Johnny Favorite's now serving slices (and sorbet) on East 4th Street

Johnny Favorite's made its debut last Thursday at 240 E. Fourth St., just west of Avenue B.

The pizzeria is connected to Lovecraft, the bar-restaurant that opened last August at 50 Avenue B.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by to take a look…


[Pizzeria manager Jason]


[Lovecraft door man and menu guy Kadim]

A regular slice starts at $2, with the Ultimate slice (homemade tomato sauce, pepperoni, smoked bacon, sweet Italian sausage and mozzarella) going for $4 ...



Other item include calzones, specialty rolls and garlic knots…





Local school kids receive a free scoop of ice cream or sorbet with the purchase of a slice.

You can find the pizzeria's website here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Enter into a Lovecraftian atmosphere at Lovecraft Bar on Avenue B

The going rate to buy up an LES corner for a new development (spoiler: $75 million)

[EVG photo from March]

Not exactly hot off the presses... however, in case you missed this... On Monday, The Real Deal reported that Ben Shaoul and Real Estate Equities, a Midtown-based firm, paid $75 million for the one-level group of properties next to Katz's on East Houston and Orchard Street.

The $75 million ($5 million less than the asking price of Shaoul's Bloom62!) went to buy four properties from two different owners and the air rights over Katz's (who will remain in place).

As previously noted, coming soon some day: a 10-story building with 83 residential units spread out over 95,000-square feet... plus 13,500 square feet of ground-floor retail.



The Commercial Observer had more on the deal yesterday, noting, among other things, that Shaoul has not yet decided if the building will hold rental units or condominiums. Shaoul said that the project will work either way.

BoweryBoogie, who first reported last year that Shaoul was behind the new project, has more details here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Katz's is now the last business on East Houston between Ludlow and Orchard

Noted

Someone left behind a giant Brooklyn pencil in the ballfields/lot in Tompkins Square Park, EVG regular William Klayer reports…

Any explanations?

White roses remain at the site of the deadly 2nd Avenue explosion

Work appears to be done for the moment now on the empty lot that was previously home to 119 Second Ave. (aka 45 E. Seventh St.), 121 Second Ave. and 123 Second Ave.

As we're told, workers at the scene victim Nicholas Figueroa's family left behind this small monument with white roses.

Figueroa and Moises Ismael Locón Yac died in the explosion on March 26 that injured more than 20 people and left dozens of residents homeless.

Photo by Raquel Shapira

--

Here's another photo … courtesy of Ted Barron…

Tuome reopens tonight on East 5th Street

A small kitchen fire on March 29 temporarily put Tuome out of commission at 536 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

And now after a closure these past few weeks for repairs, the well-regarded restaurant reopens for service tonight at 6 (with some new Spring menu items too).

In a statement sent to us, owner-chef Thomas Chen said, "We are so excited to welcome everyone back to Tuome tonight, and feel so thankful for all the support we've received over these past few weeks."

Sidewalk reopens on 7th Street at 2nd Avenue

Jimmy's No. 43 proprietor Jimmy Carbone let us know that the new sidewalk is now open on the north side of Seventh Street at Second Avenue... this section of sidewalk had been boarded up since the deadly explosion and fire on March 26. (The sidewalk in front of where 119-123 Second Ave. stood remains closed.)

Seventh Street west of Second Avenue reopened to traffic last Friday.

Updated 5:56 p.m.

The sidewalk in front of where 119-123 Second Ave. stood is now open again…

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: Mildred Guy
Occupation: Paraprofessional, The Neighborhood School
Location: 3rd Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.
Time: 3 pm on Tuesday, April 14.

I was born in Puerto Rico, and came here when I was 7 years old. That was over 54 years ago. Until March 26, I had been living in the same apartment on 45 E. Seventh St. [at Second Avenue] for 45 years. I was recalling the other day when we moved there. We were moving into a nice big apartment. We had seven rooms. We were happy. Before we were all cramped into a railroad apartment that had the tub in the kitchen and the bathroom in the hallway. The tub was right next to the sink. I said, ‘Oh my goodness, what were they thinking?’ Now we didn’t have to run to the hallway.

