Synagogue penthouse comes into view on East 6th Street

A milestone of sorts to note about the condo conversion of the Congregation Mezritch Synagogue at 415 E. Sixth St.: the penthouse addition has (mostly) arrived.

At the time when the condo plans were first made available, some neighbors and preservationists were concerned about the size and scope of the new level. In March 2013, architect Joseph Pell Lombardi reportedly told CB3's Landmarks Subcommittee that the addition would not be visible from the street — per guidelines set forth by the Lower East Side/East Village Historic District.

To prove this, he installed a mock-up with orange cones showing where the penthouse would be setback from the rest of the building. We checked it out...and while the cones were not visible from the sidewalk, you could spot them a few steps in on the Village View property across the street, which is not in the Historic District.

The Landmarks Preservation reportedly approved the plans in April 2013, though they did ask the applicant to address the visibility of the rooftop addition by either setting it back further, reducing the scale, using a darker color, or choosing a different cladding material, per the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

We took the top three photos here from Village View yesterday morning ... showing the penthouse ...





We returned later in the day… the penthouse is noticeable from the south side of the street as well…



… though not from out front…



Of course, the penthouse at this stage is particularly noticeable with its yellow DensGlass® Sheathing. Be curious to see what the final product looks like.

As previously cut-n-pasted: The landmarked building between Avenue A and First Avenue was reportedly in disrepair and the congregation's population had dwindled. Synagogue leaders signed a 99-year lease with East River Partners worth some $1.2 million. The synagogue will retain space on the ground floor for their use.

The developers previously told the Daily News that sales for the three units will start this fall.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Plan to add condos to historic East Sixth Street synagogue back on

Play spot the potential penthouse atop the East Village synagogue

A final look inside the Anshei Meseritz synagogue on East Sixth Street

Stained-glass windows removed ahead of condo conversion at Congregation Mezritch Synagogue

Introducing Nonstop Cooper, a community residency on 3rd Avenue

Via the EVG inbox…

Nonstop Cooper is a community residency at 31 Third Avenue. It will serve as a workspace for community engagement and a platform for public outreach.

Opening on September 7th, Nonstop will feature a wide variety of programming, and drop-in hours from noon to midnight. Community members are welcome to host and attend happenings.

Find more details about this residency at Facebook … and the Nonstop Cooper Tumblr.

The space, 31 Third Ave. at Stuyvestant Street, previously housed St. Mark's Bookshop before a rent increase saw the the owners relocate to East Third Street.

The storefront has been empty now for more than a year.


[Photo by Jeremiah Moss]

Updated 8 a.m.
In other Cooper Union news ... from the Associated Press via ABC News:

New York's attorney general has reached an agreement that would end a suit against Cooper Union and create an independent monitor into the financial management of the engineering and architecture school.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is expected to announce the agreement Wednesday.

He says he hopes it could eventually lead to the school restoring its tradition of free tuition.

Noted

An EVG reader sends along this Craigslist ad for an apartment available for rent (the address isn't listed) ... the reader thinks these might be the three most random restaurants mentioned together in a Craigslist ad ...

Conveniently located just a block from the F train and steps from some of the city's best restaurants and nightlife including Black Iron Burger, Katz's Deli, and L'arte del Gelato

L'arte del Gelato is based in the Chelsea Market with carts at Lincoln Center and the High Line during the summer.

Updated: Slick Rick's month-long residency on Avenue A

EVG regular Greg Masters spotted Bronx-based artist Andre Trenier creating this month's mural on the roll-down gate at Mikey Likes It, 199 Avenue A near East 12th Street.



The mural is of Slick Rick to coincide with the ice cream shop's flavor of the month…



Previous artists on the gate have included Madonna, Will Smith and Prince.

Updated 9/3

Here's the final version of the gate... via the Mikey Likes It Tumblr..



... and the September specialty ice cream ...

Looking at the incoming East Village Cheese shop on East 7th Street

Several people have asked us if we know when the new home of East Village Cheese will open on East Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Unfortunately, we haven't heard any updates. (Have you?) The sign on the window here at 80 E. Seventh St. says "coming soon August 2015." And the Shop doesn't have any social media presence offering updates. The phone is also not in service now.

Anyway, here's a look inside the storefront yesterday…



… and the sign from Third Avenue looks to be going up here as well …



The cheese shop's lease expired at the end of July at its longtime home at 40 Third Ave. between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street. In January, we heard that the Duane Reade on Third Avenue at East 10th Street was going to expand into adjacent storefronts on that block, forcing out several businesses, including East Village Cheese.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rumors: Duane Reade expansion will take over adjacent storefronts, including East Village Cheese (74 comments)

[Updated] Confirmed: East Village Cheese will be moving to Avenue A later this year

East Village Cheese makes move to 7th Street official

[Updated] Work starts on new home of the East Village Cheese Shop

A.K. Shoe Repair has closed

[EVG file photo]

Earlier last month, we heard that A.K. Shoe Repair on East Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue was facing a rent increase, which would leave the proprietor, Albert, either finding a new space or closing the shop that he took over from his father.

Unfortunately, the shop closed for good yesterday.

DNAinfo had more details about the situation here in an article titled "Cobbler Craft Dying Out As Rents Rise, Cheap Shoes Proliferate, Skills Wane."

