Tree sitters take to East River Park

Photos by Daniel Efram 

In the pre-dawn hours on Monday, a group of activists gathered in a blustery East River Park to continue to bring awareness to the destruction taking place as part of the $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency project. 

Group members draped "Protect Me" banners on several of the oldest trees along the greenway just north of the active worksite that starts at Stanton Street... eventually, five people positioned themselves in the trees for several hours ...

Yesterday, the @1000people1000trees account reported that workers cut down a tree in the greenway but stopped their attempts on another tree when more group members arrived.

The group issued a statement on Monday that read in part:

Concerned community members have come together in protection of East River Park from this ecocide needlessly being carried out by the City with an extraordinary lack of safety measures in light of unprecedented conditions created by the COVID-19 surge and in the absence of any State, City or Federal official or Agency willing to claim responsible environmental oversight. In response to these calamitous conditions, we are opposed to any further areas of the park being fenced off and subsequently demolished. 

Community members opposed to the current version of the city's floodproofing plan for East River Park gather daily this week at 7 a.m. at the Houston Street entrance...

Christo, badass

Today in Tompkins Square Park, a stupid blue jay was doing his/her best to buzz Christo, one of the resident red-tailed hawks, as these photos by Steven show...

But Christo paid no mind ...

He then flew off and caught a rodent ...

Cops searching for dapper gun-toting suspect who robbed the Villager Smoke Shop

ICYMI: The NYPD is searching for a well-dressed suspect they say robbed the Villager Smoke Shop on Ninth Street near Avenue A on Jan. 1. 

According to published reports (the Post, NBC 4, Daily News, etc.), the man, dressed in a vest and suit jacket, flashed a gun at the clerk around 9:15 p.m. 

Per CBS 2:

Police say the suspect first asked about some products before showing the store worker a pistol and threatening to kill him. 

The suspect stole the employee's phone and headphones along with about $700 from the register, police said. 

The suspect is described as approximately 6-2, with a light complexion, thin build, with black hair. He was last seen wearing a black facemask, a dark dress jacket, a gray dress vest, a white dress shirt, gray pants and black shoes.

WANTED for A Robbery at 445 East 9 Street . #Manhattan @NYPD9pct on 1/1/22 @ 9:15 PM an individual approached employee and displayed a black and silver colored firearm and demanded property and money. Reward up to $3500Seen them? Call 1-800-577-TIPS Calls are CONFIDENTIAL! pic.twitter.com/daxu8HOPOr

— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) January 3, 2022

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.

Reports: Theatre 80, crown jewel of St. Mark's Place, enters bankruptcy, hopes to refinance loan

Let's get caught up on what's happening at Theatre 80, the historic East Village property that houses a performance space, the William Barnacle Tavern and Museum of the American Gangster at 78-80 St. Mark's Place between First and Second Avenue. (There are also several apartments here, and Foxface is a retail tenant.)

Owners Lorcan and Genie Otway have been working to prevent Maverick Real Estate Partners — an aggressive mortgage investor — from auctioning off the two buildings that Lorcan's father first purchased in 1964. (The Real Deal first reported on Maverick's hardball move in October.)

In a story published online Thursday, Lorcan told The New York Times that the theater, museum and tavern were in good financial health until March 2020, when, like other businesses, they were forced to shutter during NY State's PAUSE.

More background from the Times:

Shortly before then, he had taken out a $6.1 million mortgage against the properties to settle an inheritance dispute, pay legal fees and finance needed renovations.

With the pandemic lockdown and a precipitous decline in revenue, that loan went into default and was purchased by Maverick Real Estate Partners about a year ago. The firm, according to court documents, has closed over 130 distressed debt transactions, with a total value of over $300 million.

The Times reported that the original lender later sold the debt to Maverick without Lorcan's knowledge.

Maverick, Otway said, then raised the interest rate to 24 percent, from 10 percent, bringing the roughly $6 million debt to about $8 million.

This past Wednesday, as Bloomberg Law first reported,  the Otways filed for chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in hopes of avoiding foreclosure by Maverick Real Estate Partners. The properties were being marketed for foreclosure sale by Cushman & Wakefield. As The Wall Street Journal noted, the filing offers "a breathing spell to refinance an $8 million loan."

