Shepard Fairey's mural NAWed on

The Graffiti Friend of EV Grieve (GFOEVG) sent along this link from Animal New York... graffiti writer NAW tried to add a little something to the new mural at Houston and the Bowery... which didn't go over well with the security guard on duty...


[Photo: ANIMALNewYork]

Per GFOEVG: "I suspect this piece gets dissed and fixed many times."

Blimey!: World Class Learning Academy takes over La Salle Academy space on Second Street

Crain's reports that the World Class Learning Academy — a U.K.-based independent school for kiddies age 3 to 11 — is taking over the La Salle Academy space on Second Street and Second Avenue. According to Crain's, "It will be the group’s sixth outpost in the U.S. and the first in New York. Its other American locations are in Boston, Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, Houston and Washington." The school opens in September.

And what will become of LaSalle, a Catholic boys school? They'll be moving into part of St. George Ukrainian Catholic School on Sixth Street.

Here's the happy-faced news release from LaSalle:

La Salle 6th Street is Born!
One of New York City’s oldest and most respected Catholic school secures its future on the Lower East Side.

La Salle Academy, an award-winning Catholic high school with over 160 years of presence in New York City’s Lower East Side, is expanding its educational programs to 6th Street, where they will be sharing space with St. George Ukrainian Catholic Schools, another historic neighborhood institution. The two schools will coexist in one building, but remain two completely distinct institutions. La Salle will also remain, in part, on the corner of 2nd Avenue and 2nd Street, in a building that will house an alumni center, administrative offices, a residence for the Brothers, and various rooms for student use.

The relocation comes after years of planning by the school administration and Board to address challenges that face inner-city Catholic education, including increased operating costs and decreased enrollment.

“With so much news about Catholic schools struggling, I’m delighted to state here and now that La Salle Academy will continue to provide its exceptional college preparatory education on the Lower East Side for generations to come,” said Dr. William Hambleton, the school’s president.

I knew money was tight for La Salle when they accepted a wrap-around ad for their building.

Superdive officially moving from the East Village; warnings issued in Murray Hill, the LES

Eater has the news: It's official: Superdive is leaving 200 Avenue A... but not before they "have a month long blowout. " The owners told Eater that they are in" final negotiations on a space on Third Avenue in the 30's and another down on the LES that is 'bigger and more heavily trafficked.'"

Feel free to leave your warm remembrances in the comments. Here's part of one comment: "The Superdive concept is an utter East Village failure and laughingstock."

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

Miss Heather finds another tourists/New Yorkers line in the EV (New York Shitty)

Trouble at the A Building (Curbed .... and The Real Deal)

Tah-Poozie has closed (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

BaHa finds more than brunch at the Knickerbocker (Daily News)

Slum Goddess is an "East Fifth Bliss" extra (Slum Goddess)

An actual "Sex and the City 2" promo pic (Nonetheless)

Plan B for 185 Orchard (BoweryBoogie)

EV Grieve regular Mykola (Mick) Dementiuk giving a reading tonight at the LGBT Center on West 13th Street (Elisa Rolle Live journal)

Catching up with the Specials (Flaming Pablum)

Who was watching Goggla? (The Gog Log)

Herald Square now and then (Ephemeral New York)

The classic Joe's Pork Shop in Astoria (Lost City)

Uncovering old ads in the West Village (Greenwich Village Daily Photo)

Truth in leads via Matt Harvey in NYPress:

The East Village is 100 square blocks of NYU-dominated real estate. On a Saturday night, its bars are all packed with out-of-towners.

And get to the 99-cent store on 14th Street near B now!

Sidewalk shed removed at the rebranded PS 64

Been some time since I recall a sidewalk-shed-free stretch of Ninth Street east of Avenue B outside the former P.S. 64/CHARAS/El Bohio community center -- now known as University House at Tompkins Square Park...




Not sure what, if anything, this means at the moment...Haven't heard any news about construction here since the fall...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

Nightmare on Ninth Street: Is the megadorm project alive again?

When I noticed that the sidewalk shed at the former P.S. 64/CHARAS/El Bohio community center behind the Christodora on Ninth Street had been removed, I revisited previous posts on the topic... such as this one from last summer announcing the rebranded project: the University House at Tompkins Square Park.



You can read that post here.

The attempts to redevelop this space has a long, complicated history... Gregg Singer, the building's owner, unsuccessfully tried for years to get a megadorm project off the ground. In March 2009, Singer told The Villager that he's still an investor, but he had moved "onto other stuff." His megadorm was shot down by a judge two years ago.

I did a little more searching for the University House at Tompkins Square Park and this popped up ...



Whoa.

This is all probably part of the old plans (or a hoax!), except that it was, as I understand it, only branded University House at Tompkins Square Park last summer. And, interestingly enough, this is a standalone Web page that lives under the Singer domain, but you can't access it from the Singer Financial Corporation site. I found it via a Google search.

