A new East Village home for Gizmo

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

After months of searching, the owners of Gizmo have found a new storefront for their sewing supply and repair business.

Rosa Malmed and Hossein Amid recently signed a new lease for 626 E. 14th St. between Avenue B and Avenue C ... and just picked up the keys...

Rosa and Hossein previously looked at this storefront. They circled back to it after finding nothing else in the neighborhood that was within their budget and accessible for customers with mobility challenges.

The new space is in a salon that closed during the pandemic. When they arrived, it was still full of beauty supplies. The couple is currently boxing up the salon's remains to donate.

As renovations continue in the weeks ahead, the iconic Gizmo neon sign that hung in its longtime First Avenue window will return. The phone number (212-477-2773) and website are the same. Hours will be flexible initially, but the couple said they are considering opening five days a week from noon to 6 p.m. 

Rosa and Hossein wanted to express their gratitude for the community's support after news broke in January that they would need to find a new outpost for their longtime business. They are already planning a grand opening celebration. 

Hossein said they want to be open by the end of September, as he wants to be up and running before Halloween. 

"Halloween is my best day," he said. "I love Halloween and all the Halloween people." 

Rosa also confided that she loves Banksy and wants him to come and install a piece of artwork on the side of the building. "Banksy," she said, "if you are out there, I have the key and can make this wall perfect for you!" 

In the interim, much work is needed to prepare the space and move all their stuff from storage. They hope to get some neighborhood volunteers to lend a hand. 

Gizmo spent the previous 32 years at 160 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street. Their landlord did not offer them a lease renewal (this on top of rent increases that made it increasingly difficult to stay here anyway). 

Meanwhile, the former Gizmo space remains tenant-free ...

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• That's all for now for Gizmo

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

This evening outside the Star Team, the skate shop starting year No. 2 at 436 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The Moon and Saturn in Aquarius

A dispatch this morning from Felton Davis of the Second Avenue Star Watchers. 

For starters, the moonflowers that he planted in June survived the oppressive heat of July. 

The one that blossomed yesterday evening in the cool air was a beautiful prelude to a magical night in which the day-after Full Moon chased the planet Saturn across the heavens ... and it was not easy to get both of them into a single photo. 

Saturn, at about 1 billion miles away, was a tiny jewel whose rings will flatten out by next April, and then it starts a new seven-year cycle of widening. 

Billed by Space News as an occultation, but not in New York City at ground level. And not everyone who stopped by could see the rings, only those who have taken care of their vision health.

Updated: Tree down on Avenue A

We received reader reports this afternoon of a vehicle striking and knocking over a smallish tree on the west side of Avenue A near the M14 stop outside Village View between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. 

We gleaned the following info from two readers who came across the scene just after the collision around 4:30. A vehicle traveling north on A apparently made a U-turn, hitting the tree and speeding off in the southbound lane. The vehicle (we don't know what type) was likely partially struck by the falling tree as the driver left the scene. 

The tree fell across Avenue A and blocked nearly three-quarters of the roadway for about 10 minutes. The FDNY arrived and used a chainsaw to remove the remains from Avenue A and tossed the limbs over the fence along Village View. 

Thankfully, no one was injured. Let us know if you have more details about the collision.

Updated 8 p.m.

We have another reader report (and it was not such a smallish tree)...

Per an EVG reader:

A black pick-up, someone said a Honda Ridgeline, struck a parked car on the east side of Avenue A, floored it in reverse, shot across the avenue, and uprooted and snapped the tree in two. The truck bed tailgate flew open, throwing its contents against the fence at Village View. 

The driver sped off, turning left (east) on Fourth Street, thankfully sparing our beloved Key Food. Some bystanders took photos of the truck and showed the police. Don't know if anyone got the license plate number. The open back tailgate blocked it from my view.

Remembering Harold Meltzer

Photos and text by Stacie Joy 

I'm not much for imparting personal information here on EV Grieve, but occasionally, something happens that I'm comfortable with — or feel compelled to try — sharing.  

