And now the renovations really begin at 50-58 E. Third St.

[Yesterday outside 50 E. Third St. Photo by Bobby Williams.]

There hasn't been any shortage of drama at 50-58 E. Third St. Back in July, reps for the new owners, GRJ, a fund co-founded and co-managed by brothers Graham and Gregory Jones, promised that the remaining tenants would have to endure "heavy construction" in the days and weeks ahead.

At 50 E. Third St., a tipster recently claimed that "illegal" work was taking place in the building. The resident or, perhaps, neighbor, wasn't too specific, just that it was a living hell.

Tenants have noted other worrisome developments in the last week or so, claims such as workers shutting off the water without any notice or knocking a hole in someone's living room wall from next door and claiming that it was an "accident."

On Sept. 24, the DOB approved a whole bunch of work for No. 50:

"Renovation of existing apartments 2A & 2C on 3rd floor, 3B & 3C on 4th floor, 4C on 5th floor, 5A, 5B & 5D on 6th floor. New metal balconies facing rear in conjunction with apts. 2C, 3C, 4C & 5D. New roof decks in conjunction with apts. 5A, 5B & 5D."

There are several complaints on file with the DOB for No. 50 (12 since Aug. 23), including a Partial Stop Work Order that only applies to the balconies.

Yesterday, the DOB approved the exterior renovation of the entire building; ditto for the exteriors at No. 58 and No. 54, the other two buildings that the Jones brothers purchased for a three-building price of $23.5 million. (There is paperwork on file dated yesterday for interior work at No. 54, renovations that will be similar to No. 50. The DOB assigned those plans to an examiner. There is only a permit for exterior work on file for No. 58.)

In April, 17 residents of the buildings received letters that stated, in part: "It has been agreed with the impending new owners that your lease will not be renewed and that you will be expected to vacate at the expiration of your lease." The residents banded together and formed a tenants group; local politicians came out to offer support during a rally on May 7. However, as one former resident put it, the Big Real Estate Machine was too great to overcome.

Per Gregory Jones in the news release announcing the sale this past July: "We see a real opportunity to reposition the buildings. We'll invest significant capital and we look forward to creating the most desirable walk-ups in the East Village."

Have any tips or photos about the situation here? Please send them our way via the EV Grieve email

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Three apartment buildings sold on East Third Street

Advocate for East Third Street buildings moving to Washington Heights

More about the lease renewals at 50, 54 and 58 E. Third St.

Tenants at 50, 54 and 58 E. Third St. banding to together in face of building sale

More drama at 50-58 E. Third St.; 'heavy construction' awaits tenants who stay

Duane Park-Bowery Poetry Club mashup coming together

Several months have passed since since there was any news about a revamped Bowery Poetry Club, which closed on July 17. The BPC website promised a fall return, which seemed optimistic considering nothing has been happening inside the space.

As DNAinfo's Serena Solomon first reported, BPC would merge with Tribeca burlesque club Duane Park. But just how all this would work was a bit of a mystery.

However, Grub Street provided an update yesterday afternoon. At a CB2 meeting Wednesday night, Duane Park co-owner Marisa Ferrarin told Grub Street that "Holman will do poetry readings on Sundays and Mondays, and that Duane Park — with Southern-inspired food and live entertainment like burlesque shows, magicians, and contortionists — runs the space the other nights of the week. The arrangement is flexible, so the duo may do poetry dinners together."

And when should all this happen? It seems a little vague — the new place should open "sometime next year after renovations are complete."

Meanwhile, BPC II will still have to compete with this next door...

[Photo by Jeremiah Moss]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is Duane Park in the Bowery Poetry Club's future?

What is happening with the Bowery Poetry Club?

Bob Holman on the future of the Bowery Poetry Club

Clearing out the Bowery Poetry Club; plus, free knowledge!

