Never-ending construction at 185-193 Avenue B continues to never end

While discussing the other day how quickly 10 Bond was racing toward completion, we mentioned the scant progress at 185-193 Avenue B, 20-some months in the making.

As previously noted, there's a 7-story mixed-used residential building with 41 dwelling units in the works for the corner here at East 12th Street. The building will include the new home of the Elim Pentecostal Church.

We took a look late last week to see how it was progressing. Looks like the crew is up to three floors now...





Nearby residents and school children endured months of relentless pile driving and other building-rattling noise. There were complaints about cracks next door at No. 183, which we heard put a temporary halt to the construction.

The rendering notes a completion date of October 2014.



Nine floors in 19 days? Let's do it!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Inside the Charles

Former landmark countercultural theater now for rent on Avenue B

7-story building in the works to replace former countercultural theater/church on Avenue B

Construction site at 185 Avenue B remains shut down for now

[Updated] The 'insane' noise and pounding are back at 185 Avenue B

Another look inside the pit of the former 98-100 Avenue A

Here's the latest look inside the former theater-turned grocery between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street ... where the crawler excavator is playing king of the hill atop the pile of bricks.

This view comes courtesy of EVG reader John Cline.

Developer Ben Shaoul is putting in a 6-floor residential building with 29 apartments and ground-floor retail here.

Previously

Reader report: The return of the guy with the kids in the car

Via the EVG inbox tonight...

I had never encountered him before tonight. Yes, the guy who says "are you from around here" and then says his kids are in the car and he needs money ...

Had a run-in with him just now at East Sixth Street and Second Avenue, and didn't get to hear his whole pitch because as soon as he said his kids were in the car I just immediately said no. He didn't even push it — just spun abruptly on his heels and crossed Second Avenue.

I can't believe this guy is still working this neighborhood after all this time. It must be more lucrative for him than other nabes.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village grifter alert: Beware the broken vodka-bottle scam!

East Village grifter alert: Beware the man with the sob story who offers you a wedding ring as collateral

Snowy afternoon grifter alert

Reader report: 'my kids are in the car and I'm out of gas' scam guy back in action

Touring the East Village on New Year's Day 1995

Our blogging friend Alex at Flaming Pablum came across this video the other day.

Highlights of this walk include The Gas Station, the performance space/art gallery on Avenue B at East Second Street (now an apartment building with a Duane Reade) and Eddie Boros' Tower of Toys (RIP 2008) in the Sixth Street & Avenue B Community Garden...

Week in Grieview

[Photo outside Gem Spa yesterday by Derek Berg]

Someone dumped motor oil in this Steve Croman-owned building (Friday)

Permits filed to demolish former 2nd Avenue BP station (Wednesday)

The Whitehouse Hostel has closed for good on the Bowery (Monday)

Activity again at the long-dormant 25 Great Jones (Friday)

Now open: Barcade on St. Mark's Place; King Bee on East Ninth Street (Thursday)

A matcha bar on East Fourth Street (Friday)

An Out and About recap (Wednesday)

Interior of 137 Avenue C is gutted (Monday)

Longtime East Village resident Jack Smead has some of his photos on display at the 11th Street Bar (Thursday)

Local pols blast 7-Eleven for blocking order to remove noisy refrigeration unit at 170 Avenue A (Tuesday) and .... 1 year later, 7-Eleven asks for more time to move noisy refrigeration units from residential windows (Wednesday)

Pricing and interior shots of the 'intimate new development' at 277 E. Seventh St. (Tuesday)

Possibly albino bank robbery suspect has been busy (Wednesday)

Checking out Centre-fuge Cycle 15 on East First Street (Monday)

Residents continue to speak out about living conditions in Jared Kushner's 170-174 E. Second St. (Wednesday)

The Yaffa mural returns to view (Tuesday)

People behind Gestations still pretending to be opening a bar for pregnant women on Avenue A (Monday)

Avenue A Classic Food opening soon on ... Avenue A (Wednesday)

Lunar eclipse! (Wednesday)

The Subway Inn has a new home (Wednesday)

Looks like The Cock won't be moving into the Idle Hands space (Wednesday)

At Empellón al Pastor, with graffiti on the outside and Charles Bukowski on the inside (Tuesday)

The Post discovers graffiti around the city (Friday)

The changing of the facade at 9 Bleecker St. (Tuesday)

And thanks to Tim Hayes at CBGB for giving 50 EVG readers tickets to the CBGB Music & Film Festival (Tuesday)

Rave like it's 1999 in Tompkins Square Park

Dunno much about this undated video from 1999 … a reader came across it the other day.



