Reader report: 9th St. Bakery is closing after 87 years

[May 2012]

Ugh. EVG reader Dave M. from 13th St. passes along this sad bit of news today: 9th St. Bakery, which has been around since 1926, will have to close. Oleg, who has owned the bakery with his wife Tetyana since the 1990s, said that the landlord is doubling his current rent. This, along with a barely-break-even summer, is forcing them to close.

[Via Manhattan Sideways]

There's not timetable yet for the closure — mostly likely in the next 2-4 months.

Per the bakery's website:

Max and Lena Wolkirmerski emigrated to the United States in 1913 from Zetel Belarus. They opened up a bakery on the corner of Allen and Stanton. Their children Joe, Harry and Helen moved the bakery to 9th and first ave where it still remains today.

Per Dave: "No more cheap, good pastries and bread. Such a shame."

And a tough time for the older bakeries. Aside from 9th St., Something Sweet on First Avenue and East 11th Street remains closed from last summer ... and Whole Earth Bakery on St. Mark's Place shuttered at the end of December.

Bendy thing sighting as 84 Third Ave. eclipses the AMC Loews Village 7

Over on Third Avenue at East 12th Street, Goggla passes along a photo of the always-popular Bendy Thing at work on 84 Third Ave., the 12-story apartment complex...

Meanwhile, EVG regular peter radley notes that the building is poised to pass the height of the AMC Loews Village 7...

Where it stops? Nobody knows!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Those persistent rumors about 74-76 Third Avenue and the future of Nevada Smiths

The East Village will lose a parking lot and gain an apartment building

Former Nevada Smiths down to its last floor; city OKs work for new building

Former Milo Printing space becoming a gelato shop on Avenue A

EVG regular dwg notes that signage for Casa Gusto, a gelato shop, is now up at 199 Avenue A near East 12th Street, site of the former Milo Printing.

Meanwhile, next door, the former Furry Land Pet Supplies space has been chopped in half. Taking one side: a hair salon.

Plans for a wine bar in the whole space were shot down this past summer.

Velvet Underground founding member John Cale recalls his Ludlow Street apartment

These days, John Cale, a founding member of the Velvet Underground, lives in Los Angeles.

However, in The Wall Street Journal today, Cale revisits 64 Ludlow St., where he lived starting in 1964 ... where the fifth-floor apartment became a rehearsal space of sorts for Cale, Lou Reed and company.

The apartment belonged to experimental filmmaker Tony Conrad. Cale moved in to split the $25 monthly rent. "The building was filled with single-minded artists then like poet Angus MacLise, filmmaker Piero Heliczer, director Jack Smith and actor Mario Montez," Cale said.

To an excerpt!

Our apartment was a railroad flat — a long room running from the windows in the front to a small bedroom and a bathroom in the back. I slept on a mattress, under the windowsill in the front overlooking Ludlow. We burned crates and furniture in the fireplace to keep warm. There was no heat in the winter other than the gas stove.

Tony and I lived on what we could afford — mostly canned stew and milkshakes. Across the street in the morning, you could hear kids from the nearby high school singing doo-wop in the doorway there. Other kids threw rocks at us because they thought we looked like the Beatles. A lot of guys around here didn't like them early on.

Read the whole article here.

And here's Cale on the roof of the building the other day...



And here's the video for his newish single...



John Cale and The Wordless Music Orchestra perform tomorrow night at the Howard Gilman Opera House at BAM...

[Top photo — Michael Ochs Archives / Redferns]

Scaffolding comes down on Avenue B side of the former Cabrini Center

A tipster let us know that workers had removed the scaffolding and construction netting from the former Cabrini Center on Avenue B and East Fifth Street yesterday afternoon ...

... currently being converted into apartments... not sure what the final color scheme will be. But for now...

There are currently two retail spaces available here... as well as some bad karma, as some neighbors put it.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cabrini Center patients out by the end of today; closes for good June 30

Cleaning out the long-closed liquor store on Avenue B and East Houston

Our current fascination is the long-vacant building on the northwest corner of Avenue B and East Houston... We noted on Jan. 9 that workers have been cleaning out the space.

And in the retail space, the liquor store has been closed since the owner passed away in the fall of 2009. This week, though, a tipster told us that the workers were now cleaning out that space as well...

[Via an EVG tipster]

And, as you can see, it is mostly still fully stocked...

The tipster also said that the building is for sale. We didn't spot any listing for it. Yet. Have more details about the sale? Please let us know via the EV Grieve email.

So, for the time being, we'll continue to document the building as it is now... before it is likely refurbished and painted the Renovated Building Color of Choice — gray.

Previously on EVV Grieve:
Is something finally happening to the long-vacant, mysterious 6 Avenue B?

