue A

Fruit of the (Cooper) Union

The fruit vendor returned Monday outside the Death Star on Astor Place and across the street from Cooper Union on Monday... early morning photo today via Vinny & O...

The 43rd annual Saint George Ukrainian Festival is May 17-19

The 43rd edition of the Saint George Ukrainian Festival starts next Friday (May 17!) evening in the usual place — Seventh Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

We'll post/link to the schedule for the three-day event "to experience, feel, listen and taste Ukrainian culture" closer to the date.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Q-and-A with Andrew Stasiw, chairman of the St. George Ukrainian Festival

Asian Taste opens on 3rd and B

Tasty Asian debuted yesterday on the northwest corner of Avenue B and Third Street...



An EVG reader shared these photos... the reader also confirmed that the quick-serve restaurant is from the same family who ran the previous establishment here — China Wok, which closed in early December after an alleged rent increase.

There's an expanded selection of items at similarly reasonable prices as China Wok, per the reader.



Meanwhile, in another stunning noteworthy development, EVG regular Salim points out that the legendary exhaust fan on the Third Street side is gone...



Previously on EV Grieve:
The Asian Taste awning has arrived on 3rd and B; China Wok redux?

Wednesday's parting shots

Derek Berg spotted Arnie Charnick touching up his mural — Luncheonette Life, circa 1982 — outside Veselka on Ninth Street and Second Avenue today...

Say hello

As Goggla reported last Tuesday, red-tailed hawks Amelia and Christo have two chicks in the nest this spring in Tompkins Square Park.

Steven spotted one of the chicks alert and peering out from the nest this afternoon... perhaps getting familiar with his/her future hunting grounds...

Report: RGB gives nod to rent increase; final vote coming June 25

[Image last night via @StabilizingNYC]

In a preliminary vote (5-4) last night, the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB!) recommended a .5 to 2.75 percent increase for one-year leases and a 1.5 to 3.75 percent hike for two-year leases in rent-stabilized apartments, according to published reports.

As The Real Deal reported, the board rejected two proposals:

The landlord representatives on the board — Patti Stone, an attorney with Rosenberg & Estis, and Scott Walsh, a Forest City alum — voted against both winning proposals, having pushed for increases ... of 3.75 percent to 5.75 percent for one-year apartment leases and 4.75 to 6.75 percent for two-year leases.

And...

The board also voted down a proposal from tenant representatives, which included a rent rollback ranging from .5 (which is a decrease) to 0 percent on one-year leases and a 0 to 1 percent increase on two-year leases.

Last year, the board approved increases of 1.5 percent (one-year leases) and 2.5 percent (two-year leases).

The board's preliminary vote took place inside "a packed and contentious" Great Hall at Cooper Union.

The final RGB vote is set for June 25, but not before a series of public hearings (list here). Increases in rent would take hold in October.

Meanwhile, expect more rent drama in the weeks ahead. As City Limits reported yesterday:

New York is on the verge of big changes to its rent regulations, with the state legislature likely to vote on reforms before the June 15 sunset date for the current rent law. One topic of profound disagreement between tenant advocates and property owners is preferential rents.

Read more about the State's expiring rent laws over at Gothamist and Curbed.

Countdown to the Dance Parade and DanceFest

The 13th annual Dance Parade (and DanceFest!) is coming up this May 18. This year's theme: "Movement of the People."

A few quick details: The parade begins at 1 p.m. at 21st Street and Broadway, and will feature live bands, DJs and a lot of dancers — more than 80 styles of dance and nearly 200 groups. (This link has a list of all the participants.)

And as always, the parade winds up in Tompkins Square Park... where DanceFest 2019 happens from 3-7 p.m. "with choreographed performances, dance lessons, aerial and social dance – on five stages, all free to the public."



Will leave you with the 2019 preview video...

Winning projects revealed in District 2's Participatory Budgeting vote

In late March, local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera kicked off Council District 2’s first-ever round of Participatory Budgeting (PB) voting.

PB allows for residents to decide how to spend capital funds, allocated by the Councilmember, for community improvements.

And yesterday, she revealed the winning projects (there were 11 total on the ballot):

• Countdown clocks along the M9, M14A, and M14D bus lines
• Science mobile carts for P.S. 34, 730 E. 12th St.
• Street resurfacing throughout the District
• Gym renovations at P.S. 188/Girls Prep, 442 E. Houston St.
• An accessible lift at P.S. 40, 320 E. 20th St.

Rivera said that the PB cycle ended with nearly 4,800 votes.

"I was very proud to see our community so involved in what really is civic engagement at its best, where district residents as young as 11 directly decided how some of their taxpayer dollars would be spent in their community," she said in her May newsletter released yesterday.

