No, Panda Express hasn't opened yet

We heard from a reader who said that the Panda Express Chinese Kitchen had debuted on the SW corner of First Avenue and 14th Street. (Revisit the EVG Panda Express Archives here!)

On closer inspection (H/T Steven!), this outpost of the quick-serve chain based in California wasn't open just yet ... with a worker stating they would be ready for guests next week.

A look inside the establishment, the former AT&T store and the Vitamin Shoppe, shows just a few tables for indoor Panda Expressing. However, there are three tables (no chairs!) (randomly?) set up on the 14th Street side of the storefront.

So perhaps this outpost will have outdoor dining... stay tuned!

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

We had another serving of "Yogurt" today... the code name for "Up Here," a new musical series set in the 1990s for Hulu. 

The cast includes Mae Whitman, Carlos Valdes, John Hodgman and (above, I think!) two-time Tony Award recipient Katie Finneran. 

As you likely noticed, this is a big production with film trucks on Avenues A and B, Seventh Street... and more.

Key Food is closing an hour earlier now 'due to renovations'

Photo by Stacie Joy 

The renovating continues at Key Food here on Avenue A and Fourth Street... this means, per the unproofed signage on the door, that the grocery will be closing now at 11 p.m. to accommodate the renovations. 

As previously reported, nothing is off the table during this reorg. As we've seen, the frozen foods section relocated from aisle 1 to 6 ... while the produce was revamped and expanded, just for starters. And we still can't find the Saltines.

There was talk of widening the aisles (do they already look a little wider?) ... but we don't for sure what they'll be doing with that extra hour of closing time. 

To be continued...

Updated 7/28

Key will be back to the midnight close tomorrow night (Friday!)

[Updated] This afternoon in breaking breaking-down plywood news

Workers this afternoon are breaking down the remains of the plywood outside 118 E. First St. here at Houston... days after they removed the sidewalk bridge ... 

Look at all that sidewalk space that was behind the plywood!

The extended plywood has been here for three-plus years during the construction of the luxury 9-story condoplex at No. 118.

As noted, demolition of the former building at No. 118 started in May 2015. So that's seven years of work for this one project...

Updated 6:30 p.m.

More!

Superiority Burger's summer salad interlude ends; full speed ahead on Avenue A

Superiority Burger's greenmarket-friendly twice-weekly pop-up (with ice cream!) has ended at 430 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

Monday was the last day for Salads Days, which launched in late May. 

Per the SB Instagram account on Monday night: 

Fun little summer interlude. Got to buy killer shit from all of our favorite farmers and sell it to you, the coolest customers. Mission accomplished. Our next step is speeding along at top speed so keep yer eyes peeled. See you on Avenue A very soon. Thank you. Thank you.

To quickly recap: Superiority Burger closed the Ninth Street HQ (but held onto it for things like Salads Days) last November ahead of a move to a larger space at 119 Avenue A between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place — the former Odessa.

Work is coming along inside the former diner, as you can see in this pic from Monday by Stacie Joy...        

As previously reported by Grub Street, owner Brooks Headley, who called the Odessa his "dream space," will start with a dinner service and then open for lunch and breakfast ... once the place is open, yes.

SB was recently hiring "a couple more folks to round out the kitchen, bar, dining room, gelateria, and bakery."

The popular all-vegetarian quick-serve spot opened in the East Village in June 2015. 

Top photo by Steven from June

Another look at the long-stalled 75 1st Ave.

Yesterday's post about removing the sidewalk bridge outside the longtime-coming new building at 118 E. First St. prompted a few queries about another taking-its-time project — 75 First Ave.

Last year about this time, workers removed the scaffolding and sidewalk bridge from outside the cantilevering 8-story condoplex next to Rite Aid at Fifth Street.

A sidewalk bridge returned earlier this spring... and workers have been focusing on some exterior portions on the top right section of the building. 

As previously noted, the groundbreaking here took place in September 2016. (The build included nearly 14 months of inactivity.) Sales commenced in August 2017, with City Realty reporting that 50% of the units sold in the first six weeks.

