This was just before 9 a.m. on Fourth Avenue between 13th Street and 12th Street... not too crowded... more runners than cyclists at this moment...
Until 1 p.m. More details here.
Previously
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Checking in on Summer Streets
This was just before 9 a.m. on Fourth Avenue between 13th Street and 12th Street... not too crowded... more runners than cyclists at this moment...
Until 1 p.m. More details here.
Previously
Friday, August 5, 2016
A moment in Tompkins Square Park
Summer is here,
the sky is blue.
Whoa! the red-tailed hawks all sing as if they knew.
Today's the day, we'll say, "I do"
Photo this evening by Greg Masters
This weekend: Tompkins Square Park Riot Reunion shows
Here are the lineups:
Aug. 6: Saturday (2-7 pm)
> Simon Chardet
> The Coffin Daggers:
> ISM
> Iconicide
> Nihilistics
Aug. 7: Sunday (1-6 pm)
> Jennifer Blowdryer Punk Soul
> Rockaway Bitch
> Love Pirates
> Sewage
> Hammerbrain
Find more details here.
EV Grieve Etc.: An explanation for an increase in panhandling in Tompkins Square Park
[The usual badminton match outside Cooper Union via Derek Berg]
Claim: An increase in panhandling in Tompkins Square Park is a sign of success with curbing the city's street homelessness population (DNAinfo)
Top health union official played early role in Rivington House deed flip (Politico New York)
Jim Power continues work on mosaic poles that will return to Astor Place (B+B)
Opinion: "The L-train shutdown could be the crisis we've always needed to transform our transit system" (Crain's New York)
Fans wait hours in line for the Drake pop-up shop on the Bowery (DNAinfo)
20th anniversary for the New York International Fringe Festival, starting on Aug. 12 (The Lo-Down)
Hawk sibling steals prized pigeon from brother/sister (Laura Goggin Photography)
"The French Connection" plays at midnight this weekend at the Sunshine (Official website)
When a hotel collapsed on Broadway near Bond (Off the Grid)
Cop Shoot Cop at CBGB (Flaming Pablum)
Diamond Corner now a Bank of America on the Bowery (BoweryBoogie)
Diversions: Interview with former Cramps bassist Fur Dixon (Dangerous Minds)
... and here are a few photos via Derek Berg from Tuesday night's National Night Out Against Crime outside the 9th Precinct on Fifth Street... where officers showed off their basketball and dance skills... (and where was the officer on stilts?)
Target's rent is $2.5 million a year; plus new renderings for 500 E. 14th St.
[Conceptual rendering via RKF]
As you probably know, Target will be opening one of its CityTarget outposts at 14th Street and Avenue A — some day. (There's just one floor visible at the moment.)
The marketing copy via broker RKF says the retail space at 500 E. 14th St. totals 42,367 square feet, including 24,735 square feet on the street level with 17,632 square feet down below. It was believed that Target was taking all this space.
However, according to a report at the Commercial Observer, Target is leasing 27,306 square feet at Extell Development's development.
The lease — for 9,500 square feet at grade and 17,806 square feet below ground — is for 30 years, at which time Target could extend it for another 10 years, according to the source and the memorandum of lease. ... The asking rent was $2.5 million per year, the source told CO.
$2.5 million per year? Why that's only a little more $208,000 a month.
And based on this square footage, it appears that Extell will still have half the retail space at No. 500 to offer a retail tenant. A Trader Joe's perhaps? The two new Trader Joe's in Brooklyn are both 18,000 square feet, per The Real Deal. The new one on the Upper West Side will take 20,000 square feet of space. (I'm not advocating for a Trader Joe's: Extell floated that name earlier this year.)
The CityTarget opening in Tribeca is a reported 45,000 square feet. (And for more size perspective: The Kmart on Astor Place is 140,000 square feet.)
Meanwhile!
The image via RKF above is the conceptual rendering for the Extell project that has been in circulation the past two years.