25 years of the 'Mosaic Man'

[Photo from last summer by Stephen Popkin]

I spotted this message on Facebook yesterday from Jim Power, aka the Mosaic Man, of course. Per the post, 2013 marks the 25th Anniversary of The Village Voice coining the name "Mosaic Man." I couldn't find that article from 1988 online, but the reference is mentioned in this Voice piece from 2010.

Watch a video about his Mosaic trail here. You can find more info here on Jim's website.

165 Avenue B has been sold, and 2 apartments are on the market

We last noticed that 165 Avenue B near East 10th Street was for sale back in June... the listing gave us pause:

This six unit apartment building has tremendous upside since the spaces can be used for residential, commercial and retail. Four of the units can be delivered vacant and the remaining two within one year. The building has a commercial overlay which allows the ground floor to be used as retail or commercial space ... 1,865 sq ft of air rights remain.

We figured another East Village penthouse was on the way... According to documents filed on Dec. 19, the building sold for $3.8 million. The buyer is the vague 165 Avenue B LLC, which has a Northbrook, Ill., mailing address. (Field Holdings LLC.)

Meanwhile, two of the apartments from No. 165 entered the market this week. There's a "true" three-bedroom unit for $4,300 and a two-bedroom unit for $3,995.

Here's the description for the larger space:

This renovated apartment features pre-war details, stainless steel appliances, a dishwasher and terrific sunlight. All bedrooms in this true three bedroom have wonderful light and good closet space. The third bedroom has flexibility if a dining and living room or office is the preferred layout. All of this in the heart of the East Village, one block from Tompkins Square Park, and surrounded by terrific restaurant and bars, but still pin drop quite in the apartment.

The Corcoran listings appear to use the same photos for both units... We're not sure if this is what the apartments actually look like now. Because they actually look like nice, comfortable apartments that haven't had every inch of character Cromanized carelessly stripped out and painted over...

However, there's no word on those "air rights" or retail space... And nothing on file with the DOB indicates any pending construction... Anyone know more about the situation here? Please let us know via the EV Grieve tip line.

Previously on EV Grieve:
165 Avenue B back on the market

EV Grieve Eatery Etc.: Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar has closed; Feast your eyes on this new sign

Well, we never noticed this one... EVG regular peter radley pointed out recently that Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar at 101 Second Ave. near East Sixth Street had quietly closed. Some time ago, too — at the end of November. Hmm. Not a place that was ever on our radar. The Times liked it when the place opened in 2003 on East Fifth Street. By 2007, after they moved to Second Avenue, Eater had Deathwatched it.

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We don't have too much info on the new Japanese restaurant opening at 130 St. Mark's Place ... next door to the dearly departed Whole Earth Bakery. The incoming restaurant will certainly fare better than the previous tenant — Tre Scalini, which we're almost positive closed after two weeks in July 2011.

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Hey! Another new restaurant we don't know too much about! (Just being honest!) Feast is opening at the former New York Central Framing Annex at 102 Third Ave. near East 13th Street. (The Annex moved around the corner to East 12th Street.)

Per the Feast application (PDF) when the principals went before CB3 back in September for a liquor license:

It will operate as a full‐service Continental restaurant with bakery, with a kitchen open and serving food during all hours of operation, 2) its hours of operation will be 7:00 A.M. to 1:00 A.M. Mondays through Saturdays and 7:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Sundays,

Winter Friday flashback: At the 2009 Unemployment Olympics

On Fridays this winter, and probably spring and summer ... we'll post one of the 16,000-plus EVG, uh, posts from yesteryear, like this one from March 31, 2009...

------

The Unemployment Olympics are under way now in Tompkins Square Park. Hard to say whether there are more contestants (athletes?) or reporters on the scene.



After waiting in line to sign up, you waited in line to take part in the first activity of the day, Pin the Blame on the Boss.




Organizer Nick Goddard had to ask the assembled reporters to move back several times...the media kept inching closer to the Pin the Tail sign, and there wasn't enough room for the participants to spin and pin.

There are other activities planned, including the Fax Machine Toss (which looks suspiciously like a phone), the You're Fired Race and a stress-relieving piñata.

All of this got old pretty quickly. The reporters got their cutesy, "aw, we're-having-fun-in the-recession!" soft news bit and started to leave. Curiosity seekers had time to gawk.


Some Pin the Blame on the Boss video:

Food truck steakout on Avenue A

Dave on 7th notes the (rare) appearance of a Phil's Steak food truck tonight on Avenue A near East Sixth Street...

