Extra Place now graffiti free (for the moment)

On Friday, someone painted over all the tags in Extra Place…



…the seven-years-in the-making-and-failing-so-far pedestrian mall behind the former alley behind CBGB…



Not sure why the tags were painted over. Because someone deemed them unsightly? Too make way for some new art project? Patrons of the recently opened Momofuku Ko didn't like looking at them?

Dunno!

As for the Momofuku Ko here that took the place of the restaurants Heidi and Extra Place… Per Eater:

Momofuku Ko... has raised the price of dinner to $175, an increase of $50 over the old menu. With that higher cost come more indulgences: the two-Michelin-starred restaurant has lengthened the menu to 17-courses.

So what does this all mean for your wallet? A meal for two at Ko, after tax and tip, will cost $451, a 40 percent hike over the old cost of $322. Add on beverage pairings at $155, and a dinner date will run you $851.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A look inside the incoming Momofuko Ko on Extra Place

With new restaurant opening, will Extra Place finally become a dining destination?

Extra Place now officially a Dead End

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

Espoleta now serving tapas and stuff on the Bowery

Forcella Bowery recently closed … and it didn't take long for a new tenant to revamp the space at 334 Bowery.

Espoleta is now open and serving tapas and the like … here's the menu…



Urban Daddy got the first look at the interior and dishes if you're interested in seeing more.

Forcella's take-out Slice of Naples remains open next door, as BoweryBoogie reported.

Previously on EV Grieve:
On the Bowery, Forcella pizza shows a sign, Twitter account

Week in Grieview

A night of protests over the grand jury decision not to indict the NYPD officer involved in the Eric Garner chokehold case (Thursday … and later)

City deems East Village Bed & Coffee an illegal hotel on Avenue C (Tuesday)

Simone Martini Bar closed for good (Monday)

Farewell De Robertis (Friday)

Discussing that explosion/bang/boom (Friday, 35 comments)

Out and About with Arthur Nersesian (Wednesday)

Movement underway to reoccupy the Yippie Museum (Thursday)

Two dessert closures on Second Avenue (Thursday)

Fresh & Co. coming to former Pie Face space on Fourth Avenue (Monday)

Decking the halls at 7B (Tuesday)

A new laundromat for Avenue B (Tuesday)

Dee Dee Ramone exhibit opens next week (Wednesday)

Fire at 251 E. Houston St. temporarily closes Gaia Cafe (Monday)

The ABCs of a new mural on Avenue C (Tuesday)

S & P Liquor & Wine back in business on East 5th Street (Thursday)

More about the End of Avenue A Block Association (Friday)

A bar called Matty's in the works for Idle Hands on Avenue B (Wednesday)

176 E. 3rd St. changes hands for the third time in seven years (Friday)

d.b.a is temporarily closed for renovations (Thursday)

Checkers check (Friday)

Don't dress up as Santa for this happy hour special (Monday)

… and on Tuesday morning, the Keith Haring sculpture arrived outside 51 Astor Place… it was still a little dark out, so our photos, well — they sucked… these are a little better…





… and we do enjoy the rotating monthly murals at Mikey Likes It on Avenue A… This month's Flavor of the Month is Home Alone.

[Updated] Maharlika is closed for now

Several readers have pointed out that Maharlika, the well-regarded Filipino restaurant on First Avenue at East Seventh Street, has been closed the past few days.

A sign on the door states: "Due to building complications, the Maharlika kitchen is not able to operate."



Would-be diners are directed to Jeepney, Maharlika's other restaurant a few blocks up First Avenue.

The sign coincides with a DOH closure dated Thursday…



According to the DOH, there were 41 violation points, including for evidence of various critters.

Updated: Maharlika reopened on Dec. 11.

E-xciting news from Gem Spa

[Photo by Derek Berg]

Yesterday morning, a worker arrived at Gem Spa, one of our favorite places… to finally fix the E in the Gem here on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place…

And now!

