Another look at lower 2nd Avenue

Back on Friday, we reported that Gemini Rosemont Development will build an 11-story condoplex on three properties on the east side of Second Avenue between Second Street and Third Street.

Demolition permits were filed this past Thursday to take down the former La Salle annex at 38 Second Ave. at Second Street...



Gemini Rosemont paid more than $55 million for the three contiguous parcels, which include the former (as of July 2015) Church of the Nativity.

This project joins several others to sprout up along Second Avenue below Fourth Street in recent years...

... including 31-33 Second Ave., which received a gut renovation and three extra floors to become luxury rentals called Luxe East...



... and there's 32 E. First St. at the site of the former BP station... the condo units here include the still-available $8.7 million penthouse...



... and Jupiter 21 at First Street where Mars Bar used to be...



... and coming soon to 14 Second Ave., the 10-story residential building — still in the foundation stage — called Treetops...



The development rush on Second Avenue, First Street and the Bowery got underway in 1997 when workers demolished the existing buildings to make way for the current Avalon Bowery Place complex... these shots by Steve Carter are on Second Avenue at First Street...

Baked Cravings opens today on St. Mark's Place

[Photo from Aug. 17]

Baked Cravings opens today at 102 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.

This is the second location for the bakery that specializes in fresh-baked nut- and peanut-free cupcakes, cakes, brownies and cookies. A speciality here: Cupcakes in a jar... pictured here with founder Craig Watson ...



Baked Cravings opened in East Harlem on Lexington at 105th Street in 2017.

The East Village shop is open noon to 8 p.m. daily. Phone: (917) 482-3887.

The former Oddfellows space is for rent on 4th Street

A for rent sign has arrived at 75 E. Fourth St., marking the official end of OddFellows here between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

As we noted on Aug. 24, the ice cream shop, shuttered since the COVID-19 PAUSE in March, had been emptied out... and the phone disconnected.

This spot, along with the outpost on East Houston, are no longer on the OddFellows website. Other locations of the Brooklyn-based small-batch ice cream company, which launched in 2013, are open, including a new spot at Gotham West Market.

OddFellows opened on Fourth Street in the spring of 2014.

Mermaid Inn has closed on 2nd Avenue

[Photo from Aug. 22]

Several readers have noted activity at the currently closed Mermaid Inn on Second Avenue... workers were spotted removing equipment from the casual seafood restaurant here between Fifth Street and Sixth Street.

The interior is now empty...



The East Village location is no longer on the Mermaid Inn's website; the phone is not in service. Mermaid Inn reps did not respond to requests for information about the Second Avenue outpost. Three other Mermaid Inn locations are currently open.

The Mermaid Inn arrived in the East Village back in 2003.

Updated:

As we were writing this up yesterday Eater confirmed the closure.

Co-owner Daniel Abrams and partner Cindy Smith decided to close the restaurant in the wake of failed attempts to reach a workable rent deal with the location's landlord amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

"The situation is untenable," Abrams says in a phone interview. "The PPP has run out. There's no money to pay landlords. We go to landlords like beggars hoping they'll give us a handout."

Abrams also wrote an open farewell letter, which includes this passage:

We are sharing this information to illustrate what ONE SINGLE RESTAURANT adds to its community and to the city. Many restaurants have closed since COVID and many more will close as the pandemic continues. The ripple effect will be incalculable.

Over the years The Mermaid Inn on Second Ave has:
• Welcomed over 850,000 guests
• Paid over $15M in wages to our more than 3000 employees who have spent Ime with us
• Contributed more than $2.1M in taxes to the city, the state, Medicare, SS, UI, etc
• Sent in excess of 4M in Sales Tax to NYS
• Paid over 15M to our hundreds of hard working vendors
• Given hundreds of thousands of dollars to the city and state for permits, licenses, etc

We are providing these numbers to show the effect the closing of a SINGLE restaurant has. Now mulIply that by THOUSANDS of NYC restaurants closing. The loss of opportunity for employees, the loss of income for city, state and local governments, the loss of sales to our fish companies, our vegetable company, the linen company, even the company that comes to take our used oyster shells or our discarded grease. If we don’t pay them, they do not pay their employees and so on and so on. The chain is never ending.

