Banksy's 'Concrete Confessional' has been removed from E. 7th St.

[Photos by peter radley]

Banksy's "Concrete Confessional" was discovered/unveiled last Saturday... it was naturally quickly defaced/augmented, etc. ...

On Wednesday, construction workers apparently attempted to prevent future vandalism/augmentation by putting plexiglass over the art...

And now, sometime yesterday, someone removed the entire hunk of concrete (intended for use in the Cooper Square-Astor Place revamp), as these photos by EVG reader Robert Miner show...





Perhaps the Confessional was carted away to an unspecified gallery like that car on Ludlow Street was...

Meanwhile, how are you feeling about the Banksy hype these days?

Things that you can do today on East 12th Street

Well, there are plenty of things to do today around the neighborhood... including, from the EVG inbox...

A Harvest Festival at The Children”s Workshop School on East 12th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C...



...and a rummage sale at the El Sol Brilliante Jr Community Garden between Avenue A and Avenue B...

Today in photos of people wearing live snakes around their neck on Avenue A

Why not. At East Sixth Street via Bobby Williams.

This One is for you

Hüsker Dü with "Could You Be the One?" from 1987.

Here is the future of East 14th Street and Avenue A: 7 stories of residential and retail

Wow. Here we go.

As we first reported last December, eight parcels consisting of 222 Avenue A and 504 - 530 E. 14th St. (excluding No. 520) were leased for a 99-year period by the respective owner of East Village 14 LLC. City property records showed that Gary Barnett of Extell Development signed a 99-year lease worth $35.14 million to rent eight Sol Goldman-owned properties.

And the businesses have disappeared, including The Blarney Cove and Bargain Express.

What's next?

Here's a look at a conceptual rendering from an RKF retail listing with more details for the all-new 500 E. 14th St. ...

SPACE
Ground Floor* 24,710 SF
Lower Level* 14,600 SF
Total 39,310 SF
*divisible

POSSESSION
First Quarter 2016

TERM
Long term

FRONTAGE
52 feet on Avenue A
257 feet on East 14th Street

NEIGHBORS
Associated Supermarket, CVS/pharmacy, Duane Reade, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, Starbucks, The Vitamin Shoppe, United States Post Office

COMMENTS
• Located at the base of a brand new seven-story residential and retail development
• Rarely available large block of retail space in a prime East Village location
• Directly across from Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village
• Logical divisions considered
• Space can be vented for cooking
• Loading dock located on the East 13th Street side of building

More more more... later later later.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East 14th Street exodus continues

The disappearing storefronts of East 14th Street

[Updated with correction] 8-lot parcel of East 14th Street primed for new development

Bargain Express has closed on East 14th Street

East 14th Street corridor now nearly business-free ahead of new development

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Too early this morning on 7th Street and 2nd Avenue]

Selling the air rights to landmarked buildings (Curbed)

Looking at the planetarium at the new Lower Eastside Girls Club (NY1)

Will the SLA yank the liquor license from EMM Group’s Bowery complex? (BoweryBoogie)

Honk NYC in video on Avenue C (Slum Goddess)

A Horn & Hardart automat and Julian’s pool hall once shared an address on East 14th (Ephemeral New York)

“Our Lower East Side” group show opens tonight (The Lo-Down)

Remembering Billy's Topless (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Fire escape life (Gog in NYC)

An overview of the NYC Independent Film Festival (DNAinfo)

Chain stores push out this grocery store in Williamsburg (Runnin' Scared)

Zombies wait for cab on Houston and B (GammaBlog)

Fred Armisen (as Ian Rubbish) interviews Mick Jones and Paul Simonon (Dangerous Minds)

... and tonight, The Shala Yoga studio is hosting a fundraiser to help support the Bent on Learning Yoga program at The Children's Workshop School on East 12th Street...

Today in bike rack news that we pretty much should have covered 2 weeks ago

Where were we? Oh! Bike racks, an immensely popular topic here. EVG regular Terry Howell notes the recent arrival of bike racks on Second Avenue at East Ninth Street ... and East Ninth Street at Second Avenue (pay attention!)...



How's it going so far? Per Terry:

"The one on 2nd Ave. is used primarily for the corner deli delivery crew. This rack also has the marvelous effect of forcing delivery trucks to doublepark IN 2nd Ave. most mornings with the usual horn-honking results."

Still, the more bike racks the better, right?