And then there was 1 floor

The Salvation Army's former East Village Residence on the Bowery at East Third Street is nearly gone… Goggla's photo from Friday shows the remains of the ground floor.

Workers are demolishing the building to make way for a 13-floor, 30,000 square-foot mixed-use residential development.

Two Boots is getting out of the video rental business on Avenue A

The pizzeria has been selling off its DVD collection from the Two Boots Video Nook the past few days.

Probably not a shocker. Does anyone rent movies anymore?



Anywhere, we hear that the DVDs are going for $1, Blu-Ray and new releases $5, and Criterion Collection films $10.

But! The sign outside the pizzeria on Avenue A and East Third Street promises something new...



The Pioneer Jr. "The world's smallest screening room." OK!

Two Boots Video closed in the fall of 2008, with a much smaller rental collection merging next door in the pizzeria. (The video space and Pioneer Theater are now part of the Upright Citizens Brigade.)

Thank you to @geofffree for the tip!

Clinton Street Baking Company expansion underway

EVG reader Magic Brian passed along these photos yesterday… showing workers plywooding up the southeast corner of East Houston and Clinton Street.



As BoweryBoogie first reported back in June, pancake-line-waiting hotspot Clinton Street Baking Company will expand into the space last held by Min's Market.

Co-owner DeDe Lahman shared this with Gothamist Thursday:

The new space will boast 55 seats — up from 32 in the old space — which should help ease some of the brunch time congestion. Lahman says the old space will also stay open, eventually transitioning into more of a take out spot for coffee, baked goods and pickup orders. "The rest of the plans for that spot will take shape as we open the new space and suss out what will work for us and our guests," she explains.

And the space today…

If you like songs, caroling and storytelling

Several East Village residents are among the talented collection of singers who are taking part in this tonight…

An evening of song, caroling and storytelling
7:30 pm
Gustavus Adolphus Church
155 E. 22nd St.
FREE

The church is between Third Avenue and Lexington…

Thank you and good night

EVG reader William Klayer was outside De Robertis around 8 p.m. when the family closed the gate for business for the last time at 176 First Ave. The last words were a simple, "That's all she wrote."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Ugh: The 110-year-old DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe closes after Dec. 5 (43 comments)

Search continues for missing Stuy Town resident

We were asked to repost this information from the Town & Village Blog:

Police are looking for Andreas Robbins, a 25-year-old resident of Stuyvesant Town who was last seen on Monday leaving his apartment at 521 East 14th Street.

He is described as being 6’1” tall and thin, weighing 200 pounds. He has brown eyes and black hair. He also has a prominent birthmark on the right side of his nose and tattoos on both shoulders and his right wrist. Robbins’ family said he may be wearing a grey herringbone dresscoat and a scarf.

Robbins’s parents Elsa Stamatopoulou and Bruce Robbins have also requested that anyone with information contact them at (212) 431-5872 or (917) 318-9707. Fliers have been posted at places Robbins frequents.

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is also asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.

Over the 'Rainbow'

Helmet led by former EV resident Page Hamilton is performing its 1994 release "Betty" in its entirety on Feb. 21 at the Bowery Ballroom. The show is already sold out... but maybe there'll be another one...

Here's a track from that record — "Wilma's Rainbow."

4:24 p.m., 176 First Ave., Dec. 5

So much for De Robertis closing at 3 today… the crowds keep coming in… not much product left, though.

A Fox 5 crew left just before 4.

