At long last, the construction fence is coming down around the Tompkins Square Park playground

[Photo by Katherine Gleason]

In breaking-ish news today, workers are taking down the construction fences around the recently renovated Avenue B playground in Tompkins Square Park. Word is the playground will be open for use this afternoon.

The work started Oct. 1, 2018, on the southeast portion of the Park, which saw the closure of the entrances on Seventh Street at Avenue B and Eighth Street at Avenue B. The space was expected to reopen some time last month.

The upgrades have included the reconstruction of two playgrounds with new safety surfacing, spray showers, seating and fencing. A schematic from the Parks website offers more detail...



The Parks Department is supplementing the project's funding with its Parks Without Borders initiative that will 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.

Meanwhile, various residents and EVG commenters have noted that if it took one year for the city to upgrade a small section of Tompkins Square Park, then how long will it realistically take to stormproof the 45-acre East River Park?

Updated 1:45

Another reader photo via Tullah on 7th...



Updated 4 p.m.

The entrances and playgrounds are now open ... Dave on 7th checks in...



... and there are new benches ... and room for parking!

EVG Etc.: 14th Street survives day 1 of the busway; Timothée Chalamet gifts Tompkins Square Bagels on the red carpet

[Sax and the city on Broadway via Derek Berg]

• Plumber who helped rig gas line before deadly Second Avenue explosion testifies against landlord, others (Daily News)

• Day 1 of the 14th Street busway (amNY ... Gothamist ... Streetsblog ... previously on EVG)

• A cement truck tipped over at the Baruch Houses (The Post)

• Rep. Nydia Velasquez wants $32 billion from HUD to fix NYCHA (PIX 11)

• Italian-American history in the East Village (6sqft)

• An ad for the Ukrainian East Village restaurant on Second Avenue circa 1976 (Ephemeral New York)

• L+M Development lands $53 million refinance for the Niko East Village on Avenue D and Sixth Street (Commercial Observer ... previously on EVG)

• Timothée Chalamet hands out Tompkins Square Bagels on the red carpet (The Cut)

• Time to ban cars in Manhattan? (Curbed)

• The NYC '81 film series starts today with a lineup that includes "Downtown 81," "Escape From New York" and "Prince of the City" (Metrograph)

This weekend in pet blessings

You have two opportunities this weekend to have your pets blessed ...

SATURDAY



The annual Blessing of Animals will take place on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. in front of Immaculate Conception Church, 414 E. 14th St. near First Avenue.

Per the flyer, none of the involved parties needs to be Catholic to be blessed.

SUNDAY



On Sunday, the pet blessings take place in the east yard at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, 10th Street and Second Avenue.

Longtime churchgoers say that someone once brought a camel. Per a church rep: "We don't think that's likely this time but we're hoping for a pig or so!" Do you hear that Giblet?

The weekend is also a celebration of St. Francis — he loved animals you know. As we first reported in 1223, Francis arranged for the first Christmas live nativity scene.

RIP Purushottam Goyal

[Photo by Steven]

Purushottam Goyal, who along with his wife Saroj have owned and operated Dress Shoppe II on Second Avenue these past 18 years, died on Sept. 12. He was in his early 70s.

A tribute to him is on the front door of the shop that opened here in 2001 between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.

EVG reader Marty recently shared this: "I stopped by the Dress Shoppe ... and was very sad to hear that Purushottam Goyal, its wonderful shopkeeper, died. His wife Saroj Goyal and her son are running the store, but with heavy hearts."

The Goyals, who had been married for nearly 50 years, were the subject of this feature in The New York Times in August 2016...

The owner, Purushottam Goyal, has a weakness for the past, and for nearly four decades he has filled the store with intriguing relics. Amid the tunics, scarves and batik blankets, you can find 100-year-old saris made with silver thread, wooden cowbells, old kerosene lamps and vintage radios. (At home, he has a yellow taxicab from 1929.)

Mr. Goyal was born in Delhi, India, the youngest of 18 children. Before he came to New York, he worked in his parents’ textile shop and, briefly, as a customs official. In 1978, he opened a shop on Broadway. He did not have the money for a sign, he said, so he painted over part of the old one: Smart Dress Shoppe became Dress Shoppe.

