Local students help create a tribute to Basquiat at the 12C Outdoor Gallery

Photos by @galinskynow 

The 12C Outdoor Gallery has been coming back to life with the help of some local students.

Earlier this month, several artists, parents, and grammar school students went to work on a new mural on the corner of 12th Street and Avenue C. 

The piece is titled: "With Love from the LES to the Caribbean: In Memory of Jean-Michel Basquiat."

... and the final product...

The mural is a collaboration led by artists Savannah Zambrano and Andrea Amanda with students at P.S. 188 The Island School ... with the support of Loisaida Inc., Galinsky Coaching, Thrive Collective, Curated Concepts LLC, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

In early March, Brooklyn-based artist Danielle Mastrion finished the first mural outside the renovated building, paying tribute to Puerto Rican freedom fighter and spiritual luminary Pedro Albizu Campos. (Campos Plaza is directly across 12th Street.)

The 12C Outdoor Art Gallery previously featured a rotating batch of murals curated by Robert Galinsky. One constant throughout the years was the Gil Scott-Heron tribute that Chico created after the jazz poet, musician, and author died in 2011. 

An update from G's Cheesesteaks, opening May 1 on Avenue B and Houston

Photo and reporting by Stacie Joy

Renovations continue inside the storefront at 6 Avenue B on the NW corner at Houston.

As previously reported, this will be home to an outpost of G's Cheesesteaks. I ran into owner Giacomo Pisano (above) the other day. He said they'll be open on May 1, hopefully sooner if all goes well.

Pisano said he is looking for a local artist who can pay homage to Chico's current artwork on the gate. The liquor store, the last tenant in the retail space here, closed when the owner passed away in 2009 at age 89. Chico created her tribute mural in February 2010. (The building's landlord plans to paint over the well-worn art.)

He also said he'd like to preserve the "liquor" signage and, if possible, bring it inside. 

This will be the fourth location for the cheesesteak brand, which also has a food truck business. (On that note, he said he'd like to use a truck for free food distribution to the community.)

Pisano, whose family has been in the restaurant business for several generations, founded G's in Staten Island in 2015 at age 20. 

The residential portion of the building — now going as The B — is currently renting.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Here's a look at the renovated interior of the long-vacant 6 Avenue B

• Because you've always wanted to know what the inside of the long-empty 6 Avenue B looks like 

• Let's take another look at the eerie remains of the long-abandoned 6 Avenue B 

• Time passages: Check out the interior of the long-empty Mom's Liquor Store on Avenue B

City unveils 3 refurbished East Village buildings with affording housing opportunities

Photo yesterday courtesy of the AAFE

Yesterday, city officials celebrated "affordable homeownership opportunities" in three refurbished East Village tenements at 406-8 E. 10th St., 533 E. 11th St., and 656 E. 12th St. 

The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place yesterday afternoon outside No. 656, the five-floor residential building on the SW corner of Avenue C.

Here's more about the program via the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) ...

The project was financed through HPD's Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program, which selects qualified developers to rehabilitate distressed city-owned multifamily buildings to create affordable co-ops for low and moderate-income households. 

Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) and city officials have worked closely with residents in planning for the $22.3 million renovation. A total of 23 households, longtime residents of the formerly dilapidated buildings, were temporarily relocated during the two-year construction project. An additional 21 apartments will be offered through a New York City affordable housing lottery, which is expected to launch in the coming weeks. 

There is also a retail space in each of the renovated buildings.  

El Rinconcito closed in the summer of 2021 at its home of 27 years at 408 E. 10th St. between Avenue C and Avenue D. Owner Pedro Rodriguez eventually reopened the restaurant at 75 Avenue C. He plans to open a second restaurant at 656 E. 12th St., where he lives with his family. 

For several years, the walls outside No. 656 housed the 12C Outdoor Art Gallery, which featured a rotating batch of murals curated by resident Robert Galinsky.

The Gil Scott-Heron tribute —  with "the Revolution Will Not Be Televised" line — that Chico created after the jazz poet, musician, and author died in 2011 was sandblasted during the gut renovations early last year.

The wall will now feature "Puerto Rican freedom fighter and spiritual luminary" Pedro Albizu Campos. Brooklyn-based artist Danielle Mastrion is creating this mural across the street from Campos Plaza, which is expected to be completed tomorrow (weather permitting).

Façade repairs next door have prevented kids at this East Village school from using the playground

Since early January, students at the Children's Workshop School have been without use of the playground here on 12th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

On Jan. 9, part of the façade of an adjacent building at 638 E. 12th St. crumbled, and pieces of concrete from the exterior landed in the playground, also used by students in the P94M program within District 75. 

The playground has been closed while the new landlords of the 638 property made the necessary repairs, completed nearly four weeks ago. 

Since then, school officials (and parents) have been waiting for the Department of Buildings (DOB) to inspect and hopefully approve the work so the kids can have outdoor access again.

An item in the most recent school newsletter, dated Friday from Principal Maria Velez-Clarke, states: "There is no still no news regarding the schoolyard. We are working with elected officials to try and expedite the inspections, but have no control over the Department of Buildings." 

