On the CB3-SLA docket tonight: fresh bread, vinyl records and the members-only FlyFish Club

Here's a look at some of the applicants who will appear before Community Board 3's SLA committee this evening. (See below for info on watching online.) It's a light agenda this month, with just a handful of applications for new liquor licenses. 

• Heaven's Cookies LLC, 47 2nd Ave (wb)

The team behind Sauced, a wine bar that plays vinyl records on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, is planning a like-minded concept for a currently vacant and under-renovation storefront on Second Avenue between Second Street and Third Street (pictured above).

Sauced Grocery is a combo deli-bakery-cafe that will serve deli sandwiches and baked bread during the day with a wine bar in the evenings. There will also be "a vinyl records listening room." Proposed hours are from noon to midnight, with a 2 a.m. close Thursday through Saturday.

You can find more details on the Sauced questionnaire here.

• Francis Kite (Francis Kite LLC), 40 Ave C (op) 

The Francis Kite Club is being billed as "a collectively built space created for sociality, leisure, collaboration, debate, conversation, and play" for the storefront at 40 Avenue C between Third Street and Fourth Street.

The space, which will operate a cafe, plans to host "art events such as lectures, exhibitions and performances" several times a month.

No. 40 has been used as a pop-up theater space this past year... the address was previously the cocktail lounge Bedlam.

Find the Francis Kite questionnaire here. 

• FlyFish Club (D&C Social Club Inc), 141 E Houston St (op)

As reported in November, the city's first NFT restaurant signed on at the new 9-story office building at 141 E. Houston St. between Eldridge and Forsyth. 

According to the Post, the Flyfish Club is leasing three levels, 11,000 square feet total, for the members-only club that will feature a "bustling" cocktail lounge, an upstairs restaurant and outdoor space — the enclosed walkway between the building and Yonah Schimmel next door.

The 84-page questionnaire provides a lot of background, including a sound study and sample menu. Find the PDF here.

• NGE NYC LLC, 308 E 6th St (op) 

The management behind the Tim Burton-inspired bar-restaurant Beetle House on Sixth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue is behind Bread & Stone. This pizzeria will also offer a variety of baked bread.

They plan on operating a "small-batch bread shop" during the day and a restaurant in the evenings, featuring a menu of Italian classics. You can find a sample menu and more details about the proposed business here.

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The CB3 SLA agenda also includes this item of interest: "Develop guidance regarding Open Restaurants hours."

Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30. Find the Zoom invite at this link.

Report: Incoming legal cannabis dispensary drawing opposition on 3rd Street

Photo by Steven

One of the city's next legal cannabis dispensaries is opening in April at 3 E. Third St., just east of the Bowery.

According to published reports, the dispensary coming to the ground-floor retail of this newish condoplex is Gotham, whose license holder is the nonprofit Strive, which "provides job training and other services to the formerly incarcerated." The organization was founded in East Harlem in 1984. (Strive is one of eight nonprofits in the state to receive marijuana licenses this past November.) 

The location has reportedly drawn opposition from management at Project Renewal, which operates a men's shelter and an in-patient substance abuse treatment on the block. 

Per NY1:

"Our clients come and go from this program on a daily basis," said Gabriel Woodhouse, program director with Project Renewal. "It's literally within sight line. I mean, it's right across the street from the front door of our program."

Technically, the restaurant Gemma and the Bowery Hotel is directly across the street from 3 E. Third St.

In addition, Community Board 3 passed a resolution stating that it would only approve the license at a different location. (This CB3 decision is only advisory.)

In any event, Gotham's management team wasn't having any of this. Joanne Wilson, manager of the project, told NY1 that they are moving forward with plans to open this spring.

As NY1 points out, the dispensary is subject to strict state regulations with limited signage (unlike the garish illegal operations), and cannabis products won't be visible outside the store.

"There will not be smoke that's being pumped out on the street. There won't be music that's being pumped out in the street," Wilson said. "Yes, there will be people, and there will be people shopping. But it's not anything but just a store."

The Housing Works Cannabis Co. store — New York's first legal recreational marijuana market — opened to great fanfare and long lines on Dec. 29 on Broadway at Eighth Street in a former Gap retail space. 

Döner Haus bringing 'real German kebabs' to 14th Street

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Signage went up yesterday for Döner Haus, a new quick-serve restaurant at 240 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Per the restaurant's website (thanks Pinch for the link!): "We do one thing, and do it right: Döner." 

Here's more about their "real German kebabs" ... : 

Price for a Döner is 9.99 USD! That's it! In Manhattan of all places! 

