Dental work at Root and Bone

The renovations continue at 200 E. Third St. at Avenue B, the future home of the Southern-themed Root & Bone.

Yesterday, EVG reader Peter Mitchell pointed out a discovery that workers made here… an old door was found behind a wall of the restaurant … announcing the office of Dr. H. Blicker, Dentist…



We have no idea when this door dates to (Mama's Food Shop was the tenant for 15-plus years.) We couldn't find any mention of Dr. Blicker online.

In any event, that this space once served as a dental office gives the name Root & Bone a whole new meaning ...

The drummer of the Spin Doctors is selling his East 13th Street duplex, complete with a recording studio

Aaron Comess, the drummer for the Spin Doctors, is selling his duplex at 124 E. 13th St., Jennifer Gould Keil reports at the Post.

This space between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue is a 2,796-square-foot duplex with keyed elevator access and a 300-square-foot terrace with an outdoor shower, hot tub and gas line for a grill. The first floor houses the recording studio, which is zoned commercial and can be transformed however the potential buyer sees fit, per the Post. Comess, who has lived in the East Village for 25 years, is moving to South Williamsburg.

Magic and loss

Photo by @SeanCarlson tonight on East 11th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue...

Headline h/t

35 years later, East Village resident auctioning off the work of her former lover, Basquiat

You may have read the story about longtime East Village resident Alexis Adler, a one-time girlfriend of Jean-Michel Basquiat. In 1979, he "began transforming" her East Village apartment into "a living installation," including a wall mural featuring Olive Oyl. The two broke up the the following year, but Adler preserved his work.

With the help of several people, including Basquiat’s former assistant, Stephen Torton, Adler, a 57-year-old mother of two and an embryologist, is finally ready to put the work up for auction, the Post reports today.

"I couldn't hold onto everything, or leave it in a safe-deposit box," she said. "It’s not fair to Jean! It needs to get out into the world."

And about their relationship, from the article:

As Adler describes it, living together was less 'Barefoot in the Park' and more 'Desperately Seeking Susan'-meets-'The Odd Couple.'

They foraged for furniture off the streets and lived on eggs, grits and cereal. He gave her gifts of painted T-shirts; she brought home batteries to feed his cassette player.

All the while, he painted. Every flat surface was fair game.

"You'd get up in the morning and there was wet paint on the floor," she says. "From the brooms to the bathroom!" One day she came home with a gold lamé coat she bought in a thrift shop; by morning, he'd painted it pink, black and gray.

"I was a little upset," she concedes. But she got over it: That coat is one of the few things Basquiat made for her that she hasn’t put up for sale.

Basquiat's work will be on public display Saturday through March 28 at Christie's. Check it out here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A treasure trove of Basquiat in this East Village home

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: Dina Leor
Occupation: Owner, La Sirena Mexican Folk Art
Location: East 3rd Street, Between 2nd Avenue and the Bowery
Time: 12:30 pm on Wednesday, Feb. 12.

I’m from the island of Manhattan — born, raised and still living here. I grew up on the Upper West Side, on 89th and West End but I’ve been down here 30 years. I live on 10th and C.

I’m Argentine American with a Mexican heart. My mom is Argentine and I was born here but my mom didn’t speak English then, so I learned Spanish first. I remember she used to watch telenovelas, soap operas, because she couldn’t go to school since she was a stay at home mom. She would watch soap operas because it felt like real life.

We traveled a lot when I was young. I went to Mexico with my mom and my brother when I was a teenager. When I went I wanted to run away from home. I met a friend and my mom said I was going to stay with them for a month. I was planning to run away and stay, but I was a teenager with braces, and the family was seven people living in a one-room house. I realized they were not going to be able to take me to the orthodontist. I was worried about my teeth rotting. It was a teenage worry. Then I thought my mom might die if I ran away, so I didn’t. After that, though, I always felt this deep connection to Mexico. It felt like my home.

I’ve had many lifetimes in this life. I did many things. I went to college, I was a waitress, a babysitter. I worked as a receptionist at Maimonides Medical Center. I used to be a Union carpenter for six years. I started doing it because I loved making things. I built buildings in Battery Park City.

