Paving and peace on East 11th Street

The DOT is currently prepping parts of East 10th Street tonight for repaving... signs said they'd be doing all this tonight and tomorrow... from Avenue D westward...

... workers seem to be randomly tossing down barrels to block off various streets and Avenues and bike lanes ...

...a little later...

[Bobby Williams]

And last Thursday and Friday, crews worked on East 11th Street... and it kinda seemed festive... (maybe not for the workers on a hot and humid night)...

A few shots from the weekend...

[Shawn Chittle]

[EVG reader Allison]

... and on another section of East 11th Street...

Kenny from 11th St. reported that some neighbors decided to help out — because you never know when those extra chopsticks will come in handy to decorate the street ...

...and perhaps some repaving-related damage to this tree?

[Shawn Chittle]

Or is this our very own Virgin Mary Tree?

Not everyone wants landmark protection for the East Village

[Photo last week by Bobby Williams]

As you know, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) unanimously voted to create the East 10th Street Historic District* on Tuesday. (Perhaps we should include that name with an asterisk because of Ben Shaoul's last-second approval for a rooftop addition at 315 E. 10th St.)

Preservationists are now hoping that the LPC will give another swath of the East Village landmark status as well... an area that takes in some 330 buildings:

The LPC has not placed this item on their calendar just yet.

Today, in an article titled Preservation Push in Bohemian Home Stirs Fear of Hardship, The New York Times reports on the opposition to the landmark protection. Per the article by Joseph Berger:

Almost a dozen houses of worship, including the late-19th-century Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection and a crumbling century-old synagogue, argue that they are dependent on donations and that including them in a landmark district would make simple projects like repairing a window or fixing a roof more expensive and bureaucratically time-consuming.

Even worse, it would make their buildings and the valuable property on which they sit much less attractive since developers would be restricted in what they could do.

Now what?

Noted

Duane Reade on 14th Street... the one near First Avenue... not the one at Third Avenue ... or at the former Virgin Megastore or... and this costs $19.99?

Citibank thinks that we're excited for a new bank branch

On Union Square, at the corner that once housed the Virgin Megastore...




...why else would Citibank feel the need for a countdown clock? Woo 57 days!



This will complete the transformation of Union Square South... the former Circuit City-Virgin Megastore space on 14th Street between Fourth Avenue and Broadway now features Best Buy, Duane Reade, Nordstrom Rack and the incoming, state-of-the-art Citibank.

East Village Cathedral stars alongside Angelina Jolie in 'Salt'

Waaaaay back in May 2009, Angelina Jolie, the former semi-crusty of Tompkins Square Park, came to the East Village while filming "Salt," the mineral-turn-CIA thriller....



The crew filmed on Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue inside the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection. In honor of the movie opening today... let's take a look at the role the Cathedral played in the film...



First! Woo! Angelina over here! Here she is on Second Street!



With the ball-in-chain in tow on the Cathedral steps...



Anyway, according to the website, the crew used the Cathedral to replicate the interior of the Makariev Monastery in Russia when it was an orphanage in 1970s Soviet Russia. You see, Angelina plays a spy who may or may not be Russian...so this might be some flashback scene or something...






No idea whether these scenes made it into the movie... Perhaps I'll by a pirated DVD from that guy on the corner for $5 to see.

Also, curious about what kind of location fee the Cathedral received...

Updated: A Scouting Life shares a "Salt" review with us... "It took years, but 'The Last Boy Scout' finally has competition for the most ludicrous action film ever made."

Ouch! That's seriously bad.

And I asked if the Cathedral made the cut. Yes, but!: "They did shoot the orphanage but the scenes there were all pretty soft focus and dreamlike so you didn't see much of it."



Previously on EV Grieve:
Why the paparazzi will be in the East Village tomorrow (OMG! Angelina!)

I hope that "Salt" is a more exciting movie than these photos

About Angelina Jolie's "semi-crusty phase" in Tompkins Square Park

World's largest Duane Reade now open on Union Square

Well, I'm not sure if it is the world's largest... but this store is huge. Anyway, the Duane Reade is now open next to the Nordstrom Rack in the old Virgin space...



...check out the big bank of fancy video monitors on the right too...



They opened yesterday...



...and are advertising "breakfast, lunch and dinner" in an attempt to nab the masses going to Whole Foods... Oh fresh baked goods!



I would have stayed longer, but in five minutes, three different super-duper-friendly Duane Reade employees asked me if I needed help finding anything...
Yes! The exit!

Cathedral preservation meeting ends in deadlock; mediator next

Jill at Blah Blog Blah attended last night's CB3 meeting regarding the preservation of the Historic Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Martyr on East Second Street. In a comment, she reported:

[T]he two sides are really at odds, which is so strange because ultimately they want the same thing — to preserve the church they love.

