Winter Friday flashback: Price melting on 'Soho-style' igloo in Tompkins Square Park

On Fridays this winter, and probably spring and summer ... we'll post one of the 16,000-plus EVG, uh, posts from yesteryear, like this one from March 1, 2010...

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On Friday, we wrote about a new listing that popped up on Prudential Douglas Elliman for a "Soho-style" igloo right in the heart of East Greenwich Village in Tompkins Square Park.

On Friday, the 15-square-foot igloo was priced at $1.5 million ($100K per square foot!)


However, today, the price has been chopped down to $500K!

Here's the listing:

This fully original Soho igloo is ready to go at a stunning and spacious 15 square feet!! Located in a new igloo and facing southeast off the Park you will enjoy the setting sun, quiet nights, and all the space!! The ground has been white washed for a tasteful but artful look. There is a flat screen TV nook that has been smartly placed in the living space so the TV will flow seamlessly against the snow. Closets everywhere, bath and a half, open kitchen round out this one-of-a-kind one igloo flex two loft space. The igloo is a condo so subletting and renting are permitted. Pets are welcome!

According to Streeteasy, this property originally went on the market around this time last year, but was quickly pulled several warmer days later...

There was an open igloo this past Friday...


...where potential igloo-buyers discovered that the space may be best suited for those under say, 3 feet tall.



If you're interested, then I urge you to hurry. The temperatures are expected in the mid 40s today...

A pigeon a day keeps the...

Today in Tompkins Square Park... via Bobby Williams.

Noted

From the EV Grieve inbox...

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG WILL DELIVER COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS AT THE COOPER UNION’S 154th GRADUATION CEREMONY

New York – We are proud and delighted that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has agreed to deliver the commencement address at The Cooper Union’s 154th graduation ceremony in May, said Jamshed Bharucha, President of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. At commencement, Mayor Bloomberg will receive the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary).

Commencement 2013 is scheduled for Tuesday, May 29th in The Great Hall of The Cooper Union, East 7th Street at Third and Fourth Avenues, New York.

“Mayor Bloomberg’s transformational leadership to improve education, the cityscape and the built environment, as well as public health, while encouraging smart and sustainable economic growth distinguishes his administration. His persuasive advocacy for gun control and immigration reform resonates across the country. His determination for New York to thrive as a world class applied science center will draw the best and the brightest for decades to come. His record and vision provide an example for our graduates who want to contribute their talents to New York and beyond. We are honored to have him deliver the keynote address at this year’s commencement,” said President Bharucha.

Q-and-A with Fly on UnReal Estate

Fly is currently working on UnReal Estate, an archive project focused on the history of squatting on the Lower East Side. The artist and illustrator is assembling a collection of photos, flyers, drawings, graphics, video and oral histories. Fly, a longtime squatter herself dating to the 1980s, has been incorporating these elements into multimedia presentations, one of which she'll show tomorrow night at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) at 155 Avenue C. (Find more information here.)

Meanwhile, the book portion of UnReal Estate will focus on an oral history of squatting on the Lower East Side, concentrating on the 1980s and 1990s – up until 2002, when 11 buildings made a deal through the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) to become legal low-income co-ops. The book will include a prologue to cover the earlier homesteading movements and brief history of housing issues in the neighborhood.

Fly answered a few questions for us about the project and her feelings about the neighborhood today.

UnReal Estate is such an ambitious project. How is the oral history book portion of it shaping up?

I am getting some great stories — and a lot of conflicting information. A lot of people have a hard time remembering specific dates. So much was happening so fast back in the 80s and 90s. This neighborhood was a bit like a powder keg, and it was hard to keep track of dates and times. There are so many people who I want to interview. The more that I do the longer the list seems to get.

How have audiences been responding to the previous slideshows/multimedia presentations?

I have been getting very encouraging responses. People who were around back in the day are encouraged to remember their own history, so then I get more input into the squatter timeline. People who were not there have told me that they have a whole new view of the idea of squatting. I have done some UnReal Estate slideshows in Oakland, Calif., to the East Bay Squat Scene. They get so inspired by seeing what we did and how we continue to survive. The squatter scene out there is very different and not so organized or cohesive. They seemed to get some good ideas for strategy from seeing our history

Why do you think telling the story of the East Village/Lower East Side squatter history is so important?

