A Visit to the East Village NYC Book Club

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

The February meetup of the East Village NYC Book Club is reading a recent EV classic: Ada Calhoun's "St. Marks Is Dead." A group of Club members is setting up at Hekate on Avenue B to discuss the book over non-alcoholic beverages. 

After the event, I talked with founder Sunny Cervantes about why she started the book club, how it works, and what's up next. 

On the origins:

The book club started with a post on the East Village Neighbors NYC Facebook page. Someone had posted asking about a local neighborhood book club. The post eventually became a long thread with many people asking about the same thing: if anyone had leads. 

I got tired of waiting, so I created a book club for the East Village. Jenny Allen told me to open a page on Bookclubs.com, and from there, we had our first meeting last year [on March 9]. 

The book club didn't have a space when I created it. Then, I remembered that Abby Ehmann had just opened Hekate Cafe and Elixir Lounge, and I asked her if I could have the book club there, and we’ve been there ever since.

On the club's goal:

The goal of the book club is not only to encourage and foster a love of reading but also so neighbors can meet each other and develop a relationship to strengthen the community. We now have members from Chelsea, the Lower East Side and even the Upper East Side. We currently have 328 members! 

We meet on the first Monday of every month. Usually, eight to 12 members join the monthly meetings, depending on the book we discuss. We don't have virtual events; we prefer them to be in person so that we can meet our neighbors. 

We also plan to include other activities outside our monthly meetings, like an author’s night to highlight local writers and a summer picnic in our local community gardens.

On the next chapter:

Our next book for the March 6 meetup is "Crying in H Mart" by Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast. I don't choose the books; members recommend them and then vote. The only one I've chosen personally was our first book, John Carreyrou's "Bad Blood," the story of Elizabeth Holmes. After that, the members decided on every book that we discussed. 

You can join the book club here.

Let's dance: The Joyce Theater is the new tenant for the former Boys' Club on 10th and A

You could lay to rest for now any concerns that the former Boys' Club of New York will become condos. 

As The New York Times first reported, the Joyce Theater, which debuted in 1982, has signed a lease with plans to purchase the 7-story building at 287 E. 10th St. and Avenue A. 

Per the Times:

The sale is contingent upon the Joyce being able to raise the $21 million needed to secure funding for the first phase of the renovation. A renovation is projected to cost from $50 million to $55 million and to take about three years to complete.

Officials from the Joyce Foundation posted this statement on Instagram: 

We hope the acquisition of this space will forward our commitment to artists, beyond the work taking place on our Chelsea stage. In our mission to serve the dance community, we envision this new building will offer essential studio space, fostering ideation and the creation of movement. 

Our plans for the 58,000-square-foot (and column-free!) building include rehearsal studios and small-scale performance spaces. 

Officials said that they will also rent out space to other dance-theater companies. 

After 121 years on the corner, the Boys' Club moved out of the Harriman Clubhouse this past summer.

As we first reported in June 2018, the Boys' Club put the building on the sales market. At the time, Stephen Tosh, BCNY's executive director and CEO, said the sale of the East Village building would allow the organization the opportunity to start new programs in other neighborhoods in need of its services. (To be clear, the Boys' Club decided to sell their building — they were not forced out. The building was pitched for educational purposes as well as residential conversion.)

In August 2019, Crain's first reported that Aaron Sosnick, an East Village resident and founder of the investment fund A.R.T. Advisors LLC, was the new owner of the Harriman Clubhouse. He bought it for $31.725 million and reportedly planned to sell the property, "potentially at a substantial loss," to a nonprofit that would maintain its civic use.

E.H. Harriman founded the Boy's Club in 1876. The Harriman Clubhouse on 10th Street and Avenue A opened in 1901.

Noted

It looks like the latest unlicensed weed shop is going by Green Dispensary here on the SE corner of First Avenue and 10th Street. (Thanks to Steven for the photo!)

More retail spaces are arriving even as Mayor Adams and DA Bragg are cracking down on illegal storefront operations by targeting the landlords. 

The previous tenant on this corner, the E. 10th St. Finest Deli, closed in December 2020. 

Signage alert: Gotham Burger Social Club on Essex Street

Signage went up Tuesday on the recently renovated building on the NW corner of Essex and Rivington for Gotham Burger Social Club...

This is the first permnant space for owner Mike Puma, who has been operating in recent years as a pop-up from places like Ray's on Chrystie Street. Signage points to a spring opening.

Ashes to go from 9th and B

Photos by Stacie Joy 

On this Ash Wednesday, Pastor Will offered "ashes to go" from the corner of Ninth Street and Avenue B outside Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish ... pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike stopped by while EVG contributor Stacie Joy was there...