Breaking: Kmart reminds us of the drunken revelry to come in two months

Two months out from St. Patrick's Day, and Kmart on Astor Place is ready for the action with this nifty display of cliches... noted, warily, by EVG regular William Klayer...

Meeting recap: 'Pringle-lizing' the East Village, 7-Eleven style

[Photo of Bob Holman by Jose Garcia]

As previously noted, members of the 11th Street A-B-C Block Association met last night at Father's Heart Ministries to discuss the incoming 7-Eleven on East 11th Street and Avenue A..

A tipster passed along a quick recap of the No 7-11 meeting...

The meeting was the usual mix of brainstorming, with some good ideas and some silliness, but it all came from the heart. There were some ideas put forth that a lot of us had not even thought of — for instance, how to keep schoolkids from patronizing a shiny, magical 7-11 instead of a Slurpee machine-free bodega?

There was talk about banding together with other block associations to fight this and other chains...

The problem, and believe me I don't mean to sound cynical, is that a lot of this is sound and fury ... I have been on many committees and in many groups, and have repeatedly found that while you might have any number of interested people, only a few of them will actually step up to the plate and take on the struggle, with the rest encouraging from the sidelines. That's a hard way to win a war, and sometimes it doesn't work.

Jeremiah Moss always has a summation here.

And here are a few quotes from Serena Solomon's article at DNAinfo this afternoon:

"People come to New York because it is not the suburbs," said Rob Hollander, the meeting's organizer, who also heads up the 11th Street A-B-C Block Association. "7-Eleven is not here to contribute to the culture of New York, and someone has to stand up for that culture."

And!

Bob Holman, founder of the Bowery Poetry Club, was also on hand at the meeting to blast the store.

"They are boring. They are bland. They are not New York," said Holman, who wore thick links of industrial-size chain around his neck to symbolize the fight. "They are Pringle-izing our population."

A writer from Gothamist was also at the meeting. Read that post here.

On Avenue B, Epic City Pub will be 'the first gay pub in the East Village'

[14 Avenue B from last summer]

As previously mentioned ... The Urge Lounge, the gay bar/club that closed at the end of 2012 at 31-33 Second Ave., is moving to 14 Avenue B between Houston and East Second Street...

And the Urge folks have just shared a few details about the new space via Twitter...

We are moving to 14 Avenue B and our new name will be Epic City Pub,the first gay pub in the East Village. Date TBA

— Urge Lounge (@LoungeUrge) January 16, 2013

What changes or new things would you like to see do at our new location to be: 14 Avenue B @ East 2nd Street in the East Village.

— Urge Lounge (@LoungeUrge) January 16, 2013

No opening date just yet...

Welcome back?

A quick grab of an article this morning on DNAinfo:

Skyrocketing rents, cramped apartments and a cut-throat rental market. Conditions that originally forced New Yorkers out of Manhattan are now sending them back, a report claims.

A real-estate expert said Williamsburg and DUMBO homes have become so hot that people are being priced out — and Manhattan has become a cheaper alternative.

Read the whole article here.

[Image via Free Williamsburg]

Wafels & Dinges hoping for a spring opening on Avenue B

[Jan. 5]

Last April 4, we first reported that Wafels & Dinges will open its first café based on the same concept as the popular food trucks in circulation around the city... W&D founder Thomas DeGeest, an East Village resident, provided a brief update on the storefront on Avenue B and East Second Street.

"Our store is progressing at turtle speed. I'm hoping for March or April," he said via a Facebook message. "Building trucks is definitely easier."

He also noted that it "will be as much a good coffee place as a waffle and ice cream place."

And no frozen yogurt.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is Wafels & Dinges opening a café on Second Street and Avenue B?

What a lot of 'foot traffic' will cost you on Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place

We previously reported that workers quickly moved out of the short-lived Little Italy Pizza joint at 23 Third Ave. at St. Mark's Place.

For rent signs went up, though we didn't see the listing online...

However, a listing is now posted at NYCRS:

As you can see, the asking rent is $11,000 per month (plus $275k in key money) for the 900-square-foot space. You'd think this place could/would be a goldmine — especially with you know what with all those new office workers popping up directly across Third Avenue.

Any thoughts on what you'd like to see here? (Other than my dream zine/egg shop)?

Speaking of you know what across the street...

Glassed up to the top at 51 Astor Place now.

Reader mailbag: Try IHOP's new Griddle Melts in the privacy of the middle of Times Square tomorrow

A little off our coverage zone (just by 40 blocks!), but a reader forwarded us this news release from yesterday for our amusement/horror/combination of amusement-horror. Plus, the reader figured the Griddle Melts will show up on IHOP Way in the East Village soon enough...