You can pick your choice of protein, such as Chicken, Beef or Vegan. 

It usually comes in a bread pocket with fresh red onions, red cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes and two different sauces (garlic and cocktail). Of course, you can select what you like — no onions? No problem. 

No word yet on an opening date

Part of this retail space previously belonged to Eddie Huang's Baohaus, which closed in 2020.

Signage alert: Sushi Fan on St. Mark's Place

Photos by Steven

Signage is up now for a new omakase spot at 120 St. Mark's Place called Sushi Fan...

You can find the new Sushi Fan Instagram account here. (Not much info there yet.)

The business takes over for the craft beer bar Proletariat, which moved to a larger space at 21 E. Seventh St. last June.

Monday's parting shot

A beach day on Seventh Street... photo by Derek Berg...

EVG Etc.: an East Village population increase; an interview with EV artist Anton van Dalen

Recent headlines of possible interest include (with a photo from Fourth Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery) ...

 • "So what Manhattan neighborhoods are the hottest in our new, post-pandemic normal? At the top of the list is the Upper West Side, which saw a 30% increase in residents between November 2019 and October 2022. Next up are the East Village/Gramercy and the area around City Hall, all hovering around 25% during that same span of time." (The Post) 

• On Jan. 25, homeless outreach workers will fan out across the city and into the subway system to count the number of New Yorkers who call the streets and subways home (Gothamist) 

• Remembering Patrick Briggs, frontman for Psychotica, who died on Dec. 27 at age 58 (Legacy.com) 

• An interview with longtime East Village artist Anton van Dalen (artnet ... previously on EVG) 

• Personal essay about the East Village squatters' standoff of 1995, and how Dan Kois made it the center of his new novel, "Vintage Contemporaries" (Curbed) 

• Catching up with red-tailed hawks Christo and Amelia in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography) 

• What to know about Lunar New Year 2023 (6sqft) 

• Al Diaz on the evolution of NYC graffiti (huck ... previously on EVG) 

• About the fried mashed potato sandwich at Rowdy Rooster on First Avenue (Tasting Table) 

• A Fred Ward retrospective, including "Tremors," "The Right Stuff" and "Henry & June" (Anthology Film Archives) 

• The ashes of actor Robbie Coltrane were scattered around his favorite New York haunts — including Katz's (The Daily Mail) 

• Paddy Reilly's, the 36-year-old Irish saloon with live music on Second Avenue at 29th Street, is closing. The landlord won't renew their lease. (Gramercy Local) 

• At Cooper Union on Jan. 25: A panel exploring issues of mental health, addiction and social justice. Hip hop/theater artist Baba Israel, sound artist Fay Victor, and NY Phil Director of Media Production Mark Travis discuss the nuanced impact that the criminalization of addiction and drug use has had on music and other creative arts. (Official site)

Let's go to the Stuyvesant Casino!

Renovations continue at 131 Second Ave. at the SW corner of St. Mark's Place where an outpost of Poetica Coffee is opening early this year. (Top photo by Steven)

For decades, this storefront was home to Gem Spa (RIP May 2020). Workers have uncovered some local ephemera on the front pillars (as we noted here). 

The latest reveal ... a flyer for Stuyvesant Casino, a nightclub located in what is now the Ukrainian National Home at 140-142 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street from 1910 to the 1950s... (thanks to Kevin Goodman for this shot...)

Per this NYSMusic site: "The Stuyvesant Casino offered sumptuous food, dazzling decor, and a first-class house band. High rollers and hitmen were among the clientele, particularly Big Jack Zelig, head of the Eastman Gang after the death of 'Kid Twist' Max Zwerbach, in 1908."

Sunday's parting shot

Photo in Tompkins Square Park today by Derek Berg...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included ... (with a photo celebrating Orthodox New Year on Seventh Street yesterday by Derek Berg) ... 