A projects listing at the website of Leeding Builders Group (LBG), a New York-based construction manager specializing in commercial, residential and hospitality projects, features some different renderings. (There are two addresses — 500 E. 14th St. and 524 E. 14th St. Neither of these renderings are ID'd by address.)
Here's what the website says about this development:
The project’s design consists of three 7-story residential buildings that will complement the surrounding neighborhood. Combined, this new development will house 150 high end rental apartments ranging from studios to three bedrooms. The buildings will also include individual residential lobbies, large retail space, and indoor / outdoor amenity spaces.
Some of the indoor amenities include a pool, fitness center, bike storage facilities, resident’s lounge, and children’s playroom. An important aspect of the outdoor amenity area is the incorporation of green spaces. The second floor apartments in the main tenant area each include a private terrace that runs through the courtyard interior of the buildings. The rooftop of all three towers will be a green roof with mixed private and public spaces. Some features of the public space will include outdoor gardens, ornamental grasses, a full bocce court, pergola covered dining with an open air grill kitchen, and framed hedge walls. LBG Construction Management services included Estimating and Budgeting, Constructability Review, Scheduling Services, Logistical Planning, and Coordination with the design team.
Full bocce court!
Previously on EV Grieve:
Breaking (pretty much!): Target is coming to 14th Street and Avenue A (54 comments)
After 29 years, The Edge is closing on 3rd Street
[Image via Facebook]
The Edge celebrated its 29th year in business Wednesday night by telling patrons that the bar was closing for good at the end of the month.
The owners confirmed that the bar, at 95 E. Third St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, is closing.
We heard rumors earlier in the week about some landlord issues.
"We'll just say [the landlord] found an opportunity to sue us for a bunch of money that we can't pay," a bar rep told us via text. "It's really disappointing. The bar has been around 29 years as of [Wednesday]. We just celebrated with a Back to the 80s party. A lot of sad people that the bar will no longer be around. It's been a 'living room' for so many people for so many years."
There are no plans at the moment to find a new location.
Public records show that the landlord is Thermald Realty Associates.
Esperanto Fonda is open on 1st Street
Avenue C mainstay Esperanto has opened its satellite location at 58 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
Esperanto Fonda, which has room for some 30 diners, also offers food to go. Per a recent preview at DNAinfo:
Esperanto Fonda will allow patrons to grab to-go-friendly items such as tacos, empanadas, burritos, and a Cubano sandwich with roasted pork loin, ham, melted Swiss cheese and mojo sauce.
The cocktail menu includes the Caipirinha, Mojitos and Brazilian Sangria. (Espernato Fonda's food or drink menus aren't online just yet.)
The previous tenant, BARA, a French/Japanese bar-restaurant, closed after service on June 11.
Summer Streets return tomorrow (Saturday!)
It's that time of year again. Here's the official About:
Summer Streets is an annual celebration of New York City’s most valuable public space — our streets. On three consecutive Saturdays in August, nearly seven miles of NYC's streets are opened for people to play, run, walk and bike. Summer Streets provides space for healthy recreation and encourages New Yorkers to use more sustainable forms of transportation. In 2015, nearly 300,000 people took advantage of the open streets.
Summer Streets is modeled on other events from around the world including CiclovÃa in Bogotá, Colombia and the Paris Plage in France and has since inspired other such events around the world such as CicloRecreo Via and London's Regent Street Summer Streets.
Held between 7 am to 1 pm, Summer Streets extends from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park, along Park Avenue and connecting streets, with easy access from all points in New York City, allowing participants to plan a trip as long or short as they wish. All activities at Summer Streets are free of charge, and designed for people of all ages and ability levels to share the streets respectfully.
For us living around Steiner East Village, the car-free, Street-Festival-Free zone includes Lafayette, Astor Place and Fourth Avenue.
