Night and day East Village skyline

[Photo by Grant Shaffer]


[Photo by Bobby Williams]

Even more sprkl for Second Avenue

A few weeks ago, local musician-artist-folk hero Paul Kostabi added his character sprkl to the roll-down gate at Cacio e Vino, 80 Second Ave. between East Fifth Street and East Fourth Street.

On Thursday night, he started work on the gate at Ballaro across the Avenue…





The evening included a visit from producer-label owner-musician Walter Schreifels (Quicksand, Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today…)







Paul finished the work late last night …



… and here's a final shot via Fenton Lawless…



Thanks to PandaCat for the photos.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Paul Kostabi puts some sprkl on Second Avenue

Tom Cruise movie poster lives to see another day on the Bowery

Hmm, something smashed into the phone bank here between East Houston and East First Street…



Forceful enough impact to cause the sidewalk to buckle … hopefully no one was making a call at the time …



… the "Edge of Tomorrow" poster mostly survived…



Anyone witness the collision?

Baby hawks of Tompkins Square Park practicing to take flight

As Goggla pointed out, the tabloid-friendly baby hawks of Tompkins Square Park turned 3 weeks old this on Thursday …

AND LOOK HOW BIG THEY ARE GETTING ALREADY. (All that rat and squirrel meat plumps them up.) This GIF is via James and Karla Murray, who have been keeping a watchful on Christo and Dora's three offspring up on the Christodora House on Avenue B and East Ninth Street.

Meanwhile, you can find photos and video from the hawkcam via East Village resident Francois Portmann …

Previously on EV Grieve:
Red-tailed hawks nest on the Christodora House

The hawks of Tompkins Square Park have laid an egg at the Christodora House

More eggsciting hawk news from the Christodora House

Breaking (heh) news: The hawks of Tompkins Square Park are officially parents

OMG baby hawks! (UPDATED WITH VIDEO!)

VIDEO: Watch the baby hawks of Tompkins Square Park dine on some rat

How was your Manhattanhenge?

[East 14th Street photo via EVG reader Pinch]

After the cloudy bust of Manhattanhenge on Thursday night… we completely forgot about last evening's Manhattanhenge sequel … but other people remembered!

And EVG reader Stephen Popkin took advantage of the situation to take photos of people taking photos of Manhattanhenge …









And an actual photo of Manhattanhenge last night via Twitter…

Marvelous #Manhattanhenge tonight in #NYC. pic.twitter.com/uKh0SELXVb

— Inga Sarda-Sorensen (@isardasorensen) May 31, 2014

'Forever' now

A little prom pop from Tweens ... The trio plays the Gothamist/Impose Northside Festival show at Rough Trade NYC on June 13. Head to Brooklyn Vegan for details about that.

Mulch madness: City destroys the great Tree Chair of East 6th Street

[Last week]

We had been wondering about the great Tree Chair of East Sixth Street ... we took the above photo last week... showing that things weren't yet in bloom here between Avenue A and Avenue B ...

Unfortunately, we will never see it in full bloom again. EVG reader Riian Kant-McCormick shares this sad site this morning ...



City workers ripped out and mulched up this beloved stump ... word from an onlooker — rats were living under the stump or something ... and it had to go ...

A moment of silence

Long live the great Tree Chair of East Sixth Street!


[Photo from July by Robert Miner]

Previously on EV Grieve:
What happened to the tree chair on East Sixth Street?

The tree chair of East Sixth Street is... back!

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Tompkins Square Park photo by Fallopia Tuba]

Funeral services this weekend for Wen Hui Ruan (DNAinfo)

Chad Marlow to challenge CB3 chair Gigi Li in upcoming election (The Lo-Down)

Happy 3-week birthday to the baby hawks! (Gog in NYC)

Why do we love Manhattanhenge so much? (The Atlantic)

Maya Angelou and New York City (Runnin' Scared)

Another look at Miss Lily's 7A Cafe (Gothamist)

The NYC of The Village People (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

The peril of hipster economics (Al Jazeera America)

More 'bro' for Epstein's Bar? (BoweryBoogie)

Demolishing old Pier 17 (Curbed)

At Manhattan's first Dairy Queen on West 14th Street (Eater)

Pinball returns to Coney Island! (Amusing the Zillion)

Speaking of Coney Island and summer ... check out this video by Bruce Handy from last night marking "The Thunderbolt's Maiden Voyage." It is the first custom-built roller-coaster for Coney Island since the Cyclone in 1927. (Via Amusing the Zillion)

I felt a great disturbance in the Force this morning on East 7th Street

And why do people who live on East Seventh Street throw away "Star Wars" posters?

Photo by Derek Berg

This Robyn laid some luxury apartments on East 3rd Street; pet spa included

[316 E. Third St. last night]

To the EVG inbox ...

Miron Properties, a full-service, real-estate brokerage firm ... announces it has been retained by developers David Amirian, Eric Brody and Joseph Klaynberg, along with JSR Capital to lease and manage The Robyn, a modern new construction rental development located at 316 East 3rd Street in the East Village. The leasing office opens next week and renting will begin immediately.

The Robyn, built by Wonder Works Construction, is a 33-unit, 8 story building designed by architect Karl Fischer comprised of 12 studios, 17 1BRs and 4 duplex penthouse 2BRs, with private outdoor terraces, including double height living room space. They range in price from: $2,100 and up for studios, $2,495 and up for 1BRs, and $3,375, and up for the duplex penthouses.

