Someone tagged the 1832 white marble stoop of the Merchant’s House Museum — again

[Image via Facebook]

On Friday evening, the circa-1832 white marble stoop of the Merchant’s House Museum was hit with graffiti.

In July, someone tossed high-staining ink in the same location here on East Fourth Street between the Bowery and Lafayette.


[Image via Merchant's House Museum]

"We are heartbroken, as you can imagine," Margaret Halsey Gardiner, the Museum's executive director, told us via email.

She said that the cost to remove the latest tags will cost the Museum upwards of $4,000.

Moving on — and feeling lucky — after the 2nd Avenue explosion

Yesterday, we posted a Q-and-A with Jennifer Porto, who lived at 125 Second Ave. at the time of the deadly Second Avenue explosion this past March 26. Several apartments in that building sustained substantial damages, include Porto's home of three years.

Today, we talk with another former resident of No. 125, Elizabeth Dimond, who shares her experiences these past six months.

What was your housing situation in the days/weeks immediately after March 26?

I was supposed to move to a studio apartment down the block from my old building on March 30. I had already started boxing things up and then the explosion/fire happened. I didn’t know what to do because I lost all of my possessions, including furniture.

The thought of living in an empty apartment and walking by the explosion site every day was pretty scary, to say the least. I decided to temporarily stay with my boyfriend of two months and then we decided to make it permanent.

Looking back on it all now, it seems absolutely crazy but I can’t imagine my life any other way now.


[Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Dimond]

Where are you living now?

I’m in the West Village.

Do you plan on returning to the East Village?

I spent six amazing years in the East Village and it will always have a special place in my heart. I think it was and still is important for me to be in a new area right now. I feel like I’m starting a new chapter in life and a new neighborhood is a big part of that.

What has been your biggest challenge in rebuilding your life in the past 6 months?

I’m in the design industry and fashion is very important to me. I had an emotional connection to my wardrobe. I spent years curating what was hanging in my closet and to lose it all seemed like I lost a part of myself.

Teaching myself that those things aren’t what make me uniquely me, and leaving them in the past has been a struggle but also an invaluable lesson that I am grateful for. I dealt with a lot of anger in the beginning. I had to buy something like a t-shirt and it would infuriate me. I would think, “Why am I spending money on a t-shirt, I used to have hundreds of t-shirts!” ... but to dwell on it and let anger build up was a pointless exercise. You can’t move forward and rebuild if you’re living in the past.

I’m now at a place where I have accepted what happened, see the good that came out of it, and realize how ridiculously lucky I was to have such an amazing network of friends, family and even complete strangers who helped me through this tough time.

That's one thing that truly amazed me after the explosion. I had casual friends, friends of friends, acquaintances, and strangers reaching out to me to offer up their help and even their homes. I will never forget that.

Also, two people lost their lives in that explosion, so above all else — I recognize that the rest of us are so lucky that we were unharmed.

Previously on EV Grieve:
How displaced residents are faring after the 2nd Avenue gas explosion

Living out of a suitcase 6 months after the 2nd Avenue explosion

And read our interviews with longtime residents of 45 E. Seventh St. Mildred Guy and Diane McLean.

Community meeting tonight to address construction noise at Extell's East 14th Street development sites

The seemingly endless demolition followed by the pile-driving and excavation work on East 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B isn't making many neighbors happy…

Some residents are getting together this evening to discuss the situation… flyers have been posted around the site …


[Photo via an EVG reader]

Not sure who will be in attendance this evening at 6:30 at the Dias y Flores Garden on East 13th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. The flyers say that local elected officials and DOB reps have been invited.

To recap, Extell Development is putting up two 7-floor retail-residential buildings along East 14th Street … 500 E. 14th St. at Avenue A will have 106 residential units … while, further to the east, 524 E. 14th St. will house 44 residential units.

According to the DOB signage on the plywood, January 2017 is the anticipation completion date…


[Rendering of 500 E. 14th St. via RKF]


[Rendering of 524 E. 14th St. via RKF]

Previously on EV Grieve:
The disappearing storefronts of East 14th Street

[Updated with correction] 8-lot parcel of East 14th Street primed for new development

New 7-floor buildings for East 14th Street include 150 residential units

1st activity at 500 E. 14th St. since the demolition phase, and when the standing water froze

Demo time for East 13th Street garages that will yield to luxury condos

Construction of the incoming condos Thirteen East + West entered the next phase yesterday … as workers started to erect the sidewalk bridge at 436 and 442 E. 13th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue …





The two garages that were sold earlier this year on this block will be demolished to make way for six-story buildings that will house floor-though condos. The penthouses at each building will have their own private garages and roof decks. Pricing will start at $2.3 million; $3.4 million for the penthouses via celebrity broker Ryan Serhant.


