Another former East Village funeral home now on the market

On Monday, we had an update on the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel on Second Avenue ... there's news about another former East Village funeral home now, though nothing quite as dramatic as a three-story extension courtesy of Ramy Issac that will happen on Second Avenue...

The former Brettschneider Funeral Home at 49 Seventh St. just east of Second Avenue is on the market for $5.2 million. The funeral home moved out in 2005 (or was it early 2006?).

The Corcoran listing notes that three of the five units received gut renovations in 2006. And here's part of the rest of the listing:

Exceptional investment opportunity for five free market apartments in a prime East Village location ... Erected between 1857-1862, this well-maintained 25'x74' townhouse is built on a 25'x93.5' lot with a garden, totaling 6,826 interior square feet. Each of the five apartments occupies an entire floor ... Four of the five apartments can be delivered vacant. With the exception of the first floor one-bedroom apartment, each rent paying occupant is on a month-to-month lease, paying below market rents of $3,800, $3,900, and $4,000 per month. There is significant potential for rent increases, as similarly sized apartments in the neighborhood command higher prices. The first floor occupant will remain for an additional ten year lease term.

Here's a shot of how the funeral looked a few years ago ...

[Via Flickr]

Heart of Glass

Philip Glass turned 75 on Tuesday. And the composer is the subject of Steven Thrasher's cover story this week at The Village Voice. Among other topics, Glass discusses the neighborhood he has called home since the 1960s.

Some excerpts:

"The Bowery used to be synonymous with people who lived on the street and were alcoholics," Glass says with little nostalgia of many veteran Villagers. "In the '80s, if you wandered over to Avenue B . . . there would be people walking in the middle of the street hawking drugs! Just announcing what they had for sale! It was that open.

"I am not sorry to see that part of the East Village disappearing. It was a very grungy part, you know?" He admits that Tompkins Square Park "is much better than it used to be. ...

Still, Glass is aware (and sad) that many of the economic realities that allowed him to become an artist, back when the East Village was a neighborhood of Ukrainian immigrants and Yiddish theaters, no longer exist.

And!

"It was very common when I was a kid — I call myself a kid until I was in my thirties; that would have been until the late '60s and early '70s — it was very common to find a loft in the East Village . . . empty synagogues and that type of thing," Glass says. "You could find a loft for $150, $200 a month.

"Now, that's impossible," Glass says, though it never stops the Big Apple. "One of the things that's made New York so impressive is the constant wave of young people looking for fame, fortune, art, whatever, something."

Read the full article here.

Tacos Morelos will be back very soon

That's what a reader asked the other night after discovering the food-cart favorite was not at its usual outpost on Second Street and Avenue A...

We noticed it during this past weekend... Anyway, the delivery bike is still there...

We talked with someone at the Jackson Heights outpost ... and he explained that they just had some paperwork to take care of regarding the cart (kinda paraphrasing here, and it's nothing serious — just routine paperwork) ... and he expected to have the cart back tonight or tomorrow morning...

Just a feline fatale

Remember, in the summer of 2010, when a woman held up an Astor Place shoe store while wearing a cat mask? She was suspected in several other robberies around the city. Anyway, today, a judge sentenced her to 10 years in prison.

And the sentencing for 29-year-old Shana Spalding was as theatrical as you might suspect who wore a cat mask during a robbery. Per DNAinfo:

"I am not Catwoman!" Spalding shouted. She also told news photographers "Stop taking my picture, you bastards!"

As the media reported, she was the singer for a death metal band called Divine Infamy, who lives on via YouTube.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Summer crime season off to a credible start

Taking the whole 'death and taxes' thing a little too literally

Outside the New York City Marble Cemetery on East Second Street today. By Bobby Williams.

Updated: East Village Farms posts its going-out-of-business signs

[Kevin Shea Adams]

As we first reported on Jan. 6, East Village Farms is closing on Avenue A between Seventh Street and Sixth Street. Earlier today, workers were taking out still-wrapped flats of unopened food and merchandise. (The owners are moving to a store on 48th Street.)

The store closes for good Sunday. And today, as our friends at the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop note, the going-out-of-business signs are on the doors.

While the building's owners haven't commented on the plans for the space, the persistent rumor is a full demolition. There still aren't any permits on file with the DOB either.

And a reader just sent these along from the other night here...

Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

Sure, it's warm today, but...

Spotted by EV Grieve reader Kurt on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place today.

