Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with an evening view from 2nd Avenue)...

• Checking in on the new East Village home of Gizmo, opening this month (Monday) 

• Baseball bats, fisticuffs and broken windows: A bonkers fight escalates as man drives car onto the sidewalk on 3rd Avenue (Thursday) 

• East Village building with Ramones history is back on the sales market (Wednesday) 

• Prop or not? Looking at Avenue A during the 'Caught Stealing' shoot (Tuesday) ... Paul's Bar no more for the movies, Double Down Saloon returns to service (Monday) 

• Café Social 68 revamps its space and is ready to debut as Viva! Cafe (Wednesday) 

• Kushner unloads more East Village apartment buildings (Thursday) 

• Taking in the Northern Lights from Avenue B (Thursday) 

• At long last, you can see the NW corner of Avenue B and Houston (Friday) 

• This storefront remains vacant 15 months after Ink on A closed (Thursday) 

• At the reopening of the Sakanaya at Wegmans (Friday) 

• What's next for the former smoke shop next to Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A? (Wednesday) 

• Feeling fenced in at the 9th and B entrance to Tompkins Square Park (Thursday) 

• Dreams of a smooth, freshly paved 2nd Avenue will have to wait several days (Saturday) ... Here's when 2nd Avenue is expected to be repaved this week (Tuesday) 

• Sorry, that's not actually a fishmonger going into the corner space at 5th and B (Thursday) 

• 2 normal and useful businesses opening side by side on 14th Street (Monday) 

• The members-only Flyfish Club debuts at the former site of the Sunshine Cinema (Monday)

... and in Tompkins Square Park this past week, workers removed a long-dead (pear?) tree from near the entrance at Avenue A and St. Mark's Place... (thanks to Steven for both photos)...

About Susan Schiffman’s portraits of rent-stabilized East Village homes

Longtime East Village resident Susan Schiffman is the subject of a Times feature today (the online version is here). 

The piece focuses on her work photographing rent-stabilized apartments in the neighborhood. 

Since 2016, Ms. Schiffman has been photographing dozens of her neighboring East Village apartments. Her photos depict the clutter that collects when one lives in the same home for decades, the intimacies of people's domestic lives and the homemade quality of spaces that have never been renovated. 

The scenes are timeless in that there are few, if any, elements that give away exactly when they were photographed — many of them look like they were captured decades ago, stuck in a past version of New York. The images are meant to be portraits of the tenants, without actually showing any people in them. 

With the city's housing crisis as a backdrop and with the rent-stabilization system’s promise of affordability feeling threatened, Ms. Schiffman's photos evoke a soothing, homey sentiment. The apartments she documents are unfussy and far from luxurious, but are full of character and are strongly loved homes in their own sense.

You can find her images on Instagram. And through the years, EVG has been pleased to publish her work and interviews. You can access the archives here. 

Susan is also part of a group show at Galerie Shibumi, 13 Market St., near East Broadway, through Oct. 20.

 

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Where to Honk the Vote! in the East Village tomorrow

Honk the Vote! continues (Oct. 9-19) around NYC. 

Tomorrow (Sunday!), the Hungry March Band will be parading through the East Village, starting at 4:30 at Temperance Fountain in Tompkins Square Park. The itinerary includes stops at MoRUS on Avenue C, Lucky on Avenue B ... and 2A and Two Boots on Avenue A. (See the flyer above for timing.) 

Meanwhile, yesterday, one of the participating Honk the Vote! groups, Brazil's BaBaDan Banda de Rua, was in the East Village... where EVG's Stacie Joy caught them in Tompkins...

Comet Watch NYC

Felton Davis of the Second Avenue Star Watchers shared this dispatch and the photos ... 

As Comet Tsuchinshan approached the Sun, I spent several early mornings keeping watch on Avenue A across from Key Food, and never saw anything but clouds. 

But on Monday and Tuesday of this week, the comet rounded the Sun, and the vigil continued at sunset, either on the Staten Island Ferry or Battery Park.

The Friday evening crowd included people from all over the world, and a massive cruise ship, the "Norwegian Joy" sailed down the Hudson and blocked the Sun.

It is creepy to see that while inbound, the tail appeared behind the comet, but now it is swinging around and appearing ahead of the comet. If the skies are clear on Saturday, I recommend getting on the outbound ferry at 6 p.m. and riding back inbound at 6:30 p.m. Tsuchinshan should be a little higher each night for the next two weeks. 

