Jum Mum becoming another Spot for dessert on St. Mark's Place

[Photo by Jordy Trachtenberg from Nov. 10]

Earlier in the month, Jum Mum at 5 St. Mark's Place closed for renovations. According to the quick-serve Thai-Chinese restaurant's Facebook page: "Hold on to your VIP cards WE ARE COMING BACK. Getting ready for a new look this fall!"

Apparently there is more than a new look… there's also a whole new concept… the banner now hanging outside advertises an annex (Spot 2) for the Spot Dessert Bar …



… which is just a few storefronts away…



Jum Mum, which opened in May 2012, was run by the owners of Spot.

Boarding up Sutra

Sutra Lounge closed for good back on Sept. 10.

The bar/lounge at 16 First Ave. between East First Street and East Second Street had been on the market for several years. (Sutra, owned by Community Board 3 member Ariel Palitz, reportedly had 659 311 complaints — apparently the most for any bar in the city.)

Coming together behind the plywood is a sports bar from the owners of Murray Hill's Mercury Bar and Tonic East, as BoweryBoogie reported in July.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Sutra has closed; big sports bar on the way

Indian cuisine returning to the corner of 1st Avenue and East 6th Street

Work continues on the southwest corner of First Avenue and Seventh Street … where the still newish Figaro Cafe Bistro Bar & Grill (that name about covers everything) is being divided up … and now the signage is up for the new business — Apna Masala …



At this point we don't know anything about the new proprietors.

The corner space was previously home to Banjara, which moved to share space with its sister restaurant Haveli on Second Avenue last November.

Mikey Likes Eminem

This might be the first time that we recall an album-release party at an ice cream shop.

But that's happening today at Mikey Likes It Ice Cream at 199 Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street …

Here's the message via the Mikey Likes It Tumblr:

This Monday Nov. 24th, we will be hosting the release of Eminem’s newest album “SHADYXV”. We’ve collaborated on a flavor sharing the same name that screams Detroit. SHADYXV is made with Motor City ingredients: Michigan cherries, Sanders hot fudge and Vernors ginger ale. To make this an even greater event, Slaughterhouse will be in the shop with the meet and greet. The event will take place between 4pm-8pm. We suggest all interested in attending arrive early. This will be a great day for Eminem fans. You can meet Slaughterhouse, pick up the double disk and a double scoop.

Slaughterhouse is on Eminem's Shady Records label … and featured on the two-disc Shady XV.

And ahead of the release party, the NYPD dropped off enough barricades to cover a parade…

RV arrives ahead of Christmas trees and inflatable Santa on East 14th Street

EVG reader Pinch is on the breaking news this evening… the RV is now in place at First Avenue for the annual tree sales… the children are all hopeful that inflatable Santa Claus will be coming to this part of town soon…

2012 flashback!

Cross examination

Red-tailed hawk parents Christo and Dora spotted this afternoon atop the Church of Saint Brigid – Saint Emeric on Avenue B at East Eighth Street … photo by Bobby Williams…

Week in Grieview

[From 2nd Avenue this morning]

The New York Cares 26th annual Coat Drive is now underway (Tuesday)

Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks on the move to East Second Street? (Thursday)

Gracefully closes on Avenue A (Tuesday)

174-176 First Ave. is in contract; goodbye DeRobertis (Tuesday)

Report: CB3 OKs liquor license for a David McWater-owned d.b.a. (Tuesday)

Parts of Avenue C and D now with a SkyWatch tower, additional NYPD lights (Monday)

The changes to 3 Bowery mainstays (Monday)

East Village etiquette sign for AirBnBers (Wednesday)

SantaCon looking for a neighborhood to trash (Thursday, 32 comments)

Out and About with Elinor Nauen (Wednesday)

Ben Shaoul's latest gift to the neighborhood: A 10-floor residential building (Monday)

Rent hike forcing Marjory Warren to close on East 9th Street (Thursday)

