Friday, February 10, 2023
Ring in the new year
There's a new (great!) record out by R. Ring, a band featuring Kelley Deal (of the Breeders) and Mike Montgomery.
The video here is for "Def Sup."
6 Avenue B, long-abandoned, has a new owner
Photos yesterday by Stacie Joy
There's a new owner for 6 Avenue B, the 6-story building on the NW corner of Avenue B and Houston that has been empty/abandoned for years.
EVG contributor Stacie Joy spotted a notice on the front door noting the ownership change... 
The LLC is linked to Penn Capital South, whose portfolio includes multiple EV properties.
According to public records, the building changed hands for a mere $1.05 million. However, the new owners also had to pay $4.2 million in real property transfer and real estate transfer taxes.
As we've pointed out (here and here), the building is in dismal shape and will need significant work to bring it up to code. (The DOB has cited No. 6 for emergency repairs several times in recent years.)
This was one of the abandoned buildings owned by the estate of the mysterious team of Arthur and Abraham Blasof, both long deceased. However, No. 6 has been generating some income with the cell-phone towers on the roof.
The liquor store in the retail space closed when the owner passed away in the fall of 2009 at age 89. (Chico created the tribute to her on the gate in February 2010.)
The sidewalk bridge has been here since 2015.
Previously on EVG:
About the 3rd & B'zaar Valentine's Market this weekend
Photos by Stacie Joy
This weekend, 3rd & B'zaar is hosting a Valentine's Market here at 191 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.
Curators Maegan Hayward, Delphine Le Goff and Sara Ann Rutherford (seen below) gave us a preview what to expect at the mixed-vendor market and event space ...
We have over 25 local small businesses participating and will be selling vintage, locally designed clothing and accessories, infused chocolates, art, cards and much more.Also, we are very excited to announce that we will be debuting our special collection of Fashion Brand Company clothing and accessories! We've been obsessed with their amazing creations for so long ... and are beyond happy to offer Fashion Brand Company in person in NYC!
The market is open from noon to 9 p.m. today (with a special sip and shop from 7-9 p.m.) and ... and noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Offside Tavern shapes up on Avenue A and 6th Street
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Renovations continue on the NE corner of Avenue A and Sixth Street, where a new outpost of Offside Tavern is expected to open in the months ahead here at 94 Avenue A. (First noted here. Comments from readers who had been to the original OT were positive.)
We spotted owner Nick Costa out front painting the exterior of the highly-tagged storefront...
This is a new iteration of Offside, which had a three-year run at 137 W. 14th St. until the pandemic-related PAUSE of March 2020.
During the NHL season, OT was a hockey bar — specifically for fans of the New York Islanders. The place made enough of an impression that when the Islanders opened UBS Arena in late 2021, the new venue included an Offside Tavern tribute bar located in Section 217.
Costa said that they hope to debut on A in a few months — as soon as the liquor license arrives... and they hire and train new staff.
Here's a look inside the space... where there are multiple rooms, including one for a bar and another area (along the Sixth Street side) with a communal table... not to mention multiple TV sets for watching the Islanders — or whatever happens to be in season...
August Laura had a brief run here, opening in October 2019 ... then a haphazard schedule during the pandemic before finally shutting down in December 2021.
August Laura took over the space from what some people considered an East Village institution — Sidewalk, the restaurant bar and live music venue (home of the Antifolk Festival) that closed in February 2019 after 34 years.
Pini Milstein, who retired, was the principal owner of the building and the operator of the Sidewalk. According to public records, Penn South Capital paid $9.6 million for the property in March 2019. The building's new owners added a one-floor extension here in 2020.
Thursday, February 9, 2023
Thursday's parting shots
William Klayer shared this photo from Ninth Street looking toward Avenue A...
... and from Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue... via Jackflashnyc...
... and 14th Street by Pinch...
Cake and soup at Ray's Candy Store
Photos by Lola Sáenz
A lot of smiles today at Ray's Candy Store as Stella celebrated a birthday with the help of her sister, Mary.
Stella started working for Ray in 1977 — three years after the shop opened in 1974.
Meanwhile, Ray continues on the mend after the assault outside the shop early on Jan. 31.
