4 St. Mark's Place gets the plywood treatment

Workers finished putting up the plywood outside 4 St. Mark's Place on Friday...



Until this past February, the retail space was home to Trash & Vaudeville for 41 years. (The store is now at 96 E. Seventh St.)

The storefront is for rent via Eastern Consolidated. It appears that the space will be divided into two different storefronts, based on the listing...



Details per the listing:

Upper Retail: 2,600 Square Feet
Lower Retail: 2,600 Square Feet
Storage Space: 1,500 Square Feet

Asking Rent
Upper Retail: $160 PSF
Lower Retail: $135 PSF (including storage basement)

The listing notes that the landlord will deliver a fully renovated space. The only permit on file so far with the DOB is for the construction fence.

As for the landlord. The landmarked building (whose first owner in 1833 was Alexander Hamilton’s son) sold for $10 million in the spring. According to public records, the LLC that bought the property shares an address with Castellan Real Estate Partners/Liberty Place Property Management. (These landlords have been in the news in the past.)

The building, which includes four apartments here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, arrived on the market last fall for $11.9 million.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive: After 40 years, punk rock mainstay Trash and Vaudeville is leaving St. Mark's Place

4 St. Mark's Place is for sale

How you can be first to see the innovative beauty of a new line of Cadillacs

A film crew will be out today (until nightfall!) to shoot a TV commercial "featuring the innovative beauty of a new line of Cadillacs," per the posted signs. (Thank you Steven for the photo!)

Filming will occur on Stuyvesant Street, East Ninth Street and East 10th Street. The sign notes that their "working vehicles" will be parked on East 11th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

The new Cadillacs are probably pretty nice, but do they have a stuffed tiger inside?

Updated

EVG reader Daniel caught a little of the action on 10th Street... you can see the innovative beauty behind the totally awesome high-tech selfie Benz...

And a double rainbow to end the weekend

And Lenin approves atop Red Square... thanks an EVG reader for the photo this evening!

Updated 9:20 p.m.

And another view via James and Karla Murray...

Week in Grieview

[Avenue A last evening]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

22-year-old man gunned down outside the Lillian Wald Houses (Friday)

CB3 committee to hear more about Mount Sinai Beth Israel's future plans in the neighborhood (Thursday)

Joggers pull suicidal man from the East River (Wednesday)

At the 29th annual Loisaida Festival (Sunday)

Fake Uber driver robs woman after a night in the East Village (Wednesday)

Out and About with fifth-grader Ceasar Noel Soto (Wednesday)

So long to the Yaffa Cafe mural (Sunday)

Police looking for suspect who tackled woman and stole her purse on East 10th Street (Thursday)

New residential building on Eighth Street and Avenue D called THREE99OnEIGHTH; condos start at $685k (Friday)

Getting to know Raphael Toledano (Thursday)

Vegan doughnut shop coming to St. Mark's Place (Thursday)

Report of a fire at 500 E. 12th St. (Thursday)

Checking in on the Bea Arthur Residence (Wednesday)

What might become of this vacant lot on East 14th Street? (Wednesday)

Icon Realty announces public art project for the East Village (Friday)

Charlie Parker's neighbor is for sale on Avenue B for the first time in 50 years (Tuesday)

Building no longer receiving mail (Tuesday)

Plans to convert the haunted beauty 104 E. 10th St. into a single-family home with two extra floors (Thursday)

Lab -321 is now open on St. Mark's Place (Friday)

You may now report your annoying Airbnbers directly to Airbnb (Tuesday)

The stacked townhomes of 347 Bowery are now available for purchase (Friday)

...and several readers have noted the arrival late last week of these stickers in various sizes... like this one on Avenue A and Third Street...

Tree on St. Mark's Place finally bearing White Sox hats

Photo today by Steven...

Independence Day: Resurgence. Fireworks will return to the East River.

[2015]

Just in case you missed this from Friday afternoon... the city announced that the Macy's 4th of July fireworks will be back on the East River this, uh, July 4th.