Here are your "Annie"-branded Citi Bikes (Tuesday)

High-end rentals and additional floors coming to the former SVA dorm on 3rd Avenue (Wednesday)

Flipping 190 Bowery (Thursday)

Yaffa Cafe's former sidewalk cafe is now a garbage dump (Monday)

Some love for Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen (Friday)

Momofuko Ko brings the lucky peach branding to Extra Place (Wednesday)

… and last night on First Avenue…

Summer out! Perfect time for another no pants rager @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/UtX43Igj5L

— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) November 23, 2014

A moment with Jim Power

EVG regular Stephen Popkin talked with Jim Power yesterday on St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue.

Stephen asked Jim about the status of his mosaic-covered lampposts that the city removed during the reconstruction of Astor Place.

"At the last Community Board meeting that I attended recently I was told that my mosaics would be preserved. They said that they would remove the lampposts and then cut them down to preserve the mosaics and try to reinstall them back into the area where they came from. I hope that they keep their word."

You can find more updates on Jim's blog here.

Quick — your chance to storm the former Mobil station on Avenue C

Part of the protective fence is down outside the former Mobil station (the neighborhood's last) on East Houston and Avenue C. (Too bad there is not a tree here to rescue.)

Meanwhile, plans are in the works for a 10-floor building with ground floor retail here…

Big word alert: From the front lines of the Avenue B brunch war

An EVG reader noted the arrival of sidewalk graffiti outside bonkers brunch spot Poco on Avenue B and East Third Street …



Per the reader: "I had to look up the word but sums it up about right. Haha."



Also…



…there's a similar message across the Avenue outside Mama's Bar…



One fed-up neighbor describes Poco as a "horror show."

"Poco is constantly crowding the sidewalk, and attracted people from many different areas to come and have a free-for-all of drinking and not realizing that we actually live here," the neighbor said.

Poco's website advertises that it has the "Best boozy brunch on the island."

Day starter

Morning scenes… Tompkins Square Park … and on East Second Street via EVG reader Peter Shapiro…

Transformers: Age of extinction, though not yet on Avenue A

[Photo via @Salim]

As we noted earlier in the week, there's some transformer replacement work going on in the weeks ahead (again) at the ConEd substation on Avenue A between East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street…

Anyway, we just wanted to note today's pretty big crane action… Yes!

And thanks to EVG regular Creature for this six-seconds of crane porn…

Report: Pizza delivery guy robbed for $22 on Avenue D

[Via the NYPD]

On Tuesday night around 7:30, a man delivering a pizza to a building on Avenue and East Fifth Street was robbed.

Per CBS 2:

[H]e was attacked in the elevator by a man who demanded his money.

The delivery man handed over $22. The suspect took off.

The suspect is described as Hispanic, about 25 years old and weighs about 160 pounds, police said. He was last seen wearing camouflage pants, multi-colored sneakers and a jacket with stripes on the sleeves.

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.

No trees yet, but...

There are holiday wreaths on display outside the Whole Foods Market® Bowery on East Houston…

Speaking of holiday trees … soon, everyone's favorite inflatable Santa should (oh Lordy we hope!) return to its familiar holiday home on East 14th Street at First Avenue…

We're guessing that the tree stands will arrive on Wednesday… the actual trees on Friday and Jolly ol' Trailer Park Santa on Saturday…

Previously on EV Grieve:
In case you are looking to buy the ol' [insert your name here!] family holiday tree on Thanksgiving

Here comes the sun

Tompkins Square Park looking toward East Eighth Street this morning…

Oh yeah

Thee Oh Sees are playing out at the Warsaw in Brooklyn tonight. Here is the band's previous lineup (they are a trio now) doing "Contraption/Soul Desert" live in 2012…

Who wants to adopt the ExxonMobil tree?

