Thursday, May 13, 2021
Coffee shop slated for 194 1st Ave.
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Wednesday's parting shot of a Basquiat painting that just sold for $93.1 million
As the lot opened up to a salesroom populated exclusively by cameras and auction house specialists, Gemma Sudlow, a senior vice president at Christie's who was leading the auction, opened bidding at $40 million, and quickly brought its price to $52 million.And...
Soon, six bidders began to vie for the work, slowly pushing its price in increments ranging from $1 million to $3 million. After about six minutes of bidding, the nearly 6.5 foot-high (2 meters) painting hammered at $81 million. Auction house fees payable by the buyer added on another $12 million.And...
The painting was last purchased publicly in 2002, when it sold at Sotheby’s for just under $1 million. It then sold privately in 2007 for an undisclosed sum. The seller on Tuesday night, according to reports, was former Valentino chairman Giancarlo Giammetti; the buyer was not immediately known.Basquiat died of a heroin overdose in 1988 at his home-studio at 57 Great Jones St. between the Bowery and Lafayette. He was 27.
Today in sunspots
Crystal-clear blue sky this afternoon, for an unusually large sunspot left of center, but the attempt to angle my aging telescope almost straight up was very difficult. Joanne stayed the course through about 45 minutes of agonizing adjustments, and then the sun promptly disappeared behind the clouds. The sunspot was approximately 8,000 miles in diameter, or a hundredth of the diameter of the sun.... and a view of the sunspot... ... and the size of the sunspot next to Earth for a little comparison... According to NASA: "The sun ... is roughly 109 times the diameter of the Earth — about one million Earths could fit inside the sun."
Christopher Meloni brings 'Law & Order' to Astor Place
Gallery Watch: 'My Snake Is Bigger Than Your Snake' at Freight + Volume
Ray's Pizza & Bagel Cafe owner eyes new concept for 2 St. Mark's Place
Another Tony's Pizza for the East Village, this one for the former Vinny Vincenz space
The Starbucks on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place has not been open lately
In late November 2015, Camaj's lawyers were reportedly talking with landlord Citi Urban Management to dispute the rent charged for the month during which they weren't open due to the gas leak. Camaj still had 10 years left on his lease and had been in court with the landlords.
He accepted a buyout in February 2016, after having been closed for nearly five months. Camaj told DNAinfo that he could no longer afford the $14,500 monthly rent.
Opinion: The overlooked stakeholders and potential bias in the Open Restaurants program
Today, the Department of City Planning and the Department of Transporation are inviting "key stakeholders" to a virtual presentation on bringing a permanent Open Restaurants program to life.
According to the invite, this is the "key first element of ... an amendment to the Zoning Resolution that will begin a public review in June."
A longtime East Village small business owner, who is not in the food-beverage industry and feels as if other retail establishments have been overlooked in the city's plans, shared some thoughts about the potential impact this might have on a neighborhood and its residents ... consider this a mini op-ed (opposing viewpoints are welcome) ...
The biggest stakeholders are actually the residents who live above or beside these sheds and must put up with them so that landlords, restaurants and bars can increase their profit margin at the expense of residents' ability to live peaceably in their homes.
These real stakeholders have been left out of the process at every turn. It creates another tale of two cities whereby those able to move and/or insulate themselves in their high rises or in areas where the COVID sheds don't exist are quite happy with the program while those who do not have that privilege must bear its burden.
And the same goes for small business and retail diversity; why would a landlord rent to a retail shop when they can rent to a cafe or bar or restaurant that will have the ability to annex additional square footage in the street? More space equals higher rents equals a bias toward renting to businesses in the hospitality industry versus retail shops.
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
There are 3 (!!!) chicks for red-tailed hawks Amelia and Christo in Tompkins Square Park
NYPL plans to expand services at all branches by mid-July
32 Avenue C is now shorter
Expanded C&B Cafe nearly ready
Yubu bringing Korean food and beverages to 7th Street
Monday, May 10, 2021
Cinema Paradiso looks to bring foreign and independent films to Avenue A
[Image from 2002 via Cinema Treasures]
• UCB East has closed; what's next for their space on Avenue A and 3rd Street?
Report: Now there's an East River Park construction lawsuit
Tully, the higher bidder, alleges the DDC did not follow its own protocols when they accepted the lower bid from IPC. The City has agreed to not award the contract until after the hearing date, which is currently May 27. The City also agreed not to register the contract for the ESCR until 30 days after the hearing date.
The lawsuit claims that IPC, a newly formed joint venture, did not meet the Special Experience Requirements listed in the Project's Bid Booklet. Tully is seeking a judgment that the project should be awarded to them.
If Tully wins the judgment and DDC awards the Project to Tully at the higher bid of $1,335,473,290, then the costs of the ESCR project will exceed the City Engineer’s estimates by $136,907,910.$1.45 billion is allocated for this project. There is currently no additional funding from the city, state or federal government to complete the project.