I think that the squatter movement here came out of real community activism, so it is very ingrained in the larger history of the Lower East Side. It was in the 1970s when landlords were torching their buildings for insurance money and the City was going broke and abandoning the more undesirable neighborhoods that residents in the Lower East Side really started organizing and taking back the buildings – sometimes with homesteading programs and sometimes just with community support. A lot of housing activism was going on and the squatter movement was a more direct-action approach that grew from that.

There were so many buildings squatted in this neighborhood in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was a real political force and many squatters were involved in so many other community and citywide struggles — especially the struggle for affordable housing, which has been a defining characteristic of the Lower East Side. The fact that we were successful in taking 11 buildings to legal status speaks to our legitimate place in the official history of the Lower East Side

The neighborhood continues to develop and grow, of course. How do you feel about what has been taking place? Do you still feel a sense of community here? Does it still feel like home?

I do feel a sense of community here, although it now seems so spread out and diffused. Suddenly there are so many bars and stores that make an attempt to look like they have been here for a long time so that the tourists think they are getting a Real Experience. (I could go on a long complaining rant but I’m sure you have heard it all before and I try to be positive these days.)

It makes it all the more important to try to preserve and proliferate our radical roots – to encourage the kids to continue to live Actively not Passively. There are still places in the Lower East Side like ABC No Rio, Bullet Space, Bluestockings, MoRUS and all of the gardens – we still have some great places left. After so many years of struggle I am very grateful to have my home.

What was your reaction to being named one of the "Amazing Women of the Lower East Side" this year by The Lower Eastside Girls Club?

Oh! I was very honored that they chose me. It is one of my favorite places and one of my favorite things to do is teach art classes or zine-making classes to the younger generations. I get to do this once in awhile at the Girls Club, hopefully more often in future, and the girls never fail to amaze me with their enthusiasm and their creativity.



[For more information, contact Fly here]

David Schwimmer's unfinished mansion makes celebrity homes map for 2nd straight year

In other important news today, Rentenna updated its giant map of where celebrities live in the City.

Let's see how the East Village fared... For the second straight year, David Schwimmer leads the pack... even though he still doesn't live here (yet).



Who else ... Tom Cruise is listed on East 13th Street, where he recently sold his home ... Cynthia Nixon on East Sixth Street, though she bought a house on Bleecker... No Daniel Craig? No Zoltar? Lame!

H/T Curbed

Renovations set to begin at PS 122

A tipster passes along word that all the tenants of the PS 122 Community Center at 150 First Ave. are out of the building now, and construction on the DCA-funded interior code renovations will start any day now. Yesterday, PS 122 officials turned over the keys to the contractor. The building at East Ninth Street will undergo a three-year renovation.

Per the tipster: "The project is exciting, and will be a great asset to the neighborhood. This isn't some private developer coming in and taking a piece of East Village history away."

PS 122 will use space in Greenpoint for its office, and employ venues around the city for its various productions. (Read more about all this in a recent article at TheaterMania.)

Among other things, the renovated space, first put to use by PS 122 in 1980, will have an elevator, new stairwells and full ADA compliance.

Find a sneak peek of one of the new floor layouts here. Find more updates and the performance schedule at the PS 122 website here.

Expect to see Jerry's Newsstand on Astor Place through Mayor Bloomberg's last term in office

[Via Jerry's Newsstand on Facebook]

You know the story of Jerry Delakas, who has been running the newsstand at Astor Place since 1987. As the Daily News put it in April 2011: "The city is booting Jerry Delakas, 62, .... because he's not the legal license holder. That decision contradicts the dying wish of the woman who held the license, happily allowed him to operate the stand and designated him as heir."

In the eyes of the city, this is an illegal arrangement. Last fall, the city retained — for free — the services of powerhouse international law firm Proskauer Rose for the eviction process. Previously, the city used a Law Department attorney. "The lawyer handling the matter worked on it while part of the city’s Public Service Program for young attorneys before she left to go into private practice," a city spokesperson told the Post last September. "It made complete sense for her to continue on the case given that she’d worked on it since its inception."

From the Daily News in 2011:

Outraged neighbors say the chain-smoking character with a thick Greek accent and heart of gold has become a neighborhood institution. "Jerry's here rain, snow, sleet, blistering heat," said Larry Schulz, 68, who lives across the street. "He's just a real important part of our community. We think the world of him."