This little fella remains behind at the former BP station that closed on Second Avenue at East First Street in July … in its original Exxon-branded planter … Will it go unclaimed to the day the station is finally demolished to make way for 50,000-square-feet of residences…?

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Avenue A Flyers Club via Grant Shaffer]

East Seventh Street apartment the centerpiece in this lengthy court battle, which concluded yesterday. Court finds that rent-stabilized apartments can't be seized as assets in bankruptcy (Gothamist)

Checking in at the newish St. Mark's Bookshop (The Villager)

Demolition permits filed for 50-62 Clinton St. (BoweryBoogie)

Hope for the Siempre Verde Community Garden (Curbed)

Check out the movie-theater nights this weekend at the Italian American Museum at 155 Mulberry St. (The Italian American Museum)

CB3 election news (The Lo-Down)

Do you have any BLDG Management horror stories? (Medium)

Rat hunting with Christo, that hunk (Gog in NYC)

The Everything Guide to Last-Chance New York (New York)

A Beastie Boys location photo quiz (Flaming Pablum)

A rustic East Village duplex with dead animal rugs is on the market (Curbed)

Catch "Purple Rain" at midnight (actually 11:55) tonight and tomorrow (Sunshine Cinema)

After 80 years, 727 Hardware in Chelsea forced to relocate (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Classic NYC drug store gutted uptown (Scouting New York)

An interview between Patti Smith and David Lynch (NME)

... and Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir's "Monsanto is the Devil" residency starts Sunday at Joe's Pub ...

And the survey says: What types of retail and services do you want in the East Village?

Via the EVG inbox...

Take the East Village Consumer Survey
Your input is important for the community

The East Village Community Coalition seeks your opinions to understand what types of retail and services residents and visitors want to see in the community. Help the community understand what is available and what is missing from retail in the East Village. Survey results can identify trends in the neighborhood's retail environment that can help empower businesses and residents work to attract desired businesses.

We are hoping to reach as many East Village residents and visitors as possible. Respondents need not give identifying information to participate. It takes just 5­-10 minutes to share your experience living in, working in, or visiting the East Village.

The consumer survey is part of the of EVCC's retail diversity campaign, which advocates for increased diversity of available retail and local services for residents within the East Village.

Find the survey here.

Some love for Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen

[EVG file photo]

Fork in the Road pays a visit to Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen, the basement home of hearty and inexpensive Eastern European fare at 33 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

Here's part of Kevin Kessler's article:

Open Friday through Sunday from roughly 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., the basement is a haven for local Ukrainian expats and those New Yorkers looking for a taste of authentic Ukrainian fare.

Cheap, fresh, and fast, Streecha serves a small menu heavy on flavor that barely touches your billfold. The standards are excellent. The beet borscht soup ($2) is a lighter version than normally found, with added lentil beans for texture (a nice touch). The stuffed cabbage ($4) is firm and still tender; the boiled kielbasa comes from East Village Meat Market, located just down the street.

The timeless basement cafe is a fundraising arm of the St George Ukrainian Catholic Church just up East Seventh Street.


[EVG file photo]

Previously on EV Grieve:
At the Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen

The Salvation Army's former East Village Residence now with a little off the top

A whole floor, actually … Goggla told us yesterday that the building at 347 Bowery and East Third is without its top floor now. (Not to mention its roof.)

And later, toward sunset…



As we've noted, workers are demolishing the building to make way for a 13-floor, 30,000 square-foot mixed-use residential development. The project is still waiting for city approval.

Specialty bookshop finds a new home 1 block away

[Image via Facebook]

Back in late July, 10,000 Steps A Hungarian Bookstore closed at 545 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The closure was short-lived ... the shop has reopened at 516 E. 11th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. You can find more info on their website.

The store opened in April 2008 "to serve the Hungarian community, those with Hungarian roots in North America and all others from our base in the New York Metropolitan area." The store sells books, magazines, CDs and DVDs.

