The law that reshapes NYC's loft landscape

A little late on this story from Tuesday... Here, via Crain's...

Just before midnight Monday, Gov. David Paterson signed legislation that vastly expands the law protecting residential loft tenants. A last-minute deal was worked out with the Bloomberg administration to exclude 13 of the city's 16 Industrial Business Zones from the law, which legalizes the residential use of buildings in industrial areas.

I asked Curt Hoppe, who has lived and worked in a loft at 98 Bowery since 1976, for his take on the legislation.

"This is really good for the city and its artists... and, in the end, good for everyone," Hoppe said. "I never heard of anyone coming to New York to see an investment bankers' neighborhood."

Read more on the loft law via the Lower Manhattan Loft Tenants website.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Legislation to protect loft tenants permanently passes Senate

Of the 147 storefronts on Avenue A, 70 of them are bars, restaurants or vacant

Yeah, that got my attention the other night during the Community Board 3 meeting. Between November 2009 and May, CB3 Urban Fellow Paulo H. Lellis conducted retail research "to examine the concerns of business operators in Community Board 3 and obtain information on the diversity of business in the area."

Lellis gave a quick overview of the fairly massive report on Tuesday night. (We'll get to more on Avenue A in a minute...)

A few quick items about ground-floor retail in the CB3 area (from 2009):

Average monthly rent: $8,097.90
Average square footage of retail space: 1,464
Average annual rent per square foot: $77

I know what you're thinking: "Gee, Grieve, this is super, but how does it compare with, say, Harlem, the Meatpacking District or the Financial District?"

Glad you asked!

Average annual rent per square foot in Harlem: $75-$200
Average annual rent per square foot in MePa (sorry!): $400-$450
Average annual rent per square foot in FiDi (sorry!): $100-$400

A few more facts:

As of 2009, there are 151 chain stores in the 10003 zip code -- the third-most number of chain stores in 30 NYC zips... (The East Village Community Coalition examined formula zoning in 2008... see that report here.)

Oh, I could go on with stats. But you can find all these reports yourself at the CB3 site.

First, though, here's an overview of what Lellis was looking to find...

The research consisted of a survey of business owners/managers on 9th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues which sought to prioritize business concerns. Two retail use surveys were also carried out in order to provide information on the types of businesses located on Avenue A and 9th Street. Additionally, a shift-share analysis was conducted to determine the change in the growth of local retail and accommodation & food service establishments relative to Manhattan and New York City between the years 2002 and 2007. The fellow also examined CB3 commercial retail rents relative to other neighborhoods.

The fellow’s research revealed that taxes were reported to be the primary concern for business owners/managers and utilities were the second largest concern. Additionally, the research revealed that retail did not experience the same favorable growth as the accommodation & food services sector in Community Board 3 despite being relatively better off than Manhattan and New York City in terms growth of establishments. Lastly, the surveys provided a basis from which to continue to examine the issues of retail diversity and rents in the community.

I'm particularly interested in his findings on Avenue A, something which I did rather informally earlier this year.

Here's what he found...



Basically, there are 51 bars, restaurants and lounges on Avenue A, which accounts for 35 percent of the storefronts... then... there are 19 vacant storefronts, which account for 13 percent of the storefronts... then... there are 15 delis and groceries, 10 percent of the total storefronts. (There are 147 storefronts in total...)



By the way, he also examined Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... perhaps I'll highlight that report another day...

So what does all this mean?

Based on his results, the following options for consideration and suggested areas for further inquiry are presented to the CB3 Economic Development Committee:

1. Inform local businesses about existing services available to help them negotiate leases with favorable provisions on taxes
2. Encourage "on-bill financing" of energy efficiency improvements for businesses as a means to achieve cost savings
3. Incorporate research on retail diversity and options to address the issue, like formula zoning, as an ongoing project for future community board fellows
4. Continue to explore the issue of retail rents in the neighborhood and possible ways to address this concern through programs such as tax abatements

Anyway, there are reports galore at the CB3 website. In the short term, well, I think I'll go to Ray's for a hot dog...