Each apartment features stainless steel appliances, granite kitchens, marble baths, and in-unit washer/dryers. All penthouse residences feature private outdoor space.

The elevator building features a roof deck, storage units, bike storage, pet spa and boasts many new technologies including a new laundry device by Clean Cube and mobile video intercom/security system by Butterfly MX.

“The area is gentrifying and with all that is going on with the neighborhood, we are very excited to bring this on as a new addition,” says David Amirian, developer.

Okey-dokey!

And here is The Robyn website … where you can learn more about, uh, The Robyn … (anyone care to explain that name and its connection to the neighborhood?) …



And this seems to be the only interior shot so far…



So, to recap some recent history here, where a lovely home with gardens stood for nearly 177 years just a few storefronts to the west of Avenue D…

Workers finished demolishing the house in March 2012. The home was last owned by Barden Prisant, a former member of Community Board 3, who now lives in Brooklyn.

According to an article on living in Prospect Park South in the Times dated Oct. 6, 2011, Prisant and his wife "decided to sell their house in the East Village because a tall building was to go up next to their beloved backyard." (The in-progress Alphabet Plaza.)

Preservation groups to try to protect the circa-1835 house here, but the Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected a hearing.

[EVG file photo]



The final product will look something like …


[Brody/Amirian]


[The view from East Houston. Hey, Robyn!]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Another parcel of East Village land ready for development

33-unit, Karl Fischer-designed building rising at former home of Community Board 3 member

Landmarks Preservation Commission rejects hearing for 316 E. Third St., paving way for 7-floor condo

Lovely townhouse with bucolic gardens on East Third Street ready for "creative expansion"

316 E. Third St. has been demolished

Reader report: Crab Shack in the works for former Japadog space on St. Mark's Place

[EVG file photo]

After two-plus years at 30 St. Mark's Place, Japadog closed for good this past Feb. 28.

Interior renovations started yesterday on the next venture: Crab Shack, a restaurant specializing in (duh) crab … this info is via neighbor Jordy Trachtenberg, who spoke with one of the owners.

And that's all the info that we have at the moment…

Previously on EV Grieve:
Breaking: Japadog is closing for good after tonight on St. Mark's Place

Now, for real, final pieces of 6-year-old sidewalk bridge come down on St. Mark's Place

[April 23]

Oh boy were we faked out back on April 23 … when, after six-plus years, workers began taking down the sidewalk bridge outside 32 and 34 St. Mark's Place.

But! A chunk of the bridge/scaffolding remained up outside No. 34.

Until Wednesday night, when crews returned …



And it was a job that stretched into yesterday morning…



And by late afternoon! Sidewalk! Oh sidewalk!



And Khyber Pass!



Oh sidewalk!



According to the DOB, the city issued the permit for the sidewalk bridge in February 2008. As far as anyone can recall, no work had ever been done on the buildings at 32 or 34 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue during this time.

Previously on EV Grieve:
St. Mark's sidewalk shed celebrates fourth anniversary

Happy 5th Birthday to the sidewalk shed of St. Mark's Place!

Miracle on St. Mark's! Sidewalk bridge comes down 6-plus years later!

Reader report: Ramen Kuboya moving away from East 5th Street

Workers have been clearing out the noodle shop here at 536 E. Fifth St. near Avenue B.

Word via @zmack is that Kuboya is on the move west to Cornelia Street. (There isn't a mention of this yet on their website or social media sites. The phone has also been disconnected.)

Perhaps the competition from the more-established Minca Ramen next door was too much.

As we understand it, a "contemporary Asian" restaurant is in the works for the 50-seat space. (See this PDF from CB3 for more details.)

536 E. Fifth St. was previously home to (briefly!) Village East Bistro and Le Gamin.

What's happening with Xi’an Famous Foods on St. Mark's Place?

[Wednesday]

A few readers have asked about the status of 81 St. Mark's Place … home to Xi’an Famous Foods. The popular noodle shop closed for renovations back on March 17. Xi’an was expected to be closed an estimated three-four weeks.

Some worried fans noticed the lack of activity here … as well as a growing pile of mail on the floor.

However, workers were back on the scene yesterday …



And here are tweets from Xi’an explaining the delay …

Still waiting on EV! The building is fixing a gas leak & it might take a month for DOB+ConEd approval. If anyone knows people, hit us up!

— Xi'an Famous Foods (@xianfoods) April 25, 2014

@JocelynKowald soon...we are fixing up a tangle with DOB

— Xi'an Famous Foods (@xianfoods) May 28, 2014

City adjusts the bike lane on East 9th Street

[Last week!]

Last week we noted that bike lanes returned to the repaved East 10th Street and East Ninth Street. However, the city seemed to have made some kind of boo-boo on Ninth between First Avenue and Second Avenue, as you can see in the above reader-submitted photo.

However, the city made amends last night, as the DOT was out to adjust the white lines, via these photos by EVG reader Charlie Chen…







This also might put to rest the rumors that this block was intended to be used as an alien landing strip.

When Zoltar moves a little to his right…

In other important news stories today … we noticed this evening that someone moved Zoltar out from his usual perch in front of Gem on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place …



Or maybe he moved himself… get into the sidewalk flow more… (he has seemingly been pushy of late Yeah, yeah — I see you standing there too!) …

Anyway the move exposed an older Gem Spa sign … when they sold "foreign periodicals!"