Photo by Bobby Williams
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
It's still swimsuit season in Tompkins Square Park
[Photo by Bobby Williams]
Also, the latest look for "Serendipity," the life-sized sculpture of Christopher Gamble's silhouette in Tompkins Square Park.
By the way, the current temperature is 168 degrees.
Previously on EV Grieve:
The street-smart style of Serendipity in Tompkins Square Park
Rosie Mendez wins the Democratic primary for District 2 City Council
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
James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.
By James Maher
Name: Sven Furberg
Occupation: Video Engineer
Location: 1st Street between 1st and A
Time: 4:20 on Sunday, Sept 8.
I came here from Sweden, from Stockholm in 1979 to listen to music and I ended up staying. I came here in 1979 the first time and moved here in 1980. I was 23.
My good friend had gotten an apartment on Ridge Street and it was $135 a month for a five-room apartment. From one window you could see the Chrysler Building. It was funky — very primitive. Those days are gone. So I arrived in a cab and there was so much going on on that block. We got below Houston and I asked him to take another circle around the block to see what was happening before I got off with my suitcases.
I had my first slice of pizza at Rosario’s Pizzeria on Houston Street. I remember they asked me if I wanted it to go or to eat there and I didn’t know what to say. They all laughed. I still eat there. It’s moved to Stanton.
My first thing for money, I found a couple of TVs on the street, fixed them up and sold them. I’ve always been a technical person. I was a bench tech for a while, doing video, doing shows, lights. There’s a similarity between electronics and music in some ways for me. I had that interest in electronics and so I applied it to my career. Now I’m a video engineer.
I play the Mandolin. I like to play music in the parks. I like this little community park on 5th Street. I came here to play music. I’ve played music all my life. There was a lot of interesting music going on when I came. And there still is, but it’s not quite the same. Talking Heads was one of my favorite bands to see. I saw everything. I loved to go see Latin music. There used to be a lot of music in the streets, just people playing. The first night I came to New York I went to CBGB to see DNA. DNA was an experimental avant-garde group at the time. The guitarist Arto Lindsday was in it.
So many people went away in the AIDS crisis. I had a lot of friends who died. That was the 80s. The whole club scene was much wilder and much different before all that. In 1979 when I got here it was crazy, it was so much wilder. Then in the 80s there was a big party scene. I remember clubs like 8BC on 8th between B and C.
I had a nice moment when that hotel went up on Rivington. Before they finished the penthouse it was a raw space and me and my friends, we just asked, ‘Can we go up?’ and they said, ‘Sure, no problem.’ So we went up and hung out there and had a party up there. And then we asked, ‘Well can we come back again?’ ‘Oh, sure.’ So we came back the next night with wine and cheese and everything and had a big party up there with a 360-degree view of the Lower East Side that you never saw before.
It’s been a rich life here. I don’t regret coming here. It’s a beautiful neighborhood but I kind of miss the way it was. There was a sense of a real edge. Back then you had to be much more street smart. It was tricky, funky, you had to be careful. There was a sense of reality. Now it’s not the same kind of reality. It feels unreal."
James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.
Help CB3 assess the needs of the neighborhood
Bill LoSasso, treasurer at Community Board 3, passed this along...
CB3 Public Hearing — Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Priorities
Monday, Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Board 3 Office, 59 E. 4th Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery.
This is an opportunity for organizations and residents to tell the Community Board their budget priorities.
What parks need reconstruction? What programs need funding? Help us assess the needs of our community.
Every year the Community Board submits a list of capital and expense budget priorities to city agencies. This hearing is your opportunity to have input into these district budget priorities. Tell us how money should be spent in Community Board 3.
Organizations, groups and individuals representing all segments of the community are encouraged to participate.
Nino's unveils gluten-free pizza option
Slum Goddess passes along this photo. We mention it because a) we love Nino's b) in case you are in the market for gluten-free pizza and c) well, there isn't actually a c.
Anyway! We are very happy that the original Nino's is back here on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place. We're still waiting for the Christmas decorations to return.
In the meantime, the random 19th-century horse lithography will have to suffice...
Horsey pics by Dave on 7th
Exciting business opens on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place
A Verizon Wireless store...
We were hoping a theater would open here again... (Perhaps in an alternate universe.)
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Hold on — it still feels like summer
Scenes from a summery Tompkins Square Park today via Bobby Williams.
Scaffolding arriving for demolition of 100 Avenue A
[Photo by Katie Reifman]
Workers arrived this morning to start erecting the sidewalk bridge and various other things needed to demolish 100 Avenue A between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street ... The city OK'd a demolition permit in June for 98-100 Avenue A, which housed East Village Farms until Feb. 7, 2012.
Developer Ben Shaoul purchased the former theater turned market in May for $15.5 million, according to public records.
