Friday, July 16, 2021

Breaking: Grocery store said to be replacing the Kmart on Astor Place; Wegmans mania ahead?

A grocery store is said to be taking over the just-shuttered Kmart space on Astor Place, sources tell The Real Deal. 

Per TRD:
The transaction was a joint negotiation among Transformco, Vornado and the new tenant, sources said. The regional grocer that will be taking over the NoHo location has not been disclosed.
However, those sources said the new tenant will be a "first-class regional grocer." 

A few EVG readers already have the space fitted for a Wegmans, which opened its first NYC space in October 2019 on Flushing Avenue in Brooklyn's Admiral's Row development. 

We shall see...

H/T Upper West Sider! Photo by Stacie Joy
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Prepping for 'And Just Like That' on Avenue A

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

On Wednesday afternoon, I was visiting with Nancy Preston, owner of Milk Money Kitchens at 50 Avenue A. (Read more about Milk Money, which provides commercial kitchen rentals and consulting services for food businesses, right here.) 

Preston was prepping her space between Third Street and Fourth Street for an HBO shoot for the "Sex and The City" revival titled "And Just Like That." (You probably noticed the production trucks along Avenue A!)

Featured in the spread for the assembled cast and crew: cupcakes named after the show's main characters. Today's scene involved cast members Kristin Davis and Mario Cantone (no Cynthia Nixon or Sarah Jessica Parker here). Executive producer Michael Patrick King was also on hand and took a moment to take a photo with Preston.

And thanks to Nancy for letting me stick around to watch the setup...
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NYPD seeking duo who have burglarized 9 East Village businesses

The NYPD is seeking two men they say have burglarized 10 businesses, nine in the East Village, over the past few months. 

According to published reports, the suspects have taken more than $15,000 in cash and electronics between March and June from the businesses — eight restaurants and one salon.

Per The Daily Mail, "In each case, one of the crooks would burst through the front door after dark, and steal cash, electronic equipment, or both." 

The Mail also published this map showing the businesses that the two men hit ...
The NYPD released this video clip of the suspects during the most recent break-in — 10 p.m. on June 24 at Sammy's Halal, 109 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street...
 

Per media accounts: Police described both suspects as men with light complexions between 40 and 60 years of age, standing between 5 feet 9 inches and 6 feet tall, and weighing about 190 pounds. 

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online. All calls are strictly confidential.  
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There were a lot of feelings about Kmart closing

As you likely know, the Astor Place Kmart closed this past Sunday after 25 years in business. (Top photo by Stacie Joy.) 

Throughout the week on Twitter, many people shared their feelings — and remembrances — about this Kmart. In fact, at one point on Monday, this became a trending topic on Twitter — in the United States.
Loved it or hated it or just here for the restrooms, the Kmart made an impact on people's lives. Here are some reactions to our tweet...
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Book releases: A 'Loud Money' launch this evening at Printed Matter

The St. Mark's location of Printed Matter is hosting a sidewalk launch of an artist book called "Loud Money," a collaborative project between artist Curtis Kulig and poet Max Blagg.

Per the folks at Printed Matter on tonight's event: "We'll have tables outside from 6 to 7:15 where both Curtis and Max will be present and signing books, and then at 7:15 we'll have Max doing a poetry reading on the roof of Swiss Institute."

Printed Matter is in the lobby of the Swiss Institute on the southeast corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place (38 Second Ave.). 
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Thursday, July 15, 2021

Local blog contributor tries the Kraft Mac-n-Cheese ice cream at Van Leeuwen

As rather sarcastically noted yesterday, there's a new Kraft Macaroni & Cheese-flavored ice cream mashup with Van Leeuwen. (The limited-edition flavor was created in celebration of National Mac and Cheese Day.)

So EVG contributor Stacie Joy decided to try it. (For the record — no one asked her to do this!)
Here's Stacie's report:
Went to the Seventh Street Van Leeuwen to try the Kraft mac-n-cheese flavor and it's good. I was prepared to hate it but it's solid. It tastes just like the blue box mac and cheese, right down to the slippery soft noodle taste. Savory.