The venture was slowed down following a series of lawsuits between the construction manager, Pizzarotti, and the developer, the Colonnade Group.

The Real Deal reported this in July 2019:

The developer and Pizzarotti are also currently locked in a dispute over the project's costs. Pizzarotti has filed a lien, claiming it’s owed a little more than $1 million. In a counter complaint, Colonnade alleges that Pizzarotti hasn’t properly itemized its expenses and "claimed a lien for significantly more money than it has spent on the project." In its complaint, Colonnade calls Pizzarotti's billing practices "false and possibly fraudulent."

Public records showed in 2020 that the building had a new architect of record and construction manager. 

As far as we can tell, No. 75,  with its floor-to-ceiling windows, remains tenant free. The building's website is "currently private."  

Signage alerts: C as in Charlie on Bleecker; Íxta on the Bowery

Signage is up now for C as in Charlie at 5 Bleecker St. just west of the Bowery.

Childhood friends and hospitality vets David Yun, Steve Choi and Eric Choi are reportedly behind the Korean tapas restaurant that will have a Southern twist, such as Korean fried chicken with collard greens.

For now, there's an Instragram account and a placeholder website for C as in Charlie, which has an August opening date.

The homey Japanese restaurant Bessou closed here last month after six years in business. According to the Bessou Instagram account, the owners couldn't come to terms on a new lease with the landlord. 

Meanwhile, nearby, even more brandage arrived for Íxta, the upscale Mexican cantina at 299 Bowery between First Street and Houston... there's a sign above the door as well as an awning noting a mezcal bar ...

No word on an opening date.

Daniel Boulud closed DBGB here in August 2017 after an eight-year run. 

Tuesday's parting shot

City crews tonight are painting the new southbound M14 bus lane on Avenue A... starting at Fifth Street and going down to Houston. 

Read more about this here.

Frequent flyers: The young red-tailed hawks in Tompkins Square Park

Amelia and Christo's 2022 offspring have been VERY active in Tompkins Square Park of late... learning to fly, hunt and drink water from a playground fountain, among other activities, like checking out adjacent buildings. 

Derek Berg spotted the two red-tailed hawk siblings this morning (above!) flying at a lower altitude route.

The photos below were from Sunday when Steven came across one of the juveniles wrangling a water stream on a Tompkins playground ...

Sadly, as you may have heard, the third fledgling died earlier this month, as Goggla reported. As she wrote, the cause appears to be frounce, "a naturally occurring illness that afflicts raptors."

And thank you to everyone who has shared photos of the young hawks!

At long last, this section of 1st Street is free of a sidewalk bridge

Workers yesterday finished removing the sidewalk bridge surrounding 118 E. First St., the new 9-story condoplex between Houston/Avenue A and First Avenue. 

This has been an active construction zone since the extended plywood, whose wobbly remains are still in place, arrived in April 2018. Demolition of the former building at No. 118 started in May 2015. So that's seven years of work for this one project...

And this doesn't even include the mess this corridor was during the never-ending East Houston Reconstruction Project, which finally wrapped up at the end of 2018 — six years behind schedule. 

A 2015 First Street flashback for you...

Anyway, good news for the Punjabi Grocery & Deli, which has struggled to stay in business during all this... not to mention the adjacent establishment, Hollywood Nail & Spa, and the residents of these buildings... and anyone who walks along this corridor...

112 4th Ave. hits the sales market

The cast-iron loft building at 112 Fourth Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street is now on the market. 

The for-sale banners recently arrived on the property, and the listing arrived online yesterday via Besen. Per that listing: 

(The "Property") is comprised of a 5-story + basement 13,969± SF above-grade (D2 Class) "Elevator Apartments – Artists in Residence" loft building, built in the early 1900s and renovated in 1980. ... The building dimensions are 25' x 110' on a 27' x 116.25' lot, Tax Class 2B, and the property is zoned C6-1, which is R7-2 equivalent. 

The building will be delivered vacant and lends itself well to either fully convert into luxury residential or remain as office-use upstairs (C of O from 1961 has office use on upper floors). The spacious and usable 2,750± SF basement offers 12' ceiling heights, with direct elevator access. 

