Monday, August 31, 2015

This interactive map lets you track the neighborhood's sidewalk cafes



In case you didn't see this news earlier today (DNAInfo, The Lo-Down and Crain's, among other outlets), the Department of Consumer Affairs has launched an interactive map that shows the locations of the city's 1,300-plus sidewalk cafes.

The map also shows pending applications, license status and health grades. Per Crain's: "The goal is to boost transparency and reduce confusion surrounding the licensing process, said Julie Menin, commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs, which oversees the licensing of sidewalk cafés."

In our Community Board 3 area (covering the East Village and Lower East Side), there are currently 97 sidewalk cafes, many of them not even on Second Avenue or East Third Street and Avenue B.

Check out the map here.

Subway riders preparing for all scenarios now when taking the L train



Because an avalanche hasn't caused delays on the L... yet.

Photo at the First Avenue L stop this morning by Andrew Adam Newman on Ave C.

202 1st Avenue is for sale, 'a prime East Village asset'



The 6-story building between East 12th Street and East 13th Street is new to the market.

Here's part of the listing via Cushman & Wakefield:

The building consists of a ground floor retail unit, 17 free-market apartments and three rent stabilized apartments. A majority of the units are two-bedrooms and multiple apartment lines have the ability to be converted into three-bedrooms apartments. The average in-place rent is approximately $58 per square foot which is well below market.

The retail unit is currently leased to No Relation Vintage, which has a lease until March 2017. The building features recently renovated common areas, a new boiler, and new electrical systems. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a prime East Village asset with upside potential and over 39’ of frontage on 1st Avenue.

Price: $21.5 million.

Image via Cushman & Wakefield

Updated at noon with correct address.

Also, we posted about the building being for sale in 2013. At the time the asking price was $13 million./

Psychic coming soon on East 4th Street



During the weekend, EVG reader Alexis noticed some activity in the retail space that Bikes, By George! previously occupied on Fourth Street just east of Avenue A… a sign then arrived in the front window noting "Psychic coming soon."



That almost sounds like a warning.

George Philbert closed up his 7-year-old shop here at the end of June. He told customers that he couldn't afford the new higher rent. I do not know what he was paying, but, according to the listing, the asking rent is $3,750 monthly for 340 square feet.

These days you can find George selling bikes on East 11th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Avenue A Wine & Liquor has closed



The shop at 196 Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street is now closed.

We're not sure exactly when they shut down. A call to the shop reveals a disconnected number.

There had been some difficulties in the past. The Marshal seized the storefront in February 2012.

Wine, brandy and French-Mediterranean cuisine in the works for the former Luca Bar


[EVG photo from June]

The former Luca Bar space at 119 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue hit the market in the early summer.

And there's a taker for the space. Reps for Le Delice are on tomorrow night's CB3/SLA committee meeting docket for a new liquor license. The bar-restaurant will serve French-Mediterranean cuisine, according to the PDF on file at the CB3 website.

The notice on the front door refers to Le Delice as a "wine and brandy establishment."



The application shows a configuration with 10 tables good for 24 seats and a bar with 15 stools. The proposed hours are 5 p.m. to midnight Monday-Wedneday; until 1 a.m. Thursday-Saturday… and there are opening hours of 11 a.m. on the weekend for a likely brunch service.

The SLA meeting is at the CB3 office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Luca Bar closed back in late April.

East 14th Street Dunkin' Donuts shuffle complete


[Copyrighted photo by EV Arrow from July]

As we've been pretty much exclusively reporting, the Dunkin' Donuts at 218 E. 14th St. was moving a few storefronts to the west toward Third Avenue (see above photo).

That move is compete with the Grand Opening of the new (smaller) DD at 208 E. 14th St….



Meanwhile, back at No. 218, workers are dismantling the old DD space… Unfortunately, we were unable to save the Eli Manning "Smoke the Competition" ad for the smoked sausage breakfast sandwich…



This storefront had been for rent at $144 a square foot … the listing notes the space is now off the market.

East Village Thai will be closed for a few weeks



The excellent East Village Thai at 32 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square is going to be on a break for the next few weeks, per the sign on their gate…



They will be back on Sept. 16. There isn't any reason listed for the closure, though it seems as if they have shut down at this time in previous years.