We came from a smaller apartment and we just went crazy running from room to room. There was a lot of space and deciding who was going to have what room. Until this day, the rooms have names. This was Jenny’s room and Gilda’s room and then it changes to Hill’s room and Lewis’ room. Whoever occupied that room for a length of time, it was their room and they had their name on it.

I had four sisters and two brothers. We all lived there on 7th Street. It was a big, close-knit family. In my apartment we had all the family activities. My sisters used to come from wherever they worked. My mother was holding court. She wanted everybody to come and we used to always fix the food and cook and were all either in the kitchen or in the living room reminiscing.

I remember when my niece was born. Her mother brought her home from New Jersey and we all got together and there was a picture that had all these different generations together — the little ones in the front, the older cousins in the middle, my mom is right in the middle sitting on the sofa, and my sisters are all surrounding her. That’s how it was. We always came for Mother’s Day, Christmas Eve, Easter. We were always there.

When we first moved in back in 1970, there were a lot of artists and authors. It was pretty quiet, quite different from what it’s been in the last few years. [Recently] we had a lot of young people who would come in, rent the apartment to NYU students, in-and-out because they don’t stay there too long. There were people in one apartment who were just party animals. The party was just going on and they said, ‘That’s why you live in the East Village, so you can party.’ I said, ‘I don’t know where you came from, but this is not the building to be partying.’

I work as a paraprofessional — one-on-one mostly. I have been one-on-one since day one. I used to volunteer in my son’s school, PS 19 and I was there from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. And then somebody said, ‘Why don’t you go apply for a job with the Board of Education, you’re here volunteering and going on the trips and doing all that stuff.’ There was going to be an opening as an office aid. They said, ‘You know Spanish, you have some college, why don’t you apply for a paraprofessional’ and that’s what I did. Then I got a call from the Neighborhood School and I’ve been here ever since. I’ve been doing that for the past 23 years.

I remember the first time I went camping with the school. Oh man, it rained all three days. We were in platform tents and it rained for three days. They took pity on us and they said, ‘OK, we’ll come and dry some of your clothes.’ We did all the activities in the rain. I said, ‘Oh my goodness, this is my initiation’ and it was great. I have gone camping every year ever since. It was wonderful, seeing the kids all working together, doing the activities, helping each other. I love working with the children. It’s always a learning experience.

My son and his wife relocated three weeks prior to the fire [on March 26]. We all lived together. And he said, ‘Mom I don’t know how you’re keeping it together. I’m so mad and upset.’ I said, ‘You’re able to be mad and upset, and I’m able to hear you be mad and upset, and that’s the blessing that we have.’

People say, ‘How do you keep it together?’ I say, ‘I am so grateful and blessed that my son, my grandson and my daughter-in-law had relocated. My son would have been there in that apartment with the baby. If I had not had a staff meeting… I said, ‘I don’t want to hear anyone griping about staff meetings because I’m here to come in because I was in a staff meeting.’ I feel grateful and very blessed that my family is OK and I’m OK. Everybody has been so supportive — the Neighborhood School family, the staff, the colleagues. On that day, everybody was saying, ‘You want to stay here? You want to stay there?’

The people from my church, Church of the Nativity, have also been so helpful. They’re planning to close, The archdiocese gave us until November. They want us to unite with another church. [They say] there’s too many Catholic churches here, low attendance, and not enough priests. We have a website, Keep Nativity Open. We’ve been trying to have a lot of activities and showcase what we do. We’re a very small, poor community, and the community has changed because the neighborhood has changed. People cannot afford to live in this neighborhood anymore, so they move away. At the beginning, they come and still attend, but then they find their own parishes and churches nearby.

I have volunteered there for over 20 years. I used to run a summer program called HAP for the low income and families for the kids to have something for the summer for six weeks. I am very involved and I think that is what has helped me. When I came back two days before the spring break they said, ‘What are you doing here? I said, ‘I need a routine. I need to be kept busy. I need something else in my mind.’ I was very happy to come.

