A rally at the former Church of the Nativity as rumored sale of building spreads

Rumors started late last year that the Archdiocese of New York had sold the former Church of the Nativity on Second Avenue between Second Street and Third Street for use as luxury housing. (There's nothing in public records yet to confirm the rumors.)

This afternoon at 3, the Cooper Square Committee and the Nativity Committee are holding a rally in front of the property at 44 Second Ave. ... per the flyers, "the $40 million sale of the Nativity Church/Rectory is coming."



The Church closed after a service on July 31, 2015, merging with Most Holy Redeemer on Third Street.

As previously reported, the Cooper Square Community Land Trust had explored buying the former Church of the Nativity to use as low-income housing.

However, the Archdiocese of New York reportedly didn't seem too keen on that idea, perhaps intent on garnering top dollar for the prime real estate for luxury housing.

In April 2019, Catholic Homes New York, the affordable housing unit of Catholic Charities and the Archdiocese of New York, announced plans to redevelop several existing properties to provide 2,000 affordable units in NYC over the next 10 years. Not on the affordable-housing list: Church of the Nativity and the Church of Saint Emeric on 13th Street near Avenue D.

This wouldn't be the first time that a former Catholic church was demolished for upscale housing in this neighborhood. Developer Douglas Steiner bought the former Mary Help of Christians property in 2012 from the Archdiocese of New York for $41 million.

During the summer of 2013, workers demolished the church, school and rectory to make way for Steiner East Village, the block-long condoplex where a penthouse unit is currently renting for $19,000 per month.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• 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

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

The Ottendorfer Library branch is now hosting a book swap on Saturdays

[File photo via Steven]

Last Saturday, we mentioned that the Tompkins Square Library branch was giving away extra books ... via the comments, an EVG reader mentioned that the Ottendorfer Library, 135 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street, is once again hosting a book swap on Saturdays.

Here are details via the library's website:

By popular demand, Ottendorfer now hosts a Book Swap every Saturday! Please bring your books, DVDs, CDs and miscellaneous trinkets to trade with others.

Saturday, Jan. 11, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 18, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 25, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Hopes for a January opening at the all-new Baji Baji on 1st Avenue

Good news for Jay Yang, owner of the recently revamped China Star at 145 First Ave. near Ninth Street.

EVG regular Lola Sáenz shared this photo yesterday — after Con Ed signed off on all the work following a second inspection.

Starting last summer, Yang set out to upgrade his quick-serve restaurant. He unveiled Baji Baji in the space this past fall. However, the renovations got bogged down, and there was a wait time with various kitchen inspections, including the FDNY and Con Ed, who asked him to make some changes following the first pass late last year.

Now Yang is hiring staff with hopes of being open in two weeks.

You can read our interview from October 2017 with Yang at this link.

Thursday's parting shot

Tossing everything including the kitchen sink today on Seventh Street ... captured by Derek Berg.

Collateral damage at Hub Thai on Avenue A

An EVG reader shared these photos this evening... the front windows at Hub Thai on Avenue A were hit during the early morning shootout on Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

The restaurant is adjacent to the Hayaty Hookah Bar at 103 Avenue A, where a fight between Earl Facey and Richard Reid started. According to the Post, the altercation began after the women they were with bumped into each other.

Outside the bar, the two men reportedly shot at each other during a chase, per NBC 4. Both men were said to be carrying a .22 caliber handgun. Two uniformed officers who were on patrol nearby shot Facey on the northwest corner of Avenue A and Seventh Street after he refused multiple times to drop his weapon and lie on the ground, according to police accounts and media reports. Both men later died at Bellevue.



Per the reader: "I'm not an expert, but that doesn't look like a .22 shot — looks like a service revolver shot, perhaps 9mm or .45?"



Hub Thai was expected to reopen soon after the windows were repaired. Thankfully, the restaurant was closed at the time of the shooting.

A look at Avenue A and 7th Street this evening

Avenue A opened up again for vehicular traffic late this afternoon around 5 ... this after the NYPD finished their crime scene investigation following the deadly shooting early this morning.

An NYPD light tower remains on Seventh Street and Avenue A...





According to the NYPD, an argument that started inside the Hayaty Hookah Bar at 103 Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, spilled out into the street around 3:30 a.m.

One man, identified as Earl Facey, reportedly shot Richard Reid. Two officers from the 9th Precinct, on patrol nearby, responded to the scene. Police say the officers shot Facey, who was holding a weapon, three times after he refused to get on the ground. EMTs took Facey and Reid to Bellevue, where hospital officials pronounced them dead.

