Is 147 First Avenue the current ugliest building in the East Village?

A reader sent along a note about 147 First Avenue at Ninth Street... most recently the home of Angelica's Herbs ...



The e-mail read, in part:

Have you seen what has to be the plug-ugliest building in the EV, 147 1st Avenue, NW corner of 9th Street?

It used to be a herb store ... and it might become a restaurant soon.

But what about the ugly floors above it? The ones that are boarded up and look more like an ex-prison than anything else?

The ones that make the building easily the ugliest in the EV?

Hmm, I don't know. Is this the ugliest building in the East Village?




[Sidewalk photo by Blue Glass]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Ninth Street and First Avenue shocker: Motel ... Hello?

Blockbuster: 147 First Ave. set for demolition

Tough time of year for pet owners?

EV Grieve reader Anna had an interesting pet-related walk home last evening... First this "urgent" sign on 12th Street between Third Avenue and Second Avenue... We're curious about the urgency....



Then! On Avenue A between Ninth Street and St. Mark's Place.... We're curious why this woman's neighbor gave her dog away....

The mystery of the abandoned delivery bike in Stuy Town

EV Grieve reader Nixta sends along these photos of an abandoned restaurant delivery bike that has been locked to this tree in 4 Stuyvesant Oval in Stuy Town since.... Halloween!





Nixta notes there is now a Stuy Town "Remove your bike" notice... Still, questions remain!

So... what happened to the delivery person? How much longer will the bike stay locked to the tree? Who locks a bike to a tree?

Bus lane blockage question

An EV Grieve reader sends along this (admittedly, blurry) photo of the First Avenue bus lane... asking if they city will issue this work crew a fine for blocking the bus lane...

A quick scene from pre-Thanksgiving

Second Avenue near Ninth Street.

Hotel Toshi hit with all sorts of violations on East 10th Street

Last month, Hotel Toshi, the short-term apartment rental network, took over the front building at 325 E. 10th Street... The various Hotel Toshi properties around the city have had plenty of run-ins with the city... And now 325 E. 10th St. is part of that elite club.... A tipster noted all sorts of NYC Buildings violations posted at 325 this morning...





Among the violations cited by the all-caps crew at the DOB: "OCCUPANCY CONTRARY TO DOB RECORDS,WORK DOES NOT CONFORMS TO APPROVED PLANS."

To be continued, for sure.

Bookstore-cafe wanted for the Bowery Poetry Club

Last month, Celebrate Cafe, operated by the Lower Eastside Girls Club, moved out of the Bowery Poetry Club.... Bob Holman, the Club's proprietor, is now looking for a new tenant. The other day on Facebook he posted, "Anybody know anybody who wants to start a bookstore or Cafe?"

I asked Bob what his ideal candidate would be ... (Fantasies allowed too!)

"My ideal candidate is The Edwin Denby Bookstore/Gallery/Coffee Shoppe/Dance Hall!"

You can go to the Club's website for contact info and all that....

Where Eddie's Tower of Toys once stood

As you probably remember, workers dismantled The Tower of Toys — created by Eddie Boros in the community garden at Sixth Street and Avenue B — back in May 2008.



Earlier this fall, a new arbor went up very near where Eddie's iconic tower once stood. Seeing this new structure gives me pause every time.



I keep waiting for this to get taller... with the addition of stuffed animals and what not ... But this structure is nice and clean and functional... and not much to look at... kind of like parts on NYC today...

Is Octavia's Porch an insensitive name for a restaurant?

Yesterday, we posted the sign for "Top Chef" alum Nikki Cascone's new eatery at 40 Avenue B called Octavia's Porch.

This prompted a strong reaction from EV Grieve reader Cookiepuss. I'll replay the comment here:

This is something that's beyond offensive. The name Octavia's Porch is a reference to the main street in Trastevere, Rome's Jewish Ghetto.

Considering the continued annihilation of the Lower East Side, including its rich history of Jewish immigrants and culture makes this that more disturbing, and not only that, you wanna talk about a ghetto. Many of the people who live in the very immediate area live below the poverty line and have great disparages, so tell me how does this help the situation. It doesn't.

This is just another restaurant that is catalytic towards gentrification!

Grub Street noted that the eatery is "named after the main street in Rome’s Jewish ghetto, as a nod to the couple’s Jewish-Italian heritage." That's nice, I like heritage.... but... a little history:

During a time of an increase in anti-semitism, Pope Paul IV created the Jewish Ghetto in 1555. 4000 Jews were walled in on 7 acres of land. The Jews had to wear yellow scarves and caps, couldn't own property and a curfew was enforced. The Ghetto walls were finally torn down in 1848. In 1870 after Italian unification they were granted full rights and citizenship.