According to The Village Sun, Lorcan's plan is to ask Gov. Hochul for a low-interest loan for Theatre 80. Per the Sun and CBS 2, he reportedly has support from several local elected officials, including Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, State Sen. Brad Hoylman, Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, and City Councilmember Carlina Rivera, who told the Times that "this is a heartbreaking story."

Later this month, John McDonagh is hosting a benefit performance of his show "Off the Meter," a comedic take on his years as an NYC cab driver. The benefit takes place Jan. 21-23 at Theater 80. Find ticket info at this link. 

You can also support the business by having some food or drink (with more than a dozen varieties of Absinthe!) at the Willam Barnacle Tavern. They have a nice outdoor space too.

Theatre 80 is a crown jewel in this neighborhood, and in NYC... the kind of place we need to protect and support.

Image via Facebook

Dim Sum Go Go makes it sign official on 1st Avenue

The coming soon signage is up for the Michelin- and Zagat-rated Dim Sum Go Go at 221 First Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street. (Thanks to Steven for the photos!)

As we reported back in July, this will be their second NYC location outside the 22-year-old flagship space at 5 E. Broadway in Chinatown. 

The First Avenue address was previously Punto Rojo, the bakery-restaurant that served traditional Colombian food here until late 2019. 

58 1st St. awaits another restaurant

A for rent sign hangs outside now at 58 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (Thanks to the EVG reader for the photo!)

Km1 closed here in early December... the restaurant, officially Kilometro Uno, and serving food from the Caribbean, first opened in the summer of 2020... but went dark late last year ... before returning in the fall. 

The pop-up establishments VistroBurger and PurpleThai were here between Km1 stints. Those two relocated to Gramercy Park.

As we've pointed out, this address has seen several quality restaurants come and go in recent years. Esperanto Fonda lasted nine months here, closing in May 2017. Before that, this was home to BARA for two years and Prima for three years. The Elephant, a Thai restaurant, was previously here for 17 years.

Perhaps the next concept will be able to stick around longer than a few months or years here. 

A look at the corner market coming to 6th and A

Work continues inside 93 Avenue A on the SW corner at Sixth Street. 

As we've noted a few times (here and here), a deli/market is coming to this space. EVG contributor took these photos the other day... you can see things are shaping up (chandelier alert!)... 

The business is expected to be open this month, per a worker at the scene...

Benny's Burritos closed here on Nov. 29, 2014, after 27 years in business. The storefront has remained empty in the years since... 

An SUV collision on 1st Avenue at 5th Street

If you traveled on First Avenue at Fifth Street today, then you likely noticed the Ford SUV on the sidewalk, lodged amid the Village View sidewalk bridge. 

EVG reader Chris Ryan shared the top photo from around 8:30 a.m. 

Here are more photos from EVG regular Salim showing the damage to the sidewalk bridge and vehicle on the east side of the avenue...

Still piecing together what happened. A reader shared the photos below from just after 2 a.m. ...

The reader believes the minivan slammed into the Ford, which was parked at the time... and the collision propelled it onto the sidewalk...

And what was the driver doing going in that direction on the northbound First Avenue? Was the driver heading east on Sixth Street and made a right and drove the wrong way on First Avenue? A less likely explanation is the driver turned the wrong way off Second Avenue and headed across Fifth Street — and right by the 9th Precinct — before coming to an end here. 

Will update if any more info becomes available.

Also, the M15 stop here is temporarily not in service...

A 6-floor residential building will rise next to 250 E. Houston St.

A 6-floor residential building is in the works for the space adjacent to 250 E. Houston St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.  (H/T to the reader who shared the DOB link!)

According to the ALL-CAP style of the DOB online:

NEW 6 (SIX) STORY MIXED-USE BUILDING ON CURRENT VACANT LOT. 2 TAX LOTS (7503 EXISTING - 13 STORY MIXED-USE; 58 TENTATIVE - 6 STORY NEW BUILDING) ON SINGLE ZONING LOT. NO CHANGE TO EXISTING DEVELOPMENT ON LOT 7503.

