13-story residence in the works for East Houston; fantasizing about a cabin and arts center

[July 2012]

Back in July, The Lo-Down reported that an unknown buyer has purchased the two vacant lots at 327 and 329 E. Houston St. for $8.4 million, as well as two adjoining parcels at 331 E. Houston and 163 Ridge St. for another $4 million... part of the portfolio that belonged to reclusive real-estate baron William Gottlieb ... The lot has been empty for seemingly eons ...

The Lo-Down followed-up on Friday with the news that there are plans in place for a 13-story, 78-unit residential complex on the site.

Per The Lo-Down, reps from Halpern Real Estate Ventures are...:

seeking to enter the city’s inclusionary housing program, which permits developers to build bigger buildings than normally would be allowed in exchange for adding a certain number of affordable apartments to their projects. In this case, 16 of the 78 units would enter the affordable housing program (5 studios, 8 one bedrooms, 3 two bedrooms). The developer is not seeking any city subsidy.

So that's that. And this lot was one of our favorites...

EVG Facebook friend Edward Arrocha recently posted photos from the long-abandoned laundromat next to the property, which is part of the development...

There's now a partial opening on the storefront, which provides a glimpse of what was left behind...

[EA]

[EA]

Per Arrocha: "I always fantasized of having nice cabin and arts center on that lot... with a wonderful garden and a lot community things... but I never hit the lotto!"

Bodega Walk this Saturday

[Photo from East Village Deli at 217 Avenue A last week by Crazy Eddie]

From the EV Grieve inbox... from the folks working with the 'No 7-Eleven' Committee...

Bodega Walk
Saturday February 2nd @ Noon
11th Street and Avenue A

We will start at the site with brief remarks and a poem then visit 4-5 bodegas to speak with the owners and their employees. The walk will be about an hour and will conclude at Tompkins Square Bagels.

More info on all this later in the week...

Rent hike KOs East 10th Street laundromat

Word is spreading on East 10th Street that the laundromat near Second Avenue that has served the neighborhood for so many years will be closing in the next few months.

Yep, the lease at this place where Mimi and her son have run is up and the rent is going up. Shocker. It will close in March, though we're not sure if that means at the beginning or the end of the month.

Anyway, who needs things like laundromats when we can have more noodle and dessert places to serve the students and people who don't live around here.

Noted

Via EVG regular Stephen Popkin.

A look at 154 Second Ave.'s steely backside

[November, via Terry Howell]

[Yesterday via EVG]

We had a brief update last week on 154 Second Ave., the former home of the Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel. We looked at the front of the incoming luxury residences with the arrival of some steel beams...

EVG reader Terry Howell now has a few observations from another vantage point...

Terry notes that all this work seems to have been done by a crew of about six guys without the benefit of much major machinery. So it might be some time before we spot any listings for the new residences...

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

Redeveloped funeral home looking for a few live retail tenants

The walls come tumbling down at 154 Second Avenue

EV Grieve Eatery Etc.: Progress at Wylie Dufresne's Alder; 7 Spices for Second Avenue

The transformation of the former Plum Pizzeria at 157 Second Avenue continues... where noted LES chef Wylie Dufresne is opening a 50-seat pub that will serve "modern casual food and well-crafted cocktails," as Grub Street first noted last fall.

And do not enter...

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Reyna Exotic Turkish Cuisine quickly opened and closed last summer... the space is now back open here on Second Avenue near East Fifth street as 7 Spices... serving Turkish and Mediterranean fare...

They also deliver...

Let us know if you try it...

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...and now a few items that we meant to note much sooner... Such as! JujoMukti Tea Lounge on East Fourth Street between A and B closed some time late last year... a reader said that the owners sold most of the furniture and fixtures in mid-December...

CB3 OK'd a a beer and wine license here back in June 2011 even though the cafe is in a resolution (saturated!) area ... "after enthusiastic patrons spoke out about the venue's uniquely diverse presence and focus on a nurturing lifestyle," per Eater.

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Also meant to note that Jeepney recently filled in the rest of their sign on First Avenue...

[Last October via EVG reader @robbyohara]

Now!

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And Queen Vic, the British pub and restaurant on Second Avenue at East Fourth Street, hasn't been serving food in recent weeks...

[Updated] Inside the renovated St. Brigid's

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...and to see how far the church has come... Clayton Patterson shared these photos from a neglected church circa December 2005...

Updated 1-28

The New York Times has a piece on St. Brigid's in today's paper. The article goes into detail on the church's "daunting structural problems" and the challenges of the restoration.

A quick excerpt:

The pews were replaced and the exterior restored to resemble the original brownstone. Stained glass windows were brought from St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Harlem, which closed in 2003.