444 E. 13th St. is on the auction block

444 E. 13th St., a residential building between Avenue A and First Avenue, is available via an auction starting Monday. 

According to the listing, the opening bid is $1.3 million. 

Here's more... 

... the property is a six-story, 17-unit mixed-use walk-up building totaling 12,384 square feet. Eight of the 16 residential units are Free Market, while the remaining eight are Rent Stabilized. The units consist of a mix between one-bedrooms (4), two-bedrooms (9), and three bedrooms (3) apartments. The commercial space is currently vacant and is approximately 812 square feet, with a full basement space featuring 8.5-foot ceiling heights. 

This was the first East Village building that disgraced landlord Raphael Toledano purchased, paying $6.1 million in January 2015. 

In the spring of 2015, rent-regulated tenants at 444 accused Toledano and a management company he hired of harassment and intimidation. A staff attorney at the Urban Justice Center, who represented the 13th Street tenants, told reporters during a rally outside the building in May 2015 that "there are tape-recorded conversations where the landlord is threatening to drop dynamite on the building and then let everyone 'figure it out themselves.'"

In 2015, Toledano agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle the harassment claims.

In February 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a court victory against Toledano. An order by the New York Supreme Court barred him from engaging in any New York real-estate business activity for at least five years, at which point he can petition the court for re-entrance.

In May 2021, Madison Realty Capital closed on Toledano's bankrupt East Village portfolio. Toledano had received $124 million in cash and lines of credit from MRC to finance his $97 million purchase of the buildings. 

Toledano, who was in his mid-20s at the time, purchased 28 buildings in two separate portfolios from the Tabak family for $140 million in 2015. Experienced real-estate players raised red flags about Toledano's heavy reliance on debt.  

Previously on EV Grieve:

Claim: Landlord of 444 E. 13th St. threatened 'to drop dynamite on the building' 

East Village Buyers moving from 3rd Street to Avenue A

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Thanks to a reader tip, we know the new tenant for the under-renovation retail space at 39 Avenue A. 

The East Village Buyers consignment shop will be moving from 150 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B to the previous Essex Card Shop storefront between Second Street and Third Street. 

Owner Gabriel Shaulov (second from left in the above photo) told me that he hopes to be in the new space in about a month and that he'd been waiting for more than two years to access the much-larger retail spot in the NYCHA-owned First Houses. 

The business model will be the same: a high-end consignment shop specializing in sneakers, jewelry and handbags, among other items.

Until 2020, No. 39 space was home to Essex Card Shop... which moved one block to the north.  

More details about Balkan StrEAT, opening this spring on 2nd Avenue

As previously mentioned, a fast-casual restaurant, Balkan StrEAT, is in the works for the NW corner of Second Avenue and Ninth Street (the former Starbucks). 

An outpost opened on Jan. 24 in the West Village ... prompting this feature last week in Restaurant Hospitality ... which provides some details about what to expect here via chef William Djuric and business partner Jason Correa...

After attending culinary school, Djuric worked in high-end kitchens like Bouchon Café & Bakery, Gramercy Tavern, and Momofuku Ssam Bar. Correa has worked with the TAO Group for the past 10 years, most recently in the role of director of operations, overseeing day-to-day operations at several of the group's New York establishments. 

In early 2020, Djuric began experimenting with cevapi (Balkan sausages) and other traditional Balkan dishes inspired by his father’s Serbian heritage and his own childhood summers spent in the former Yugoslavia. Balkan StrEAT was born out of a desire to open a restaurant featuring the foods of Djuric's childhood. 

Balkan StrEAT serves traditional Balkan foods found throughout the diverse region, which includes Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Albania. The menu highlights regional favorites, including grilled items like the cevapi, which can be served as a sandwich or a platter. There are also Balkan-style burgers, burek (stuffed phyllo dough pies), and kiflice (traditional crescent-shaped rolls with savory or sweet fillings) 

The menu features rotating seasonal specials like stuffed pork schnitzel and goulash, and desserts include walnut baklava and Balkan donuts called krofne. 

You can find the menu, including fresh baked goods, here.

Jewelry brand opening an outpost on 1st Avenue

Jewelry brand PlayHardLookDope is opening a retail space on First Avenue between Second Street and Third Street. The signage arrived this past week.

Company founders Jon and Ebony started the business in 2017 with a fold-out table in a small popup store on Herald Square ... before opening a flagship store in White Plains.

Urban Wine & Spirits was in this storefront before moving to the corner of Third Street in late 2021.

Tuesday's parting video

 

Video and text by Greg Masters 

Following a Mardi Gras celebration at Two Boots, where owner Phil Hartman passed out free Swamp Witch Pizza, Boudin Bombinis and beads, the Mona's Marching Band led a second line up Avenue A, through Tompkins Square Park and into Mona's on Avenue B between 13th Street and 14th Street.