The meeting ended with both sides agreeing to go to a mediator to try to work it out.

Apparently there is a group that helps with financing and all the red tape that the church is worried about. But the anger seemed to go beyond that. What I got from the speeches was that the church members feel like they felt like they are being invaded by strangers who want to proclaim landmark status on the building without engaging the occupants of the building. Like their opinion on the matter was an afterthought.

However, if this fight has been going on since before the rezoning (which is why they say they can't add an addition even if they want to), then the 8-story addition was probably a real threat, and the landmark status was meant to stop them, so engaging them wouldn't have made much sense then, as it was a strategy to stop them from proceeding with their plan.

I wonder if it is possible to could get landmark status in spite of what the church members want. It seems to me that if the EVCC et al are worried that the church, or their future congregants will try to change the building in any way (8 story addition not withstanding) then they are exactly who landmark status is meant to protect the building from.

Patrick Hedlund has more on the story at DNAinfo.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looking for support of the proposed landmarking of the Historic Russian Orthodox Cathedral

[Cathedral image courtesy of Barry Munger]

Looking for support of the proposed landmarking of the Historic Russian Orthodox Cathedral

From the inbox...



Please come speak in support of the proposed landmarking of the Historic Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Martyr on East Second Street.

Thursday, July 15 at 6 pm at the Community Board 3 Landmarks Subcommittee meeting at BRC, 30 Delancey St. (between Chrystie and Forsyth Streets).

In 2008 GVSHP and the East Village Community Coalition urged the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to consider landmark designation of the Cathedral, where an 8-story condo-tower was being considered to be added to the building. Earlier this year, the LPC held a hearing on potential landmark designation of the historic building, but has not yet voted on the proposal. Now Community Board 3, which has not yet taken a position on the landmarking proposal, is considering it. While the leadership of the Cathedral is opposing landmark designation, some congregants have spoken out in favor of landmarking and many in the neighborhood also support designation.

For more information, go to the GVSHP site.
http://www.gvshp.org/_gvshp/preservation/cathedral-hvp/cathedral-main.htm

To sign an online petition, go here.

By the way, per the EVCC, the Cathedral was built in 1867, designed by the renowned architect Josiah Cleveland Cady, who later designed the Metropolitan Opera House and the auditorium of the American Museum of Natural History

[Cathedral image courtesy of Barry Munger]

Concert to benefit Haiti this Saturday at the Second Street Cathedral

Father Calin passed along the following information to us...

As part of an ongoing effort to help the suffering and the homeless of Haiti, the Second Street Cathedral will host a Benefit Concert on Saturday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. All proceeds from the concert will go to aid Haiti’s people in their hour of need. A Vespers service with special petitions for the Haitian people and the relief workers will precede the concert.

This event features the world premier of a new Passion Cantata incorporating hymns of the Crucifixion from Good Friday. The music is based on ancient Russian and Georgian chant, sung a cappella in English. The Cantata was written by composer Robert Sirico specifically for this occasion. The concert will be directed by Juilliard-trained musician Nicholas Reeves, and performed by a select chamber choir formed for this concert.

Second Street Cathedral has a history of supporting the community through music. After 9/11, the parish raised over $20,000 for local firefighters through a similar concert and campaign.

To ensure this event is just as successful, we are reaching out to everyone in our community and neighbors of all faiths to come hear the prayers for Haiti. Concertgoers will be asked for a $20 donation, 100% of which will go to the people of Haiti.

WHAT: Passion Cantata: Concert to Benefit the People of Haiti
WHEN: Saturday, March 20 2010 (5:30 Vespers service; 7:30 Concert)
WHERE: Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection
59 East Second Street (between First & Second Avenues)

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

Blue Iron Burger crew taking over Village Bistro East (previously Le Gamin) on East Fifth Street (Eater)

Village Paper burns down (Runnin' Scared)

5 Essex is gone (BoweryBoogie)

Fraunces Tavern lives (City Room)

More pain expected for NYC retailers in 2010 (The Real Deal)

The calm before the storm (Gog Log)

Dressing for a blizzard in 1899 (The Bowery Boys)

Karate Boogaloo went to the Virgin Islands and didn't invite us (Stupefaction)

Wondering about the Jackson Triplex (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

And not many people getting haircuts so far today on St. Mark's...

What's coming to the former Marion's Continental space on the Bowery

Work continues on the former Marion's Continental space on the Bowery... The Bowery institution closed in August 2008. (Their Web site is still up and running, and includes the history.)




