Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Please do not loiter in front of the former 7-Eleven on St. Mark's Place


[EVG file photo from March 2013]

When the 7-Eleven was still open on St. Mark's Place, it was an attractive spot for camping out.

Now that it is closed, the vacant storefront at the corner of Second Avenue remains an attractive spot for camping out.

Which might be why there are now some homemade "no loitering" signs taped along the empty property...





The space remains for rent.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Reader report: The 7-Eleven on St. Mark's Place has closed (48 comments)

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

[Updated] Gigi Li elected to 3rd term as Community Board 3 chair


[At tonight's CB3 meeting]

Gigi Li will serve as chair of Community Board 3 for a third term after defeating challenger Chad Marlow in a vote this evening.

CB3 members voted during the monthly meeting 31-15 in favor of Li, who has served two one-year terms as chair. Marlow is a current CB3 member.

In an unprecedented move, The Villager published an endorsement of Marlow last week, an unusual editorial decision given that only CB3 members vote for the chair.

According to the paper:

CB3 is clearly in disarray, and there is a growing sense of disconnect with the community that it is supposed to serve.

There is a strong sentiment for change, both within the community and on CB3.

Apparently CB3 members don't agree.

Updated 5:32 a.m.

BoweryBoogie attended the meeting and filed a report here.

Per BoweryBoogie on the outcome:

So, now it’s another year of potential botched decisions and hyperlocal scandals. And through it all, the community suffers.

Updated 11:10 a.m.

The Lo-Down has meeting coverage here, including remarks from Li and Marlow.

Said Li:

This past year has been really challenging for us and, moving forward, I am committed to structural and leadership changes that I believe are the core issues. Time and time again over the past few years I have seen how this board and this community are better, stronger and more resilient when we fight the fight together and not apart.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Villager calls for change atop Community Board 3 (31 comments)

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition


[2nd Avenue today via Derek Berg]

The history of 101 Avenue A (Off the Grid)

No more Móle on Allen Street (BoweryBoogie)

Basque country: Sietsema reviews Donostia on Avenue B and Huertas on First Avenue (Eater)

NYPD looking for 4 teens who assaulted a man on Stanton Street (The Lo-Down)

Charles Mingus goes to Bellevue (Dangerous Minds)

Retail makeover headed Canal Street's way (The Real Deal)

Alan's Alley video closes July 7 in Chelsea (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Excellent tar beach photo from 1983 (Ephemeral New York)

Italo-Crime film series of the 1960s and 1970s continues (Anthology Film Archives)

... and the neighborhood is down one pothole now ... as crews tend to one on East Sixth Street near Second Avenue today...


[Photo via EVG reader Vinny]

Meanwhile in Rome...



Because this is a popular topic around here...

While municipal bike-sharing has thrived from Paris to São Paulo, Rome’s Roma’n’bike has been hobbled by crooks, politics, and geography — the city sits on its famous seven hills — combined with residents’ reluctance to abandon cars and scooters. “Romans don’t like to show up anywhere sweaty from a bike ride,” says Federico Niglia, a history professor at Luiss University who owns a bike but rarely pedals. “You have theft, bureaucracy, political wrangling. The same problems that plague the country are dooming bike-sharing.” — Bloomberg BusinessWeek
(Read "Rome's Bike-Sharing Program Is a Bust" here)

Baby hawk down



Picking up from last night's post… the first of the young hawks living on an AC unit at the Christodora House on Avenue B and East Ninth Street took flight yesterday morning.

According to Goggla, who has been documenting the parents, Christo and Dora, and their three offspring, the hawk fledged at 10:49 a.m. He glided across East Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C … and that's when he went missing.

A search commenced. Around 6 p.m., a group of residents, including Walt Fitzpatrick, Karen Martinez, Cliff Maloney, Father Pat Maloney, as well as bird watchers Dennis Edge and Francois Portmann, eventually found the fledgling … and someone called Rob Mastrianni, an urban park ranger (he recently rescued a fledgling in Washington Square Park), who arrived to lead the rescue efforts…







Ranger Rob deemed that the fledgling was uninjured … and placed him in a tree in Tompkins Square Park.