In 2001, that building was sold, and the store moved to its present location. Dress Shoppe became Dress Shoppe II.

He also shared his business philosophy: "Just relax, and if you feel something, buy it. We want only happy money."

A petition to keep the 8-foot fence at Joseph C. Sauer Park on 12th Street

[Image via]

As part of the Community Parks Initiative, Joseph C. Sauer Park is scheduled to undergo a redesign on 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

However welcome most of the changes are, there is one sticking point: the new (shorter) fence the Parks Department plans to install.

So park organizers have launched a petition to save their fence...



Per the petition:

Dear neighbors, friends and everyone who loves Joseph C. Sauer Park. As many of you may already know the Parks Department will close our park for renovations which should last a full year. Once complete the park will feature a new design with many requested features.

Part of the plan however is to remove the current 8 foot high fence and replace it with a 4 foot fence, which will make the park less secure and an unsafe place for children to use.

We are asking for your help to stop the Parks Department from removing the only proven means of securing our park at night. We have the backing of Assemblyman Harvey Epstein, Councilwoman Carlina Rivera and our Community Board.

Some history: "Sauer Park is one of nine playgrounds that were built by the Parks Department through the War Memorial Fund, and were opened simultaneously on July 15, 1934." There were subsequent additions here in 1965, 1989 and 1992.

Find the petition at this link.

Chi Snack Shop moves into the former Trash & Vaudeville space on St. Mark's Place

[Photos by Steven]

After three years at 22 St. Mark's Place, Chi Snack Shop has moved to a larger retail space on the block here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...



The shop, which carries an array of Japanese and Korean snacks as well as beauty products and random lingerie, has moved into the parlor level of 4 St. Mark's Place...





The landmarked 4 St. Mark's Place — aka the Hamilton-Holly House, circa 1831 — recently underwent a two-year gut renovation. As previously noted, the renovation included an expansion in the back of the building, doubling the number of residential units from three to six.

Chi Snack Shop marks the first retail tenant for the all-new No. 4. Wanyoo, a Shanghai-based cyber cafe chain, reportedly signed a lease for the garden space early last year. No sign of them just yet.

Until February 2016, 4 St. Mark's Place housed Trash & Vaudeville for 41 years. The store relocated to 96 E. Seventh St., where it remains today.

The Hamilton-Holly House was once owned by Alexander Hamilton’s son. The Federal-style townhouse changed hands for $10 million in the spring of 2016.

In June, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approved developer Real Estate Equities Corporation's (REEC) plan to transfer air rights from the 4 St. Mark's Place to add square footage to their office building coming to the northeast corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place. Under terms of the air-rights transfer, 5 percent of the $4 million sale will go into a dedicated account for the landmark to maintain its upkeep.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive: After 40 years, punk rock mainstay Trash and Vaudeville is leaving St. Mark's Place

4 St. Mark's Place is for sale

More residential units and a 5th-floor addition in the works for landmarked 4 St. Mark's Place

You'll be back: Look at the renovated Hamilton-Holly House on St. Mark's Place

FULL full reveal at the historic Hamilton-Holly House on St. Mark's Place

Thursday's parting shot

11th Street and First Avenue this evening via Vinny & O...

The Hep Cat T-shirt line debuts Friday night at Metropolis Vintage

Metropolis Vintage is playing host tomorrow night (Friday, Oct. 4) to friends John Holmstrom and Aid MacSpade as they launch their new Hep Cat T-shirt line.

Per the invite: Holmstrom and MacSpade "brainstormed their Hep Cat character back in the 1980s, a beatnik-style creature who loved to get high within the pages of High Times. Hep Cat seemed to have a life of his own, and his enduring popularity has now led them to produce three unique T-Shirt designs, which will be debuting at the party."

The two East Village residents will be doing a signing and hanging out for the unveiling of the ... John Holmstrom dressing room.

Holmstrom, the co-founder, editor and illustrator of Punk Magazine (and creator of the Metropolis logo), adorned the dressing room with a variety of illustrations encompassing his work with the Ramones as well as other publications...




[Sales associate Skeleton Boy checks out the new dressing room]

The event is from 6-9 p.m., where there's free beer and pizza and the punk-garage sounds of DJ Drew Redmond.