Reader mailbag: Places to eat that have that old East Village vibe

EVG reader Exyallie left this comment yesterday on the post about the sale of 128 Second Ave. ... which also houses the Stage.

Lemme ask a question... I moved to the EV in 1972 (!) and have just returned after an absence of some years and, of course, am in total shock/disbelief.

So I am teaching in one of the local high schools, and I am committed to ONLY eating at places that retain some of the spirit of the nabe when I was there — I usually end up at the B&H across the street from this place... Any other ideas?

And this is NOT to hijack the thread or anything I promise... just wearing out too much shoe leather trying to find places, most of which are long, long gone!!!

Well, there are a handful of such places. Anyone want to offer some ideas?

East Yoga finds new home on Avenue B

Fire caused extensive damage to the East Yoga space last November on East 13th Street and Avenue B... since then, East Yoga has offered an abbreviated schedule of classes in a temporary location at ABC Sanctuary on East Sixth Street and free classes in Tompkins Square Park ...

Now they've found a new home upstairs at 96 Avenue B next to Sunny & Annie's.


[Via Facebook]

They opened the space this past Sunday... and they're offering "a yogi-style" reopening party on Saturday, Nov. 2.

The Hare Krishnas were the previous tenant in the two-floor building before moving out in July 2011. The ground floor remains on the market.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Fire at East Yoga on East 13th Street and Avenue B

To 20 years at the Odessa

Dennis Vassilatos just celebrated his 20th year as night-shift manager at the Odessa on Avenue A. To 20 more years of the Odessa...

[Thanks to Shawn Chittle for the photo and info.]

7 Spices has been on vacation for awhile on Second Avenue

Reyna Exotic Turkish Cuisine quietly opened and closed during the summer of 2012 at 82 Second Ave. ... the same owner reopened the space in January as 7 Spices here between East Fifth Street and East Fourth Street...

Now a reader notes the following: They've had a sign in the window indicating that they're on vacation and will be back next week for the past three to four weeks.



Aside from serving Turkish and Mediterranean fare, 7 Spices arguably has/had the largest delivery zone around...



Per their website (which doesn't mention any temporary vacation or closure):

7 Spices delivers delicious Turkish food to the East Village, ABC City, Soho, Noho, Little Italy, ChinaTown, Bowery, Lower East Side, Stuyvesant, Gramercy Park, Midtown South, Greenwich Village.

A look inside a gutted Death & Co.

Saw the above sign the other day outside Death & Co. on East Sixth Street ... pointing out that the speakeasy is putting in a new bar...


[Not the new bar, prolly]

The folks from the Wineshop happened by and shared these photos...







Death & Co. is scheduled to reopen next Friday.

Business opportunity available

Wonder when they're gonna start scalping CitiBike parking spaces in the East Village. Just spent 5 minutes circling around in the rain.

— ryan sutton (@qualityrye) October 18, 2013

Previously on EV Grieve:
Docking blues: Doing the 'checking-all-of-the-Citi Bike-stations dance' (43 comments)

Today in Tompkins Square Park photo opps

No idea what this is for (maybe you do?) ... but everyone looks happy.

Photo by Bobby Williams.

DF Mavens opening non-dairy ice cream outpost on St. Mark's Place and 2nd Avenue

That prime northwest corner space on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place has a new tenant — a retail outpost of DF Mavens... as their tagline says, "The finest dairy-free ice cream in the world. Made in NYC."



Their dairy-free desserts have been available in various retail outlets ... though we believe that this is their first dedicated NYC storefront.

Eastside Bakery (.net?) closed down here at the end of April. And once upon a time, the space was home to the Gap in the late 1980s into the early 1990s.

DF Mavens will be arriving in 2014, per the sign.

Updated 10/18
This came up in the comments: Lula's is back open on East Sixth Street as of Aug. 3.

Report: Pulino's closing to make for new French restaurant on the Bowery

[EVG file photo]

Pulino's Bar and Pizzeria, which apparently tripled nearby rents and caused men to urinate in the co-ed sink, will close in January to make way for a new Keith McNally concept, Eater is reporting.

The McNally-owned Pulino's will reopen in March as a French restaurant called Cherche Midi, which was also the name of a French military prison in Paris.

Eater quotes McNally:

Through no one's fault but my own Pulino's hasn't fully worked and I've decided to change it quite radically.

Pulino's opened on the Bowery at East Houston Street in March 2010.

East Village resident looking for help with new health-insurance exchange

An EVG reader and East Village resident asked us the following yesterday...

