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Showing posts sorted by date for query croman. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

102 E. 7th St. is now for rent

A for rent sign is now on the storefront at 102 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Avenue A.

The listing for this Steve Croman-owned space isn't online just yet at Meridian Retail Leasing.

This arrival marks the end of Comparti New York — "a full-service catering and events resource" — in this space.

Before Comparti we had the tapas bar XyZ Pintxos y Botanas. Previously there was Tink's Cafe. And because someone will bring it up... some years back the storefront was the boutique Body Worship with the stainless-steel penis as a door handle.

Monday, September 30, 2019

The former Social Tees space on 5th Street is for rent


[Photo by Steven]

A few weeks back we mentioned that Social Tees is looking for a new home. The 501c3 nonprofit animal rescue has had several storefronts in the East Village, mostly recently at 325 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Meanwhile, that space, in a building owned by Steve Croman, is on the rental market. The for lease sign arrived late last week. In case you are wondering, the asking rent is $4,995 a month for 500 square feet.

As for Social Tees, you can follow them on Instagram for updates on a new space as well as pets for adoption.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Soothr, a Thai noodle bar, coming to the former Bruno Pizza space on 13th Street



Coming soon signage is now up at 204 E. 13th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue for (what looks like) Soothr, described as a "Thai Noodle & Bar" ...



Don't know anything else yet about this venture, other than what the sign notes: "From our hearty family recipes to your table."

The previous tenant here, Bruno Pizza, never reopened after an early morning fire broke out in the top-floor apartment last November. The fire caused extensive water damage to the pizzeria, which first opened in July 2015.

Post-fire renovations continue in the residential portion of landlord Steve Croman's building.

Thank you to EVG reader Laura K. for the tip!

Previously on EV Grieve:
The former Bruno Pizza space is for rent on 13th Street

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

[Updated] East Village Tavern is now going by DayTripper on Avenue C



Vinny & O shared this photo from yesterday, showing workers removing the East Village Tavern sign from this southeast corner of Avenue C and 10th Street.

Last month, the bar changed ownership, and the space became DayTripper (Updated: multiple readers and sources have indicated the same owners are behind the new venture) ...


East Village Tavern 2.0 opened as a Mexican restaurant and sports bar in July 2018.

The previous East Village Tavern closed in November 2016 after eight years in business. Bar management blamed a disagreement with landlord Steve Croman for the closure. (A Croman rep reportedly said that the owners were behind on rent.)

Updated:

The name change coincides with CB3's denial of East Village Tavern's application to extend their hours to 4 a.m. and add karaoke, live music and DJs.

CB3 issued a nearly three-page denial, noting ...:

WHEREAS, given that Community Board 3 recommended the denial of this application in part because of the inexperience of the applicant and the concern that the business would not be operated as a tavern with a family-friendly menu as originally proposed by the applicant and given that, after six (6) months of operation, there is evidence that the business is being operated inconsistent from its stipulations by hosting events, unlimited drink specials and having its façade open past 9:00 P.M., inconsistent from its application in that has had five (5) televisions and a giant projection screen, inconsistent from its initial characterization of its business by having regular drink specials, unlimited drink specials and hosting beer pong, has sought alteration of its license without notice to Community Board 3 and has already generated complaints regarding noise from the business and from patrons in front of the business, Community Board 3 cannot now endorse the removal of the stipulations imposed upon the applicant by the SLA; now THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Community Board 3 recommends the denial of the application for an alteration of the full on-premises liquor license of St Vince Group LLC, doing business as East Village Tavern, in the premises located at 158 Avenue C, at the corner of East 10th Street and Avenue C, New York, New York, to wit removing all of the stipulations imposed by the SLA.

CB3 also noted that "the Facebook page of the business advertises regular drink specials which are so low in price that they may be illegal."


Tuesday, September 3, 2019

2nd acts: Sushi counter for the former Amato Opera on the Bowery



The former Amato Opera building at 319 Bowery may finally have its first (full-time) retail business...



Reps for Kissaki Omakase will appear before CB3's SLA committee on Sept. 16 for a full liquor license for the space...