A few particulars via DNAinfo's report:

The show — which will start at 9:25 p.m. on July 4 — will once again be shot off from four barges on the water located between 23rd and 37th streets in Midtown and another below the Brooklyn Bridge near South Street Seaport, officials said.

And!

This is the 40th year for the annual holiday show, which will last 25 minutes and feature more than 52,000 shells, according to organizers.

And now... relieve last year's fireworks via this drone footage...

Two choices. Without music...



...or with musical accompaniment …

Baby's day out

The hawklets in Tompkins Square Park have gotten so big... here's one of Christo and Dora's offspring stretching out today... Goggla has more on the kids and their fledge days ahead right here.

Photo by Bobby Williams

Weekend crane action with the 1st sign of Ben Shaoul's Orchard Street condoplex above ground

The crane crew has been set up on Orchard Street and East Houston ...and the steel beams are rising at Ben Shaoul's latest condoplex...

Look!



...and via the Blogger Portal...



As previously reported about 196 Orchard St., there will be 94 units — studios to three-bedroomers ... with pricing starting at just under $1 million and measuring from 555 square feet.

Shaoul's reps applied for a special permit through the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals to open a three-level Equinox (gym) in the retail space.

As BoweryBoogie noted this past week, the first floor of the proposed gym will include a reception area, lounge and juice bar with the second and third floors reserved for the usual gym stuff.

Shaoul's reps will appear before CB3's Land Use, Zoning, Public & Private Housing Committee on June 15 to discuss opening a "physical culture establishment" under the current zoning restrictions. Find more details (PDF) here.

Updated 6-5

An update on the work...



...hope the neighbors don't mind...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Making way for Ben Shaoul's new retail-residential complex on East Houston

Katz's is now the last business on East Houston between Ludlow and Orchard

Send a salami to your boy next door in the condo

Get Folked up in Tompkins Square Park this afternoon

Folk the Park VIII happens today in Tompkins Square Park... starting at noon... I haven't seen a list with set times just yet... (The Event page on Facebook mentions that David Peel and the Lower East Side Band are on at 4:30 p.m.)

Front pages for The Greatest

At Gem Spa this morning...

H/T Steven

Live mural painting on 12th and C today

From noon to 6 p.m. ... on the southwest corner of 12th Street and Avenue C...

Previously

A beautiful Mind

The Psychic Ills have a new record (Inner Journey Out) out today. We're looking forward to this one...

Meantime, here's a video for "Mind Daze" from 2011.

And the New York-based band will be at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on June 11 as part of the Northside Festival.

Lab -321 is now open on St. Mark's Place

[Photo by Steven]

The shop that specializes in liquid nitrogen ice cream is now in soft-open mode at 27 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... the space was previously the longtime home of the Sock Man.

And the folks of the popular -321 Ice Cream Shop in Brooklyn have let it be known that there are NOT affiliated with Lab 321...

Garbage cans spared from further Stomping

Workers were moving out some old props today at the Orpheum on Second Avenue... where "Stomp" is entering its 22nd season. (Auditions are happening June 13 — FYI.)

An arbitrator recently ruled that the dance/percussion show must stay in its longtime home here between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place after its producers tried to relocate to a playhouse uptown.

Photo by Steven

EV Grieve Etc.: Air rights explained; women film directors honored

[OldDoorsHenge debuts in Tompkins Square Park. By Derek Berg]

City Council considering big changes in how NYC approves landmarks (The New York Times)

Hawk babies ready to fledge in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography)

Rev Jen revives Anti-Slam open mic (BoweryBoogie)

This East Second Street rental with a private garage is just $15,950 a month (6sqft)

An explanation of air rights (Off the Grid)

"An insider’s guide to evicting rent-stabilized tenants" (The Real Deal)

A new mural for Extra Place (The Lo-Down)

Via the EVG inbox...

East Village-based artist Robert Galinsky has been going to Rikers Island and other area correctional facilities to help incarcerated teens via workshops on literature, creative writing and reading. He has launched an online auction to help advance the initiative — Literacy for Incarcerated Teens — and better assist teens in prison. Money raised from the auction will be put toward tools to facilitate the workshops and provide continuous resources such as guest artist talks, books and pencils. Several local shops, including Ninth Street Espresso, Roost, B Cup Cafe, Abraço and the East Village Vintage Collective have donated gifts for auction. You can find the auction details here.