Metropolis is at 803 Broadway between 11th Street and 12th Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Q-and-A with John Holmstrom, founding editor of Punk Magazine

John Holmstrom on the CBGB movie and the East Village of 2013

A visit to Metropolis Vintage on Broadway

Grant Shaffer's NY See

Here's the latest NY See panel, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood.

More details on the city's new plan to keep East River park partially open during flood protection construction

Yesterday came news that the de Blasio administration was announcing more changes to the city's stormproofing plans for East River Park.

As you know, the entire Park was set to be shuttered for three-plus years starting in March. Now, early East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) work will commence in the spring, with all of East River Park remaining open until next fall. The flood protection construction will be done in phases.

Here's more via a city press release issued yesterday:

“The community spoke and we listened,” said Mayor de Blasio. “Nearly half of East River Park will remain open throughout construction – without compromising essential flood protections for 110,000 New Yorkers. We are building a more resilient city to meet the challenge of global warming head-on.”

The phasing plan will allow nearly half of East River Park to stay open at all times and will still deliver flood protection by hurricane season 2023, one full hurricane season earlier than under the previous project approach.

In order to enable the new park phasing plan, the schedule for completion of the overall project will be extended to the end of 2025, without any delay in delivering critical flood protection to the 110,000 local residents vulnerable to severe climate impacts in the future. Construction is scheduled to begin in March 2020.

First Phase of Construction (Fall 2020 to Spring 2023): The vast majority of the park areas from Delancey to Houston Streets will remain open as well as the amphitheater area in the south and the portion from approximately East 10th to East 12th Street in the north.

Second Phase of Construction (Spring 2023 to Late 2025): Newly rebuilt portions of East River Park will be open from Houston Street to approximately East 10th Street, as well as the vast majority of the park areas from Corlears Hook Bridge to Delancey Street.

Esplanade areas will follow a separate construction schedule and will be made available as construction permits. To meet the needs of area residents, in addition to phasing, new and improved open space resources will be made available in the surrounding neighborhoods, including a new park adjacent to Pier 42 to be completed in spring 2022.

Details of the plan will be presented at a City Council public hearing this afternoon at 1 p.m. (Oct. 3) in what marks the final stages of the land use review process. (Want to attend? Details here.)

Advocates at the community group East River Park Action, who organized the Sept. 21 rally, were not pleased by yesterday's news. Here's part of their reaction:

This is not good. Our park will still be completely destroyed — just over a longer period of time — five years instead of the original three and a half years.

The city is ignoring the neighborhood’s demands: 1) preserve as much of the park as possible. 2) Construct a resilient coastline — not a massive wall along the river. 3) Construct flood protection along the FDR. 4) Provide interim flood protection during years of construction.

It looks like the whole promenade will be closed while the city builds an 8-10 foot solid flood wall along the river.

The city will say it’s the neighborhood’s fault the timeline is longer because we asked for phased construction. In fact, it’s because they were never going to be able to get it all done in three and a half years, and they knew it.

The project was also undergoing a third-party review by a Dutch consultant hired by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera. No word on this review's status.

Yesterday's changes marked the second time that a significant alteration was announced for the stormproofing project. Last fall, the city surprised community stakeholders by announcing a complete overhaul of a plan that had been discussed over four years of local meetings.

14th Street busway finally set to get moving today

After two litigation-related delays, the 14th Street Busway finally makes its debut today.

Last Friday, a panel of judges from New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division overturned an Aug. 9 (Lawsuit No. 2) ruling to block the busway, as Streetsblog first reported.

Here's a quickie overview via the DOT:

6 a.m. to 10 p.m.: Buses and trucks only between Ninth Avenue and Third Avenue. All other vehicles may make local trips, but must turn at the next available right.

10 p.m. to 6 a.m.: All vehicles may make through trips along the corridor.

This DOT link has more information about the busway, which is expected to be an 18-month pilot program.

The city will install onboard bus-lane-enforcement cameras along the M14 routes this fall. However, DOT officials said that they won’t start issuing tickets for another 60 days.

Streetsblog had more on the enforcement yesterday:

Stationary enforcement cameras on every block to catch drivers blocking bus lanes and for failing to exit 14th Street at the first available right turn after their pickup or drop-off. Those $50 tickets — rising by $50 to a maximum of $250 for every infraction in the same 12-month period — also won’t be issued for 60 days.