Noted

Thanks to Eden and Steven for this crime report via the Citizen app...

6 posts from August

[Outside the former Gem Spa via Steven]

A mini month in review...

• Friends and neighbors come together to help Chef Lek at Lui's Thai Food (Aug. 18)

• A visit to East Village Acupuncture & Massage (Aug. 14)

• Checking in with Chico (Aug. 10)

• East Village Loves Queens expands: Meet East Village Loves NYC (Aug. 10)

• New 5th Street coffee shop closes in less than 2 months; owner says the 9th Precinct's barricades 'greatly restricted' his foot traffic (Aug. 5)

• East Village bar owner petitioning against Cuomo’s COVID-19 menu mandate has liquor license suspended for not serving food (Aug. 5)

Support for Punjabi Grocery and Deli

Punjabi Grocery and Deli at 114 E. First St. between Avenue A and First Avenue enjoyed an uptick in business over the weekend... where some social media reports showed a line to enter the small shop (there currently is a two-person limit inside).

The inexpensive eats favorite reopened on July 10 after being closed for four months during the COVID-19 PAUSE.

As previously reported, there have been concerns through the years about Punjabi's future. The never-ending East Houston Reconstruction Project finally wrapped up at the end of 2018 — just six years behind schedule.

For nearly nine years, the construction zone eliminated parking spaces for cab drivers, who are a sizable share of Punjabi's business, making it nearly impossible for them to stop in for a meal or break. Those who did stop faced getting a ticket. Plus, there has been an overall decline of cab drivers in the Lyft-Uber era.

So Punjabi Grocery and Deli fan Jessica Morgulis launched a crowdfunding campaign back on Friday. Nicolas Heller, aka @NewYorkNico, helped amplify the campaign to his more than 400,000 Instagram followers.

As of this morning, the campaign had reached $38,000 of its $50,000 goal.

Meanwhile, cab drivers will still have challenges stopping by ... the taxi relief stand that finally arrived in July 2019 along Houston Street has been removed to accommodate the ongoing construction for a 9-story residential building next door...



This build has been a slow-go to date. The plywood arrived in May 2018, and workers are still in the foundation stages.

As for Punjabi's food, it's better than ever. Here's part of Scott Lynch's recap from two recent visits for Gothamist:

The trays holding everything from vegetable curries to fried samosas to sweet gulab jamun were all stocked full and fresh, the selection as extensive as ever, the prices still astonishingly low.

I ate way too much both times and everything was spectacular. This is all skillfully prepared food, loaded with flavor and much more spicy than I remembered. And, at $7, the combo platter of nicely chewy long grain rice topped with your choice of three vegetable curries—I went with the thick pureed spinach, the barely-sweet squash, and the lively "black chickpeas" — remains one of the best deals in town.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• How you can help Punjabi Grocery & Deli stay in business

• Never-ending construction continues to hurt Punjabi Grocery & Deli

• Taxi Relief Stand arrives on Avenue A; Punjabi Grocery & Deli relieved

• Concern again for Punjabi Grocery & Deli on 1st Street

• At long last a taxi relief stand for East Houston and 1st Street outside Punjabi Grocery & Deli

Sun's Laundry closes after more than 60 years on 14th Street

A for-real end of an era at 626 E. 14th St., where Sun's Laundry has closed... several EVG readers told us that family members gathered here on Saturday to officially say goodbye to the business that Robert Lee opened with his father in this storefront between Avenue B and Avenue C in 1959...



In recent years Mr. Lee had reduced the business hours to two to three days a week as he contemplated retirement. The shop closed at the start of the COVID-19 PAUSE, and only recently reopened so patrons could retrieve any remaining items.