As always, there are five different "Rest Stop" activity zones along the route. On Foley Square, a 300-foot, three-story Vita Coco™ Beachside Slide will offer Summer Streeters a chance to stand in line — but only if you pre-registered to stand in line.
Astor Place will host the "Paws and Play Dog Run." Other Astor Place programming tomorrow includes:
During week one, test your athletic prowess by running with Team Citi and the Mets. Summer Streets participants can virtually race a U.S. Olympian, meet three time U.S. National Champion and 2016 U.S. Paralympic Hopeful Scout Bassett, as well as Mrs. Met and pick up some Mets and Olympic swag from the social media vending machines.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Takin' it to the streets like the Doobie Brothers
Summer loving had me a blast, Summer loving happened so fast
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Workers remove American Elm in Tompkins Square Park
As we understand it, part of the tree broke off about 10 days ago... apparently the trunk was rotting, and workers had to take it down, per Park sources...
EVG correspondent Steven shared these photos...
For reference purposes, the tree was in the Sandra Turner Garden... between Temperance Fountain and the ping-pong table...
54 years on 7th Street
The Post today talks with a handful of New Yorkers who have spent more than 50 years in their homes.
On the list: East Village resident Christine Sachko, 54, who has lived her whole life in the same building near McSorley's on Seventh Street.
On the list: East Village resident Christine Sachko, 54, who has lived her whole life in the same building near McSorley's on Seventh Street.
Sachko still has the original lease; her parents first paid $26.45. Her monthly bill is $1,500. The apartment next door, once a mirror image of her own, has been renovated to add a second bathroom and more bedrooms, and is currently on the market for $4,690.
Report: Village View residents considering going private
The residents/shareholders of Village View, the 1,200-plus-unit Mitchell-Lama co-op, "are now mulling whether to withdraw from the affordable housing program," according to an article in this week's issue of The Villager.
Per the article:
The decision to withdraw would allow residents to sell their units for a huge profit. But some worry it would be shortsighted to cash in on their below-market-rate homes — and that privatizing could further erode the neighborhood’s affordability.
And!
Withdrawing from the program would require a two-thirds vote by residents of at least 822 apartments. If the measure passes, shareholders could choose to deregulate their units and put them on the market. They could also relinquish their shares by leaving and having their equity returned, or stay on as tenants in rent-regulated apartments.
It sounds as if all this is still in the exploration-only stage. Village View's board of directors reportedly started holding informational meetings in June to discuss the possibility of converting to a private co-op.
According to The Villager: "The first step in the process would be to vote in favor of a feasibility study that would examine the consequences of leaving the program. At least 51 percent of shareholders from a minimum of 617 apartments would have to vote to support the study."
Village View, which opened in 1964, consists of seven buildings between First Avenue and Avenue A, from East Second Street to East Sixth Street.
The new Astor Place rolls out the tables, chairs and umbrellas
The tables, chairs and umbrellas arrived on Astor Place this week... as the reconstruction of the plaza inches closer to completion this fall.
More seating is on the way... as are some trees... and the Alamo...
Meanwhile, the Village Alliance Business Improvement District is presenting the "Astor Alive! Festival" Sept. 15-17 "to celebrate the upcoming reopening of the new Astor Place, which will be complete in the fall."
Here's more on that via the Facebook invite:
As a vibrant cultural district with over two dozen theater, dance, music, art, architecture and historic landmarks including Blue Man Group, Fourth Arts Block, Cooper Union, Joe’s Pub, St. Mark’s Church and the Public Theater, the festival will debut Astor Place’s four new public plazas, among other civic space transformations as part of its larger $16 million revitalization project. The vibrant downtown New York City neighborhood will celebrate the imminent reopening with entertainment, workshops, tours, a parade, local restaurant specials and more, which will be free and open to the public.