I am wondering if there are other East Village residents struggling to sign up for health care insurance through the new federal program. If so, then I would love to hear how they are faring and get any advice or tips they might offer on how to get through the application process and which insurance is best.

I have gone onto the New York Health Exchange site several times in the last couple of weeks, failing to get through the entire application process every time because of apparent glitches in the system. Today, I got through it with some help from a phone rep, but even she couldn't figure out why I couldn't input certain key information, and she actually gave me wrong information about whether I should put in my total income for 2013 or my adjusted gross income.

I asked her if it was possible to go somewhere in my area and have someone help me in person with the application. She asked for my zip code and said there wasn't anyone here who could help me in person. It is pretty frustrating.

Is there anyone who has successfully navigated the new system who can offer any tips...?

128 Second Ave. has been sold

Back in late August, a tipster told us that 128 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and East Seventh Street was in contract.

Per the tipster, the building was being sold "to a group of four relatively young guys" ... who were heard outside 128 "talking about 'clearing out' the shop in the front" of the building. There are two businesses here: A tattoo/piercing parlor and the Stage restaurant.

According to public documents filed at the beginning of October, the building was sold for $7.5 million. The listed buyers are LLCs... with addresses that match up to Stellar Management ("known as a premier owner and operator of commercial real estate") and Icon Realty Management.

Ikon is familiar to the East Village, as far as gut renovations and additional stories go. Among the company's recent purchases: 326-328 E. Fourth St., 205 Avenue A and 154 Second Ave.

As for the beloved Stage, we understand that they have six years remaining on their lease.

Previously on EV Grieve:
An appreciation: Breakfast at Stage

Troubling talk about 128 Second Ave, and the long-term future of the Stage

Fencing in the future 6-story residential building on E. 9th Street

Progress check at 327 E. Ninth St., a former parking lot between First Avenue and Second Avenue. As we first reported in August 2012, a six-story, two-unit residential building will eventually rise here.

A crew was working on an upgraded fence yesterday ...



...to protect the current pit ...



The plywood includes a rendering of the future 327 E. Ninth St. ...



Previously on EV Grieve:
The big dig begins for 6-story, 2-unit condo on East 9th Street

East Ninth Street parking lot will yield to 6-floor residential building

Extra Place and Heidi looking closed on Extra Place

Several week ago, we noted that Extra Place and Heidi, the sister restaurants along Extra Place, the pedestrian walkway off East First Street, were closed for renovation, per a sign at the door.

That sign is gone, and an EVG tipster noted workers removing tables and equipment from the restaurants yesterday... The Extra Place website is no longer active.



In July, CB3 dropped the hammer on the restaurants, denying renewal of its beer and wine license. (Per CB3: "The applicant has usurped a public pedestrian plaza for its private use in violation of New York City Department of Transportation restrictions by setting up an illegal sidewalk café in said public plaza.")

Extra Place was originally on the October CB3/SLA agenda for a new liquor license. However, they were a scratch before Oct. 7's meeting.



The restaurants opened in July 2012,and received fairly positive notices for their food.

At this point, it doesn't appear the restaurants will return... or that Extra Place will ever work as a shopping-dining destination...

Previously on EV Grieve:
With new restaurant opening, will Extra Place finally become a dining destination?

Extra Place now officially a Dead End

Meanwhile, Extra Place continues to maintain its proud heritage

Extra Place and Heidi currently 'closed for renovation' in Extra Place

Lui's Thai food coming soon to East 4th Street

Matt Rosen passes along word that a new Thai restaurant called Lui's is opening on East Fourth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... in the space that last housed Pinisi Cafe & Bakery. Don't know anything else about Lui's just at the moment.

Hitchcocktober continues at Village East Cinema

Hitchcocktober continues for the next three Thursday evenings at the Village East Cinema on Second Avenue and East 12th Street... Tonight at 8: "Vertigo."



Details here.

For scary Halloween-time movies of a different sort, the CBGB biopic is also playing at the Village East Cinema.

Honk if you love brass bands and parades

[This evening via Bobby Williams]

As you may have heard, the 2nd Annual East Village Cavalcade of Pomp is underway now in the neighborhood... part of the HONK NYC! Festival.

Per the HONK NYC Facebook page:

East Village Cavalcade of Pomp Parade Starting Locations & Schedule — all parades end in Tompkins Square Park, where bands will perform a set.