Worth noting: The boy's reaction at the 51-second mark … and the introduction of who is presumably the "Rave Santa" in the title at the 1:26 point.

Here's another longer video … this one is dated from April 1999…

$10 specials proving popular

Second Avenue between East Fourth Street and East Fifth Street today.

Photo by EVG contributor Derek Berg

6th and B Garden Harvest Fest is still on today

Via the EVG inbox...from the Sixth Street & Avenue B Community Garden...

Our Harvest Fest is still going on today despite the rain (it's forecast to clear up around 2 pm, the start of our event). From 2-7 pm, there's food, live music and tons of raffle prizes donated by businesses in the community. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and helps keep our garden open and able to serve the community with workshops, events and activities.

On the southwest corner of Avenue B and East Sixth Street.

And from earlier in the summer via the EVG Vine account... a quick history of the garden...

A call for a Bendy Tree Memorial Bench in Tompkins Square Park

[EVG photo from February]

There is a petition in circulation that states:

We, the residents and friends of East Village's Tompkins Park, would like the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to permit the installation of a six-sided wooden memorial bench enclosing a decorative potted tree in the place where "Bendy Tree" stood for decades until being removed on September 20th. A creatively designed bench by a local artist and a potted tree over "Bendy Tree's" stump would best honor the unique character of the beloved "Bendy Tree."

Here's a photo illustration of how it could look...



You may find the petition here.

Last weekend to visit the New York City Marble Cemetery this year

You can visit the historic New York City Marble Cemetery on East Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue today and tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Historical displays will be available for visitors to learn more of the history of the Cemetery and those interred (interned?) here.

You won't have this chance again until 2015.

And this is all part of Open House New York.

Read more about the cemetery here.

Wish you were here

As we understand it, these were two groups of visitors — one from Boston, the other from Tokyo — who converged in Tompkins Square Park this afternoon ...

Photo by peter radley

Catch the breeze

Thud is a Hong Kong-based quartet who just released their first single... a shoegazer called "Lime."

Report: New Clinton Street condos start at $1 million

[File photo of 50-62 Clinton St. via BoweryBoogie]

Back in March we first caught the renderings for the new luxury residences headed to the single-floor row of storefronts at 50-62 Clinton St. between Stanton and Rivington.

Today, the Daily News and Real Estate Weekly have more details about just how luxurious: The condos will start around $1 million for a one bedroom, $2 million for a two bedroom and $3 million for a three bedroom.

Via Real Estate Weekly:

“The project’s defining elements are its smaller-sized units and moderate price points, all without compromising on design or quality,” said Dan Hollander, managing principal of DHA Capital.

Here's the updated rendering...



H/T Curbed

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] The future of 50-62 Clinton St will look something like this

1 of the 2 prize pumpkins has been sold at Sheen Brothers

10th and B.

Yesterday!



Today!



Also. Easier now to access the row of clam juice…

Reader report: Someone dumped motor oil in 2 Steve Croman-owned buildings

On Wednesday night between 8-8:30, someone entered 521 E. Fifth St. and made an awful mess with a canister of motor oil.

"They spashed the oil on doors, walls and mailboxes on the ground and first floors," according to an EVG reader in the building between Avenue A and Avenue B. "It was frightening actually, not to mention that the smell is horrible."

The NYPD did interview tenants.







Apparently there was a similar incident around the same time at another building on East First Street. Both buildings are owned by Steve Croman, aka 9300 Realty, who is not the most popular landlord in the neighborhood. One theory is that this was the work of a disgruntled contractor.

According to public documents, 9300 Realty bought the building last November.

Updated 1:46 p.m.