Police said that both men were in gangs and each had prison records.

Read more at this link.

Updating: NYPD investigating early morning police-involved shooting on 7th and A; 2 men dead

[9th and A at 6:30 a.m. via Vinny & O]

-----

Preliminary recap:

• Two men are dead after an early morning shootout on Avenue A at Seventh Street.

• Police say an argument that started inside the Hayaty Hookah Bar, 103 Avenue A, spilled out into the street.

• The two men, each armed, shot at each other. One of the men, identified as Richard Reid, 41, died. Both men were reportedly gang members.

• Two uniformed officers from the 9th Precinct, on patrol nearby, responded to the scene. Police say the officers shot the second man after he refused to get on the ground. The man, identified as Earl Facey (also ID'd as Lacey), 37, reportedly was on parole for a prior shooting for which he had served eight years in prison.

-----

Original post with updates...

There's a massive police response on Avenue A and Seventh Street [as of 5 a.m.] following an early-morning shooting involving two men on the southwest corner.

According to ABC 7, the gunfire was a result of a fight that started inside the Hayaty Hookah Bar, 103 Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

Per ABC:

Both men were taken to Bellevue Hospital with injuries described as life-threatening.

No officers were injured in the gunfire, although two were being taken to the hospital to be treated for ringing in the ears.

A weapon has been recovered at the scene.

Avenue A is currently closed to through traffic between Fifth Street and 10th Street (as of 5 a.m.)...

M14A-SBS buses are detoured in both directions because of Police activity on Avenue A between St. Marks Pl and 7 St. Details at https://t.co/4PI10QaRnr

— NYCT Buses (@NYCTBus) January 9, 2020

We'll continue to update this story as more information becomes available.

Updated 7:19 a.m.

From the scene... both men, including one shot by police, are dead...

Update: Both men shot this morning after a dispute in the East Village are dead, said the NYPD. One was shot by police. @LindsayTuchman pic.twitter.com/OshVfW7zZs

— Spectrum News NY1 (@NY1) January 9, 2020

Updated 7:22 a.m.

According to NBC 4, two uniformed officers from the 9th Precinct who were patrolling Tompkins Square Park heard the gunshots around 3:30 a.m. and responded to the scene at the corner of Seventh and A.

That's where they found a man shooting at another man.

The officers engaged them and told the armed man to get on the ground. "It was then the officers fired approximately three times at the male, striking him," NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan told reporters.

Updated 7:26 a.m.

The press conference...

UPDATE: @NYPDChiefofDept and other NYPD executives provide an update on this morning’s police involved shooting in Lower Manhattan. The investigation is ongoing, all information is preliminary https://t.co/sWwYY7Reqi

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) January 9, 2020

Police Chief Terence Monahan said that the man police shot was on parole for a prior shooting for which he had served eight years in prison.

Updated 8:45 a.m.

Police released photos of the two weapons the men had in their possession.

This morning’s police-involved shooting is another example of the bravery demonstrated by NYPD officers every day. When two suspects shot at each other, our cops put themselves in harm’s way by running toward the danger.

Photos of the suspects’ guns, recovered at the scene: ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/f9HKRqppa4

— Commissioner Shea (@NYPDShea) January 9, 2020

Updated 10 a.m.
Steven shared these photos... taken at 8:50 a.m. and showing the ongoing investigation...



There are bullet casings on Avenue A...









Several businesses along Avenue A aren't able to open, including Starbucks at St. Mark's Place, which won't be open at all today, per a sign on the door...



Updated 1:30 p.m.

The Daily News has more on the two victims, Richard Reid and Earl Facey, gang members who did not know each other.

Sources said Reid, who lived in Brownsville, was a Crip with 14 arrests on his record. He had connections to two previous shooting, sources said. He was a person of interest in a March 31, 2019, non-fatal shooting in Bedford-Stuyvesant and was a witness in another shooting, also not fatal, on Jan. 3, 2017, on the Lower East Side.

Facey, a member of the Insane Gangsta Crips who lived in East Harlem, had an even worse record, sources said.

He had been arrested 21 times and served almost seven years in state prison for gun possession before he was paroled in August 2017. He was also considered a suspect in a Sept. 28, 2008 shooting in East Flatbush and a April 3, 2008, murder in Flatbush, sources said. Facey was also shot once before, in Crown Heights on May 1, 2004.

Updated 4 p.m.

Per the Post: Reid and Facey got into a fight inside the bar after the women they were with bumped into each other.

