New Cooper Square Hotel fence tagged

On Wednesday, workers finished putting in the Popsicle fence at the Cooper Square Hotel... a tempting canvas for street artists... and sure enough, in what will be the first of many, I imagine... someone tagged the fence last night... and thanks to EV Grieve reader Ryan for snapping this shot early this morning of the Cooper Square Hotel Anti-Graffiti Team going into action...



I took this shot a little later...




...and just up the way at the new Cooper Union academic building...



Anyway, why did the Coop Hotel clean the tag? I thought they wanted to "fit in with the edgy local art scene?"

The Cooper Square Hotel "doesn’t just stick out among the nearby tenements but more or less taunts them"

In the Times today. From Frank Bruni's review of Table 8 at the Cooper Square Hotel:

It’s the Cooper Square Hotel, a whimsical glass sliver that doesn’t just stick out among the nearby tenements but more or less taunts them, declaring them holdovers from a frumpier East Village past. The hotel tries to claim the neighborhood around it as a party zone on a homogenously slick, glossy par with South Beach or West Hollywood.

Not all the neighbors are amused. Some have responded to the din of chatter and generic lounge music coming from the hotel’s second-floor terrace by hanging dirty briefs and the like from a clothesline readily visible to the revelers. It’s a campaign of undermining by underwear.

I spotted only one sad, fluttering garment on the evening when I ate on Table 8’s street-level patio. And it did less to ruffle my serenity — the patio is a pretty, breezy treat — than the door that crashed into the back of my chair when someone decided to step outside. Placing a table for diners smack in the door’s way exemplifies the curious planning at which Table 8 excels.

And the sound level inside Table 8? "absolutely bonkers" and "excruciating."

And make sure to read the part about the wine in the restrooms.

Does this mean the Cooper Square Hotel no longer wants to fit in with the neighborhood?

Curbed has the news that the mural on the side of the Cooper Square Hotel is being painted over right now... And they produced the above evidence...

As you may recall, the Hotel hired four graffiti artists — Joyce Pensato, Nick 1, Vizie and Shinique Smith — to create the mural.

As you also may recall:

Klus Ortleib, the hotel's managing partner, wants the place to fit in with the edgy local art scene. "When I came up with the idea, people said I was crazy," he said.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Cooper Square Hotel's attempt to fit in with the neighborhood ready to be unveiled

Cooper 35 Asian Pub part of development deal on Cooper Square

After seeing yesterday's news on the sale of the empty lot on Cooper Square at Sixth Street for $8.5 million ... I wondered if this meant the end of 35 Cooper Square too — currently the home of Cooper 35 Asian Pub. (Read the history of 35 Cooper here.) The parcel of land in question is 35-39 Cooper Square. I asked Massey Knakal if the sale included the space that houses the bar, which is adjacent to the Cooper Square Hotel. A Massey Knakal spokesperson confirmed that it does.

Here are a few details from the news release on the sale (PDF):

“We generated over 30 offers in under 45 days,” said First Vice President of Sales, Joe Sitt who exclusively handled this transaction with the assistance of Massey Knakal’s Special Asset Strategy Group. “The buyer is a known and respected developer who performed as expected on a two week T.O.E. close. It just goes to show there is always strong demand when locations are prime,” added Sitt.

[Photo via Massey Knakal]

Recognizing 27 Cooper Square's role in local history

When developers of the Cooper Square Hotel (now the Standard East Village) were buying up properties to demolish to make way for their 21-floor building, two residents of 27 Cooper Square declined to leave their longtime home (the two had secured artists' loft status in the 1980s, and weren't legally required to move) ... and so the circa-1845 tenement became fused together with the new structure.

Today, No. 27 houses part of the hotel, including administrative offices and the front desk. (The residences remain upstairs.)

And tonight at 6, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation is unveiling a plaque at the building between Fifth Street and Sixth Street to note its importance in neighborhood history.

Via the EVG inbox...

GVSHP and the Two Boots Foundation will commemorate the role of 27 Cooper Square as an important nexus for artistic and cultural movements that continue to reverberate today with the unveiling of a historic plaque.

In the 1960s, this 1845 former rooming house became a laboratory for artistic, literary and political currents. Writers LeRoi and Hettie Jones, their Yugen magazine and Totem Press, musician Archie Shepp and painter Elizabeth Murray all had homes here. The vacant building was transformed into a vital hub of cultural life, attracting leading figures including those from the Beats and the world of jazz. It was also the childhood home of a second generation of East Village artists and thinkers.

GVSHP and Two Boots Foundation will install a plaque on the building at 27 Cooper Square to mark the significance of the site in the artistic legacy of the East Village. Speakers will include, Accra Shepp, photographer and son of world-renowned saxophonist Archie Shepp who lived in the building beginning in the 1960s, and writer and poet Hettie Jones, who still lives at 27 Cooper Square will speak about the importance of this building as a hub of creativity.