Hello again, new old Irving Plaza marquee

Back in April 2007, the Fillmore East took over the Irving Plaza...



I really always hated the crappy looking sign...But! You know, Irving Plaza recently got its name back from the Evil Empire (read more here at Stupefaction...)

I haven't been on Irving Place for a few weeks... Thanks to EV Grieve reader evilnyc for these shots of the new old marquee from last night...





According to the Times:

To build a replica of the old marquee, Live Nation hired Ken Lubin, a graphic designer who specializes in signs for Broadway theaters. (He removed the original Irving Plaza marquee in 2007 when he installed the new one for the Fillmore, which he made.) It wasn’t easy, Mr. Lubin said, because the old one had been left in an alley behind the club, with chunks of it missing. But there was just enough to serve as a model for its stainless-steel letters and red neon lighting.

“They wanted it to have the look and feel of what it was prior to changing it over to the Fillmore,” Mr. Lubin said.

(Fillmore photo via)

Construction under way for new Lower Eastside Girls Club home

On Avenue D between Seventh Street and Eighth Street... read about about it here.






I also meant to mention Celebrate Café, which operates inside the Bowery Poetry Club... The Lower Eastside Girls Club runs the Café as an entrepreneurial and job training program that employs local youth and young adults. They just had their official grand opening... BoweryBoogie has more here...

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Lower Eastside Girls Club's "urban paradise" closer to reality

13th Step one step closer to reality

The sign is up at 13th Step, the subtle new bar opening in the former Telephone Bar space on Second Avenue ...

Apologies for doing this...



[Telephone photo via]

To the "2 Punk/Hippie Girls" who bought this stolen Chrome Bianchi Pista

Spotted on Avenue C. Wow.

Welcome back?

As Eater noted, Cheap Shots had a grand reopening today on First Avenue since getting the Seize a few weeks back ... and, although there's no signage yet, the new (old) place is called Spanky and Darla's.

The Mosaic Man is back on the trail... now with an apprentice

There's a nice piece in the Voice now by Leslie Minora, who files a feature on Jim Power.... Power is in the process of refurbishing his mosaics... and! He has apparently found an apprentice. An excerpt:

Power has also teamed up with Al Bonsignore, a 23-year-old apprentice/patron, to carry on his mission. Two months ago, the older man was walking along First Avenue when Bonsignore recognized his mosaic cane and approached him. Bonsignore, a native New Yorker who has admired the posts since childhood, hit it off with the artist, and the two began an unlikely but serendipitous working relationship. "Yeah, he's hooked; he's done; he's finished. That's it -- Mosaic Man," Power says, jokingly bequeathing his nickname to his protégé.

A month after meeting Power, Bonsignore invited him to work out of the basement of the East 5th Street building owned by his father, John Bonsignore, who runs a plumbing business in Murray Hill and co-owns West Village Bar Little Branch with Milk & Honey mixologist, Sasha Petraske. In return, Power is teaching his craft to Bonsignore, who helps manage the East 5th Street building, and the two are developing plans for future projects and ventures that grow loftier and more intricate by the day.

"It's great for me," says Bonsignore. "It just feels right. It's a great de-stressor; it's a great way to be creative, and it's just fun." (Bonsignore also grows medical marijuana in California.) "Growing and mosaics have been my two main focuses right now -- and music," he says.

Read the whole article here.

[Photo of Al Bonsignore via The Voice]

CB3 says no to Frank's fast-food Italian on Avenue A; fishmonger also denied

I'm picking up where I left off last night...

So!

During a nearly four-hour meeting in a steamy PS 20 auditorium last night, the full Community Board 3 denied Frank Prisinzano's application to open a fast-food style Italian restaurant on Avenue A and Second Street. Raguboy would have seated 121 people inside and another 44 people on a sidewalk cafe at the former Graceland grocery.