While there, Stacie came across someone else trying the new flavor (no word if anyone asked her to try it!)... 

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Reports from CB3's public review of the Open Restaurants program

Photos by Stacie Joy



On Tuesday night, officials from the Department of City Planning and Department of Transportation were on hand at a joint committee meeting of Community Board 3 as part of a public review process to make permanent the Open Restaurants program. (You can find a copy of the presentation at this link.)

More than an estimated 90 people packed into a room at the Boys Club of New York on 10th Street and Avenue A... while more waited outside... (the meeting was also streaming live)... 
EVG contributor Stacie Joy was in attendance. She noted that the meeting started at 6:30 with an agenda item — something to do with the M14A/M14D — that didn't draw much interest from those gathered. 

And then came the main event, which lasted nearly two hours. (CB3 needed to be out of the room by 9 p.m.)

Here's a quick take from Stacie:
It was HIGHLY CONTENTIOUS. It was supposed to be an 85-person cap but the place was packed and there was still a line outside. The DOT presentation drew a lot of negative attention from the crowd, who were frustrated with their inability to speak. 
The DOT speech was interrupted constantly with claims of a filibuster and frustration that the community wasn't given time to speak. When they finally were given time, each person was given one-minute. Everyone was yelling and it was a mess.
Several media outlets covered the event. Here's a selection (update — added the Curbed entry at 1 p.m.): 

• Gothamist
"This Isn't Paris!" East Village Community Board Gets Heated Over Outdoor Dining
"This whole program is going to turn our area into an open-air alcohol zone," echoed David Crane, a longtime CB3 member. One resident said he'd been forced to listen to "'Happy Birthday' sung outside my window 20 times a day," as others shouted that "this isn't Paris!" 
While local business owners were largely absent from the meeting, they too expressed anger with the DOT's handling of the program. Moshe Schulman, a managing partner of Kindred on 6th Street, said the agency had conducted a "sweep" just prior to the meeting, handing out citations for offenses such as being too close to a tree and blocking a "no parking" sign. 
He was given just 24 hours to address the violations, which he described as "ridiculous and inaccurate." "People think we’re done with COVID and everything is all great," Shulman told Gothamist. “We’re just starting to get on our feet and try to normalize service.”
• Streetsblog
 First Salvos Fired as de Blasio’s ‘Permanent’ Dining Sheds Begin the Community Board Process
There was plenty of talk of compromise and coexistence from the crowd of 90, but many attendees went nuclear, demanding no outdoor dining at all, denouncing struggling restaurants and bars as greedy land-grabbers, and, in one case, waving signs inspired by George Orwell's classic Dystopian novel: "1984: War is Peace. 2021: Residential is commercial." 
One opponent was overheard outside the meeting comparing their struggle to that of Martin Luther King Jr. One speaker declared — to a room where more than half the people were still wearing masks — that the pandemic was over, and therefore outdoor dining should be, too.
• The Village Sun
East Siders are 'mad as hell' at meeting on Open Restaurants
Residents bemoaned the transformation of their community into what might be dubbed "Bourbon Street with yurts." 
"I love my neighborhood!" one man started yelling emotionally over and over, also mentioning his "mental health," as others applauded supportively. 
One woman, in an apparent reference to the Black Death of the 14th century, a bubonic plague spread by fleas piggybacking on rats, warned that the outdoor huts could breed a repeat. "These sheds are rat traps!" she declared. "We are feeding rats. We just went through a pandemic — we are inviting the next pandemic with these sheds."
• Curbed
A young guy in his 30s named Sam Zimmerman stands up and speaks in support of the program — just the second person to do so thus far. He says the meeting's attendees are not representative of what the neighborhood actually thinks about streeteries, and that most people support the program. "People who are against it are people who come out to these things," he says, and is promptly booed. "There's 165,000 people in this district," he continues. "How many of them are here? People don't want to get screamed at by their neighbors." Everyone mumbles loudly, and someone yells "Where are you from?" and he responds: "From here!"
You can watch the meeting for yourself right here... it begins at the 16-minute mark...
 