With a dislocated jaw, Ray is on a liquid diet. Stella has been making him homemade soup, which she brings into the shop to blend for her longtime friend and boss...
City's fight against unlicensed cannabis shops now targets landlords; 4 East Village shops busted
Photos Tuesday by Stacie Joy
On Tuesday, Mayor Adams and Manhattan DA Bragg announced that they have joined forces to combat the proliferation of illegal, unlicensed cannabis dispensaries in the city.
For starters, the NYPD filed complaints against four unlicensed establishments selling cannabis in the jurisdiction of the 9th Precinct, which covers the East Village.
Per a media advisory from the city:
The complaints allege that an officer observed the sale of cannabis products at these establishments to underage individuals and sought to shut them down for the illegal sale of cannabis products and operating without a license.Additionally, the Manhattan DA's office mailed letters to each of the more than 400 known smoke shops in Manhattan, warning them of the potential for eviction proceedings for unlawful cannabis sales.
The NYPD's lawsuits allege that officers observed the sale of cannabis to underage auxiliary officers at these four establishments in Manhattan: Runtz Tobacco, 14 First Ave; Broadway, 736 Broadway; Saint Marks Convenience & Smoke Shop, 103 Saint Mark's Place; and Sogie Mart Rolls & Puff, 24 Avenue A.The NYPD now seeks to shut down these unlicensed establishments under New York City's Nuisance Abatement Law for the unlicensed sale of cannabis, also a violation of New York State's Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act.
EVG contributor Stacie Joy was present at Saint Marks Convenience & Smoke Shop between Avenue A and First Avenue when a contingent of law enforcement officers from the 9th Precinct, the Sheriff's Interagency Enforcement Task Force, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and the state Office of Cannabis Management paid a visit.
New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda told a City Council hearing last month "that this tactic was unlikely to lead to stores being shut down right away," as Gothamist reported. "Nuisance abatement takes a little while because the person has to have due process," Miranda said at that hearing.
The letter to the smoke shops from Bragg informs commercial entities that the DA's office "is prepared to use its civil authority under Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law to require owners and landlords to commence eviction proceedings of commercial tenants who are engaged in illegal trade or business, and to take over such eviction proceedings if necessary." (Find a copy of the letters here.)
The Real Deal identified the landlords behind the four East Village shops that were busted on Tuesday: 103 Saint Marks Place and 736 Broadway are owned by Bahram Hakakian's Allied Realty & Development, 24 Avenue A is owned by a limited liability company linked to Alfred Sabetfard of Sabet Group, and Runtz Tobacco at 14 First Ave. Per TRD: Jeong Hoon Kim and Son Dinh Tran are linked to LLCs that own two of the properties.
There are an estimated 50 illegal shops in the East Village; 1.400 in the five boroughs.
Bragg said that his office will determine where evidence exists of unauthorized cannabis sales and other illegal activity and will notify landlords of their requirement to begin eviction proceedings.
If the landlord does not make an application to evict within five days of the written notice — or if, after making the application, the landlord does not "in good faith diligently prosecute it" — then the DA's Office will bring its own proceeding against the tenant as though it were the landlord.
The Housing Works Cannabis Co. store — New York's first legal recreational marijuana market — opened to great fanfare and long lines in late December on Broadway at Eighth Street in a former Gap retail space. Another legal dispensary is expected to open on Third Street near the Bowery this spring.
La Mama officially unveils its refurbished new home today
Restoration work has been ongoing the past few years at the landmarked building at 74A E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery. La MaMa founder Ellen Stewart bought the property as the off-off-Broadway institution's first permanent home in 1967.
Today's event begins at 11 a.m. outside No. 74A. Actor, activist, dancer and choreographer André De Shields is the special guest for the ceremonies, which will also be streamed on Instagram via @nyclgbtsites.
A Korean-style pizzeria for 1st Avenue
We hear that this will be a Korean-style pizza parlor via Ume Hospitality Group. No word yet on an opening date.
In past lives, this storefront was a Papa John's (2010-2018).
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Wednesday's parting shot
Photo by Steven
New mural on St. Mark's Place, south side between Avenue A and First Avenue — "Punk Is Not Dead" by Miki Mu...