Tuesday's parting shot

Actually a Fat Tuesday parting shot ... on Seventh Street via Derek Berg...

Hold it now: No porta potties for Tompkins Square Park during the 18-month field-house renovation

Reconstruction of the Tompkins Square Park field house is expected to start next month. And according to a Parks Department official, during this 18-month project, the city will not provide any portable toilets for public use.

A resident shared an email from a Parks official, who explained that porta potties were not part of the contract "and cannot be supplied during construction." 

The alternative for public use during this period: The restrooms at the McKinley Playground on Fourth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue adjacent to P.S. 63/the Neighborhood School. (The official incorrectly stated that McKinley is on Avenue A.) 

Hopefully, the construction workers will have access to a closer temp toilet during the reconstruction.

The other day, we walked from the center of the Park (the muddy entrance to where the lawn used to be) to McKinley.

Walking at a fairly brisk clip took us five minutes and 40 seconds to get to our temp restroom destination ...

So roughly 12 minutes to and from, not counting time at McKinley. 

Meanwhile, we've had a possible sneak preview of what's to come during the reconstruction in Tompkins Square Park. As we've reported (here and here and here), the public restrooms have been locked to the public since early November. 

Parks officials told us last November that a malfunctioning boiler and a broken pipe in the basement of the field house are to blame. And the Parks Department decided to wait for the reconstruction to make the repairs.

In recent months, readers and residents have noted an uptick in people relieving themselves around the Park (photo below by Derek Berg) and between cars parked along Avenue B and Seventh Street.

Granted, the restrooms in Tompkins, with missing doors and toilet seats, among other things, desperately needed a makeover ... though they were suitable for prompting some nostalgia...

“You’ve used worse restrooms than this,” I whisper to myself in Tompkins Square Park. “Remember Mars Bar?”

— JP (@jessiepeterson) May 17, 2019

A 2019 comptroller's report found that Chinatown and the Lower East Side had the highest percentage (at 40%) of parks restrooms rated as "unacceptable" in the five boroughs.

As for the renovation, per the Parks website, the work is slated to be completed in September 2024. 

So that's two summers without toilets for Park visitors (unless a local elected official can find some financing for the rental and maintenance). The city does provide toilets for the Park's major events, including the Dance Parade in May and the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in August.

Perhaps adult diapers and portable toilets will become the must-have accessories for gatherings in Tompkins Square Park in 2023 and 2024.

An appearance on GMA leads to an attack at Unregular Pizza on 4th Avenue

On Friday, the folks from Unregular Pizza were part of a "pizza showdown" segment in Times Square for "Good Morning America." 

That appearance led to an attack at the shop, 135 Fourth Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street, on Sunday night, according to the Unregular Pizza Instagram account. 

Here's part of the post via owner Gabriele Lamonaca ... which also announced the launch of a crowdfunding campaign: 

... someone we know — led by envy, jealousy and spite — threatened us on Instagram and then came into our store and attacked us and our staff members by throwing glass shakers and ceramic objects. He also shattered our door to pieces. 

This was a traumatic experience and we hope, we will recover soon. One of our team members went to the hospital with a fractured arm. 

In the meantime, we have opened this campaign to payback for the door and medical expenses if there will be any out of pocket. Obviously, we called the police and we hope that justice will be done. These acts of violence and vandalism will not go unnoticed. We won’t let bullies take us down.

Here's a video showing the vandalism at the pizzeria...

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Unregular Pizza (@unregularpizza)

You can find the GoFundMe link here. 

The baton-wielding suspect fled the scene in a red Jetta, and remained at large, as of yesterday morning, police and PIX 11 reported.

Lamonaca, who previously worked at East Village restaurants Huertas and Cacio e Vino, made headlines in for his unique bartering system. He started experimenting with his pizza-making skills during the pandemic. From his Harlem apartment, he whipped up a handful of pies every week and made them available via barter. 

He opened his pizzeria on Fourth Avenue in May 2021.

Renovations at Prune

Photos by Stacie Joy 

In recent weeks, multiple EVG readers have told us about extensive renovations happening inside (and out!) at Prune, the highly regarded (and currently closed) restaurant on First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Prune ownership declined to comment on the renovations and plans for (possibly) reopening. The space has been closed to the public since the pandemic PAUSE of March 2020. (Nearby residents have noted private events and other cooking-related activities inside.)

The website for Gabrielle Hamilton's popular destination says to please check back for updates about a reopening.

Prune fans remain hopeful that the restaurant, which debuted in 1999, will return one of these days. Hamilton's compelling essay — "My Restaurant Was My Life for 20 Years. Does the World Need It Anymore?" — in the New York Times Magazine during the worst days of the pandemic in April 2020 raised doubts.

