Monday, May 18, 2015

Curb your enthusiasm: New sidewalks coming to Cooper Square/3rd Avenue



The next phase of the Astor Place/Cooper Square Reconstruction starts today … with new curb and sidewalk installations for Cooper Square/Third Avenue from East Fourth Street to East Ninth Street.

So expect some better curbs for this rather curb-less stretch of Cooper Square…





Here's the ongoing reconstruction project's Anticipated Work Schedule/Activities for May-June (PDF!) from the city:

•Village Plaza: Continue assisting Con-Ed with gas main offset.
• Cooper Sq. West, from E. 4th to Astor Place: Installing new curbs/sidewalks
•Peter Cooper Triangle Park: Installing permeable pavers and bioswales.
•Third Ave, from E. 9th to E. 4th Street: Installing new curbs, sidewalks and pedestrian ramps.
•E. 4th from Bowery to Second Avenue: Utility work. Installing new catch basins and curb bump-outs.
•Third Avenue, from E. 4th to E. 9th Streets: Installing nine concrete center medians.
•Installation of catch basins in various locations.

The centerpiece of all this some day will be the expanded Alamo plaza...



Workers boxed up the Cube for safekeeping during the reconstruction of Astor Place this past Nov. 25.

The Plaza has been used for the annual NYCxDESIGN celebration these past few days … with some spun chairs designed by Herman Miller…



Anyway, as for when the cube will return … the city noted that the surface work for the Alamo plaza is on hold "pending MTA approval."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Five years later, Astor Place apparently ready for its 2-year reconstruction project

An updated look at the all-new Astor Place

You'll never drive on this section of Astor Place again

There goes The Alamo

Peter Brant's East 6th Street Outreach Tour 2015 continues


[EVG file photo]

Reps for Peter M. Brant and his architect are meeting tomorrow night at Village View to discuss the art collector's plans for 421 E. Sixth St., the building he purchased last year for $27 million...



Well, the posted flyers note that the owner will answer questions. (What are the chances that Peter Brant will be at this meeting?)

In any event, among other modifications/additions, Brant's reps are calling for a rooftop terrace and a garden to the west of the building here between Avenue A and First Avenue. (Read more about the plans here.)

During a CB3 Landmarks Committee meeting last month, residents learned that the building is intended to be a gallery space to display Brant's personal art collection. The intention is to have approximately two shows per year, with the first show scheduled for Fall 2016. (Hopefully Vito Schnabel's people won't be doing the planning.)

The meeting is at the Village View Community Room at 6:30 p.m., 175 E. Fourth St.

Previously on EV Grieve:
About that "giant-robot laboratory" on East Sixth Street

RIP Walter De Maria

What is your East Village dream home?

Walter De Maria's 'giant-robot laboratory' going for $25 million; inside is amazing as you'd expect

Walter De Maria's home/studio on East 6th Street is now on the market for $25 million

Rumor: The Brant Foundation buying Walter De Maria's E. 6th St. studio for an exhibition space (19 comments)

Confirmed: Peter M. Brant buys Walter De Maria's amazing East 6th Street home and studio

1st permits filed for renovation of Walter De Maria's former home-studio on East 6th Street

A soft opening at the Brant Foundation's new space at Walter De Maria's former East 6th Street studio

More about the 1st show at Walter De Maria's former home-studio on East 6th Street

Here's what Peter Brant wants to do with his new exhibition space on East 6th Street

When the world's top collectors of Dom Pérignon rosé came to the East Village for dinner

Reader report: 421 E. 6th St. will house Peter M. Brant's personal art collection

DOH temporarily closes the Subway on 4th Avenue



A reader told us that the Subway on Fourth Avenue at East 12th Street has been closed the past few days… perhaps another neighborhood Subway closing?

Upon closer inspection behind the Subway banner blocking part of the entrance…



… is the familiar DOH closure flyer…



The DOH handed out 50 violation points after finding various critters in an inspection last Thursday.

