M8 weekend service resumes next Sunday

Some good news for people who need to travel from the East Village to the West Village (or the other way around!) on weekends. Starting next Sunday, the bus will once again operate on a weekend schedule. As you can see on the sign, the M8 will now run from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

It's part of something called NYC Transit's "2013-14 Service Enhancements Program."

Of course, the bad news is that the MTA has discontinued the M8's weekday service. KIDDING! KIDDING!

Here is the M8 route...



The weekend service was discontinued in June 2010 to help ease the MTA's $400 quintillion million financial shortfall.

Anyway! Welcome back!

Retail listing posted for former Blatt Billiards turning glassy 15-story building

Retail for lease signs are now up at the former home of Blatt Billiards at 809 Broadway between East 11th Street and East 12th Street... the pool table manufacturer left its home of 90 years at the beginning of 2014. (The manufacturing portion of the building moved to New Jersey; there's a new showroom on West 38th Street.)

The 126-year-old loft building is getting a big glassy addition. But more on that in a sec. As for the retail component of the new structure, there isn't much info per RKF. A few details:

• Landlord to install new floor-to-ceiling glass storefront
• Situated in the heart of the NYU campus
• Non-cooking food uses permitted

A little rendering action...



No. 809 sold for $24 million last May. The new owners have big plans here, as The Real Deal reported, by boosting the height of the 55-foot building to 199 feet — adding 10 stories to the five-story structure.

Here is a shot of the building last week, pre-retail-for-lease signs ...



And here are the latest renderings via Curbed on March 14 ... Brace!



Per Curbed: "The new building will host offices on floors two through eight and just three condos — a full-floor unit, a duplex, and a triplex — on the top floors."

Will the units feature pool tables from Blatt?

Previously.

Javelina Tex-Mex vying for prime corner space on Second Avenue and East 7th Street

Picnic, the restaurant serving comfort food at 117 Second Ave., abruptly closed back in January after just three months in business.

A restaurant called Javelina Tex-Mex looks to be taking over the space at East Seventh Street, according to the just-released April CB3/SLA licensing committee agenda.

There's an active website for a Javelina Tex-Mex, though there isn't any other information right now. Perhaps there's an interesting story here. The top of the site notes "Rellenos, Red Tape and Real Estate."



In any event, there will be plenty of Mexican choices right along this stretch of Second Avenue with Otto's Tacos and Taqueria Diana ... not to mention Dahlia's in the former Mary Ann's space on Second Avenue and East Fifth Street.

Previously 117 Second Ave. housed Song 7.2 and the Kiev.

Retail spaces still available at the IBM Watson building

Last June, we noted that three retail spaces were available at 51 Astor Place… Meanwhile, earlier this year, several readers noted that the listings ("flagship opportunity!") for the spaces were no longer active on the RKF site … leading some folks (like us!) to figure a retail announcement was imminent.

Apparently not! An EVG reader pointed out that new "retail space available" signs went up the other day at the IBM Watson building (aka, 51 Astor Place, the Death Star).



So while the building may be filling up with tenants, there aren't any takers yet for the retail portion… now being repped by SRS …



Here's part of their marketing materials…



Hey, they left off the Grassroots!

And to end … we'll recap a previous post…

EVG readers shared their thoughts last June on what kind of businesses they thought would lease these retail spaces. Popular answers included bank branch, bank and bank branch.

Previously on EV Grieve:
3 retail spaces available at 51 Astor Place (22 comments)

Zoltar continues to see graffiti in everyone's future

The tag appeared this past weekend… To date, Zoltar hasn't seemed to mind.

Photo today by Bobby Williams

First sign that Max Fish is returning to the Lower East Side

There have been rumors that Max Fish owner Ulli Rimkus wants to reopen a bar on the Lower East Side.

Heard from a few sources Max Fish is looking to reopen in the Gallery Bar space.
— New York Nightlife (@NYNightlife) March 26, 2014

Here's some proof of that via the just-released April CB3/SLA licensing committee agenda:

• Ulli Bar Corp, 120 Orchard St.

The address is home to The Gallery Bar, which BoweryBoogie reports "owes the landlord of 120 Orchard Street close to a quarter-of-a-million dollars" ... and the owners are apparently looking to sell.

After 24 years, Max Fish closed last July 29 at 178 Ludlow St.

Not sure what the status is of the Max Fish outpost in Williamsburg.

[Updated] Report: Woman struck and killed by SUV this morning on 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

An SUV struck and killed a woman this morning at 6:30 on Third Avenue near St. Mark's Place, according to published reports.

The Post named the victim as 47-year-old Lisa Julian, who was attempting to cross the Avenue from west to east.

The driver of the Ford Explorer works for a courier delivering newspapers and remained on the scene. He has not been charged in the accident collision.

Updated 3 p.m.