As you know, the CB3/SLA committee members were deadlocked in their vote last week. Prisinzano, who owns EV Italian empire Frank, Lil' Frankie's and Supper, was on hand as were several of the residents who spoke out against another liquor license on Avenue A during the CB3/SLA meeting. (You can read all that drama here.)

Several people spoke for and against a restaurant here... themes were the same... "we live in a noise hell" ... there's a lack of retail diversity in the East Village... too many liquor licenses on that stretch of Avenue A already...

CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer, who lives nearby, also spoke out against the application as she did at last week's CB3/SLA meeting... There were several outraged people in the auditorium who were upset that Stetzer continued to talk beyond the alloted two minutes designated for each speaker.

Meanwhile, the board also denied Keith Masco's attempt to open Sea on A, a fish market/restaurant at 171 Avenue A. It came down to the same issues: Too many liquor licenses in the area. (You can read more about the plans here.)

There was also discussion on the Gaelic gastro pub, Percy's Tavern, taking over the former Al Diwan space on Avenue A and 13th Street. The CB3/SLA committee approved this last week. However, a few board members had questions about stipulations (closing time, etc.). You can read all about Percy's here.

It was an agonizingly long wait for the applicants... After the board voted on the license applications, other reports were heard, such as the Arts & Cultural Affairs Task Force... all important, but... then the votes came in... For Raguboy, 28 board members were against; 11 for and one person abstained. As for the fishmonger, 23 were against and 17 were for...24 were in favor of Percy's; 16 against.

The board also approved Little Printz Cafe, a "global Jewish" restaurant that will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at the former Chabelas space at 40 Avenue B. The CB3/SLA committee approved this last week.

During the sometimes contentious meeting, board member David McWater stood up in the audience and questioned the entire SLA process, which he called at different times "unfair," ludicrous" and "dysfunctional." He did make many valid points concerning licenses seemingly arbitrarily being issued within the so-called resolution area.

Said McWater, "We have to find a way to be consistent again." There's more to all this, which we'll explore in another post...

Previously on EV Grieve:
"All uses considered" at former Graceland

Owners of Frank-Lil' Frankie's-Supper taking over the former Graceland space

More here.

Waiting for the 7-Eleven to open (in Greenpoint)

So I have no idea what's next for the Graceland space now that Raguboy has been denied... As you know, EV Italian eatery guru Frank Prisinzano said last week that the landlord of the former Graceland space on Avenue A and Second Street had four prospective tenants: Frank's fast-food Italian joint, a bank, a 7-Eleven and a bank. Perhaps Frank will make some amendments to his proposal and try again some day.... or...

Perhaps we'll learn from Greenpoint ... As Brownstoner reported yesterday (via Racked), the 7-Eleven is opening very soon on Manhattan Avenue.

[Update: The CB3 can't stop him from opening a restaurant.... they voted to deny his request for a liquor license.... and will pass that recommendation on to the SLA....]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Imagining Avenue A and Second Street with a 7-Eleven

Long-threatened East Houston reconstruction starting this month

During last night's Community Board 3 meeting, District Manager Susan Stetzer reported that the reconstruction of East Houston from the Bowery to the FDR will start this month. She noted that there will also be a traffic-lighting change at Houston and Avenue A. But! She said there would be traffic cops on duty to help expedite matters as best as they can. The construction work will be done in three phases... and there will also be a construction office to voice complaints!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Coming soon to East Houston: Construction, hell, rodent control stations

[EV Grieve file photo]

A glance inside 325 Bowery

Workers have removed the plywood at 325 Bowery and Second Street, which is being renovated to become the latest eatery/bar from the Freemans/Rusty Knot Gang ...

Just seeing what's what inside...



Previously on EV Grieve:
325 Bowery gets scrubbed and painted