One of the applicants was an executive chef/partner at Gaijin in Astoria. Plans here call for a sushi counter with proposed hours of noon to midnight Sunday through Thursday, with a 1 a.m. close Friday and Saturday. (Find more details via their online questionnaire.)

In January 2009, Anthony Amato, the company's 88-year-old founder, announced that he had sold the building that was home to the opera since 1964. Amato Opera staged its last performance in May 2009. (Earlier history: The four-story brick building was a cigar factory from 1899 to 1926.)

Steve Croman bought the building in December 2008 for $3.7 million. The retail space had been on and off the market since at least 2012. It was once pitched like this, circa 2012...



The retail listing had originally asked $34,995. A post on @TradedNY noted the 1,800-square-foot space went for $200 per square foot.

No. 319 also features three luxury residences, with monthly rents between $8,995 and $10,995.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Life after the Amato Opera

Costume drama on the Bowery as the Amato Opera empties out

Amato Opera looks to be getting an encore as city OKs residential use

Work permits arrive at the former Amato Opera on the Bowery

Residential rentals at the former Amato Opera on the Bowery start at $10,995

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

The former Bruno Pizza space is for rent on 13th Street



The retail space at 204 E. 13th St. just east of Third Avenue is now on the market...



The asking monthly rent for the space — 1,300 square feet on the ground floor, with another 1,300 in the basement — is $12,950, per the listing.

The previous tenant here, Bruno Pizza, never reopened after an early morning fire broke out in the top-floor apartment last November. The fire caused extensive water damage to the pizzeria, which first opened in July 2015.

Sharon's Laundry Service was in the space before its restaurant conversion via landlord Steve Croman.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Bruno Pizza won't be reopening after fire upstairs last November



Last Thanksgiving weekend, an early morning fire broke out in the top-floor apartment at 204 E. 13th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. No injuries were reported in the blaze. (A cause has not been publicly revealed.)

The fire caused extensive water damage to Bruno Pizza on the ground floor. At the time, owner Demian Repucci told me that he was hopeful to get the restaurant up and running again.

Now, nearly eight months later, Repucci has decided that reopening the space wasn't feasible. He shared the news via Instagram earlier this month. Here's part of the message:

It is with a heavy heart that I bring you this news. The plethora of adversity that normally comes with running a restaurant was always made up for with the myriad amazing relationships I developed with you, the restaurant’s friends, neighbors, and pizza lovers. ...

But the water damage to the restaurant that resulted from the fire in the building upstairs has proven to be too much to overcome. After several months trying to figure out how to get the restaurant back on its feet, it seems recovery moved beyond my grasp.

So the difficult decision to close Bruno Pizza had to be made. The writing was on the wall. Or, rather, no longer on the wall (er... window). Thank you to everyone who came in, ate pizza, talked, drank, listened to my crazy stories, ate more pizza, and gave your love and support in spades. I appreciate it so very much.

I’m not sure another restaurant will ever be in my future, but pizza eating certainly will. As well as great conversation. So please do keep in touch.


[Photo from July 1]

Bruno Pizza, which milled its own flour, opened in July 2015. This was the first food establishment for Repucci, a restaurant designer-consultant.

Eater critic Ryan Sutton gave the restaurant's nouveau-Neapolitan pies high marks, with a post headlined "Bruno Is the Best Thing to Happen to Neapolitan Pizza Since Roberta's." Pete Wells at the Times was not so kind, dropping zero stars on the place. Two years after that punishing review (and after Bruno's original chefs left), Repucci offered to return the 0-star review to the Times.

In May 2016, Bruno Pizza won a judgment against a petition of eviction by landlord Steve Croman’s 9300 Realty.

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Gelarto packs it up on Avenue A



Workers were spotted packing up Gelarto late yesterday afternoon on the northwest corner of Avenue A and Ninth Street (thanks to Steven for the photos)...



The desert shop's management announced via Facebook on May 15 that they'd be closing up in the weeks ahead. Here's part of the message:

It has been a great time for all of us at GELARTO NYC for the past 2 years, but all good things come to an end and that includes our time in the East Village.