In the case of A.K. Shoe Repair, Albert P. says his landlord plans to more than double the monthly rent for his space at 350 E. 9th St. from $2,000 to $4,500. Adding that to the cost of electricity and gas, $500 a month, and the price of a month's supplies, $1,500, the price of keeping his business open would amount to roughly $270 a day. With those expenses, it's no easy task to turn a profit charging no more than $20 for rubber heel replacements.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A.K. Shoe Repair needs a new home

1 floor down, 12 to go at 347 Bowery

The last time that we checked in on 347 Bowery in March, a cheap Penistrator knockoff saw fit to degrade the renderings on the plywood here at East Third Street by drawing a large [redacted].

We've come a long way since then. The building is now visible above the plywood…



A quick recap: Workers demolished the Salvation Army's former East Village Residence that was on this corner … to make way for a 13-story, 30,000 square-foot mixed-use residential development.

Per developer Urban Muse, the project will feature five 3-bedroom homes ranging from 2,100 to 4,000 square feet, two 2,000-square-foot commercial units and one 6,800-square-foot retail unit.

Annabelle Selldorf, who designed the nearby 10 Bond Street, is listed as the architect of record.

The lone rendering that we've seen looks to give neighbor 52E4 — the 15 stories of condo on the Bowery and East Fourth Street — some skyline company. The lot adjacent to 347 Bowery at 1-3 E. Third St. is also for sale as a development site.



Previously on EV Grieve:
The Salvation Army's former East Village Residence will be demolished on the Bowery

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

The future of 347 Bowery (sorta!) revealed

New name, but the doors remain the same at 189 E. 3rd St.

The bar-restaurant space at 189 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B has been a carousel of late… there was the short-lived Lumiere that debuted in May 2014, followed by Casablanca, which just opened in February.

We're not sure when Casablanca closed… but a new sign is up for a restaurant-lounge called Tut …



Unfortunately, we don't know anything about Tut… the only other sign here features variations of coming soon written in multiple languages…

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.

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.

Report: Firefighter busts would-be burglars breaking into his car on East 13th Street

Firefighter Bill Sessler was returning to Ladder 3 on East 13th Street early Friday morning when he spotted two men rummaging through his 2000 Toyota Corolla parked out front of the station between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.

As the Post reported, Sessler and his FDNY colleagues detained the two men until the NYPD arrived.

Jason De Jesus, 21, reportedly took Sessler's sunglasses and an air freshener.

“They’re just round, polarized sunglasses,” shrugged Sessler. “They’re just fishing sunglasses. I fish a lot.”

In addition, the NYPD reportedly found marijuana and cocaine on De Jesus, who was charged with petit larceny and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. The second man, Andre Kinard, 31, was charged with petit larceny.

Sessler is usually stationed at Ladder 9 on Great Jones Street, where his car has been broken into twice even though he doesn't keep valuables inside.

"It's kind of common in the neighborhood," he told the Post. "It’s been happening a lot."

A 'Spray and Play' day tomorrow on Avenue C and East 12th Street

There's an all-day mini block party of sorts tomorrow on East 12th Street at Avenue C. As the above flyer notes, three graffiti artists will be on hand to create new murals at the 12C Outdoor Art Gallery.

From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There'll be some music too.

FYI — NYU Welcome Week is underway

NYU's Welcome Week is now underway with NYU's Welcome Day, where the university, well, welcomes new undergraduate students and their family members.

Around here, students are moving into Palladium Hall on East 14th Street, Founders Hall on East 12th Street and Third North on Third Avenue at East 12th Street.

Anyway, this doesn't really impact any of you, so don't worry about it, OK?






Haha. Kidding!

A few things. If you hate the Earth and have a car are looking to park on, say, East 13th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue…



… or East 10th Street between Third Avenue and Second Avenue …



You can't. I mean, you can technically, but either you'll get your ass towed or be given a dirty look by someone wearing a violet Welcome Week T-shirt.

Also, the Citibike docking station on East 12th Street just west of Third Avenue is not in service this weekend…



Finally, not that you would be going anyway, but if today is the day you were finally going to suck it up and head to Bath, Bath and Beyond…



Just don't. (And probably ditto for Basics Plus … and Kmart. You should have bought your Halloween candy by now anyway.)

[Sidenote: Whose idea was it to close Fourth Avenue today for a street festival at the same time as thousands of students and their families are moving into the dormitories? This would not have happened under Amanda Burden's watch!]

So now, let us begin.

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Several readers recently noted that there haven't been quite as many street fairs/festivals this summer around here.

Hopefully we can squeeze in 5-6 before Labor Day weekend. Cross one off the list, as a fair/festival is slated today on Fourth Avenue, roughly from East 14th Street down to East Ninth Street.

The avenue was still open to vehicular traffic when we passed through… where a lonesome sausage stand stood…



Previously on EV Grieve:
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

It felt like Love

Thirty-one years in, Yo La Tengo has a new release — "Stuff Like That There" — out today via Matador Records.

The new record includes some covers, like of the Cure's "Friday I'm In Love" (above), as well as some new material... and some reworkings of tracks from 1990's "Fakebook."

Other Music on East Fourth Street is hosting a record release party tonight at 8. (Limited capacity!)