Mourning lost bars; early morning at Downtown Beirut

The 6th Floor, the blog of The New York Times Magazine, checked in yesterday afternoon with a piece titled "Manhattan’s Most-Mourned Bars."

The neighborhood is well-represented in the listicle: Mars Bar, Downtown Beirut and The Holiday Cocktail Lounge. (And two nearby: The Cedar Tavern and Good World Bar and Grill.)

A lot of room for debate in that list. Which was probably the point, of course.

But! It's a fine time to revisit this EVG post from Jan. 5, 2009 titled Downtown Beirut, around 1990, about 3 a.m. It included this video...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Downtown Beirut, around 1990, about 3 a.m.

Exclusive: The Bowery to receive its first Monimax 4000W wall mount ATM

You may have seen this hanging on the Bowery near East Fourth Street.

This. Not the headless mannequins.

EV Grieve has learned exclusively that this will soon be a real live Monimax 4000W wall mount ATM. As you probably know, the Monimax 4000W wall mount offers unprecedented deployment flexibility while supporting a robust set of traditional ATM service offerings. It is ideal for sites where real estate is at a premium, such as on the Bowery. According to Nautilus Hyosung officials, the makers of the Monimax 4000W, "the Monimax 4000W delivers total cost of ownership results in a reliable, secure platform."

Indeed.

And now you will be the first to know how to use the Monimax 4000W with this almost interactive chart.

Please note that Cincinnati Bengals fans from Phebe's will be charged a $10 service fee during game days.

Top photos by Bobby Williams. ATM blather via the Nautilus Hyosung website.

This is what the entrance at 93 E. Seventh St. looked like on Oct. 10, 2012

This year, we'll post photos like this of various buildings, streetscenes, etc., to capture them as they looked at this time and place... The photos may not be the most telling now, but they likely will be one day...

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[East Seventh Street. Photo by Bobby Williams]

If you happen to be in Echo Park: Dee Dee Ramone will have a posthumous gallery exhibit of his artwork via Shepard Fairey (The Los Angeles Times)

Long live El Faro (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

NYPD says suspect in fatal stabbing near Union Square left for Mexico (The New York Times)

Macaron Parlour opens tomorrow on St. Mark's Place (BoweryBoogie)

Brooklyn Flea's Smorgasburg popping up shop at the Whole Foods Bowery (Gothamist)

Cafe Katja reopens tonight on Orchard Street (The Lo-Down)

And at The Awl today, Choire Sicha weighs in on the new East Village/Lower East Side Historic District in a post titled "The Permanent East Village: A Fascist Swamp of Crappy Buildings Now Historic."

An excerpt!

The district stretches down Second Avenue, which is now referred to as "Little Dartmouth Gangsta's Paradise," due to the habits of the khaki-clad worthies who clog its congested sidewalks of an evening, alternately issuing mating shrieks and vomit.

Finally, please put your stickers somewhere else besides Joe Strummer's sunglasses...

[This morning]

Something new in the works for PS 64?; plus sidewalk bridge expiration anniversary

[Last week on East Ninth Street]

EVG reader @fashionbyhe sent along the photo below, asking what was going on with the former PS 64 and noting that the permits for the sidewalk bridge expired...

...on Sept. 29, 2011.

[Bobby Williams]

Aside from noting the one-year anniversary of the sidewalk bridge's expiration date, there is some other activity to report here at the former PS 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street and 10th Street just east of Avenue B.

Tomorrow night, there's a CB3 Landmarks Subcommittee meeting. And on the agenda:

Certificate of Appropriateness: Proposal for window replacement project, as part of façade restoration project, at former PS 64/ 605 E 9th street

The windows could use a good replacing, as you can see here on the East 10th Street side.

On Aug. 8, the DOB disapproved a plan to repair and restore the façade, a job with an estimated cost of $510,000, per city documents.

Of course, the building's controversial owner, Gregg Singer, reportedly had workers hack away at the ornate dormer windows and terra cotta trim back in 2006. Could have saved himself some future trouble by keeping everything intact.