The paperwork for the new building, still pending city approval, shows square footage of 68,531 with a proposed health club in the basement (building amenity?) and ground-floor retail. Passive-house specialists ZH Architects are listed as the architect of record for the project. 

To get an idea of the potential size-shape of the new building, check out this Google Maps aerial view ...

As we've been reporting, the businesses in the unrenovated stretch of 250 E. Houston St. have either closed or moved. Kapri Cleaners and the FedEx Office Print & Ship Center relocated to new storefronts closer to the entrance to the 13-story residential building at No. 250. Dunkin'/Baskin-Robbins and China Town have closed. The H&R Block outpost is reopening a block away in part of the former Banco Popular space.

Meanwhile, demolition continues in the old storefronts where the new building will rise. EVG contributor Stacie Joy took these photos last week...

... some pics yesterday from Salim, who pointed out that the street-sign scultpure along here has been removed (a faint outline of the art by Ken Hiratsuka embedded in the sidewalk remains) ...

... and an EVG reader shared these photos showing the demolition in the rear of the structure...

East River Park greenway now closing up to 10th Street

Starting today, the greenway that runs parallel to the FDR and along East River Park will shut down up to 10th Street Street, according to the weekly construction bulletin. 

Workers closed the greenway between Montgomery and Stanton streets starting on Dec. 6. The bulletin notes that workers will "finish protective fence installation" along this corridor. (Click on the image below for more detail) ...

Park entry will remain at Houston, Sixth Street and 10th Street. The city has said they will maintain public access to a minimum of 42 percent of the park throughout construction, expected to be complete by the end of 2026.

To date, work on the $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency project has focused on cutting down trees and demolishing all the amenities (for a while in defiance of a Temporary Restraining Order), including the amphitheater, below Stanton Street.

On Dec. 31, photo-journalist Nathan Kensinger filed a "Goodbye To East River Park" essay for Gothamist.

An excerpt from the article highlights the slapdash nature of the work to date:

The de Blasio administration has left behind a decidedly mixed climate change legacy, and one of its largest shortcomings has been falling behind on billions of dollars of coastal infrastructure projects initiated in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. This last-minute destruction of East River Park has proved to be disruptive and lacks the transparency and safety measures usually seen at city demolition and construction sites.

Visitors to the park, including bicyclists, joggers, skateboarders and wheelchair-bound retirees, were left befuddled by the sudden closure of its southern entrances and paths.

No official construction signs, project descriptions or permits were mounted at the demolition sites. Clouds of dust rose up from the removal of the amphitheater's aged concrete, behind a flimsy barrier of dilapidated fences and caution tape.

As one of the final acts of the de Blasio administration, the demolition of East River Park marks the last chapter in the mayor's climate change legacy, ending his term on a controversial note, and leaving his successor with a messy process that will take years to complete.

The current plans call for gutting East River Park — burying the existing 57.5-acre land under fill and elevating it by 8-to-10 feet above sea level while also cutting down 1,000 mature trees. The new park is expected to protect the Lower East Side from storm surges until at least 2050. 

However, as the Gothamist piece notes, "if sea levels rapidly rise, the park may need to be demolished and raised again."

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Concerned community members are gathering this morning at 8 at the Houston Street entrance. They are coming together "in protection of East River Park from this ecocide needlessly being carried out by the City with an extraordinary lack of safety measures in light of unprecedented conditions created by the COVID-19 surge and in the absence of any State, City or Federal Official or Agency willing to claim responsible environmental oversight."

An end of the ride: Busy Bee Bikes closes on 6th Street

Busy Bee Bikes has ended its long tenure at 437 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

A for rent sign hangs in the window of the yellow storefront with the handpainted signage, and the space was emptied out over the weekend. On Saturday evening, workers inside the storefront told an EVG reader that they were closed for good.

Several years after debuting, there were some claims that the shop pedaled hot property. And in early 2010, as The New York Times reported, Busy Bee was busted for buying stolen bikes at the time... reopening "after a $4,000 fine and under court-ordered stipulations that include random inspections and severe restrictions on purchasing used bikes."

An owner, the Times reported, was Joseph Malewich, a former NYPD detective. He opened the shop in 2004 with local bike legend Emey Hoffman, who died in 2009.