The Open Restaurants text amendment entered a public review on June 21. This proposal is the first of a series of changes to create the permanent Open Restaurants program launched in June 2020 to help the pandemic-stricken restaurant industry. Per the city:
In addition to the zoning amendment, the City will move administration of the sidewalk café program from the Department of Consumer Affairs and Workforce Protection to DOT, streamline the application process and create rules for a permanent roadway dining program. Altogether, restaurants will have a single agency to go to apply for outdoor dining, with a clear set of design guidelines on what is allowed.

And:

The proposed zoning text amendment would affect every community district within the City. The proposed action would remove the definitions of sidewalk cafes from the Zoning Resolution and any mentions of them in special districts, as well as other clean-up text to fully remove any zoning prohibitions related to the operation of sidewalk cafes.
As part of the public review process, the CB3 Committees will produce a resolution, which the full board will vote on in September. Comments from residents may also be emailed to mn03@cb.nyc.gov. to be considered for the September vote.
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Green Land Gourmet Deli ready to debut on 10th Street and Avenue C

Earlier this year we reported that the storefront on the southeast corner of 10th Street and Avenue C would be home to a deli.

Anyway, the signage has arrived for Green Land Gourmet Deli.

Eden took these shots of the interior the other evening...
... and we can exclusively report that the deli will be selling Good Humor products...
If all goes well, then Green Land expects to be open next week.

This will be the first time in recent years that the space won't be a bar.

From July 2018 to the end of 2019, the address was a reincarnated East Village Tavern (in name only) and, briefly, Daytripper (same owners). 

Before this, a different set of owners ran East Village Tavern, which closed in November 2016 after eight years following a reported rent dispute with landlord Steve Croman. 
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Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Wednesday's parting shots

Here's a look at the damaged (elm?) tree in Tompkins Square Park... a large section of the tree splintered overnight Sunday here on the south end of the Park along Seventh Street... however, crews were able to spare the rest ... 
Photos by Steven...
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Updated: Murder investigation on 1st Avenue

Note: We changed the original headline after the NYPD made more information available. 

Multiple EVG readers are reporting that First Avenue is closed to both traffic and pedestrians right now between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. [Update: Traffic is said to be closed from Fourth Street to Ninth Street.]

EVG reader MP shared the top photo and this: "No details other than 'some sort of fight.' No indication if it was inside one of the buildings or on the street." 

Detectives were also spotted at the scene closer to Sixth Street. The Citizen app says the report is coming from 396 E. Sixth St. [Update: There isn't such an address...]

Here's another view via Derek Berg...
Will update when more information is made available... 

Updated 3:15 p.m. 

According to amNY, Marvin Bellamy, 37, of Columbus Avenue, was found "face down and wounded on the pavement at the corner of First Avenue and East 6th Street at about 6 a.m."
Bellamy had suffered a puncture wound to his chest, though at this time, police do not know the nature of the injury — or whether he had been attacked.
Updated 6 p.m.

The Daily News reports that Bellamy was stabbed. A News photographer caught a shot of a knife in the outdoor seating area at Elsewhere Espresso.

The police were also seen at Stromboli Pizza on St. Mark's Place and First Avenue, where they believe the suspects may have been prior to the confrontation with the victim. 

Updated 8:30 p.m.

CBS 2 has surveillance footage that shows Bellamy chasing two other men before collapsing in front of the McDonald's on the east side of First Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. 

Updated 7/15 

The 9th Precinct posted this low-res Wanted ("suspect only") poster on Twitter...

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Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online. All calls are strictly confidential. 
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PJ O’Rourke regroups with a pop-up space on Broadway

P.J. O'Rourke has proven to be as resilient as he is creative. 

As EVG contributor Stacie Joy reported back in April, O'Rourke, an East Village-based artist and entrepreneur, had moved into a new high-profile storefront on First Avenue to sell his FlyeLyfe brand of hats, prints, T-shirts and other original designs. 

Unfortunately, O'Rourke found himself locked out after one day following a dispute with his "so-called business partner." (Read that post here.) 