[Rendering via Instagram]

Back in June, the developers unveiled the luxury condos with a street-art competition that saw murals go up on the soon-to-be-demolished structures. The mural theme: transience. According to the news release announcing the competition: "Buildings go up, buildings come down and art too is victim to the vicissitudes of time."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Tracking the coming changes to East 13th Street between Avenue A and 1st Avenue

A look at the new luxury condos coming soon to East 13th Street

Temporary art and future condos on East 13th Street

Flyer campaign accuses landlord of driving nice car, not making repairs in apartments

Someone has created a flyer campaign about Citadel Property Management Corp., whose office is on East 13th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B…



Per the flyers, which are along Avenue A between East 13th Street and East 14th Street, the president of the company drives a nice car… while some (or one?) of the units at 513 E. 13th St. is in need of repairs (hard to tell from the black-and-white photocopies…).

According to the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, there are several new complaints (from the same unit) at No. 513 about broken windows, peeling plaster and a roach infestation, among other things.

Citadel's East Village rentals also include 239 E. 14th St., 208 E. 13th St., and 533 E. 13th St., according to Streeteasy.

Updated 10-1

Michael Crespo responds in the comments...

Updated: Because East Village Cheese is really supposed to open today

That's the word from about 10 different people who walked by the Cheese Shop's new storefront yesterday at 80 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue … workers on the scene confirmed the opening today … we also heard something about free cheese samples…





Workers originally told passersby that the space would be open last Friday…

Photos yesterday by Sam Teichman

Updated 12:21

The shop is open...

[Photo by Steven]

A photo posted by giligetz (@giligetz) on Sep 29, 2015 at 8:41am PDT

Previously

Report: Murder conviction for man who beat grandfather to death on East 6th Street

[Photo from 2006 via CBS 2]

In May 2014, 68-year-old Wen Hui Ruan died from the injuries he sustained in a vicious assault on East Sixth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D.

In the days that followed, police arrested 20-year-old Jamie Pugh, who was charged with second-degree murder, robbery and assault. His mother claimed at the time that someone slipped him the club drug Molly. As DNAinfo reported, "Pugh didn’t even know about the attack until one of his friends showed him the chilling surveillance footage over the weekend and said the attacker looked like him."


[Photo of Jamie Pugh from May 2014 by Frank Franca]

According to BoweryBoogie today, a jury last week found Pugh guilty of second-degree murder … and he could conceivably receive 25-to-life when sentenced on Oct. 22. DNAinfo has comments from Pugh's attorney here.

Ruan, a retired garment worker who lived on Avenue C and East Seventh Street with his wife, had just dropped off his granddaughters when the attack occurred.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: East Village resident dies from injuries sustained in brutal attack

[UPDATED] Reward for info on East 6th Street assault; plus video of the attack

[Updated] Family mourns Ruan Wen Hui as police hunt suspect in deadly assault on E. 6th St.

[Updated] Report: Murder suspect's mother says her son was high on Molly at the time of attack

Report: Family of Ruan Wen Hui wants hate crime charges brought against suspect

Living out of a suitcase 6 months after the 2nd Avenue explosion

Six months after the deadly explosion wiped out the northwest corner of Second Avenue and East Seventh Street, Jennifer Porto still finds herself without a permanent home.

She had been living at 125 Second Ave. the past three years. While the blast and fire destroyed three buildings — 45 East Seventh St. (119 Second Ave.), 121 Second Ave. and 123 Second Ave., 15 units in total — several apartments next door at No. 125 also received substantial damage, include Porto's. She lost most of her possessions. Porto says that her apartment remains under renovation ... and she hopes to return.

As for the explosion, authorities have said that siphoned gas at Sushi Park at 121 Second Ave. may have been to blame for the explosion, which killed Moises Ismael Locón Yac and Nicholas Figueroa, and injured two dozen other people. The investigation continues.

On the 6-month anniversary of the explosion, we spoke with two residents who were displaced from 125 Second Ave. (Look for Part 2 tomorrow.) Here's more from Porto:

What was your housing situation in the days/weeks immediately after March 26?

Luckily, I was able to take advantage of the three-day stay that was being offered at the Standard East Village. Their generosity in those first couple of days is beyond anything I could have expected.

For the days/weeks immediately after I bounced from hotels to friends' apartments. I was amazed at how many people offered their couches and apartments. It was an overwhelming time but people were extremely generous and I am forever grateful for that.

Where are you now?

I'm more permanently in the Bronx, but I also continue to bounce from place-to-place when staying in Manhattan. I feel so guilty asking to stay with friends and never want to be a burden. I'm lucky to have some amazing people in my life who graciously offer me their apartments when they go out of town or don't kick me out after I have been staying with them for a while.

Do you plan on returning to the East Village?