Once again, everyone's favorite 14th Street triplex with a garage door for a wall is back on the market

[EVG file photo]

Hey, your favorite floor-through condominium triplex with a fully retractable second floor façade/wall that flips open like a garage door overlooking 14th Street is back on the market!

The home (in the building "Brownstone East Village"), which has been on and off and on the market and delighted EVG readers for years, is again for sale. Again.



To refreshen your memory, here are details via the listing that arrived the other day on Streeteasy for 224 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue:

This one of a kind architectural gem was thoughtfully created to seamlessly combine indoor and outdoor living in the heart of Manhattan's East Village ... #1 is a triplex 2-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home with nearly 2,000 interior sq. ft. and 500 exterior sq. ft. Fully experience all four seasons in this remarkable residence boasting 2 fully retractable walls operated like garage doors which open and rise and neatly conceal with the touch of a button.

Upon entry to the main floor, the home office features a floor-to ceiling window with a custom ornately designed metal screen. Beyond the foyer, a sleek open kitchen with a massive center island is fully equipped with top of the line Viking appliances including dishwasher, vented cooktop, oven, and 36-inch Subzero refrigerator. The custom white lacquered cabinetry and countertops adhere to the contemporary aesthetic providing a serene backdrop to the coveted garden oasis.

Continue to the 500 square foot entertainer's dream through the automated retractable wall offering seamless indoor-outdoor transition. The cabana-like outdoor kitchen and bar possess all the contemporary luxuries complete with grill, sink, and cold storage.

And some shots of the interior ...









Anyway, the asking price now is $2.79 million. Hurry, probably won't be back on the market for another year or so!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Everyone's favorite 14th Street triplex with a garage door for a wall is back on the market

Construction watch: 809 Broadway

Here's an updated look at 809 Broadway between 11th Street and 12th Street.

You'd never know that this was once the longtime home — until 2013 — to Blatt Billiards, a pool table manufacturer that had owned and occupied the building since 1972.



Blatt principals Ronald Blatt and Bruce Roeder reportedly sold the building to 809 Broadway Holding LLC, a partnership of three private investors led by its principal Ariel Rom.

Anyway, the new No. 809 — 10 floors stacked on top of the previous five-story structure — will house 10 luxury condos, including a triplex penthouse on the top floors.

ODA-Architecture describes the project like this:

Situated on a diagonal segment off Broadway, Lot 809 stands like a totem indicating the visual entrance to Union Square. The neighborhood’s characteristic street scape is extended to the building’s façade by stacking and shifting the floor plates, thereby creating enlarged spaces, and protected outdoor terraces.

Here's a rendering of the totem, once completed...



Meanwhile, on the southwest corner of Broadway and 11th Street, the circa-1853 St. Denis Hotel building has been wiped out...



... and one day joining the totem on this Broadway skyline...


[Binyan Studios]

Previously on EV Grieve:
'Concrete blowout' at Broadway condo project damages neighboring building

See the She NYC Arts Summer Theater Festival on 4th Street this June

Here's some info via the EVG inbox...

She NYC Arts will present the third annual She NYC Arts Summer Theater Festival, featuring eight new full-length shows by women writers and composers, June 19-30 at The Connelly Theater on Fourth Street.

Now in its fourth year, the 2019 She NYC Arts Summer Theater Festival is the city's premiere spot for presenting the best work by up-and-coming women writers and composers. The 2019 Festival will showcase 8 new full-length plays and musicals, including a New Play Residency in which a returning writer will build an entirely new piece from scratch.

In addition, She NYC Art's new educational program, CreateHer, will present staged readings of four new short plays written and produced by high school students.

Tickets ($20) are now on sale at this link. The Connelly Theater is at 220 E. Fourth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Signup for the Washington Square CSA ends June 1

The folks from the long-running Washington Square CSA reached out to let us know that the deadline to sign up for their Summer 2019 CSA season is June 1. (Note: this date was extended. It was previously May 10.)

They have pickups in the East Village at St. Marks Church-in-the-Bowery every Tuesday from 4-8 p.m. Their offerings include various organic fresh vegetables ... and several additional ad-ons, including fruits, meats and cheeses.

This link has more details ... and this link has info on the shares.

11 Avenue C finally makes first appearance above street level

Over on East Houston at Avenue C we have the first above-ground sighting of the longtime-coming 11 Avenue C...



Work has really picked up here of late in this triangular lot (the former Mobil station) ...







Foundation work started in December 2016. And now, in May 2019, the first level is just visible over the plywood.

