And now, 14 photos of the big-ass cranes on Avenue A

Well, what a day! The Spring Social Season began with not one but two cranes anchored on Avenue A between East Sixth Street and East Fifth Street… there to lift (or whatevs) a new transformer into the Con Ed substation …

Here are 14 various views of all this…

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Via EVG regular peter radley…













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Via Tin Can On 5th…



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Via EVG regular Grant Shaffer…



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Via Senior EVG Crane Photographer Bobby Williams…








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Via EVG…

Report: Citi Bike needs 'tens of millions of dollars'

[EVG file photo]

From the Post today:

Citi Bike honchos need tens of millions of dollars to save the struggling bicycle-share program — but Mayor de Blasio said Friday that it won’t come from the wallets of New York City taxpayers.

DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said that she’s confident Citi Bike would resolve its problems and even expand.

“We all know Citi Bike has been tremendously popular with New Yorkers,” she said. “But there have been significant financial and operational issues, including redistribution of bikes to where the riders are and technology issues.”

The Wall Street Journal has more on all this "tens of millions of dollars" business here.

In January, Bixi — the Montreal nonprofit company that developed the technology that powers the Citi Bike program — filed for bankruptcy protection.

Citi Bike launched here last May.

Hey, wait a minute — that's not a Citi Bike docking station

A reader alerted us to the fact the the Citi Bike docking station on the northwest corner of Avenue B and Second Street disappeared yesterday… this was before whatever that thing is called in the photo arrived to help resurface the street…

With Avenue A closed today, mind the sightseeing buses!

Avenue A is closed today and tomorrow so we can take photos of large cranes (plus Con Ed is putting in a new transformer at the substation between East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street)…

So the alternate route is in effect… traffic personnel are redirecting, uh, traffic down East Fourth Street … north on Avenue B … and west on Seventh Street… which means sightseeing buses might start stalking you… Wait, no McSorley's is the other way! Stop!

[Updated] Reminders: Avenue A closed today; RIP tree

[Photo from last weekend]

Hey, Avenue A will be closed between East Fourth Street and East Seventh Street from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and tomorrow. (Curious if the Avenue will actually be closed for all those listed hours.)

Con Ed is installing a new transformer or something at the substation between Fifth Street and Sixth Street.

The flashing signs up on the Avenue suggest that motorists use an alternate route, which is NOT through Tompkins Square Park. As for cyclists, you can ride on the sidewalk like you normally do. (OMG! Kidding! Jeez!)

On a more serious note, EVG reader Tin Can On 5th noted the removal of the last tree on Avenue A alongside the substation …



Not sure if the tree came down because of this weekend's work … or if the tree was diseased.

Updated 10:11 a.m.

One of the cranes on A is right where the tree used to be…



Previously on EV Grieve:
A reminder not to drive on Avenue A next weekend

Working for the Weekend

Here's Weekend with "End Times." Good times!

Reader report: Virage closes Monday for a month-long renovation

[Photo via the Virage Facebook page]

That's the word from an EVG reader about the 14-year-old restaurant on Second Avenue at East Seventh Street.

They're are apparently closing for a makeover that will last up to a month. No word what, if any, changes may be in the works for their varied French/Italian/Middle Eastern menu.

The brunch/lunch/dinner spot was closed for renovations for several days back in December 2010.

48 years later, East 14th Street synagogue to be considered for landmark designation

[Photo by Karen Loew via GVSHP]

The Tifereth Israel Town and Village Synagogue at 334 E. 14th St. is on the market for nearly $14 million, as we first noted last October.

Upon hearing of the potential sale, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and a coalition of East Village, preservation, and Jewish history groups reached out to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) urging them to consider the building for landmark designation.

According to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, the building has an amazing history, having served as first a German Baptist Church, then a Ukranian Autocephalic Orthodox Church, and then a Conservative Synagogue for the last 50 years. Interestingly enough, the building was calendared by the LPC and considered for landmark designation in 1966, but they never acted upon it.

Now in response to the group's request, the LPC will hold a hearing on the potential landmark designation … scheduled now on Tuesday morning. (The LPC tabled the hearing back in October.)

Here's more about the building and the hearing from concerned neighbors …

As the building is currently for sale and new plans are being considered that could alter this historic structure forever or replace it, we think it is important that the Commission make a decision on its landmark-worthiness. Landmark designation would not prevent the current congregation from growing or even altering or adding to the building. But it would ensure that the key exterior historic elements and the connection to the building’s century and a half history remain.

The Landmark Preservation Committee hearing will be held on Tuesday, March 25 at 9:30 am at 1 Centre Street, 9th Floor.