Astor Place Festival highlights will include:
• Performances & Stages – With four performance stages starting from 4th Street to 9th Street, there will be 20+ groups of diverse local theaters, performing arts companies and schools performing throughout all three days. They include La MaMa, Joe’s Pub, Bowery Poetry Club, The Public Theater, Theater for the New City, Hetrik-Martin Institute, The Standard Hotel’s Sounds, Rod Rodgers Dance Company, Peridance Capezio Center and Danspace Project. All performances will focus on five historical themes of Astor Place, including Theater for All, Alternative Cultures and Radical Politics, Thinkers and Writers, Immigrant Populations and Architectural Frontiers.
• Mosaic Light Pole Dedication (September 15) – Popular East Village Artist Jim Power will debut the restored mosaic light poles throughout Astor Place in honor of the festival.
William Kelley, executive director of the Village Alliance, recently told us that the Alamo would return to the plaza this month, and "it is exactly the same as it was before ... It received a thorough cleaning and coating to protect it from the weather and will return in good shape."
Kelley also said that there will be a single food concession in the north and south plaza spaces at Astor Place (not around Cooper Square or points south), per the license agreement with the DOT. He said that no other vending will be allowed on the plazas.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Five years later, Astor Place apparently ready for its 2-year reconstruction project
The all-new Astor Place is coming along (for real)
Free tonight in Tompkins Square Park: 'True Romance'
Tonight's free film in Tompkins Square Park is "True Romance," the hipsterized 1993 road-trip thriller/black comedy written by Quentin Tarantino...
There's pre-movie music via Revel in Dimes. The film starts at sundown.
Check the Films in Tompkins Facebook page for any updates on tonight's screening.
And upcoming:
8-11 — "Romeo + Juliet"
Secchu Yokota serving now omakase tempura on East 3rd Street
[Photo via]
Secchu Yokota has been in soft-open mode of late at 199 E. Third St. near Avenue B.
The small restaurant's website describes the place this way: Contemporary Japanese featuring omakase tempura. (Most of the site appears still to be under construction.)
The space was previously home to Meskel, the Ethiopian restaurant that quietly closed last August.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Aug. 3
Someone obviously attempted to steal the thunder away from National Watermelon Day today by discarding a pretty sweet fake holiday tree on East 12th Street near Second Avenue...
Photo via Mary on East 12th Street
Exclusive: New owners of John's of 12th Street look to carry on the restaurant's tradition
There are plans for new owners to take over John's of 12th Street, the venerable Italian restaurant that opened here between First Avenue and Second Avenue in 1908.
Judy Anderson, whose late husband, Mike Alpert became a co-owner of John's in 1973 along with Nick Sitnycky, confirmed the news.
"Our accountant, Paul Dauber, a long-time friend and customer of John’s for about 30 years, along with his good friend from childhood days on the Lower East Side, Jan Siegel, are purchasing the restaurant," Anderson said.
Anderson emphasized the importance of new owners keeping the spirit of John's alive.
"Nick and I feel strongly about continuing the legacy of John’s of 12th Street and also ensuring that our long-time employees, some of whom have been with us 30-40 years, remain part of the continuing story of John’s," Anderson said. "There is great mutual affection and respect between Paul and our employees, and we are thrilled that Paul and Jan are enthusiastic about maintaining the character of the restaurant. They assure us that nothing will change, and Nick and I will assist in whatever way we can to be sure that the transition will be seamless."
Dauber and Siegel will appear before the CB3 SLA committee on Aug. 22 for a new liquor license.
"Nick and I plan to be at the Community Board meeting in their support," Anderson said.
In August 2014, a deal to sell John's to a team led by Brett Rasinski, who reopened the revamped Beatrice Inn, ended up not materializing.
Sitnycky and Alpert bought John's from the founding Pucciatti family in 1972. Sitnysky, who grow up on Avenue B, owns the building at 302 E. 12th St. Alpert died on July 13, 2013, at age 71.