I love this neighborhood. Everything is so accessible and I love to walk. I went to see a studio from Cooper Square. Oh my goodness, oh my goodness — I cannot describe it. I was suffocating in the hall just to get to the apartment. It was so narrow. But I said, I will take anything and I am going to take the studio for the very simple reason that I’ve been living for the last few days in the Y on 47th Street. I want a place of my own and [for my family to come back to]. That’s what I want, but for now all I want is to know where I’m going to sleep every night and to be able to make my coffee and my oatmeal, which I miss.

I feel blessed and thankful and I want a roof over my head. I want my home replaced that I lived in for 45 years even if it’s not going to be quite the same.

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

What lies beneath the Moishe's sign

Workers continue to repair the facade at Moishe's Bake Shop, 115 Second Ave.

A crew removed the sign late Friday night/early Saturday here near East Seventh Street.

Owner Moishe Perlmutter told WPIX that the sign sustained damage following the deadly gas explosion on March 26. (The sign seemed rather battered before then.)



"We got a violation last week that it’s shaking. We have to take it off and fix it," Perl told the station.

Meanwhile, Matt Rosen shared this photo... workers uncovered some stained glass underneath the facade...



We're unsure how old this glass is. Here's a shot of Moishe's from 1980 via EVG contributor Michael Sean Edwards...



According to the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District Designation Report (PDF!), the Greek Revival building (with Queen Anne style alterations) dates to 1842-43 as a one-family row house. The storefront was likely added in 1908. Moishe's has been here since 1972. (Check out Off the Grid for more history of the building.)

And as we understand it, the sign will be repaired and returned to the storefront.

Previously on EV Grieve:
After midnight, workers remove the Moishe's Bake Shop sign (18 comments)

More about Babu Ji, opening next month on Avenue B

The transformation of 175 Avenue B at East 11th Street continues.

As we noted at the beginning of the month, an Indian restaurant called Babu Ji is in the works.

The wife-husband team of Jennifer and Jessi Singh, currently based in Melbourne, Australia, will be opening their first U.S. restaurant here next month.

Melbourne-based online publication Broadsheet spoke with the couple for an article published yesterday:

“We’ve loved bringing an elevated level of Indian dining to our guests in Melbourne,” says Jennifer. “But coming back to my hometown (of NYC) has been a long-time dream of ours.”

So, Babu Ji NYC was born. Like the Melbourne restaurants, the New York outpost will offer modern Indian classics as well as Indian street food created by Punjab-born Jessi.

Melbourne favourites such as papdi chaat, India’s take on nachos – with mini pappadums and chickpeas topped with salsa, slaw and pomegranate – will feature on the menu in New York. House-made kulfi Indian ice cream made with cardamom, honey and pistachio will also make an appearance.

“We’ve always been baffled by the state of Indian dining in some of the world's greatest cities, like New York. Although there are some great Indian restaurants at the low and the fine-dining end of the spectrum, there is a void in the middle,” says Jennifer.

Italian specialists Spina quietly closed here late last month after six years on the block.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Spina's Italian fare exits Avenue B; Indian food on the way

5 weeks in, Long Bay closes for now

After a promising start, Long Bay, the reasonably priced Vietnamese restaurant that opened March 12 at 503 E. Sixth St. just east of Avenue A, has closed.

Long Bay has been dark all this week. Bill the Libertarian Anarchist spoke with a manager, who said that they might be closed permanently — one of the owners wants to sell his piece to the other … and apparently there's some kind of disagreement.

SenYa now open on 1st Avenue

The Japanese restaurant opened Monday at 109 First Ave. between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street.

Per SenYa's Facebook page:

SenYa is committed to provide the highest standards of Japanese Food Dining. We prepare our meals freshly and with the finest ingredients of the season.

We don't know anyone who has eaten here just yet. (There are two enthusiastic 5-star reviews on Yelp.) Please let us know if you do try it.

The small space was previously home to Ginger, whose owners decided to sell the business for family reasons.

A Christodora House flyby

Anton van Dalen's pigeons out for a spin this afternoon... Photo by Grant Shaffer

A sign that 2nd Avenue is trying to get back to normal

Photo on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place today by Peter Shapiro...

