More scaffolding — and now demolition — for this troubled Avenue C corner

An EVG reader shared these photos from yesterday at the southeast corner of Avenue C and Third Street:

"Activity at the corner again. At first, it sounded like they were finally taking down the sidewalk shed, but they're actually putting up additional barriers and appear to be readying for construction work of some kind."

As previously reported, residents have long complained about the drug activity on this corner. On Jan. 18, a 36-year-old man was shot and killed here. According to published reports, the man was shot multiple times around 8:40 p.m. Since then, the NYPD has parked a patrol car here.

The sidewalk bridge has helped give cover to any activity here... for the past eight-plus years. 

At one point, there were plans for this corner... with the filing of permits with the city in July 2005 for a new 6-floor residential building here. The city disapproved the plans in May 2006, and nothing more happened with the project.

However, the landlord filed a permit in the fall of 2017 with the DOB to "rebuild exterior walls; replace windows and sistering of floor joists to address" the various violations on file.

And now — several years after the initial repair work? According to newly issued work permits, there are plans to "partially demolish the building." In January, there was a permit — since withdrawn — to demolish the building's "second, third and roof floors." 

Public records list the landlord as Abraham Benelyahou of Fairfax Management Corp. In 2014, the Daily News referred to him as "Manhattan's worst landlord."

[Via Google in 2010]

Van Da to treat NYC's 'Warrior Women' to dinner on its 1st night back

Photo of Yen Ngo from November by Stacie Joy 

Van Da, the modern Vietnamese restaurant at 234 E. Fourth St., reopens April 1 here between Avenue A and Avenue B.

And on the opening night, owner Yen Ngo plans to honor the women who have helped "lift our city up and forward."

She explains in an Instagram post:

Throughout history, women have always carried communities forward, uplifting one another, providing life and nourishment in all forms (and hardly get the credit for it.) History repeats itself again throughout this pandemic, hearing so many stories about women who have lifted their communities and led the way through a worldwide crisis, offering hope and inspiration to those around them.

We've been mulling over ways to re-open in exactly 1 week on April 1st that honor what NYC has fought through and, at the same time, honor the women who have held the torch to lift our city up and forward.

On Thursday, April 1, we are dedicating our opening night to treat 75 of these heroic women and a companion to thank them for their courage, resilience, and leadership with a special fixed menu and wine pairing.

Please help us treat our local NY Warrior Women to an evening out by nominating them ... 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VAN ĐA (@vandanyc)

The deadline to nominate someone is 8 p.m. on Monday. And you need to do it on Van Da's Instagram account.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• A visit to Van Da on 4th Street

2 break-ins on 7th Street

Late this past Saturday, someone broke into two neighboring businesses along Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

As EVG contributor Stacie Joy reports, the thief broke into Peter Jarema Funeral Home, where he trashed the office and made off with several iPads and laptops. 

As Danny Buzzetta, Jarema's owner/director, notes, they're not a cash business.

Meanwhile, at Ruffian Wine Bar, the thief took cash, electronic items and personal stuff, per partner/co-owner Patrick Cournot ...

Ruffian had released a montage on Instagram Stories of the suspect from surveillance footage ...

In more positive developments: Fawzy and Ola at B&H Dairy on Second Avenue reported on Instagram yesterday that the NYPD has arrested the thief who broke into and robbed the lunch counter (he took the entire register with its $500) this past November. 

Per their post: "He was caught due to fingerprints left in the restaurant. He's facing up to eight years in prison. Apparently, the same perp had robbed several other businesses in the neighborhood, one on St. Mark's and another on Avenue C."

Reopenings: Double Down Saloon on A

Double Down Saloon, the dump (said in a loving way!) that serves bacon martinis and Ass Juice at 14 Avenue A, has reopened for the first time since March 2020. (The space was put to use for a video shoot with Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus back in October.)

The bar, the sibling to the Las Vegas original, is now open from 4-11 p.m. under the current 50-percent capacity and other COVID protocols here between Second Street and Houston. 

This post has a list of some other recent reopenings.

Thursday's parting shots

Because one photo here on Seventh Street west of First Avenue won't suffice... photos by Derek Berg today...

Donations for Ryo, who returned home after a months-long hospitalization to find an empty apartment with new locks

Sierra Zamarripa, the owner of Lovewild Design, 136 Avenue C between Eighth Street and Ninth Street, is collecting donations for a longtime resident who came home after being hospitalized with COVID-19 only to find new locks on the door to a now-empty apartment.

Here's more via Sierra:

I am reaching out in hopes of finding support for our neighbor Ryo.