Regardless, this is the first time that I've seen the above rendering in about six years ... If anything, then maybe this can serve as a "what could have been" ... Here is some info from the Web site, which lists that the project will completed in July 2010/11... (You can find all the floorplans here.)

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY
A through block site just off Tompkins Square Park to be developed into a 23-story school dormitory in the East Village of Manhattan.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
University House will be a consortium of universities sharing a single state of the art facility. There are single room suites and double room suites, all of which have kitchens and bathrooms. The universities will be able to secure housing designed, operated and managed for students at affordable rents with amenities not found in apartment buildings or hotels.

This safe and affordable residence hall will provide beautiful views of Tompkins Square Park to the west and the East River to the east providing sun drenched living spaces for all its inhabitants.

AMENITIES
Amenities include wireless internet access throughout the interior and exterior common areas, an outdoor garden, basketball court, a world class fitness center with separate areas for weight training, cardio fitness, stretching and dance/aerobics, lounge, common and private study rooms hard wired with internet access outlets, music rooms, game room with pool tables and ping pong tables, TV screening room, laundry room, and bicycle storage room. Private offices for university staff.

Be curious to find out what, if anything, is going on here... No new work permits have been posted via the DOB. And for a crash course on the headlines through the years, here's a link to the East Village Community Coalition, who collected many of the articles on the project. (Mostly via The Villager!) And here are some from Curbed.

Prepping for the Prez

As I exclusively reported, President Obama will be giving a speech later today at Cooper Union. Meanwhile, yesterday afternoon, the NYPD was busy placing barriers on parts of the Bowery and East Houston. Due to security reasons, I cannot divulge the street names where these barriers are located.





Anyway! EV Grieve reader Elliot noted: "The Tea Party folks could get a nice photo op of his motorcade rolling past the Red Square Building with Lenin saluting from high above."

Meanwhile, I hate to even mention this... but, EV Heave has a full report on Cooper Union's efforts to thwart the Serial Vomiter from striking today. We do hope that EV Heave is wrong... because, quite frankly, people haven't been this excited about a visitor since they thought they saw Justin Bieber on the L train.

One more from Monday night: Zerza denied

One more report from Monday's CB3/SLA meeting... Zerza, the Moroccan eatery on East Sixth Street, was looking to transfer to the former poisoned Carne Vale space at 46 Avenue B. Radouane, the owner (he sent me a note last week) stood up and gave a passionate talk on his restaurant and his love of the East Village... He introduced his mother, who is also the chef. It's a family-run business that he says has been a good neighbor throughout its seven-year history ... His current space, though, is too small and too expensive. He said he would close at 11:30 p.m. and there wouldn't be a bar... it seemed like one of the more honest and straightforward talks that I've heard ... not that everyone was paying attention on the Board. During his talk, he seemed to have the attention of three Board members. Two board members were at the far left-end of the table talking with Keith Masco, who was just before the Board. And Board member David McWater left before the Zerza presentation.

Anyway, the Board denied Zerza's request for a transfer citing oversaturation... Plus, there's still a stigma attached to 40 Avenue B ... expect the storefront to sit empty for some time...

Read the rest of my CB3 report here. Eater has more from the meeting. As does the Lo-Down.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Zerza owner discusses his intentions for new Avenue B space

Zerza moving to Avenue B

Noted

Outside the Brother Jimmy's off Union Square the other day. Subtle!

Houston Street, 6:12 p.m., April 21

Are these RVs now BFFs?

The other day we mentioned the RV that showed up on East Third Street ... in the general vicinity of where the Free Willie Nelson usually moors. The Free Willie had to park a block to the east...Trouble in Camperdise?

Well! As this photo sent by EV Grieve reader Creature shows, the two seem to be getting along just fine on Third Street east of First Avenue...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Happy campers? The Free Willie Nelson gets some competition on East Third Street

Chipotle's FiDi psych out

Well, the sign hanging in the window said the new Chipotle on Fulton Street in District was opening today.... and the people walked up for lunch and....



Heh!



Will need to walk over a few blocks to Maiden and Pearl for your saturated fat and sodium!

At Superdive last night

The "fun" light was on and everything but no one was inside drinking kegs. (Not being one of the two nights the place is open anyway, of course.)



Perhaps the lights were all on for any potential suitors... Eater followed up on its scoop that the place is for rent. Eater heard from the dudes in charge: "[T]he management tells Eater it was actually meant to be a 'For Sale' sign because 'we found a new location, and want to get this one sold so we can move onto crazier super things.'

Uh-huh. Meanwhile, the "for rent" sign was merely moved by workers to the other side of the building...