In addition, city records show that there is a new architect of record on the permits — Mark Ginsberg of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects LLC. (Among many other projects, the firm designed the plans for turning the former PS 90 in Harlem into 75 apartments and a community space. However, PS 64 was landmarked in 2006; the property deed limits the property to community use.)

Singer is still listed at the DOB as the owner of 605 E. Ninth St. He bought the formerly city-owned building in 1998 for $3.15 million. Aside from a whole lot of neighborhood drama, not much has been happening with the space for 10-plus years. (There's not enough time in the day to get into all the history here since 1998. The Villager has extensively covered this story through the years. Check out their archives here.)

In March, a deed for "community facility use only" arrived at Massey Knakal, who noted, "Ideally, the highest and best use for the property would be to renovate the existing structure and convert it into a modern school or college dormitory." (No price was listed.)

The listing is no longer on the Massey Knakal site. So, a question that people have have been asking for years remains: Will something finally happen to the space now?

Meanwhile, we do know what has been going on with the former school, at least on the East 10th Street side: Some folks have created temporary housing under the sidewalk bridge...

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[EVG]

[EVG]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

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

A memorial for Donald Suggs on Avenue A

[Photo by Stacie Joy]

A memorial went up yesterday outside Exit9 on Avenue A where Donald Suggs worked. The longtime East Village resident died this past weekend of an apparent heart attack. He was 51.

His many friends and loved ones are planning a celebration of his life. In the comments last night, Exit9 owner Charles Branstool wrote that he would share information about any memorial/celebration on the store's website and Facebook page. We'll post those details here too.

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.

By James Maher

Name: Derek Berg (and Nikita)
Occupation: Photographer
Location: 9th Street and 1st Avenue
Time: 11:45 am on Monday, Oct. 8

"I've lived in the neighborhood since 1977. When I first moved in I was actually nervous on my own block. I remember people sitting in the back of Veselka at the payphones, before cellphones, with newspapers searching for jobs.

I’ve seen strippers on the street at 9 in the morning getting change. You’re never really surprised to see something you’ve never seen before. It’s kind of unusual when you’ve lived here for over 30 years to say I’ve never seen that before. It’s been very stimulating.

I used to drive a taxi. It was around the same time that they made the movie 'Taxi Driver.' I wouldn’t see it until I finished driving. I’ve been working on a serious project about taxis myself. Mine had nothing to do with passengers, just the taxis. I did pretty much all black and white until I picked up a digital camera. Black and white was my main interest. I went to digital because I kinda had to. I lost my darkroom for awhile. I now have a darkroom again so I hope to get back to it.

I also photograph dogs a lot. I love the dog stuff because I have one and they’re everywhere and fun to shoot. I’ve got a lot of dog photos in calendars and post cards and thing like that. I photograph a lot of different things. I’ve done portraits of strippers for Penthouse magazine; I’ve done weddings; all types of things. I like to keep it varied. It keeps it interesting.

Oddly enough, I didn’t do much photography around the neighborhood. There were so many homeless people or people that were having a hard time and I found it hard to point a camera at them. I mean, I have some of that stuff but it’s not what I prefer to shoot. Although now with everyone taking pictures with their cellphone, it kind of eases it up, because with a real camera it kind of looks like you know what you’re doing. There is no privacy for anybody anymore."

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

How you can help the displaced students from East Side Community High School

A parent from the East Side Community High School forwarded us this email yesterday... slightly edited for length...

Greetings from the East Side Community High School Diaspora! We're sure you've read about us in the news recently. We are temporarily locked out of our East Village location because of structural damage to our building.

As a result, we have no access to our building. We cannot get to any of our teaching, student or office supplies, technology, sports equipment, etc. While the building is being assessed and repaired, we are housed in different schools. We don't know when we can get back home.