Ed note: If you miss it, NASA estimates it will be back in another 80,000 years.

EVG Etc.: Ballot questions for New Yorkers; early voting starts Oct. 26

Vote art on Great Jones

• The 6 ballot questions New Yorkers will vote on next month (The City) ... Early voting starts on Oct. 26 (NYC Votes) 

• Mayor Adams unveils a new effort to address homelessness in the subways (Gothamist ... press release) 

• Mayor says new NYPD commish is on the way since the interim one didn't work out after the previous one resigned; Feds search the offices of the NYPD's School Safety Division (NBC 4) 

• Why the MTA is enjoying a sudden outpouring of public support (Gothamist) 

• Exploring the neighborhood's community gardens (Village Preservation) 

• A long read on the history of ABC No Rio and its new home built with an unlikely ally — the city (The New York Times ... previously on EVG) 

• A look back at after-hours club Save the Robots on Avenue B (Flashbak) 

• An interview with NO Wave pioneer Beth B (Mubi) 

• A look at Komune, a new boutique on Orchard (Time Out) 

• Details on the 2024 La MaMa Puppet Festival (Official site) 

• He has his father's eyes: "Rosemary's Baby" in 35mm at the Village East by Angelika (Official site)  

And this might be of interest at the main branch of the NYPL... opens today...

 

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Dreams of a smooth, freshly paved 2nd Avenue will have to wait several days

We got up extra early this morning to check out the freshly paved Second Avenue. The DOT website and posted notices along the milled avenue noted the paving work to take place last night. 

As the top photo on 14th Street shows, it looks smooth! Yes!

And then we go one block south to 13th Street ... where the fresh asphalt abruptly stops and the milled roadway picks up...

The posted notices now say Tuesday night/Wednesday morning for presumably more paving — maybe more than a block this time? 

And they will come back [in a hopeful, encouraging tone] because they left all the pavers behind...

Not sure what happened with the paving last night. Maybe the city ran out of hot mix asphalt? 

Anyway! We walked down the avenue anyway, celebratory celebrations on hold. 

Crews did mark the outline all the way to Houston.

To be continued...

A 'Sad' state

 

Fans of shoegaze-dream pop can check out the recently released debut record by the Los Angeles-based Mo Dotti.

The video here is for "Whirling Sad," a track the band says was inspired by "vintage Lush, the sweeter side of My Bloody Valentine, and SST-era Dinosaur Jr."

At the reopening of the Sakanaya at Wegmans

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

After three months of expanding the seafood department, the Wegmans outpost on Astor Place recently hosted its first tuna cutting in the new Sakanaya. 

The store, the first in Manhattan, opened last October. 

"As we continue to focus on best serving our customers in Manhattan, the decision was made to reconfigure the space to provide a more interactive experience for customers," a store rep told us via email. 

Here's a look at the Sept. 22 event ...

Chairman Danny Wegman, a third-generation family member who joined the business in 1964, was present with his wife Paula Kerr-Jarrett and Yuko Kishida, the spouse of the now-former Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida.

The live tuna cutting demonstrations happen at this Wegmans on Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m. ...

Read more about the fish market here. 

Reminders: Paving time for 2nd Avenue

Updated 10/12: Never mind — the city pushed back the paving until Tuesday night.

Say your farewells to the groove-y, filling-loosening, bike-seat-jarring Second Avenue...

DOT crews are expected to pave the milled roadway (from 14th Street to Houston) tonight. 

What time, exactly? Dunno! There are posted No Parking signs noting the work from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Just be sure to follow the Work Zone signage, and you will be fine...

As noted on Tuesday, the city will return to mark a new offset bus lane. The city's release about the enhancements also mentions that the DOT "will upgrade select existing painted pedestrian islands on the east side of the avenue to concrete islands."

At long last, you can see the NW corner of Avenue B and Houston

Photos by Stacie Joy 

We can't remember when a sidewalk bridge did NOT obscure the NW corner of Avenue B and Houston. 

Well, no more — workers have removed the structure here.

G's Cheesesteaks opened in the storefront this past summer ... the first retail tenant in 15 years in the long-empty building that the new landlords call The B.

The storefront (and upstairs floors) have undergone extensive renovations this past year-plus. An LLC linked to Penn Capital South, whose portfolio includes multiple EV properties, bought the building in February 2023. 