If you are not able to testify, but want to show your support, please submit a sample letter of support created by the Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation. Find the sample letter here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] East 14th St. synagogue on the market for conversion to residential, commercial use

Boukiés has 'permanently closed' on Second Avenue

Boukiés, the Greek restaurant run by Pylos owner Christos Valtzoglos and chef Diane Kochilas, has apparently gone out of business.

The outgoing message for the nearly two-year-old restaurant on Second Avenue at East Second Street says that they have "permanently closed." There isn't a mention of the closure on the restaurant's website or social media. Signs on the restaurant say they are closed for renovations.



A shame, it was a good spot with delicious food.

Previously Valtzoglos tried German-Swiss food with Heartbreak Cafe at this location.

Last April, Valtzoglou sued the State Liquor Authority over an "illegal agreement" with Community Board 3, DNAinfo first reported.

Thank you to @SlickSean for the tip.

A new beginning for Sapporo East?

Sapporo East, the 30-year-old Japanese restaurant on East 10th Street and First Avenue, closed at the end of December, as we first reported.

Now it looks as if there's new life for the space. An EVG reader hears that Sapporo East plans to reopen with new owners — and the same staff. They will be seeking a new beer-wine license during the April CB3/SLA subcommittee meeting, as the notice posted on the door shows…



Sapporo East's sister restaurant, Shima, also closed at the same time. That space on Second Avenue and East 12th Street is currently on the market for $25,400 a month in rent.

Thanks to EVG reader @Breelit for the photo and info

Whatever happened to those British call boxes outside The Telephone Bar on Second Avenue?

Hard to believe that The Telephone Bar & Grill on Second Avenue near East Ninth Street closed a little more than four years ago. The 22-year-old bar was later replaced by (glug! glug!) The 13th Step.

The front of bar was adorned with those old-timey phone booths (or, rather, British call boxes!).

In case you were a fan of the bar, this is for you.

An EVG Facebook friend came across a post yesterday on Messy Nessy Chic featuring a Harlem-based company called The Demolition Depot, which "makes it their business to go in and salvage the irreplaceable pieces of a building’s architectural heritage."

And at the Demolition Depot, you will find these booths for sale...



Now if we could only find some of those old Mars Bar stools...

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Telephone Bar and Grill closing after 22 years

Plans for local blogger's first brick-and-mortar store — EXPOSED

On Monday, we noted that 35 First Ave. was now home to Farid's Middle Eastern Grill Food & Pizza.

Unfortunately, plans have surfaced showing the failed business concept for this property… and we are sharing them with you as well before you read about it somewhere else.


[Click on the image for the gory details]

Heh. OK, just joking, of course… this was the handiwork of EVG regular Pinhead.

Anyway, better than a bank, right?

Right?

Hello? Anyone?

Noted

Avenue A between East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street. Perhaps there was a soft landing?

Photo by Doug Quint

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

234 E. Seventh St. hits the market for $6.7 million (Commercial Observer)

About the Bum Phillips opera at LaMama (Deadspin)

RIP King Glassware on the Bowery (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Can NYU ever make peace with its Village neighbors? (Curbed)

A record sale at 151 Bowery (BoweryBoogie)

Details on the Triangle Fire Tribute Concert (The Lo-Down)

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… and via the EVG inbox...



Surrealist painter Wayne Krall shows his latest works this Sunday at his spring art show "Collage By Krall" at dba bar. Krall, who has lived in the East Village the past 25 years, tends bar at dba, and has worked at many infamous watering hotels in the neighbourhood including Milano's, Banjo Jim's and the Mars Bar. This upcoming show features new works where he incorporates collage into his paintings. The show and opening is one day only from 2-7pm(?) at dba, 41 First Ave.

Reader report: Xi’an Famous Foods closed for renovations

[Photo by @charli via Twitter]

Disappointed diners have learned that the popular Xi'an Famous Foods at 81 St. Mark's Place is closed for renovations.

@evgrieve Did you see that Xian Famous is closed for renovations? I went there yesterday and saw another shocked would-be patron. Horrible!

— Adrianne Jeffries (@adrjeffries) March 20, 2014

Their official message via Facebook:

Our East Village store will be CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS starting Monday (3/17)!

We hope to be back up and running in 3-4 weeks, with a few more seats and a more open kitchen!

In the meantime, head to our nearby Chinatown spot, open regular hours.

And this is a legit "closed for renovations," not one of those stop-gap messages to help the proprietor hustle out of town.

Xi’an CEO Jason Wang has ambitious plans to expand his growing noodle empire, with possible locations in Boston and Washington, D.C.

East Second Street rooftop addition going for that shipping container look?

[EVG file photo from October 2012]

A few of us have been keeping an eye on the progress at 80 E. Second St., where there are city-approved plans to add two floors to the existing 4-floor building just west of First Avenue.