A few months ago Ryo was taken away by ambulance ... some weeks after that a crew was in the hallway cleaning out his apartment and we thought he had died. In fact, a friend of his set up a memorial to him in front of his building at 133 Avenue D asking if anyone knew what had happened to him. 

Yesterday Ryo returned home after hospitalization and months of COVID rehabilitation. He arrived to the building to find his locks changed and his apartment emptied out except for his piano and tortoise, who was left alone for months.

Ryo had worked throughout the pandemic as a restaurant worker. He has no shoes, no toothbrush, no documents or ID, no passport, no fridge or stove. 

He needs assistance to get his life back and move forward. 

If you are able to contribute non-monetary donations, we'll be collecting donations at  Lovewild Design. We’re open 12-6 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday. 

He's medium build, wears men's 9.5/10 shoes wide, 38 waist and cannot take in perishable food yet until building management installs a fridge.

Here's a spreadsheet on what has been donated.

There's also a GoFundMe now at this link.

Ryo lives at 133 Avenue D between Ninth Street and 10th Street in a building said to partially owned by former Yankee Alex Rodriguez. Ryo did stay in the apartment last night thanks to a donated mattress. It's unclear at the moment if he will be able to stay there moving forward. 

Updated 8:30 p.m.

Page Six has more on the story, including that Barbara Corcoran is also an owner of the building.

A rep for Corcoran defended their actions, saying they "made every effort to locate the Resident including calling local hospitals and contacting Adult Protective Services."

"After APS was alerted to the situation, an APS caseworker was assigned to the Resident," the rep, Mitchell Kossoff, said. "Despite the effort of the APS caseworker and this office, the Resident could not be located and the apartment was cleaned by a company that specialized in bio clean-up services on Feb. 17, 2021. in conformity with all governing regulations."

Gothamist has a report here.

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 and NYC ...  

A walk around inside the long-abandoned — and ghoulishly beautiful — P.S. 64

Photos by Stacie Joy

In recent weeks, residents who live near the former P.S. 64 on Ninth Street and 10th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C have reported an opening in the plywood, offering access inside the long-empty property.

There have been reader reports lately of people inside the school, including on the roof. The FDNY responded to a fire here in December.

The other day, EVG contributor Stacie Joy, accompanied by a friend, walked through the wide-open gate to look around the former school and Charas/El Bohio Community Center. (The plywood has since been shored up, cutting off this entry.)

After seeing her photos, I asked Stacie for more about what she saw inside the school, which developer Gregg Singer bought in a city auction in 1998.

Why did you decide to enter the former P.S. 64?

It was kind of a whim. I’d heard reports of what was going on inside and I was, as a photojournalist and longtime East Village resident, curious…and the door was open. 

I originally planned just to take some shots of the exterior but when I saw I could get inside the building I decided to document it for posterity. I have a history of getting into places and I felt it was important to see — and share — what was inside.

What did you first notice after entering the building? 

The smell! It’s pretty unpleasant. A mix of urine and funk, with top notes of mold/mildew and, I think, animal death and decay. I also keyed into the sounds…there is a lot of dripping noise, echoes and scurrying and flapping from the animal inhabitants. Hundreds of pigeons live inside, plus the rats. 

It’s almost pitch-black as you enter and there are shards of broken glass everywhere. There is evidence of other people bleeding from getting caught in the shattered glass or broken planks and exposed nails. I could also hear and feel the wind as it moved through the building. It was eerie and spooky and ghoulishly beautiful. It had a bit of a post-apocalyptic feel to it, at least until you made it up to the roof.  

Based on your photos here featuring discarded cans of spray paint and fresh graffiti, it appears people have been inside recently. Did you see any evidence of anyone who may be living inside? Did you think anyone else may have been present while you were there — perhaps just hidden from view?

I did not see evidence of anyone living in there. I didn’t want to disturb anyone who may be living inside, and I wanted to be as respectful of the space as possible for an uninvited guest. There are, I think, six floors including the basement, plus the roof, but I only spied the wall art left behind, and evidence of parties: empty White Claw cans, condoms, teenage graffiti, love notes and messages, mostly centering around sex and drugs, plus some social justice themes. 

What is your assessment of the building’s current condition?

It looks like at one point work might have begun — there were some supplies on the first floor ... but also evidence of a fire. The place is gutted down to the crumbling brick and studs, and there are hazardous holes in the floors and walls. 

The space is soaring, empty and vast. I kept thinking about what it could be, and what a luxury it must be to have so much space to live or work in. The ceilings are so high! And there are so many windows, though most of them are busted out. 