We don't know specifically what will be here... as with 181 Avenue A, Shaoul reps filed the plans in the hub self-service... and they will not be made public until the city approves them.
However, a listing for the retail spaces that we noted in May provides an idea of what Shaoul and company have in mind ... a large retail space with 40 residential units above...
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
Asbestos abatement continues at 98 Avenue A, Ben Shaoul's latest East Village trophy
An East Village resident's effort to make bike helmets a little more fashionable
After buying her first bicycle in college, Danielle Baskin quickly realized that most bike helmets are pretty dorky looking. (Functional, yes.) So she decided to start creating her own... Her Belle Helmets are hand-painted and vinyl-printed designs for cyclists. We're all for entrepreneurship (and we like the helmets) ... so we asked the East Village resident, an illustrator by trade, about her burgeoning Belle Helmets business.
How long have you been creating the helmets? What inspired you to do the first one?
I've had a business painting helmets for four years. My first "Belle Helmet" was actually made six years ago, when I was a sophomore in college, right after I purchased my first bicycle in New York. I didn't really want to wear a helmet, but riding a bike in Manhattan warrants one. I'm a painter and I wanted to do something with it.
My idea was to buy a helmet and make it "invisible" by making it look like a sky. I painted it shades of blue with fluffy white clouds and varnished it with a glossy finish that would reflect the actual sun. While I didn't really camouflage the helmet, I ended up making a cool, surreal object. I was excited to wear it. I painted a few for friends, then over a few years developed a small collection of ideas that would work well on a curved surface. The business turned real my last year of college when I set up a website. Which worked as the Internet does! People all over the world found me and emailed me. In my first year I was psyched to ship a few helmets to Australia, Spain and Norway.
However functional, bike helmets can be rather hideous looking. Do you think this is a reason why some people decide not to wear one?
Definitely! It's an accessory that should be modified to personal taste. The worldwide helmet market is rather small, and so the same exact designs end up appearing in every bike store, often in a limited color pallet that's been picked over. It makes sense; there's the issue of production. Small batches of varying designs are nearly impossible to create in a factory. And certain designs would be too intricate to print on a helmet's surface by a machine or the image could get warped.
There are a few helmet companies creating interesting colors and whimsical designs, but some turn out too quirky or are missing a personal touch. My goal is to get more people to wear helmets by having options that are subtle, that could be seen as a fashion accessory, or options that are just plain cool and good conversation pieces, like homunculus diagrams and phrenology charts, or options that are tailored specific to a cyclist's personality, which is why I have the choice of customizability. It's like I'm making art for your head.
Is Belle Helmets a full-time job for you now?
It's a full-time project that's also a company. A roundabout way of saying: I'll be painting and designing helmets for a long time to come, but I have a few other things that I hope to do simultaneously.
And it's just a one-person operation?
Yep. For now. I typically always have around 40 helmets in my apartment at various stages of completion. While I'm currently handling all aspects of the operation, even non-painting projects like selling helmets out of a tricycle, or making my website cooler, I'd like to one day have a small Belle Helmets team and a studio space, so more work can be made.
And we can't let you go without asking for your thoughts on Citi Bike. Three-plus months in, what do you think of the bike-share program?
Bike share is progress for humanity! It's incredible that Citi Bike has made biking as mode-of-transportation much more inclusive and popular in New York than it was pre-bike share. It has invited a lot of folks to start cycling who wouldn't have otherwise ridden a bike due to the commitments that come with owning one. Once glitches are worked out with the software, and dock distribution matches commuting patterns, Citi Bike has a promising future.
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Because someone may ask: The helmets are CPSC-certified, ASTM-compliant (which means they're totally safe to wear). The designs are created with acrylics, archival ink, and vinyl then treated with a non-toxic, non-corrosive, water-resistant polyurethane sealer to prevent chipping and scratching. More details here.
Banjara space yielding to Figaro Bistro Grill
We continue to look at a few of the items on this month's CB3/SLA committee meeting... here's some bad news for fans of the always reliable Banjara, the Indian restaurant on First Avenue and East Sixth Street... according to paperwork (PDF!) filed ahead of next Monday's meeting, an Italian restaurant called Figaro Bistro Grill is taking over the space.
It's from the same owner as La Pasta Bistro Grill on MacDougal ... and the same owner currently has a Figaro Bistro Grill on Second Avenue between 50th and 51st...
An appreciation: Star Shoe Shop
Star Shoe Shop has been over on Bleecker Street between Lafayette and Broadway for the past 60 years... the shop recently moved a few doors to the west... East Village-based photo Gudrun Georges stopped by late last month to document the wonderfully cluttered shop before it switched locations...
As Gudrun writes: "This is one of those places that you just have to experience ... these tiny shops might all be gone one day."
