New-look 117 Second Ave. revealed

[February]

Earlier in the year, workers started replacing the floor-to-ceiling aluminum/windows at the landmarked 117 Second Ave. at East Seventh Street... at the time, we thought that all this might ruin (OK) the distinctive characteristics of the corner building

[2007, via Curbed]

But! Workers have removed the renovation wrap...


[Robert Miner]


[RM]

And, well — actually looks pretty good, huh?



As previously noted, the restaurant space will be something called Picnic... which will reportedly be serving American comfort food like meatballs, sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. They are in soft-open mode ... and already garnered a 5-star review on Yelp.



--

And how the building looked a few years back ... circa 1979 and the Kiev.

[By Michael Sean Edwards]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Storefront renovation for 117 Second Ave.; last call for Song 7.2?

A Picnic for Second Avenue

And now, the last post ever about a laundromat at 173 E. 2nd St., maybe

[EVG file photo]

The end and a new beginning.

Closure on the Klean & Kleaner saga on East Second Street. The laundromat here between Avenue A and Avenue B had been on the market for use as a bar-restaurant. The Living Room unsuccessfully tried to relocate here. The place then closed in the middle of July... then reopened as a laundromat a few days later under new ownership.

And now, the laundromat has unveiled its new sign. Please welcome Fresh Laundry & Cleaners.



The Free Dry with washer use (details!) remains in effect through September.

There's a moon over...

Photo by Bobby Williams tonight...

Week in Grieview

[Bobby Williams]

2013 East Village summer in review (Tuesday)

The life aquatic at the Avenue D Rite Aid (Friday)

"Modern Australian" for Avenue A (Thursday)

We love The Baroness (Wednesday)

The changes coming to Fourth Avenue and East 13th Street (Friday)

About a burlesque mentoring project (Tuesday)

Dr. Doom loses the hot tub (Tuesday)

The incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A looks fucking horrible (Wednesday)

Your CB3/SLA September highlights (Tuesday)

First Avenue Pierogi & Deli returns from summer break (Tuesday)

Memories of the Odessa Cafe and Bar (Wednesday)

FroYo confirmed for Avenue A (Tuesday)

Welcome Taverna Kyclades (Thursday)

New sponsor for the Halloween Dog Parade (Thursday)

Noted

Steven Hirsch notes this vandalism this morning on East 10th Street and Avenue A... Someone punctured/flattened three of the van's four tires...

Zoltar seeks higher power to boost fortunes

Done on the down-low too...

A wedding proposal under the Hare Krishna Tree in Tompkins Square Park

[Bobby Williams]

Word is that she said yes.



Proposal photo via Steven Hirsch.

Sundays this fall: 'No 7-Eleven' rallies on Avenue A

Via the No 7-Eleven blog.

The heartbreaking reality of Rite Aid's former Photo Department

The last vestige of the Photo Department. Replaced by a display of beer and toilet paper. Discarded on East Fifth Street. It just wants to process film. Dream over.

(Digital?) Photo by EVG reader Blake C.

Area blogger finally realizes dream held since School of Journalism

Byline in The Globe!



OK, so it's a "photo courtesy." It's still cause for an Arrowbration.



Previously.

Today's lost and found

East Houston and Chrystie Street.

Reader report: Roof fire on East 11th Street

Per EVG reader Joe... the FDNY was on the scene on East 11th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C around 9:40 and quickly extinguished the flames... no word on damages at the moment... Another reader put the fire at 167 Avenue B near East 11th Street... either way, the fire is out...

More details when they are available...

...and from the @FDNY

MAN ALL HANDS 604 E 11 ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE ON THE ROOF,

— FDNY (@FDNY) September 7, 2013

The golden age...

Photo by Bobby Williams

The long shadows of summer...

Photos late this afternoon/early evening via EVG contributor peter radley...

Packing up the Cold Stone-Tim Hortons combo on East Houston

A tipster passes along this photo from this afternoon on East Houston near Ludlow... where workers are cleaning out the the Cold Stone-Tim Hortons combo that recently closed.

Wonder how many businesses have come and gone these past 125 years next door to Katz's...