Sorry, we were wrong. The Cromans took over the building in 2005. At that time there were 20 rent-stabilized tenants; now there are only three remaining.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Steve Croman facing another lawsuit from East 8th Street residents

Report: East 8th Street residents sue landlord Steve Croman, allege intimidation, harassment

Watch a lot of people speak out against Steve Croman and 9300 Realty

Report: State Attorney General launches Steve Croman investigation

25 Great Jones St. returns to the land of undead developments

Expect some activity soon on that concrete and cinderblock tower on Great Jones and Lafayette. Once conceived as a hotel back in the heady years of 2007-2009, the building has sat dormant for years … while changing ownership and what not.

Back in April, The Commercial Observer got the first look at the new rendering for 22 Bond Street aka 25 Great Jones Street. The developers are transitioning the unfinished building into six condo units.

And yesterday, Goggla noticed that the official rendering is now up on the plywood outside the hulking slab of broken dreams the unfinished building...



As for the look of the building, the Observer noted that BKSK Architects designed the exterior and TKA Studio is designing the interiors. "The façade will be made of glass and Corten steel, or weathering steel, the same material that was used for the exterior of Barclays Center."

Developers Second Development Services (SDS) and the Richport Group had some messy DOB paperwork to manage (stop work orders from previous owners). A look at DOB records shows that most of the necessary permits have now been approved.

For more background, you can check out Curbed's coverage here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Your chance to buy a boutique hotel on Great Jones

The Post discovers graffiti around the city

[East Houston and B]

Meant to note this article in the Post the other day titled "Graffiti rearing its ugly head again in NYC."

Let's get to it!

Graffiti, a “broken windows” indicator about the quality of life in any city, is starting a slow, ugly creep around the Big Apple — with new tags appearing nightly.

The Post goes on to list several places where they've seen graffiti, such as along the FDR, Summit Avenue in the Bronx, the Amtrak tracks visible from the West Side Highway, under bridges on the East River.

Let's get to some stats!

Graffiti arrests in the city rose 4 percent in the first eight months of the year, to 1,080, city statistics show. But despite law enforcement’s best effort, graffiti continues to leave its mark.

The NYPD arrested 3,598 people for graffiti and related crimes in 2013, up slightly from 2012 but down 13 percent from the 4,000-plus levels of 2009 and 2008, city statistics show.

So, the NYPD is making arrests. How about the city cleaning up the graffiti?

The Sanitation Department is about a year behind on clean-ups. Since August 2013, the agency had closed 7,166 graffiti reports, but as of last Aug. 31, had another 7,739 still open.

And the service does not clean up the city’s own roadways, bridges or parks.

More stats!

According to open data Web information, since 2003, 81,525 graffiti reports were made to 311 and the police responded to 1,161 of those.

And then the article just sort of ends.


[Avenue A]

So… anyone think there's more graffiti in this neighborhood in recent years? It doesn't seem that way to me, though I don't work for the Post.

Open house Sunday at the all-new Matcha Cafe Wabi

Matcha Cafe Wabi looks to be nearly ready for green tea action at 233 E. Fourth St. near Avenue B.

As the sign shows, the small cafe will serve matcha lattes, green tea shots and other coffee drinks… as well as showcase local artwork and offer insights into Japanese cooking…



You can check it out for yourself during the cafe's open house Sunday from 3-6 p.m.

At MoRUS and LaPlaza, an installation about blocking public access in public spaces

Via the EVG inbox...

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) will present “Shadows: Wall Disease” by Ryan Legassicke Saturday and Sunday at La Plaza Cultural Community Garden on the southwest corner of Avenue C and East Ninth Street. A public opening reception will be held in the garden tomorrow from 4-7 p.m.

After this weekend, the installation will move a block away to MoRUS at 155 Avenue C and will be available for public viewing from Oct. 16-26. A second reception will be held in the museum on Thursday from 6-10 p.m. Both MoRUS and La Plaza were abandoned spaces later reclaimed by the community.

The exhibit consists of five sculptures — life-sized embodiments of sections of walls used to block public access in public spaces. The walls, from different places and times, come together to embody the idea of how barriers can be used in public space to restrict access and movement.