The Post has more details about Julian, describing her as a "punk rocker." The driver of the SUV also reportedly told police that she was walking against the light and that she didn't seem to be "paying attention."

Updated 4:45 p.m.

DNAinfo says that Julian lived on East Seventh Street and Avenue D.

Julian, who friends called Spike, was known around the neighborhood as "easy-going" with a punk rock flare.

"She used to wear spiky things and punk-rock stuff, spikes in her nose, spikes in her boots, spikes in her hair," her neighbor David Sosa said. "I would go to Tompkins Square Park and would see her around the music. She would roll on the floor and jump up and down."

Updated 7:01 p.m.

Here is a picture of Lisa/Spike with Biker Bill from Jan. 1, 2008, via Bob Arihood's Neither More Nor Less…

Looks like 347 Bowery will be home to a 13-floor mixed-use residential development

[EVG file photo]

Back in January, we heard that Salvation Army's former East Village Residence here at East Third Street would yield to a 13-story, 30,000 square-foot mixed-use residential development.

According to preliminary paperwork filed with the city yesterday, the building will, in fact, be 13 floors. There isn't much other info at the moment, so we'll have to wait to see about those same-floor parking spaces.

Here's a sketch of the proposed building for 347 Bowery that we spotted at the owner Urban Muse's website...



To recap what some news here to date.

The Lo-Down reported last July that Urban Muse, a privately held firm that "acquires, develops, repositions, operates and brands" commercial and residential real estate, bought the space in a $19 million deal.

Workers are currently handling the asbestos abatement right now ahead of a demolition.

The Salvation Army's East Village Residence closed in August 2008. (Find some history of the space here.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
Whatever happened to that really ugly hotel planned for the Bowery?

Permits filed to demolish former Salvation Army residence on the Bowery

The Salvation Army's former East Village Residence will be demolished on the Bowery

City's 'first all-natural halal meat store' (soft) opens tomorrow in the East Village

[Photo via EVG reader MP]

Honest Chops, billed as "the first all-natural halal meat store in Manhattan," has its soft opening tomorrow at 319 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

There will be a larger launch later… and eventually the shop will begin delivery service around NYC and parts of New Jersey. But for now on Friday, the store will be open for you to check out… and sample some of their seasoned meats.

Store hours:
Friday: 2PM - 8PM
Mon to Thurs: 10AM - 8PM
Sat & Sun: 10AM - 8PM

Previously on EV Grieve:
Honest Chops opening on East 9th St., 'first all-natural halal meat store in Manhattan'

St. Mark's Bookshop confirmed (most likely) for East Third Street

[EVG file photo]

Back in November, Publishers Weekly reported that St. Mark's Bookshop had found a new retail space "in the East Village in a space near Avenue A and Third Street." The article didn't mention where, exactly, the rent-challenged new store will be.

We did a little guess-detective work and figured the space was likely 136 E. Third St., where Landmark Bicycles was housed before moving to the northwest corner of East Third and Avenue A.

Anyway, meant to mention this sooner! Jeremiah Moss got the scoop last week: St. Mark's Bookshop co-owner Terry McCoy confirmed that this was the space.

Per McCoy to Jeremiah:

We've been sent a proposed lease, and we have a lawyer who has gone through it and sent comments to the landlord, who is the city, or NYCHA. There's a long way to go to signing a lease, though."

Meanwhile, the store continues with its Indiegogo campaign to help raise funds for the move. You can find more details here if this is of interest.

Report: Alex Stupak's new restuarant on St. Mark's Place will have its own tortilleria

As you know, Alex Stupak, who operates Empellón Cocina and Empellón Taqueria, is opening a restaurant at 132 St. Mark's Place at Avenue A, where the Sushi Lounge closed at the end of October.

Stupak told Eater yesterday that the place will house more than just another Mexican restaurant. The space will also be home to a tortilleria, which will supply this restaurant and his two others with tortillas.

Per Eater:

We are building a bar and restaurant around a small facility dedicated to the process ... Our new place will go from kernel of corn, to nixtamal, to masa, to tortilla at 132 St. Marks ...

The still-unnamed restaurant looks to open in September.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Chef Alex Stupak vying for former Sushi Lounge space on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place

As the for rent signs turn on Avenue A

Here are a few scant details about chef Alex Stupak's new venture on St. Mark's Place

And that concludes 'Dirty Old New York'

In the past two years, Jonathan Hertzberg has mashed-up movie clips from the 1960s-1980s for a series titled "Dirty Old New York, aka Fun City."

He just released No. 5, the last installment of his series. You can watch it right here. (FYI — there are a few boob shots, just maybe a little NSFW.)

Check out Jonathan's blog for the complete list of all the movies he featured in this video.

Jeremiah talked with Hertzberg last August. You can read that here.

You can find the "Dirty Old New York" parts 1-4 right here.