We haven't heard much since then about the situation. In the comments the other day, EVG reader BT mentioned that Delakas suffered a serious hand injury last fall.

Here's the latest on the situation with the city, based on information passed along by director Nicole Cimino at a Feb. 9 screening of "The Paperhouse Report," a 25-minute documentary about Delakas.

In short: He was denied his license again by the State courts. They granted him the right to remain at the newsstand until the end of this mayoral administration. He and his lawyer are planning on contacting the next mayor's administration to see if they have any desire to see Jerry keep his newsstand.

So Bloomberg is out at the end of the year... so you can expect to see Delakas here for perhaps the next 12 months at the very least... And he is on his third physical newsstand now... the one that he had starting in 1987 (his brother Aris is pictured in the photo directly below...)





The one that he upgraded per city requests in 1993 ... (which he says cost him $55,000)



And his current home, which the city Cemusa'd in 2007...

[Photo by James Maher from January 2012. Find more photos here]

Read more about Jerry's situation at Jeremiah's Vanishing New York. You can watch the documentary at Vimeo here. Like Jerry's Newsstand on Facebook here.

[Archival newsstand photos via "The Paper House" website]

3-story swingers club now open on the Bowery

Well, we missed the Grand Opening of Bowery Bliss last Friday. From what we understand, it's a three-story, 4,000-square-foot, "European-style" swingers club near Delancey. It's only open Friday and Saturday nights, 10 p.m. - 4 a.m.

Here are some details via a notice on Craigslist:

New York City's newest and largest on premise swinger club

4000 sq ft on 3 floors with something for everyone
-First floor: The Renaissance Lounge (1,400 sq. ft.) offering guests a place to mingle and get to know each other:
-Second Floor: Group Play Area (900 sq. ft.) curtained and open play areas...open to all
-Third Floor: Couples ONLY Playroom (700 sq ft) ...the club within the club

-Locker room (use one of our locks or bring your own) and secure Coat Check
-Complimentary sodas and mixers served all night, located in the Renaissance Lounge
Please note we do NOT sell alcohol however we do have a BYOB policy.
-Complimentary snacks and desserts, served all night. Located in the Renaissance Lounge
-Complimentary condoms
-Complementary self serve lockers (bring a lock or use one of ours)

There is an official Bowery Bliss website with all the rules, like, you need to be a member of the club. There's also a page with fee information (single females, $20; single males, $120; couples, $100) ... and FAQs. For example: "Are 2 men and a woman allowed to attend as a threesome on couples ONLY nights?" NO. "On couples only nights each male must be accompanied with a female guest."

There was also a write-up in this at UrbanDaddy last week, who pointed out that, "There’s no liquor license as of yet. And let’s face it — probably not one forthcoming."

That would be one Community Board 3 meeting that we'd never miss.

The 'No 7-Eleven' chalk campaign expands its reach; plus, drip art

The No 7-Eleveneers were at it again last night ...



... expanding their protest beyond the construction site at the corner of East 11th Street and Avenue A to the 7-Eleven at St. Mark's Place ...



...where a security guard sought to dissolve the protest with some water, creating the first piece of "No 7-Eleven" drip-art.

Scaffolding still going up at 330 Bowery

On Monday morning, we happened to be on Bowery and Bond when workers started erecting scaffolding at the historic 330 Bowery... late yesterday afternoon, they were still going at it... been awhile since we've seen such intricate scaffolding with so many walkways, ladders, etc. So much of scaffolding seems so homemade around here these days. Not this.







Workers will eventually be repairing portions of the exterior and stuff, per the DOB.

Blackstones taking over Village Scandal space on East Seventh Street

Blackstones, the hair salon at 19 E. Seventh St., is expanding into the neighboring space recently vacated by The Village Scandal.

After a nine-year eviction battle, the landlord took possession of the Village Scandal, the longtime vintage hat shop, at 19 E. Seventh St., on Feb. 4. The shop was cleared out on Feb. 6.

The sign in the hat shop's former window notes a May opening, and "hairdressers wanted."

Previously.

Soon, we will all be writing our rent checks to Jared Kushner

Jared Kushner isn't done yet shopping for buildings in the East Village. The Post reports today that the Kushner Companies, a major residential and commercial landlord, is in contract for two deals with Icon Realty Management's Terrence Lowenberg and Todd Cohen on a $28.8 million portfolio of 55 apartment and five retail properties.

