EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[Houston and the Bowery on Wednesday, photo by Bobby Williams]

New Congressional boundaries for the East Village, LES (The Lo-Down)

A call to scale back the NYU expansion plan (The Villager)

Fine Fare moving its recycling center from Fourth Street to Avenue C (DNAinfo)

A quiet afternoon at Milano's (The Gog Log)

Watch a video about the classic Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop on Fifth Avenue (Eater)

RIP Bowery, the store cat at MooShoes on Orchard Street (BoweryBoogie)

Phil Mushnick on the closing of Bill's Gay Ninties after tomorrow night: "For the regulars, semi-regulars and irregulars, Bill’s lately has been like walking into a crime against nature in progress." (New York Post ... Marty had the scoop on the closure at Tripping With Marty)

And via a reader on Twitter... noted... anyway, we're waiting for the Ranch shampoo..

Nino's Pizza is for sale

We came across this listing for Nino's Pizza, a favorite hub on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place ... According to the listing, "owner retiring and looking for a quick sale." No mention of key money, though the rent is $13,200 a month...

It's certainly possible that another pizzeria will take over the space, maybe even keeping the year-round Christmas decorations and the fountain drinks...


Or, possibly, given the way things seem to go around here, the space becomes [insert absurd foodie concept here]

Meanwhile, Sal's remains closed down the Avenue.

Rats all, folks? Ratstravaganza reportedly under control in Tompkins Square Park

[Bobby Williams, from last fall]

According to this week's issue of The Villager, there's a noticeable decrease in the number of rats in Tompkins Square Park. Chad Marlow, the founder of Tompkins Square Park and Playgrounds Parents Association (TSP3A), which launched in response to the rat overpopulation last summer, "declared victory in the anti-rat campaign — though, he acknowledged, it’s a war that never ends."

Per Parks spokesperson Philip Abramson: "We have been utilizing an Integrated Pest Management approach at Tompkins Square Park which has proved to be successful. We have reduced the number of rat burrows from 120 to 38 as of today. We are continuing to take action to reduce them even further. We will continue working to help alleviate the rat conditions at this park, and encourage New Yorkers to help out by not littering."

The article also notes that, "as the rat story exploded, East Village blog posters debated about whether rat control equals gentrification — some charged that only yuppies would support a rat-free park."

Marlow's response: "I think that’s an offensive position. I think all neighborhoods in this city should be free of vermin. I think the issue should be how to keep affordable housing and get rid of the rats — not, 'We need to keep the rats because they’re necessary to keep affordable housing.'"

You can read the whole article here.

Also, The Villager deserves credit for helping with the problem — they were the first to report on this back on July 21. Other local outlets, including NY1, hilariously tried to take credit.

Anyway, now that the rats are under control, what are Park officials going to do about the lobsters?

20 months later, A Building finally free of sidewalk shed, construction netting

Over on East 13th Street, the pool-topped A Building is visible again... On Aug. 31, 2010, workers put up a sidewalk shed here between Avenue A and First Avenue ... On Sept. 12, 2011, workers put up the construction netting...

So, roughly 20 months later, the crews have cleared up all signs of the repair work...

According to a DOB permit, workers were completing "balcony repairs."

You can read about the background on the "massive headaches" at the A Building in The Real Deal.

People apparently love the condo with the giant metal slide, according to article about how much people love the condo with the giant metal slide

[Jeff Bachner, The Daily News]

Hey! Speaking of The A-Building on East 13th Street ... The Daily News checks in with the condo that's equipped with the giant metal slide. (We first wrote about it on March 17, 2011, here.)

The place has been for sale... and the News has some funnish anecdotes... Like!

• "There’s a media/game room with a wet bar and a $35,000 custom pool table, which could be negotiated into the sale of the apartment."

• "One man in his 70s who lives in Miami sent his broker to look at the apartment, wondering if the slide hole was big enough to fit his large dogs down it."

• "A broker in her 70s went down the slide four or five times when she came to look at the apartment."