2 Cooper Square now the property of Kuwait, sort of

Here's some news via Bloomberg (hi Mike!)... The investment arm of Kuwait’s social-security system — Wafra Investment Advisory Group Inc. — bought 2 Cooper Square, our favorite 144-unit building that includes a rooftop pool, video-game center and private movie-screening room. Per Bloomberg, the sources didn’t disclose the price and asked not to be named because the deal hasn’t been made public.

And as the article notes: "At 2 Cooper Square, available one-bedroom apartments rent for as much as $6,686 a month, according to the property’s website. A two-bedroom unit is listed for $9,335 a month, while a four-bedroom apartment commands $22,000 a month."

Wow. Sounds to me like it's time for a Pool Party!



Previously on EV Grieve:
'Draconian regulations' for 2 Coop's pool and club

2 Cooper residents treated to views of Josh Duhamel's abs, ball sack

The founder of Pirate's Booty is taking over the Holiday Cocktail Lounge

When we reported that the Holiday Cocktail Lounge was closing, we did mention that the bar was on the February CB3/SLA docket for a new liquor license.

Documents on file with CB offer few details about the fate of the space on St. Mark's Place, but we now know who is hoping to take over the bar: Robert Ehrlich, the founder of Pirate Brands, which makes all-natural snacks including Pirate's Booty, Smart Puffs and Original Tings.

There's not a lot of information on the CB3 forms. The applicants are calling the space a tavern, with hours starting at 11 a.m. ...

There's also mention of a "local regional menu."

What about snacks?

In addition to his healthy-snack empire, Ehrlich operated several cafes in Sea Cliff. We sent an email to a Pirate Brands media representative last night in hopes of getting more information about Ehrlich's plans for the space. So let's wait and see what's in store here...

Also, someone did fax the form to CB3 from Pirate Brands ... in case you were questioning this...

Obscura Antiques & Oddities has closed; moving to new East Village home soon

Last night, a reader walked by Obscura Antiques and Oddities on 10th Street near Avenue A — and spotted workers clearing out the store.

But wait. It turns out that the reality television darlings (we mean that in a positive way!) are only moving to a larger store in the neighborhood, though they can't say where yet. The Obscura Antiques Facebook page has more details:

OK....a bit of bad news....but good news too...We are moving...sooner then we had thought. We must be out of our current space by the end of January...Thats 3 days from now....but the new space isnt ready yet...so we are closing until the new place is ready and we can move into it...Which will hopefully be soon....like near the end of February. If you are coming to NYC and plan to visit in the next month.....We are very sorry.....We will not be there....But when we do reopen...its in a space about twice the size of our former store...and the place used to be a Funeral Home...so its win/win for all. We will post all of our info soon...such as where the new shop will be. Its actually very close to our former shop....maybe 3 or 4 blocks away....

Hmm, we know of one former funeral home that's nearby... like this one right here.

A book about life at Luna Lounge

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Brooklyn, New York: February 1st, 2012 - Former Luna Lounge co-owner, Rob Sacher, has a brand new book, Wake Me When It's Over, a story of his life as a New York club owner filled with stories about meeting, partying, or working with many iconic bands of the alternative and indie rock world.

Among the people and bands about whom Rob has written are stories about Ray Davies of The Kinks, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Rick Danko of The Band, Joey Ramone, The Psychedelic Furs, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Bjork of The Sugarcubes, The Strokes, Interpol, Longwave, Marty Willson-Piper of The Church, Elliott Smith...

Rob is self publishing his book through his own DIY imprint and is raising promotion money through Kickstarter ... The funding campaign ends on February 29th. The official release date of the book is March 1st.

Rob has been in the business for more than thirty years and owned two clubs before Luna Lounge, the Mission and the Sanctuary. He grew up in Brooklyn in the 1960s, is a musician and songwriter too.

Here's the Kickstarter page, which includes a video of Rob talking about the project...

This is what an empty lot on East Ninth Street near Avenue C looked like on Jan. 28, 2012

This year, we'll post photos like this of various buildings, streetscenes, etc., to capture them as they looked at this time and place... The photos may not be the most telling now, but they likely will be one day...

Noted

EV Grieve reader Spike sent along this deal of a lifetime from over at Billy Hurricane's on Avenue B...

So basically: "For just $50 (a steal), you and up to 24 friends can have an hour-long party with five drinks per person, plus a large sampler of buffalo wings, Cajun tater tots, and sweet-potato fries."

Per the offer at Gilt City, this is 90 percent off the ticket price of $525.

Let's do some math — that's 125 drinks in 60 minutes for $50.

Hurry, though — the offer at Gilt City ends this morning at 10.

The joy of spring?

Tompkins Square Park today ... by peter radley.