There's a DOB notice posted to the one-story structure dated Feb. 2 for the owner/occupant to call the city for inspection...

Parents hope that this will be resolved soon. (Students are on midwinter break this week.)

"This is negatively impacting classroom behavior and depriving kids of much-needed fresh air, exercise, and time to socialize," one parent with two children at the school told us. 

We're unsure what's inside No. 638 and how often anyone uses it. According to public records, there have been occasional complaints about No. 638's west-facing wall dating to 1989...

Repairs aside, that problematic wall won't be an issue in the months ahead. 

The 8,900-square-foot structure had been on the sales market. Per the listing: "Ideal for a luxury residential condominium in a well-established Downtown Manhattan neighborhood" with "Four sides of light and air." (Campos Community Garden is on the building's east side.)

The structure behind 432 E. 11th St., sold last summer for $2.8 million. Public records show the buyer is affiliated with an LLC in Brooklyn that "provides development services for residential and commercial properties."

This past Wednesday, plans were filed for a 6-story residential building at the address. The plans show one residential unit per floor, likely meaning there will be condos as pitched in the sales sheet.

Here's an aerial view of the space via Google Maps...

The project is in its earliest stages, and there's no estimate when construction could start... work that will possibly prompt closure of at least part of the playground and community garden for scaffolding and netting.

Since April 2016, the front of 638 E. 12th St. has served as a memorial (via Chico) for Elliot Caldwell, a 23-year-old who was shot and killed across the street outside Campos Plaza (below photo via LoopNet)...

Here's a look at the renovated interior of the long-vacant 6 Avenue B

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Last week, EVG's Stacie Joy pointed out that workers had removed the scaffolding and construction netting from 6 Avenue B, the long-empty and currently under-renovation building on the NW corner of Avenue B.

Given this high-profile corner, there has been a lot of curiosity about the address and its fate (there were ultimately unfounded concerns at one point that this might be demolished for either a new building or part of a more extensive development).

The top photo shows you how the exterior is shaping up. Let's take a look inside the 6-floor building.

So far, the hallways and stairwells have retained some of their original charms — albeit buffed up — with the exposed brick, tiled floors, and classical staircase ironworks ...

The residential units are a different story... the pre-war details (take a look here) have been stripped away... in favor of designer-y desert-sand floors and cabinetry... 

... the oversized bedrooms have been chopped up into several small units...

Amenities look to include in-unit laundry and mini split air conditioners...

Some units include a view of Houston and Clinton (good for checking the weekend lines at Clinton St. Baking Company)...

... and a view of the foundation work for the 11-story building coming to 280 Houston St. ...

We have yet to see any listings for the refurbished units.

To recap some recent history here... an LLC linked to Penn Capital South, whose portfolio includes multiple EV properties, bought the building in February... but they didn't keep it long — it's back on the market. (The retail space is for lease, too... here's the listing.)

This was one of the abandoned buildings owned by the estate of the mysterious team of Arthur and Abraham Blasof, both long deceased. However, No. 6 has been generating some income with the cell-phone towers on the roof. 

The liquor store in the retail space closed when the owner passed away in the fall of 2009 at age 89. (Chico created the tribute to her on the gate in February 2010. Will it stay?)

As we've pointed out (here and here), the building was in dismal shape and needed significant work to bring it up to code. Before the renovations, the DOB had cited No. 6 for emergency repairs several times in recent years.

Previously on EVG: 

• Because you've always wanted to know what the inside of the long-empty 6 Avenue B looks like 

• Let's take another look at the eerie remains of the long-abandoned 6 Avenue B 

• Time passages: Check out the interior of the long-empty Mom's Liquor Store on Avenue B

Look at 6 Avenue B now!

Photos by Stacie Joy

Oh! — 6 Avenue B no longer looks as if it has been abandoned for 20 years. 

Workers have removed the scaffolding and construction netting from the under-renovation building on the NW corner of Avenue B.

An LLC linked to Penn Capital South, whose portfolio includes multiple EV properties, bought the building in February... but they didn't decide to keep it long — it's back on the market.

The retail space is for lease, too... here's the listing.

Anyway, as we've noted (a lot!), this was one of the abandoned buildings owned by the estate of the mysterious team of Arthur and Abraham Blasof, both long deceased. However, No. 6 has been generating some income with the cell-phone towers on the roof. 

The liquor store in the retail space closed when the owner passed away in the fall of 2009 at age 89. (Chico created the tribute to her on the gate in February 2010. Will it stay?)

As we've pointed out (here and here), the building was in dismal shape and needed significant work to bring it up to code. Before the renovations, the DOB had cited No. 6 for emergency repairs several times in recent years.

Previously on EVG: 

• Because you've always wanted to know what the inside of the long-empty 6 Avenue B looks like 

• Let's take another look at the eerie remains of the long-abandoned 6 Avenue B 

• Time passages: Check out the interior of the long-empty Mom's Liquor Store on Avenue B

The long-neglected 6 Avenue B is for sale

After sitting abandoned for over a decade, 6 Avenue B is suddenly a hot property. 