The offering memorandum (PDF here) shows that the building is currently vacant. (And there are some unused air rights). Asking price: $14.975 million.

The Salvation Army store was a longtime retail tenant until the fall of 2019. A Salvation Army official told us at the time that the landlord, an LLC, terminated their lease.

Village Preservation wrote about No. 112's long and fascinating history as part of an ongoing series titled "Why Isn't This Landmarked?"

The building, designed by architect Griffith Thomas for the Estate of Samuel J. Hunt, dates to the 1870s ... and "is linked to a number of prominent publishers, artists, and political figures, as well as civil rights, social justice, leftist, labor, and Jewish histories." Read more here.

In November 2020, the city dropped its controversial rezoning plan for a hotel special permit requirement south of Union Square. Still, there are concerns about out-of-character development (like at 799 Broadway or 809 Broadway) in this corridor after the upzoning necessary for the 21-floor Zero Irving on 14th Street.  

Construction watch: 699 E. 6th St.

The in-progress residential building recently made its first appearance above the plywood on the northeast corner of Sixth Street and Avenue C.

As previously reported, there are approved permits for a 6-floor building with 11 residential units, a storefront and space for an unspecified community facility on this long-vacant corner. (A gas station was the last tenant here in the 1980s.)

When complete, the building will look something like this...

Previously on EV Grieve:

• At the Heap of Ruins Garden Party

• This is the new building slated for the corner of 6th Street and Avenue C

Report: Alleged subway shooter who was arrested in the East Village set to stand trial in February

Photo by an EVG reader from April 13 

A federal judge today set a trial date for Feb. 27, 2023, for Frank James, who allegedly opened fire on a Manhattan-bound N train in Brooklyn in April. 

Per ABC 7: 

Numerous ideas, photos, records and reports have already been collected by the government and turned over to the defense. James has pleaded not guilty to federal terrorism charges. 

It wasn't immediately clear what his defense will look like. 

James is facing life in prison if convicted of the two charges he faces.

As previously reported, James reportedly shot 10 people on a subway train in Sunset Park on April 12. In total, 29 people were wounded in the aftermath on the train and platform. 

Police arrested James on April 13 on the NE corner of First Avenue and St. Mark's Place... aided by the actions of several tipsters. 

Previously on EV Grieve:

• City honors Saifee Hardware manager Francisco Puebla for role in nabbing alleged subway shooter 

• Report: 5 people are splitting the $50,000 Crime Stoppers reward for Frank James tip

• Report: Alleged subway shooter held without bail after first court appearance 

• Videos: Witnesses describe spotting alleged subway shooter Frank James before his arrest in the East Village

The fullest full reveal to date at Zero Irving on 14th Street

Workers recently removed the sidewalk bridge from outside the 21-story Zero Irving (formerly the Union Square Tech Training Center, 14 @ Irving and tech hub) on 14th Street...

... providing a near-complete look at the building, developed jointly by the city's Economic Development Corp. and RAL Development Services ... which will feature 14 floors of market-rate office space as well as a technology training center, co-working and event spaces on the seven floors beneath. Urbanspace will operate a food hall on the ground level.

Per the Zero Irving website:

Zero Irving is more than a trophy-class office building, it’s an ecosystem ideally engineered to foster growth, flexibility, productivity, and the evolution of new ideas in Manhattan’s ultimate live/work neighborhood.

Zero Irving has reportedly signed several full-floor deals recently, including data analytics software company Sigma Computing Inc. on the ninth floor and B2B payments platform Melio on the 15th and 16th floors. And most recently: Laurel Road, a digital banking platform and brand of KeyBank, leased space for offices on the 11th floor. 

Long contested by local preservationists and community groups, the new building sits on the former site of a P.C. Richard & Son on city-owned property.

Foundation work started here in August 2019.

Previously

Here Nor There has left 9th Street

Photos by Steven 

After nearly two years at 315 E. Ninth St., Here Nor There has left the block between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

Owner Julia Copeland is moving the store to Austin. Per a recent Instagram post: "We are so excited to grow the brand further but so sad to be leaving our East Village storefront behind."