As Fork in the Road first reported, the space is becoming the new home of Hecho en Dumbo. The Mexican eatery will seat 65 and include a 10-seat bar. (According to the Voice, the new owners had to go before the Community Board three times before winning approval...)

Hecho en Dumbo was originally slated to open just after Jan. 1. It is now set to open next month...



And, despite the move from Dumbo (that location closed last fall)... Dumbo will remain in the name. Per the Voice:

When the restaurant opens, their Dumbo customers will still be able to find the same staff and the same Brooklyn beers. And, of course, the same name. "We're not changing our name," Smith says. "We thought about it, calling it Hecho en Bowery or Hecho en Noho. But at the end of the day, I think the thrust has always been that we are Hecho en Dumbo. It comes from the Hecho en Mexico logo, and we always saw that as our little play on it, speaking to how authentic the cuisine is and also speaking to our roots in Brooklyn. I think when we move we'll still see ourselves as a Brooklyn-style restaurant."

According to a press release on the new location:

The new space, designed by Architect Laura Gonzalez Fierro in concert with Architect of Record Ralph M. Beiran, AIA of Urban Design Office, will be built almost solely from non-virgin and repurposed materials and will treat patrons to a sparse, rustic ambiance fusing aspects that are quintessentially "New York," such as exposed sun-baked brick, with architectural elements that showcase Mexico’s long-standing tradition of repurposing materials -- wood, metals, and concrete -- and fashioning them into sophisticated furniture and fixtures.

Meanwhile, perhaps this is a message on the old sign directed to the new tenants?



And check out this cool apartment that was sold upstairs...

Walking on 14th Street: Nordstrom setting a date; Baked by Melissa and Subway coming soon

Maybe I should walk on 14th Street near Union Square more often. Or not.

Noticed that a Baked By Melissa shop is coming to 14th Street just east of Fifth Avenue. She bakes tiny cupcakes.



You know that the Nordtrom Racked store is opening at the former Virgin Megastore location... Now a date has been set for the opening: May 11, 2010. (And will they actually make that date?)



And the city's 8,976th Subway is opening right along the Chipotle and Bravo Pizza in the Zeckendorf Towers on the northwest corner of Irving Place and 14th Street.



EV Grieve reader Nowooski pointed this out the other day...

"Yes, I'll take the new Famous L. Renfroe 'Florine EP' and, uh, 'Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King' please"

This week's issue of The Villager looks at the local independent record-shop scene post Virgin Megastore. "Local stores have been closing almost as rapidly as global CD sales have been falling. But for the stores that remain, managers say they’ve noticed an influx of a younger crowd — the last vestiges of Virgin, come to find their Hannah Montanas, Dave Matthews Bands..."

Last day for the Virgin Megastore (and why you will see so many people wearing Virgin Orlando T-shirts)

Just before 10 a.m. today, some 30 people were waiting in line for the last day of the Virgin Megastore on Union Square. I was not one of them. But when the doors opened, I decided to go in... I was ready to take a picture of the crowd entering the store, but a woman carrying a small dog shoved me.



Everything was 90 to 90 percent off.... One of the workers yelled, "Buy everything people!" And I said, Good luck with that, people.



I was unfamiliar with 90 percent of the artists left behind. Well, there was the Jimmy Buffett Christmas record.



The remaining crap for sale was kept to a small space. The rest of the hulking store sat empty. Somewhere downstairs, workers were yelling, their voices echoing throughout the former Megastore. First time that I'd ever been in here without some music or movie blaring from the speakers.






Somehow, people found stuff to buy. Mostly what was left... I'd say 500-800 Virgin Orlando T-shirts...$1 each!

The final countdown

As of yesterday, there were eight days left for the Virgin Megastore on Union Square. All CDs and DVDs are now 50 percent off their hiked up prices...



If you look hard enough, then you may find something that you may want... Otherwise, it's grotesque consumerism at its worst...



What remains is the Virgin Overstock Megastore. Things that were shipped in from Virgin Warehouses around the world just for the closing sale. What else could explain, say..... Dozens and dozens of "Hellboy II" action figures. Dozens and dozens of copies of the attempt to make Rick Springfield a movie star in "Hard to Hold." Dozens and dozens of copies of U2's "No Line on the Horizon" limited box set including CD, hardcover book, poster, featurette on the Edge buying a ski cap, a behind-the-scenes look at Larry Mullen Jr.'s First Communion and Bono's photo album of bikini-clad groupies. It's times like these when you realize there have been like 37 versions of "Blade Runner" released. You remember how little respect giant entertainment groups have for consumers.

And so many things whose existence was so unnecessary.




Oh, and the complete series (six seasons!) of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" is 50 percent off its $232 sticker price.