A nephew, Robert Gee, told Gothamist that the decision to close was made for the family with the COVID-19 crisis.

For Lee, 84, and his wife, Wai Hing Lee, 76, who works alongside him, commuting to the shop from their home in Elmhurst, Queens, was too big of a risk during the pandemic.

"With stay-at-home, there's no need for work clothes," said Gee. "And even earlier than that, the rise of business-casual attire in the workplace has had an impact on the Chinese laundry business because there’s less dry cleaning and less pressed blouses needed for work."

Building resident (since 1981) Carol Kostik told Gothamist: "It does feel like the end of an era with times changing in New York, but Mr. Lee has earned his retirement many times over, so we all wish him well."

Thank you to @NycAuntie for the photos!

A look at the new-look 57 St. Mark's Place

Been meaning to note that workers recently removed the sidewalk bridge and construction netting at 57 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... revealing the building's refurbished exterior ...





Unitas: St. Mark's Place Institute for Mental Health is the current occupant.

The building now also features a plaque commemorating a tenant here from 1978-1983 — Club 57... the influential venue in the basement of the Holy Cross Polish National Church (at the time) ...



Speaking of Keith Haring... as you may have seen in recent days, Sotheby's will auction more than 140 of his works in an online sale this fall. Proceeds from the auction, titled "Dear Keith: Works from the Personal Collection of Keith Haring" will benefit the LGBTQ Community Center of New York.

Veeray Da Dhaba debuts on 1st Avenue

Veeray Da Dhaba debuted last week here at 222 First Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street.

A trio of NYC restaurateurs joined forces to open this spot that promises the "authentic roadside cuisine of Punjab"

The Instagram post below has more info ... you can find their menu here for takeout and delivery. They are open daily from noon to 10 p.m.

View this post on Instagram

Sonny Solomon - a native of Punjab & backed by 25 years of experience at critically acclaimed restaurants in NYC, Hemant Mathur - the renown Michelin star chef, and Binder Saini - native of Punjab & former Executive Chef of Kurry Qulture (winner of the Best Indian Restaurant in Queens), create a delectable menu promising to entice and offer a glimpse into Punjab’s authentic taste and culture. To indulge, call (212) 777-1420 or visit veeraydadhaba.com. #punjabifood #indianfood #unionsquare #eastvillage #sohonyc #noho #grubstreet #eatlocal #eaterny #veeraydadhaba #indianchef #punjabi #west village

A post shared by Veeray da Dhaba (@veeray_da_dhaba) on Aug 28, 2020 at 1:33pm PDT

Veeray Da Dhaba is the third promising new food business to open on First Avenue between 11th Street and 14th Street in recent weeks... joining Lhasa and Petit Chou...

Prim Thai debuts on 1st Street

Tai Thai's time has come to an end at 78 E. First St. just east of First Avenue.

Per the EVG tipline, new owners have taken over the space, now going by Prim Thai Restaurant ... we're told the new staff is friendly and the food is quite good ... there's a $9.95 lunch special. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. for takeout and delivery — and there are a few sidewalk seats. (646) 799-9642. Find their menu via Seamless here.

[Updated] A bad sign at 99 Favor Taste

[Photo from Aug. 22]

Updated: 99 Favor Taste was able to reopen in late September!

Earlier this month, a "14-day notice demanding payment of rent" notice arrived on the front door of the currently closed 99 Favor Taste at 37 St. Mark's Place ...



According to the paperwork, the restaurant at Second Avenue owes $34,986 (!!!) for the August rent along with a balance of the July rent and real-estate tax for a sum totaling more than $52,000.

Last week, the ongoing sidewalk construction moved to the front door of the restaurant, blocking entry to the space...



The restaurant, which offers traditional Korean-style barbecue and Chinese hot pot meals at multiple NYC locations (and free birthday meals), opened in the East Village in July 2017. Several of the other 99 Favor Taste outposts are open.