We have made many friends and have many lovely and loyal customers on Avenue A, but have reluctantly decided to relocate. We will of course let everyone know as soon as we have our new address, but until then please note you can continue to purchase our gelato at Kings’ and Balducci’s stores (among others) in NY and NJ.

Gelarto, the first U.S. outpost of this Italian brand, opened in June 2017 with Vespa-inspired stools and a painting of the Mona Lisa holding an ice cream cone.

Landlord Icon Realty has had this listing (145 Avenue A) online for weeks now. Per the listing, the asking rent for the 600 square feet is $13,500.

With Gelarto's departure, four of the five businesses that opened in Icon Realty's renovated retail spaces along 441-445 E. Ninth St. (aka 145 Avenue A) have now closed in recent months.

Cafe Pick Me Up moved out away from the corner in May 2015 after 20 years in business. They were housed at 145 and 147 Avenue A, and had two different landlords — Icon on the left, Steve Croman on the right. Café manager Rossella Palazzo told DNAinfo in March 2015 that a rent hike from No. 145 landlord Icon Realty was the reason for the closure.

Updated 8:30 a.m.

Vinny & O shared this interior shot from this morning...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Rent hike forcing Cafe Pick Me Up into its smaller space next door on Avenue A

Friday, May 31, 2019

EVG Etc.: Construction zone protections for cyclists; 'Punk Lust' at the Anthology


[The Miracle Garden on 3rd Street]

• LES/East Village takeaways from the NYU Furman Center's annual report, The State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods (The Lo-Down)

• AG's office announces the second round of restitution funds for current and former tenants of landlord and convicted felon Steve Croman (Patch ... previously on EVG)

• Thanks to a bill via local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera, construction firms must now create a safe, alternative route for cyclists if they block a bike lane — or have their permit revoked (amNY ... Streetsblog)

• Pride Guide for June (Grub Street)

• The city will create a permanent Greenwich Village monument to honor LGBTQ activists and Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries (STAR) founders Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera (Curbed)

• The casting director for "Russian Doll" explains how she put together the ensemble for the Netflix series set in the East Village (Backstage)

• Some history of 4 St. Mark's Place (Flaming Pablum ... previously on EVG)

• Starting today at noon, the MTA says OMNY readers will go live at 16 stations along the 4, 5 and 6 lines, starting the long goodbye of the MetroCard (Gothamist ... previously on EVG)

• Remembering the Eighth Street Bookshop (Ephemeral New York)

• The 1954 version of "A Star Is Born" with Judy Garland plays Monday (June 3) at the City Cinemas Village East on Second Avenue and 12th Street (Official site)

• This series starts tonight ... cutting and pasting: "In conjunction with the Museum of Sex’s exhibition “Punk Lust: Raw Provocation, 1971-1985,” the Anthology hosts a related film program that expands on the exhibition by surveying how Punk culture used the language of sexuality – both visually and lyrically – to transgress and defy, whether in the service of political provocation, raw desire, or simply to break through the stifling gender norms and social expectations of its time." (Anthology Film Archives)

• Beach Boy/noted asshole Mike Love releases a cover of "Rockaway Beach" (Billboard)

And via the EVG inbox...



Neville Dance Theatre in the premiere of "53 Movements"
Saturday, June 1 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie St.
Tickets: $30; $18 for students
Reservations here.

Neville Dance Theatre will premiere director/choreographer Brenda Neville's 53 Movements, set to composer Terry Riley's musical masterpiece "In C," June 1. Often referred to as the founding composer of music minimalism, Terry Riley's pioneering 1963 work "In C," consists of 53 short, set musical phrases played by the musicians with improvisational choices.

Monday, March 25, 2019

The Asian Taste awning has arrived on 3rd and B; China Wok redux?


[Photo by Salim]

On Saturday, EVG regular Salim reported that workers put in place the new awning for Asian Taste (hello Choc font!), coming soon to the space on the northwest corner of Avenue B and Third Street.

There is an unconfirmed reader report that Asian Taste is from the same family who ran the previous establishment here, the quick-serve China Wok that closed in early December. (A reader also spotted one of the former China Wok cooks helping with the sign.)