Indeed, though we're happy that this one has survived. See more of Gudrun's Star photos here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Favorite East Village places: Ink on A
Gas problems temporarily KO AlphaBet Cafe on 14th and B
Over on East 14th Street and Avenue B, AlphaBet Cafe, a fine little place for an inexpensive meal, has been closed of late... the sign out front points to a problem with the gas...
Photos by Bobby Williams.
Here's more about Picnic, now open on Second Avenue
We noted the new-look exterior at 117 Second Ave. yesterday ... the restaurant space here at East Seventh Street (home to the Kiev, some time ago) is now apparently out of soft-open mode ... we received the official news release about Picnic yesterday afternoon.
To the release!
Partner Kamran Malekan and Executive Chef Nicholas Nostadt debut Picnic, offering a contemporary take on homespun classics inspired by Nostadt's Midwestern roots. The lofty, 70-seat restaurant is located on a sunny corner in the heart of the East Village, inviting nostalgia with a nod to picnic fare with a creative spin.
Chef Nostadt, formerly of Williamsburg's Berry Park, offers a menu of modern riffs on American classics, from small bites including the Cheese Ball with Roquefort, Bresaola, Dill, Braised Bosc Pear, Pickled Red Onions and Grilled Bread (cheese selections will rotate) and Mussels with Hard Cider, Apricot Nectar, Dijon Cream, Soft Herbs and Spices, to salads such as the Celery with Celery Leaves, Celery Root, Tarragon, New York State Apples, Capers, and Meyer Lemon Dressing. Sides and snacks include Scratch-Baked Beans, Boiled Peanuts and a riff on a Roll-Up made with Mortadella and Roquefort.
Entrees range from "Between the Bun" options such as the Pulled Pork Sandwich with Rootbeer BBQ and Roasted Corn & Cabbage Slaw, to a bucket of Fried Chicken with House-made Ranch Dressing, and a Whole Roasted Fish with Lemon, Garlic and Herbs. An assortment of house-made donuts, a rotating selection of pies and chef Nostadt's take on the beloved Midwestern Puppy Chow round out the menu. The beverage program consists of American beers on tap, bottled and canned brews, all-American wines and Counter Culture coffee.
Picnic is open seven days a week for dinner and late-night dining: Sunday through Thursday from 5 pm to 11 pm, and Friday and Saturday from 5 pm to 12 am.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Storefront renovation for 117 Second Ave.; last call for Song 7.2?
A Picnic for Second Avenue
Monday, September 9, 2013
12 years later: Looking at the reign of Bloomberg
The new New York magazine unleashes a whole lotta Bloomy this week. (Find the package of stories here.) I'm still wrapping my head around it all... Here's an excerpt from Justin Davidson's essay titled "Shiny, Alluring, Ugly, Visionary, Inspiring, Incomplete."
The present, however, hasn’t always gone so smoothly. For an irresistible city, New York can be awfully ugly. Ghastly glass towers have laid waste to entire neighborhoods, and sharklike chain stores have swallowed small businesses. The once-derelict industrial zone along the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront metamorphosed into a new, high-density neighborhood, which would’ve been great, except that the change resulted in a phalanx of big ungainly buildings with a paltry, broken strip of greenery out front. The permissive rezoning of Brooklyn’s Fourth Avenue, too, produced buildings of such slipshod “luxury” that the Wall Street Journal columnist Robbie Whelan called it a “canyon of mediocrity.”
Why did so much terrible stuff get built? The answer is that bad, overpriced buildings are the price of civic ambition. In lean times, most architecture is crap because only what is cheap gets built; in better times, most architecture is crap because developers can’t wait to start cashing in. Bloomberg made New York safe for high-quality design — and at the same time triggered a plague of prosperous awfulness. As long as the city remains attractive, there will always be money in ruining it.
[Bloomy photo via]
What can we expect on the former Mary Help of Christians property?
[Aug. 29, by Dan Efram]
Well, to answer our headline: We have no idea!
You know the background: Developer Douglas Steiner bought the property last fall for an unspecified residential complex. This summer, workers demolished the structures on the Mary Help of Christians lot on Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 11th Street.
Next, presumably, there's construction of the new building. At this point, you'd figure Steiner reps would have filed the plans with the Department of Buildings... and we could all see the proposal... and await city approval (or not).
Steiner reps did file plans in July. Unfortunately, we just can't see them.
In our six years of blogging and digging through DOB files, we've never seen this before. In the words of an EVG friend who we shared this with, here's where things get interesting. Through the Hub "self-service" thing, architects and engineers "can professionally certify plans for small construction projects (Alteration 2 and Alteration 3) without visiting a Department office."
However! Since bigger projects like the demolition of a church and school for a residential complex include change of use, we don't understand how those would quality as "small construction projects." As our EVG friend theorized, "maybe what's happening is they're just electronically submitting permit applications for like interior demo and debris removal and scaffolding installation."