Previously on EV Grieve:
About the new ownership for 105-year-old East Village institution John's of 12th Street
Report: Deal for East Village treasure John's of 12th Street is off
Out and About in the East Village with Nick Sitnycky Part 1 and Part 2
The John's of 12th Street documentary premieres next month
Q-and-A with Vanessa McDonnell, director of the John's of 12th Street documentary
Lanza's remains closed on 1st Avenue
While the future of John's of 12th Street appears to remain secure, the news is less positive over at Lanza's on First Avenue. On July 14, as we first reported, the state's fluorescent SEIZED sticker (for "nonpayment of taxes") arrived at Lanza's here between 10th Street and 11th Street.
Nearly three weeks later, the SEIZED stickers remain on the front. The mail is also piling up. There's a FedEx awaiting pick up. It doesn't appear as if anyone has been inside in recent weeks...
[Photo by Steven]
[Photo by Steven]
... the tables remain set... and they're starting to look a little worn...
[Photo by Steven]
The only new sign on the door of late was to alert attendees of the new location for Kasia's baby shower last weekend...
The old-world Italian restaurant reportedly first opened in 1904.
Signage arrives for Greek restaurant opening in the former St. Mark's Ale House
St. Mark's Ale House closed at the beginning of July after 21 years at 2 St. Mark's Place.
At the time, we heard rumors that the owner was converting the space into a Greek restaurant.
And now yesterday, signs arrived outside for Agios Greek Rotisserie. As we heard, there wasn't going to be much downtime between the Ale House and the new venture. So maybe we can expect an opening soon...
Box Kite Coffee has closed on St. Mark's Place
Box Kite Coffee has closed at 115 St. Mark's Place. The cafe between Avenue A and First Avenue shut down after business on Sunday.
Per an EVG reader, who first told us the news:
Pretty big for coffee enthusiasts in the neighborhood. Box Kite has closed! Went the day before for their brunch. Am pretty friendly with the baristas but I don't think they knew it was coming either. Texted one of them the next morning when I was greeted with locked doors and not a soul inside.
A sign on the door — showing a dead unicorn with stitches on its stomach — directs people to the Upper West Side location...
There's more from coffee publication Sprudge, who has this from an unnamed employee:
The location of the shop was never quite able to sustain the super premium coffee experience that it was set up to provide, and the other aspects of the business – the food and alcohol sales – never pulled their weight… The owner [Matt Prete] was always very up front with everyone that it was losing money and that he would be willing to tolerate it as long as it was fun and as long as we could get it reasonably closer to breaking even.
Sprudge also has a comment via Facebook from founder and former owner Cora Lambert.
"While the news wasn’t altogether shocking (and part of the reason I’m no longer part of the project), I’m truly sorry for all the employees that lost their jobs and for all of the customers that went out of their way to give us their business. This was my first stab at owning something, and a great lesson on making better choices about who I will get into business with again."
Chefs Justin Slojkowski and Dave Gulino hosted a critically-acclaimed nightly chef's counter dinner in the space for part of 2014.
Box Kite opened at the end of 2013.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Box Kite Coffee opening at former Tuck Shop space on St. Mark's Place?
2nd annual #EastVillageLoves Party is tomorrow (Thursday!)
Via the EVG inbox...
The East Village Independent Merchants Association (EVIMA) will be hosting its second annual #EastVillageLoves party at Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E. 7th St.) on Thursday, Aug. 4. The party is a celebration of local, independent businesses, specifically those located in the East Village.
The #EastVillageLoves party was founded in the wake of last year’s Second Avenue explosion that claimed two lives and shuttered dozens of small businesses in the area for months at a time. East Village Loves & EVIMA seeks to unite East Village residents and merchants and to create a stronger neighborhood where small business can thrive.
The party will include prizes, small bites, a meet and greet with the EVIMA board, and a free first drink for all in attendance. RSVP via eastvillageloves.eventbrite.com. A special toast will be made at 7 PM sharp.