Here's a shot from last December, showing a few measly beams…


[Photo via EVG reader Spike]

And, well, now…


[Photo via EVG reader B H]

Hmm, OK. Not sure what to make of this addition so far. The permits say "To enlarge the existing 4 story to a 6 story, 5 family dwelling." Is the two-floor addition then just for one residence? No clue as to what's shaping up here on the website of the architect, Damir Dan Sehic of C3D Architects PLLC.

In any event, the bar has been set pretty high on East Second Street for rooftop homes. Directly across the street is the penthouse featuring the deck, lawn and 4-foot-deep resistance pool.

East 8th St. apartment, now with red suspension bridge, back on the market

[EVG file photo]

When we last checked in on 337B E. Eighth St., the Sandy-ravaged apartment near Avenue C was getting a post-superstorm gut renovation...

[November 2012]

As Curbed noted this week, there's a new listing for the 2,300-square-foot residence. Here's a look at the description:

Architectural Masterpiece 2BR 1.5 BATH LOFT in East Village!!!
You really need to see this to understand it.

ALL NEW RENOVATIONS

Private entrance. Entire floor of a building.

Live Work permitted. Suspension bridge, W/D, DW, radiant floors, stainless steel, heated solarium space, sky lights, home office.

Many of the light fixtures in pics are going to be changed. Owner is installing a granite and stainless steel island in the kitchen area

The price per month: $7,999.



Here's when the suspension bridge was white... back in March 2012 when the rent was only $6,950.

And as noted here several times previously, this was the site of 8BC, the performance space/club/gallery that saw the likes of They Might Be Giants, Karen Finley and Steve Buscemi take the stage during its run from 1983-85...

[Via Ephemeral New York]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Gutting an apartment at 337 E. 8th St., former home of 8BC

21 long years! Archangel Antiques announces retirement, store to close at the end of June

After nearly 21 years selling vintage cufflinks, eyeglasses and buttons on East Ninth Street, Archangel Antiques is calling it a day… the sign out front explains it all…



Check out our Out and About in the East Village feature with store manager Michael Duggan here.

Thanks to EVG regular William Klayer for the photos.

Has The Red Pepper closed on East 6th Street?

A few readers have asked us about this… the note out front says they are temporarily closed for "mandatory repairs" in the building…



Red Pepper's phone number is currently not in service … and there isn't a mention of the closure on their website. And the city hasn't issued any work permits for the address in the past 11 months. (Not that you need permits to make mandatory repairs.)

The Sichuan restaurant just opened last September at 324 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

A long night ahead on Avenue A and East Second Street

Con Ed is apparently ripping up part of East Second Street this evening… and into the wee hours of the morning. Neighbors can feel the jackhammering in their teeth.

Per RyanAvenueA: "And on the same day I got my Con Ed bill. Still getting used to the new triple your rate package."

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Emergency repairs on 8th and B last evening ... via Fallopia Tuba]

Renovations stalled at at P.S. 63/the Neighborhood School (DNAinfo)

East Village photographer Allen Henson countersues Empire State Building for $5 Million (Runnin' Scared)

Q-and-A with Bob Holman (Off the Grid)

Craig Leon, who produced the Ramones, Talking Heads, Richard Hell, Blondie, etc, reissuing solo material and touring (BrooklynVegan)

Check out some unusual masterworks by great directors at Anthology Film Archives though March 30 (The New Yorker, official site)

French bistro called Dirty French opening in the Ludlow Hotel, coming soon (Eater)

Living Theatre to Debut Judith Malina's "No Place To Hide" at Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center tonight (The Wall Street Journal)

The strange looking building planned for Mulberry and Prince (Curbed)

When Madonna opened for the Smiths (BoweryBoogie)

Those Red Sauce preservationists! (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Hunter S. Thompson shills for Apple! (Dangerous Minds)

... and the morning sky shot from Tompkins Square Park today...


[Via @evgrieve]

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: Margery Teplitz
Occupation: Massage Therapist
Location: Avenue A, Between 4th and 5th Street
Time: 4:30 on Weds, March 12

I was born in Chicago. I was around 30 when I moved here. I was living in San Francisco and needed a change and always wanted to live in New York. I used to work in restaurants in those days but I’ve been a licensed massage therapist since 1992.

I have been on the Lower East Side since 1989. I lived on Rivington Street for a couple years when it was the wild wild east and I moved to Ludlow Street, just south of Houston in 1991. It was rough and ready — a lot of fun, dangerous, very old New York. Everything was negotiable with landlords and things like that. You didn’t need to prove that you made $80,000 a year in order to move into an apartment. Even though it had its dangers, it was much more fun.