On Second Avenue with the Mosaic Man this afternoon

EV Grieve reader Stephen Popkin passes along a few photos of Jim Power, aka the Mosaic Man, continuing his work this afternoon on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place...

Jim has been keeping busy of late, working on mosaics for Tompkins Square Bagels, the Bean and Porchetta.

DOH temporarily closes Nuyorican Poets Cafe

A tipster points us to the DOH website ... where records show that the city has temporarily closed the legendary Nuyorican Poets Cafe on East Third Street. According to the DOH, officials closed the cafe on Friday after inspectors found 79 violations points. Among the violations cited: "Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored."

No word of the closure on the Nuyorican Poets Cafe website, though we did spot this via Twitter:

If you are planning on attending one of the many events there this week, then you may just want to call in advance. Cafe info here.

Report: Historic carriage house on East 13th Street now up for auction

The long, complicated history of 128 E. 13th St. between Fourth Avenue and Third Avenue is about to get more complicated. This afternoon, The Real Deal reports that the circa-1903 carriage house that once belonged to famed sculptor Frank Stella is now up for auction.

This is believed to be the last surviving horse and carriage auction mart building in New York City, according to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), who helped keep the structure from becoming a seven-level condo back in 2006.

The Peridance Center has a lease there now for a dance studio.

According to the Real Deal:

A state Supreme Court judge has ordered the sale of a historic East Village art studio and former horse auction house, after two new investors, Isaac Mishan and Joseph Sabbah of Ultimate Realty, failed to gain approvals for a proposed condo project and defaulted on $10.5 million in loans.

(Read the whole article here.)

While preservationists thwarted the previous condo takeover attempt, the building was never landmarked, likely making it vulnerable again for a modern glass-and-steel death.

Previously.

Verizon's ongoing war on graffiti and stuff

Nearly eight months have passed since we last looked in on the ongoing brown-paint war at the Verizon building along 13th Street (at Second Avenue)... we thought that Verizon had simply given up.

Not so!

EV Grieve reader evilnyc just passed along these shots. A new tactic — powerwashing and painting via the city's Graffiti Free NYC...

To be continued...

Previously on EV Grieve:
First tag reappears on the Verizon building

Brownout: Verizon building graffiti painted over

Verizon is going to blow the budget on brown paint

Get your home with an open-air living room on East 14th Street!

[Photos via New York magazine via Curbed]

Back in September, we posted an item about the penthouse for sale at the Brownstone East Village, the rather interesting architectural wonder at 224 E. 14th St. near Third Avenue.

Now, as The Wall Street Journal notes (via Curbed), Bill Peterson, the architect behind this, is selling his second-floor unit for $2.499 million. Among the amenities: An open-air living room that looks out onto 14th Street and "a garage-door like windowed back wall between the kitchen and the backyard."

There are photos.

The front!

The back!

Per the Journal:

The condo also showcases many references to East Village culture. In the living room there is a large framed photograph of Patti Smith and in the bedroom there is a framed vintage T-shirt worn by bartenders at Fillmore East, a legendary music venue in the East Village.

Here's the listing with more photos. And there's an Open House Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. Perfect timing for your IHOP brunch.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Finally, your chance to own the 3-level penthouse at the Brownstone East Village

St. Brigid's rectory emerges from behind construction netting, sidewalk shed

We've been posting frequent updates about the renovations at St. Brigid's on Avenue B at Eighth Street. How about the progress next door?

Last week, workers removed the construction netting and sidewalk shed outside the St. Brigid's rectory on Avenue B...

Back in November 2009, Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's, told us what was happening with the rectory.

"It will be fully restored and will serve several functions, one of which will be the home for the pastor. The current church I attend does not have a rectory and the priest rents an apartment [nearby]. It will be a luxury to have a rectory."

And a reader at the time said, "The interior of the rectory is a bit of a mess (as would be expected) but there are a lot of really nice details. Pressed metal ceilings, nice moldings, etc. It'll be a really nice place for the pastor once it's fixed up..."

Here's a photo of the rectory before the sidewalk shed went up in 2008...



During the time of the construction, the sidewalk shed between the rectory and the St. Brigid School often served as a makeshift shelter of sorts. Last September, police found a woman in her 50s named Liz here. Police believed that she died from a drug overdose.

[February 2011]

And in February 2011, Tompkins Square Park regular Grace Farrell, 35, froze to death while sleeping here.

[Saturday morning outside the rectory]

Looking for an explanation about those bloodcurdling screams

A reader sends along the following:

I live on Second Avenue, between Fifth and Sixth Street, and this is the second night since last week that I've heard bloodcurdling screams around 12:30 a.m. outside of my window toward Sixth Street. I've reported it to the 9th precinct, but was just curious if anyone else in the neighborhood has heard this or has any info on what's going on.