So given all this, we won't be able to see these applications until they are accepted into the DOB system.
But we got a few possible clues about the space back in May ... when a retail listing at Ripco Real Estate popped up .. then quickly disappeared. From that listing:
Size
11,356 sf - Ground Floor
11,508 sf - Basement Possible
*Divisions possible
Asking Rent
Upon Request
Possession
4Q 2014
Currently
New Construction
Frontage
150’ on Avenue A
70’ on 11th Street
Notes & Highlights:
• New construction at the base of 140 unit market luxury rental building
• Steps from Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village with 30,000 residents
• Close proximity to Tompkins Square Park
• Located in the heart of the East Village and Alphabet City
So, going back to our headline... to answer the question: What can we expect?
Something big.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Permits filed to demolish Mary Help of Christians church, school and rectory
Preservationists call for archeological review of former cemetery at Mary Help of Christians site
Scaffolding arrives for demolition of Mary Help of Christians
The 'senseless shocking self-destruction' of Mary Help of Christians
3 new AC units at incoming 7-Eleven prompts Partial Stop Work Order
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Last week, workers installed three AC units adjacent to the incoming 7-Eleven at 500 E. 11th St. (aka 170 Avenue A). A tipster sent in the above photo to show the apparently really annoying new units.
The No 7-Eleven blog first reported on this development Friday.
We'll go there for more:
Between 500 and 502 East 11th Street there is a narrow alley originally created to allow air circulation between the two buildings which were built sometime in the late 1800s/early 1900s. 7-Eleven has dug down into the alley and installed cement pillars and i-beams to hold three massive AC units which go off at 15 minute intervals.
Writes a neighbor:
“The units make a loud “WHOOSHING” noise every 15 minutes and since all the bedrooms are located off the alley, there has not been much sleeping going on in either building. The units are also blocking light and part of a window on the first floor of 502 East 11th Street.”
The city has investigated the complaints from neighbors and issued a Partial Stop Work Order.
As the No 7-Eleven blog noted: "Thank heaven!"
Work on this space is now in the 12th month.
The latest from the 7-Eleven franchise site — updated Sept. 3 — shows that the store has a September 2-013 opening date.
New-look 117 Second Ave. revealed
Earlier in the year, workers started replacing the floor-to-ceiling aluminum/windows at the landmarked 117 Second Ave. at East Seventh Street... at the time, we thought that all this might ruin (OK) the distinctive characteristics of the corner building
But! Workers have removed the renovation wrap...
[Robert Miner]
[RM]
And, well — actually looks pretty good, huh?
As previously noted, the restaurant space will be something called Picnic... which will reportedly be serving American comfort food like meatballs, sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. They are in soft-open mode ... and already garnered a 5-star review on Yelp.
--
And how the building looked a few years back ... circa 1979 and the Kiev.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Storefront renovation for 117 Second Ave.; last call for Song 7.2?
A Picnic for Second Avenue
And now, the last post ever about a laundromat at 173 E. 2nd St., maybe
[EVG file photo]
The end and a new beginning.
Closure on the Klean & Kleaner saga on East Second Street. The laundromat here between Avenue A and Avenue B had been on the market for use as a bar-restaurant. The Living Room unsuccessfully tried to relocate here. The place then closed in the middle of July... then reopened as a laundromat a few days later under new ownership.
And now, the laundromat has unveiled its new sign. Please welcome Fresh Laundry & Cleaners.
The Free Dry with washer use (details!) remains in effect through September.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Week in Grieview
[Bobby Williams]
2013 East Village summer in review (Tuesday)
The life aquatic at the Avenue D Rite Aid (Friday)
"Modern Australian" for Avenue A (Thursday)
We love The Baroness (Wednesday)
The changes coming to Fourth Avenue and East 13th Street (Friday)
About a burlesque mentoring project (Tuesday)
Dr. Doom loses the hot tub (Tuesday)
The incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A looks fucking horrible (Wednesday)
Your CB3/SLA September highlights (Tuesday)
First Avenue Pierogi & Deli returns from summer break (Tuesday)
Memories of the Odessa Cafe and Bar (Wednesday)
FroYo confirmed for Avenue A (Tuesday)
Welcome Taverna Kyclades (Thursday)
New sponsor for the Halloween Dog Parade (Thursday)
Noted
Steven Hirsch notes this vandalism this morning on East 10th Street and Avenue A... Someone punctured/flattened three of the van's four tires...
Saturday, September 7, 2013
The heartbreaking reality of Rite Aid's former Photo Department
The last vestige of the Photo Department. Replaced by a display of beer and toilet paper. Discarded on East Fifth Street. It just wants to process film. Dream over.
(Digital?) Photo by EVG reader Blake C.
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