• The owner, professional poker player Phil Galfond, who moved to Canada after some pesky Justice Department crackdowns, used his rooftop space as a putting green.

• "Because of the East Village location, a common rooftop with a sundeck, pool, cabanas and barbecue area, the building had a reputation of being a party hot spot when it opened in 2008. Now it’s a bit tamer" the real-estate brokers say.

The place is going for $3.99 million, by the way. Oh, and only one person reportedly asked about removing the slide.

Now, questions:

• Do you need work permits to add a giant metal slide in your condo?
• Do you need approval from anyone on the condo side of the ownership?
• Is the A Building "a bit tamer"? We have no idea! (Please let us know via email.)

It has been nearly three years since the Daily News ran the piece on "amenity-rich" properties, starring the A-Building. The story included this amazing photo.

And this passage about the A Building weekends:

Come Friday night, residents start the party. Without a formal invite, everyone seems to converge on the landscaped roof, this time to watch the sunset and admire the skyline, with the Empire State Building twinkling in the distance.

In the background, the Beach Boys play. Hula-Hoops twirl, beach balls bounce and the crowd convenes around the black marble bar for building-wide drinking games. "Flip Cup is a drinking relay race," explains Evy Rodrigues, 32, a regular.

The roof's perfectly manicured lawn becomes a happy hour ballfield where losing Flip Cup teams have to play Dizzy Bat — they chug beer from a plastic baseball bat and run circles around it while their friends cry, "Watch out for the wall!"

Previously on EV Grieve:
Just your everyday penthouse combo connected by a stainless steel slide

This is what 619 E. Sixth St. looked like on March 22, 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...

Japadog remains closed after Monday's DOH inspection

On Monday, the DOH temporarily closed Japadog on St. Mark's Place. We were waiting for the inspection report to show up on the DOH website. It finally arrived yesterday.

DOH inspectors handed out 57 violation points... the usual stuff that everyone gets points off for... evidence of things or actual things, such as mice...


The restaurant, which opened in January, was still closed as of last night.

[Updated] Overturned car shuts down part of Williamsburg Bridge

In case you are wondering why all the news copters are hovering over the Lower East Side at the moment...

According to multiple reports, there's an overturned car on the outbound lanes of the Williamsburg Bridge ... the Bridge is partially closed at the moment...

[Photo via @agreatbigcity]

Updated:

The Lo-Down has more photos and info here.

Deed for 'community facility use only' at the former P.S. 64 now on the market

The saga continues for the former P.S. 64, now entering its 10th year of sitting empty. A listing for 350 E. 10th St. appeared today at Massey Knakal. Here are the details:

The property is currently an approximate 152,000 rentable square foot H-shaped building located in the heart of the East Village, adjacent to Tompkins Square Park. The structure runs block-through from East 9th Street to East 10th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C and features 150’ of frontage on both sides of the block. The property previously operated as a public school and is situated to become a tremendous benefit to the neighborhood as there continues to be a shortage of educational facilities throughout New York City. Ideally, the highest and best use for the property would be to renovate the existing structure and convert it into a modern school or college dormitory. Numerous educational and institutional campus’s are located just a few blocks away from the subject and their student body continues to grow year after year creating an on-going demand for student housing. Prospective users have a rare opportunity to redevelop and transform this 100 year old building into a new modern facility which will provide a variety of educational options.

So, as you know, there's a long, complicated history here. Briefly. Gregg Singer bought the formerly city-owned building in 1998 for $3.15 million. His plan: a 23-story megadorm. But, in the face of strong community opposition, he was never able to get those plans off the ground, and the building sits rotting (with help from the owner). The Villager has extensively covered this story through the years. Check out their archives here.

The new marketing materials come with some fresh renderings...

Anyway, we've seen rebranding campaigns here before... such as in 2009.


This past November, a handful of East Village residents met at Theatre 80 to discuss the possibility of turning the space into a community center and nonprofit space.

Will something finally happen to the space now?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will old PS 64 get a theater for nonprofit groups?

Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[51 Astor Place, by Bobby Williams]

At Union Square for the Million Hoodies March (Gothamist)

Lobster frites replace books on East 12th Street (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

118 E. Fourth St. now without mail service (Occupy East 4th Street)

Another neighborhood park battling rats (BoweryBoogie)

Marty visits Tompkins Square Bagels (Tripping With Marty)

Cheetah Chrome in the Central Park bandshell circa 1979 (Flaming Pablum)

Cops nab that alleged Dunkin' Donuts groper (Town & Village Blog)

Creator of "Grand Theft Auto" buys Truman Capote's historic Brooklyn Heights home (New York Post)

More phone booths hiding in the city (Ephemeral New York)

"A Greenwich Village McDonald’s on West Third Street that has been the site of at least three violent altercations — one as recently as Saturday night — is a haven for male hookers, drug dealers and scammers who use the 24/7 fast-food joint as a base of operations, frightened neighbors say." (New York Post)

Is Kate's Joint adding meat to the menu?

Perhaps!

But first. The Wall Street Journal takes a look today at the recent closures of some East Village vegetarian eateries, such as Curly's and Quantum Leap, as well as the financial struggles of Kate's Joint on Avenue B. The cause, according to some diners and restaurant owners? "Rising rents were a factor in a least some of these cases, but so too were the shifting tastes of young hipsters away from vegetarianism."

Plus, are places like Kate's all that faboo looking to the foody set?

Per the article: "Kate's Joint looks increasingly out of place in a world where young diners flock to meat-centric restaurants such as Meatball Shop and Porchetta."

Which is one reason why Kate's owner Kate Halpern contemplates adding the meat to the menu. She told the Journal: "I hate to admit it, but put bacon on it, and they will come."

As for adding meat products, she has discussed it. She met with resistance from some longtime patrons. Plus, "she said she would need a financial partner to build a kitchen that would allow the restaurant to prepare meat and vegetarian entrees separately."

The article also quotes local blogger EV Grieve, who works "farm to table" into a quote. (Woo! Shot!)

Previously on EV Grieve:
Save Kate's Joint on Avenue B

One way to patch up a $111.6 million building

[EVG file photo]

Walking along the backside of 41 Cooper Square the other day...

Perhaps it's some kind of post-modern art... or maybe a tribute to the tenement buildings nearby...

The end is near(er) for the Mystery Lot

We knew this day was coming... not that it makes it any easier... an unhappy East 13th Street tipster points us to the DOB website, where there are three permits pending approval (dated March 15) related to building over this beloved land of bricks, discarded holiday trees, aliens, etc.

[EVG file photo]

As the Post first reported on Jan. 19, the space will become an 82-unit, eight-story development that should break ground this summer for a late 2013 opening. "Prices are still to be determined for the project’s studio and one-, two- and three-bedroom units," according to the Post.

The work permits say that the space will include 86,409 square feet for residential and 5,275 square feet for retail. The good news about the retail: You can likely count out an iHop ... 7-Eleven... KFC... Dunkin' Donuts...Duane Reade...

BKSK is listed as the architect of record... according to the BKSK website, their residential work includes 25 Bond Street, home of $20 million apartments and, once, Will Smith, as Curbed has noted.

We leave with this aerial view of what became the Mystery Lot circa 1913... from ConEd looking at the southeast corner of 14th Street and Third Avenue...

And you can spot the former Jefferson Theatre...

(And apologies — have had this for so long we don't recall the original source... Per Mick in the comments, this is a Shorpy photo.)

Redeveloped funeral home looking for a few live retail tenants

On Monday, we pointed out that workers have the scaffolding and sidewalk shed in place outside 154 Second Ave., the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel. Plans call for several new floors here with the help of architect Ramy Issac.

And we spotted a listing (PDF) for the retail space over at developer Terrence Lowenberg's Icon Realty....

There is nearly 4,600 square feet of ground-floor space "perfect for: retail store, restaurant," per the listing. Rent is upon request.