This has been a disruptive build to date, as neighbors have said. There were multiple complaints filed with the city in early 2017 about the construction possibly destabilizing the building next door — 249 E. Second St. There was a partial stop-work order issued in April 2017 when No. 249 reportedly shifted.

The city OK'd plans for a 10-story, mixed-use building with 46 residential unit in December 2016.

Here's a look at the plywood rendering...



Rotwein + Blake are the architects of record. Here's more about 11 Avenue C/350 E. Houston St. via their website:

The narrow triangular site, presented numerous challenges from its odd shape to zoning constraints, Rotwein+Blake crafted a well thought-out solution to maximize potential development opportunity for the client. At ten stories, the building will have 4,600 SF of ground level retail, 46 residential apartments and a landscaped roof terrace.

The buildings retail component engages the more lively Houston Street side on a pedestrian level, with an abundance of storefront glass, awnings and stone details, while the residential entrance on 2nd Street, creates a more private and embracing gesture. The brick and zinc façade blend a modern twist to a historic warehouse style, reminiscent of the now, chic residential adaptive reuse projects of Soho and Tribeca.

The plywood rendering states the project's completion date as March 2018.



Previously on EV Grieve:
You have a little longer to get gas on Avenue C

Plans filed for new 9-story building at site of Mobil station on East Houston and Avenue C

State seizes Mobil station on Avenue C and Houston for nonpayment of taxes

New residential building for former Mobil station lot will be 10 floors with 0 zero affordable units

A look inside the last East Village gas station

Pile driving for new building on Avenue C prompts arrival of crack monitors next door

Hamilton Fish Park Library will operate with limited services during upcoming AC renovations

The Hamilton Fish Park Library will be open with reduced service starting on May 21 while the branch on East Houston at Columbia Street receives an upgrade to its air cooling system.

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

Utilizing temporary air conditioning units, the Library will maintain a small portion of the branch throughout the summer for patrons to pick up and return materials. The Library will close for four days on May 17 to reconfigure the space.

The branch at 415 E. Houston St. will return to full service on Sept. 20.

Hamilton Fish Park Library is slated to receive a full renovation, which includes the installation of a new heating and cooling system.

Per the advisory, library officials recommend that patrons use the Ottendorfer branch on Second Avenue between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street or the Mulberry Street Library for their programming needs during this service change. (There wasn't any mention of the Tompkins Square branch on 10th Street.)

Lord, what fools these mortals be! A pop-up Shakespearean-themed restaurant for Broadway

Through the forest have I gone.
But Athenian found I none,
On whose eyes I might approve
This flower's force in stirring love.
Night and silence. Who is here?

Table for two?

Community Board 2 tonight will hear a proposal for a new liquor license for 827 Broadway between 12th Street and 13th Street.

EVG reader Gregg spotted the flyer along Broadway. The applicant is Fierce Little LLC, a production company planning to use the space — the former NU New York — to host their own version of "A Midsummers Night's Dream" titled "Midsummer: A Banquet."



Gregg did a little digging and found a casting call for this short-term production that opens July 27 and closes Sept. 8 (with the possibility of an extension promised).

And sleep, that sometime shuts up sorrow's eye,
Steal me awhile from mine own company.

Now Would you like to hear tonight's specials?

Here's more info via the casting call from last month:

This is a movement-heavy immersive production in which actors handle food. We are seeking a diverse cast of actors who have both significant experience, training, and ease with Shakespeare, formal voice and speech training, and a strong background in contemporary dance or movement, specifically experience with contact improv, weight sharing, and partnering.

Seeking the following 8 roles, plus 2 understudies (1 male, 1 female)

HERMIA/OTHERS: A young lover, female, any race/ethnicity, must be short
HELENA/OTHERS: A young lover, female, any race/ethnicity, must be tall
LYSANDER/OTHERS: A young lover, male, any race/ethnicity.
DEMETRIUS/OTHERS: A young lover, male, any race/ethnicity.
HIPPOLYTA/TITANIA: This role is pre-cast. Both are queens (one an Amazon Queen the other a Fairy Queen). Any race/ethnicity/age. 20-60 years old,
THESEUS/OBERON: Royal men (one a Duke the other a King), 20-60 years old, any race/ethnicity.
NICK BOTTOM/OTHERS: A weaver and over the top amateur actor. Male. Any age, race, ethnicity.
ROBIN GOODFELLOW/OTHERS: A mischievous sprite. Any gender, age, race, ethnicity.

O me, you juggler, you canker-blossom, you thief of love!

Now here is your check.

All this sounds like it could be spectacular — in a good and bad way.

My Oberon, what visions have I seen!
Methought I was enamored of an ass.

Sorry, but we do not accept American Express.