Unfortunately, neighboring 35 Cooper Square didn't fare as well in subsequent years.

Updated:

Something 28,998 square feet or so coming to Cooper Square (and goodbye Cooper 35 Asian Pub?)

Well, the lot that we've been keeping an eye on at Sixth Street and Cooper Square...



...has been sold. Curbed has the details about the all-cash deal for $8.5 million. "What's to come? We don't know! But here's a hint: 'The combined lot size is approximately 4,833 square feet, in a C6-1 zone, with a total buildable of approximately 28,998 square feet.'"

Anyway, all the best to the new owners. As Chris Flash pointed out in the comments: "That corner lot is a sink hole. The building standing there had to be taken down before it collapsed and every time they pave this lot with new cement, it sinks further. Go take a look -- it's very strange...."

The lot's address is 35-39 Cooper Square. ... The address for the Cooper 35 Asian Pub is, uh, 35 Cooper Square... hard to imagine this parcel staying put between the Cooper Square Hotel and the new development...


[Photo via Yelp]

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

Mystery Building Week continues. (See here and here for previous installments.)

The Salvation Army's East Village Residence closed here at the Bowery and East Third Street in August 2008. (Find some history of the space here.)

[February 2011, of course, because it doesn't snow here anymore]

And all was quiet for a few years. Until Jan. 11, 2011, when Lois Weiss at the Post reported that the France-based Louzon Group had bought the building and were planning on opening a new hotel here. Across the way from the Bowery Hotel. And two blocks from the then-Cooper Square Hotel (now the Standard East Village). Not to mention the rebranded Whitehouse Hotel and Hostel across the street. And close enough to the 569 hotels planned for the Lower East Side.

Remember the first rendering?

[Via Curbed]

Then! The next rendering! Keep in mind: This is not a joke.

[Via the Observer]

And yes — that's a Jumbotron up there.

As you'll recall, the reaction was... brutal? My favorite comment, via the EV Grieve Facebook page, came from Luc Sante:

It would be cheaper and more useful just to blow up the building and leave a 30-foot crater.

Anyway! Two years later, there's no sign of this hotel. (Which is a very good thing...) There's nothing on file for the property with the DOB. No demolition permits in the works. Nothing.

Did the Louzon Group changed its mind? They paid $7.6 million for the property. Anyone know what's going on with the space? Let us know via the EV Grieve email.

[Image created by Shawn Chittle]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reactions to new Bowery hotel: 'It would be cheaper and more useful just to blow up the building and leave a 30-foot crater'

Why do the French hate us?

Preserving 35 Cooper Square: What's at stake

We've been writing this week about this afternoon's rally to save 35 Cooper Square. (It starts at 4:30.) There's also an online petition you can sign. You can find that here.

Several commenters have wondered why bother saving what is basically now an "NYU bar." Said another commenter:

The "Trendy" people who don't live in the neighborhood (or care about it if they do) are the primary clientele of Asian Pub and the surrounding area and what makes it desirable to developers. These are the same people who I am sure will be excited for a new hotel bar in the same spot. The place pandered to them and reaps what it sows.

And the voice of reason from EV Grieve commenter Bowery Boy:

It's not about saving the restaurant; it's about saving the building. Those inside will come and go, but if the building is allowed to be destroyed, you can't ever get that kind of history back. It's the oldest building on Cooper Square, and future generations should be able to see how we once lived and worked. These intimate houses along the Bowery, 6 of them left, connect the larger historic district of the legendary and irreplacable Bowery.

And here's a letter from Assemblymember Deborah Glick to Robert Tierney, chair of the Landmarks Preservation Committee... (click to enlarge...)

And an excerpt:

"The building itself is a rare specimen that has remained standing since the transition of the Bowery from a residential area to one that was home to a variety of commercial venues in the early 19th century. While there have been some changes made to the façade of 35 Cooper Square, the building still retains its original twin peaked dormers, chimney, and gambrel roof, and is unmistakably representative of a bygone era in New York City history.

"Given the recent construction projects on the Bowery including the Cooper Square Hotel, a 20 story glass tower which is adjacent to 35 Cooper Square, it is clear that this type of building needs the protections granted by landmark status to survive. Absent these safeguards this building will likely be raised [sic] by overzealous developers seeking to build yet another out of scale structure with no respect for the character and ethos of the neighborhood."

And a letter from CIty Council member Rosie Mendez....

The Cooper Square Hotel officially unveils its new graffiti mural

Well, last night was the big party at the Cooper Square Hotel to unveil its new graffiti project....which is now all illuminated for us to enjoy...



Meanwhile! Inside the hotel, yours truly was hobnobbing with a bevy of beauties...