A local family, the Meltzers, have been quietly supporting the community for years through words and deeds, and I am grateful to have them as friends. Hilary, whom I met through yoga, a lawyer working for the City of New York, her husband Harold, a world-renowned composer, and their two children, Julia and Elijah. All are community-oriented, quietly donating to help our newest neighbors, those in need, and those who are hungry or in need of comfort. 

For the past six years, Harold has been fighting a progressive disease that has resulted in a series of strokes and the increasing loss of mobility, all the while keeping up his good humor (or bad dad jokes, as Elijah and Julia might say). 

Sadly, this week, the disease got the better of him. Hilary messaged me over the weekend that sepsis had set in, and the doctors didn't think he'd survive the night — and they were right.

He died on Monday morning, Aug. 12. He was 58.

I'm grateful to have known him, to have heard his truly awful jokes, to enjoy his complicated music, and to have discussed literature and travel with him. Before my first trip to Rome, he carefully prepared a list of must-see places for me and had plenty of time to discuss gelato and the best basilicas with me. 

At the packed funeral (a testament to how loved he was), Hilary spoke movingly about the difference between suffering and misery, between victim and victimhood. I often wonder if I'd have the grace he had as the disease robbed him of his ability to walk and use his extremities, if I would have the good humor to smile and roll out in an electric wheelchair for a midday cappuccino.

I know there are more formal obituaries for him, like at The New York Times. However, I'd like to say that I'm grateful to have met Harold and will miss him now that he's gone.

A look inside the shuttered Starbucks on Astor Place

We're nearly at the one-month anniversary of the Astor Place Starbucks shutting down. 

In some ways, it already seems like longer...

The brown paper covering the front windows has been falling down, offering a view inside... which looks surprisingly intact... the Starbucks signage from outside is also lying across the floor... 

The retail listing for the space has yet to show up online anywhere. (Let us know if you see it!) 

--Updated: Thanks to the commenter for this PDF listing. The commenter says the rent ask is $2 million a year.--

This location, the 11th SB in the city, opened in March 1995. 

According to store management, "the landlords jacked up the rent so astronomically high that even corporate Starbucks couldn't pay it." According to landlord ASG Equities, they offered Starbucks a lease extension at the same rent, but SB declined. According to some commenters and observers, Starbucks shut it down because this outpost voted to unionize in 2022. 

Meanwhile, there might be a big Starbucks dumpster party here one of these days.

Get well soon, Currant!

Photo by Emily Einhorn via the Wild Bird Fund 

Last Wednesday, one of Amelia and Christo's young hawks appeared distressed in Tompkins Square Park. 

As Goggla documented, Ranger Rob (Rob Mastrianni, a Manhattan Ranger) came to the rescue. Since there were no clear signs explaining the fledgling's state, Ranger Rob took it to the Wild Bird Fund on the Upper West Side for a closer exam. 

Here's an update from the Wild Bird Fund via Facebook (and Instagram): 

Such a sweet face on this juvenile red-tailed hawk, who was rescued in Tompkins Square Park earlier this week (thank you, Ranger Rob and Urban Park Rangers!) ... this young bird was lethargic, unafraid of people, and thin. He hadn't eaten in a while and has a poor body condition and weak grip, so something has been off with this one for some time, either because of illness, a window collision, or both. 

We treated him for potential rodenticide poisoning and common bacterial infections, and we're caring for his swollen eye. He's a bit stronger and taking food well, so we hope to see continued improvement for this handsome youngster, named Currant.

Goggla has more about the dangers of using rodenticide (Tompkins Square Park does NOT use it, though plenty of other people do in the city) at this link. 

With help from some friends, The Hard Quartet pays homage to the Stones on St. Mark's Place

Last week, we posted a few reader pics of The Hard Quartet, a new supergroup with local ties, filming a video (from earlier in July) on St. Mark's and First Avenue, including inside the International. 

As we noted, group members Emmett Kelly, Stephen Malkmus, Matt Sweeney and Jim White were apparently paying homage to the 1981 Rolling Stones video "Waiting on a Friend," a classic clip with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards meeting up on St. Mark's Place. 

The band released the video today for "Rio's Song," which does its best to follow in the footsteps of "Waiting" some 43 years later ... and featuring Sweeney and Malkmus in the lead roles. 