When you’re in the Union you have to go to college, so I also have a degree from the New York District Council of Carpenters. Then I injured my back and was told that if I went back to work I could be paralyzed, but I went back because I loved it. It was exhausting but wonderful. So I went back to work until I couldn’t move and then I stopped. Thank God I wasn’t paralyzed. Then I went back to school and got a BFA in art therapy. I worked as an art therapist with seniors and with little kids and I worked in a rehab. Then I started a daycare in my home called Creative Arts Daycare for pre-K kids. I had about 4 kids at a time and I loved it. We would do art together. I would take them to the Park. We did a lot of creative things.

I have gone to Mexico since I fell in love with the country and the people when I was young. When I was teaching it was the only thing that would revive me. I get goosebumps just saying it. There was just something about the earth, people, culture and art there. It’s so rich. I kept going and I’d bring stuff back and people would stop me and say,‘Oh where did you get that bag?’ I started taking people’s phone numbers and buying stuff in Mexico and bringing it back for them. I’d have little sales in my classroom. It built up and the next thing I knew I was selling at St. Mark's Place on the weekends because I had so much stuff. I had a Mexican booth. I’d sometimes be out there to 2 and 3 in the morning. I wasn’t a businesswoman, I was just doing it for my passion.

I decided to do my daycare again and was going to go post about starting it at a kids’ consignment shop on 7th and Avenue B. As I was leaving the women mentioned that her partner left and she was thinking of subletting the space next door. I had never thought of opening a store but a lightbulb went off. I said, ‘Well, I’ve always dreamed of having a store.’ This was 1998.

Then she totally screwed me up. I was doing really well. I had never had a business and didn’t know what I was doing but I was having fun selling stuff I loved. It was December before Christmas and we had a line of people out of the store. So I went back to Mexico and she told me not to worry and that I could stay there. Back then I didn’t have anything in writing. I spent all my money and had 11 wooden crates sent up and then she told me I had to move out the next month. She never told me she had sold the lease. So I had to put all that stuff in my house.

I looked for places for a few months until one of my customers found this space and I’ve been here ever since. I only buy things that I love. To me the beauty of everything, or at least 90 percent of it, is that it is handcrafted by families. It gets handed down from generation to generation. They’re always happy when I go there because they know I’m a shopaholic. I’m actually not a shopper believe it or not. The only thing I love shopping for is Mexican folk art when I go to Mexico. My passion is for Mexican culture and folk art.

I have a lot of longtime customers and I feel really blessed that way. I have things from $1 to $1,000. I remember one time this Mexican mom came in. Her kids were born here and she couldn’t take them home because she was undocumented. She wanted to get something for all of them but she only had $20. And she was able to get four little things that were all handmade from Mexico. It was a memory from home. Those kind of things touch me.

I’m now negotiating my lease for two years so I don’t know what’s going to happen. My dream is to have a cultural space, so maybe it’s my time to do that, but I haven’t found a space. It’s hard to find a space, but I have faith.

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

Reader mailbag: Should we receive a rent abatement for having sporadic heat and hot water?

From the EVG reader mailbag (which I had to pick up at the F.D.R. Station at East 54th Street and Third Avenue):

My roommate and I pay a small fortune for our East Village walk-up. Unfortunately, the boiler in our building breaks down with great frequency, leaving us with no heat or hot water for 24 hour periods of time, every two weeks. Our super is unavailable, and when I call my landlord he refuses to give us a rent abatement. Is there anything else we can do?

Anyone? (Preferred answers do not include "If you want heat and hot water, then move to...")

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

We often get reader queries ... asking for help with, say, donating clothes or books ... or finding an East Village-based caterer... If you have a question for the masses, then try the EV Grieve email...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader mailbag: Places to eat that have that old East Village vibe (45 comments)

Reader mailbag: What do I do about my new neighbors who smoke pot all the time? (52 comments)

Reader mailbag: Where is a good place to get a cup of coffee in the East Village before 6 a.m.? (25 comments)

Reader mailbag: What has happened to the Cooper Station Post Office? (41 comments)

Reader mailbag: Can the landlord 'drill' the lock to gain access to my apartment for simple repairs? (15 comments)

Red-tailed hawks nest on the Christodora House

[Photo yesterday by Bobby Williams]

In the past 10 days or so, two adult red-tailed hawks in Tompkins Square Park have been busy… carrying some sticks and various nesting supplies up to a window on the East Ninth Street side of the Christodora House.