Upon its closure in December, there were rumors that the business was Cromanated via landlord Steve Croman. The for-rent sign arrived in mid-December.

Whatever the case, the family felt good enough to return to this corner.


[Photo Saturday evening by Harold Chester]

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Kushner selling 5 East Village buildings; report cites illegal occupation in EV properties


[EVG compilation of Kushner-owned EV buildings from 2013]

The Wall Street Journal reports that Kushner Cos. has hired a broker to market five apartment buildings with a total of around 100 units in the East Village.

As the paper reports, the company, formally headed by current White House adviser Jared Kushner, remains under fire from New York politicians and tenant activists, and is increasingly looking at buying properties in suburban areas.

Per the Journal:

The firm has sold 10 properties for more than $1.5 billion in New York and was the buyer of one since January 2017, according to Real Capital Analytics. That is when then-Chief Executive Jared Kushner left to join the White House as President Trump’s senior adviser.

Over this same period, the firm has spent more than $1.4 billion in a series of transactions for properties primarily in suburban Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and other states, RCA data shows.

And...

Even with the recent sales and its plan to sell another 100 apartment units in the East Village, Kushner Cos. still owns a sizable portfolio in New York City. That includes apartment buildings in Manhattan and Brooklyn, a downtown office building, a lending business and the lower floors of the former New York Times building.

It's not known at the moment which East Village properties will be sold. One estimate puts the number of Kushner-owned East Village buildings at 31. (Only Steve Croman reportedly owns more East Village buildings.)

Meanwhile, City Councilmember Ritchie Torres held a press conference yesterday to announce the results of an investigation alleging that Kushner Cos. is operating eight East Village rental buildings illegally. (The Journal article went to press before the results of this report were cited by other media outlets.)

Per The Real Deal:

Torres said that his investigation, launched in cooperation with the nonprofit Housing Rights Initiative, found the buildings had expired certificates of occupancy, meaning tenants should not be allowed to live in the properties.

The buildings, according to HRI’s Aaron Carr, have unpaid fines stemming from violations and unauthorized construction, which prevents Kushner Companies from being able to obtain a COO.

Torres and Carr called on the city to quickly ensure these buildings are safe.

A spokesperson for Kushner Cos. said the firm is "committed to the safety of our residents and the proper maintenance of our buildings. Similar to many other landlords, we inherited from prior owners Certificates of Occupancy with various issues. Kushner will continue the long and detailed process to work with our consultants and the Department of Buildings to correct every issue outstanding."

The DOB blasted the report from Torres and Carr, accusing the two of "pure grandstanding," as Curbed reported. A DOB spokesperson said their investigation "identified nothing more than paperwork lapses that have nothing to do with tenant safety."

The Kushners started buying up East Village buildings in early 2013.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Report: Jared Kushner buys $130 million portfolio of East Village rental buildings

Report: Jared Kushner paid $49 million for 7 more Ben Shaoul-owned properties in the East Village

More about Jared Kushner's East Village buying spree

Tenants claim: Kushner and Westminster want to destroy this building's beautiful garden

Jared Kushner not done buying every walk-up in the East Village

Reports outline how Kushner Companies is aggressively trying to empty 170-174 E. 2nd St.

Report: 9th Street resident battling with Kushner Cos. to clean up black mold infestation

Jared Kushner's East Village tenants wish he'd resolve issues closer to home

How many East Village properties do the Kushner Cos. actually own?

Report: Kushner Co. filed false paperwork with the city over number of rent-regulated tenants

New state legislation aims to combat predatory equity

Report: Residents of Kushner-owned 118 E. 4th St. learn building had 10X legal levels of lead

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

EVG Etc.: Bid to protect the White Horse Tavern; ghost bike to remember East Village cyclist


[Early morning from Houston and Essex/Avenue A]

Village Preservation is urging the Landmark Preservation Commission to grant landmark designation to the interior of the White Horse Tavern, housed in a West Village building now owned by Steve Croman (Gothamist ... Curbed ... Eater ... JVNY)

Speaking of Village Preservation ... they are seeking nominations for a person, business, organization or place that makes in difference in Greenwich Village, the East Village or NoHo. The Village Awards is now accepting nominations here.