Updated: The location is back open

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Sunday afternoon

Week in Grieview


[Dance Parade photo yesterday by Michael Sean Edwards]

Another setback for B&H Dairy (Wednesday)

Rumor: Moonstruck Diner opening location on Avenue A (Tuesday)

Enz's Boutique returns to Second Avenue (Tuesday)

The V-Spot coming soon to St. Mark's Place (Monday)

Ben Shaoul now has until the end of July to demolish his illegal penthouse on East Fifth Street (Friday)

The Black Rose opens at 117 Avenue A (Friday)

Fat Sal's has closed on Avenue A; new owners to open another pizzeria (Thursday)

Juice Press on 10th near A closes (Friday)

Out and About with Rineke (Wednesday)

Equinox signs deal for Ben Shaoul's new retail-residential complex on East Houston (Wednesday)

Hammer attacks in/around Union Square (Tuesday)

Avenue A wants its sidewalk back (Monday)

Out with Lunasa and in with The Grafton on First Avenue (Monday)

Will proposed taxi stand on Avenue A bring relief to Punjabi Grocery & Deli? (Tuesday)

Activity at 500 E. 14th St. (Tuesday)

Raccoon rescue in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday)

Turntable Retro Bar & Restaurant ready to play on East Fourth Street and Avenue B (Monday)

Former St. Mark's Bookshop space still for rent on Third Avenue (Thursday)

Demolition for Domino's (Wednesday)

The Bar Akuda sign arrives on First Avenue (Monday)

… and workers today removed a crabapple tree from Tompkins Square Park… Michael at Tompkins Trees said that it had been dead for more than a year…




[Tree photos by Derek Berg]

Today is Day 3 of the St. George Ukrainian Festival



The 39th annual St. George Ukrainian Festival, held on East Seventh Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square, wraps up today… the hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Here are a few photos from yesterday via Derek Berg…







Andrew Ilnicki, manager of East Village Meat Market, is selling an array of Eastern European food at the festival … Veselka has a booth with food… and at Jimmy's No. 43: "The former landlord of Brewski's, Jerry Kuziv is now making a great German-style lager under the Brewski's label with brewer Greg Accardi over at High Point Brewing/Ramstein in New Jersey. All weekend we'll feature Brewski's as our official lager of the Ukrainian Festival." There are more beer options on the block at Standings and Burp Castle.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Q-and-A with Andrew Stasiw, chairman of the St. George Ukrainian Festival

[Updated] Reports of a shooting last night on Avenue C


There are few details at the moment about a shooting last night around 10 on Avenue C …



Here's what the Associated Press is reporting

Police are looking for suspects after the shooting shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday on Avenue C. Police were called to East Fifth Street, while the Fire Department has the address as East Eighth Street.

Police say the man was shot once. He's been taken to Bellevue Hospital and is expected to survive.

We'll update the post when more information becomes available.

Updated 5/18

According to the Daily News:

The 18-year-old victim was arguing with two men at about 10 p.m. Saturday, on Avenue C near E. 5th St., when one of the men took out a gun and shot him once in the left leg, officials said.

There were not any descriptions of the suspects … or details on what sparked the argument.

Art show turns into a shitshow at 190 Bowery



A lot of people turned up last evening for the chance to see the inside of 190 Bowery and look at the Aby Rosen/Vito Schnabel-backed group exhibition titled "First Show/Last Show."

However, the whole thing was called off before the show even started … much to the surprise of people who arrived at the landmarked building at Spring Street.




According to artnet, the show "has been abruptly closed to the public for reasons unknown."

Now what?

"The show will be open by appointment May 18 – 29, Monday through Friday from 12-6 p.m. Closed Memorial Day. Please respond with your requested time and we will do our best to accommodate you."

You have to RSVP here.

Per artnet:

The original invitation didn't even require an RSVP, so it's not surprising that Rosen, Schnabel, and their coterie of rich and famous friends got a little spooked by the prospect of the unwashed masses showing up to rub elbows with the art elite.

As for the exhibit, the Observer pointed out:

Titled “First Show/Last Show,” Schnabel’s exhibition brings the work of seven auction-approved white male artists together under the cryptic rubric that their art “immediately conveys its significance,” a super power that is obviously absent from any artwork authored by a woman or a person of color.



Photographer Jay Maisel bought 190 Bowery in 1966 for $102,000. He recently sold it for a reported $55 million. A still-unnamed creative agency has leased floors 2-6. The groundfloor retail remains on the market.

Photos by Scuba Diva … H/T Gothamist

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

Saturday, May 16, 2015

DanceFest 2015



DanceFest photos in Tompkins Square Park today by EVG contributor Stacie Joy...



