EV Grieve Etc.: Appointing new CB3 members; fighting on 3rd Avenue

[The view downtown early this morning by Bobby Williams]

Here are the new CB3 members (The Lo-Down)

Petition surfaces to oppose CB3 reinstatement of Ariel Palitz (BoweryBoogie)

The East Village resident who builds tree houses for a living (Daily News)

The budget-friendly sandwiches of Schnitz on First Avenue (Fork in the Road)

Check out "East Side Stories: Real Estate" at the Metropolitan Playhouse on East Fourth Street (Metropolitan Playhouse)

A message for Icon Realty on East Ninth Street (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York, previously)

Tenant Coalition files four lawsuits against LES landlord for harassment (DNAinfo)

Two major cinema chains want to serve alcohol in NYC theaters (Eater)

... and a reader shared this video with us...



The description via YouTube:

April 18, 2015, 1:58am, St. Marks Place in the East Village, NYC. No idea, two men get involved in an altercation, an unmarked police car pulls over, but the plainclothes cops decide this dispute is not worth the time. The block where this dispute took place is located on the east side of Third Ave, between st. Marks place, and E. 9th St.

The Wall Street Journal on the ongoing issues at Icon Realty's 128 2nd Ave.

The Wall Street Journal checks in today with a piece on 128 Second Ave., the troubled building between East Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place owned by Icon Realty.

A few excerpts from the article by Rebecca Davis O'Brien:

Since the explosion, 128 Second Ave. has accrued 87 violations with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, along with two additional violations and a stop-work order from the Department of Buildings, according to city records. The building has been without heat, hot water, or cooking gas for three weeks.

Residents of 128 Second Ave. say Icon has neglected the building, bullied rent-stabilized tenants and hired unqualified workers to do construction without permits. Icon denies the claims.

In court last Tuesday, Manhattan Housing Court Judge Cheryl Gonzales expressed impatience with Icon’s lawyer, who asked for 45 days and a “right of extension” to repair the boiler, citing aging infrastructure, warmer weather and lengthy waits for permits.

“People have to take showers every day,” Judge Gonzales said. “Make it work.”

Judge Gonzales also showed concern about the building’s 89 open violations with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development violations, including 58 the department considered “immediately hazardous” and must be fixed within 24 hours. The bulk of the violations relate to gas and deteriorated external fire escapes.

According to the article, the tenants and Icon and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development signed a consent decree: "fully restored gas and repaired fire escapes in 45 days, hot water within 24 hours, electric space heaters, and three days’ notice before any repairs in apartments. As of Monday afternoon, residents said they still had no hot water."

The article does not include any updated information on the Stage, which Icon recently served an eviction notice.

You can find the whole article here (subscription required)

Previously on EV Grieve:
The possibility that the Stage won't reopen on 2nd Avenue

City serves stop work order on Icon Realty-owned building for installing gas pipe without permit across from deadly 2nd Avenue blast zone (48 comments)

Petition to help reopen the Stage

Tenants at 128 2nd Ave. file suit against Icon Realty in housing court

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

[Updated] Report: Icon Realty serves the Stage an eviction notice

Stage owner Roman Diakun responds to allegations of illegally siphoning gas

Petition to help reopen the Stage

Ben Ari Arts is a shell of its former self on Avenue A

Been some time since we checked in on the former religious articles store at 11 Avenue A between East First Street and East Second Street… Ben Art Arts, which had been at this location since 1960 (opened on Allen Street in 1945) closed at the end of 2013.

Workers have gutted the space ahead of a residential conversion (with retail on the ground floor) …





We haven't spotted much activity here of late. There are DOB permits pending for a six-unit residential building with an additional floor. (The DOB last disapproved the plans in January.)

As BuzzBuzzHome first reported back in January 2014, the developer is Abraham Soudry's Better Living Properties and Robert Strong Architect is designing the conversion. (Soudry reportedly pleaded guilty in 2010 to bribing an undercover investigator who was posing as a building inspector.)