14th Street busway plan not getting much support, per leaked documents (Streetsblog)

Exploring the growth of the East Village Chinese food scene (WNYC)

East River Alliance forms out of city's stormproofing switcheroo (Patch ... previously on EVG)

The new era of vegan diners — includes an EVG quote (Grub Street)

We've only just begun: "Riders arriving at the Bedford Avenue station for their commute on Monday morning found the platform covered in thick dust, while MTA workers and cops all wore masks" (The Post)

Longtime graffiti artist Al Diaz receives unlikely recognition: "Mayor Bill de Blasio recently awarded him a signed and embossed proclamation thanking him for his street graffiti, in particular for his collaboration with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat." (The Wall Street Journal, subscription required ... listen to the EVG podcast with Diaz from late last summer here)

The Infrastructure on Film series (March 14-28) "gathers together a diverse array of films that explore the infrastructure of the built environment, the various systems and networks that are conceived, designed, and engineered to encourage the functioning of our societies..." Titles include Bong Joon-ho's sci-fi thriller "Snowpiercer" (Anthology Film Archives)

That Agnostic Front documentary, "The Godfathers Of Hardcore," is now available via Showtime On Demand (Blabbermouth)

About a favorite dish at Madame Vo BBQ on Second Avenue and Sixth Street (Eater)

... and cycling advocates installed a ghost bike for Chaim Joseph, the 72-year-old East Village resident who was killed by a hit-and-run oil-truck driver early last month on Eighth Avenue and 45th Street. Via the Families for Safe Streets Facebook page: "We learned of his beautiful acts of kindness, his commitment to social justice, his generous spirit and his deep respect for all living beings."

Friday, February 1, 2019

Bubbleology Tea debuts tomorrow with an Instagram Boomerang photo booth



The London-based Bubbleology Tea chain opens its EV outpost tomorrow at 120 1/2 First Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

As the Times noted last spring, this outpost "will feature milk- and fruit-based bubble tea blends including Oreo Crush, along with alcoholic brews including Raspberry Mar-Tea-Ni." Not to mention concoctions like bubble waffles and gelato.

Here's what is in store for tomorrow...


The latest iteration of the International Bar closed in this now-sanitized space in November 2017. (Non-renewal of lease, via landlord Steve Croman.) The bar merged with its sister saloon, the Coal Yard, down the block.

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Week in Grieview


[Courtside in Tompkins Square Park this weekend]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

New owners set to take over the 33-year-old Sidewalk Bar & Restaurant on Avenue A (Monday)

At the 27th Tompkins Square Park holiday tree lightning (Monday)

Here's the new facility for Barrier Free Living on 2nd Street (Monday)

L-pocalypse now: Recap of Tuesday's rally outside the MTA offices (Friday)

When in rehab: Meet Winston, the new red-tailed hawk in Dora's life (Wednesday)

Tamam now open on 5th Street (Thursday)

Plywood watch: 238 E. 3rd St. (Tuesday)

This week's NY See (Saturday)

On Lafayette Street, former shelter for homeless women is now Showfields, 'the Most Interesting Store In The World' (Wednesday)

Harassed by Steve Croman? Checks in the mail (Friday)

About the New Colossus Festival, bringing new bands to the LES/East Village this March (Wednesday)

The China Star returns to service (Thursday)

Dallas BBQ is here to stay (Thursday)

Yes, China Wok has closed (Wednesday)

On 1st Avenue, Paquito's is closed for renovations until Dec. 28 (Tuesday)

Another disappearing diner (Thursday)

Autre Kyo Ya has not been open lately (Monday)

Marking the arrival of the Alphabet 99-cent Fresh Pizza awning (Wednesday)

On 2nd Avenue, new owners for 12th Street Ale House, Durden (Monday)

Tea time for new cafe on 11th Street (Tuesday)

The incoming Bubbleology Tea now with Bubbleology Tea signage (Monday)

Short Stories shapes up on the Bowery (Tuesday)

ViVi back in bubble tea action on Allen after 2-month DOH-related closure (Wednesday)

... and there is some vigorous debate in the tree-tossing community about the discarded item on Sixth Street at Second Avenue (spotted by Derek Berg and Russell K.)...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

Was this someone's Christmas tree last year? Maybe, but it's in a pot, making it more likely that it served a purpose not related to the holiday.