Cafe Cambodge says goodbye on Avenue C

Last Friday, we noted that the Marshall had seized Cafe Cambodge, the French-Cambodian restaurant at 111 Avenue C near East Seventh Street.

At the time, we were unsure if this was just temporary … However, an EVG reader said that the owners left this message on the restaurant's Facebook page:

Dear friends and family, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for the many years of love and patronage. With a sad and heavy heart Cafe Cambodge bids you all farewell. Thanks for all the memories, friendships and good will. We all did our best to keep the dream alive and now it is time to move on. Love, peace and happiness to you all.

Cafe Cambodge opened here back in February ... after the owners revamped the space from its 6-year run as Arcane.

This is the second restaurant to close along this part of Avenue C in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the Marshall seized Lumé, the "Epicurean drinkery" at East Eighth Street.

[Updated] Hop Devil Grill and The Belgian Room closed for now on St. Mark's Place

We noticed the NYPD signage outside the two bars on St. Mark's Place this morning…



The signs note a "violation of Alcohol Control Law."



No mention of the closure on the respective bars' social media properties.

As of tonight, bar places remain closed.



Updated 11-22

Both bars are back open.

It's flu season

And EVG reader Riian Kant-McCormick reminds us that we can stop by Kmart on Astor Place for our Nicki Minaj® influenza vaccine...

Lease-less Greenwich Village cookbook shop may find a new home on East 2nd Street

On Monday, Jeremiah Moss reported that the popular Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks was not having the lease renewed for its 15-year-old Greenwich Village shop.

However, Slotnick may have a new home already on East Second Street between the Bowery and Second Avenue.

As DNAinfo reports:

After reading news reports about Slotnick's troubles, a pair of siblings reached out to her on Tuesday about a retail space available in their childhood home on East Second Street.

"I'm speechless," Slotnick said after seeing the new spot, at 28 E. Second St., on Wednesday morning. "It's perfect."

Margo and Garth Johnston had been searching for a retail tenant for the belowground space when Margo came across online reports about Slotnick's situation.

"I sent it to Garth and said, 'I’d kind of like a bookstore,'" Margo Johnston said. "And he called me immediately, and we called Bonnie."

The siblings told Slotnick about their mother, Eden Ross Lipson, who owned the building until she died from pancreatic cancer in 2009. Lipson spent more than three decades reviewing books for the New York Times Book Review, and she had an extensive cookbook collection.

The basement-level commercial space is triple the size of the space Slotnick currently pays $3,500 a month to rent at 163 W. 10th St., DNAinfo notes.

The siblings could, of course, make some money off the retail space.

Back to DNA:

But Johnston assured Slotnick that she and her brother are more concerned with finding the right tenant than the rent.

"We've been told we could certainly charge a lot more," Johnston said. "But [getting] the most money is not the important thing. The place is really important to us."

Rent hike forcing Marjory Warren to close on East 9th Street

Marjory Warren, a women's clothing and accessories boutique at 309 E. Ninth St., will close at the end of November thanks in part to a rent increase.

The boutique moved to this storefront between First Avenue and Second Avenue from the Upper East Side in 2009. Aside from the rent increase, owner Chris Warren cited a building tax and a decline in foot traffic that never recovered after Hurricane Sandy as other factors in the closure.

Per a statement to us:

"It's been a heart wrenching process,” said Warren. "I've tried to keep this up and running for as long as possible, but it's simply not viable at this point.

"I'm brokenhearted that I have to leave this wonderful little street. But I have to come back here for business every week so I know I can stay connected to the neighborhood and that offers me solace."

She was able to find a new storefront back on the Upper East Side (115 E. 96th St. near Park Avenue). The new location is set to open on Dec. 2.

As for the East Village location, there's a moving party tonight from 6-9. Find details here.

Farewell, some day maybe soon, to the World Famous Pee Phone™

[Do you remember the times that we had...]

Meant to mention this sooner... On Monday, Mayor de Blasio announced the winner in a competition to replace the city's pay phones.