***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***

POP-UP IHOP HAS CROWDS MELTING IN TIMES SQUARE
IHOP’s Master Chef Hits The Streets With Portable Dining Booth To Test New Griddle Melts

WHAT: IHOP® will heat things up in Times Square Friday, setting up an actual restaurant dining booth on the street to welcome passersby to sit down, sample and share their opinions about the company’s new Griddle Melts breakfast sandwiches. Real opinions. Real food. And, a chance for real people to be in a national television commercial.

WHY: The family-friendly restaurant chain, known for “everything you love about breakfast,” will be shooting a commercial to introduce the new menu items set to debut in restaurants nationwide in February,

WHEN: Friday, January 18, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WHERE: 44th & Broadway

WHO: IHOP Master Chef Phil Blankenship

VISUALS: Pop-up IHOP booth with hundreds of hungry passersby seeking celebrity in IHOP’s new Griddle Melts commercial.

GRIDDLE MELTS: IHOP recognized that breakfast sandwiches are the largest selling breakfast item out of the home, with more than 55 billion servings consumed each year. IHOP will introduce Griddle Melts in restaurants nationwide on February 11. The hand-crafted, made-to-order sandwiches on artisan sourdough bread with a choice of three fluffy omelettes, all made and served with fresh ingredients.

Manitoba's celebrating 14 years on Avenue B Sunday

More details here.

A wet and steamy day, kind of

Just two streetscenes from today... Tompkins Square Park and the Bowery... By Bobby Williams.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[This morning on 14th and First]

Concert in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. this Sunday at St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery (Off the Grid)

Large rent hike could KO Bleecker Street Records (DNAinfo)

The latest on the demoliton-redevelopment of Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, a New York City landmark on the LES since 1967 (The Lo-Down)

Malai Marke opens on East Sixth Street (Zagat)

Video interview with Father Pat (GammaBlog)

Pondering the forces of the Death Star (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

The origins of Ludlow Street (BoweryBoogie)

Is the city's oldest row house on the Bowery in Chinatown? (Ephemeral New York)

All the Chinese restaurants in New York look the same in movies (Scouting NY)

The South Bronx in the 1980s (Gothamist)

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: Chris Riffle
Occupation: Musician, Barista
Location: The Bean, 3rd Street and 2nd Avenue
Time: 1 on Tuesday, Jan. 15

I’m from Seattle. I was born in the woods. It sounds nice for my bio because you’re supposed to put something in there that makes you unique. So yes, I was born in a cabin in the woods in one of those hippie parent home birth situations. Then, when my parents divorced when I was two, my dad had a house that he built in Leavenworth, Washington, which is over the mountains, with 10 acres and lots of woods, and there was no electricity there.

For a good four or five years I was living there with him. I moved to Seattle after college, on Capitol Hill and lived there for many years until I moved here in 2007, because my boyfriend, Tim got into Cooper Union as a painter.

I’ve always wanted to be a musician. It’s tough to describe my music style — folk, it’s soft and I play the acoustic guitar. I’ve always loved playing music, although I got distracted in Seattle by a lot of things and working full time. When I first got here, I showed up at the open mic at the Sidewalk Café and the experience was great. It took me about six months to finally get out of my shell and get out my guitar and play. I just didn’t know what to expect.

So then the host booked me a couple shows and I was playing there every month or so. Then this one guy came into the Bean with a guitar on his back and I invited him to a show and he got me a gig at the Living Room. I gave him a demo and he came back and said, "This is great, do you want to make an album? I’m a producer and I would love to put this out." And I was like, "Yes. Yes I would like to make an album. That’s what I want to do." Since then, I’ve made three with him and he’s amazing. I play about once a month now at the Living Room. It’s a great venue, but unfortunately they are moving at the end of January. They are closing that location and looking for a new one due to skyrocketing rent.

This job works really well with music because I will leave for a month to go on tour and then come back to work and it’s no big deal. I can come back and work 45 hours the next week to make money or I can work 30 because I have a show and I’m busy. It’s really nice for that and they’ve been very flexible.

The Starbucks moving into the old Bean location was really interesting. Somebody came in with plans and wanted to look at the building. The manager there was just like, “What? Who are you? Where are you from?” And he was just like, “Oh I’m looking at this for Starbucks.” It was shocking and the landlord hadn’t told us that he was looking to not renew the lease to us. We were working on negotiating the lease and instead of doing it with us they just said nope. We kept trying to make offers.

At first I was really bummed out and then we got the other spot and it worked out better in the long run. Everybody supported us and spoke out about not wanting to go to Starbucks. Now the Bean is drastically more crowded than the Starbucks, which is kind of ugly. And I don’t hate Starbucks, but I definitely try not to go to any of them now, which is funny since I’m from Seattle.

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