Ben Ari Arts owner Yakov Melmed, who started helping his father sell an array of menorahs, ceremonial wine cups and prayer shawls at the store in 1973, made the decision leave the neighborhood. He sold the building for $3.4 million.

And as far as we know, this was the last of the Judaica shops in the Lower East Side.

NatureEs calls: About the organic cafe coming to where Mars Bar 2.0 was in the works

The other day we were admiring the new numbers at 21 E. First St. …



… and wondering when there might be some news about the incoming business — some kind of a two-level cafe-restaurant-lounge-acai-bowl-dispensary combo.

And just like that BoweryBoogie got the scoop on the juice bar part of the space — an organic cafe called NatureEs, serving organic, all-natural, fresh, etc. items …

The NatureEs website offers some rather generic branding for the new venture…



And what of the bar-club portion? Per BB:

Even though the crew still carries a full-blown liquor license, the cellar club isn’t happening. At least not yet. Instead of libations, this space is designated as an in-house spa of sorts. Patrons can take advantage of massages and facials, so we’re told.

A Boogie birdie tells us that Naturees is two weeks from opening...

NatureEs is located in Jupiter 21, the residential building that rose from the grave of the Mars Bar and several other businesses here between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

CB3 OK'd the new liquor license here last May. During that meeting, Mars Bar attorney Frank Palillo said that the new venue will be "a variation of Mars Bar" but will keep the same name, DNAinfo reported at the time. Former Mars Bar owner Hank Penza has a stake in the rebooted business.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will the new Mars Bar be another location of The Pink Elephant?

Work starting on Mars Bar 2.0

That's it: The Mars Bar is closed for good

A quick check on the incoming Black Seed bagels on 1st Avenue

[Via the Black Seed website]

We read over at Grub Street yesterday that Black Seed bagels on Elizabeth Street is celebrating its one-year anniversary this week.

Meanwhile, as you probably know, the Black Seed owners are opening a bagel shop/cafe in the former DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe at 176 First Ave. near East 11th Street.

Here's a look inside the under-renovation space from Friday…


[Photo by Ali Smith]

The 110-year-old DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe closed this past Dec. 5 after 110 years in business. Black Seed owners Noah Bernamoff and Matt Kliegman have said that they will keep as much of the original architectural elements intact as they can.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Black Seed bringing bagels to the former DeRobertis space on 1st Avenue (43 comments)

A last look at DeRobertis before its conversion to Black Seed bagels

Starting work to bring Black Seed bagels to the former DeRobertis space on 1st Avenue

Let's just keep talking about bagels on 1st Avenue

[Ess-A-Bagel photo from March 22]

Here's a follow-up to our previous Ess-A-Bagel/Tal Bagels post from March 30...

Ess-A-Bagel closed up their home of nearly 40 years on March 20 at First Avenue and East 21st Street.

There is now a coming soon sign up for Tal Bagels at the former home of Rose, a chicken restaurant, adjacent to Ess-A-Bagel...



... as well as in the former Ess-A-Bagel space...



There was also a Tal Bagels sign up a few storefronts to the north at 365 First Ave. ... next door to where the new Ess-A-Bagels MAY open...


[Photo from March 28]

To make this even more confusing... the Tal Bagels sign is no longer up on the plywood.



Thankfully the Town & Village Blog has it all sorted out for us from a post on Friday...

Tal Bagels, which has three other locations in NYC, will be opening in part of the old Ess-A-Bagel space (along with 350 square feet for a Bank of America branch).

And what about No. 365? To Town & Village:

Tal will be opening a shop/restaurant for smoked fish, similar in style to downtown institution Russ & Daughters. That business will go into the space at the former Beehives & Buzzcuts at 365 First Avenue, which has about 2,000 square feet... It may not be called Tal and there is not yet a planned opening date.

“It’ll be fish and salads, European smoked fish like herring,” said [Tal partner Mohammed] Kamal. He explained that in just the bagel shop space, there wouldn’t have been enough room for bagels as well as “the full line” of fish.