5pm - Perhaps Contraption in Tompkins Square Park

5:30pm - Os Siderais begins a parade through the neighborhood from De Colores Community Yard Garden on 8th Street between Avenues B & C

5:30pm - Environmental Encroachment steps off from Two Boots Pizzeria, Avenue A and 3rd Street corner

6pm - Minor Mishap Marching Band leaves from The Bean, 1st Avenue at 9th Street corner

6:45pm - Hungry March Band departs from the Lower East Side Girls Club, 8 Street between Avenues C & D

Expect a mass of honking and marching then in Tompkins Square Park... then at 8, there's a HONK NYC! Radical Marching Band Symposium at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space at 155 Avenue C ... then an after-party at 10 at Drom on Avenue A...

Distinguished men in hats were in McSorley's earlier today

Ale! #gogodididonyc @TwoPlaysInRep pic.twitter.com/qghQ1frQLc

— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) October 16, 2013

Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, appearing soon together on Broadway, were in McSorley's earlier for a photo shoot ... per a Facebook post by Minnie McSorley: "McSorley's Old Ale House: Now wheelchair accessible, and mutant friendly."

H/T @fnytv

'Mayor of Avenue D' busted for running large-scale drug operation

The Manhattan DA's office has indicted 11 members of an LES-based narcotics trafficking organization that possessed and sold street-level crack cocaine, according to a news release from Cyrus R. Vance Jr. yesterday.

From that release:

According to the indictment, since approximately January 2012, the defendants obtained, transported, processed, packaged, and sold large quantities of crack cocaine to customers in and around the Jacob Riis Houses, a New York City Public Housing Authority development between East 8th and East 13th Streets, from Avenue D to the F.D.R. Drive, as well as at other locations.

The leader of this organization – DWAYNE MITCHELL, a/k/a “Dubbs,” 35 – obtained wholesale quantities of crack cocaine from supplier SABED RAHMAN, 29. MITCHELL and RAHMAN are accused of meeting regularly over a long period to exchange wholesale quantities of drugs and cash, including at a Starbucks location in Midtown Manhattan.

Prosecutors told the Daily News that Mitchell acted like the "Mayor of Avenue D" while "charming the neighborhood by hosting barbecues and field trips to Six Flags for kids."

And more from the DA's release:

According to the indictment, the defendants used cell phones to communicate and conduct their business. They also attempted to conceal the conspiracy and alleged illegal transactions by conducting them in a covert manner and using coded language, including the terms “chicken,” “donuts,” and “food,” to refer to cocaine and sums of money.

Mitchell reportedly faces up to 20 years on the most serious charge.

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. James is traveling this week. East Village photographer Stacie Joy compiled today's post.



By Stacie Joy

Name: Seth Tobocman
Occupation: Comic book artist
Location: ABC No Rio, 156 Rivington Street
Date: Oct. 7, 2:53 pm

I grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. I was born in Texas but really only lived there until I was 2 and have very little memory of it. My family are basically Clevelanders. Several generations back they migrated there, Jews from Poland. My grandfather did not want to live in Brooklyn because he would be forced to be Orthodox. He said “I did not come to America to live in Poland.” So he went to Cleveland where he had no family and no one could tell him what to do.

I moved to NYC in 1976, year of the bicentennial. I was initially a student at NYU and stayed in the dorms. I had an apartment in Greenwich Village for a short period of time, got thrown out of there and moved to the East Village in 1979. I moved to my East 3rd Street (near Avenue A) apartment, which was $150 a month in rent. I dropped out of college, had no money. I knew I wanted to be an artist but I wasn’t sure what kind. I was interested in underground filmmakers like Kenneth Anger but not interested in mainstream comics. I was uncertain what I wanted to do and it was cheap to live here.

Someone got stabbed in front of the building the day I moved in. We had a slumlord who put a cheap lock on the front door. A lock that neighborhood 12 year olds could break. There were many drug addicts. They would wait next to the mailboxes and when elderly people would get their checks, they would rob them.

Once I was jumped — someone held a wire around my neck but a neighbor came to my aid. Said he was a cop and had a gun and badge in his pocket, which was a lie. He scared off the guy trying to rob me.

We were in court for several years as the landlord tried to raise the rent. We went on rent strikes, and had a great tenants' union. The outcome of the time spent in court was that we became rent stabilized, which was terrific. A lot of the tenants were older folks who had been part of the antiwar movement and they were happy to have meetings again. We would meet in the hallway of the building. We all wanted an affordable place to live.