The deal features 325 E. 10th St. ... as well as 329, 331, 333 and 335 E. 9th St.

The recently renovated 325 E. 10th St. was previously part of the Hotel Toshi empire, the short-term apartment rental network in New York City. Last fall, the city OK'd additions to 329-335 E. 9th St.

As previously reported, Kushner bought 17 buildings with 267 apartments and 23 stores for $128 million. Plus! He is also in contract for a $49 million, six-building package from Magnum Real Estate/Meadow Partners.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Jared Kushner paid $49 million for 7 more Ben Shaoul-owned properties in the East Village

Rumors: Is Ben Shaoul selling his East Village properties?

More about Jared Kushner's East Village buying spree

Hotel Toshi takes over 325 E. 10th St.

When Hotel Toshi took over an East Village building

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.



By James Maher

Name: Jacquelyn Gallo
Occupation: Public Relations, Curator, Bartender
Location: Avenue A between 6th and 7th
Time: 8:15 on Friday, Feb. 17

I’ve been in New York for 10 years. I still fall in love with this city every single day. I’m from satanic, KKK, crazy-town Florida and every single day I see stuff here that I’ve never seen before.

I’m from Fort Myers, which is a big town now, but there was nothing to do, so I started listening to music. Escapism is very important when you’re young and that was how I got into music. I wasn’t a drug person and I wasn’t into that type of escape. I did what I could there. I ran a record shop for four years and held club nights and brought bands to town. I brought Iggy Pop and Flogging Molly and a bunch of cool groups.

I had wanted to move to the city since I was eight. I studied writing at the New School, which I loved and I’m probably going back next year. I worked in the photo industry as a post-production producer. I was also doing casting, production, and I did a lot of photo production for Barney’s and Sephora.

Then, about a year and a half ago, I joined this very strange, theatrical punk rock band called Jugger-nut. The band is 12 members. We have every caricature. There are five main dancers and some extras that come. I’m a dancer/performer and I do a nunchuck routine. We’re playing in the Mr. Lower East Side contest [tomorrow night] at Cake Shop. It’s Rev Jen. She has this annual male pageant where the men have to compete against each other. There’s talent and swimsuit. It’s hilarious and a really big honor to play there.

Something about joining the band. I was like, “I can’t live these two lives anymore.” Working in fashion and judging girls by how expensive they looked didn’t sit well with me. So I just started doing public relations and not taking the other jobs. I also wanted to get more involved in art curating, so I started doing shows. I prefer to use interesting spaces instead of traditional galleries to hold shows. The last show I co-curated was called CREEPERS!.

About six months ago, I was combing the streets of the Lower East Side and East Village looking for a cool place with a sense of humor and I thought of the Pyramid Club. I’ve been working here ever since. A very nice family runs it and we immediately had a good relationship. They asked if I wanted to bartend as well.

The Pyramid is an institution and a new forum now. RuPaul started here; Red Hot Chili Peppers played here; Nirvana played here. This place has such a great history. People still come in here and are like, “I haven’t been here in 25 years.” They tell these amazing stories and I’m like, well, guess what happened last week?

It’s still here, it just needs the young people to re-awaken it. It’s important to have a space where this stuff can happen. This space brings in a lot of interesting people from all over. We’re trying to do something very different. We have a monthly black light fantasy dance dance party called Last Unicorn down in the basement. We book two performers a month and we also try to get people who don’t normally perform to do something interesting.

I remember when I first moved here and everybody was like, “The East Village has changed so much.” It’s the normal gripe, which I understand, but am not a supporter of. Come in and do something here. We have an open forum. That’s the thing — it’s the people. There’s no building that’s haunted by the ghost of coolness. Yes, Mars Bar was great. I loved it and went almost every day. Amy who worked there now works across the street [at Sidewalk]. Plenty of the Mars Bar people go there. I mean, it’s not the same thing, you can’t get naked and light stuff on fire, unfortunately, but if you like that then create another space. Things change all of the time ... you can’t just kill the energy. You just have to keep blowing on the embers and eventually the fire will start again.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

The Mystery Lot developers using famous dead comedians to sell condos at The Jefferson

As you know, the Mystery Lot, the long-empty weed-filled lot off East 14th Street near Third Avenue, will soon be home to an eight-story, 83-unit luxury condo building.