No word yet on a new home for Ess-A-Bagel.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Report: Landlord forcing Ess-a-Bagel from its longtime home (46 comments)

1 week left for Ess-A-Bagel at its current 1st Avenue location

[Updated] Ess-A-Bagel has closed for now on 1st Avenue

Tal Bagels opening soon next to possible new home of Ess-A-Bagel

Fog bound

Tompkins Square Park tonight...



Photos by EVG contributor Michael Sean Edwards ...

First look at Pancake Paradise on Avenue C

Crews have transformed Esperanto on Avenue C and East Ninth Street into the Pancake Paradise for a film shoot (the tipster who sent along these shots didn't catch the name of the project) …



As the sign shows, Esperanto will be back in service Wednesday evening…

Updated: A readers says the shoot is for "How to Be Single" starring Dakota Johnson.

April 19

Someone yesterday along East 14th Street decided that it was time to toss the xmas tree and the hammock. Two unwanted seasonal items taken care of at one time.

Spotted by James and Karla Murray.

Report: 190 Bowery's new tenant will keep things the way they are, graffiti included

[Via Wikipedia Commons]

Apparently the happy new tenant of 190 Bowery — the former Germania Bank here at Spring Street — "will keep all of the building’s historic touches from its marble wash basins to the graffiti covering the lower part of the facade," The Wall Street Journal reports today. (Subscription required for article.)

Per the Journal:

A company made up of agencies representing creative professionals in the industry of luxury and fashion image-making has signed an 11-year lease for almost 30,000 square feet of office space on floors two through six at 190 Bowery.

“We’re a very visual company and all the employees are very visual people,” said Matthew Moneypenny, the chief executive of the yet-to-be-named limited liability company that includes agencies such as image-licensing firm Trunk Archive as well as CLM and Streeters, which represent photographers, hair and makeup artists and set designers. “Companies like ours tend to thrive in places that have a soul and a history.”

Photographer Jay Maisel bought 190 Bowery in 1966 for $102,000. He recently sold it for a reported $55 million.

As for the current state of the building's exterior, we haven't walked by in awhile. How much graffiti and what not is left?

From September 2014...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Take a last look inside the mysterious 190 Bowery

Rumor: Tompkins Square Bagels possibly opening a 2nd East Village location on 2nd Avenue

[EVG photo from January]

Open Pantry, the 45-year-old coffee shop/grocery at 184 Second Ave., closed for good at the end of January. The proprietors, who also own the building here between East 11th Street and East 12th Street, have had the storefront on the rental market these past few months.

Now comes word, via the rumor mill, that Tompkins Square Bagels is looking to open a second East Village shop at this location.

We'll update when/if we hear back from TSB owner Christopher Pugliese.

Tompkins Square Bagels opened on Avenue A near East 10th Street in December 2011.

Previously on EV Grieve:
After 40-plus years, Open Pantry looks to be closing on 2nd Avenue

T-swirl crêpes for where Subway's 6-inch subs once roamed

A T-swirl crêpe shop is opening in June at 247 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue … inside the recently shuttered Subway (sandwich shop).

This will be the second location for the Flushing-based business, who is also opening a shop in Philadelphia this summer.

Here's their description: "T-swirl crêpe makes Japanese style sweet and salad crêpes by hand using our secret recipes and tasty fillings



And the signage displays some of T-swirl's combos…





Thanks to EVG regular Pinch for the tip!

2nd and 2nd coming up Rosie's

The transformation of the former Boukiés space on Second Avenue and East Second Street continues... with the signage for the former Greek restaurant coming down late last week... most of it anyway...



As previously noted, the folks who own Cookshop, Hundred Acres and Five Points are converting the corner space into Rosie's, a Mexican restaurant. Here's a quick preview from New York magazine:

Rosie's "plans to showcase traditional dishes, from tacos to Veracruz-style whole roasted fish. At a 12-seat comal bar, cooks will fashion masa-based snacks, or antojitos, from corn dough made in-house."

Not sure on an opening date... this is how the place is shaping up on the inside...



The well-liked Boukiés closed in March 2014 after a two-year run.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Boukiés has 'permanently closed' on Second Avenue

For sale: Everything must go at the former Boukiés space on 2nd Avenue