Full reveal at 100 Avenue A
On Monday afternoon, workers started removing the construction netting and scaffolding from 100 Avenue A ... eventually offering a full reveal of developer Ben Shaoul's condoplex between Sixth Street and Seventh Street...
And by late yesterday afternoon...
Per the marketing copy, "100 Avenue A is a vibrant new style of premium condominium living not yet seen on Tompkins Square Park."
As previously noted, residences (32 in all) at the
Anyway, the 7-days-a-week work paid off... this is 100 Avenue A in July 2015...
... and a look back to 2009, when the one-time movie theater was East Village Farms...
Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A
East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A
Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A
Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished
Asbestos abatement continues at 98 Avenue A, Ben Shaoul's latest East Village trophy
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Police searching for perpetrator who took this flower pot from St. Mark' s Place
These WANTED FOR PETIT LARCENY flyers are along First Avenue (and likely elsewhere...) as the NYPD searches for a suspect accused of stealing a flower pot from outside 44 St. Mark's Place this past May.
The posters look legit... so, what do you suppose was inside that flower pot?
Thanks to EVG reader Lori Kohn for the photo!
Coming soon signage arrives for new deli on Avenue A and 12th Street
Was just talking about this place yesterday. The sign is up now for NY Grill & Deli ... which is going in the under-renovation corner space on the southwest corner of Avenue A and 12th Street.
Poppy's Gourmet Corner, the previous tenant here, closed at the end of January.
Noted
It was laundry day today in the small dog area in Tompkins Square Park as a dog-less traveler removed his pants to hose them down before rejoining his friends elsewhere in the Park.
Photo by Derek Berg
September opening expected for the 2nd Avenue location of Tompkins Square Bagels
An opening date is within sight for the Second Avenue location of Tompkins Square Bagels.
As I reported late last year, owner Christopher Pugliese's build out got bogged down, in part, by city bureaucracy. As he said in December:
"The killer is, the DOB approved all of our major alterations very quickly," he said. "They came back to us with a list of about 12 minor objections and asked us to make adjustments. Little things like 'move this staircase six inches to the right,' or 'put the skylight here instead of there.' That has been dragging on for months."
However, Pugliese told me on the phone the other day that the brunt of the work is complete. Workers installed the oven last week. Most of the equipment is in. Con Ed has turned on the gas service.
[The oven at 184 2nd Ave. last week]
"All the big stuff is done. All the plumbing is done. All the electric is done. We're bringing in coffee equipment now. We getting to the end," he said.
Considering how long the renovations have taken for the former Open Pantry space at 184 Second Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street, does he even want to offer up a possible opening date?
"We're getting really close. I feel like it won't be any later than Sept. 10-15," Pugliese said. "At this point now I can do the fun stuff, like I'm talking to local artists. I'm thinking about where all the seats will go."
Tompkins Square Bagels opened on Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street in December 2011.
"I love my store. I love my customers. I've gotten to know so many great people. I was trying to create the kind of place that I grew up with," said Pugliese, a Brooklyn native.
Nine years remain on the Avenue A lease. However, he has doubts that landlord Jared Kushner will offer him a lease renewal at that time. Which is one reason he scouted for another location.
"I want to be like Veniero's, Russo's or East Village Meat Market," he said. "I want to be 70 and still in there working. I want to stay in the East Village."
And he has a good feeling about Second Avenue.
"There's something about that block and the surrounding blocks that feels good — really cozy and comfortable," he said. "And St Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery is there. We lost a church on A, so I'm back even again."
Pugliese also said that there will be fewer menu options on Second Avenue than at Avenue A. "The place is a bit smaller, so that has to be. And we want to speed things up a bit. That's hard when you have such a giant menu."
There will be a few items only available at the Second Avenue TSB, such as bialys ... as well as knishes from Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery.
"It's the biggest project that I've ever done in my life," he said. "But it will be totally worth it."