This is a very difficult situation, but we've always been The Little School That Could — we are a community of about 650 students and teachers from some of the city's most disadvantaged populations. Yet, we have received an A on our progress report for all of the years the NYC DOE has issued them. Our students have a tremendous record of success in every realm.

We will survive our temporary situation, but it's tough. It's tough being locked out. It's tough to be a community when half of us are in Midtown and half in Chinatown. It's tough not to able to go to our library, to sit at our familiar desks ...

Our top priorities are to keep our kids' spirits high during a difficult and unsettling time and to maintain a supportive environment that is both educationally and creatively stimulating by replacing the books, materials and technology that are in the building, which is off limits until it is deemed safe.

East Side has always been rooted in the community, and we are reaching out to our community now. We could use your help, and we invite you to make an investment in our community's future.

How can you help East Side students and teachers?

• Offer food (breakfast/lunch), snacks and/or water/juice to make our kids (and/or teachers) feel good.

• Provide school supplies for our students and teachers.

• Offer your venue for a class field trip (museum, film, play, pool, bowling, rock climbing...). Our students are working out of small, tight spaces with minimal space for recreation.

• Provide use of your space for activities, recreation, or meetings.

• Make a financial donation to help us purchase necessary items for our students and teachers and to cover travel expenses for activities and field trips.

• Donate a gift certificate or item to be auctioned/raffled off to raise money

• Supply gift cards (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Staples...) to help us with necessities.

• Help with technology — many of our staff and some students will be working in hallways and very tight spaces. Laptops would allow us to be more productive and make life a little easier.

To learn more about East Side, please go to our website. To speak to someone directly, contact Jodi Caplan, Director of Community & Family Partnerships, at jodic@eschs.org

And courtesy of Pumpkin Patch, here's the direct link to the donations page.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Schools making it work while repairs continue at 420 E. 12th St.

When marching bands march: A Cavalcade of Pomp tonight on East Village streets

From the EV Grieve inbox...

The New York HONK! Festival continues tonight with the East Village Cavalcade of Pomp.

Seven bands descend upon the Lower East Side.
Step-off at 7:30 pm from seven different locations around the neighborhood.

With:
Environmental Encroachment (Chicago)
Two Boots Avenue A — 42 Avenue A and Third Street

Stumblebum Brass Band
Two Boots Pizza — 74 Bleeker Street

Pink Puffers Brass Band (Rome)
The Bean — 147 1st Avenue at 9th street

Minor Mishap Marching Band (Austin, Texas)
The Bean — 54 2nd Ave at 3rd street

Hungry March Band
Lower East Side Girls Club — 56 E1st between 1st Ave and 2nd Ave

Rude Mechanical Orchestra
Times Up /MORUS — 155 Ave C between 9th and 10th St

After Party at The Delancey Lounge with a Performance by The Himalayas
168 Delancey Street
Happy Hour prices from 8:30 to 10:30 pm with wristband
Doors: 8:30pm / No Cover – Donations Requested

The New York Times had more bout the Honk! Festival yesterday here.

A Second Avenue and East 12th Street now and then

Here's a good one from our friends at NYC Corners... Second Avenue and East 12th Street... in 1930 as The Yiddish Art Theater ... and today as the Village East Cinema...

Find more corners here.

Azaleas moving around the corner to Second Avenue

Something we've been meaning to note... Azaleas, the boutique that sells jewelry and nice froufrou things like undergarments and stuff, is moving from its East 10th Street home around the corner... (the store announced this via Facebook on Sept. 15.)

The coming soon paper is up on the windows...

...to right here on Second Avenue. Right where that helpful arrow is here between St. Mark's and Ninth Street.

This is part of the former Estroff Pharmacy space. Fresco, the gelato cafe, took over the other part of the pharmacy back in the summer.

[Updated] City approves East Village Historic District

From the EV Grieve inbox... from Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation...