Presentations: history of social revolt around Tompkins Square Park

[Tompkins Square Riot of 1874 via Wikipedia]

From the EVG inbox...

World War 4 Report editor Bill Weinberg, in his role as neighborhood organic historian on New York's Lower East Side, will speak Saturday Sept. 7 at the Tompkins Square Library on the history of social revolt around the legendary Tompkins Square Park. Highlights will include the 1857 unemployed riots, the 1863 draft riots, the 1874 depression riots, the 1877 rally in support of the national railroad strike, the city's destruction of the park to convert it into a drill ground for state militia, and the successful neighborhood campaign for the Park's restoration in the 1880s. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of how this cycle continued into the 20th century, with the riots 1967, 1988 and 1991.

Saturday, Sept. 7, 2 – 4 PM

Tompkins Square Library
331 E 10th St.

Sponsored by the New York Nineteenth Century Society

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Bobby Williams]

A bloody rampage in Union Square (Gothamist)

More love for the late Odessa Cafe and Bar (Untapped Cities)

Maiden Lane hopes to expand on Avenue B (Eater)

The Standard East Village has a new townhouse (Curbed)

Robert Kennedy campaigns on the LES circa 1964 (BoweryBoogie)

They Might Be Giants have a new foodcentric video (Grub Street)

Salt Bar closing on Clinton Street (The Lo-Down)

The High Line by J. Crew (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Renting a West Village apartment in 1955 (Ephemeral New York)

A letter from Mick Jagger to Andy Warhol (Dangerous Minds)

Oh, the Times Square Visitor Center doesn't actually suck so badly (Scouting NY)

Found art!

@evgrieve First Ave/11th St. pic.twitter.com/BXhCm9GA4v

— Ann Marie Duross (@AMDuross) September 6, 2013

Behold the undersea world of Rite Aid on Avenue D

After transforming the exterior walls of the First Avenue Rite Aid into an outdoor scene... The Royal Kingbee UW, a Bronx-born graffiti artist, turned his attention to the Avenue D outpost this week ... now with an underwater theme...





Above photos by Bobby Williams.

Meanwhile, Goggla, who admirably served as our EVG Senior First Avenue Rite Aid Correspondent, received a promotion to Rite Aid Associate Photo Editor... and promptly shared these...

A new look for the northeast corner of Fourth Avenue and East 13th Street

We noted yesterday that changes were coming to the northeast corner of Fourth Avenue at East 13th Street ... the Young Chow Restaurant has already moved out... and the Blimpie/Lite Choice is next ...

Meanwhile, a tipster sent along the above listing for the corner... showing that the spaces will be combined ... the example in the rendering: Walgreens! Maybe not a bad idea — there's isn't a Walgreens within less of a block from here! Oh, read the comments — apparently the Walgreens is for real.

As for the rent at this location — it's upon request.

CoCo Fresh Juice & Tea now open on St. Mark's Place; also, mascot alert

Oh, that CoCo Fresh Juice & Tea opened this week at 33 St. Mark's Place, last home to the short-lived Iris Cafe.

It's a Taiwan-based business with, well, that many stores worldwide (including several in NYC)...



Don't know much about the place... but they do have a photogenic mascot... (hope this thing is St. Mark's proof.)



This space was previously home to Rockit Scientist Records, which closed in the spring of 2012.

No Wave Films 1976 - 1985

Our friend Marc H. Miller passes along word about the latest edition to the 98 Bowery website ...

NO WAVE AND INDEPENDENT FILM, 1976-1985
AN EXHIBITION OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND EPHEMERA

Because the photos were intended as advertisement, they effectively capture the essence of the films; and, in most cases, the filmmakers were themselves involved in the making and selection of the still images. These stills stand on their own, not only as vivid reflections of the films but also of the broader 1970s zeitgeist that the films consciously sought to embody.