Meet your new WiFi Internet hotspot stand thing via a consortium of companies called CityBridge:

LinkNYC is a proposal for a first-of-its-kind communications network that will bring the fastest available municipal Wi-Fi to millions of New Yorkers, small businesses, and visitors. The five-borough LinkNYC network, which will be funded through advertising revenues, will be built at no cost to taxpayers and will generate more than $500 million in revenue for the City over the first 12 years.

By replacing the aging network of public pay telephones with state-of-the-art Links, the City aims to transform the physical streets cape — and New Yorkers’ access to information — while also creating new local jobs for the development, servicing and maintenance of the structures.

And they will look like...



The city will eventually replace the pay phones around the city ... with a few exceptions. Via the Times:

The city also plans to remain hospitable to the cape-wearing set. CityBridge said it would maintain three existing “Superman pay phones” scattered along West End Avenue, where a small number of traditional phone booths have survived.

Anyway, you have a little time left to bid farewell to the World Famous Pee Phone™ on Avenue A at East Seventh Street. Maybe one more winter together.

And no word yet if those fancy interstellar, download-25-years-worth-of-the-Simpsons-in-47-seconds LinkNYC things will have a little shelf to hold the vodka like the World Famous Pee Phone™.


[EVG file photo via Bobby Williams]

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Miracle on Avenue A™: World Famous Pee Phone™ has a phone again

Out of order: World Famous Pee Phone™, others, face a future without quarters, whiskey

All is well at the World Famous Pee Phone™

Uh-oh: SantaCon looking for another neighborhood for its participants to trash

[Photo from 2011 by Dave on 7th]

Per amNewYork:

Organizers for SantaCon will continue searching for a neighborhood for the booze-fueled charity bar crawl, deciding to stay out of Bushwick, according to an organizer.

And!

The organizer said Bushwick was one of a half-dozen neighborhoods SantaCon NYC was considering for the Dec. 13 event and that no neighborhood has been selected yet. The organizer declined to name the other neighborhoods.

Few people in Bushwick were rolling out the welcome mat. As Gawker put it in a headline: "Bushwick Bars to Boycott Drunken Disgusting Shitshow Known as SantaCon."

Back to amNewYork:

“Nobody wants it and nobody will allow it,” Ben Warren, owner of The Bodega and Heavy Woods, told amNewYork. “I'm just going to keep them out.”

Warren said he got firsthand experience of “the madness that ensues” during SantaCon while living in the East Village. Now as a bar owner, Warren said he would hire a few door people to keep Santas out of his bars.

“It's like we're preparing for battle,” he said.

Bushwick denizens were also worried about the whirlwind of hard-drinking Santas coming into their neighborhood in the name of charity.

“It's like basically coming to trash the neighborhood,” Matthew Christie, a 23 year-old Bushwick resident, said.

The East Village/Lower East Side served as HQ for the drunken disgusting shitshow last year. Suggestions for 2014?

Previously on EV Grieve:
SantaCon makes it official: The fucking thing starts in Tompkins Square Park

'Quite simply, SantaCon is a parasite' (48 comments)

Let's buy this building! 190 Bowery apparently back on the market

[190 Bowery via jdx]

Back in September, news broke that 190 Bowery, the longtime home of photographer Jay Maisel, was in contract to RFR Holdings for an undisclosed sum.

Condos were one possibility for the 37,000-square-foot building on the corner of Bowery and Spring Street.

Now, RFR is apparently flipping the building, The Commercial Observer reports.

There are reportedly marketing materials dated yesterday making the rounds via Massey Knakal. The price is not listed. (And the previous sale has yet to be filed with the city.)

Maisel bought the 1898 Germania Bank building in 1966 for $102,000. He and his family have lived there ever since. The price tag of the building had been estimated to be in the $50-plus million.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Coolest building on the Bowery may or may not be for sale