Grief counseling



If you've recently lost a pet. Spotted on Second Avenue

East Village Organic is now open on 1st Avenue


[Photo by EVG reader Steven]

The folks at East Village Organic let us know that the store opened yesterday at 124 First Ave. between East Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

As we previously noted, the owner is Ali, who has run Golden Food Market on the northeast corner of First Avenue and Seventh Street the past 35 years

Among other items, we're told East Village Organic will feature:

• Organic Grown Produce
• Full Juice Bar and Cold Press Juice
• Bulk Grain Seed Nuts
• Full Macrobiotic Section
• Roots, Barks, Flowers (Herbalist Kim Turim, who has operated Penny's Herb Company on East Seventh Street since the late 1970s, works here)
• Full Assortment of Pure Essential Oils
• Seaweeds
• Full Dairy Section
• Nut and Seed Butters
• Wholegrain Baked Goods
• Dried Fruits

We'll check the store out later… and we'll post the hours as soon as we get them. Ah, thanks Mikey Q: Hours are Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

The storefront was previously home to Kim's Video and Music until last Aug. 25.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Organic food store taking over the former Kim's Video and Music space on 1st Avenue

A little more about East Village Organic, opening this spring on 1st Avenue

Reminders: The 9th annual Dance Parade and DanceFest is today



Several readers asked why there are police barricades along St. Mark's Place from Astor Place to Tompkins Square Park.

For example: "Why are there police barricades along St. Mark's Place from Astor Place to Tompkins Square Park?"



Today is the 9th annual Dance Parade and DanceFest … the parade starts at 21st and Broadway … and will eventually head across St. Mark's into the Park. where at 3 p.m. the DanceFest begins.

Find more info about the parade here.



Find the list for all the dancing activities in Park here.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Death wishes



The Swedish trio Death and Vanilla have a new record out ... this track, "Rituals," is from 2012...

Noted



Goggla spotted this sign on East Ninth Street near Avenue A...

EV Grieve Etc.: Crowdfunding for air quality testing; discussing NYC preservation


[The discarded couch police on East 7th Street via Derek Berg]

"The East Village, arguably more than other locales, has become the neighborhood of doom for one café and market after another. Why?" (New York Business Journal)

Tenant starts crowdfunding campaign for air quality testing in buildings adjacent to 119-123 Second Ave. (DNAinfo)

Rallying for affordable rent (Gothamist)

A visit to Raclette on Avenue A (The Wall Street Journal)

Preservation and pro-development in this Vanishing New York vs. New York YIMBY debate (New York magazine)

The East Village stars in the new video by the Young Things (YouTube)

Where to find Korean honey-butter chips in the East Village, in case you were looking for them (Grub Street)

Lower East Side History Month continues… find all the events here.

What retail tenants would you like to see in the Orchard Hell Building? (BoweryBoogie)

A new bike lane for Delancey (The Lo-Down)

In the footsteps of NYC's best chronicler, Joseph Mitchell (Curbed)

Remembering PIL's Ritz riot (Dangerous Minds)

Coney Island fireworks schedule for the summer (Amusing the Zillion)

… and yesterday, Stage watchers noticed that the roll down gate at the Stage was painted… wondering what, if anything, this meant for the diner that has been closed since March 30



H/T EVG reader Steven

Q-and-A with Andrew Stasiw, chairman of the St. George Ukrainian Festival

[Festival photo from 2012 by Bobby Williams]

The 39th annual St. George Ukrainian Festival, held on East Seventh Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square, starts this afternoon at 4.

In the aftermath of the deadly gas explosion on March 26 on Second Avenue at East Seventh Street, festival organizers decided to donate 10 percent of the profits to The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City (designated to the East Village building collapse fund). Organizers said that they will look to showcase the unity and the resilience of the East Village with the 2015 edition of the festival.

Here, Andrew Stasiw, chairman of St. George Ukrainian Festival, answered a few questions via email about this year's event.

Were there any conversations about canceling this year's festival?

Yes. Monday after the explosion, I met with key people on the festival committee. We were all horrified by the reality of the accident, and especially by the loss of life.

We determined to wait until I had a chance to reach out to OEM (NYC's Office of Emergency Management) and SAPPO (NYC's Street Activity Permit Office) to determine whether we would even be allowed to have a street closure so quickly. Both offices assured me that the street closure 1 1/2 months later would not be a problem.

Another consideration we discussed with the church committee was our "Grandfather Status" with the City of New York. Should we for moral reasons choose to not hold our festival, we would lose our status, and not be allowed to have a three-day closure again in the next year. The City no longer grants three-day closures, and has not for two decades.