Lean on me
We are trying to remember seeing any other leaning bars around the neighborhood. (They were promised with the new M14 SBS service.)
As Bloomberg noted in 2017 when they arrived at a few subway stations: "some New Yorkers saw the bar as the latest salvo in what could be called the 'War on Sitting.'"
An appeal to help a longtime East Village resident
Photos by Daniel Efram
Updated 2/9
Dan posted an update to the GoFundMe... thanking everyone for their generous support. Also:
WE NEED: General builders / handy people / painters / wall scrapers / flooring specialists for possible emergency work in the apartment possibly this weekend or next week.
See the comments below or the campaign for more info.
-----
EVG regular Daniel Efram is helping a neighbor, Ginette Schenck, an 87-year-old resident who has lived in a studio on 12th Street and Avenue A for decades, improve her current living conditions.
Per his crowdfunding appeal:
Ginette's health and apartment have seen better days. Funds raised will go toward a deep cleaning (of the apartment), apartment replacement items, new clothing, bedding, towels, etc... which will allow her to heal in a clean and less germ-friendly environment.
Her health has taken a huge dip in the last couple of months, certainly in no small part due to her horrendous living quarters. It needs a DEEP clean asap, and she will need new everything (clothing, bedding, paint. etc.) to survive. She has been bedridden for months and needs daily help. Her numerous ailments, including painful shingles, neuropathy made worse undoubtedly by her filthy, vermin-ridden studio apartment.Though we have been able to get her some aid through the city, she needs much more and any progress seems destined to be stymied by bad fortune and a lack of family nearby to help her make decisions ...
The way she has been left to die on her own, trying to navigate a health care system designed to punish those without extreme financial affluence, family or regular guidance, is a tragedy.
Work on the multipurpose courts in Tompkins Square Park expected to start in September
The Parks Department has also offered a more specific timeline for the pavement reconstruction of the multipurpose courts (seen above) along Avenue A and 10th Street.
That work is expected to start in September ... with an anticipated completion in June 2024... (a city official previously said this work would only take three months...)
We covered the city's presentation to Community Board 3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront, & Resiliency Committee back in September. Find that recap, which includes schematics, here.
The Parks Department will reconstruct the multipurpose courts, adding various amenities, including a two-lane seal-coated walking loop, and new asphalt.
According to Max Goodstein, a landscape architect with the Parks Department, there's a lot of "asphalt structural damage," and it "needs to be replaced and repaired. And the only way to do that is to take all the asphalt down to the sub base and put new asphalt down."
Other additions: new benches, a kickball court, a high-low fountain that kids and adults can use simultaneously, and three new basketball backstops at the eastern end, replacing the ones that always seem to be damaged.
So what does this mean for the skaters on the lot (aka TF), hallowed ground where generations have used this space dating to the 1980s? (It has been called "the last great meet-up spot for skateboarders and their friends in New York.")
Skaters are worried the new asphalt will be either too soft or hard for skating, turning this into a useless spot.
As you may recall, in September 2019, the skateboarding community came together via a petition started by Adam Zhu and signed by 33,000-plus people to show their support for keeping the multipurpose courts free of synthetic turf... plans apparently only known to residents who attended a Community Board 3 committee meeting in May 2019.
However, less than 24 hours before a much-publicized rally was to take place, the city announced that it would no longer cover the space in turf, originally proposed to make up for the amenities lost during the years-long gutting of East River Park.
"Tompkins Square Park has served as the epicenter of NYC skateboard culture for decades. As such, we have decided to leave the area previously proposed for synthetic in the park as is and will not move forward with creating a synthetic turf area there," Parks Department spokesperson Crystal Howard said in a statement to Patch at the time.
And as we've noted previously, the reconstructed layout of the space may make this the end of the epicenter of NYC skateboard culture.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Tuesday's parting shot
Photo by Steven
The latest mural, courtesy of Steve the Bum, outside the Second Avenue F stop at Houston...
Noted
As previously reported, a large rent hike forced the closure of Café Cortadito on Third Street just east of Avenue B. (The owners are hoping to reopen in a new space nearby.)