Reader report: Former Yaffa Cafe backyard garden will be turned over to residential use

[Photo via William Klayer]

According to workers at the scene, Yaffa Cafe's now-defunct backyard garden will be redone for use by the building tenants at 97 St. Mark's Place.

Perhaps they will be more quiet than some Yaffa patrons…

Previously on EV Grieve:
Yaffa Cafe is officially gone; back garden dismantled

More about Yaffa Cafe closing

Giuseppi Logan in the afternoon sun

Tompkins Square Park today.

Photo of Giuseppi Logan by Bobby Williams

Iconic East Village storefronts up on the roof

James and Karla Murray are recreating life-sized versions of three iconic East Village storefronts tonight atop the Housing Works Rooftop, 743-749 E. Ninth St. at Avenue D.

It's for the East Village Community Coalition 10-year-anniversary celebration this evening. (You can buy tickets at the door. It starts at 6:30.)

Their storefront photos represented tonight are CBGB, Love Saves the Day (Both RIP, of course) and Stage.



Their books include "Store Front — The Disappearing Face of New York."

Imagining the possibilities

Heh. Via @evpinhead

Previously on EV Grieve:
About the guy looking for a girlfriend

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Avenue A and East 4th Street by jdx]

Coyote Ugly agrees to stipulations to renew liquor license (Gothamist)

The city's worst landlords (The Observer)

Is a Duane Reade taking over the EMM Group's club complex at 199 Bowery? (BoweryBoogie)

Two local streets that are no longer on the map (Ephemeral New York)

The sounds of Surgery (Flaming Pablum)

What if the Statue of Liberty was a condo? (Animal New York)

Tennessee Thomas and The Deep End Club on First Avenue (The Hollywood Reporter)

The history of 710 E. Ninth St. (Off the Grid)

New owner for the Rivington House Nursing Home? (The Lo-Down)

"The Standard East Village is so centered around a cluster of smartly contrived public spaces that it feels much less like a hotel than a hangout for certain clued-in locals." (Conde Nast Traveler)

What's left of 5Pointz (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

About Google's ad campaign around the city (Adweek)

For the birds: RAPTORFEST! (Gog in NYC)

And tonight the East Village Community Coalition is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. Via the EVG inbox: "Help us reflect on past accomplishments, current and ongoing work to protect the architectural and cultural heritage of our historic neighborhood."
The event — music, food, etc. — is on the Housing Works Rooftop, 743-749 E. Ninth St. Tickets are $35 in advance; $40 at the door. Find all the details here.

And pothole/sinkhole watch on Second Avenue between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street…





Via EVG Pothole Correspondent Derek Berg

East 11th Street in photos at the 11th Street Bar

Longtime East Village resident Jack Smead has been taking and collecting photos of the neighborhood since 1969.

Neighbor Ruth tells us that he has gathered his favorites, focusing on East 11th Street, "into a terrific collection" showing at the 11th Street Bar, 510 E. 11th St., between Avenue A and Avenue B.



The photos are up as of tonight. We're looking forward to stopping by to check them out...

Hitchcocktober: Give 'em enough 'Rope' tonight at Village East Cinema

All this month, Village East Cinema on Second Avenue and East 12th Street is screening an Alfred Hitchcock classic on Thursday evenings.

And tonight, it's "Rope" from 1948 with Jimmy James Stewart ... which "is notable for taking place in real time and being edited so as to appear as a single continuous shot through the use of long takes."



Here's the remaining schedule for Hitchcocktober:

• Oct. 16 — "Psycho"

• Oct. 23 — "The Man Who Knew Too Much"

• Oct. 30 — "Strangers on a Train"

The films start at 8 p.m. Head to the Village East Cinema website for more info and tickets.

10 Bond continues to make other developments look bad

Walking along Lafayette we couldn't help but notice the progress on the 11 luxury residences at 10 Bond Street...





Now a little further along than its luxury neighbor at 372 Lafayette St.



Both buildings made their first appearance above ground in late April. (Compare this to, say, 185-193 Avenue B, which has inched skyward the past 20 months. Or 37 St. Mark's Place, which has taken workers nearly a year to convert a cafe into a vegan ice cream shop.)