Our festival has now been a 39-year tradition, and an integral part of our outreach to our surrounding community. Our community would be devastated if we lost our permit. Though we could have requested a reprieve from the city, we opted to move forward with the festival, and do something for our community as well.

Thus, the festival committee along with our pastor, Father Bernard Panczuk, agreed that we should proceed with the festival. We reached out to our performers and partners, and all agreed that we should do something to help our community. This is when we determined to utilize part of our net profit to donate to the East Village Relief Fund established by the City. This will benefit both merchants who lost their businesses trying to reboot, and tenants who lost their apartments.

To increase our revenues, all performers have agreed to perform for free in order to help our church, school and the East Village Relief Fund.

How will this year's festival showcase the unity and the resilience of the neighborhood?

There is a passion in the hearts of the people in our neighborhood that is now stronger then ever. We at St. George Church are so grateful, and proud of our neighbors who have reached out to us, offering support for our efforts.

More then ever, this year's festival feels more like a collaborative community event versus just a Ukrainian ethnic festival. The neighborhood is resilient because they are coming together to celebrate our Ukrainian heritage as well as to honor and assist those suffering because of the explosion.

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

What do you personally look forward to each year with the festival?

The kids! Yeah, we get amazing professional artists performing, but it is all about the children. Ukrainian dance schools exist all over the tri-state area, and this festival gives them and their families an opportunity to perform in the City. Through these schools, these children of Ukrainian descent get to learn about their heritage and then share it through song and dance with the people of New York.

As an educator, I see the value for children in these types of after-school activities — helping to build parametric connections in their brains through movement and counting, and also build friendships that last far into their adulthood.

For this year, we are very excited about our festival, but our hearts are broken for the loss of Moises Ismael Locón Yac and Nicholas Figueroa, two young men whose time was cut too short because of the explosion.

At St. George, we pray for them and pray that God comforts the weeping hearts of their families. Personally, I wish I could have done more during this tragic event. I witnessed [the explosion], and it was impossible to get back into the building and look for more potential victims. That day is still hard to talk about, but now we need to focus on what we can do to keep our community strong.

The festival hours are tonight, 4 to 9; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The 9th annual Dance Parade and DanceFest is tomorrow

[Photo from 2012 by Bobby Williams]

The annual Dance Parade is tomorrow. Let's head to the news release via the EVG inbox…

Four Grand Marshals will cut the ribbon at 12:45 pm on Saturday, releasing 10,000 dancers down Broadway as part of New York City’s 9th Annual Dance Parade and Festival. The four Grand Marshals span the diversity of dance – they are the renowned 84year old contemporary theater artist, choreographer and dancer of stage and screen Carmen de Lavallade, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Artistic Director Robert Battle, Dancing Wheels founder Mary Verdi-Fletcher, and pioneer of Indian bhangra dance in North America, DJ Rekha.

While the parade celebrates more than 75 styles of dance, this year, we honor especially the genres of contemporary ballet, Physically Integrated Dance, and dance in the Indian bhangra dance music community.

This year’s Dance Parade New York will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the monumental civil rights legislation embodied in the Americans with Disabilities Act. Ms. Verdi-Fletcher, whose physically integrated troupe was the first professional company in the U.S. to bring the talents of dancers with and without disabilities to the stage, will lead the parade while dancing in her wheelchair.

Find more info about the parade here.

The parade route eventually finds its way to St. Mark's Place… where the parade ends in Tompkins Square Park for … DanceFest.



Find the list for all the dancing and other activities in Park right here.

And now please join me to pray to the Lord to guide them in their endeavors.

Ben Shaoul now has until the end of July to demolish his illegal penthouse on East 5th Street


[Photo of 515 E. Fifth St. from May 4]

Landlord-developer Ben Shaoul now has yet another deadline to remove the illegal penthouse at 515 E. Fifth St., according to the building's tenants association.

As we've been seemingly cutting and pasting for years, the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) ruled in 2008 that Shaoul needed to remove the 6th and 7th floors here between Avenue A and Avenue B. However, his attorneys had requested that the city grant a zoning variance to "permit the constructed enlargement, minus the penthouse, to remain" here.

On Tuesday, there was another hearing on the matter … and as a rep for the tenants association told us, the BSA is giving Shaoul until the end of July to provide proof that the penthouse has been demolished … then the BSA will reopen hearings on the variances that Shaoul and Co. are requesting.

Last September, the BSA gave Shaoul 60 days to complete demolition … but that never happened.