I want to share with you the wonderful news that the proposed East Village Historic District was just approved with slight modifications by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, taking immediate effect! Three hundred thirty 19th and early 20th century buildings between the Bowery and Avenue A, St. Mark's Place and 2nd Street, now enjoy landmark protections.

Previously.

Updated 5:31 p.m.
A few more media outlets have filed stories... The City Room blog at The New York Times noted the The new East Village/Lower East Side Historic District (official name!) passed by a 6-1 vote.

Margery Perlmutter, the lone dissenter, "said before the vote that most of the tenements in the district were not worth preserving."

And per Curbed:

[Perlmutter] also questioned the characterization of the historical significance of the neighborhood, saying "What brought it to prominence is that Jack Kerouac lived there as opposed to the immigrants."

Per a commenter at Gothamist: "Thank goodness ... Toy Tokyo at 91 Second Avenue can now look like that forever!"

You can find coverage at Crain's here. ... and NY1.

EV Grieve Etc. Mourning Edition

[Saturday in Tompkins Square Park. Photo by Bobby Williams]

Looking at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space on Avenue C (Slum Goddess)

Suspect named in the murder outside an LES barber shop (The Post)

More details about the new bar from the B-Side folks opening on East Broadway (The Lo-Down)

Fire at 157 Rivington (BoweryBoogie)

Scary things happening at formerly historic Jefferson Market (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Postcard of the old Third Avenue El (Ephemeral New York)

S'MAC opens in Murray Hill; eatery is 3X larger than the East 12th Street location (Gothamist)

And Morrissey on his "Ramones are Rubbish" review from many years ago (Billboard):

When I bought the Ramones first album on import, I was enraged with jealousy because I felt they had booted the Dolls off the map. I was 100% wrong. Three days after writing that Ramones piece, I realized that my love for the Ramones would out-live time itself. And it shall. Well, it virtually has already. If the Ramones were alive today, they'd be the biggest band in the world. It takes the world 30 years to catch on, doesn't it? I mean, look at poor Nico. Every modern teenager now seems to love Nico, yet while she was alive she couldn't afford a decent mattress.

Despite plea, landlord doubling rent on East Village family with cancer-stricken 2 year old

On Sept. 22, members of the community came together to organize a fundraiser called "James Day" in First Park in support of James Panitz.

Shortly before his 2nd birthday this past spring, doctors diagnosed James with rhabdomyosarcoma, a form of cancer often found in children. He has been undergoing intensive chemo and radiation therapy, and while the results are encouraging, a long course of treatment remains ahead of him. The related medical expenses have been overwhelming for his family.

James' father Damian Panitz, a longtime East Village resident who is a teacher and technician at NYU, said that while the event was a success and raised funds to help with medical expenses, the family now faces a new challenge.

Damian and his wife Kate Perry recently learned that their landlord, Steve Croman of Croman Realty/Croman 9300, is nearly doubling their rent on East First Street from $2,100 to $4,100 a month.

"We absolutely cannot afford this price bump," Damian told me. "And to move in the middle of my son's treatment could be disastrous to his health."

[Photo of James courtesy of Damian Panitz]

So, when paying the October rent in person at the Croman office on Broadway, Damian's wife Kate outlined the situation to a Croman rep, explaining that they needed one more year until James is healthier.

Per Damian:

She explained that we could not possibly sign a lease for $4,100 but pleaded that if our rent were to raise would he be so nice to consider a 10 percent raise? His attitude was snarky. He said they are running a business and not a charity and he could possibly find something cheaper for us somewhere else.

She explained again that moving out in January could be detrimental to his condition, not to mention we work nearby and the ability to check on our son during our breaks is essential. He then said "so you want me to do you a favor?" She said no, do a favor for a 2 year old boy with cancer. It's just one more year.

Damian says they were planning on moving after Croman bought the building 18 months ago. However, James' illness has complicated any move.