Goggla has followed the action starting on Feb. 15 … she documented more of the action here … and here … there hasn't been much activity … until yesterday. It's the first time that we've seen one of the hawks actually nesting. Or whatever it is that they do in a nest.

No word on the asking rent. But the views are quite nice.

And Goggla has a lot more hawk/nest photos here.

The 139th, or so, Chipotle to open near or around Union Square

Hey, what's this?

A Chipotle Mexican Grill is coming soon to 24 E. 12th St. just west of University Place. The space was last home to the Stand, a burger place that closed in May 2013, and at one time a Kinko's.

Our friend Alex at Flaming Pablum first noted this arrival on Monday night. As he wrote: "We need a Chipotle here like we need another bank branch."

According to the Chiptole website, there are seven other locations within a mile of here. (Twenty-nine within two miles.) A short few blocks from here there are locations at 19 St. Mark's Place, 117 E. 14th St., 55 E. Eighth Street, 510 Sixth Ave. … anyway, I'm rather indifferent toward Chipotle. Never tried their food.

But I have tried the food at Dorado, directly next door to the incoming Chiptole…

Zoltar awaits a service call; fortunes, wisdom on hold

Lousy news here outside Gem Spa…



Photos by Bobby Williams

They don't make TV commercials like they used to: Lou Reed stumps for 'Sally Can’t Dance'

Via Dangerous Minds comes this video ... a 30-second TV spot from 1974 for "Sally Can’t Dance," Lou Reed's fourth solo album.

Per Richard Metzger, who wrote the post:

Wait, what? A Lou Reed TV commercial from 1974? At the height of his speed-shooting, bleached-blonde black nail-polish bi/gay persona? That’s right, apparently someone thought it was a good idea to push the Rock-n-Roll Animal’s career over the airwaves before it peaked. It’s not like a stone cold FREAK such as Lou Reed was going to get on American television otherwise was it?

Oh yeah.



Head on over to Dangerous Minds for more on the album...

Pooh cleans up his act

East Fourth Street via Derek Berg.

And a much more family friendly photo than this shot from Sunday morning on East 14th Street near Avenue C...



Rejected headlines:
A clean Pooh for you

Previously on EV Grieve:
A brief history of humiliating Teddy bears in the East Village

The fucking TD Bank signage arrives at the former home of the Mars Bar

At long LAST the much-anticipated TD Bank signage has arrived at the former Mars Bar space… On Jan. 2, 2013, Steve Cuozzo reported at the Post that a 4,300-square-foot TD Bank branch was going to anchor the retail space at Jupiter 21, the new luxury apartment building that rose from the ashes of the Mars Bar and other businesses on Second Avenue and East First Street.

The TDs arrived yesterday afternoon, per EVG reader EJ ...



(BoweryBoogie noted this as well this morning.)

This likely won't do much for those Mars-Bar-is-returning rumors. Maybe next door? This was the rumored space for some kind of Mars Bar redux...



There's also retail space available on the East First Street side... or else someplace simply hasn't removed the sign yet...



And on the doors to the TD job site...



Previously on EV Grieve:
The former Mars Bar is becoming a fucking bank branch

So where's that fucking bank branch that's taking the former Mars Bar space?

Meanwhile on First Avenue this morning…

There is this.



Spotted at East Seventh Street by ‏@JoeMSegal

One shade of grey at the incoming Schnitz

Just taking a quick look at Schnitz, which will be opening soon on the corner of First Avenue and East 11th Street… This past Thursday, workers painted the exterior grey (and the Russo's mural that had been tagged beyond recognition…)



And the freshly painted wall was quickly tagged …



Meanwhile, Yoni Erlich, who co-founded Schnitz with his sister Donna and friend Allon Yosha, shared a rendering for the exterior painting of the storefront …



The menus, business cards and customer loyalty cards are ready…


[Via Twitter]

No specific date for an opening just yet. This marks the first restaurant for Schnitz, which serves old-fashioned schnitzel sandwiches with unconventional toppings at Smorgasburg in Williamsburg and Dumbo. Schnitz will serve sandwiches, soups and salads from its East Village location. (You can find their menu here.)