Films by Amos Poe ~ Scott B & Beth B ~ Charle Ahearn ~ Richard Kern ~ Gordon Stevenson ~ Eric Mitchell

You can find the galleries here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Life at 98 Bowery: 1969-1989

Revisiting Punk Art

Community facility space available on East 7th Street

In case you're in the market for some community-faciltiy space... there's a new listing for 52 E. Seventh St. just east of Second Avenue. Per Massey Knakal:

This lower level space features an open layout ... It also has a rear yard area available to the tenant. Given the zoning, it would be ideal for a religious, medical, or educational facility, among other uses. Following its recent renovation, it now offers ample electricity and would be ready for possession in the immediately. Additionally, the surrounding neighborhood features a vibrant community with favorable demographics.

[Ed note: Favorable demographics to what?]

Per the listing, neighboring tenants include Subway and 7-Eleven.

Price is available upon request...

Today in sidewalk repairs

Bah! You take your eyes off it for one minute and ... East Ninth Street and Avenue C via Bobby Williams.

Your District 2 City Council candidates

In this week's issue, The Villager profiles the two candidates for District 2 City Council, which includes the East Village, part of the Lower East Side and Union Square, among other neighborhoods.

Read the profile on Pastor Richard Del Rio here.

Read the profile on two-term Councilmember Rosie Mendez here.

Reader report: Beggin' Strips to sponsor Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade the next 5 years

Word out of the Tompkins Square Park Dog Run is that Beggin' Strips — manufactured and sold in North America by Nestlé Purina PetCare division — will sponsor the Halloween Dog Parade for the next five years (starting this fall). According to a tipster, the deal is worth $20,000 a year. (Beggin' Strips "are mouthwatering dog treats with an aroma that bacon-craving dogs love.")

We heard a mixed reaction from dog owners. One disappointed dog runner claims that Nestlé will be calling all the shots about what transpires during the event, now in its 23rd year. The dog run/First Run is a registered 501(c)(3) organization that "relies entirely on community donations for its upkeep and financial support," per its website. So another regular figures that the money will help maintain the dog run.

Meanwhile, no word if the new corporate sponsorship will put an end to any risqué costumes ...


[From last year, via Stacie Joy]

Updated 11:36 a.m.

Via the comments from Garrett Rosso, volunteer manager, Tompkins Square dog run

This year's Halloween dog parade in Tompkins Square park will focus on rescue groups and pet adoptions from Rescuzilla, Grateful Greyhounds, The Mayor's Alliance for NYC Animals and Friends of Animal Rescue. Beggin' Strips will help underwrite the cost of the parade & adoption event as all public events require large amounts of money that our group can not afford.

Coming and going on Fourth Avenue

First, let's look at the retail space on the southeast corner of Fourth Avenue and East 13th Street. Word is the former Brothers Deli space will become a Juice Generation, which has 11 locations in Manhattan. Construction crews have gutted the space, so there's still work to get it juice ready.

And next door, at the former Dryden Gallery, the word here among the locals is that a Pie Face pizzeria is opening here. (We heard a pizza rumor going back to last October. Well, different kind of pie.)

Moving up to the northeast corner... reliable sources tell us that the Blimpie sub shop and the Young Chow Restaurant are goners. The two spaces will be combined for an asking rent of $36,000. (After all, you need nice things for that new hotel across the way.)

True to that, Young Chow has already closed.



If you're a fan, then you're in luck — Young Chow is moving. Somewhere, per the dueling signs on the gate.




We'll go with 96 Third Ave., where there's this sign...



No word on a closing date for Blimpie.

'Modern Australian' in the works for The Beagle space on Avenue A

More details are emerging about applicants on this month's CB3/SLA Licensing Committee meeting agenda. According to paperwork (PDF!) filed ahead of the meeting on the CB3 website, there's a sale of assets at the Beagle, 162 Avenue A.



There's not a lot of information. The new applicant goes by the name Flinders Lane LLC and describes itself as "modern Australian." (Flinders Lane is a street in the central business district of Melbourne, Wikipedia helpfully pointed out.) The proposed hours are 11 a.m.-2 a.m. daily. The forms do not include any names of the new principals, though none of them have previously held a license for alcohol.

The Beagle, which remains open, first debuted here in the former Orologio space between 10th Street and 11th Street in May 2011. The Beagle's initial "pairing boards" included items such as Pressed Pig Head and Rum, Lamb Neck and Rye, and Scallop and Mezcal. The Beagle closed for part of last summer to rework their menu and cocktails.