During the fracas, a bottle or glass of water was thrown, prompting a bouncer to boot all those involved out onto the street where Facey and Reid ultimately opened fire on each other, sources said.

How to help save the Lower East Side Ecology Center's community compost program

[Image via @EastRiverAlliance]

The Lower East Side Ecology Center has launched a petition campaign ahead of the planned reconstruction of East River Park as part of the the hotly contested East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) to protect against future storms and rising sea levels.

Per their media advisory:

New York City is currently seeking a construction contract to destroy the East River Compost Yard and create a temporary lawn. The Compost Yard is located in a section of the park scheduled to be reconstructed as part of the ESCR in 2023, but under this recent announcement, the compost yard would be relocated as soon as April 2020.

The alteration of the compost yard into a temporary lawn is moving ahead rapidly without community input and was not announced at recent community board meetings. Not only will this plan cut off New Yorkers from composting and effectively kill our community compost program, but it is also a tremendous waste of taxpayer dollars to create a lawn that will be destroyed in three short years.

There are over 3,500 households donating their food scraps on a weekly basis that participate in this program. We offer 10 drop off locations in Lower Manhattan where we prevent hundreds of tons of organic material from entering landfill every year. The finished compost is distributed for free in the community.

And their ask, per the petition:

If you support composting, please let the City know how you feel. We demand that the Compost Yard stay operational until the 2023 reconstruction for this section of the Park actually starts. We also demand that the City engage with the LES Ecology Center to finish the design for the renovated Compost Yard as part of the ESCR.

The petition is addressed to Mayor de Blasio, Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver and local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera.

As of this morning, nearly 1,500 people had signed the petition. You can find it at this link.

This past Nov. 14, City Council signed off on the controversial plan that will bury/elevate East River Park by eight feet. The phased-in construction is expected to begin in the spring. (A coalition of community groups who oppose the plan is expected to file a lawsuit. Read about that here.)

Next Thursday (Jan. 16), CB3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront, & Resiliency Committee will receive an update on the construction and timeline from officials at the Department of Design and Construction. That committee meeting, which is open to the public, starts at 6:30 p.m. in the BRC Senior Services Center, 30 Delancey St. between Chrystie and Forsyth.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• More details on the city's new plan to keep East River park partially open during flood protection construction (Oct. 3)

• 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)

Desnuda Cevicheria is closing its 7th Street outpost next week

[Image via]

Desnuda, the 18-seat ceviche bar at 122 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, is shutting down its East Village outpost after service next Wednesday (Jan. 15).

Management recently made the announcement, starting by acknowledging some hookups that apparently took place there through the years. (Well, they do bill themselves as an "intimate date-night wine bar.") Here's part of the message for patrons on the Desnuda website:

We fed a whole lot of people, got a fair amount of people laid, made some good friends and heck even got some people married. After 11+ years it is time to bid adieu to Desnuda East Village. We can not thank you all enough for this amazing journey. It has been a pleasure creating long lasting memories with each and every one of you. We are truly grateful.

The parting message also mentions to "stay tuned while we look for a new location and concept." The Desnuda location in Williamsburg will remain open.

Brasserie Saint Marc looking to expand offerings with live music, sidewalk cafe and boozy brunches

[Photo by Steven]

Brasserie Saint Marc opened at 136 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street back in October.

Management is now hoping to amend their method of operation by offering live music and boozy brunches, among other enhancements, according to materials (PDF here) posted to the CB3 website ahead of this month's SLA committee meeting on Monday (Jan. 13).

Here's a thumbnail overview of the numerous requests/changes via CB3:

Brasserie Saint Marc (UKI Freedom LLC), 136 2nd Ave (op/method of operation/add DJ, Live Music (Acoustic), promoted events, any event at which a cover fee is charged, scheduled performances, add more than 12 private parties per year, add unlimited drink specials, add boozy brunches with food, extend Happy Hour, add Jukebox and Karaoke, add Video/Arcade Games, add sidewalk cafe

One EVG observer who lives nearby notes the proposed changes are sounding more in line with the method of operation of a bar-club rather than of a French restaurant.

The CB3-SLA committee meeting is Monday night at 6:30 in the Perseverance House Community Room, 535 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

A Visit to Don Juan’s Barber Shop on 4th Street

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

Juan Rosado of Don Juan's Barber Shop is busy adjusting a themed barber cape with extra paper towel lining for a young client when I show up to interview him.



There’s a line of people waiting to see him at the shop, 303 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D, and very little rest between customers. He pauses only to sweep up, clean the station and prepare for the next clip.



