Heavy lifting at the future tech hub

Activity has picked up at the construction site of the future tech hub (aka Zero Irving) on 14th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.

On Saturday, a crane crew was on hand to help load in heavy materials ...



... and later in the day via Pinch...



The 21-floor building, developed jointly by the city’s Economic Development Corp. and RAL Development Services, will feature 14 floors of market-rate office space as well as "a technology training center and incubator, co-working spaces, state-of-the-art event space, and street level food hall on the seven floors beneath," per the Zero Irving announcement issued last October.

The new building, on the former site of a P.C. Richard & Son, has a completion date for the spring of 2021, per the renderings onsite.

Previously on EV Grieve:
P.C. Richard is gone on 14th Street; preservationists want answers about tech-hub commitments

Sunday's parting shot

Photo on St. Mark's Place by Derek Berg...

Details on the NYPD's Neighborhood Policing Listening Tour tomorrow night

This month, Fausto Pichardo, NYPD Chief of Patrol, is going on a Neighborhood Policing Listening Tour at different precincts in the city.

Per the invite: "Share YOUR experiences with how Neighborhood Policing is working in your community as we continue to move forward & build upon our initiatives."

The meeting, which includes for residents served by the 9th Precinct in the East Village, is tomorrow night (March 2) at 6:30 at 235 E. 20th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Here’s another reminder about the upcoming @NYPDChiefPatrol Neighborhood Policing Listening Tour, coming to Manhattan!

It’s THAT important that we hear from EVERYONE—residents, business owners, clergy, and community leaders—about your experiences with Neighborhood Policing. pic.twitter.com/N2gbWrWySN

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) February 27, 2020

Week in Grieview

[Inspiration on Avenue B]

Posts from this past week included...

• Ranger Rob comes to the rescue after Christo gets stuck between buildings on 7th Street (Saturday)

• Report of a fatality at the Astor Place station (Monday)

• JUICE is a new gallery on St. Mark's Place, and its first group show debuts tonight (Thursday) At the opening night group show at JUICE gallery on St. Mark's Place (Saturday)

• Crowdfunding campaign launched for fire-damaged Via Della Pace on 7th Street (Tuesday)

• Special news report from 1967: "Hippies change scene in East Village" (Wednesday)

• The Third Man has closed on Avenue C (Monday)

• 94-96 Avenue A wrapped ahead of 1-floor extension (Monday)

• The Black 6 Coffee Trading Co. takes up temporary residency on 4th Street (Tuesday)

• Someone tagged the steps at the Merchant's House Museum (Tuesday)

• More details made public about the 101 Condominium on 1st Avenue and 2nd Street (Thursday)

• Here's a look at the new Half Gallery exterior on Avenue B and 4th Street (Thursday)

• Zadie's Oyster Room has closed (Friday)

• Sally Beauty coming to 14th Street (Wednesday)

• Solidcore snaps up former ICP space on the Bowery (Monday)

• The former Manitoba's space receives the plywood treatment on Avenue B (Friday)

• Construction watch: 238 E. 3rd St. (Wednesday)

• Cover letters: Signage comes down at the now-closed Zum Schneider on Avenue C (Thursday)

• Here's the completed mural of Kobe and Gianna Bryant on the Lower East Side (Friday)

• Stargirl 2020 (Friday)

• The remains of the St. Mark's Market (Thursday)

... and please enjoy the new mailboxes that the USPS left for our use, such as one on Avenue A and Ninth Street...


[Photo yesterday by Steven]

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The state's plastic bag ban is NOW in effect

[Westside Market on 3rd Avenue]

As you probably know, the statewide ban on single-use plastic bags used at grocery stores, delis and other retailers (anyone required to collect New York State sales tax) went into effect overnight.

So you'll need to bring your own bag(s) to transport your purchases (if you didn't do so already) ... places such as Union Market on Houston at Avenue A will credit you 10 cents per bag...



Unfortunately, this Bag Waste Reduction Law means that we will no longer will have the Key Food holiday plastic bags to look forward to. But, for 99 cents, you may buy this sturdier plastic Key Food bag to carry your groceries...



Retailers are expected to have a stash of paper bags for use — for an additional 5-cent fee.

What else? Here's some details courtesy of the Times:

The ban will not be aggressively enforced right away, but merchants could eventually face penalties — $250 for a first violation and $500 for a repeat.

The exceptions

Stores can give out single-use plastic bags for certain items, including uncooked meat, sliced or prepared food and prescription drugs. Restaurants can provide the bags for takeout. Newspaper bags, garment bags and bags sold in bulk, such as trash or recycling bags, are also exempt from the ban.

Where the fees from paper bags go

Local governments that require a paper bag fee will keep 2 cents per bag to spend on programs aimed at distributing reusable bags. The remaining 3 cents will go to the state’s Environmental Protection Fund.

Gothamist has a nice primer here. For A LOT more details, visit the NYS Department of Environemental Conservation website.

In recent days, the Department of Sanitation passed out free reusable bags ... with Mayor de Blasio helping out this past Friday at Union Square...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

"This is another step to saving our Earth, saving our city," de Blasio said.