Young and on the loose

As noted the other day, Amelia and Christo's 2020 offspring have mostly left the confines of Tompkins Square Park... and have ventured out... though the juvenile red-tailed hawks don't seem to be too far away .. there were several sightings this weekend... the top photo is from First Street at Second Avenue. Thanks to Zak Kerkoulas for the photo (and h/t Elayne Kling!).

... and EVG reader James Chambers shared this photo from 13th Street and Avenue B yesterday ...



Goggla, our go-to source for the red-tailed hawks, said that migration season is coming soon... so we may be seeing a few more hawks passing through the area. Amelia and Christo's juveniles will likely leave for destinations unknown as well. We hope that they stick together — they seemed to be such pals.

Week in Grieview

[Dining on 7th Street Friday evening]

Posts from the past week included...

• Local elected officials wants answers on the status of officer accused of police brutality on Avenue D (Monday)

• A visit to Anyway Cafe (Thursday)

• Turntable Lab closes its 10th Street storefront (Tuesday)

• Longtime counterman ponders life after B&H (Wednesday)

• Speculating about the future of John Varvatos in the former home of CBGB on the Bowery (Monday)

• Plans call for 11-story condoplex at former site of Church of the Nativity and La Salle on 2nd Avenue (Friday)

• Sales launch for condos at site of deadly 2nd Avenue explosion (Thursday)

• RIP Walter Lure (Sunday)

• NYPD searching for suspects in 2 elevator muggings along 1st Avenue (Saturday)

• This week's NY See panel (Thursday)

• What's going on with the local OddFellows spaces? (Monday)

• Academy Records is back open (and happy Record Store Day) (Saturday)

• The Other Music documentary is now available on streaming services (Tuesday)

• The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space reopens today on Avenue C (Tuesday)

• Kitchen Sink removes part of its roof to accommodate more outdoor dining (Monday)

• Tuome reopens on 5th Street for takeout and delivery (Friday)


[Avenue A all stars]

• (Re)openings: Borrachito on A; Lost City Oyster House on C (Thursday)

• Yuba has closed on 9th Street (Tuesday)

• Clearing out Third Rail Coffee (Wednesday)

• A look at the larger Amor y Amargo on A; plus Soda Club signage arrives on B (Monday)

• Report: Judge denies temporary restraining order for Cloister Cafe (Monday)

... and on Friday, members of the local band Hennessey hosted a clothing sale in Tompkins Square Park with all proceeds going to the Sixth Street Community Center...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

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Colorful new curbside seating for International Bar

International Bar has added curbside seating (three tables) here at 102 First Ave. at Sixth Street... and the East Village-based Billy the Artist is adding some color and style to the seats... (thanks to Steven for the work-in-progress photos!)...











The International is open daily from 1-11 p.m. They are serving some tasty ham-and-cheese sandwiches (with country-style ham and podlaski cheese purchased from East Village Meat Market on Second Avenue...) they also offer Superiority Burger's semi-ish-legendary Saturated Party Subs Saturdays and Mondays (and maybe Sundays and Tuesdays).

Updated 5 p.m.

And a final look at the finished product...

Signs of the times

The sign reading "End Toxic Masculinity" is now hanging on Avenue A at the St. Mark's Place entrance to Tompkins Square Park... this is the latest in a series of topical messages seen in and around the Park this summer...







The unknown artist modeled these after the "Keep This Far Apart" social distancing signs that the Parks Department unveiled in early April ...


[Image via NYC Parks]

Saturday's parting shot

Moving day on Second Avenue... photo by Derek Berg...

Also, happy Independent Bookstore Day

Aside from being Record Store Day, today is also the rescheduled Independent Bookstore Day ... at Book Club, 197 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B, they have signed copies of "You Have Arrived at Your Destination" by Amor Towles ... as well as some giveaways...



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Updated 4:30

EVG contributor Stacie Joy notes that Book Club is giving away some free books today...



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In other local bookstore news, Mast Books is now open seven days a week on Avenue A at Fifth Street. Hours: noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday with a 6 p.m. close on Sunday and Monday.