OK, OK. None of this is true. Except the first part about the mural party. I was NOT invited, for some reason. Oversight, most likely. Yeah, I just typed in "Party at Cooper Square Hotel" in Google and...

MEANWHILE:
Bob Arihood has a great shot of the mural here.

Actually, we're still infuriated

Daily Candy checks in today with their take on the new Cooper Square Hotel (aka, "Dildo of Darkness"):

Cooped Up
The Cooper Square Hotel Opens

You can hate your neighbors only until you realize you love them.

So it was with The Cooper Square Hotel, which infuriated the testy East Village. Then came the post-construction reveal: Damn, this is one fine-looking, well-mannered new kid on the block.

An intriguing, modern glass tower, The Cooper has enough outdoor garden space to make you think the 6 train added a stop in L.A. The beautiful library off the lobby has a fireplace, bookshelves filled with eclectic volumes from Housing Works, and an honor bar for everyone. (Yes, even off-the-street riffraff like us.) Govind Armstrong’s long-awaited Table 8 outpost will open in February.

Overnight guests (yippee, no more fleabag St. Mark’s hotels!) won’t want to leave, what with the indie movies in the minibar, Red Flower amenities, three bathrobes, and insane city views.

It’s enough to inspire a block party.

Cooper Square Hotel finishes building fence that looks just as out of place as the hotel

As I noted yesterday, workers were fencing in the garden spot along East Fifth Street outside the Cooper Square Hotel... How many Popsicle sticks were used to make this?




However, as you can see, the Coopsters left a slot in the Popsicle sticks for any fancy car parties they may have this summer...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Residents discuss the problems created by the Cooper Square Hotel: Meanwhile, across the street, a party for a sports car

Updated: Shepard Fairey creating new mural for the Cooper Square Hotel

Following up on yesterday's post about the whitewashing of the mural on the Cooper Square Hotel... Just like that, a new mural is in progress...




We asked a Cooper employee for confirmation of the artist, but he said he didn't know... Uh-huh. Anyway, Shepard Fairey is creating this mural too.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Goodbye Homer Simpson: The Cooper Square Hotel has a white wall again

Cooper Square Hotel now sporting dead tree benches

Well, as the headline says, the Cooper Square Hotel now sporting dead tree benches...





Perhaps these are the remnants of the trees that were chopped down on Fifth Street next to the hotel back in April.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Why the trees were cut down on Fifth Street next to the Cooper Square Hotel

The Cooper Square Hotel's attempt to fit in with the neighborhood ready to be unveiled

As Curbed noted, the Cooper Square Hotel is throwing a bash tonight to unveil its new graffiti mural...

Here's what the mural looked like as of Saturday...



And we did a little research to learn more about the origins of the Homer Simpson tribute.

Also, for the record, I want to be clear that I really like the work of the four graffiti artists -- Joyce Pensato, Nick 1, Vizie and Shinique Smith -- who were hired to create this mural. And I'm happy that they have such a high-profile canvas to show their work. My problem is with the Cooper Square Hotel's lame attempt to suddenly try to fit into the neighborhood. As the Post reported:

Klus Ortleib, the hotel's managing partner, wants the place to fit in with the edgy local art scene. "When I came up with the idea, people said I was crazy," he said.

Anyway! We assume that the mural is finished. The bushes that were removed to make way for the crane...



...have been replanted.



Sort of. I'm not much of a gardener, but I always thought plant life did better in the ground if you first took off the burlap around its roots...



Previously.

6 more floors in store for the soon-to-be unrecognizable St. Marks Hotel

[Via Wikipedia Commons]

The Pappas family, owners of the St. Marks Hotel, have filed plans to build a 10-story mixed-use building on the hotel's lot at 2 St. Mark’s Place and Third Avenue.

As The Real Deal reported:

According to the building plans, the expanded building would also have retail on the ground floor, in addition to a medical office and other commercial space in the cellar. The hotel would occupy floors two through 10.

And New York Yimby got a look at a rendering.

Brace.



Hjhdjhsjhuu!!!! klsdfsJF;KLSFKJ;K!!!! KLKJASJJIQIOWUIQOWI!

Sorry.

Whoa.

Well, it looks appropriately garish Midtown Southish to blend in with the Death Star across the street and the Cooper Union Spacecraft down the block.

New York Yimby notes that John Pappas also owns the Park Savoy Hotel on West 58th Street... and that the new address will also be known as 71 Cooper Square, a long way from its hot-sheet hotel days of the 1970s and 1980s... and likely its current clientele of the hostel set and European tourists.

It was the Valencia until what, the early 1980s?


[From Blast of Silence, circa 1961]


[Photo by Michael Sean Edwards from 1980]

'Don't you think that André Balazs knows what's going in at the empty lot next door?'