My favorite aspect of the neighborhood was that anything goes. This was the land of the freaks. There used to be anarchists all over the neighborhood, but most of them have died off. One of my favorite moments was [going to] Wigstock. It was a Labor Day event that used to start in Tompkins Square Park. It was a family event believe it or not but it was all drag queens. I remember seeing RuPaul and Debbie Harry and everybody wearing wigs with their kids on their shoulders.

The past 10 years we’ve had around five construction sites on one block. I have giant holes and cracks all over the inside of my apartment — over every part of my building. All the artwork is out of their frames and the landlord keeps saying, ‘Oh we’re going to come and do it,’ but it never quite happens. It’s been that way for two or three years.

I’m very political and I like that about this neighborhood — that people seem to give a shit. Right now we’re battling this restaurant that they are trying to open in my building called Sweet Chick. They have not been able to get their liquor license but they’re building it up anyway. I met the owner at the Community Board 3 meeting and he seemed like a normal person, but he’s hired one of the biggest shark lawyers in the city, Helbraun Levey & O’Donoghue.

From the look of their plans, they want to put the exhaust system in the airshaft, which goes right next to my bedroom as well as a bunch of others. They also want to remain open 17 hours a day cooking fried food in a 120-year-old building that’s basically like a sieve. My neighbor upstairs makes chili a couple times a week and you can smell it for seven hours, so you can imagine fried chicken.

We’re trying to get pro-bono legal representation, which the state bar refused to help us with. They said they don’t do those type of things, but who needs help more than us? I volunteered for Bill de Blasio and this is his kind of issue and I emailed him. They said, ‘oh yes,’ and nothing, and I emailed the governor and they said, ‘oh yes,’ and nothing. We still hope we can turn it around.

I’m not against gentrification — gentrification is a fact of life, but if you look at cities like London and Paris they manage to gentrify and change while maintaining the architectural integrity of the city. We’re supposed to have a reasonable quality of life, which does not include a blaring exhaust system 17 hours a day and the smell of fried chicken.

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

Report of a late-night fire at 145 Second Ave.

[Photo via Bonnie DeWitt]

A fire apparently broke out in the basement of 145 Second Ave. at East Ninth Street some time around 1 a.m., according to various social media reports. Starbucks occupies the corner storefront space.

MAN ALL HANDS 145 2 AVE, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE IN BASEMENT,

— FDNY (@FDNY) March 19, 2014

The FDNY gave the all clear within 30 minutes.

MAN ALL HANDS 145 2 AVE, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE IN BASEMENT, UNDER CONTROL

— FDNY (@FDNY) March 19, 2014

[Photo via EVG reader Josh]


[Photo via EVG reader Josh]


[Photo via @Phillyupperdecker]

… and the scene from a little east on Ninth Street…


[Photo via @copyrapper]

There's also video, via Josh…



There's no word on injuries, cause or extent of the damage yet. In any event, it made for a nice photo opp!

People are actually taking selfies with a fire while people could have lost their homes or lives. Unreal. @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/5Ux75RqOeU

— Eric Nolan (@ericnolan_) March 19, 2014

Updated 7:45 a.m.
Starbucks is open for business this morning.

Former La Vie space on East First Street will be demolished

[EVG file photo from last summer]

La Vie at 64 E. First St. finally closed last June following an ongoing battle with neighbors over a variety of quality-of-life issues... Neighbors had long complained that La Vie was operating as a club under the guise of a restaurant.

At the time of the closure, a tipster on the block told us: "They are moving all of the red velvet seating out to a Budget truck out front right now! The block is rejoicing."

Not sure if people will be rejoicing over what's coming next: Plans were filed with the city Monday to demolish the (rather ugly) one-story structure. Neighbors spotted a worker in a Hazmat suit on the building's roof yesterday here between First Avenue and Second Avenue.



There's nothing on file yet to hint at what is next for this space... though you can likely expect some kind of new residential building.

DOB permits point to Ekstein Development — "a diversified and rapidly growing real estate investment firm with properties and businesses located throughout New York and New Jersey" — as the owner.

On March 4, the city served a full Stop Work Order for operating here without proper permits.



Also, given that one-level buildings are becoming extinct around the neighborhood… it's worth noting that the demolition permit is only for No. 64, and that there's nothing on file for No. 66, home to Abetta Boiler and Welding Service next door … so they appear safe for now…


[Photo by Lucia Moore via Google]

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] La Vie closed for now on East First Street

New York Supreme Court upholds revocation of La Vie's liquor license

CB3 denies La Vie; owner responds by calling Susan Stetzer a 'racist'

La Vie has closed; neighbors rejoice