Work by Ida Lupino, Kathryn Bigelow, Penelope Spheeris and Mary Harron, among others, featured in "Genre Is A Woman" series at the Film Forum (Official Website)

Kathryn Bigelow's vampire classic from 1987 plays tomorrow night at 7:15...



A moonlit Cooper Square under a starry sky around 1905 (Ephemeral New York)

A fired worker at Orchard Street's Spur Tree restaurant goes on a table-flipping rampage (DNAinfo)

An array of works by film essayist Thom Andersen (Anthology Film Archives)



And from the fine folks who run the Love Gang boutique at 436 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue...

On Saturday, June 4, from 12-8 pm Love Gang will be transformed to feature exclusives from Spanish clothing brand KLING while permanently operating as a store within a store. We’ll be treating guests to gift bags, cocktails and an array of fun and whimsical treats.

KLING SPAIN is a pop-iconic fashion brand born in downtown Madrid with a hearty dose of girlish, playful style that represents itself in an appealing amusing way. Kling's unique collections are full of Liberty-style dresses and cool shorts, including a vintage twist to the shirts, dresses, skirts, and sweaters. A mix up of sweet with street for girls who just want to have fun.

[Updated] Man gunned down outside the Lillian Wald Houses

Man, 22, shot to death in courtyard of Lillian Wald Houses https://t.co/sDpwvYIEkI pic.twitter.com/nDGBIfKeEX

— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) June 3, 2016

A 22-year-old man was found dead from gunshot wounds outside a courtyard of the Lillian Wald Houses on East Sixth Street between Avenue D and the FDR at 1:52 a.m., according to published reports.

According to the Daily News, "The victim was found with multiple shots to the gut."

No arrests have been made. The victim's name has not been released pending family notification.

Updated 10:45 a.m.

DNAinfo reports that the victim was known by the nickname "Coke Wave." Investigators believe this may have been a drug-related shooting, as the man was reportedly carrying crack cocaine.

Said one resident who lives near the crime scene: "I'm hearing gunshots two or three times a week out here. No matter how many times you hear them, it's still scary. Gunshots don't have no name. It's like these guys don't fear cops or nothing."

The victim's name was Michael Rodriguez.

Updated 6/21

DNAinfo reports that a man has been arrested for the murder of Rodriguez.

New residential building on 8th and D called THREE99OnEIGHTH; condos start at $685k

[EVG photo from May 1]

You can close the book on the long-empty plot of land at 397-401 E. Eighth St. There have been plans for the space near Avenue D going back 10-plus years.

Now the 9-story residential building that has been rising here is ready to launch sales...(turns out this is a condo building, not rental as we had originally heard).

The building's address is 399, which is why it now has the rather awkward name of THREE99OnEIGHTH.

Now here are details about the units via Citi Habitats:

Developed by 399 E8 Development LLC, residences at THREE99 are designed to a high standard. All apartments include oak hardwood floors, floor-to-ceiling windows and in-unit washer/dryers. Most apartments also come complete with private balconies or gardens.

The homes’ open kitchens feature solid-surface countertops, porcelain tile and Carrara marble backsplashes and a full suite of stainless steel appliances — including dishwasher. Baths at THREE99 come in a wide variety of contemporary finishes. All are complete with custom ceramic tile, soaking tubs and European-style vanities and fixtures.

THREE99 provides residents the latest in-demand amenities — including a state-of-the-art fitness center, billiards lounge, pet spa and virtual doorman system. The building also offers a refrigerated package receiving area, bike storage and individual storage rooms. Residents and their guests will enter the building via a grand lobby area with eye-catching chandelier and soothing ‘green wall.’ Great for entertaining, THREE99’s common roof deck is complete with lounge-style seating, lush green lawn areas and skyline views.