• RIP Alicia Torres (Thursday) 

• The remaining structure of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church will be demolished (Friday) 

• After 29 years playing in the East Village, I finally decided to see 'Stomp' before it closed (Monday) ... Clearing out 'Stomp' (Tuesday) 

• Openings: From Lucie on 10th Street (Friday) 

• The landlord has taken legal possession of Commodities on 1st Avenue (Friday) 

• The area behind the fieldhouse in Tompkins Square Park is now open for 5 hours a day (Wednesday) 

• A look back at the devastating fire that destroyed Essex Card Shop 1 year ago today (Tuesday) 

• New season of 'Feud' brings a 1970s Times Square vibe to the East Village (Thursday) ... In the 'Feud' of the night (Sunday) 

• 5C Cultural Center reopens with coffee service from the Roost (Thursday) 

• A look inside the under-renovation Poetica Coffee on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place (Tuesday) 

• A gut renovation at 12th and C, and the loss of the Gil Scott-Heron tribute mural (Wednesday) 

• Coffee shop slated for this retail space in NYU's Third North dorm (Tuesday) 

• 75 1st Ave. — once again without a sidewalk bridge (Saturday) 

• 2023 preview: Panda Express (Monday) 

• Foul Witch is the new restaurant from the Roberta's team on Avenue A (Thursday) 

... and do you remember Goggla's photo from the other day showing the piano tucked among some discarded Christmas trees in Tompkins Square Park? (View at this link.) Here's how that story ended — in the back of a garbage truck ... photo by Derek Berg ... (and we don't know what condition the piano was in before it was tossed)...

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

In the 'Feud' of the night

EVG regular Daniel Efram shares these photos from this past rainy Thursday evening... when crews transformed Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue (and other blocks) into a 1970s-looking NYC for the second season of the FX series "Feud: Capote and the Women." 

The series, directed by Gus Van Sant, follows Truman Capote before and after excerpts of his unfinished novel "Answered Prayers" were published in Esquire in 1975.

The cast includes Tom Hollander as Capote, Demi Moore as Ann Woodward, Diane Lane as Slim Keith, Calista Flockhart as Lee Radziwill, Naomi Watts as Babe Paley, Chloë Sevigny as C. Z. Guest and Molly Ringwald as Joanne Carson.

City issues removal notice for the curbside dining structure at the currently-closed Eros

Photos by Steven

An item from earlier this week... Eros, the Greek restaurant on the NE corner of Fifth Street and Second Avenue, is entering its fifth month of what is billed as a temporary closure. 

Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation has noticed... and issued a "Termination" notice for the restaurant's lengthy curbside dining structure...

The DOT notice is dated Tuesday (Jan. 10). Eros had 24 hours to remove it from the Fifth Street side before the city did ... (it remains in place as of this morning, Jan. 15) ... 

We previously spotted a letter here from the DOT dated Sept. 6 requesting that ownership correct some deficiencies in the curbside dining structure.

Eros took over for the diner the Kitchen Sink in September 2021 (same owners) ... management previously changed names from Moonstruck to the Kitchen Sink in the fall of 2015. 

The Eros website still notes that this location is "closed for renovations. Reopening TBA." We had not seen anyone inside the space since the restaurant went dark in August. 

Saturday's parting shot

Early this morning on Avenue A at 10th Street (snow flurries not visible)...

Why Bluestockings remains closed on the LES

Bluestockings Cooperative, the collectively-run activist center, community space and feminist bookstore at 116 Suffolk St., remains closed today — as it has been all week. 

Here's more about the situation via the Bluestockings Instagram account: 

Due to gross negligence by the owner of the building we are based out of, we have had to close our doors temporarily in order for emergency construction to take place. We were told this would be a two-day job, but mismanagement, weather, and a lack of the correct permits have prolonged the process to at least a five-day job. 

We are a small, anti-capitalist bookstore with razor-thin profit margins, and having to close for this length of time will have a huge financial impact on us as worker-owners and our business. If you would like to support us during this time, please consider making a purchase online or becoming a member ...

Bluestockings opened at 172 Allen St. between Stanton and Rivington in 1999... before relocating in 2021 to this space between Rivington and Delancey.

You can follow the Bluestockings Instagram account for updates.

Image via @Bluestockingsnyc

75 1st Ave. — once again without a sidewalk bridge

Here's a follow-up to Monday's post about workers dismantling the construction storage pen that had been sitting in the bike lane outside 75 First Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. 

Yesterday, workers removed the sidewalk bridge for the new (and unoccupied) 8-story condoplex... (thanks again to Elissa for the tip!)

Perhaps the sidewalk bridge will be gone for good. The same thing happened in July 2021, and only to return for more work on the building where the groundbreaking took place in September 2016.

Last weekend for 'City of Kings' at Howl! Happening

Photo from November by Daniel Efram 

This is the last weekend to see "City of Kings: A History of New York City Graffiti" at Howl! Happening on First Street (6 E. First St. at the Bowery).

The ambitious and detailed two-part show was put together by Eric Felisbret, Mariah Fox and Al Diaz (pictured above). The First Street exhibit focuses on the chronological framing of the history of graffiti in NYC. 