As Goggla noted, we hope that "the remaining two siblings watched and learned something today." Goggla has more about the rescue and a lot more photos here.


[Photo yesterday by EVG reader Bryan]

Photos by Bobby Williams

Celebrating the life of Hayne Suthon tonight


[Image via Facebook]

Hayne Suthon's friends and loved ones are gathering tonight to celebrate the life of the owner and operator of restaurant/drag club Lucky Cheng's.

Suthon died on June 9 after a battle with breast cancer. The New Orleans native would have turned 58 today.

The gathering, "Hayne's Birthday, Life Celebration & Finale BBQ EXTRAVAGANZA," starts at 6 in Metzler Park, on East First Street between First Avenue and Avenue A. Later, the group will migrate to Lucky Cheng's on West 52nd Street.

Visit the Facebook event page for more details.

Suthon opened the Roman-themed Cave Canem at 24 First Ave. in 1987. The space became Lucky Cheng's in 1993.

You can read more about her here in an obituary published in The New Orleans Advocate.

Adinah's Farm has closed on Avenue C


[Photo by EVG reader Brian]

Early last week the for rent signs appeared at Adinah's Farm on Avenue C and East Second Street.

It was a quick goodbye for the corner market: They closed for good Sunday night.

We haven't heard any official reason for the closure. Of course, a rent increase is always a likely suspect. (And as we understand it, Adinah's Farm was operated by the folks behind Gracefully On Avenue A.)

According to the listing, the asking rent is $17,500.

[Updated] People apparently really want to live in The Robyn



Back in late May, we received a news release announcing that Miron Properties was hired to lease The Robyn, the incoming 33-unit rental at 316 E. Third St. between Avenue C and Avenue D.

We received a follow-up announcement from Miron reps stating that they have rented 29 of the 33 apartments ... with move ins starting July 1, pending the city issuing the Temporary Certificate of Occupancy.

Not bad on all the rentals considering the building isn't even finished ... so these leases are being signed without people seeing the actual apartments.

Apartments at the Karl Fischer-designed building range in price from $2,100 for studios, $2,495 and up for one bedrooms and $3,375 and up for the duplex penthouses.

The elevator building features a roof deck, storage units, bike storage and a pet spa, among other amenities.

And what's up with that name, The Robyn?

Turns out that the building is named after the wife of Jona Rechnitz, founder and president of JSR Capital, the real-estate development and management company that bought the property several years ago.

Updated 6/25
The folks from Miron provided incorrect information about the name. It is just a generic name the developers came up with for the building.

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

33-unit, Karl Fischer-designed building rising at former home of Community Board 3 member

Landmarks Preservation Commission rejects hearing for 316 E. Third St., paving way for 7-floor condo

Lovely townhouse with bucolic gardens on East Third Street ready for "creative expansion"

316 E. Third St. has been demolished

This Robyn laid some luxury apartments on East 3rd Street; pet spa included

No bars or restaurants wanted for the former Heathers space on East 13th Street



There's a for rent sign on the space that previously housed the bar Heathers. (Not sure how long the sign has been up here between Avenue A and Avenue B. This is the first that we noticed it.)

As you can see, the landlord doesn't want a bar or restaurant here...



Not surprising, considering that Heathers had a history of complaints and controversy.

Heather Millstone opened Heathers in 2005, and the bar quickly became a lightning rod for noise complaints. (The Times had a lengthy article in January 2007 about the ongoing noise issues between the bar and neighbors.)

New owners took over the bar during the summer of 2012. The bar abruptly closed for good last October.

We didn't spot a listing online. Looks like you'll have to send an email to the landlord if you have an interest in the space.

Papaya King going mobile starting tomorrow



From the EVG inbox yesterday...