However, as Stacie reports, he recently found a new home at 815 Broadway just south of 12th Street. The storefront is a permanent pop-up space leased by people and organizations to throw events. So, on those days, O'Rourke won't be at the address. He announces his schedule on Instagram. He also has online sales.

Stacie stopped in the other day to find O'Rourke at work with a heat press with new designs for T-shirts, hoodies and tank tops. The brand is now known as P.J. O’Rourke II ... 
In 2012, O’Rourke started selling his merch on the L train via a mobile art cart. He was on a month-to-month lease on 11th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue for nearly 15 months before moving to First Avenue ... and now on Broadway.

Previously on EV Grieve:
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[Updated] El Rinconcito is on the move

El Rinconcito, the family-owned Latin American restaurant at 408 E. 10th St. between Avenue C and Avenue D, is closing on Friday ahead of a move to a new (undisclosed) location... (thanks to the reader for the pic!)
No word yet on the new space. 

And based on a recent Instagram post, we'll have a little while to wait: "Our new location is still in the process of construction ... We hope to open in the coming months." 

El Rinconcito has been serving delicious and inexpensive food here since 1994. 

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Updated... EVG reader Stacie Joy stopped by...
The restaurant is moving to Avenue C near Fifth Street for a year or so while 408 E. 10th St. is being renovated. Sounds as if they will be returning to the building someday. 

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And as a P.S. — the tree out front here came down at some point this past weekend (reader photo!)...
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Speculation watch: What's next for the Kmart space on Astor Place?

Kmart abruptly wrapped up 25 years of blue light specials this past Sunday on Astor Place, as we first reported. 

Attention quickly turned to what might be next for this prime two-level retail space. 

The first suspect! Facebook. 

Zuck and Co. have had offices at 770 Broadway since 2014 — and in fact, they lease half of the 15-floor building. They took over Kmart's former upstairs in 2018. 

Seems likely a likely takeover candidate for landlord Vornado Realty Trust. 

But! 

The Commercial Observer reported this yesterday:
Facebook is in no rush to expand its footprint. Only a quarter of its New York City offices currently have workers in them, and the tech company does not have plans to rent the building's lower floors that housed Kmart, a Facebook spokeswoman said. Vornado declined to comment about the future of its Astor Place site.
Otherwise, other rental candidates — via EVG commenters — included Wegmans and Target and EV Grieve's — a two-level gastropub-drinkery.  

Target seems unlikely — especially if they are leasing the former Food Emporium on Union Square. 

To be continued...

H/T Upper West Sider! Photo by Stacie Joy

 

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Not April Fool's Day

Thanks to everyone who sent this along via Instagram... a free Kraft Macaroni & Cheese-flavored ice cream mashup with Van Leeuwen today (somewhere) on Union Square starting at 11 a.m. ...
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Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Christeene at the Parkside Lounge

Christeene's Saturday residency (Un Butt Plugged!) at the Parkside Lounge concludes this coming July 17. 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy caught the show this past Saturday... where the provocative character created by Paul Soileau put on another gleefully unhinged punk-and electro-fueled performance ...
Expect some special guests and new music (and maybe reimaginings of classics like "Butt Muscle"). The show on Saturday starts at 8. Find ticket info here. (A few more tix will be released tomorrow, July 14, at noon.) The Parkside Lounge is at 317 E. Houston St. at Attorney.
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Community Board 3 committees to discuss the longterm future of outdoor dining

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 Updated 12:27 p.m. 
Per CB3: Depending on the attendance, seating may be limited due to social distancing. The meeting will also be live-streamed here. Comments may also be submitted to mn03@cb.nyc.gov. to be considered for the September vote.
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City officials from the Department of City Planning and Department of Transportation are exploring an overhaul of zoning and permitting regulations to allow the Open Restaurants program to become permanent. 

As Crain's reported, the city had to suspend roughly 20 zoning rules when Mayor de Blasio announced the program in June 2020.

The Open Restaurants text amendment entered public review on June 21. This proposal is the first of a series of changes to create the permanent Open Restaurants program. Per the city:
In addition to the zoning amendment, the City will move administration of the sidewalk café program from the Department of Consumer Affairs and Workforce Protection to DOT, streamline the application process and create rules for a permanent roadway dining program. Altogether, restaurants will have a single agency to go to apply for outdoor dining, with a clear set of design guidelines on what is allowed.