6 posts from February

A mini month in review...

• Special news report from 1967: "Hippies change scene in East Village" (Feb. 26)

• NYPD's body-cam footage shows the deadly police shooting on Avenue A and 7th Street from Jan. 9 (Feb. 21)

• A Visit to Odessa Restaurant (Feb. 20)

• For now, both entrances to the 1st Avenue L-train station are located at Avenue A (Feb. 15)

• FDNY battling 3-alarm fire on the southeast corner of 2nd Avenue and 7th Street (Feb. 10)

• Ray returns! (Feb. 8)

Ranger Rob comes to the rescue after Christo gets stuck between buildings on 7th Street

[Photo by Drew Heffron]

Last night, residents on Seventh Street between Avenue B and Avenue C noticed that a hawk was trapped in the airshaft between buildings on the block.


[Photo by Drew Heffron]

After a few emails that included Goggla, it was determined that this was Christo, the male resident red-tailed hawk of Tompkins Square Park. Christo was likely chasing a pigeon when he found himself unable to get back out. (His wingspan made it impossible to navigate the tight quarters.)


[Photo via @younglr]

After a few rescue attempts, one of the building's vigilant residents was able to track down Ranger Rob (aka Rob Mastrianni, a Manhattan Ranger supervisor). Turns out that Ranger Rob, who is also a musician, was performing at Caravan of Dreams on Sixth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Ranger Rob arrived and had to figure out the best way to get to Christo (he also shared the photos below) ...



"It was a bit scary climbing into that space between the buildings," he told me. "Luckily someone let me in the basement and I climbed through a window."



And soon, Ranger Rob emerged with Christo...











"Christo was fierce, strong and had no signs of injury or sickness," said Ranger Rob, who brought Christo back to Tompkins Square Park. (Before releasing Christo, he spoke by phone with Bobby Horvath of the Long Island-based WINORR, the Wildlife In Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation, who helped him determine if the hawk was OK.)

Meanwhile, this morning, Steven saw Christo and Amelia — they are both doing well as mating season continues... these three photos are by Steven...

At the opening night group show at JUICE gallery on St. Mark's Place

Thursday night marked the first group show at JUICE, a new gallery space at 8 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

JUICE, described as a "non-profit gallery dedicated to long-term community building in the instant age," was started by brothers Brendan McElroy and Daniel McElroy ...


[Brendan McElroy]


[Daniel McElroy and Brendan]

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was there for part of the opening, and shares these photos from the space ...









The group show features pieces by Lucien Smith, Spencer Sweeney, Harif Guzman, Jim (The Mosaic Man) Power, Maggie Lee, Perry Khalil and Eric Smith.


[Maggie Lee]









JUICE is open today from noon to 5 p.m.

The 'Price' is right

The Brooklyn-based band Store Front has a new EP out now... the video above is for the debut single, "Rip the Price Off."

Here's the completed mural of Kobe and Gianna Bryant on the Lower East Side

After a week, Mark Paul Deren, aka Madsteez, has finished his tribute to Kobe and Gianna Bryant outside the complex that houses Sun Yat Sen Middle School and Emma Lazarus High School on Hester and Eldridge...



East Village Walls curates this space, and the students here reportedly voted on who they wanted a mural of outside their school.

The mural is based of a photo by Atiba Jefferson.

View this post on Instagram

WEEN legendary photograper @atibaphoto officially lets you use his @kobebryant x GiGi photo for reference. —————-> 📷 @just_a_spectator 📷 @smurffedout 🏛 @eastvillagewalls

A post shared by MARK PAUL DEREN (@madsteez) on Feb 26, 2020 at 2:01pm PST

Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were killed alongside seven other people on Jan. 26 when the helicopter they were in crashed in California.

Today in ads for Zipcar on Astor Place

A reader shared the above photo from Astor Place this morning... showing a car under what's meant to be a mound of snow (remember when it used to snow here in the winter?)

Here's a closer look at what turns out to be an ad for Zipcar... here are photos via EVG Zipcar Ad Correspondent Steven ... showing some details on the snowbank...









Noticeably missing — a design by one of the many Penistrators ...

Zadie's Oyster Room has closed

Zadie's Oyster Room closed last evening after nearly four years in service.

The wine bar-restaurant at 413 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue drew inspiration from NYC's oyster houses from the late 19th century.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by Zadie's last night. Chef-owner Marco Canora, who also runs the nearby Hearth (opened 2003) and Brodo, said that he had no choice but to close the doors ... and expressed regret that a place like Zadie's couldn't draw bigger crowds on a consistent basis with its reasonably priced menu and neighborhood-y crowd. (We heard rumors earlier in the month that Zadie's was closing after the departure of Chef Mike Campanile.)


[Canora]

Zadie's opened in June 2016. He was previously involved with the wine bars Terroir and Fifty Paces at the address.

Now, though Canora says that he doesn't haven't any plans to open a new venture here, and is giving up the space.

Stacie reports that the crowd last evening was festive, with Zadie fans celebrating the space rather than mourning its departure...











Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to Zadie's Oyster Room on 12th Street