Your chance to give the Citi Bikes a whirl tomorrow on Avenue A

[Citi Bike NYC]

Everyone is, of course, super psyched about the Citi Bike program that the city and Citi are launching this summer...

In case you're not on board yet. From the EV Grieve inbox...

Bike Share Demonstration: Tompkins Square Park
Demonstration
THURSDAY
July 12th, 2012
12:00 PM–4:00 PM
Give the Citi Bikes a whirl, ask questions about bike share, and give your feedback on the system. The bikes will be at Tompkins Square Park on East 7th Street and Avenue A.

By the way, if you're out, can you swing by Gringer and Sons on First Avenue and pick up the upright freezer that I ordered? Thanks!

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Here is the city's new Citi Bike

Here are your East Village bike share locations, probably

An Aiko Houston/Bowery Mural Wall progress report

As BoweryBoogie noted, she prefers to do her work here at night...

The Lo-Down has more on Aiko here.

Previously.

Urban Party Etiquette sign circa 2012 East Village, NYC

Somewhere on East Ninth Street... Via Shawn Chittle...

Dog etiquette signs are getting more colorful, trees weirder

Just noting this sign on East Fifth Street across from the 9th Precinct...

...and adding to the collection that includes this one ... this one ... definitely this one ...

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Beyond Sushi is now open on East 14th Street

Oh, meant to note this earlier... Beyond Sushi is now open on East 14th Street ... at the site of the former Royal Wigs.

The executive chef here is Guy Vaknin, once a finalist on shouty food show "Hell's Kitchen."

Diner's Journal gave it a nice write-up last Friday, noting "Except for the occasional egg, most of his bright, well-seasoned sushi is vegan. He uses a six-grain mixture or black rice as the base and fills the rolls with vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices and tofu."

And here's a lousy photo of part of the menu... find more menu stuff on the restaurant website here.

Too early for the woo

Not even Friday night ... or even Thursday... Avenue A at East Second Street....

A 'chug n’ shred burner' for the afternoon

So while we wait for the record from Thurston Moore's new band, Chelsea Light Moving ... you can check out the second track at the Matador Records blog, Matablog ... The track is "Groovy & Linda." (The MP3 is here.)

Thurston describes the song this way:

Not to be confused with the 1968 coffee house folk song by Tom Parrott (recorded for Smithsonian Folkways), this chug n’ shred burner is a psycho reflection of late 60s NYC East Village hippie idealism slayed and splayed in an Avenue B tenement boiler room.

Meanwhile, here's the unofficial official video for the band's first track "Burroughs," released a few weeks ago...

Are you missing an orange bike from Tompkins Square Park?

Photo this afternoon by Bobby Williams.

Abandoned 13th Street building becoming the Bea Arthur Residence for homeless LGBT youth

A reader points us to some good news via Joe. My. God. .... The long-vacant building at 222 E. 13th St. near Third Avenue is becoming the Bea Arthur Residence.

Here's the official word from the Cooper Square Committee, who has been spearheading the campaign:

The Cooper Square Committee and the Ali Forney Center have been awarded $3 million by the City Council and an additional $300,000 by Borough President Scott Stringer to develop housing for up to 18 homeless LGBT youth at 222 East 13th Street, which will be formally named the Bea Arthur Residence.

Bea Arthur was an advocate and supporter of the Ali Forney Center and its mission.

The property is currently owned by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, which will soon begin the Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP) in order to transfer the property to our organizations so that we can begin renovations.

Last October, CB3's Land Use Commitee unanimously voted in support of the proposal at the former SRO and notorious crack house that has been boarded up for nearly 20 years.

[November 2010]

Previously on EV Grieve:
A haunted house on 13th Street?

Navigating the Mars Bar underpass at 21 E. First St.

[Photo of 21 E. First St. from last Friday by Bobby Williams]

We continue to watch the 12-story apartment building (quickly) rising on Second Avenue at East First Street, the former site of the Mars Bar, among other things...

However, we usually take it all in from afar... so we didn't notice the walkway set up to navigate the construction site on the southwest corner... we enter on the East First Street side...

Oops. A little turned around now...

... finally. Daylight and Second Avenue!

...and along the Second Avenue side...

Fun! Can't wait to walk through it late at night!

Oh, and what's left of the Hank Penza sidewalk art...

As seen last July ...

[Photo by Goggla]

Looking at the former Lakeside Lounge

While we wait to find out more information about all the applicants on this month's CB3/SLA meeting (Monday at 6:30 p.m.), including ...

• Lakeside Lounge (La Ritt Inc), 162-164 Ave B (op)

...we did notice that workers have finally taken down the sign and painted the former Lakeside Lounge on Avenue B near East 10th Street ... the popular music venue closed in April after 15 years...

In reporting on the closure, New York Music Daily wrote that the Lakeside "will be replaced by a gentrifier whiskey joint, no doubt with $19 artisanal cocktails and hedge fund nebbishes trying to pick up on sorostitutes when their boyfriends are puking in the bathroom – or out of it."

That just seemed to be just an angry reaction to the Lakeside's closure... there's nothing official, but we did hear that someone involved with Niagara would be taking over the space... Meanwhile, if you have any tips, please let us know via the EV Grieve email ...