A one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit starts at $685,000 ... a two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit asks $960,000... the top home here is the three-bedroom, three-bathroom penthouse at $4.9 million.

And here are a few renderings of the model home...




[Balcony view]


[Roof deck view]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Meanwhile, before we christen Avenue D the next Greenpoint...

Stalled development site on Eighth Street and Avenue D asking $5.2 million

Long-stalled East 8th Street lot coming back as 9-story residential building — with penthouse

[The lot in February 2010]

Icon Realty announces public art project for the East Village

[Mural by Jerkface on the Icon-owned 402 E. 12th St.]

The Icon Realty Charm Offensive continues.

Icon previously announced that they had donated empty retail spaces for Celebrity Catwalk to hold adoption and fundraising events (Icon has been working with Celebrity Catwalk for the past four years) ... and hired a chief safety officer to oversee the construction and renovation work in Icon buildings.

Now Icon has unveiled plans for public art at several of its properties. Here's part of the release via the EVG inbox...

Icon Realty Management is working with local art galleries to create mural art on the sides of some of their buildings. Providing a public platform for artists to exhibit their works for New Yorkers to enjoy and contributing to the art community has been a continued endeavor that Icon has supported throughout the years.

Working with Dorian Grey Gallery in the East Village, Icon will have artists Penn and Lambros paint the side of their Mott Street building. Jeremy Penn is a NYC modern artist who has been exhibited and received honors from curators across museums. Penn uses mixed media to combine materials such as magazines, word plays and mirrors. Lambros is a NYC street artist focused on stencil art and graffiti illustrating recurring themes of power, lust and rebellion. Icon’s 307 Mott Street building has been a rotating art wall for the past four years with works by Jonathan Matas and most recently a mural by Mustart.

Icon is also working with artist Jerkface to paint 128 Second Ave. Jerkface is a NYC-based street artist and Queens native who is known for painting several nostalgia-inducing murals around the City.

“Public art is so important to the character of neighborhoods, especially in the East Village,” said Terrence Lowenberg, Principal at Icon. “As a lifelong New Yorker, art has always been a central part of our City. We are proud to do our part at Icon to continue that tradition. We look forward to doing even more in the future.”

In September 2014, Jerkface painted the faceless Charlie Brown mural on the side of the Icon-owned 402 E 12th St. Icon said that they also donated space on their walls to French street artist Invader, who installed his mosaics at 145 Avenue A, 130 Second Ave. and 133 E. Fourth St., among other buildings not owned by Icon.

Residents, tenant-rights organizations and local elected officials have accused Icon of aggressively displacing rent-regulated tenants with frivolous lawsuits and exposing them to hazardous health and safety threats.

The stacked townhomes of 347 Bowery are now available for purchase

Yesterday marked the first day of sales for 347 Bowery, the 13-story condoplex that replaced the Salvation Army's East Village Residence at East Third Street.

As Curbed noted, only one of the five residences is now available — a $7.5 million three-bedroom, three-bathroom unit.

Some details per Curbed:

The building will be home to just five expensive condos (four duplexes and the penthouse), starting at $6.5 million for the cheapest and going up to $17 million for the three-floor, tower-topping penthouse. True to form, each apartment will also have ultra-luxury finishes, including cabinetry designed by Selldorf Architects and "disappearing kitchens" outfitted in white oak and soapstone.

There will also be a private entry on 3rd Street through a "landscaped mews" lined with seasonal greenery, including magnolias and evergreen shrubs.

Disappearing kitchens! (I'd be happy with disappearing dirty dishes.)



The building will also feature several retail spaces.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Salvation Army's former East Village Residence will be demolished on the Bowery

Whatever happened to that really ugly hotel planned for the Bowery?

Looks like 347 Bowery will be home to a 13-floor mixed-use residential development

The future of 347 Bowery (sorta!) revealed

Let's take a look at 347 Bowery, now and in the future

Reaching the top at 347 Bowery

[EVG file photo]

Reports: Police looking for suspect who tackled woman and stole her purse on East 10th Street

The NYPD is searching for a suspect they say tackled and robbed a 21-year-old woman on East 10th Street near First Avenue just before 5 a.m. on May 7.