Meanwhile at Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive, 250 Bowery near Stanton Street, you can check out canvases by graffiti artists such as Crime 79 and photographs by Henry Chalfant, Martha Cooper, David Gonzalez and others who helped document the scene over the years. This exhibit is up through Jan. 29.

Both Howl! spaces are open Wednesday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Details here.

You can read Dan Efram's feature on the show for EVG at this link.

Saturday's opening shot

DVD, wrapped in plastic ... Andréa Stella came across this scene on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... Laura Palmer gracing the cover of the first season of "Twin Peaks" places upon plastic. Cueing up Pete Martell on the phone here.

Friday's parting shot

View of the EV sunset tonight courtesy of Hywel dda...

For the 'Win'

 

David Bowie fans this week commemorated both his birthday (Jan. 8, 1947) and his passing (Jan. 10, 2016).

So in honor of all this, here's a video for "Win" from 1975's Young Americans LP. 

The footage here apparently comes from (outtakes?) from the "Cracked Actor" documentary.

The remaining structure of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church will be demolished

The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted this week to allow the demolition of the remains of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church at 112 Second Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. 

Church leaders made the announcement via Twitter...

INCREDIBLE NEWS! The NYC Landmarks Commission has voted to allow @middlechurch to remove the burnt remains of our facade, so we can rebuild on our historic site.

Truly, God is good. Out of this fire, fierce love is rising.

Make a gift to help us rise: https://t.co/Vkt9D5e9V0

— Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis (@RevJacquiLewis) January 11, 2023

LPC members voted 8-2 in favor of the demolition. 

As previously reported, church leaders said they must remove what remains on the property within the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. According to a report commissioned by church leaders, the culmination of an 18-month review, there is too much damage to the existing structure to integrate it into Middle Collegiate's new home, that it wouldn't withstand a full-scale rebuild on the property.

In a November interview with EVG, Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister at the Middle Collegiate Church, said they spent $4 million to reinforce, stabilize and weatherproof the façade in the months after the devastating December 2020 fire.

She said that despite these efforts, the façade has deteriorated over time. And then, their engineering report showed that it would be best to remove what was left before building a new church. 

"It felt like something died," Lewis said of hearing this news. "The building burning felt like a death — a big death. This makes me feel heartbroken. It feels like a second loss. But if we let it go, we could get back on site, get back in the space and build something."

Preservation groups, including Village Preservation, had urged the LPC not to grant permission for demolition until further studies could occur. According to Village Preservation: "We don’t believe there is sufficient documentation that alternatives to preserve the historic façade have been fully explored, nor that there is sufficient evidence at this time to justify the permanent and irreversible removal."

Lewis previously stated that she understood the opposition. 

"We relive the fire daily and try to think about what to do with it. It's that kind of grief that just keeps coming in waves," Lewis said. "At some point, two years in, I want to be able to say to my community: We did the very best we could with this. This is not a willy-nilly, hurry-up decision. The engineer says we can't keep it, and we're heartbroken."

No word just yet on the timing of the demolition. 

Meanwhile, Middle Collegiate leaders continue fundraising efforts to rebuild a new church here in the East Village. They are holding services from their temporary home — East End Temple, 245 E. 17th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. 

EVG photo from May 2022.

Openings: From Lucie on 10th Street

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Lucie Franc de Ferriere is debuting her very first bakery tomorrow (Saturday!) at 11 a.m. ... at 263 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

Here, she hopes to bring a little of her native French countryside to the neighborhood. 

During the pandemic, the local resident lost her gallery job and turned to something familiar from her childhood to help pay the rent: baking cakes. 

As she wrote in her successful Kickstarter campaign: 

After baking one too many cakes for my friends, I decided to do a few pop-ups around the city in 2020 to sell my mini cakes. Soon after, I created my website so that people could order their cakes. I did not expect that people would be so interested in trying my cakes and knowing more about my story and that I’d be baking full-time! 

Following her success in recent years, she decided to take "a scary leap of faith" and open her own shop.

She was raised on a farm in Bordeaux in southwest France, where her family grew their own fruit, vegetables and flowers. 

My mother owns a small bed and breakfast where people from all over the world come and dine at our table, and there is always a big cake for dessert and a nice bouquet of freshly picked flowers at the center. Baking cakes for me isn't only about working with unique products but also to reproduce those small moments and souvenirs and bring a glimpse of the south of France to people's desserts. 

From Lucie will feature a variety of her baked goods as well as serve coffee and tea (there are just a few seats for in-bakery dining).

You can follow along via the From Lucie website or Instagram account.