The reader lives facing a courtyard, not Second Avenue.

This was a few days ago. There is a follow-up note:

I heard it last night. It woke up both myself and my roommate around 3 a.m. I'm really curious to know if anyone else heard it and what theories they may have on what it was. Our first thought was of course an animal, but this was extremely human-like — scary.

Anyone with theories?

Hey, let's name the new froyo machine at 16 Handles

So, there's this. Via the 16 Handles Facebook page...

Some suggestions via Facebook so far include: The Mixerater ... Green Supreme... Blendzie...

Meh. A few names to get everyone warmed up:

• Here Today, Lying in Front of the St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery 10 Minutes Later

• Does this Machine Make Me Look Fat?

• FroYuckinator

Isn't this fun?

Signs of life at former Heartbreak space

Heartbreak, the Swiss-German eatery, closed last October after short run on Second Avenue and Second Street ... As Scoopy first noted at The Villager, owner Christos (Pylos) Valtzoglou is planning on opening a place called Boukies that will specialize in small plates of Greek food — mostly meze...

There's some progress to report. The Heartbreak sign is gone.

And there's a menu for Boukies up now...

Diner's Journal reported that Boukies will open in March.

'Smash' vs. Schwimmer* today on East Sixth Street

The incoming NBC series "Smash" is back filming in the neighborhood ... today, they'll be on East Sixth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

As an exasperated resident of the block said, "Because living on East Sixth Street between First and Second Avenues isn't torture enough already." The resident points to "the insanely noisy construction of Maybe-Schwimmer's mansion" at 331 E. Sixth St. as the culprit. The resident noted that two cement-mixing trucks groaned away in front of the soon-to-be six-story home all day this past Friday.

So will the construction crew take a breather during the filming (Spielberg is involved! He has connections!)? Or, per the resident, did the location crew accidentally scout this location on a weekend or a rare quiet day, thereby failing to note the construction racket that is guaranteed to ruin any shoot?

Anyway! We'll find out today! Woo!

* Maybe!

7-Eleven on the Bowery now selling 'new Buffalo wings'

And they make it easy on you: The wings have already been digested!

Bleecker Bob's is NOT becoming a Starbucks

Starbucks taking over the Bleecker Bob's space made the rounds starting on Thursday... hysteria quickly (and understandably) set in... While we understand that the longtime record store will still be moving, a Starbucks won't be taking its place.

We didn't notice this correction dated today in the Times story on the matter ...

Correction: January 30, 2012
An article in some editions on Friday about the closings of two of New York’s musical mainstays — the performance space Southpaw in Brooklyn and Bleecker Bob’s Golden Oldies in Greenwich Village — misstated the plans for the Bleecker Bob’s property. It will not become a Starbucks, according to the company.

Starbucks also just sent out a tweet about it here.

So. Dunkin' Donuts then? Subway?

Andre Balazs really wants to be a good neighbor

[June 2009]

In The Wall Street Journal today, Andre Balazs shares more insights about his plans for the Cooper Square Hotel The Standard East Village.

To an excerpt!

You said the previous owners "miscalculated." What do you consider their biggest mistakes?

The way it was developed and built was completely misconceived in terms of its use as a public space and in terms of its relation to the neighborhood. It's a very residential community and they managed to make a design that pissed off the neighbors immediately. That's a mistake. That's not what we're going to be about.

We're going to reorient in a different direction. By mid-fall it'll be open differently, with an emphasis on public spaces. Good hotels are a center of their community, and you can't be the center of a community if the person next door to you can't sleep.

Noted

Guns N' Roses will play at Webster Hall on Feb. 15 during part of a three-NYC-venue tour to coincide with Fashion Week, according to Rolling Stone. Per RS:

"The band last played Webster Hall in 1988 for a historic gig that was taped for MTV. The venue was called the Ritz back then, and to celebrate Guns N' Roses' return, the club will rename itself the Ritz when the band plays on February 15th."

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Matt LES_Miserable]

Claim: City policy segregates East Village schools (DNAinfo)

Spider-Man ads on the Bowery-Houston mural wall (BoweryBoogie)

The story behind the "Headless body in topless bar" headline (Capital)

The the real speakeasies of New York City (Eater)

The bookstore’s last stand (The New York Times)

Didn't seem like it: NYC saw 31 percent construction decline in 2011 (The Real Deal)

At Chinatown’s Lunar New Year Parade (The Lo-Down)

Asbestos battle at the Chelsea Hotel (Daily News)