Per NBC 4:

Police said he tackled the woman to the ground inside of the building’s vestibule. He then ripped her purse out of her hands and took off down East 10th Street.

The woman found her purse a few blocks away.

The media reports do not mention the address of the robbery.

The ABC 7 report offered this about the suspect: The individual is described as a male Hispanic, 40 to 45 years old, 5'8", medium build; last seen wearing a red hooded sweater and blue jeans.

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

Report of a fire at 500 E. 12th St.

[Photo via @tropical_drank]

Firefighters responded to an early-morning fire on Avenue A and East 12th Street (500 E. 12th St. via @FDNYAlerts) ... the FDNY declared the top-floor fire under control after 20 minutes...

MAN ALL HANDS 500 E 12TH STREET, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE ON 5TH FLR, UNDER CONTROL

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) June 2, 2016

As this time we haven't heard any more details, such as injuries ...or cause of the fire.

The top-floor apartments appears to have been destroyed...


[Photo by Christine Champagne]

Updated 7 p.m.



There is a partial vacate order now on the front door...according to DOB records, the partial vacate is just for unit 12, where the fire started (readers and sources at the scene say that a cigarette that wasn't entirely extinguished started the blaze).

The DOB also says that other minor damages from smoke and water were observed in units 3,6,7,8 and 9.

Plans to convert the haunted beauty 104 E. 10th St. into a single-family home with 2 extra floors

[EVG photo from 2013]

The townhouse at 104 E. 10th St. between Third Avenue and Second Avenue has always intrigued me.

Perhaps the fascination started with this article from 1998 in The New York Times on the crumbling building that was serving as an SRO:

There is a certain house in the East Village that some neighbors believe is haunted. It is on 10th Street. The doors are peeling and the address "104" looks as though it was written in blood.

The lone tenant at the time was playwright, poet and performance artist Edgar Oliver. (Jeremiah Moss had a nice history on Oliver living here in 2011.)

"The house I do believe is haunted. Alas, it is only with memories." He recalled the wet nurse, Frances, who washed rags all day and was eventually carted out to the mental asylum a decade ago. There was "The Invisible Man," who was never heard or seen. The homicidal brothers who plotted to kill Mr. Oliver. Helen, his sister. And Old Man Milburne, the last tenant, who recently went to the old folks home.

In 2010, Curbed noted that "the place is so creepy, even the PropertyShark file photo shows a specter of some sort hanging out in one of the windows."


[Get out!]

The address, one of many properties owned by reclusive real-estate baron William Gottlieb, hit the market in March 2011 for $5.6 million... the listing disappeared then reemerged for $3.9 million. Per the original 2011 listing:

Built in 1879, this magnificent, sun-drenched residence is a restoration enthusiast's dream project.

The building offers an unparalleled opportunity to design the home you've always wanted. Its current features include four floors, eight fireplaces, skylight, original moldings, a quaint south-facing garden, an English basement with a separate street entrance, plus a basement below. With additional air rights, this building is primed for vertical expansion, offering opportunities for a roof deck, duplex unit, and more.

In November 2013, a for rent sign arrived noting that apartments were available ...



As far as I know, though, these units never hit the market.

And now: No. 104 recently received the plywood treatment...





Plans are on file with the DOB (still awaiting approval) to convert the building into a single-family home with two extra floors. According to public records, the owner is only listed as North Sydney LLC, which was incorporated in Westchester County. So at least some mystery remains with the address.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The charmingly shabby interiors of 104 E. 10th St

[An interior photo from 2012]

[Photo from 2012]

CB3 committee to hear more about Mount Sinai Beth Israel's future plans in the neighborhood

As you know, Mount Sinai Beth Israel officials announced last week that they are closing their 825-bed facility on First Avenue at East 16th Street in the next four years.

Mount Sinai Health System plans to replace the existing facility by opening a smaller hospital on 14th Street and Second Avenue.