While the gut renovation of the 6-story building on the NW corner of Houston and B continues, a listing for the property is active. 

Some details: 

• Building is currently being gut renovated and is near completion.

• The building consists of 10 free market apartments ( 5 two bedrooms, 5 three bedrooms) & a ground floor retail space. 

• Retail store is approximately 1500 sf with 14-foot ceiling heights. 

No mention of a price.

Here's a rendering (with an older photo — RIP Red Square shops) showing the retail potential here ... coffee!

An LLC linked to Penn Capital South, whose portfolio includes multiple EV properties, bought the building in February. According to public records, the building changed hands for just $1.05 million. However, the new owners also had to pay $4.2 million in real property transfer and real estate transfer taxes.

This was one of the abandoned buildings owned by the estate of the mysterious team of Arthur and Abraham Blasof, both long deceased. However, No. 6 has been generating some income with the cell-phone towers on the roof. 

The liquor store in the retail space closed when the owner passed away in the fall of 2009 at age 89. (Chico created the tribute to her on the gate in February 2010.)

As we've pointed out (here and here), the building was in dismal shape and needed significant work to bring it up to code. Before the renovations, the DOB had cited No. 6 for emergency repairs several times in recent years.

Previously on EVG: 

• Because you've always wanted to know what the inside of the long-empty 6 Avenue B looks like 

• Let's take another look at the eerie remains of the long-abandoned 6 Avenue B 

• Time passages: Check out the interior of the long-empty Mom's Liquor Store on Avenue B

Time passages: Check out the interior of the long-empty Mom's Liquor Store on Avenue B

Photos by Stacie Joy

Last month, we had the scoop about the new owner of 6 Avenue B, the long empty/abandoned building on the NW corner of Houston. The owner is an LLC linked to Penn Capital South, whose portfolio includes multiple EV properties. 

A gut renovation is in the works — as is asbestos abatement. There has been some mystery and intrigue about the whole building, especially the storefront that housed the liquor store — aka Mom's. 

The retail space has been closed since the owner passed away in the fall of 2009 at age 89. (Chico created the tribute to her on the gate in February 2010.)

How have nearly 14 years of vacancy treated the space? What does the interior event look like these days?

EVG contributor Stacie Joy found out the other day... with a look inside Mom's, a frozen-in-time space where bottles of Riunite still go for $5.25. The bullet-proof register area remains intact as well.

Come, let's look inside...

Also discovered... this EVG post about the store's owner from 2010:

I enjoy watching her reaction to some fancypants asking her if they have any, say, really buttery California chardonnays whose grapes were harvested on hillsides composed of Kimmeridgian marl, limestone and chalk. Her reaction is usually either, "WHAT?" or "WHY WOULD WE HAVE THAT."

Previously on EVG:

• Because you've always wanted to know what the inside of the long-empty 6 Avenue B looks like

• Let's take another look at the eerie remains of the long-abandoned 6 Avenue B 

6 Avenue B, long-abandoned, has a new owner

Photos yesterday by Stacie Joy

There's a new owner for 6 Avenue B, the 6-story building on the NW corner of Avenue B and Houston that has been empty/abandoned for years.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy spotted a notice on the front door noting the ownership change... 

The LLC is linked to Penn Capital South, whose portfolio includes multiple EV properties. 

According to public records, the building changed hands for a mere $1.05 million. However, the new owners also had to pay $4.2 million in real property transfer and real estate transfer taxes.

As we've pointed out (here and here), the building is in dismal shape and will need significant work to bring it up to code. (The DOB has cited No. 6 for emergency repairs several times in recent years.)

This was one of the abandoned buildings owned by the estate of the mysterious team of Arthur and Abraham Blasof, both long deceased. However, No. 6 has been generating some income with the cell-phone towers on the roof. 

The liquor store in the retail space closed when the owner passed away in the fall of 2009 at age 89. (Chico created the tribute to her on the gate in February 2010.)

The sidewalk bridge has been here since 2015.

Previously on EVG:

• Because you've always wanted to know what the inside of the long-empty 6 Avenue B looks like

• Let's take another look at the eerie remains of the long-abandoned 6 Avenue B 

A gut renovation at 12th and C, and the loss of the Gil Scott-Heron tribute mural

Photos by Stacie Joy

We've been keeping tabs on 195 Avenue C (aka 656 E. 12th St), a 5-floor residential building on the SW corner of 12th Street that has been undergoing a gut renovation... the scaffolding, construction netting and sidewalk bridge came down in late November...

In 2021, the Restored Homes Housing Development Fund Corporation bought the building from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development for an undisclosed sum. 

https://www.neighborhoodrestore.org › about

For several years, the walls here housed the 12C Outdoor Art Gallery, which featured a rotating batch of murals curated by resident Robert Galinsky.

One constant through the years: the Gil Scott-Heron tribute that Chico created after the jazz poet, musician and author died in 2011.

Several readers/residents were hoping that this mural — with "the Revolution Will Not Be Televised" line — would remain in place. 

And it looked as if the mural just might make it through the renovations...

Unfortunately, the mural has now all but wiped out ...