Meanwhile, someone left an In Memoriam behind on the front gate...
Block R.I.P. Cortadito but don't fret!! Coming soon.... BLANK ST COFFEE the hedge-fund sponsored Starbuck's in sheep's clothing where the coffee, atmosphere and philosophy is blah, blah, blah, contributing to the Death of the NYC Mom & Pop...
For starters, there isn't any truth to a Blank Street opening an outpost in this space.
Blank Street, which some residents presume is a mom-and-pop enterprise, the brand raised $67 million in 2021 thanks to high-profile venture capital funds like General Catalyst and Tiger Global, the founders of Allbirds and Warby Parker, and real-estate titan Tishman Speyer, as The New York Times reported this past September.
Thanks to E3CD for the photo!
A timeline of events after the assault outside Ray's Candy Store
EVG was the first media outlet to report on the assault, and since then, the story has made headlines in the U.S. (via CNN) and the UK. Some of the following details have been linked to or reported on in previous posts... putting it all in one place here:
• Tuesday, Jan. 31
Ray Alvarez and his employee Gabe Thorne were attacked outside Ray's Candy Store around 3 a.m. when the pair went outside for some fresh air. A man, who police later identified as Luis Peroza, struck Ray with a belt with a rock attached, causing a black eye and gash on Ray’s temple. Gabe was hit across the chest.
The suspect threatened to kill Ray, per the police report. All this apparently happened because Ray and Gabe declined an offer to buy seltzer water from Peroza and his accomplice.
• Wednesday, Feb. 1
Around 8:30 p.m., Ray officially filed a police report. Officers from the 9th Precinct visited the shop. Police checked out local security cameras and later released a surveillance image of the suspect.
Sometime that night, police arrested Peroza's alleged accomplice, 55-year-old Gerald Barth, though this news wasn't released until Feb. 5.
• Thursday, Feb. 2
Ray initially declined to seek any medical treatment and continued to work as he has here since opening in 1974.
On this night, a nurse finally convinced Ray to go to Beth Israel, where a CT scan revealed three broken bones in his face and a dislocated jaw. The doctor put Ray on antibiotics and told him to rest.
• Saturday, Feb. 4
Police announced that they arrested Peroza, later described as "a career criminal," with 10 prior arrests dating to 2001 for robberies, assaults, criminal mischief and petit larceny, according to The Daily Mail.
The Daily News reported that Peroza served five years in prison after he was convicted for an assault in the Bronx in 2003. A source told the News that the suspect is "next-level crazy."
• Sunday, Feb. 5
Peroza appeared before a judge at Manhattan Criminal Court, The Daily Mail reported.
Luis Peroza, 39, covered his face with a mask and looked glum ...He spoke to confirm his name and told the hearing that he was homeless and lives in a shelter on the east side of Manhattan.
According to the NYPD and media reports, after the assault at Ray's, Peroza and Barth showed up outside a deli on Avenue C, where they allegedly attacked a second victim. Per the Post:
They blocked their second victim's path and demanded, "Give me your money!" authorities said.That's when Peroza hit the victim with "an unknown object, causing a deep, bleeding laceration" to his head and "a broken orbital bone, and substantial pain," according to the complaint filed by Manhattan prosecutors Saturday.
What's next
Peroza was charged with first- and second-degree assault, two counts of first-degree robbery, and two counts of first-degree attempted robbery.
During the hearing, his bail was set at $200,000, and he was given the alternative of a $250,000 bond. Peroza remains in the Eric M. Taylor Center at Rikers until his next hearing on Thursday.
Barth, whose erratic past behavior earned him the nickname "Insanity Claus" in Tompkins Square Park after donning a discarded SantaCon suit, was charged with first-degree assault and two counts each of first-degree robbery and first-degree attempted robbery.
Prosecutors ordered him held on $3,000 cash or a $5,000 bond. He's currently at the Eric M. Taylor Center and is scheduled to appear in court today.
According to the Post: "Barth allegedly pointed a finger at Peroza as the muscle in the unhinged incidents..."
Updated 2/8: Barth remains in custody. His next court date is now set for March 1.
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