Per The New York Times from last week:

The plan for the new Beth Israel building calls for breaking ground in 2017. Once that is completed, the existing building, at 16th Street and First Avenue, will be sold, with the proceeds helping to offset the costs of the change, hospital officials said.

The new building will have about 70 beds with an emergency department several blocks away, officials said. It will also include expanded outpatient facilities at three sites with more than 35 operating and procedure rooms and 16 physician practice locations to be used by over 600 doctors.

You'll have a chance to hear more about these future plans from hospital officials next Thursday, June 9, during a joint Community Board 3 committee meeting.

The 6:30 p.m. meeting is in the Thelma Burdick Community Room, 10 Stanton St. at the Bowery.

Previously

Vegan doughnut shop coming to St. Mark's Place

Over at 102 St. Mark's Place, crews have been renovating the former New York Macaroni Co. space, where the former sign remains.

Word here via EVG correspondent Steven is that a vegan doughnut shop is in the works for the address between Avenue A and First Avenue. The shop will just sell the doughnuts, which won't be baked here on the premises. Those are the only details we have at the moment.

New York Macaroni Co.'s 6-month run ended at the end of 2015. Before this, Puddin' never reopened after the city found them operating with an expired food service establishment permit in November 2014.

Getting to know Raphael Toledano

The Real Deal checks in with a profile on Raphael Toledano, the 26-year-old developer who has been buying up buildings around the East Village.

The feature delves into his controversial record, such as the eight lawsuits that he has been hit with since February 2014, and his heavy reliance on debt. (Per the article: "New York City multifamily deals are leveraged at an average 50 to 65 percent — Toledano’s deal, by comparison, comes out to 128 percent.")

The feature, not exactly an image softener, notes that Toledano made "frat-tastic boasts about his wealth."

“I’m worth a fuckload of money, bro,” he said.

The statement was all the more remarkable considering that just five years ago the New Jersey native was waiting tables.

In an industry known for colorful personalities, Toledano — who goes by the nickname “Rafi” — has emerged as an unlikely up-and-coming player in the city’s competitive multifamily market. Over the past nine months, he has become one of the East Village’s biggest landlords, after his investment firm, Brookhill Properties, agreed to buy 28 buildings in two separate portfolios from the Tabak family for a combined $140 million. He currently owns more than 400 units — counting only the buildings he’s already closed on.

Altogether, Toledano values his entire portfolio, the bulk of which are aging East Village walk-ups, at $500 million.

Toledano’s plan is to rehab the units, paving the way for destabilization and rent hikes. It’s a playbook move for multifamily investors. But listen to him talk, and he might as well be building on Billionaires’ Row.

“I consider myself the ultimate of developers because I’m taking a run-down, neglected building and developing it,” he said. “Gary Barnett has the easiest job — he gets vacant land, he gets an architect, a good contractor, and he builds up. For me, it’s not like that.”

The article notes that Toledano is also working to introduce a new line of shoes he designed in partnership with a Portugal-based shoemaker.

And while he has "recently sold a few buildings in Murray Hill and Gramercy Park for an undisclosed price, the core East Village assets, he said, he will keep "'for eternity.'"

Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Landlord of 444 E. 13th St. threatened 'to drop dynamite on the building'

Report: Residents at 444 E. 13th St. will receive a $1 million settlement over claims of harassment by Raphael Toledano

Report: State investigating East Village landlord Raphael Toledano

Health Department to inspect Raphael Toledano's East Village properties for toxic levels of lead dust

Exclusive 1st look at the new Firbimatic Eco-Green machine at Alice Dry Cleaners

Moving day today at Alice Dry Cleaners on Second Avenue between Fourth Street and Fifth Street ... as the staff replaced its Renzacci Multisorb®, which, at its height, represented very impressive load capacities with button trap drying boosters ...




[NOT LINKNYC]

...and here's Alice's newest model... meet the Firbimatic Eco-Green — aka "The Alternative Solvent Leader."



Sources tell us this Firbimatic features two filtration circuits, a solvent heater and fractional distillation. (I think you're going to notice the difference.)

Photos by EVG Dry-Cleaning Correspondent Derek Berg