So the food here at 40 Avenue B will celebrate this heritage? Menu items include:

• Niman Ranch Beef Frank, Spiced Beans & house Kraut
• Brisket on Rye with Pickled Red Onion
• Maple & Ginger Roasted Turkey Sandwich, farmstead cheese, Beer Mustard
• Grilled Vegetable- Matzoh Lasagna
• Long Island Duck Breast with Cardamom glazed Baby Carrots
• Wild Salmon with Sweet Potato Latkes, Cucumber & Apple Mostarda

The Chocolate Library ready for checkout

The Chocolate Library is now open on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue... And EV Grieve reader Michael Fivis filed a report... "Lively grand opening. Dude working was really kind. Tasting samples and music." But, um, are there books or music...? "Just chocolate. I was expecting a sly name for another new bar! But it's actually just — a library of chocolate. Tons of square IKEA shelves filled with product."

Icy boxed on Avenue A

Back in May, NYC Icy opened up its new digs on Avenue A near Seventh Street...



EV Grieve reader Steven Matthews, who sent the above photo, has passed along word that the Icy store is now closed for the season, as you can see here....

Prof thinks cops are cooking the crime books

From today's Wall Street Journal via Gothamist:

Even as New York City's overall crime rate drops for the 22nd straight year, murders, rapes and robberies are all on pace to show increases.

The New York Police Department and many outside experts say this one-year spike in violent crimes is well within natural statistical fluctuations.

Eli Silverman, a professor emeritus at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and co-author of a study challenging the accuracy of the NYPD's statistics, has a different explanation. He believes the police department is manipulating statistics by downgrading many property crimes to minor offenses that don't show up in the official crime rate. Violent crimes are much harder to downgrade and may be being reported more accurately, he says.

"They've made it [low crime] symbolic for all their achievements," said Mr. Silverman, "They've made it a selling point for tourism and business….They made it a narrative, a story and they can't deviate from that story. They're stuck in that story."

The NYPD denies this practice. Meanwhile, this revelation will likely mean the appearance of a "bad old days are here again" trends piece!

Previously on EV Grieve:
The "bad old days" are here again story of the day

Trend alert! The bad old days are here again!

Are the "bad old days" here again...again?

Today in bike lane grumbling

The Times has a piece titled Expansion of Bike Lanes Brings Backlash. To the story!

The City Council will hold a hearing on bicycling on Dec. 2 to address balancing the needs of cyclists with those of other road users, said Councilman James Vacca, the chairman of the Transportation Committee. The hearing will also look at how well the Transportation Department has worked with community boards to review large-scale road changes.

Meanwhile, the Police Department and the Transportation Department have begun a crackdown on bicycle-related traffic violations amid complaints from some pedestrians.

Surging bike ridership has created a simmering cultural conflict between competing notions of urban transportation. Many New Yorkers object to bicycle lanes as sudden, drastic changes to their coveted concrete front yards.

“He’s taking away my rights as a driver,” Leslie Sicklick, 45, said of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Ms. Sicklick, a dog walker and substitute teacher, grew up driving with her father around the Lower East Side, where she still lives.

She organized a protest in the East Village last month, and she and at least two groups of opponents are planning new rallies against local bicycle lanes. They have discussed joining up for one large protest, though none has been planned. “To me, Union Square is a perfect place to do the protest,” Ms. Sicklick said, “because it’s one of the worst areas created by the new bike lanes.”

Read the whole story here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Protest planned for reconfigured Avenues (153 comments)

City will now bust your ass if you stop in the bus lane

Via CBS New York: Starting today, if you’re caught on camera in a First and Second Avenue bus lane during restricted hours, you can be fined by mail for between $115 and $150. You’re also not allowed to off-load anything in the lanes during posted hours.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

An interview with EV Grieve and Jeremiah Moss (I Loved New York)

At the Museum of the American Gangster on St. Mark's Place (New York Times)

Ludlow Street development headed for the auction house (Curbed)

Almanac for New Yorkers circa 1938 (Shawn Chittle)

The death of the corner bar (Ephemeral New York)

Inside the gutted Fedora (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

A Mars Bar tattoo (Slum Goddess)

A fire scare at the Bowery Whole Foods Saturday morning (BoweryBoogie)

Through the years with the Grace Church on 10th and Broadway (EV Transitions)

A reader notes all sorts of activity during the weekend at the former Butcher Bay space on East Fifth Street.... it will be called Ghost Town or Goat's Town.