Back in 2012, the Daily News gave high marks to East Village Thai, calling it "a hidden gem" serving some of the best pad Thai in the city.

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Week in Grieview


[Outside St. Brigid's today on Avenue B via Bobby Williams]

RIP Shane Keogh (Sunday)

The Birdman of First Avenue is retiring, will close Rainbow Music next month (Thursday)

Rooftop fire on Third Avenue (Thursday)

New, confusing signs up at the former Lit Lounge space (Monday)

At the East Village Vintage Collective (Friday)

Another report of stolen packages from an East Village lobby (Wednesday)

Out and About with George Cameron (Wednesday)

Report: Uncle suing nephew broker Raphael Toledano over $100 million East Village deal (Friday)

A refurbished 330 Bowery comes into view (Thursday)

Le Marécage closes on First Avenue (Monday)

Superiority Burger adding another night to its schedule starting next week (Friday)

Highlights from the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

Cow tippers at large (Monday)

Caracas Arepa Bar back open after an 18-day, gas-related hiatus (Thursday)

Former Russian Souvenirs shop for rent on East 14th Street (Monday)

A new marquee for the First Avenue McDonald's (Tuesday)

Several trees coming down in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

There'll be no more trespassing at the Cooper Union academic building (Monday)

NYPD busts the 2nd Ave. Convenience Store (Tuesday)

Reader report: Bike room burglarized at Icon's Second Avenue residential building (Wednesday)

Details on Black Seed's soon-to-open First Avenue location (Tuesday)

Virgola bringing oysters to East Seventh Street (Friday)

City removes Sandy-damaged willow from 9th Street Community Garden Park (Tuesday)

Yummy Asian Food coming to East Third Street (Wednesday)

New tape shop for East Second Street (Monday)

Something new in the works for 25 Avenue B (Thursday)

Arthouse cinema, bookshop planned for Ludlow Street (Tuesday)

Former Jones Diner lot on Lafayette primed for new development (Thursday)

Nicoletta looking to upgrade to a full liquor license (Wednesday)

… and apologies for not telling you about the pop-up shoe shop on Cooper Square on Friday…


[Photo by peter radley]

New murals at work



The new mural work — featuring Jerkface, Zeso and Daphne Arthur — continues until 6 p.m. over at the 12C Outdoor Art Gallery … on Avenue C at East 12th Street.



Photos by Lola Sáenz

A loss of 'community and individual enterprise'


[Photo by Steven from Aug. 18]

Back on Aug. 19, we noted that the Glasgow Vintage Co. closed its retail space at 331 E. Ninth St. after less than a year here between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Glasgow's closure is a jumping off point for a piece at HuffPost the other day by Nancy Cohen-koan, who laments the loss of more small shops in the neighborhood.

"My neighborhood gets sadder and sadder," she writes. "As the greed machine grows and grows, so goes community and individual enterprise."

As for Glasgow Vintage:

They had always dreamed of having a shop in New York's East Village, after successfully owning a top vintage store in Glasgow. What they didn't bargain for was an avaricious landlord who had scaffolding and a trash bin in front of his shop for most of the year. The company was very busy building upward on the old tenement. That meant that shoppers couldn't easily see the shop to come in and browse. Naturally, the landlord wouldn't give these decent folk a break.

The Kushner companies bought 329-335 E. Ninth Street (and 325 E. 10th St.) in the spring of 2013 for $28.75 million.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East 9th Street buildings will soon be taller thanks to the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals

East Ninth Street parking lot will yield to 6-floor residential building

East 9th Street buildings starting to grow taller

Today, I rescued the Niagara sidewalk sign



This morning, while walking along Avenue A near East Ninth Street, I noticed the Niagara sidewalk sign-board thing tossed in the bush in Tompkins Square Park.

At first glance, I thought someone had left especially large, stale bread (matzo?) for the pigeons (and later the rats).

Anyway, I took a photo and was going to try to be funny or something and say they have extended their happy hour, etc. I started to walk away, but it didn't seem cool to just leave it there. So I hopped the fence [etc. etc.] and returned it to the bar on Avenue A and Seventh Street. I rang the doorbell and ran.