I was with a local artist who marveled at the graffiti and was covetous of the space, and what could be created there. We both felt changed and deeply affected by our time inside. 

As previously reported,  Gregg Singer has wanted to turn the building into a dorm called University Square. The DOB continues to maintain a Stop Work Order — dating to August 2015 — on the property. 

In years past several local elected officials, community activists and residents have asked for the return of the building for community use.

Wednesday's parting shot

As seen on Second Avenue today... photo by Derek Berg...

Spring break

Goggla shares this photo from this afternoon... the cherry trees behind the office and restrooms in Tompkins Square Park are beginning to bloom...

Gallery Watch: 'Black Femme: Sovereign of WAP and the Virtual Realm' at Canada

Text and photos by Clare Gemima 

Black Femme: Sovereign of WAP and the Virtual Realm

Canada, 60 Lispenard St. 

The WAP in the title of this show could not be more relevant after the huge success of Megan Thee Stallion at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards last week, taking home the title of Best New Artist. 

Unfortunately for me, the WAP had nothing to do with one of Cardi B’s best songs ever, but instead with something called Wireless Application Protocol, which the show’s description prefaces. Six female-identifying Black artists celebrate the Black Femme body through a post-internet art lens in the form of textile, paint, appliqué and video sequencing. 

Through various mediums, a heavy-hitting and sensitive topic are embraced through color, figurative play and an undeniable boldness that permeates as soon as you walk into the gallery. The work aims to dismantle and challenge the societal restrictions that are forced upon female Black bodies both offline and online, in virtual reality and AFK (away from keyboard). 

This group show intends to initiate discourse around the politics of sexuality, gender and femininity. The group show was curated by Christina Ine-Kimba Boyle and showcases the works of Caitlin Cherry, Delphine Desane, Emily Manwaring, Kenya (Robinson), Sydney Vernon and Qualeasha Wood. 

Black Femme: Sovereign of WAP and the Virtual Realm will run until April 10.

 

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ 

Clare Gemima is a visual artist from New Zealand. New-ish to the East Village, she spends her time as an artist assistant and gallery go-er, hungry to explore what's happening in her local art world. You can find her work here: claregemima.com 

The shirtwaist dress on the Bowery

Photos courtesy of E. Jay Sims

On Sunday, Bowery resident E. Jay Sims hung a large shirtwaist dress on the top-floor fire escape at 306 Bowery.

She mounted the dress, from a performance art piece that she did at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1984, here this week on the Bowery at First Street in honor of Women's History Month ... and in memory of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, whose 110th anniversary is tomorrow. 

The fire killed 146 garment workers — mostly young women, many of whom lived on the Lower East Side.

Sims, a longtime visual arts teacher, also dedicated this memorial to her grandmother, Rose Kruger, a Hungarian immigrant/seamstress who arrived in New York in 1913 and used her sewing skills to raise her family in America.

Weather permitting, the dress will be up through the weekend...

A gardening get-together in Tompkins Square Park on Saturday

There's another volunteer day in Tompkins Square Park on Saturday morning... interested residents can meet at 10 a.m. outside the Park office (over by the ping-pong table and dog run) ... the Parks Department will supply work gloves and rakes to help spread mulch and clean up some garden beds.

As previously noted, given the city's budget cuts, Johnny Young, the head gardener in Tompkins Square Park, has often been assigned to work in other areas... "leaving Tompkins vulnerable to trash and weeds," as he put it. 

The disappearing pay phones along Avenue A

In the last week or so, workers have hauled off the open-air pay phones on the northwest side of Avenue A at Fourth Street (above) ... the west side Avenue A at Third Street...

... and the west side of Avenue A at Second Street...

The one on the east side of A at Third Street is also gone. However, the pay phones remain on the south side of Fourth at A... 

... and the south side of A at Fifth...

So you still have a place to take a _____ or put down your bottle of ______ or roll a _____.

Thankfully, for now anyway, the World Famous Pee Phone™ is still on duty on Avenue A at Seventh Street.  

Anyway, all this was expected... in late February 2020, Gothamist reported that the Department of Information, Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) was going to uproot nearly 3,000 pay phones around NYC that are maintained by CityBridge. A few non-CityBridge phones are likely to remain. And expect to see some new LinkNYC kiosks in some of these spaces.

Tuesday's parting tweet

Someone took the door off the first stall in the ladies room at Tompkins. Look for it on eBay soon! pic.twitter.com/FRpCigjyde

— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) March 23, 2021