Surrounded by bottles of aftershave lotion and powders, clippers and shavers, artwork and stickers covering every surface, tees and caps for sale crammed into corners, the space has two large screen TVs and a display case festooned with a variety of snapback caps. There are people outside milling around patiently waiting in the cold for one of the seats on the tiny waiting bench to become free.



Rosado answers my questions about the shop’s history and the regulars who come to him for fades, trims and cuts.



How long has Don Juan's Barber Shop been in business?

Since 1999. When I first started cutting hair, I set up in the empty lot next to the Third Street Post Office and ran an extension cord to give $5 haircuts to the neighborhood.

After putting in some time at Raul’s on Avenue B and a couple of other places, I opened Don Juan’s in an old dime-bag drug-sales spot, Chuchi’s Candyland. This was during the Giuliani years and the crackdown on narcotics. Due to a past marijuana conviction, I had to use my brother’s name on the lease. My brother Edgar works for UPS. We co-own the shop.

What is special to you about being in the East Village?

I was born and raised here and live around the corner at Third and Avenue C.

What is the most popular service you provide?

All services run $15 to $25, with skin fades, comb overs and designs being the most popular.

Who is a typical client?

We see a lot of firefighters, law enforcement, FBI/Homeland Security/CIA, local people, and some famous people such as John Leguizamo and DJ Enuff. We’re also a family-friendly shop.

The shop seems nonstop busy. Do you have any plans to expand?

No. We get our lease renewed every two years. Our landlord is a good guy, and we always hope there’s no problem!







Juan also has his own line of apparel: pins, caps, hoodies, shirts and bags under the StackChips apparel line, which you can buy at the barbershop or at Arlo Hotel in Soho. Also for sale at Don Juan’s, Freaky Frige’s I’m Everywhere line of products (we’ve featured Frige’s work before here).







The shop's hours are Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., but sometimes Don Juan will stay open until 7 p.m.

C&B Cafe is no longer part of Paper Daisy on St. Mark's Place

[Photos by Steven]

C&B Cafe's time at Paper Daisy on St. Mark's Place has come to an end.

Back in September, the C&B logo was replaced at 39 St. Mark's Place with signage for Bar Ilegal. However, C&B was still operating in the space on weekends.

Late last week, signage arrived on the door noting that Bar Ilegal — originally a temporary "mezcal den" with live music — was returning ... while the cafe business had closed...



C&B Cafe debuted here in March 2019 in this spot just east of Second Avenue, making this the second East Village outpost of the well-liked cafe that opened on Seventh Street near Avenue B in January 2015.

C&B chef-owner Ali Sahin was brought in to be the executive chef for Paper Daisy, the cocktail bar that opened last March via the owners of Boulton & Watt and Drexler’s, among other credits.

Meanwhile, C&B Cafe continued on at its original location at 178 E. Seventh St. No word at the moment if Sahin has any role with Paper Daisy now. We reached out to Paper Daisy for more information.

Paper Daisy took over the space that belonged to Cafe Orlin, which closed in October 2017 after 36 years of service.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• A visit to C&B Cafe on 7th Street

• C&B Cafe now part of new venture taking over the former Cafe Orlin space on St. Mark's Place

• C&B Cafe debuts outpost on St. Mark's Place

• C&B is weekends only at the moment at Paper Daisy on St. Mark's Place

[Updated] Does anyone want the classic old A Repeat Performance sign from 1st Avenue?

[EVG photo from March 2019]

Updated 5 p.m. The sign has a new home!

A Repeat Performance closed this past July 31 on First Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street after 39 years in business.

Proprietor Sharon Jane Smith said that it was simply time to move on. (Store founder Beverly Bronson had died in May 2018.)

Amy Van Doran, who runs Modern Love Club next door, is currently in custody of that great old A Repeat Performance sign. She'd like to give it to any resident who may have an interest in this classic EV signage. She'll be at the shop (156 First Ave.) today from noon to 7 p.m. (She does warn that the sign is larger than it looks!)



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

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

• Today is the last day for A Repeat Performance

Behold the Russo's-Black Seed bagel bread bomb

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Russo’s Mozzarella and Pasta (@russosnyc) on Jan 6, 2020 at 6:39am PST

Russo’s Mozzarella and Pasta, the neighborhood institution (circa 1908) over on 11th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, has teamed up with Black Seed Bagels for this combo sandwich — bagel bread stuffed with prosciutto and handmade mozzarella and served with a pesto dipping sauce.

The creation is available all month at any of the Black Seed locations, including the one at 176 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street.