Photo via EVG reader Robert F.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Ugh: The 110-year-old DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe closes after Dec. 5 (43 comments)

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Photo along the East River Monday by EVG reader Barret Swatek]

Photos from last night's Eric Garner protests (Gothamist)

Here's the rendering for 190 Bowery, now on the market (BoweryBoogie)

Lypsinka back in the East Village (New York Post, ticket info. here)

Owners of Terroir and Hearth are parting ways after 11 years (Eater)

Inside one of the luxury residences at the former Hungarian synagogue on East Seventh Street (New York Post)

Q-and-A with Julie Cohen, director of "The Sturgeon Queens," a documentary about Russ & Daughters (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Marky Ramone on life in the East Village (Bedford + Bowery)

Ho-ho-ho: Sen. Hoylman pushes booze-free SantaCon (The Villager)

New exhibit provides a portal between the Lower East Side and Tehran, Iran (DNAinfo)

LGBTQ history on Cooper Square and the Bowery (Off the Grid)

Demolition prep work for Essex Crossing (The Lo-Down)

Holiday shopping in the city 100 years ago (Ephemeral New York)

Vincent D’Onofrio's has a spoken word punk project (The AV Club)

Watch some rare Raymond Pettibon home movies (Dangerous Minds)

Goodbye De Robertis

[Photo from June 2012 by Gudrun Georges]

After 110 years at 176 First Ave., DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe will close its doors for good this afternoon at 3.

The economy, age and health concerns reportedly weighed on their De Robertis family's decision to sell the building.

Meanwhile, leading up to today, there have been a number of tributes to the bakery.

It Was Her New York has a 2-part series ... here and here.

The Daily Beast stops by too.

It is one of those city relics New Yorkers gush about without ever darkening its door — or only go when they learn it’s shutting down. “I’ve passed this place a thousand times but never came in,” says Ranesh, who grew up in Staten Island and has lived in Park Slope for 20 years. “You take it for granted and think it will always be here.”

[Photo from June 2012 by Gudrun Georges]

Previously on EV Grieve:
174-176 First Ave. is in contract

[Updated] 110-year-old DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe looks to be closing once the building is sold

174-176 First Ave., home of DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe, is for sale

Let's take a look at the DeRobertis in-house bakery

Ugh: The 110-year-old DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe closes after Dec. 5 (43 comments)

What was that?

We went to bed early… and woke up to a whole lot of emails/tweets about an explosion/boom last night after 11 that most everyone from Avenue D to Third Avenue seemed to hear… at this point, we haven't heard any plausible explanations.

And we have power. And not the first time there have been unexplained booms/explosions/jet landings.

Updated 10:04 a.m.

An EVG Facebook friend points us to this Newsweek article ... which notes: "Protesters on Twitter claimed police deployed LRAD 'sound cannons' to control crowds" during last night's Eric Garner rallies.

176 E. 3rd St. changes hands for the 3rd time in 7 years

[Via Stone Street Properties]

Catching up to some news from last week. A package of buildings dubbed "The East Side Elevator Portfolio" has sold for a reported $126.3 million.

The portfolio features four Upper East Side properties as well as 176 E. Third St., a 48-unit building between Avenue A and Avenue B. According to the Commercial Observer, investors Nader and Lisa Shalom bought the East Third Street building. The asking price had been $38.5 million.

The Shaloms become the third landlord in seven years here. Icon Realty paid $14 million for No. 176 in August 2007, according to public records. Accusations of harassment and buyout offers followed in the year ahead. Here's a passage on the situation from an article in the Post from September 2008:

“They want to buy people out and renovate the apartment, and then they want to flip the building,” said Heather Gradowski, who pays less than $700 a month for her one-bedroom apartment.

Icon flipped the building a few years later. You can read a little more about the building's recent history in the link below.

There's no word on what No. 176 fetched this time around.

Previously on EV Grieve:
176 E. Third St. hits the market for $38.5 million

More about the End of Avenue A Block Association

[Photo via RyanAvenueA]

Earlier in the week, we noted the arrival of a newly formed (and apocalyptically named) End of Avenue A Block Association.

At the time we thought this was the work of residents. Turns out it is a group of bar/restaurant owners on the block between East Second Street and East Houston.

Jaime Felber, an owner of Boulton & Watt, offered some background via email.