Anyway, there is some demolition-related progress. As we pointed out, workers assembled a sidewalk bridge outside 515 on May 4. In addition, the city approved a permit to remove the penthouse on May 6. (There is also an approved permit on file to remove the sixth floor.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] 5 years later, another BSA hearing on illegal rooftop addition at 515 E. Fifth St.

Protest at 515 E. Fifth St. this morning, site of Ben Shaoul's illegal addition

The disappearing illegal penthouse of 514-516 E. 6th St.

Never-ending battle wages on over additional floors at 515 E. Fifth St.

Never-ending battle over additional floors at 515 E. Fifth St. promises to keep being never-ending

CB3 not into Ben Shaoul's zoning variance for 515 E. 5th St.

Another BSA hearing on Ben Shaoul's illegal rooftop addition; plus, rent 1 of the contested units!

BSA tells Ben Shaoul to remove the illegal penthouse on East 5th Street within 60 days

Sidewalk bridge arrives at 515 E. 5th St., site of Ben Shaoul's illegal penthouse conversion

The Black Rose is now open on Avenue A


[Photo via EVG reader JG]

The Black Rose, the new bar at 117 Avenue A between East Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place, officially opened last night.

Several media outlets had previews yesterday, including Urban Daddy, which called Black Rose "an admirable mixture of a gritty Ave A bar of yore and a legit cocktail spot."

Bedford + Bowery had more details on the decor, noting that owners Joseph Daniele and Robert Payne redecorated the space with reclaimed objects, including recycled wood, metal and elements salvaged from film sets.

The photo gallery at Urban Daddy shows the bars rock roots, with framed photos of Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix, among other musicians/bands.

According to B + B, there will also be an occasional live act. "Musicians will stop by a couple times a month to play acoustic sets on nights with themes like disco, burlesque and LGBT."

The rock theme carries over to the cocktail menu, which includes drinks called "Light My Fire," Purple Haze" and "Personal Jesus."



Black Rose will eventually serve food, which DNAinfo reported on here.

The bar is open daily from 5 p.m. to 4 a.m.

The previous tenant here, The Odessa Cafe & Bar, closed Aug. 31, 2013. Several suitors made a run for the space, but nothing ever materialized until The Black Rose came along.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Building that houses Odessa Cafe and Bar for sale on Avenue A

Former GM from Tribeca's Tiny's & the Bar Upstairs part of team to buy the Odessa Cafe

Reader report: Odessa Cafe and Bar will remain open through Sept. 6

Former Odessa Cafe and Bar will serve comfort food specializing in Nashville Hot Chicken

Now what for the Odessa Cafe and Bar?

The Black Rose, 'a neighborhood rock and roll bar,' opening in the former Odessa Cafe and Bar space (71 comments)

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Brewer-Mendez tenant notification bill passes Council


[Oh, by the way, we're working on your bathroom ceiling today]

From the EVG inbox…

Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and Council Member Rosie Mendez today celebrated the Council’s passage of Int. 222, legislation requiring landlords provide tenants with advance notice for non-emergency repair work that will result in disruptions to building services.

The bill establishes a general baseline of 72 hours’ advance notice for most work. For work affecting elevators, the bill requires 10 business days’ notice for major alteration work and 24 hours’ notice for any other work that will suspend all elevator service for more than two hours.

This legislation, sponsored jointly by Mendez and Brewer, closes a gaping hole in the city’s tenant-protection laws, which currently provide no such advance-notice requirements.

“Tenants deserve fair warning and an opportunity to plan around disruptive maintenance work,” said Brewer. “It’s also no secret that no-notice quality-of-life disruptions labeled as ‘maintenance work’ are a frequent harassment tactic to push tenants out of rent-stabilized apartments. Our notice requirement will be easy for honest, everyday landlords and building managers to respect, but it will take another harassment tool away from abusive landlords.”

“This legislation codifies common sense and common courtesy,” said Councilwoman Rosie Mendez. “No longer will tenants come home from a hard days work to find out that work in their building is interrupting some basic service and/or possibly obstructing access to their apartment. This law requires that landlords notify tenants when such work will affect services and for how long.”

Many landlords and management companies already provide advance notice of planned repairs to tenants – but many do not. The reasonable notice requirements established by Int. 222 would help tenants plan ahead to minimize the impacts of these service disruptions on their lives, and also help tenants distinguish between disruptions for planned work on the one hand, and emergent service failures or landlord harassment tactics on the other.