EVG Etc.: Anthrax scare at Nowhere; dessert watch at Red Gate Bakery

[Neon goodness at the Lower East Side Coffee Shop, 14th and A]

• Man accused of sending fake anthrax to Nowhere bar on 14th Street (NY1)

• The "perfect versions of classic American desserts" at the new Red Gate Bakery on First Street (Grub Street ... previously on EVG)

• The intriguing history of the Village East Cinema on Second Avenue and 12th Street (B+B)

• Evictions in NYC Continue to fall in wake of Rent Reforms (Gothamist)

• MULCHFEST HIGHLIGHTS FROM TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK (Laura Goggin Photography ... previously on EVG)

• A visit to the William Barnacle Tavern on St. Mark's Place (Untapped New York)

• Celebrating the 1980s East Village photography of Tim Greathouse (Another Man)

• The 50,000-square-foot building in the works for Delancey and Attorney (NYY)

• Ugh: The building housing Forlini's in Little Italy is for sale, and the restaurant will eventually close (Eater)

So you want to serve on your local Community Board

Application season continues for the 2020-2022 class of Manhattan Community Board members. So this is your chance to be part of your local Community Board (CB3!).

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer's office sent out a notice yesterday about the applications, which are due Jan. 21. Per the EVG inbox:

Interested in what gets built in your community and how government works to deliver services in your neighborhood? Apply to join one of Manhattan's 12 Community Boards.

Every Community Board has 50 seats which are filled for two-year terms by volunteers, who are selected by the Borough President and local City Council members. Half the seats are up for appointment or reappointment every year.

Community Boards get a seat at the table in high-stakes land use, real estate, and zoning negotiations, and they work directly with city agencies to influence how government services are delivered at the neighborhood level.

If you'd like to serve as a member of your Community Board, apply online here! Community Board applications will be open until 5 p.m. on Jan. 21.

Physical applications (downloadable here as a PDF) may also be dropped off at the Manhattan Borough President’s Office or mailed and postmarked by Jan. 21, but online submissions are strongly preferred.

Brewer's office said that CB appointments will be announced at the end of March.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The community board-State Liquor Authority drinking game

The Chippery bringing fish and chips to 1st Avenue

Signage is up for the Chippery, coming soon to 85 First Ave. between Fifth Street and Sixth Street. (Thanks to Goggla for these pics!)

This will be the first Manhattan outpost for the New Jersey-based chainlet, which currently has four locations in the Garden State...



The quick-serve establishment offers a variety of fried seafood platters and sandwiches. You can find their menu here.



No word on an opening date just yet.

Some recent history for this address: This storefront was home to the offbeat boutique Mod World between 1994 and 2006. Most recently, it was Shinbashi Sushi, where the chef smoked outside and gave passersby dirty looks.

Avenue C Restaurant has apparently closed on Avenue C

[Photo from Friday]

Several readers have noted that Avenue C Restaurant has been dark of late... including through this past weekend.

There isn't any word of a closure — temporary or otherwise — on the restaurant's website or social media properties. Calls to the restaurant go unanswered (the voicemail system has not been set up, per a message). Meanwhile, Open Table is reporting that this is a permanent closure...



The restaurant just debuted last July at 102 Avenue C between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. One EVG regular who lived nearby said that the staff was friendly, but the place didn't do much to distinguish itself for return visits. (The website copy was stunningly generic: "Welcome to Avenue C Restaurant, the new trendiest American restaurant on the Lower East Side! From it’s industrial décor, to chic vibe we deliver the location to enjoy an amazing experience.")

Someone put a lot of money into the space, giving it a whole new look from its nine years as Edi & the Wolf, which resembled some kind of cozy Austrian garage. Executive chefs Eduard "Edi" Frauneder and Wolfgang "the Wolf" Ban decided to close up last April due to "increasing operating costs," Eater reported.

Choice Cleaners 7 coming to Avenue A

Updated 1/16 — Choice is now open!

Signage is up now at 24 Avenue A ... where Choice Cleaners 7 is coming soon to this space at Second Street.

This is a move for the current Choice Cleaners 7 at 23 Avenue B between Second Street and Third Street.

The retail space was previously home to the Art on A Gallery & Shop, which closed last summer after seven years.

There are two other empty retail spaces in this corner building, including the former FryGuys storefront on Second Street... which was recently renovated...



The Sabet Group bought 24 Avenue A (aka 150 E. Second St.) for $15.8 million early last year, per public records.

Monday's parting shot

Mascot Monday? Photo on Second Avenue via Derek Berg.