Busy Bee joins some other bike shops to close in the neighborhood in recent years... including Bikes, By George! ... Landmark Bicycles ... and Danny's Cycles.

As for other shops in business:

• Bfold Folding Bicycles, 224 E. 13th St.

• BikeFixNYC, 334 E. Sixth St.

• CC Cyclery & Co., 530 E. 13th St.

• NYC Velo, 66 Second Ave.

• Trek Bicycle Bowery, 303 Bowery

• Wing Bikes, 345 E. 12th St. (high-end ebikes)

The 'High Line East vibes' of 799 Broadway

Workers have removed the sidewalk bridge and remaining scaffolding from outside the all-new 799 Broadway, the 12-story zig-zagging office complex on the SW corner at 11th Street.

EVG reader Doug, who shared these photos, noted the building's "High Line East vibes" ...

According to published reports this past fall, the building with floor-to-ceiling glass and private terraces has its first two tenants: Newrez, a mortgage lending and service firm, and Bain Capital Ventures. 

No. 799 was the former home of the historic St. Denis building (not landmarked, unfortunately), which opened as a hotel in 1853. Normandy Real Estate Partners bought the property for somewhere in the $100 million ballpark back in 2016... and tore it down.

Our post on No. 799 from January 2020 has a little more background about the project and the concerns over this out-of-scale construction along this corridor.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg)... 

• Corinne Neary checks out of the Tompkins Square Library branch (Thursday) 

• Catching up with Sabrina Fuentes of Pretty Sick (Thursday)

• A Visit to Made Up There Farms (Wednesday) 

• Workers have demolished the East River Park amphitheater (Thursday) 

• Cornerstone Cafe postscript (Monday) 

• Happy 10th anniversary to Tompkins Square Bagels (Wednesday) 

• Closing time: 1 month remains for Dress Shoppe II (Wednesday) 

• The new Urban Wine & Spirits is now open (Monday) 

• Virginia's is closing on 11th Street; owners will look for a new location (Thursday) 

• Citi Bike docking stations arrive on 5th Street, 7th Street (Wednesday) 

• City posts notice of a clean up in the abandoned curbside dining structure on 6th Street (Monday) 

• Brownout at the former St. Brigid School (Thursday) 

• Renovations underway at the long-vacant retail space at 123 Avenue A (Thursday) 

• Openings on 14th Street: Mad for Chicken, The Tree Shop NYC (Tuesday) 

• 'Very Expensive' Flordel Florist is leaving 3rd Street for new LES home (Tuesday)

• ICYMI: Zero Irving signs up first tenant (Tuesday)

... and on Third Street near Avenue B, Book Club has extended its hours starting today (thanks Stacie Joy for the pic!) ...

Monday to Friday: 8 a.m. to midnight; Saturday and Sunday: 9 a.m. to midnight.

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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics. 

Street and sidewalk barriers removed from outside the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church on 2nd Avenue

An item from the past week that we didn't get to mention... the construction fencing and temporary sidewalk structure have been removed from Second Avenue between Seventh Street and Sixth Street.

Workers have also wrapped up the weather-proofing at the remains of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church at 112 Second Ave. ...

The church marked the first anniversary of the fire on Dec. 5.

The fire spared the steeple and its historic contents — the New York Liberty Bell, which dates to the early 1700s. The bell is for now housed at the New York Historical Society. 

The FDNY previously said that faulty wiring at 48 E. Seventh St. was to blame for the fire. An FDNY spokesperson told 1010 WINS that the fire had been deemed "non-suspicious." No. 48 was demolished. (More background here.) 

Middle Collegiate Church currently holds services at the Calvary Episcopal Church at 21st Street and Park Avenue South. You can read about their plans to rebuild the sanctuary right here. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• At fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church, it's moving day for the historic New York Liberty Bell

About a heavy-hitting production coming to the Gene Frankel Theater

EVG contributor Clare Gemima pointed out this production of interest that premieres this coming week... "Sugar Ray" makes its theatrical debut on Thursday evening at the Gene Frankel Theater, 24 Bond St. between the Bowery and Lafayette.

Here's more about the production via the EVG inbox...