The boutique, which offered vintage and secondhand clothing as well as an in-house label, opened in the fall of 2020. 

Julia's dog Percy was an especially big hit on the block...

Openings: El Churro on Houston and Allen

UPDATED: They now close at midnight Monday-Wednesday, 2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday, and 10 p.m. on Sunday!

El Churro has debuted on the SE corner of Houston and Allen (175 E. Houston St. aka 200 Allen St.).

The cafe offers house-made churros, ice cream and several coffee drinks. (You can watch them make the churros through the front window on Houston.)

For now, the hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Management says they will eventually extend their hours until 10 p.m. or midnight on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends.

The renovations started on this thin strip of a storefront in early 2022. (Find our other coverage here for more background on previous tenants, etc.)

Meanwhile, signage for Runtz Tobacco arrives on 1st Avenue

Another day, another smoke shop reveal... this time for Runtz Tobacco at 14 First Ave. between First Street and Second Street. (Thanks to the EVG reader for the pic!) 

As far as we can recall, the last tenant in this storefront was the salon One Plus One (not to be confused with the bar One and One a storefront away). 

Something other than a smoke shop opens in a vacant storefront

A spiritual advisor specializing in spiritual things like tarot cards has set up shop at 338 E. 14th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue (RIP Perfect Threading Salon) ...

Signage up before the official signage included a web address ...

... that went to a New Jersey-based psychic who is seen sitting with either the real Jerry Seinfeld or a Seinfeld impersonator in an Instagram post from 2018 (h/t Steven!) ...

Also, H/T Pinch!

Limited to One celebrates 5 years

Limited to One is marking its fifth anniversary next week. 

The specialty and collectible record shop, located at 221 E. 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, opened on July 29, 2017. (Read our interview with founders Kristian Sorge and Nichole Porges here.) 

And to celebrate: 

We're having a birthday party/show/record fair/old school punk distro party on July 31 at Saint Vitus at 7 p.m. We have a few of our favorite bands playing including Common Sage, Amitie, and Light Tower along with a few possible guests! In addition, we will also have a few rare crates of records and merch at the show! 

You can find tickets to the show here.

Saint Vitus Bar is at 1120 Manhattan Ave. in Greenpoint. 

And you can follow the Limited to One Instagram for updates.

Top image via Limited to One

Week in Grieview

Posts from the past week included (with a photo at the former Sidewalk on Sixth and A)... 

• A crowdfunding campaign for Andy Gil, killed by a hit-and-run driver on East Houston Street (Wednesday) 

• Some 13th Street residents want the fried-chicken smell to stop (Tuesday)

• Seth Tobocman on the story behind a long-covered mural on 9th Street (Thursday) 

• City officially unveils Manuel Plaza on 4th Street (Monday) 

• The new East Village location of the Brindle Room set to open next week on 11th Street (Thursday) 

• Raise your spirits: At WitchsFest 2022 on Astor Place (Sunday) 

• Construction watch: 204 Avenue A (Tuesday) 

• The Mermaid Inn is moving closer to its East Village return (Monday) 

• Kent's Dumpling House has apparently closed on 14th Street (Tuesday) 

• The former Baker's Pizza space is for rent on Avenue A (Monday) 

• Openings: Dhom on 12th Street (Wednesday) 

• The 9th Precinct will add bicycle patrols to the East Village (Wednesday)

• Little Kirin announces itself on St. Mark's Place (Monday) 

• Reader mailbag: Syringe disposal in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday) 

• Kura has apparently closed on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday) 

• Report: Rivera tops new 10th Congressional District poll; a talk about redistricting (Monday) 

... and several EVG readers have shared photos of the growing memorial on the NW corner of Second Avenue and Ninth Street... (photo below by Jefferson Siegel) ...

It's a happy birthday for what would be No. 28 for Sabrina Gournaris, who died in August 2019 at age 25. We don't know what her connnection was to this corner (an obituary lists her as a Connecticut resident). Based on the number of flowers and candles, she had many friends and loved ones...

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