Incoming 99-cent pizza shop now with 99-cent pizza signage

A variety of signage has arrived outside the incoming 99-cent pizza spot at 418 E. 14th St. just east of First Avenue.

As previously noted, this may reset the bargain pizza market... as inflation forced other local cheap-slice merchants to up the price by 51 cents to $1.50.

No word on an opening date here.  

Monday's parting shot

Photo today by Derek Berg...

Decision 2023: What screening of 'Cocaine Bear' are you attending?

It's officially "Cocaine Bear" week... which local movie house will you see the 2024 Best Picture winner in? Or will you wait for its release via the Criterion Collection?

 

Site cleanup needed before development can begin on this long-empty corner on 14th and C

As reported last June, there are proposed plans to build a 24-story, 166-unit residential building — including 50 "affordable" units — on the long-vacant lot on the SW corner of 14th Street and Avenue C. 

Last year it was revealed that the site at 644 E. 14th St. — across the street from the Con Edison power plant — contains some contamination and city agencies are inviting public comment on the proposed remedy.

Per a fact sheet (PDF):

The public is invited to comment on a proposed remedy being reviewed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), in consultation with the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), to address contamination related to the 644 East 14th Street Site ...

Based on the findings of the investigation, NYSDEC, in consultation with the NYSDOH, has determined that the site does not pose a significant threat to public health or the environment. The decision is based on the soil, groundwater and soil vapor analytical data collected at the site as presented in the Remedial Investigative Report (RIR).

Thursday is the deadline to comment. This link has information about how to do so. And more background and documents here.

The corner property has been in a stalled-development mode for years. This corner property last housed the single-level R&S Strauss auto parts store, which closed in April 2009.

There are already approved plans for a 15-floor mixed-use building, though no affordable units are attached to this version. As revealed in the spring of 2021, several developers spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby the city for NYCHA air rights to make this a larger structure with more housing.

This past spring, the NYCHA and Madison Realty Capital filed documents seeking a non-ULURP modification — known as an LSRD — to the development plan. (Madison Realty Capital paid Opal Holdings $31.3 million for the property in May 2020, and Opal Holdings bought the parcel in June 2016 for $23 million.)

Here are some of the maneuverings necessary to expand the footprint of the building, as first reported by PincusCo:

The application seeks to modify the boundaries of the previously approved plans and zoning calculations by expanding the zoning lot to include 644 East 14th Street (Block 396, Lot 29). Through the zoning lot merger, the development rights from the existing LSRD comprised of Campos Plaza I and II, which are owned by a joint venture that includes NYCHA ... can be transferred to Block 396, Lot 29, a vacant property owned by Madison Realty Capital.

Last June, Community Board 3 signed off on the plan, which will generate $19.5 million for the NYCHA, to be exclusively used at the adjacent Campos Plaza II for capital repairs and other programmatic needs as determined by a community planning process involving NYCHA and the residents of Campos Plaza II.

Our last post on the development has more background, including renderings and some opposition to the building. Per one resident: "While we are all for the development of that corner ... and the affordable housing element of the plans, we are not happy with the sheer size of the footprint and the excessive height that goes along with the proposal." 

Aside from the pending site-contamination work, the DOB application for the new building was assigned to a plan examiner on Feb. 1, per public records.

Renovation activity at the previous home of the Essex Card Shop on Avenue A

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Updated 2/22: Thanks to the reader comments, we now know who the new tenant is — East Village Buyers, relocating here from Third Street. Find the story here.

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Renovations are underway inside the vacant storefront at 39 Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street...

Unfortunately, workers at the space said they didn't know who the new tenant would be...

Until 2020, the space was home to Essex Card Shop... which moved one block to the north.

Last summer, the Cooper Square Committee, Village Preservation and East Village Community Coalition released a report titled "Crisis and Adaptation: Storefront Trends in the East Village, 2019 – 2021," ...  which named these retail spaces in the NYCHA-owned First Houses on Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street as "vacancy hotspots." 

A Commodities post-mortem

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Some of the non-perishable items from the recently shuttered Commodities Health Food store on First Avenue live on. 

Yesterday, EVG contributor Stacie Joy discovered that John (pictured above) was able to rescue some of the shop's bulk supplies from being discarded, including several grains and granolas ... which were available yesterday for anyone to take at La Plaza Cultural, the community garden on the SW corner of Ninth Street and Avenue C. (The gravity bins were up for grabs too.)

We're told that John was going to take any remaining items, such as canned goods, and donate them to a food pantry.

On Jan. 12, the landlord took legal possession of 165 First Ave. just north of 10th Street — which had been home to Commodities for 30 years. The space is now for rent.