This was one of the abandoned properties owned by the estate of the mysterious team of Arthur and Abraham Blasof, both long deceased. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Here's a look at the renovated interior of the long-vacant 6 Avenue B 

• Because you've always wanted to know what the inside of the long-empty 6 Avenue B looks like 

• Let's take another look at the eerie remains of the long-abandoned 6 Avenue B

Friday's opening shot

Seen this morning outside the Brant Foundation on Sixth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue (thanks, Steph, for the pic!)... a step-and-repeat banner apparently leftover from last night's launch celebration... 

Dom Pérignon, which, along with Miller High Life is one of our favorite Champagne maisons, pays tribute to Jean-Michel Basquiat with a special-edition Vintage 2015. (And no, you won't be able to order it down the street at the Cherry Tavern.) 

DP previously collaborated on special-edition bottle designs featuring Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons. 

The Brant Foundation's first show here in the spring of 2019 featured work by Basquiat — some 70 works collectively valued at $1 billion.

Taking in the Northern Lights from Avenue B

Top photo by Loyan Beausoleil 

2nd photo by Joanee Freedom 

Let's check out a view of the Northern Lights — the celestial displays also known as aurora borealis — from Sixth Street and Avenue B this evening...

What's going on? Why can we see these here?

Per NBC 4: 

A coronal mass ejection (CME) erupted from the sun Tuesday and is projected to arrive at Earth sometime on Thursday. CMEs trigger geomagnetic storms which, if they are strong enough, can produce brighter and more active displays of the northern lights that can be seen further south from the pole and even, in cases like this one, as far south as the United States.

Baseball bats, fisticuffs and broken windows: A bonkers fight escalates as man drives car onto the sidewalk on 3rd Avenue

East Village resident Ethan Minsker was out walking his dog this morning at 8:30 when he came across a fight in progress on Third Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

"Two men fighting over some kind of car thing," he wrote in an Instagram post. 

Minsker provided a narrative to the video below: 

"The guy in the purple took out a baseball bat and beat the other guy on the street. The guy who got beaten with the baseball bat jumped in the man's car, drove it on the sidewalk and messed it up. Then he got pulled out of his car and retreated to his own car. And the guy broke the side window." 

The fight happened very quickly, Minsker said, and the police were not yet on the scene during this video... but several other bystanders were shooting video as well...

 

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Kushner unloads more East Village apartment buildings

329-335 E. 9th St.

Kushner Cos. continues to purge its portfolio of East Village properties. 

According to public records and published reports, the real-estate development firm recently sold six buildings: the four contiguous properties at 329, 331, 333, and 335 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue ($26.9 million), and 516 and 518 E. 13th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B ($11 million). 

According to The Real Deal, the buildings represent 56 residential units and six retail spaces in total. (The new owners are the Baltimore-based JSB Capital Group and Holliswood Development.) This follows multi-building sales from November through January. 

Per Crain's: 

At its peak a decade ago, Kushner Cos. owned about 40 rentals between Third Avenue and Avenue B, and between East 14th and East Houston streets. But in the past few years, it began unloading properties in the neighborhood, some of which have been plagued by legal battles with tenants over alleged construction problems and other issues. 

With the latest deals, the company's portfolio has been whittled by half, and company executives say two other unnamed properties are now in contract. 

"We find ourselves in an environment that has become inhospitable," said Laurent Morali, the company's chief executive. "You can expect to see more sales in the future." 

Inhospitable? Back to Crain's. 

Rules passed as part of pro-tenant reform laws in 2019 have made it more difficult for landlords of rental sites to run the traditional playbook of converting regulated units into pricier market-rate versions. Some landlords have blamed those reforms for stifling the investment sales market. 

But some of Kushner Cos.' units also became entangled in a thicket of long-running tenant lawsuits that execs have blamed on the left-leaning area's antipathy toward former President Donald Trump, who is Jared Kushner's father-in-law and for whom Jared served as a senior White House adviser beginning in 2017. 

At one point, Kushner Cos. was the second-largest owner of East Village residential buildings, trailing only convicted felon Steve Croman. 

Previously on EV Grieve:
• More about Jared Kushner's East Village buying spree

• Tenants claim: Kushner and Westminster want to destroy this building's beautiful garden

• Reports outline how Kushner Companies is aggressively trying to empty 170-174 E. 2nd St.