Previously on EV Grieve:
After 40-plus years, Open Pantry looks to be closing on 2nd Avenue
Rumor: Tompkins Square Bagels possibly opening a 2nd East Village location on 2nd Avenue
A 2nd Tompkins Square Bagels confirmed for former Open Pantry space on 2nd Avenue
Tompkins Square Bagels makes it official on 2nd Avenue
The new Tompkins Square Bagels will arrive before the 2nd Avenue subway
Espresso bar-barber shop in the works for 137 Avenue A
A tipster told us last month that a coffee shop will open in the former Top A Nails space going under renovations now at 137 Avenue A between Ninth Street and St. Mark's Place.
That is partially correct. There is a CB3 SLA notice now on the storefront noting applicants are opening Three Seat Espresso and Barber in this space...
The applicants are seeking a beer-wine license for the business. This item will not be heard during this month's meeting, which is Aug. 22 at 6:30 p.m. in the CB3 office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.
There isn't any other information about the cafe-barber shop combo just yet. (There is a website that appears still under construction.)
As for Top A Nails, they moved next door to No. 139 in May.
Gotham Pizza now open on 3rd Avenue
[Photo by Harry Weiner]
The pizzeria opened this past Friday on Third Avenue and 12th Street... here's a look at their menu... a regular slice starts at $2.75... with pepperoni $3.50...
Will definitely stop back for a slice... and a taste-test post (#pizzagram)
Previously
Monday, August 1, 2016
Scott Stringer's audit blasts City Hall for inaction in Rivington House deed lift
Here's a look at part of the report via the EVG inbox...
New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released a report today detailing the findings of a five-month investigation into actions taken by the City of New York that allowed Rivington House – a nursing home on the Lower East Side of Manhattan – to be sold for a $72 million profit in February 2016.
The Comptroller’s Office found that multiple City agencies and dozens of City officials were involved in deliberations about the removal of two deed restrictions that previously limited the property’s use to a not-for-profit residential health care facility.
The Comptroller’s investigation found the Rivington House property was allowed to slip away because of poor execution of City processes that were intended to elicit public opinion and protect the City’s best interests. This deal resulted in patients losing their homes, healthcare workers losing their jobs at the site, a neighborhood losing a vital community asset, and the City losing its power to ensure that the property was used for a public purpose “in perpetuity.”
Over the course of the investigation, the Comptroller’s Office reviewed more than 80,000 documents, including communications among the Rivington House sellers and buyers and City officials and interviewed Administration officials who were engaged over a two-year period with issues related to this deal.
Investigators found that, despite 48 City staff meetings and hundreds of emails and phone calls, lapses in the oversight of the deed removal process allowed Joel Landau, principal of the Allure Group, to secure the removal of the Rivington House deed restrictions at the same time that he was working to “flip” the property into luxury condominiums.
“No individual should be allowed to profit off the loss of vital community resources,” Comptroller Stringer said, “But what’s worse is that the checks and balances in place to avoid this kind of outcome were mismanaged. We have to make sure our government operates with the highest level of accountability to guarantee this never happens again.”
You can find a PDF of the full report here.
U.S. Attorney General Preet Bharara and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman are also investigating the removal of the deed restriction.
Previously
Another day at the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall
Last Monday, Logan Hicks started work an intricate stencil project on the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall.
Unfortunately, though, the heavy rains and stifling heat early last week caused the wall to shift... and Hicks and Co. were forced to stop, remove their work to date and wait for repairs.
The wall looks as if it has been buffed ... and ready for Hicks to return ... Meanwhile, there's a tempting blank canvas ...
[Photo by Lola Sáenz]
Unfortunately, though, the heavy rains and stifling heat early last week caused the wall to shift... and Hicks and Co. were forced to stop, remove their work to date and wait for repairs.
The wall looks as if it has been buffed ... and ready for Hicks to return ... Meanwhile, there's a tempting blank canvas ...
[Photo by Lola Sáenz]
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