... and hopefully this doesn't become a copycat crime wave...



---

Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter

Friday, December 14, 2018

Harassed by Steve Croman? Checks in the mail


New York AG Barbara Underwood announced yesterday that the first checks are in the mail to eligible current or former tenants of buildings owned by Steve Croman who submitted claims to the Croman Tenant Restitution Fund.

The restitution fund is part of the settlement that arose out of an investigation and lawsuit filed by the AG against Croman for — among other things — harassment, coercion and fraud, to force rent-regulated tenants out of their apartments.

Here's more from the AG's press office:

The consent decree requires Croman to pay $8 million into a Tenant Restitution Fund – the largest-ever monetary settlement with an individual landlord. The $8 million will be divided equally among eligible claimants and distributed to tenants in installments over a 38 to 42-month period. This first round of restitution payments follows Croman’s initial $2 million payment to the fund.

To be eligible for restitution, tenants had to have lived in a rent-stabilized or rent-controlled apartment owned by Croman between July 1, 2011 and December 20, 2017, not including tenants who received a buyout of more than $20,000 (not including any amount that purported to cover rent or arrears).

Following last year’s historic consent decree, in August 2018, the claims administrator hired by the Attorney General mailed claim notices and application forms to current and former rent-stabilized and rent-controlled tenants in Croman’s buildings. Nearly 800 households filed applications for restitution funds. Eligible households will begin receiving checks for $2,425 each, as early as next week, in this first installment from the Croman Tenant Restitution Fund.

Cynthia Chaffee, Croman tenant and cofounder of the Stop Croman Coalition, told me this: "As far as I'm concerned, no amount of money can ever make up for the hell Steve Croman put his tenants through."

In addition to this $8 million Tenant Restitution Fund, the settlement required that a new, independent management company run Croman's residential properties for five years. In June, the AG's office selected Michael Besen’s New York City Management to oversee Croman's real-estate empire, which includes 47 buildings with 617 units in the East Village.

Croman was released from the Manhattan Correctional Facility on June 1 after serving eight months of a one-year jail sentence and paid a $5 million tax settlement following separate criminal charges brought by the AG's office for fraudulent refinancing of loans and tax fraud.

Previously on EV Grieve:
AG's office: Steve Croman agrees to pay $8 million to the tenants he harassed

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Yes, China Wok has closed



As a follow-up post to last Wednesday's item about China Wok's downed gates on Avenue B at Third Street... an EVG reader shared this photo from yesterday, showing that the CW signage has been removed, and the interior cleaned out.

The unofficial word here is that the owners decided to close after a rent increase. (The building is among those in Steve Croman's empire.)

We heard that the folks who ran China Wok also own a similar to-go establishment on Canal Street.


[EVG photo from the summer]

This corner space is for rent with an ask of $6,495 a month.

Monday, December 10, 2018

The incoming Bubbleology Tea now with Bubbleology Tea signage



As noted (a few times) earlier this year, the London-based Bubbleology Tea chain is opening an outpost at 120 1/2 First Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

The Bubbleology signage is up now on the front window (H/T William Klayer!) promising "the Delicious Science of the Bubble Tea." In a real-estate transaction from May, the Times reported that the owners of this franchise signed a seven-year lease for the space, which "will feature milk- and fruit-based bubble tea blends including Oreo Crush, along with alcoholic brews including Raspberry Mar-Tea-Ni. "

The owners were seeking a full-liquor license for the address. However, CB3 denied their application in April, citing "insufficient public benefit ... for a business seeking to add tea-infused cocktails to its drink menu to sustain its business plan, in an area well-served with licensed businesses furnishing cocktails," per the minutes from that meeting. Not sure if the owners still plan on the alcohol portion of the drinks menu.