• Local politicos join residents of 2 Jared Kushner-owned buildings to speak out about poor living conditions, alleged harassment 

Feeling fenced in at the 9th and B entrance to Tompkins Square Park

Photo by Stacie Joy 

H/T Steven 

Questions abound over the new temp fencing that arrived yesterday at the entrance to Tompkins Square Park on Avenue B and Ninth Street. 

We are waiting for the official word, but the unofficial word is that in the days ahead, the Parks Department will be paving the walkway from Avenue B to the under-construction field house. 

We are about 17 months into the renovations. The Parks website says work is 90% complete.

This storefront remains vacant 15 months after Ink on A closed

Photos by Stacie Joy 

There has been some activity inside 66 Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street ... as the space appears to be getting prepped for leasing action...

In the past year or so, the interior has been a staging area for the gut renovations of the block-long building (58-72 Avenue A), which now goes as Untitled (and is free of the previous market-rate tenants).

This storefront — along with the one previously the lottery shop next to the liquor store — is for lease. Per the listing (PDF here): "Situated in a vibrant neighborhood, this location is located in line with other retail and surrounded by major retailers such as Starbucks, Blink Fitness, SoulCycle, and Crunch Fitness." 

(Interesting businesses to namecheck. "Surrounded by"? Soul Cycle is on Fourth and Lafayette, one block west of the Crunch on the Bowery.)

Ink closed here in July 2023 after 30-plus years in business. Owner Ben "Benny" Dahud had been in a legal tussle (some of this was his own fault, he admitted) with the private equity firm that bought the building in the fall of 2022 for $64 million. 

In the end, Benny decided to retire and close the newsstand. This post has more background about what transpired. 

Anyway, we miss Ink and Benny. We hope he is enjoying his time away from behind the counter (seen below in June 2023).

Sorry, that's not actually a fishmonger going into the corner space at 5th and B

Photo by Stacie Joy 

In recent days, the space on the NW corner of Avenue B and Fifth Street has been undergoing renovations, and as several readers have noted, a fishmonger might be the new tenant.

The space is Gratin, the art gallery, and they're presenting work by CANEMORTO, a trio of anonymous masking-wearing Italian artists.

Tonight through Saturday, Gratin is hosting "Matta presents: Canemorto Fish Market," featuring "fried drawings, drawing tartare, drawings in oil, drawings in salt, frozen drawings, filleted drawings..." 

It's not quite a bagel shop where everything is made from felt, but...

 

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Wednesday's parting Instagram shot

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Taken from the south side of Sixth Street... roughly where Sunny's Florist is...

East Village building with Ramones history is back on the sales market

Images via LoopNet 

An East Village building at 6 E. Second St. with a lot of Ramones history is once again on the sales market. 

A listing for the four-level building just east of the Bowery — at Joey Ramone Place — recently appeared on LoopNet, with an asking price of $10.8 million. 

A loft in the four-level building was the longtime home of Arturo Vega, the artistic director of the Ramones and creator of the band's iconic logo. 

Jones Lang Lasalle has the listing, which plays up the Ramones' connection to the building's history: 

The property is the former home of Ramones' lead singer Joey and bassist Dee Dee and hosted one of the band's earliest shows. Nearby Albert's Garden is where the band paid $125 in 1976 for a black-and-white picture [ed note — taken by longtime EV resident Roberta Bayley] from Punk Magazine, featuring a brick-wall background, for their debut album titled ... This image on East 2nd Street is considered one of the most important and definitive music images of the 1970s. Situated in one of the most desirable pockets in Lower Manhattan, the Property presents a unique opportunity for an investor or owner-user to obtain a cash-flowing asset with potential for tremendous upside. 

There are three residential units and a retail space (the John Derian Company). 

No. 6 was listed for $7.25 million in the summer of 2020 and, according to public records, sold for $5.8 million in November 2021. 

The building also has a nice rear view of the New York Marble Cemetery on Second Avenue...

Other onetime residents here include Fayette Hauser, John Flowers and Pam Tent of the Cockettes. 

As for the Ramones, plenty has been written about their relationship with the space (Joey and Dee Dee lived here early on, the band signed their first contract on Vega's coffee table, etc.)... and here's footage of the band playing in the loft in February 1975...

 

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