Full disclosure: The above photos are from several days ago. By now 10 Bond may have been completed.

Previously on EV Grieve:
New skyline for Lafayette Street?

Another corner still primed to fall on NoHo

Demolition starts on former garage and lot; new developments coming for Lafayette Street

Looking at the future luxurious corners of Lafayette Street

Opening today: Barcade on St. Mark's Place; King Bee on East 9th Street

The newest outpost of Barcade, the craft beer-retro video game venue, opens today at 6 St. Mark's Place.

Unlike the other locations, this one will feature video games from the 1990s… like Moonwalker…



You can find the rundown of games, beers, food, etc., at the Barcade St. Mark's website here.

The address was previously home to NY Tofu House … and, after a quick succession of restaurants, Mondo Kim's, which Barcode co-owner Paul Kermizian used to frequent.

"It's just cool to be in the same space and to try [to] be here for a while, hopefully catering to the same nerdy, geeky crowd they did, just gamers instead of movie nerds," he told DNAinfo.

Gothamist has photos of the interior here.

Barcade's hours are noon to 2 a.m.

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


[Photo from last week]

And tonight, King Bee debuts at 424 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The restaurant is a collaboration between Eben Klemm, a beverage consultant, and Ken Jackson, a founding partner of restaurant Herbsaint in New Orleans. Their speciality: Acadian food.

We'll head to Fork in the Road's preview for more about this.

"We both felt that real Cajun cooking is hard to do in the north," says Klemm ... But through their research, they learned about the Acadian people, who are behind Cajun cooking: these people moved to Canada from France before making their way down through the United States via Maine, eventually ending up in Louisiana. And the cuisine they left in their wake, thought Jackson and Klemm, was something that could be explored here.

As we've pointed out, this space has been a carousel of restaurants in recent years... Exchange Alley, Olivia, Sintir and Zi' Pep couldn't make it work.

Back to Fork in the Road:

The partners have tried to price King Bee moderately, because they'd like it to become a neighborhood restaurant as well as a destination. "Ken and I had been looking for a space for three years, and he knew the people on this lease," Klemm says. "It's on a great, quiet block, and it's great to go to the Tompkins Square Greenmarket on Sundays and stock up on things for experimentation. Also, according to my mom, I was conceived 100 yards away from here. So there are a lot of reasons to be here."

Hours for dinner are Sunday, Monday and Wednesday from 5 p.m.-11 p.m. and Thursday-Saturday from 5 p.m.-midnight. Beer and wine only for now.

1 year later, 7-Eleven asks for more time to move noisy refrigeration units from residential windows

[File photo via the No 7-Eleven Blog]

7-Eleven representatives appeared yesterday before the Environmental Control Board to discuss the ongoing issues with the store's Avenue A refrigeration unit that has caused sleepless nights for nearby neighbors these past 12-plus months.

And the result of this? According to DNAinfo:

At the hearing, a judge granted a two-week adjournment after a 7-Eleven representative said the franchise was entering into a contract to have the equipment moved. The judge gave 7-Eleven two weeks to submit a signed contract to show that the units would be placed elsewhere, he said.

Meanwhile, the building's landlord at Avenue A and East 11th Street, the Jared Kushner-owned Westminster City Living, put the blame directly on 7-Eleven. A Westminster spokesperson told DNA in a statement that they have been trying to meet with 7-Eleven for eight months.

“We completely agree with local residents. The units installed and owned by 7-Eleven need to be moved, and we’re working to make sure it happens,” the spokesman said in a statement.

There wasn't any comment from 7-Eleven reps.

You can read more about this at WABC and WCBS.

Previously on EV Grieve:
3 new AC units at incoming 7-Eleven prompts Partial Stop Work Order

A WHOOSHING AC unit update: 'We are roundly being ignored by 7-Eleven and Westminster NYC'

Report: 7-Eleven's AC units have forced residents from their bedrooms on Avenue A & East 11th St.

Local pols blast 7-Eleven for blocking order to remove noisy refrigeration unit at 170 Avenue A