Here's a look inside from the other morning...



The latest iteration of the International Bar closed here in November 2017. (Non-renewal of lease, via landlord Steve Croman.) The bar merged with its sister saloon, the Coal Yard, one block to the south between Seventh Street and Sixth Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
More about Bubbleology Tea, possibly coming soon to 1st Avenue

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Concern for China Wok, which has not been open lately on Avenue B



China Wok, the reliable quick-serve Chinese restaurant on the corner of Third Street and Avenue B, has not been open in recent days, fueling concerns among patrons that they have closed for good.

The storefront has been on the rental market. The current listing notes an asking rent of $6,495 a month. The space can also be combined with the empty storefront next door for a few thousand more.



There is an unconfirmed neighbor report that the Marshal took legal possession of the space on behalf of landlord Steve Croman. (There is another unconfirmed claim that the rent was raised to the asking amount from $2,500.)

H/T Stacie Joy!

And an EVG Instagram post from late in the summer...

View this post on Instagram

3rd and B • #eastvillage #chinesefood

A post shared by EV Grieve (@evgrieve) on


My favorite comment from this Instagram post: "The fan on the side that drips grease into the cardboard on the sidewalk 😍😍"

Friday, November 30, 2018

Tenant activists praise lead reform, urge for more protections from city against predatory landlords



On Tuesday, members of the Lead Dust Free New York City coalition marched through parts of the Lower East Side and East Village, stopping at three buildings — 113 Stanton St., 57 Second Ave. and 233 E. Fifth St. — "where shoddy renovations have released lead dust into the air."

The group, including organizers from the Cooper Square Committee and Icon Tenants United, Tenants Taking Control and the Alliance of Croman Tenants, also praised elected officials for introducing laws aimed at protecting them and urged them to continue pushing for more lead reform.











Here's more background via a news release from the Cooper Square Committee...

Known collectively as the Stand for Tenant Safety (or STS) Laws, they included a new, Real Time Enforcement statute, as well as a tenant bill of rights that must be posted in buildings where construction takes place. They also created a new position within the Department of Buildings, called the Office of the Tenant Advocate.

This year, the City Council is looking at 25 more new bills to further protect tenants from lead exposure. The thrust of some of these bills is to break down the silos that current separately the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, the Department of Buildings and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

Marchers demanded that these laws also be enacted to further prevent the erosion of affordable housing in New York City.

As in other cities around the United States ... New York is being inundated by a hyper-gentrification tsunami that has been permanently pushing middle- and lower-income tenants out of their homes. Some landlords, hungry for quick returns, continue to pursue the practice of predatory equity, which worsens the city’s affordable housing crisis. These same landlords typically ignore safe work practices while renovating their buildings.



All photos courtesy of Tenants Taking Control

Previously on EV Grieve:
Health Department to inspect Raphael Toledano's East Village properties for toxic levels of lead dust

Ongoing concerns about demolition work and elevated lead levels in Toledano-owned buildings

Get the lead out: Tenants call for protections from lead dust during renovations

Monday, November 26, 2018

Thanksgiving-weekend fire temporarily shutters Bruno Pizza on 13th Street


[Reader-submitted photo]

Early Friday morning, a fire broke out in the top-floor apartment at 204 E. 13th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

The extent of the damage to the four-story building isn't known... several of the north-facing windows are boarded up...



The restaurant on the ground-floor level, Bruno Pizza, will be closed for the foreseeable future.

"There is extensive water damage in the restaurant," owner Demian Repucci told me via email. "But the biggest thing is that ConEd shut off the electricity, gas and water to the whole building.

"We're trying to figure out the situation and what it will take to get back up and running."

Bruno Pizza opened in July 2015.

According to Streeteasy, the building, owned by Steve Croman, has three residential units. The top- floor apartment includes four bedrooms, and last rented for $6,750, per the Streeteasy listings.

A sign on the building's front door notes that tenants are not to enter... there isn't any official vacate order posted from the city just yet...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Report of a fire at 204 E. 13th St.