Well you probably know that André Balazs bought the Cooper Square Hotel and is turning the joint into The Standard East Village.

So we were having an email exchange with an EV Grieve regular who was trying to sound upbeat about the sale. Maybe it won't be so bad, he or she tried. They said it will be "a more mellow alternative" to the bumping-and-grinding off the High Line, right?

Of course, you have to say those kinds of things now to appease the Community Board, neighbors, etc.

Then the reader said, or wrote: Don't you think that André Balazs knows what's going in at the empty lot next door?

Now that's an interesting question. Earlier this year, despite an outpouring of support for 35 Cooper Square, developer Arun Bhatia had the historic structure demolished to make way for whatever he has planned for the lot adjacent to the hotel off Sixth Street.

Bhatia hasn't said what's coming to the space. Most people assume it will be some condo/hotel/dorm complex with chain-store retail on the ground-floor and some nonprofit or community facility for good (tax) measure.

Anyway, as The Wall Street Journal reported earlier in the fall, Balazs bought the Cooper Square Hotel for $90 million.

If you're putting out that much for the property, then you'll gonna want to know what your new neighbor will be.... some day.

Meanwhile, if André, "Stan" or anyone wants to send us a note to the tipline with any renderings or plans for the empty lot...

[Photo by Shawn Chittle.]

Pourt has closed on Cooper Square

Pourt, the cafe-work space combo at 35 Cooper Square, shut down after service on Friday.

There's a message on the bottom of the Pourt website noting that they "are unfortunately no longer operating. Thank you to all of our customers."



It seemed like a good idea on paper: a mixture of coffeehouse and workspace. People could rent a desk with speedy fiber optics by the hour ($7) and order bottomless coffee ($2.99). There was also access to printers, phone chargers, Skype facilities, etc., as well as a larger conference room for small groups.

The New York Business Journal wrote about the space back in March:

Pourt is striving to create a new hybrid, a mixture of coffeehouse and workspace, emphasizing short-term stays. Whether there are enough freelancers and small businesses that can pay those fees is yet to be determined.

It‘s located on Cooper Square, strategically situated near Cooper Union, NYU, Manhattan Marymount College dorms and the Standard Hotel in the bustling East Village. The combined space measures 2,000 square feet.

Founders Matt Tervooren, 28, and 27-year-old Mike Kruszewski, lived in the East Village (Tervooren recently moved to Williamsburg) and met as economics majors at the University of Michigan. When they freelanced, they were “consistently frustrated by the lack of good Wifi, lack of available seating, or having the barista frowning at you if you don’t order more food,” Tervooren noted.

Pourt, he said, “combines the two concepts, a coffee shop with a comfortable work space.” And what differentiates Pourt from other co-working spaces such as WeWork and Regus is customers “don’t have to make long-term commitments. If you’re looking for a permanent office, we’re not right,” he admitted.

So what happened? One local who frequented the space offered this analysis:

Their rent was very high and they had a lot of square footage. They took so much space because they originally thought they could have space in the back where people would pay to work during the day. Their rent required that the work space generate substantial revenue. But nobody wanted to pay $10+/hour to work in the back when there are so many other options nearby. So they tried a bunch of other business models over the past year, trying to figure out how to generate enough revenue to pay crazy East Village rents on a large space that a coffee shop model alone couldn’t support. They were nice guys and worked hard ... it’s a shame.

Pourt opened back in January in the base of the Marymount Manhattan College dormitory here at Sixth Street.

The owners were unsuccessful in their bid for a full liquor license in July.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Pourt softly opens on Cooper Square

Pourt signage arrives at Cooper Square dorm retail space

The Hells Angels kindly request that hotel guests please refrain from sitting on their bench

The bench outside the Hells Angels headquarters on Third Street now features a recently added sign:




Given the proximity now of the Bowery Hotel and, more recently, the Cooper Square Hotel... I'd say one too many clueless hotel guests plopped down with a cup of FroYo to take in some authentic NYC scenery. Woo, honey check out the mopeds! Sit on one while I take your picture!

Man, I wish I would have seen this!

[Update: In the comments, reader James provides more information: "The sign is actually for the guests of an illegal hotel next door at 73-75 E 3rd. I used to live there as the building 'management' was turning the building into a 'Vegan Hotel' despite 8 complaints into the department of buildings to my last count. Now they even have a blog... I can see how the Hells Angels could be upset. They are great neighbors btw, if you don't sit on their bench."]

Not too long ago, I saw a harmless-looking delivery guy start to chain up his bicycle on the light pole to the west of the HQ's front door. The delivery was for the building next door. From a doorway across the street, a man emerged and hollered with authority: "MOVE THAT BIKE." Somehow, the delivery guy missed the "No Parking Except Authorized Hells Angels" sign.