Sugar Ray Robinson was, pound for pound, the greatest boxer of all time. In his 25-year professional career, from 1940 to 1965, he was boxing history's first winner of five divisional championships (in the middleweight and welterweight divisions).  

This "King of Harlem" was renowned for his litheness, his power and his flamboyant lifestyle outside the ring. His career peaked between 1947 and 1950, before the era of TV boxing, so his style and legacy are less preserved today than those of other boxers, including his admirer, Muhammed Ali.  That's why "Sugar Ray" by playwright Laurence Holder is so significant. It recaptures Robinson's life and boxing legacy in a biographical solo show that is exciting to those who idolized him and illuminating to those who grew up after his era.

The play runs through Jan. 23. Find ticket info and COVID protocols here.

Saturday's parting shot

A moment of levity today at the MulchFest site in Tompkins Square Park... photo by Derek Berg... 

And MulchFest is Jan.8-9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Inside the rent dispute at Casa Adela

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Eric Lach, a staff writer at The New Yorker, takes a deep dive into the rent dispute that has unfolded at Casa Adela at 66 Avenue C.

As previously reported, the building’s landlord — a Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) — is looking to increase the rent on the 45-year-old LES institution. The rent hike, from $1,350 to, eventually, $6,750, is a number that the current owner Luis Rivera, son of the late founder Adela Fargas, has said is not feasible.

The piece quotes local activist Power Malu.

“Adela was like my mom,” he said. “This restaurant is like people’s second home.” But, Malu cautioned, the dispute between the restaurant and its landlord wasn’t the old story of a big, bad developer kicking out a neighborhood joint. “You can’t just say, ‘Oh, this is gentrification,’ ” he said. “It’s not.” 

The building, as much as the restaurant, was part of the Puerto Rican community’s legacy in the neighborhood. Malu gestured toward a blue-and-white tile mural above the building’s front door, which read “66 Ave C Homesteaders.” “These people, actually, with their own hands, helped to restore this building,” he said. “And that’s important for people to know.”

The New Yorker is the first media outlet to speak with the HDFC’s three board members.

Gladys Duran, the board president, was born and raised in Loisaida, while Eva Eumana was born in Mexico, and Maria Peralta in Nicaragua. All three had been in the building since the nineteen-nineties, when sweat equity was still expected of new residents. Eumana, who works as a housekeeper, did cleaning work at other HDFC buildings to contribute her share.

And some background on the building’s finances.

In 2018, the board members said, the prior board president met a real-estate broker named Aretha Busby at a seminar for small landlords held at City Hall. The building hired Busby to write a report about its two commercial spaces — the space not occupied by Casa Adela is currently a bodega — to get a sense of how much more money it could be charging.

The building then hired [real-estate lawyer Gregory] Byrnes, who took a look at its management and finances and was appalled by what he found. Byrnes was told that the building needed hundreds of thousands of dollars for capital repairs to address issues with the roof and the boilers, and, Byrnes said, to pay for a management company and a superintendent. The co-op was operating at a deficit each year, and its reserve fund was depleting. Byrnes had helped the residents reduce the size of the board, from every resident in the building to the current three members, to aid in decision-making, and was preparing to help them sell a couple of vacant apartments, which will be listed at only a “fraction” of the market rate, he said, in keeping with the building’s history. Raising the rent on the storefronts was needed to make up for the money the building wasn’t getting elsewhere. It had to come from somewhere.

According to the article, the two sides are scheduled to appear in court this month. You can read the whole piece via this link.

New Year's Eve, 2021

With outdoor COVID testing... photos by Stacie Joy...

'Love' crazy

 

• I've been listening to "We Love You" by the Rolling Stones because the song reminds me of a friend who died this year.
• Somehow, I'd never seen the promo video for the song from 1967 that (thank you, IMDB, cutting and pasting) included footage from recording sessions along with segments that re-enacted the 1895 trial of Oscar Wilde, with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Marianne Faithfull respectively portraying Wilde, a judge and Lord Alfred Douglas.
• The IMDB description helpfully notes the following: "Footage also appears of Brian Jones, apparently high on drugs with his eyes drooping and unfocused." (So 2021!) More facts about the song here.