Reader report: Organic market taking over former Kate's Joint space

Last Thursday, a reader noted some activity at Kate's Joint, which closed last April on Avenue B and East Fourth Street.

Now, EVG reader Worth Civils passes along a solid tip: The former vegetarian restaurant will become an organic market. Further details are scarce at the moment, but this news should allay any fears of another Starbucks.

Previously.

St. Brigid's now has front steps

The renovations continue on Avenue B at East Eighth Street.

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Prune returns from summer break

Prune on East First Street reopened last night after a week off for summer vacation... and some housekeeping, like a new coat of paint outside...

Anyway, Sunday morning around 9, we saw two women pull up in a cab to try Prune for brunch. (An hour before the place would normally be open. First in line!)

The two were disappointed to learn that the place was closed for a break. With the cab driver offering some logistical input, the two consulted their tour guide for an alternate brunch spot ... meanwhile, one of the painters went inside and brought out the women some sort of Prune trinket (matchbooks? business card?) ... they seemed pleased by this and took off for their second choice... likely ignoring our suggestion to try Odessa...

'Milling' about on Avenue B, and towing cars

As you probably noticed, a lot of streets are getting torn up in the neighborhood ... in preparation for repaving ... lost track of all the streets, actually...

The southern stretch of Avenue B had its turn late last week...

And tonight, more of the Avenue "is scheduled for pavement milling," per the signs...

And if you left your car on Avenue B from, say, East Fourth Street on up ... your car is likely being towed...

Per EVG reader ‏@leighmg ... who notes that crews are breaking into cars to tow them...

Budding Second Avenue sinkhole now out of the running as a sinkhole to watch this summer

After our "2 potential sinkholes to watch this summer" listicle from Friday... several readers pointed us to another budding Sinkhole to Watch ... this one on Second Avenue at East Seventh Street, an intersection well-known for famous sinkholes...

As seen yesterday...

Yes, perfect!

But! Today, workers patched up the hole for now...

111 St. Mark's Place is for sale

[Massey Knakal]

There's a new listing for 111 St. Mark's Place, the six-story building pictured here between Avenue A and First Avenue. The asking price: $4.2 million.

Here's the Massey Knakal listing:

The property features 2 commercial units and 10 residential apartments all which are junior 2-bedrooms. Of the 10 residential apartments 2 are RC, 2 are RS and 6 are FM. The average rent regulated rents are renting only at approximately $11/NSF which is a fraction of the market, as the FM units are renting for approximately $45/NSF. All of the FM units have been fully renovated and feature granite countertops and high-end appliances. The property currently generates approximately $280,272 in annual gross revenue and nets approximately $203,394 in annual operating income.

The property benefits from being less then one block away from Tompkins Square Park where residents can enjoy beautiful summer days as well as outdoor festivals and concerts. Prospective purchasers have an opportunity to acquire a well maintained, beautiful brick building located in one of the most desirable residential neighborhoods of Manhattan.

(Per the listing we learn that the two rent-controlled units are $285 and $256, respectively.)

According to public records, the building was previously sold in May 2009 for $1.1 million to a group that included Alistair Economakis.

Meanwhile, the vacant storefronts here will soon be home to the under-construction Macaron Parlour, as DNAinfo first reported back in February.

Per the Macaron Parlour website, the shop will open next month.

Aiko's stencil art on the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall

A few photos from last evening of Aiko putting her mark — via stencil and spray paint — on the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall... Photos by EVG regular peter radley ...

Claim this land!

You know the empty lot over on East Second Street near Avenue D...?

Anyway, there are now signs on the Second Street side providing information on how you can use this space... Members of 596 Acres recently posted these ... (the Brooklyn-based group of gardeners have identified vacant lots throughout NYC ... they want to help empower local residents to take them over and make the land something useful and green ...)

It's a great opportunity to do something with this space... the surrounding area won't be green for too much longer. Behind this property... the Karl Fischer-designed, 33-unit apartment building is under way where 316-318 E. Third St. used to be... workers demolished the circa-1835 house back in March.

And to the east of this plot... on the corner of Houston and Avenue D ... a big development is in the works... But this particular parcel will remain empty, as I understand it...


Read more about 596 Acres in this Times feature from April.

The Wayland plans to expand on Avenue C

The Wayland opened on Avenue C at East Ninth Street back in January... and now the cocktail bar and music venue plans to expand to the empty space next door that Bite Me Best recently vacated.

Rob Ceraso, one of the owners, confirmed the move.

"The main catalyst for the expansion was to gain a full kitchen. When it was offered to us it was hard to say no," he said in a message via Facebook. "Our food has become more popular than we had originally anticipated. We've grown out of the tiny kitchen we designed behind the bar."

Ceraso said that most of the former pizzeria will be used as a kitchen and prep area. In addition to offering more menu items, they will increase the size of the bar by five-six seats... with another four seats at a table.

He noted that the kitchen will continue to be open during almost all of the bar's business hours. They've been serving food until 2 a.m. on weeknights and 3 a.m. on weekends.

And the general reception so far for The Wayland, which took over the Banjo Jim's space?

"Things have been going well," Ceraso said. "The neighborhood has been really great to us."

The Wayland appears before the CB3/SLA committee next Monday for approval.