[Architect Michael F.] Doyle also restored an elaborate inscription along the top of the east wall that had been painted over in the 1960s, although there was not enough money to put the original bell back in the tower.

The parish has been merged with St. Emeric’s nearby, and the parish and the church are now known as St. Brigid and St. Emeric.

Read the whole article here.

From St. Emeric's to St. Brigid's

This afternoon, parishioners traveled from St. Emeric on East 13th Street between Avenue C and Avenue D ... to the newly reopened St. Brigid's on Avenue B and East Eighth Street...

As The Villager first reported in June, St. Emeric’s, built in 1950 at 740 E. 13th St., will close and merge with St. Brigid's.

Bobby Williams took the following photos...

St. Brigid's reopened today after more than 11 years ... in a special mass presided by Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan.

Here's the WABC report... with bonus Casey Anthony coverage tacked on...

St. Brigid's opening act

This afternoon... photo by EVG reader Jolene... More photos tonight...

Sunday brunch

Tompkins Square Park this afternoon... via East Village resident Shelley Whiddon ...

Week in Grieview

[East 13th Street near Avenue A yesterday]

RIP M15 Select bus flashing blue lights (Tuesday)

Third Rail Coffee opening soon on East 10th Street (Thursday)

The Immigrant is expanding, but Mermaid Inn isn't (Wednesday)

The latest on the No 7-11 campaign (Wednesday ... Thursday ... Friday)

More FroFuckingYo (Tuesday)

There are a lot of Yorkies named Max around here, apparently (Thursday)

... and Kita the Wonder Dag of East 10th Street responds (Friday)

Mystery Lot replacement rises (Tuesday)

Olde Good Things opening on the Bowery (Friday)

Here's the trailer for the new Coen Brothers movie, filmed in part in the East Village (Thursday)

Barney got his ass kicked on East 13th Street (Tuesday)

Jane has worked with NYU students, gypsies and dogs (Wednesday)

Another East Village record store closes (Tuesday)

The Amazing Spider-Man in action on East 12th Street (Sunday)

This alleged shoplifter bit people after stealing Jimmy Choo boots (Thursday)

It was cold (Wednesday)

St. Brigid's reopens: 'We are very blessed to have the church restored'

As you know, St. Brigid's reopens today at 5 with a special invite-only mass for parishioners presided by Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan. We asked Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's, if he ever thought he'd see this day after the church on Avenue B and East Eighth Street closed in 2001:

I must admit there were times when I felt very low and discouraged. But this is the way the Lord works to test your faith. He will bring you almost to the edge and how one respond defines who you are. Although I was very discouraged, I never lost faith and I never got angry. A trap many fell into. The Lord put many people in my path. All served a purpose, different talents and skills came togather to achive this goal ... We are very blessed to have the church restored.

Previously on EV Grieve:
13 keys dates in the 165-year history of St. Brigid's, reopening on Sunday

4 year old debuts East Village snowffiti

East Seventh Street.

[Updated] Window smashed at the 7-Eleven on St. Mark's Place

Not sure at this time what happened here at the 7-Eleven on St. Mark's Place... EVG friend Bonnie DeWitt sent these along this evening...

The window here was also smashed last April...

Anyone know what happened here tonight?

Updated 1-27
A clerk said that a "crazy street person" tossed what looked like a small weight or chunk of metal at the window. (The store has the object in its possession now.) No word on what led to the window attack.

Today's hawk

Tompkins Square Park via Bobby Williams

RIP Alan Shenker aka Yossarian

[East Side Book Store, Saint Mark's Place 1972. Photo by Patrick Rosenkranz]

Several readers have passed along word that Alan Shenker, aka Yossarian/Yo, a legendary figure in the underground comics world in the late 1960s and beyond, died on Jan. 14. He was 67.

Among many other endeavors, he created illustrations and comics for the East Village Other, Gothic Blimp Works, The Rat, Kiss and the New York Ace.

He lived on St. Mark's Place the past 35 years.

There are features on his life here at The Comics Journal ... and at The Paris Review.

There is also a new Facebook page for him. Per the description:

A Page dedicated to the spirit of Alan Shenker/Yossarian: Son of Levittown, Revolutionary, Mordant Wit, Illustrator Par Excellence, Imbiber of Spirits, Flâneur, Haircutter, East Villager, Crank, Soul Man & Friend.

You can find an array of his artwork here at Babylon Falling.

[Via Babylon Journal]

From The Comics Journal yesterday:

His friends described his lifestyle as a “flaneur” or a “downtown habitué.” “He did what all New Yorkers do,” said [longtime friend] Maryann. “He complained about everything. He sat around drinking coffee at cafes. He talked to everyone. He was totally righteous and he never sold out.”