[Top two photos by @longoM]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Smorgasburg favorites Schnitz planning restaurant at former Something Sweet on First Avenue

Houses of the Holy: Checking out 'Physical Graffiti' 39 years later on St. Mark's Place

Led Zeppelin's double studio album "Physical Graffiti" was released 39 years ago — Feb. 24, 1975.



Off the Grid and Gothamist both had posts to commemorate the occasion ... and offer up some history.

And you probably know the connection to the album here. We'll let Off the Grid sum it up:

Led Zeppelin immortalized the twin tenements at 96 and 98 St. Mark’s Place between First Avenue and Avenue A on the Physical Graffiti album cover. The award-winning design featured the two buildings (with the fourth floors removed to make them fit the square shape of the album cover) with the windows cut out to reveal the letters of the album title printed on the inner sleeve, or, if the sleeve was reversed, a series of images of different characters seeming to occupy the building, including lead-singer Robert Plant in drag.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Fire scare on St. Mark's Place at iconic Physical Graffiti building

I'm not waiting on a lady...say, what the hell is Mick wearing anyway?

[Photos via Off the Grid]

That $40,000 townhouse rental that you been waiting for is now available on East 12th Street

A furnished four-floor townhouse is now available to rent over at 327 E. 12th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Here's part of the Streeteasy listing:

You won’t find a more magical place than East 12th Street, an exquisite five bedroom, three bathroom townhouse with a private terrace in the East Village. Spanning four floors, this home is full of delightful details, including the vintage wallpapers and multi-coloured doorknobs that are sprightly backdrops to your tastemaker host’s beautiful, eclectically chic décor.

The price to enjoy these multi-coloured doorknobs: $40,000 a month.

Oh, and there is a ping-pong table.

Like? Facebook has arrived in the neighborhood

Yesterday marked Facebook's first day at 770 Broadway at East 9th Street. According to TechCrunch:

Right now, Facebook has more than 100 engineers in the New York offices working on Pages, Location, Newsfeed, mobile, AI, and infrastructure, but 2014 represents a growth year in terms of NYC hires. More than 320 people work in FBNY overall. With more space in the office, and plans to hire more engineers, that number should rapidly grow throughout the next year.

Facebook reportedly signed a 10-year lease for 100,000 square feet at 770 Broadway, whose current tenants include AOL, Billboard, J Crew and the Huffington Post.

You can find a lot more photos of the (not-quite-done) Frank Gehry-designed office space over at Curbed.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village — the new Midtown?

Facebook is moving into the neighborhood; Midtown South expands its boundaries, apparently

This Thursday at MoRUS: 'ABC’s of Squatting In NYC'

Via the EVG inbox...

Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space to Host “ABC’s of Squatting In NYC”

Thursday, February 27, 7 PM at MoRUS

Beyond the ideologies associated with the urban lore of squatting are practical knowledge and hands-on skills necessary to reclaim abandoned, public space. Activists Frank Morales and Bill Timesup will lead a discussion about occupying neglected buildings and vacant lots to restore them to usefulness and vitality on Thursday, February 27 at 7 PM at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS), 155 Avenue C between 9th and 10th Streets.

Morales, a Lower East Side native and political activist whose work with squatters dates back to the 1970s when he served as an Episcopal priest in the Bronx, and Bill Timesup, founder of the environmental action group Time’s Up!, co-founder of MoRUS, will share the vast resources gleaned from their combined experiences. The two-hour session will include a slide presentation and Q&A on tools, building systems and the nuts and bolts of squatting in New York City in 2014. Attendance open to the public and free-of-charge but a suggested donation of $5 is always appreciated and in return, will include a copy of Morales’ zine, “The ABC’s of Squatting.”