"We figured we would wait out the lease and go. However, since our son has been ill, it is suggested we keep him where he is until he hopefully regains his health."

The family hopes to continue to plead their case to Croman. As a backup, they'll try to quickly find another affordable apartment in the neighborhood, where Damian and Kate want to stay.

"My mother's family emigrated to St. Mark's Place in the early 1920s from Bratislava, Slovakia," Damian said. "My uncle has lived in the East Village for 45 years," he said. "And now I would like to raise my son here."

RIP Donald Suggs

[Photo by Stacie Joy]

Donald Suggs, a familiar face around the neighborhood, died this past weekend. He was 51. A friend said that he had suffered a heart attack. There's no word yet on a memorial or celebration of this life.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared the following:

Donald was my friend and an all-around great guy. An activist, a journalist, long-time EV resident, a queer role model, and a wonderful human being.

He also worked at Exit9 on Avenue A. The store had this message yesterday on its Facebook page:

We, at Exit9, would like to express our sincere condolences for the loss of our most caring friend and associate, Donald Suggs. You will be missed not only by us, but by the many customers who looked forward to your endless smile and contagious laughter.

His bio on Facebook reads like this:

I've been in the neighborhood nearly twenty-five years and miss the days when people actually made or did something interesting — rather than swiping their cards and waiting to be entertained. But I still prefer it to anywhere else on the planet!

NLYU Yogurt has closed and everything — and we mean everything down to the Fruity Pebbles — must go

EVG regular William Klayer points out the not surprising news that NLYU Yogurt on First Avenue near East 10th Street has closed...

We first saw the sign in April... And we don't recall seeing any patrons inside — ever...

Anyway. Everything must go.

Now is your chance to load up on Fruity Pebbles.

Reminders: East Village/Lower East Side Historic District vote is today

The Landmarks Preservation Commission will vote this afternoon on designating portions of the neighborhood as historic districts (the areas outlined in red above).

By most accounts, this is expected to pass. Of course, not everyone is thrilled with the plan, such as church leaders who believe even simple projects like fixing a roof will become more expensive and bureaucratically time-consuming, as the Times noted in January.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation has been helping lead this push. You can read all that they have to say about it here.

You can read our previous coverage of this here.

For other news coverage:
NY1
Gothamist
amNY

GRAND OPENING WINE AND LIQUOR ALERT

@robbyohara notes that the new St. Marks Wine and Liquor is now open at 16 St. Mark's Place. Have any of you been yet? Any early scouting reports?

Sushi in the works for former Polonia space

[EVG file photo]

We're curious about what will take the place of the dearly departed Polonia, the Polish diner that closed in December on First Avenue near East Seventh Street. We had heard rumors about a big-name suitor...

The address is on the docket for the October CB3/SLA committee meeting. According to documents on file with CB3, the space will become a Japanese restaurant called Sushi Dojo. There's not much information on the CB3 website. Proposed hours are Sunday-Monday from 5 p.m.-1 a.m.

The CB3 documents lists a "David Bouhadona" as an applicant ... maybe that's a typo, and that should be David Bouhadana, the onetime executive chef of the former Sushi Uo on Rivington Street.

Men of steel top off 51 Astor Place

Do you notice something atop of 51 Astor Place...?

Per these photos by Bobby Williams, you can see that the workers have signed the top beam and placed a Christmas holiday tree here...they must have reached the top.

Anyway, say what you want about the incoming 51 Astor Place (like calling it a Death Star) ... there is something rather hypnotic about watching the workers' high-wire act...

As a bonus, a shot of the top of the crane here...

[EVG]

Photos by Bobby Williams.

The Standard East Village debuts its new awning

The Standard East Village is currently undergoing some major renovations on Cooper Square ... some progress to report. A new awning with the hotel's usual upside-down logo... I believe this entrance will lead to the new cafe ... at least based on the plans the Standarders submitted to CB3 in April.

[Click on image to enlarge]