"I approached all the bars on our block to join us, and was happy that Yerba Buena, 2A, the Library and Ella chose to join in," Felber said. "While this was set up by the managers and owners of the bars on our block, we obviously welcome the inclusion of anyone within our community."

There was a small turnout for the meeting. (He said that Boulton & Watt had flyers promoting the meeting up in their windows in recent weeks. He promised to share meeting info with EVG in advance of the next meeting.)

"A few issues regarding sidewalk congestion, noise and consideration of garbage were brought to our attention, and we worked out a basic course of action to hopefully mitigate these problems as best we can."

Felber said that he and one of his Boulton & Watt partners within a few blocks of here.

"So we consider ourselves part of the neighborhood as residents as much as bar operators, and look forward to further conversations." (Residents can use this email for any correspondence with the group.)

Oh, and how about the name — the End of Avenue A Block Association?

"The rather ominous-sounding name we chose for our block association was also pointed out at [the] meeting," Felber said. "Of course we didn't have that intention, but now it's out there, it seems almost a shame to change it."

Checking in on Checkers

As we noted back in late August, a Checkers is opening at 225 First Ave. between East 13th Street and East 14th Street … they've been collecting résumés the past few weeks…



… and the logo for the burger chain is now up inside…



No word on an opening date. Higher rents forced the previous longtime tenant, Gabay's Outlet, to leave the storefront for a new home at 195 Avenue A last summer.

Union Square tonight

Thousands of protestors have taken to NYC streets again tonight to protest yesterday's grand jury decision not to indict the NYPD officer involved in the Eric Garner chokehold case.

A march to 1 Police Plaza started at 5 p.m. from Union Square.

Photos by James and Karla Murray.

Meanwhile...

@ChristRobbins at Gothamist is among the many reporters providing live updates.

Among many tweets…

#EricGarner protests continue in force. Follow @joejackson, @bkesling, @ZushaElinson on streets coast to coast. http://t.co/Xxg8YtMuS2

— Pervaiz Shallwani (@Pervaizistan) December 5, 2014

And the livestream…

NYPD arrives full force ahead of tonight's Eric Garner rally on Union Square

The NYPD arrived en masse this afternoon along Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue (where they have been camped out the past 10 or so days) between East 10th Street and East 14th Street...













Another night of protests are expected around the city in the wake of yesterday's grand jury decision not to indict the NYPD officer involved in the Eric Garner chokehold case.

One rally begins at the north side of Union Square at 5 ... with a march down to 1 Police Plaza.

Photos via EVG reader Robert F.

A new (old) awning arrives at the Holiday

This morning, workers installed a new awning outside the former Holiday Cocktail Lounge at 75 St. Mark's Place.

And it's an exact replica of the previous awning...



Back in July, some dude on a skateboard came by and slashed the name off of it.

The new awning is the next step for the new venture here. As previously reported, Barbara Sibley, the owner of La Palapa next door, will help run a tavern-restaurant in this space.

First, though — the building had to undergo a top-to-bottom renovation. And it has taken awhile. Sibley has firsthand experience — she lives in the building. She talked to us about it back in January.

The building was in terrible condition ... It’s been such an exercise in zen and archaeology. As much as we’ve been trying to maintain it, you couldn’t keep everything. We were lucky on their closing night that we didn’t all fall through. Every time we look behind a wall it’s been a major repair. It’s been an endless process.

The Holiday 2.0 closed Jan. 28, 2012.

No word yet on an opening date... but the new place will go by the name the Holiday.

Tough times for desserts on 2nd Avenue

Several readers noted that the Red Mango on Second Avenue just below East Fourth Street had been closed in recent weeks. Winter hiatus?

The ownership confirmed to us that this location has permanently closed.

Red Mango just opened here in February, which may not have been the best time to open a FroYo shop…

A Red Mango also came and went pretty quickly on St. Mark's Place back in 2008.