Back then it was a place to buy drugs. There were visible lines of people waiting to buy heroin. Kids were getting shot. There were abandoned buildings and a sense of neglect. People came here for their vices. To buy drugs, prostitutes. The stereotypical Alphabet City.

There were also places like CHARAS, the Nuyorican Poets Café and the community gardens — where people were working to change the neighborhood. There were ethnic restaurants, different languages being spoken ... and no chain stores.

I am proud to be part of a group that has stood for community ideals since 1980 — the magazine World War 3 Illustrated. We were comic book artists who wanted to make a difference. It started in 1979 as a response to the Iran-hostage crisis. The magazine is an all-volunteer, self-published collective, a sweat-equity co-op that still runs today. We were the first to support the squatters movement, we covered events like the MOVE bombing in Philadelphia and the Mumia Abu-Jamal trial. Issues that we were involved in, and local issues. You can buy the magazine at MoRUS, Bluestockings, Revolution Books and St. Mark’s Bookshop.

Favorite moments in the neighborhood? The time the squatters retook the East 13th Street squats. It was on July 4, 1995, and squatters reentered the buildings and hung huge banners from the fire escapes. Lots of people were returning to the area from watching the fireworks — all viewing the events unfold. The police totally overacted and stormed the buildings, but all the squatters had escaped already and the police found only an empty buildings. Classic.

I love that the demolition of the Umbrella House [on Avenue C] was stopped. Oh, and the fact that ABC No Rio is still standing. It’s a real accomplishment. And, I also had great sex in the middle of the night once with a British ballet dancer by the East River!

East Village resident creates Puppydog Poop Mitts

East Village resident and EVG reader Pablo Galarza shared this information...

Over the past 15 years, I’ve used nearly every bag made to pick up after my beloved Brittany, Mack. I have tried The New York Times delivery sleeve, plastic bags from Walgreens, rectangular dog bags sold in rolls at pet stores and dozens of other random bags.

I recently founded Puppydog Products to create a mitten-shaped bag for cleaning up dog waste. The PuppyDog Poop Mitt is degradable and by far smartest and easiest way to clean up after your dog. No more fumbling to find the opening for the bag, no nasty scent to remind you of your chore, large enough to wear over a glove on cold days, and the unique mitten shape really makes pick up a breeze.

This is a DIY company so far, and my plan is to market them by word-of-mouth by giving away free samples to dog walkers/owners. Just send an email here with your address, and we'll send you a free pack of 30 Poop Mitts.

Tonight: the 2nd Annual East Village Cavalcade of Pomp

As part of the HONK NYC! Festival ... the 2nd Annual East Village Cavalcade of Pomp takes place today... starting at 5 in Tompkins Square Park (brass bands and parade revelers, etc.) ... then at 8, there's a HONK NYC! Radical Marching Band Symposium at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space at 155 Avenue C ... then an after-party at 10 at Drom on Avenue A... Check the Honk NYC website for exact times, more details and march madness...

Construction watch: 185-193 Avenue B

Here's a spot check on 185-193 Avenue B... where a 7-story mixed-used residential building is in the works for the corner here at East 12th Street. The building will include the new home of the Elim Pentecostal Church.



Nearby residents had to endure months of relentless pile driving and other building-rattling noise late last fall and into the winter months...



Some residents said that they are concerned for the adjacent building... the one with all the supports ... which may explain the Stop Work Order that the city issued last Friday. There's now just a Partial Stop Work Order...



The address was a movie theater for many years, first the Bijou in 1926, then the Charles. (The theater closed in 1975, and a church took over the space.) A fire broke out in the building in October 2006.

Photos by Bobby Williams.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Inside the Charles

Former landmark countercultural theater now for rent on Avenue B

7-story building in the works to replace former countercultural theater/church on Avenue B

Construction site at 185 Avenue B remains shut down for now

[Updated] The 'insane' noise and pounding are back at 185 Avenue B

It was photogenic outside today

Right? Here's a photo via EVG reader Avrin looking east toward Second Avenue from East Sixth Street...

A First Avenue Bansky branch?

EVG reader Thom spotted this on First Avenue and East Fourth Street last evening ... The sign reads "Laugh Now But One Day I’ll Be So Rich That I Can Do Graffiti Wherever I Want." And sponsored by Banksy of America. And the Banksy jab comes courtesy of TrustoCorp ... there's another sign in Williamsburg that reads "Bad Artists Imitate Great Artists Get Really Really Rich."

Animal NY has the scoop about all this here.