And:

The proposed zoning text amendment would affect every community district within the City. The proposed action would remove the definitions of sidewalk cafes from the Zoning Resolution and any mentions of them in special districts, as well as other clean-up text to fully remove any zoning prohibitions related to the operation of sidewalk cafes.
Tonight, there's an in-person presentation, discussion and public testimony at a joint Community Board 3 Committee meeting. (See below for the meeting details.) As part of the public review process, the CB3 Committees will produce a resolution, which the full board will vote on in September.

Several community groups are encouraging participation. According to an email yesterday from the East Village Community Coalition (EVCC):
"This meeting is your opportunity to share your concerns about whether/how this program should continue, and how it might be improved, while the details are still being hashed out. If this privatization of public space is to become permanent, residents and business owners should have input."
The EVCC also calls attention to other issues that they see with the program.
This emergency program, while critical for struggling restaurants, has created untenable noise and sanitation issues for neighborhoods with high concentrations of eating and drinking establishments: 
• amplified music, smoking and crowds below residents' windows 
• bags of trash and discarded containers exacerbating rat problems 
• choked paths for pedestrians and emergency vehicles 
• fire safety concerns about the use and storage of propane heaters 
None of these issues are readily resolved through the usual channels, leaving very little recourse for residents or business owners. This has not changed, even as problems worsen with increasing traffic as the City reopens.
In addition, several neighbor groups — LES Dwellers, Orchard Street Block Association, the Chinatown Core and the East Fifth Street Block Association — are urging residents to voice any concerns about the Open Restaurants program...
In an email, the group members state:
In many areas, the eating and drinking sheds have become severely problematic. As such, we are adamantly opposed to Outdoor Dining Sheds becoming a permanent fixture in NYC. We appreciate that these sheds were a lifeline for the hospitality industry during the pandemic and allowed residents a safe place to social distance. 
Since COVID restrictions have been lifted, we think it is time for the emergency dining sheds to be retired, and the sidewalk cafe process is reinstated regarding alfresco dining. 
However, you feel about the Open Restaurants program, no public input or proper environmental impact study was commissioned. Instead, the city rammed the sheds through behind closed doors with little to no oversight, calling it an unbridled success with few issues to resolve.
Last week, Gov. Cuomo signed legislation extending the usage of municipal spaces for restaurants through the middle of next year. 

Tonight's in-person Committee meeting starts at 6:30 at the Boys Club of New York, 287 E. 10th St. at Avenue A. You can find a copy of the presentation at this link.
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Ideal Glass sign disappears on 2nd Street

Updated: Karma is now open. Here's info (link) on their debut exhibit. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Renovations continue at the Ideal Glass building at 20-22 E. Second St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery... where, as we reported here and here, Karma Gallery is opening a new space.

Unfortunately, as multiple readers pointed out in recent days, the familiar Ideal Glass signage apparently isn't going to be part of the new exterior. Through the years, artists creating murals on the storefront worked around the Ideal Glass signage ...
The Ideal Glass building dates to the 1950s, when used as a glazier's workshop... and the remaining sign was from that era...
Willard Morgan started the Ideal Glass Studios, an artist-run film & TV production studio, in 2004 ... and the Second Street building was in use as a gallery and art collective. Morgan, who still owns the building, runs Ideal Glass Studios from space on West Eighth Street.  (We reached out to Morgan to see if, perhaps, the sign had been preserved.)

As for the new tenant, this is the latest EV expansion for art dealer and publisher Brendan Dugan, who debuted Karma on Second Street between Avenue A and Avenue B in November 2016. (Karma Books opened in April 2018 at 136 E. Third St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.)

According to artnet News, who first reported on this deal, this "latest venue is set to be the crown jewel" for Karma. Why? "The ceiling height alone is enough to make a dealer salivate, and there will no doubt be a number of artists maneuvering for spots on the programming schedule."
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