For years, the land here was home to the Jefferson Theatre, which opened in 1913 as a B.F. Keith's vaudeville theater. The Cinema Treasures crew believe the Jefferson was in operation until 1977, when it ended its run as an XXX theater showing fare billed as "the adult film bonanza" for $1.99. The abandoned theater was demolished in 2000, and The Mystery Lot was born.

[Undated photo via]

Last night, a reader passed along a poster on the plywood outside the construction site, which shows how the new residences are being marketed.


Yes, you, too, "can live on a site once inhabited by W.C. Fields, Mae West, the Marx Brothers, Burns & Allen, Milton Berle and Jack Benny!"

This pitch will likely appeal to my grandmother, though can't say the same for your average condo buyer looking for private rooftop cabana terraces, a feature of six of the deluxe spaces.

There's also a teaser site now where you can register for information on "21st Century living in the heart of Olde New York."



Per previously released materials, shared building amenities include a library, fitness center, residents and business lounges, and a rooftop terrace with an outdoor kitchen. Perhaps there will even be Marx Brothers Film Festivals on the roof.

Find more on the old building's history at Jeremiah's Vanishing New York.

Previously on EV Grieve:
City approves new building for Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot likely facing a luxurious end

The last days of the Mystery Lot

Before it was the Mystery Lot

More marketing and branding for The Jefferson

Aside from playing up the historic elements of the land here off East 14th Street near Third Avenue... where the Jefferson Theatre once stood...



The incoming Jefferson condo features an array of marketing messages... like that you can "live funky but chic" ...



...that the neighborhood is a "cultural magnet for artists, actors, musicians, writers and entrepreneurs" ...



...that the East Village is "America's original bohemian enclave... the birthplace of cool" ...



All something to remember while using the technogym equipment and roof-top BBQ ...



What do you think of this marketing campaign?

Notorious 'Rat Castle' being pitched as 'Swank' on Ludlow Street

The future of Ludlow Street has been a popular topic in recent times, with the loss of the Pink Pony and the impending Closure of Motor City Bar... not to mention an uncertain future for The Hat and Les Enfants Terribles...

As for future development, there's the longtime eyesore at 179 Ludlow adjacent to Katz's... a stalled development dubbed "the Rat Castle." (Among the notable points in this unfinished building's history: Madonna's reps reportedly checked out the retail space in 2007 to open a Kabbalah Center.)

Fast forward a few years: In November 2011, CB3 OK'd plans for the developer to complete the residences and retail portion.

Now an EVG tipster points us to a listing for the retail space at Newmark Knight Frank ...



The rendering shows the space being used as some type of boutique called ... Swank. Ha.



For further reading on 179 Ludlow... visit BoweryBoogie ... Curbed ... and The Lo-Down ...

Here's your Joe's Pizza signage on East 14th Street

Well, Joe's Pizza is opening a second NYC location at the former Naked Pizza space on East 14th Street near Third Avenue... Gone is that food-court looking Naked Pizza ...

Here's what New York has to say about Joe's, the Carmine Street pizzeria that has been around since 1975:

It's the epitome of what a slice is supposed to taste like: thin-crusted, with the proper balance of bold sauce and cheese that tastes like cheese, not rubber. Joe's also bakes Sicilian slices and pies, but he doesn't do fancy pie concoctions, heroes, garlic knots, or other diversions.

Perhaps this will bring back some dignity to these $1 slice times ...

Plans for fish and meat market, restaurant at 125 First Avenue on hold for now

After reading our post Friday about the future of 100 Avenue A, a few people asked us what was going on with 125 First Ave. between East Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. Previously, the space had been home to a hookah bar and before that Prana, the health food shop.

As you may recall, there were plans in January 2012 to open a fish/meat market-restaurant concept here. (Read our post on it here.) CB3 later OK'd a liquor license for the applicants, a group that included Ray LeMoine, an owner of the late Bowery Beef inside the Bowery Poetry Club.

Nothing much has happened to the space the past year, save the arrival of more stickers and graffiti. We asked LeMoine for an update.

"A piece of the financing fell apart but we'd still like to do the project," LeMoine said, adding that he has been focusing his attention of late on Heathers, the bar on East 13th Street that he and his partners took over last summer.