Director Jared Sherbert told Pitchfork, "It's a DIY neighborhood production, and it wouldn't have been possible without our friends and neighbors who came together and took time out of their day to help it happen."

 

You can see The Hard Quartet live at Webster Hall on Oct. 17. The band's debut on double vinyl is out via Matador on Oct. 4.

The new 24-story residential building on 14th and C begins its ascent

Construction is ascending on 642 E. 14th St., the new 24-story building along the eastern border of the East Village at Avenue C. 

The structure now stands several floors above the corner plywood...

The 234-foot-tall building, going as 14+C, will include 197 residential units, "a state-of-the-art fitness room," a yoga studio, and a rooftop deck. Information about the number of "affordable" units included in 14+C, one of the stipulations for being allowed to build a larger (by nine floors) building, has not been made public. 

Madison Square Realty is the third owner of the long-empty lot (since 2009) in the past eight years. Madison Realty Capital paid Opal Holdings $31.3 million for the property in May 2020. Opal Holdings bought the parcel in June 2016 from Brooklyn's Rabsky Group for $23 million. 

Plans for a 15-floor mixed-use building had already been approved, though no affordable units were attached to that version. As revealed in the spring of 2021, several developers spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying the city for NYCHA air rights to make this a larger structure with more housing. Plans for the larger development were first unveiled in June 2022. 

The plywood rendering lists a February 2026 completion date.

Meanwhile, there is no word on the status of 642 E. 14th St. next door. The new development extends to the third floor of the five-story tenement. 

Last month, the owner of 642 E. 14th St. filed plans to demolish the currently vacant pre-war building.

Per Crain's New York, Jeremy Lebewohl, owner of the Second Avenue Deli, filed the paperwork with the Department of Buildings (DOB) on July 10. 

Last November, as we first reported, 642's residents — many of them in rent-stabilized units — were abruptly vacated after ongoing excavation next door destabilized the building. 

According to the Department of Buildings at the time, "Structural stability of building compromised due to construction operations taking place at 644 E. 14th Street. Heavy cracks in the exterior and interior in addition to separation noted at door frames and floor from wall..." 

Lebewohl's attorney, Adam Leitman Bailey, told Crain's that "multiple engineers have now said the building is dangerous and needs to be torn down entirely." 

According to a spokesperson last month, the DOB was reviewing the application but had not issued an emergency demolition order for the property, per Crain's. 

As of yesterday, the request for a demolition permit was "on hold," per DOB records. 

The rendering, which does not seem to scale with the surrounding structures, shows No. 642 still in place...

Dedicating Raphael Sadonte Ward Jr. Way on the Lower East Side

On Saturday afternoon, community members and local elected officials came together to unveil Raphael Sadonte Ward Jr. Way along the stretch of Rivington Street east of Columbia Street on the Lower East Side. 

Raphael Sadonte Ward Jr. was born on Aug. 18, 1996. An avid baseball player, he dreamed of playing for the New York Yankees. According to family members, Raphael's unique comedic talent and his signature behind-the-back throw to make a double play left an indelible mark on all who knew him. 

On Jan. 4, 2013, 16-year-old Raphael was shot and killed at the intersection of Columbia and Rivington near where he lived with his mother and younger brother in the Baruch Houses while on his way to grab a slice. 

In August 2014, 19-year-old Timothy Montalvo was sentenced to 15 years to life for reportedly supplying the gun used to murder Raphael. According to press reports, Montalvo refused to help the NYPD find his accomplices, who shot Raphael for his Marmot coat.

Raphael's mother, Arlene Delgado, founded The Sadonte Foundation in her son's memory. This nonprofit is dedicated to elevating, empowering, and educating youth and is committed to reducing gun violence in local communities.

The street sign is on the SE corner of Rivington Street and Columbia Street. 

That's all for the East Village Neighbors Community Fridge on 12th Street and 1st Avenue

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

The East Village Neighbors Community Fridge and Pantry, located at the NW corner of 12th Street and First Avenue, was removed from service yesterday.

For the past four years, the fridge and pantry have been stationed outside S'MAC, where owners Sarita and Caesar Ekya, along with East Village Neighbors, a local volunteer group, helped provide food for people in need. 