Meanwhile, directly next door, Gelato Ti Amo, which was part of an international Tuscany-based chain, has also permanently closed. Workers were cleaning out the 2-year-old space last night.



Perhaps there are enough dessert choices in the neighborhood?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Uh-huh: Red Mango returning to the East Village (19 comments)

Movement underway to reoccupy the Yippie Museum

Several EVG Facebook friends shared this campaign with us... Yippie activist Dana Beal has launched a crowdfunding effort to take back the group's longtime home at 9 Bleecker St.

Here's some of the info via GoFundMe:

For over four decades, #9 Bleecker Street has been the headquarters of American and even international counterculture. It is the official home of the Yippies, (Youth International Party) a group of late 60's activist pranksters initiated by the legendary Abbie Hoffman working to create positive social change by mocking and subverting the establishment.

In 2006, the space was converted into The Yippie! Museum and Cafe. a space devoted to preserving the history of American activism and providing a location where young activists can mobilize – such as the Occupy Wall Street movement who used it to stage meetings and hold fundraisers.

In late 2013, the Yippie! Museum was snatched away by unscrupulous real estate developers who specialize in gentrification. They used deceptive and outright illegal tactics to take possession of the space and shut it down, robbing the national activist community and the world of a vital one-of-a-kind resource and historic location.

We are asking for ALL who read this message to join our crusade to Re-Occupy The Yippie! Museum by making a donation!

As of last night, there were two donations for $38 ... with a $50,000 goal. The money would go to pay "legal bills, maintain the museum's objets d' art, artifacts and documents — including irreplaceable Yippie! archives."

The three-story brick building at No. 9 has been the centerpiece in a long-running foreclosure battle. (Read this story in the Times from January for all the legal wrangling.)

As the Times reported in June 2013, Steven L. Einig, a lawyer for Centech, which holds the building's mortgage, "stated that Yippie Holdings, which bought Number 9 along with a nonprofit called the National AIDS Brigade, had failed for more than five years to make payments on the $1.4 million mortgage."

For their part, a lawyer for Yippie Holdings, said that the group was "compelled into foreclosure with payments being rejected" by Centech as part of a scheme or plan to take over the building.

The Yippies had to be out this past Jan. 17 for new tenants while the fight continued about No. 9's ownership.

The new tenant, Overthrow, named for one of the countercultural newspapers that the Yippies published here, is a boxing gym/training facility/party spot.

In an interview published Nov. 18 at Bedford + Bowery, Beal said, "We’re still fighting the case. We're trying to get a group of people together to pay off a foreclosure, and then we'll have the building – we’ll have the title. And then I'll be renting to [Overthrow]."

Beal also said that he was glad that the space was being rented to some "Yippie-flavored people" who appreciate No. 9's counterculture history.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Yippie Museum Cafe is in financial trouble

The Yippie Museum Cafe will reopen next Wednesday

A bad sign at the Yippie Museum

Last day for the Yippies at No. 9 — for now

Fights of a different kind coming to 9 Bleecker St., longtime home of the Yippies

About Overthrow NYC, the boxing gym coming to the former home of the Yippies at 9 Bleecker St.

Report: Debris falls from long-vacant 6 Avenue B, breaking the foot of a passerby

On Tuesday evening, debris from atop the corner building on Avenue B at East Houston fell, apparently breaking the foot of a 57-year-old man passing by on the sidewalk, the Lo-Down reported.

The FDNY promptly ordered a structural stability inspection and logged a complaint with the Department of Buildings.

As for the rest of the building here at 6 Avenue B, the liquor store has been closed since the owner passed away in the fall of 2009.

And as previously noted, this is one of the abandoned buildings owned by the mysterious team of Arthur and Abraham Blasof, now both deceased.

BoweryBoogie has some photos from the scene here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cleaning out the long-closed liquor store on Avenue B and East Houston

Is something finally happening to the long-vacant, mysterious 6 Avenue B?