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]

Blue cheese?

The "underground," secret grilled-cheese delivery guy has retired:

Ronnie," the out-of-work Wall Street banker who last summer started grilling the sandwiches in his East Village apartment and selling them on street corners, parlayed the health-code-violating gig into a real restaurant job.
"It was nice being an outlaw for a while," the secretive cheeseslinger told The Post. "But starting Monday, I will be the manager of a high-end American restaurant in Midtown."

Outlaw? Maybe if he had been delivering another kind of cheese...

New owner of the Aces and Eights space wants to "meet the approval of the community"

The former Aces and Eights is on the CB3/SLA docket for November's meeting...

And the new owner of the space, Jevan Damadian, is hoping to reach out to the neighborhood... You can meet with him at 34 Avenue A next Wednesday evening...



He's off to a promising start by seeking feedback from neighbors...

[Thanks to EV Grieve reader RyanAvenueA for the photo]

Why there wasn't a protest in Tompkins Square Park on Halloween

As we had reported, John Penley had organized a protest/fiesta Halloween night in Tompkins Square. The event was set to last from 7 p.m. to midnight or so... I didn't make it to the Park until 10 p.m. No one was there. I was told only a handful of people turned out. Penley wasn't there.

He offered an explanation via Facebook: "Some pretty heavy stuff came down on me the night before Halloween. I got maced and someone else close to me got a baseball bat to the face. I have gone into hiding for awhile. This is why I was not at TSP on Halloween."

Penley did say that filmmaker Vlad Teichberg was there at midnight for a “culture jam” projection. There should be a video soon.

While the protest didn't materialize, I thought there was a healthy discussion about concerts in Tompkins Square Park, a permanent bandshell ... and local politicians ... all leading up to Halloween. (Read the 74 comments here.)

Previous John Penley protest coverage on EV Grieve:

At the Donut Social

At the 47 E. 3rd St. Protest

At the Bowery Wine Co. protest

More on 35 Cooper Square

Just a quick follow-up on our post yesterday about the sale of 35-39 Cooper Square...

First, Goggla passed along this photo from 1909 of Copper Square between Seventh Street and Sixth Street from the New York Public Library database .... on the right, you can make out just a little bit of the building that was on the now-vacant corner...



Also, in July 2008, Jeremiah presented a thorough history of 35 Cooper Square... Here's just a portion of the building's history:

"In the 20th century, it became a home for artists. Painter and photographer J. Forrest Vey lived there after WWII. He rented the upstairs dormer rooms for $5 apiece to people like Joel Grey, star of Cabaret, and Claude Brown, author of Manchild in the Promised Land.

Mr. Vey once broke into the attic, which had been sealed ever since a man hanged himself there. He found Civil War newspapers, a stove-pipe hat, a sign that said '5-cent Hot Whiskey,' and a noose."

Appreciate 35 Cooper Square while you can... soon, it will be swallowed up by more glass and steel.

More on the new First Avenue Papa John's, sort of

[Top photo by First Avenue correspondent Blue Glass]

As I exclusively reported last night.... Papa John's is now open on First Avenue...



I went looking for more info on the opening... like something official from the Papa Johnsters... I did come across this article from last month on PizzaMarketplace.com:

Papa John's to open in crowded East Village space

Popular New York blog EV Grieve [Editor's note: Woo!] has reported that a Papa John's storefront has appeared on First Avenue in an area of New York City's East Village that's especially pizza-dense. Back in March, the blog reported several pizza restaurants — such asLuzzo's, Motorino, Piola, Tonda, and more — having recently opened.

With all the local pizza concentration, Papa John’s may be looking to appeal to tourists looking for something recognizable in the famous New York enclave. Papa John’s spokesperson Tish Muldoon said the company sees the location as "a great growth opportunity for the brand in Manhattan." However, anecdotal commentary on the new storefront did not appear favorable toward the No. 3 pizza chain.

Meanwhile, no word if this is how pizzas will be delivered hereabouts:



Previous coverage here.

On second thought: DOB 111 back open last night

The eatery on St. Mark's Place apparently just took a few nights off... You can't blame us for thinking that Michael "Bao" Huynh's French-Vietnamese place may be closed... As Fork in the Road noted last summer, DOB 111 and Bia Garden were on the market... Per Fork in the Road, Huynh, through his publicist, denied any plans to close the eateries... Bia Garden on Orchard closed last month, as BoweryBoogie reported....Huynh is reopening it as Chinito, a beer garden and taqueria. The space is still on the market, though, BB noted.

Second Avenue, 7:50 p.m., Nov. 3

[Photo courtesy of LiberationNYC]

Breaking! Papa John's now open on First Avenue

And there were a handful of high school students inside... There will be much more on this developing story with our live team coverage the next 96 hours.

Previous coverage here.

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]

Helping save Ruby's

A petition is making the rounds to help try to save the venerable Ruby's on the Coney Island boardwalk. You can find the petition here. Many of the boardwalk's remaining longtime businesses have been giving the boot this week...

There's more coverage at Grub Street ... Amusing the Zillion .... Eater ... Jeremiah's Vanishing New York ... Kinetic Carnival ...

[Image via Ruby's]

The Lee expects full occupancy by March 31

Been awhile since we heard any updates on the Lee, the low-income housing development and training center on East Houston and Pitt Street developed by Common Ground, a Manhattan-based nonprofit.

BoweryBoogie had a report back in February on how the 12-story building was shaping up. Staring at it from the street today, it looks awfully close to being completed...





We asked the folks at Common Ground for the latest.

"The Lee is nearing completion and many applications for the low-income units have been received," Lyle Churchill, the senior director for external affairs at Common Ground, told me via e-mail. "The building will 'rent-up' in phases, and we expect full occupancy by March 31, 2011."

He also said that the tenant composition remains as originally stated upon the start of construction in 2008: "In providing stable homes for 263 adults, Common Ground will reserve 104 units for formerly homeless individuals, 105 units for low-income workers, and 54 units for young adults at risk for homelessness."

For more on The Lee:
Morphing on East Houston (The Times)

The original news release on The Lee is here.