As for more backstory: In late June, right before the new busway was to launch on July 1, a coalition of block associations filed a last-minute lawsuit to block the project, arguing that the city failed to complete the proper environmental review for the work. (Lawsuit No. 1!)

The busway was originally to coincide with the arrival of the new M14 Select Bus Service, which debuted on July 1 featuring off-board fare payments and all-door boarding... all in an effort to speed up the notoriously sluggish M14 line during the L-train slowdown.

DOT officials said they hope to improve M14 travel time by up to 30 percent on a corridor that’s one of the slowest in the city.

Wednesday's parting shot

In the rain in Tompkins Square Park this evening... photo via Vinny & O...

NYC premiere of 'The Bitch Movie' takes place at Theatre 80 on Friday night

"The Bitch Movie," a 60-minute documentary that takes a retrospective look at the "Bitch: A Ladies Tribute To Metal" monthly party at the late Don Hill's, makes its NYC debut Friday night (Oct. 4) at Theatre 80 on St. Mark's Place.

Here's more about the film:

"The Bitch Movie" explores the origins, philosophy, sociology and technical execution of the event, painting a portrait of the vibrant scene around Don Hill's in downtown New York in the early 2000s.

Through firsthand interviews and exclusive footage of the live performances, the film explores the motivations of the women who were passionate about singing heavy metal ... "The Bitch Movie" is both a tribute to pioneering women who smash traditional stereotypes and heavy metal fans the world over.

The screening starts at 10 p.m. There's a Q&A with filmmaker Damian Kolodiy and several of the performers afterwards.

Find advance tickets at this link.

Report: City now opts for phased-in approach for stormproofing East River Park

[Photo Sept. 21 by Stacie Joy]

The City will no longer shut down all of East River Park when stormproofing begins in March, opting now for a phased-in approach.

Here's what Gothamist has:

[T]he city has amended its plan to shut down all 45 acres of the park starting this spring, and instead will phase in the construction so only portions of the park are closed to the public at any given time. According to sources familiar with the new plan, the work is expected to be finished in 2025.

The de Blasio administration will announce their change in plans before they have to present them to a City Council land use hearing on Thursday morning, sources tell Gothamist.

We'll post more information as soon as it becomes available. [Updated: Here's the city press release.]

City officials previously planned to close East River Park for three-plus years, elevating it with 8- to 10-feet of soil from Montgomery Street to East 13th Street. Some residents, referring to it as the Kill Our Park Plan, had asked for the demolition and reconstruction of East River Park to take part in phases so that they continue to enjoy some of the amenities that the public space provides... others wanted the original plan that had been in the works for years before the city quietly changed its mind last fall.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• At the march and rally to save East River Park (Sept. 21)

• An annual reunion in East River Park (Aug. 4)

• A visit to East River Park (July 10)

August Laura is opening in the former Sidewalk space on Avenue A and 6th Street

The new owners of the restaurant space at 94 Avenue A — the former Sidewalk — are close to opening here at Sixth Street.

As previously reported, hospitality vets Laura Saniuk-Heinig and Alyssa Sartor are behind the new venture, which we learned will be a revival of sorts for August Laura, an Italian cafe-cocktail bar that opened in Carroll Gardens in the spring of 2016.

Sartor and Frankie Rodriguez, a former Death & Co. general manager, were partners in that now-closed venture. (It was reportedly named after Sartor’s grandfather, who was raised in Carroll Gardens.)

As for what to expect here starting next week (Oct. 9 is the projected opening date), Saniuk-Heinig said August Laura "will have 'East Village Vibes' as opposed to the Italian-inspired Carroll Gardens location." She promised to share more information soon, including whether they will continue on with an open-mic night, a long-standing feature at Sidewalk. (The EV August Laura is listed in part as a "live music venue" on Facebook.)

She did confirm that the two motorcycle murals on the Sixth Street side, created nearly 25 years ago by the artist WK, will remain up. There's also a new mural in progress further east on the building via @EarlyRiser.