He also said that they would likely try something aside from the seafood concept. Recent seafood arrivals include Lobster Joint and Bait & Hook, among others ... not to mention Union Market...

Maybe we'll revive those Starbucks-for-this-space rumors from 2010!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Fish and meat market, restaurant in the works for First Avenue

Croxley Ales extension now open on Avenue B

As we first reported last July, Croxley Ales, the beer-wings-and-sports bar, was planning to expand into the space next door on Avenue B.

The extension opened last night. And aside from additional seating in the form of booths, the space has 13 flat-screen TVs.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Croxley Ales looking to expand on Avenue B

This East Village penthouse comes complete with its own private swimming pool (and lawn)

So here is what a monthly $13,500 rent could get you these days in the East Village... let's head on over to the penthouse at 79 East Second St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. First, the listing via Town Residential:

RARE FIND...SIMPLY STUNNING 2 Bedroom/2.5 Bathroom LOFT w/ JAW-DROPPING VIEWS!

* Unique 1600sf Penthouse - Fully FURNISHED
* Furnishings are brand new from RESTORATION HARDWARE
* 1400sf Private rooftop w/ DECK and LAWN! Yes a lawn!
* Private 14'X8' resistance POOL, 4 feet deep, Yes a pool!
* South and North full city views
* N/S/E/W Exposures
* Floor to Ceiling Windows
* Wood Burning Fireplace
* Air Conditioning
* 2 Equal size Queen bedrooms w/ en-suite bathrooms

Let's head to the pool!



Now let's go to the lawn...



And to the dining room...



Been trying to picture this place... hard to see from the street, of course... to the Google Stalker Map, enhanced by the Grievestrator...



Thoughts on this home?

[Photos via Town Residential]

H/T Shawn Chittle

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Avenue A and St. Mark's Place via Bobby Williams]

More on the Housing Authority's plan to use public housing space for new developments: "The reality is that the financing model for public housing in America is broken. The trend is toward permanent deficit." (The New York Times)

The Living Room receives an extension (BoweryBoogie)

The "inverted ship’s hull" inside St. Brigid's on Avenue B (Ephemeral New York)

Photos and video of Sunday's Hawk-Pigeon match in Tompkins Square Park (The Gog Log)

Celebrating Clayton Patterson's "Jews: A People's History of the Lower East Side" (The Lo-Down)

At Boulton & Watt: "The vibe is sort of steampunk minus the punk — call it steamprep?" (Gothamist)

Conversation from an Upper West Side diner (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth on their 13 all-time favorite records (The Quietus)

RIP Mark Kamins, the DJ and producer who discovered Madonna (BlackBook)

... and he produced her 1982 song "Everybody."

Noted

Today, the Post reports that "The vending machine of the future is coming to your local bar, funded in part by one of the city’s grants for startup companies." The machines will offer products tailored to its location.

So with that in mind. The wall-mounted machine, with its credit card-only payment system, made its NYC premiere yesterday at the neighborhood's Pub-Crawling Capital — the Village Pourhouse on Third Avenue at East 11th Street.

Per the Post:

At its debut location, the machine is the perfect one-stop-shop for guys looking to get lucky. It sells minty gum and mouthwash and will soon feature condoms and Old Spice cologne.

“People are here a lot of times to meet new people of the opposite sex. It’s important to have fresh breath and smell great,” said Brian Shimmerlik, the mastermind behind the machine.

Materials arrive for new 6-story apartment building on East Third Street

On Saturday, EVG regular Steven Matthews noted the arrival of some materials at 321 E. Third St. near Avenue D, one of those empty lots that we've been monitoring.

The space, long the subject of a tug-of-war between various factions, was officially sold last June to the vague 321 E. Third Street Realty LLC. And now we know what the plans are too: a 6-story, 30-unit apartment building. Permits were filed in December... and on Jan. 14, the city disapproved the first round of plans. Gerald J. Caliendo is listed at the architect of record. (No sign of renderings. We'd love to see them via email ...)

This is now the booming part of the neighborhood... Directly across the street at 316-318, a Karl Fischer-designed, 33-unit apartment building is in the works. And the 12-story Alphabet Plaza is going up on Avenue D at East Second Street/East Houston.

Who knows when and where it will end...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Another parcel of East Village land ready for development