However, as we first reported on Friday, the landlord had been fielding calls and complaints from tenants and neighboring businesses about the fridge and pantry for months. (Complaints range from people blocking the street to fighting among those seeking food.) 

Sarita made it clear that her landlord was not to blame, that he was "one of the good guys." However, given the number of complaints, he had no choice but to ask for the fridge's removal. 

The damaged fridge, placed on the curb, was being recycled.

For now, donations can go to the Chelsea Fridge on Sixth Avenue and 15th Street or the Loisaida Community Fridge on Ninth Street and Avenue B. 

Sarita and Caesar hoped to find a new home for the East Village Neighbors Community Fridge. Sarita told us yesterday, "Things are moving, but there have been no commitments from places as of yet." 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• The 4-year-old East Village Neighbors Community Fridge will no longer be in service on 12th Street and 1st Avenue

At the annual Festival Calle 6

Photos by Stacie Joy

The annual Festival Calle 6 celebrated the Lower East Side's diversity and heritage on Saturday afternoon on Sixth Street between Avenue D and the FDR. 

Here are a few scenes from the family-friendly event presented by the Lower East Side Hispanic Committee...

Prepping Theatre 80 for its next chapter on St. Mark's Place

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Workers began prepping 78-80 St. Mark's Place, the historic theater building just west of First Avenue, for its next chapter at the storied address. 

On Wednesday, a dumpster arrived outside Theatre 80... and workers were spotted hauling out items from inside...

First, here is a quick recap of what has happened here in recent years. 

During a bankruptcy auction in May 2023, business and life partners Ori Kushnir and Sivan Lahat, residents and former commercial tenants (Foxface) of the building, reportedly put in the highest bid at $8.8 million. 

The previous longtime owners, Lorcan Otway and his wife, Genie Gilmore Otway, were ordered off the property by a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee in April 2023. (You can read more background here and here.) The Otways lived in an apartment at the address that also housed Theatre 80, the William Barnacle Tavern and the Museum of the American Gangster. 

Howard Otway, Lorcan's father, bought the venue in 1964. (The buildings here date to the mid-1840s.)

The renovation plans

In an email, Kushnir explained that they're preparing the building for asbestos abatement, removing broken appliances and furniture, old carpets, paperwork, etc. No construction is taking place. 

"Once that's done, we plan comprehensive renovations with sustainability, housing, accessibility and preservation in mind," said Kushnir, who currently operates Foxface Natural on Avenue A with Lahat. 

He outlined several goals they aim to achieve, all currently pending approval: 

• Improve the layout downstairs so that the bar can be expanded back to its original size (it was cut in half when Theatre 80 was built in the late 1960s, Kushnir said. 

• Create a total of at least seven legal apartments. ("As things stand, there are only two legal apartments in the whole building," he said.) 

• Repair the facade, roofs, and back wall and improve insulation to reduce heating and cooling energy needs. 

• Make the bar, theater, and first-floor apartments ADA-accessible. 

• "Preserve the theater as a public venue and retain key elements of the facade, such as the blade sign that has seen many names," Kushnir said.

And the big question: Are any commercial tenants lined up for a post-renovation building? 

"Not yet," Kushnir said. "We spoke with several theater companies but haven't found the right fit." 

The building's past lives include a Prohibition-era speakeasy, a bar-cabaret in the 1930s-1940s, a jazz club in the 1950s, and, starting in 1967, an Off-Broadway venue where "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" debuted in March 1967. From the 1970s through the early 1990s, a revival movie theater often showed double features. 

Kushnir shared this photo from the mid-1960s...

Veselka reopens front counter for dining-in customers

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

The front counter is back in action at Veselka. 

On Friday, the East Village staple started service at the five counter stools and two new tables inside the front door of the Ukrainian restaurant on Ninth Street and Second Avenue.

Veselka stopped using the seats during the early days of the pandemic in March 2020. Owner Jason Birchard told us that they "needed to rethink their business model" at the time. 

The front area also had more room for to-go orders and Veselka-branded merchandise during the pandemic...

The return pleased Veselka fans, with people welcoming the diner vibes. As one Instagram user said, "Nothing like a counter-served chocolate egg cream to beat the August doldrums."