The Sidewalk closed back in February after 32-plus years in business. Pini Milstein, who retired, was the former principal owner of the building as well as the operator of the Sidewalk. The building sold for $9.6 million in March.

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

1-floor expansion planned for Avenue A building that housed the Sidewalk

Not much left inside the once mysterious 84 2nd Ave.

[Photo by Steven]

The gutting of 84 Second Ave. continues.

Per previous posts, No. 84 here between Fourth Street and Fifth Street is in the midst of a gut renovation that will take the building from its current 5,829 square feet to 8,439 total square feet with a horizontal enlargement in the rear of the property. The modified No. 84 will feature new retail space as well as four residences.

EVG contributor Derek Berg got a look behind the plywood the other day. As you can see, the ground level is hollowed out, with construction equipment moving through the building to the back...





This property has changed hands twice in recent years. Highpoint bought the building for $7.8 million in the spring of 2018. According to public records, the building sold in May 2016 for $5.1 million. The Sopolsky family had owned it for years.

As we've noted several times through the years, the address has a dark past, which includes the still-unsolved murder of Helen Sopolsky, proprietor of the family's tailor shop who was found bludgeoned to death in 1974, per an article at the time.

The storefront has remained empty since her death.

The plywood rendering shows the all-new No. 84 looking something like this...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Plywood and a petition at 84 2nd Ave.

Workers clearing out the mysterious 84 2nd Ave. storefront

Renovations proposed for mysterious 84 2nd Ave.

Mysterious 84 2nd Ave. sells again, this time for $7.8 million

There are new plans to expand the mysterious 84 2nd Ave.

Renovations underway at the (formerly) mysterious 84 2nd Ave.

A rendering and vintage erotic playing cards (NSFW) at the under-renovation (and mysterious!) 84 2nd Ave.

Longer hours now for Foxface on St. Mark's Place

[Photo by Stacie Joy]

You now have more hours in the day in which to try Foxface, the small sandwich operation inside the William Barnacle Tavern at Theatre 80 that East Village residents Ori Kushnir and Sivan Lahat opened late last year.

The owners announced extended hours for Foxface, 80 St. Mark's Place just west of First Avenue, starting today. So moving forward: Wednesday through Friday, noon to 3 p.m., then 5:30-9:30 p.m. ... and noon to 9 p.m. (or when they sell out!) on Saturday and Sunday.

Visit this link to see the daily sandwich specials and to order ahead. They've seen an uptick in business since Pete Wells at the Times filed a favorable review of Foxface in late August.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Longtime East Village residents open Foxface, now serving sandwiches at Theater 80

Hitchcocktober is back

It's Hitchcocktober again at the City Cinemas Village East on Second Avenue at 12th Street.



On Thursday evenings throughout October, the theater is showing an Alfred Hitchcock classic, culminating with a Halloween-night screening of "Psycho."

Here's the schedule until then...

• "Dial M for Murder" in 3D — Oct. 3

• "North by Northwest" — Oct. 10

• "The Birds" — Oct. 17

• "The Lady Vanishes" — Oct. 24

• "Psycho" — Oct. 31

Find advance ticket info at this link. The films start at 7:30 p.m.

Elsewhere nearby: the flagship Dean & Deluca is closed for now on Broadway and Prince

From outside the usual EVG coverage zone over at Broadway and Prince... EVG reader Robert Miner shared this photo from yesterday. The flagship location (circa 1988) of Dean & Deluca is now temporarily closed.

There have been reports of empty shelves here in recent months (see Gothamist and Eater).

Per Eater on Aug. 20:

Despite its dreary appearance, floor manager Mohammed Rahman says the store isn’t closing but rather undergoing renovations. Several signs that read “Please pardon our appearance as we prepare for renovations” are now strung about the store, located at 560 Broadway at Prince Street. Rahman says he hasn’t been told much about the renovations or when they’re supposed to start.

There isn't any mention of a renovation on the above-sign for patrons — just some "deep regret" about the temporary closing.

As you've been reading in recent months, Dean & Deluca, the iconic gourmet grocer, is on the brink of financial collapse. Complete collapse may be imminent. As of now, only two locations — both in Honolulu — are listed on the Dean & Deluca website.

Tuesday's parting shots

Late-night/early-morning views of 10th Street and Avenue B via Shawn Chittle...