The rendering looks similar to Lowenberg's other current projects at 147 First Ave. and 326-328 E. Fourth St.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former funeral home looks to double in size with help from 'the controversial penthouse king of the East Village'

[Updated] City fixes Avenue C Sinkhole, Jr

On Friday, we pointed out the longtime sinkhole getting sinkier along Avenue C... on the east side of the sidewalk between Sixth Street and Fifth Street ... it's the neglected sinkhole on the block, the one that wasn't named to Page Six the Magazine's "Sinkholes to Watch" list for 2012 or once rumored to play Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games."

But!

EV Grieve reader Steven noted that a crew arrived this week to start work on the long-sinking sinkhole... Tuesday...

And yesterday...

Per a reader: "I just wanted to share with you the *very* exciting news that after years and years, the sidewalk pothole on Ave. C between 5th and 6th street has finally been filled..."

Updated: Via Steven, how's the former sinkhole is looking this morning...

Meanwhile! Up at 13th Street... the city/ConEd have finished repairs on the star sinkhole... Filled!

Previously.

City unveils new line of defense against red light running

Stop — or else. Avenue A today. Photos by Bobby Williams.

Off-duty

Tompkins Square Park today. Photo by Bobby Williams.

[Updated] Report: Threat of violence cancels the BMW Guggenheim Lab show in Berlin

The BMW Guggenheim Lab packed up and left last October after its two-month-plus run here on East First Street. The Lab was then off to confront comfort in Berlin in the Prenzlauer Berg Kreuzberg neighborhood from May 24 to July 29.

However. In his *Everday Chatter column today, Jeremiah Moss points us to this item at The Atlantic: "BMW Guggenheim Cancels Its Berlin Exhibition Amid Threats of Violence."

The Atlantic post cites Bloomberg News:

"This decision was made as a consequence of threats to the project," the BMW Guggenheim Lab said in a statement. Police and local authorities said there was an elevated risk, it said.

Left-wing activists used the Internet to urge protesters to “derail” the project, according to the daily Tagesspiegel newspaper. Their protest was that the project would accelerate the gentrification of Kreuzberg, leading to higher rents and new luxury residential developments, the newspaper said.

One public meeting ahead of the Berlin debut reportedly drew "vociferous opposition." And depending how good your German is...



Updated:

Here's the site where the Lab was going to set up... via Spiegel Online...

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[Outside Middle Collegiate Church, photo by James Maher]

Press conference tomorrow to tell Scott Stringer to vote "no" on NYU's proposed expansion plan (Off the Grid)

Found! The old Jade Mountain neon sign (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

The latest on protection of the Bialystoker Nursing Home (The Lo-Down)

Zum Schneider is opening a branch in Montauk this summer (Curbed Hamptons)

More Sons of Essex late-night menu ads (BoweryBoogie)

The basement comedians of the East Village (NYU Local)

NPR piece on community garden power struggles includes Campos Community Garden (NPR)

Thoughts on Five Napkin Burger on 14th and Third (Eater)

NYC King Kong murals (Flaming Pablum)

...and posters are up for "Girls," the new HBO series that Judd Apatow executive produced and filmed on the Lower East Side... (Flavorwire likes it...)

[Shawn Chittle]

'And the screams continue'

In January, a resident told us 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.

Readers had some theories — the sound of the neighborhood dying, Lana Del Rey, etc.

But the screams continue. A reader left this at 12:56 a.m.:

We hear it also, and the screams continue...I hear it pretty much every night now. Last night someone actually responded by yelling "shut the f#%* up!". The night before I was woken up every hour from around 1 to 4. It is getting ridiculous and I don't know about other people, but I wake up every time because it is so disturbing. I reported it to the 9th precinct today but all they could say is call them when it actually happens. It's so hard to pin point where it is coming from though because it is relatively short, and usually when I'm sound asleep. If it is a person, which it sounds like it is, I really hope they get caught. If it is cats, I hate to say it, but they should be euthanized. Someone please help all the restless neighbors, it is getting very tiresome.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looking for an explanation about those bloodcurdling screams

'Trouble' in mind: Q-and-A with director Michael Knowles

"The Trouble With Bliss" opens Friday at the Village East Cinemas on Second Avenue at East 12th Street. The movie is based on the novel "East Fifth Bliss" by former East Village resident Douglas Light, who lived at 343 E. Fifth St. for several years.