Find more MoRUS info here.

Stray voltage alert on Astor Place

EVG reader Chris F. notes the arrival last evening of Con Ed cones and their new warning signs on Astor Place and Eighth Street…







Per Chris:

"However, despite the cones and caution tape, I didn't see any pedestrians avoiding the area — least of all the crew unloading goods for the Starbucks in back of the newsstand. Their tractor trailer was parked right in the 'danger zone,' and no one nearby seemed to be concerned."



Previously on EV Grieve:
Con Ed unveils new signage to warn pedestrians and their pets of stray voltage

A special Lou Reed delivery

Spotted on East Eighth Street and Avenue B this afternoon… (a copy of) the large format Polaroid of the late musician taken in Montauk in 2002 by Julian Schnabel … from the book "Julian Schnabel: Polaroids."



Photos by Bobby Williams

One way for your apartment to smell a little bit like Katz's

Courtesy of the Chocolate Egg Cream Candle.

Per the Katz's website:

Transform any room into a delicious blast from the past. These delightful candles are sure to sweeten up your day.

It will cost you $25, though.

We'll echo The Forward here: "When’s the pastrami sandwich candle going to debut?"

Things that you find when the snow banks melt

Things like a catheter here on East Sixth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C... photo courtesy of EVG reader Uncle Pete.

Exclusive 3rd look at the all-new USPS retail outlet

Which opens today! But it wasn't open on our way to Day Job! Boo!

But! Workers took down the rest of the paper that was covering the doors... and we could see more of the interior... and it looks like there are service windows!



Right back here or there ... we saw at least three arrows service windows...



Please let us know if you go by today... Give us a report! on this most eagerly anticipated USPS retail outlet opening ever. (And how much longer will the Duane Reade sign remain up? That will be good for at least 10 more EVG posts!)

Previously on EV Grieve:
UPDATED: Did you hear the rumor about the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office branch closing?

Report: Closure of the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office is pretty much a done deal

Today in rants: the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office

Meanwhile, at everyone's favorite local post office branch...

Reader mailbag: What has happened to the Cooper Station Post Office?

The Peter Stuyvesant Post Office closes for good TODAY

A look at your new post office on East 14th Street

Exclusive 2nd look inside the all-new USPS retail outlet on East 14th Street

A few reactions to the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office branch closing

[Photo by Gian G. via Yelp]

Remembering the P.O. branch that closed for good this past weekend… which no one seemed to like…

@RecruitingGeek @evgrieve Good riddance! Was the worst #USPS #PostOffice in America. Maybe now my mail will actually be delivered.

— Zr. King (@zoctorking) February 21, 2014

"@evgrieve: Whoa, the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office on E. 14th St. closes for good TODAY http://t.co/7LZf3tYLku" amen. Worst post office ever

— John Gannon (@johnmgannon) February 21, 2014

“@evgrieve: Whoa, the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office on E. 14th St. closes for good TODAY" @ashleyanndarcy ! Because it is a hell hole!!!!!!!

— Very Leah M. Buffalo (@Leah_Buffalo) February 21, 2014

@evgrieve Worst. Post Office. Ever. Possibly in the world.

— CrossFit East River (@CFEastRiver) February 21, 2014

Take a last look…


[Just an hour to go! Photo by Adam H. via Yelp]

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Peter Stuyvesant Post Office closes for good TODAY

The Roost settles in on Avenue B

Vito DiTomaso opened the original Luca Lounge on Avenue B back in 1997. The venue closed sometime in the spring of 2012. (Luca Bar remains open on St. Mark's Place.)

Turns out that DiTomaso is making a return engagement to 222 Avenue B with The Roost, a coffee shop-bar hybrid that held a friends-family gathering on Saturday night.

Here's the description via The Roost Facebook page

The Roost is a hideout that pays homage to iconic spaces of the past where high and low can find common ground and drink, eat, laugh and carouse together.

They'll be serving coffee (Brooklyn Roasting Co.) … as well as beer… and we're not sure what else exactly at the moment.

The Roost Facebook page includes a few photos of the interior…





There's also a fireplace.