Signs of recovery on Wall Street

Someone is opening a 13,000-square foot dog hotel/spa in the Financial District

One year later, Kurve/Rhong Tiam East decides to paint over the tags

The first tag appeared on the Fifth Street side of Kurve last April... since then, a few more have been added... and it looked like this...



Now, though, the paint came out...

First tag reappears on the Verizon building

Speaking of tags... nearly three weeks ago all the tags and graffiti on the 13th Street side of the Verizon building were painted over... Now, as EV Grieve reader Kim notes, the first tag has reappeared on the wall on the corner of Second Avenue... (And check out Kim's Flickr page here.)



Previously on EV Grieve:
Brownout: Verizon building graffiti painted over

Extra Place getting prepped to become a major thoroughfare?

There is a recent addition to the Extra Place roadway here...



Stop signs were painted on the blacktop ... In case someone can go 0 to 75 in a few hundred feet or gets the funny idea to start drag racing or they don't see the stop sign...




Not that you'll get too far onto First Street anyway ...

East Village Property Management hates trees

Or maybe there's another reason someone from the company double-taped dozens of apartment-for-rent flyers to trees (and lightpoles) all over the neighborhood...

iGetIt

Last week!



This week!

The old Cookout Grill gets some wood

Well, now... the work is getting serious at the old Cookout Grill on First Avenue and 13th Street...



I'm still waiting to hear what's going in this space... the work permits says it will remain a restaurant, so that rules out a sorely needed bank branch... given the pricey corner real estate, I'd imagine nothing but a chain could move in here... I hope that I'm very wrong.

Cafe Mocha closed for renovations

Second Avenue and Seventh Street.

A few people may know that Shepard Fairey is now working on Houston and the Bowery

On the Deitch Wall a little while ago...






For further reading:
Houston Wall (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)
Graffiti Wall Primed for Shepard Fairey (BoweryBoogie)

Speakeasy and Mardi Gras-themed bar coming to Avenue B

Grub Street has the details on a new venture coming to 25 Avenue B near Second Street ... in the former Rehab/Midway space (and, of course, Save the Robots). Per Grub Street: The owners hope to open the "'Bourbon. Beer. Rock'–themed Idle Hands in the basement space around Memorial Day (pending liquor-license approval), while upstairs a group with ties to Thunder Jackson’s and Point Break will open Billy Hurricanes, a Mardi Gras–themed bar trafficking in frozen daiquiris, Cajun food, and a signature drink that will be limited to two per person." I can smell the vomit already!

Not familiar with Thunder Jackson's? Here is a screenshot from their home page.

RIP Superdive: Is our 10-month nightmare over?

Eater brings us the story (and photo) of a "for rent" sign going up at 200 Avenue A, the home of late to Superdive. As Eater notes: "This is just the latest and probably the final twist in the ten month history of the East Village bar that has offered customers kegs, beer pong, all you can drink Champagne bashes, and of course, a midget."

Meet PS 122's new steel tower

As you know, PS 122 on First Avenue at Ninth Street is getting a facelift...



The Architect's Newspaper has the details on what all this might look like. According to the story:

The Department of Design and Construction (DDC) has commissioned Deborah Berke & Partners to complete a $16 million renovation of the aging structure and bring it up to current code requirements.

While the crux of the commission involves upgrading the 1894 building’s outmoded ingress/egress routes and substandard mechanical systems, Berke also saw the opportunity to improve the interior and how it was organized. The center’s primary inhabitants — PS 122 Gallery, Performance Space 122, and Mabou Mines — all grew into their rooms organically over the years, without much thought about how they functioned as a whole.

And!

The architects quickly determined that the most economic and elegant solution was to place the new elevator, fire stair, and mechanical ducting within a tower addition situated in a yard to the north of the building. “Typical of a 100-year-old building, it has a fragile structural system of terracotta arches between steel structural elements,” said Jones. “You can’t just pop holes in that.”

Consigning these upgrades to the add-on pavilion also preserved the historical character of the original building, which was valued by tenants and the DDC. To minimize its impact, the addition will be constructed of light and luminous materials. The tower itself, a steel structure, will be clad in glass with a perforated and corrugated stainless steel scrim. A canopy and marquee that jut into the street, announcing the new entrance, will also be of glass and perforated steel.

The construction is expected to be done by the summer of 2013. So three more year's of the sidewalk shed on the corner. At first glimpse of the renderings, this looks like an awkward marriage of the old and new...


[Images via]

By the way, did you see a naked guy standing on Houston and Suffolk Sunday afternoon?

From a reader:

Did you hear about the naked guy on Houston yesterday? There was a dude butt ass naked holding two pieces of paper over his parts crossing Houston at Suffolk with a very stoic look on his face. My wife witnessed it from the Dunkin Donuts around 4 pm. The cops approached and he just kinda stood there. Very weird for a Sunday afternoon.

The reader approached as the man was being escorted into an ambulance.

Anyone have more details? Photos? (Or not.)