Papaya King is bringing its all beef frankfurters with all the toppings, tasty tropical drinks and fried treats to the streets of New York on their first ever food truck. With two restaurants in Manhattan located at 86th St. and St. Mark's Place, going mobile is the next step in the Papaya King expansion.

Wayne Rosenbaum has run Papaya King since his team bought the restaurant chain 5 years ago. Since the purchase, they have opened a second location, on St. Mark's Place and remodeled the 86th St. location. “We were trying to find a way to have a great location without paying sky-rocket rents,” Rosenbaum stated about why The King has decided on launching a food truck now.

The truck will be parked in Midtown, equidistant to each restaurant during the week and in Flatiron, Soho, and Union Square on the weekends. To find out the exact location, you can find them on Twitter at @PapayaKingTruck or go to their website.

The truck officially debuts tomorrow at 52nd Street and Sixth Avenue. If you are there between 2-3 p.m., then you can get a plain frank with sauerkraut for $1.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Learning to fly: Baby hawk fledges, ends up in airshaft, then Tompkins Square Park

The largest of the three baby hawks finally left the nest up on the Christodora House today ... and made it all the way across East Ninth Street ... where it ended up in an airshaft.

We'll post much more on all this tomorrow... as will Goggla, who witnessed much of the baby hawk rescue.

Thanks to a lot of people, especially Rob Mastrianni, an urban park ranger and East Village resident, the baby hawk ...


[Photo by Bobby Williams]

...was safely transported to Tompkins Square Park early this evening ... where a crowd gathered to watch...


[Photo by EVG reader Andrew]

More photos and the rest of the story later tomorrow...

The East Fifth St. Tree Committee is certainly not pleased about this



There was some drama today on East Fifth Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

The story goes something like this.

This morning, workers arrived to remove a dumpster that had been on the block for months. We're a little sketchy on details, but apparently a resident yelled at the driver to sweep up the remnants from where the dumpster lived. So the truck with the dumpster now on board double-parked to do the sweeping. The driver then had to back up the truck, accidentally taking down the branches in the process.

Meanwhile, at this time we can't independently verify if this sign is via the East Fifth St. Tree Committee.



Thank you to PandaCat for the photos.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The East Fifth St. Tree Committee back in action

The East Fifth St. Tree Committee is alive and well, and they do not mess around

And now, a word from the East Fifth St. Tree Committee

The East Fifth St. Tree Committee reveals its policy about carts

Summer begins with random bags of soil and a note from the East Fifth St. Tree Committee

[Updated] Goat Town is closing to make way for a pizzeria


[Image via nycgo.com]

According to a tipster, Goat Town, the nearly 4-year-old bistro at 511 E. Fifth St., will close by July 4.

The new concept: "some kind of pizza place," per the tipster, who notes that the staff was given less than two weeks notice of the impending closure. (We understand that ownership will remain the same, with a shift in management.)

The restaurant between Avenue A and Avenue B arrived in the farm-to-table heyday, with Goat Town staffers setting out to grow herbs and vegetables in the backyard garden ... and as Eater noted in December 2010, "all pickling, preserving, and jarring" was to be done in house.

The address has been home to several restaurants since Le Tableau closed in December 2007. Before Goat Town, the space was home to Seymour Burton and Butcher Bay.

Updated 3:04 p.m.

Per Eater:

The new restaurant, called GG's, will serve pizza and other dishes that, just like the current New American menu, include ingredients sourced from the restaurant's back garden. A representative tells Eater that Morgenstern hopes the new place will "serve the East Village community in a broader way." GG's is slated to open in September.

Updated: Rent freeze rally tonight


[Photo via our friends at MoRUS]

Tenants once again plead with the Rent Guidelines Board to approve a first-ever rent freeze (Daily News)

Can a rent freeze beat back New York's predatory Wall Street landlords? (Moyers & Company)

Updated
"In a surprising act of independence, the board voted 5-4 to raise rents on nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments by 1 percent for new one-year leases and 2.75 percent for two-year leases." (New York Post)