The future of 326 and 328 E. Fourth St.

On Friday, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) noted that he city had already issued permits to develop the historic townhouses at 326 and 328 E. Fourth St.



Here's a look at the approved work plans...




The plans show that two floors will be added to the existing structure. The architect is Ramy Issacs, who New York magazine dubbed "The controversial penthouse king of the East Village." DOB records show that Terrence Lowenberg owns the buildings. Lowenberg is also behind the renovations at 147 First Avenue, as Curbed reported.

Per the GVSHP: "This was a tragic mistake by the city, allowing these wonderful pieces of the East Village and the city’s history to be destroyed, especially given the very poor track record of the architect in this case."

They continue: "In spite of this tragic loss, GVSHP is moving forward with our project to thoroughly document the history of every building in the East Village as part of a broader effort to push for expanded landmark protections in this historic, under-protected neighborhood."

The Times has more on the history of the buildings here back in September ...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

D-Lish Pita marks another new business catering to a nightlife crowd

Last November, Habib's Place on Avenue A near Sixth Street abruptly closed.



A year later, a new tenant plans to open soon...



To to be honest, at first glance, I thought the sign read "D-list Pita," which seemed to be a rather defeatist name for a restaurant. D-list? (And it appears to be a clone of Cheep's on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place.)

Anyway, when workers removed the Habib's signage last November ... we all got a peek at the former tenant — France's Beauty Salon.



In a post this past August, Jeremiah shared a photo of the salon from sometime in the mid-1990s...



Nothing again falafel places... but, once again, a new business arrives that caters to a more late-night crowd... we've talked about this plenty, but I [continue to] wish there was a way to encourage other types of non-food and nightlife-related businesses to open here...

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

Signage up for 'Top Chef' alum Nikki Cascone's new Avenue B eatery

In recent years, 40 Avenue B has been home to Chabela's, a Dominican restaurant, and Russo's, a pizzaria.

Now, we have new signs up for the next eatery to give the space a whirl — Octavio's Porch. Back in June, the owners pitched this to the CB3 as a "global Jewish" restaurant that will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.



Eater reported that Top Chef alum Nikki Cascone, who owned the now-shuttered 24 Prince, is behind this new venture. (Thought the name of this place was supposed to be Little Printz Cafe.)

Time Out just ran some photos of menu items here. You can read an interview with her at Fork in the Road here. Eater has a look at the menu here. Eater also notes the restaurant opens on Nov. 29.

[Cascone photo via Fork in the Road]

Teriyaki in a hurry on Third Avenue

The space that housed the Village Crown Moroccan restaurant on Third Avenue near 12th Street has sat empty for years... until now...

An Empire (Pizza) grows on First Avenue

The Village Restaurant and Pizza joint on First Avenue near Second Street closed in October...



It's now the second outpost of Empire Pizza, whose other shop is at 314 Fifth Ave. at 32nd Street.

KFC on 14th and Second now visible from outer space

Courtesy of a weekend paint job.

Living around: Tompkins Square Park

The Times real-estate section has a "Living Around — Tompkins Square Park" feature today titled Grit, Glam and Green, in One Vibrant Package. Here are a few passages:

Susan Stetzer, the district manager of Community Board 3 and an East Village resident since 1970, said the park had attained a state of relative quiet, aside from complaints about the handful of “very loud” concerts it hosts throughout the year.

“There’s no issues there,” Ms. Stetzer said. “We have a big playground that was renovated very, very recently. It’s very nice. The park is well used. We have a rat problem, but so does a lot of the rest of New York City.”

Speaking as a resident rather than as a district manager, she described something bittersweet about having witnessed the slow gentrification of the park. The playgrounds — there are actually three — are shinier and more colorful than when she used to take her son there in the late ’70s and early ’80s. But, she said, they loved the park then, too, and that era had its advantages.

“It was a much stronger, much closer community then,” Ms. Stetzer said. “Everyone knew everyone, and they weren’t necessarily people like you.”

November afternoon sun

From Sixth Street between Avenue C and Avenue B.

Cost newsbox is missing

On Tuesday, I posted photos from EV Grieve reader AWKWORD showing new street art created by graffiti legend Cost... The box on Second Avenue near Houston was part of the recent Showpaper exhibit...




I went to take some photos of it this weekend... and the newsbox is gone...



Stolen? Or confiscated by the city?

For more on the boxes, check out the NYPress cover story this week.

Three makes it a trends post!

Thanks to Tim for the tweet and photo...



Gizmodo refers to it as "the caffeinated alcoholic poison drink."