"Dexter"/"Six Feet Under" star Michael C. Hall plays the title character in this darkly comic tale about 35-year-old Morris Bliss who's stuck in a state of inertia.

[Michael C. Hall]

Morris longs to travel, but he never leaves the East Village. He doesn't have a job and he lives with his widowed father (Peter Fonda). For good measure, he starts a relationship with the 18-year-old daughter (Brie Larson) of his former classmate (Brad William Henke) and tries to avoid his over-eager neighbor (Lucy Liu). Anyway, trouble.

Director Michael Knowles and his cast and crew filmed around the neighborhood during the spring of 2010. (We covered some of this here and here.)

[Hall with Michael Knowles]

Knowles answered a few questions for us via Facebook ...

Why was the novel "East Fifth Bliss" something that you wanted to adapt into a movie?

There were a a number of reasons I wanted to adapt "East Fifth Bliss" into a movie. The first was that I laughed a lot while I was reading it so I thought it would be fun to make into a movie and share with as wide of an audience as possible. Second, I loved the overall message, which to me was basically "live your life. Stop putting things off and do what you say you're gonna do." This is a story and a message that, if told well, can really resonate with most people.

I also felt that we could make a great movie from the novel because of how unique the characters, humor, tone and world Doug had created were.

Morris is a bit of a sad sack, yet you find yourself rooting for him. How did you strike a balance to make a character that moviegoers will ultimately find likable?

Naaaaaaa. Morris is.... Okay, yeah, you're right, he is a bit of a sad sack but he never complains about his life or feels sorry for himself. On some level, Morris is living a life of Bliss. He, for some reason, has accepted his life as it is and it isn't until things start happening to him that he realizes that he as been a bit rudderless for the past 20 years or so. I think that since Morris doesn't feel sorry for himself it makes it easy to like him ... and he is on the receiving end of a lot of jokes in the novel as well as the movie.

How did you find the experience filming in the East Village?

I loved filming in the East Village. Before I moved to Los Angeles 4 1/2 years ago, I lived in New York for about 13 years and 11 of those years in the East Village. So for me it was perfect to come back and film in a neighborhood I knew very well.

Any memorable moments from the shoot?

There was one night that we were filming in front of the Blue & Gold Tavern on East Seventh Street and we knew it was supposed to rain. So we had to get the scene shot as quickly as possible. As soon as we started rolling, firetrucks came around the corner with the horns and sirens blaring —and it started to pour. We cut and I remember standing under this tent we had set up and watching three firetrucks come to a stop right where we were filming.

Turns out a neighbor had called the fire department on some neighbors who were barbequing on the street nearby. The whole scene was funny since it was so far out of our control. Ultimately, after a handful of starts and stops we did manage to get the scene shot. The whole cast was a bit punchy from being up all night. It was magical.

-------------

Also, folks from the movie will give a few EV Grieve readers a free set of tickets for any screening of "The Trouble With Bliss." We've never done this kind of thing before, so ... the first few people to send EV Grieve an email this morning can get the tix. Just need your name. We'll pass on your name and email to the publicist who will make it all official from there. Well, wasn't sure what to expect with this. But several people quickly sent along an email for tickets...more than the allotment. Thanks for the interest!

Previously on EV Grieve:
About the building that inspired the novel "East Fifth Bliss"

Q-and-A with 'East Fifth Bliss' author Douglas Light

[Photos Courtesy 7A Productions]

11-17 Second Avenue is starting to rise from the bowels of the Mars Bar

Early last evening. Before you know it, a 12-story apartment building will be here. And then?

Bonus photos from yesterday of the bendy thing...

Bendy photos by Bobby Williams.