I would love to return to the East Village. When I first moved to NYC I was living on the Upper West Side. It wasn't until I moved down to the East Village that I really felt like I was home. This neighborhood is my favorite and I truly can't imagine being anywhere else.

What has been your biggest challenge in rebuilding your life in the past six months?

In the first couple of weeks I was still in shock. I could not believe that this had happened. But I tried to keep things in perspective. Things could have been far worse. And for the most part I have maintained a positive attitude.

There are still days where I'm reminded of an item I lost in the fire, a memory from my apartment, and I have a hard time. There are days when the last six months have felt like a lifetime ago and other days when it feels like just yesterday I was watching it on the news at work.

I'd say the hardest thing for me is not having a sense of stability. I'm living out of suitcases and don't have a place to call my own. Once I am back in my apartment I can really start to rebuild my life and, hopefully, get back to normal. With that said this challenge has taught me a lot about myself. I've learned that I am a lot stronger than I give myself credit for and can handle things in any situation.

I want to reiterate how generous people were during this time. Family, friends, co-workers and even complete strangers. I wish I could find them all to personally thank them. They have moved me more than I can say and I will forever be grateful for how generous everyone has been as I rebuild, and start over.


[Photo courtesy of Jennifer Porto]

Previously on EV Grieve:
How displaced residents are faring after the 2nd Avenue gas explosion

And read our interviews with longtime residents of 45 E. Seventh St. Mildred Guy and Diane McLean.

Blink, and there will soon be a gym at 98-100 Avenue A

[EVG photo from Friday evening]

The gym rumor for 98-100 Avenue A is true: Blink Fitness is opening a 12,000-square-foot facility here between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street later next year, DNAinfo first reported last week.

Here's part of Blink's news release (H/T BoweryBoogie) about what will be their 11th Manhattan location:

Blink saw an opportunity to provide the area with an affordable, premium-quality fitness option for local residents. At 12,000 sq. ft., guests can expect to find top-of-the-line cardio and strength equipment and full service locker rooms, along with a crew of knowledgeable and friendly staff and personal trainers.

The club’s primary goal is to create a unique member experience through its Feel Good Experience™. This includes respectful and friendly staff, a bright and open gym using colors that are scientifically proven to enhance mood, an everybody cleans philosophy that ensures a spotless facility, and music to motivate members! Memberships in NYC are only $25 per month.

Blink, the no-frills sibling in the Equinox family, opened its first location around here in 2012 on the second floor of the former Tower Records. (The Blink entrance is on East Fourth Street between Broadway and Lafayette.)

Equinox already reportedly inked a deal to lease two floors of 98-100 landlord Ben Shaoul's incoming development on East Houston and Orchard.

As for 98-100 Avenue A, the crew seems to be working double time of late. The condo residences (33 in total) are up to the seventh floor. There are DOB permits showing a 6-floor and 8-floor building while the rendering shows seven floors.



So maybe it will end up at 9 floors.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

New Facebook group is advocating for a Trader Joe's on Avenue A

Workers back demolishing what's left of 98-100 Avenue A

Rest assured, there isn't a fire in the hole at 98-100 Avenue A

Ben Shaoul's 98-100 Avenue A emerging from the dewatering hole

Life next to 98-100 Avenue A

Condos at Ben Shaoul's 98-100 Avenue A will start at $1.3 million; high-end gym eyed for retail space

A new mural and beer store on 2nd Avenue and East 6th Street

[Photo Friday by Derek Berg]

Billy the Artist started a new mural on the northeast corner of Second Avenue and Sixth Street on Friday...alongside the former Spice space...


[Photo Saturday by Steven]

A business called Lions BeerStore is in the works here, per the sign on the gate.


[Photo by Vinny & O]

The website advertised takes you to a store that "is the brand name for combining high end beers, casual dining and bistro style." There is currently another location in the Greek port city of Thessaloniki.

As we understand it, the store will sell beer to go... as well as offer room inside for draft beers and food. Passersby have reported people out front collecting signatures .. ahead of October's CB3/SLA committee meeting.

And here's the look at the final mural yesterday...


[Photo Saturday by Steven]

And we hear that two of the panels are already missing since Saturday night...

Previously

Reader report: Reporting excessive Airbnb worked

An EVG reader shared the following with us about his or her apartment building:

Our building was pretty much an illegal hotel all summer. Large, loud groups of international travelers ... parties nightly, suitcases banging up and down the stairs, people buzzing all apartments when they couldn't find the front-door key, and last but definitely not least, four apartments with bedbugs.

So, hoping 311 would be helpful for a change, several of us called in the situation. The first resident was evicted [late last week].

Lesson learned; You do not have to put up with this kind of intrusion on your living space.

[Updated] Where you can (hopefully) view the super blood moon tonight

Let's just cut-and-paste this explanation from The New York Times:

A rare astronomical phenomenon Sunday night will produce a moon that will appear slightly bigger than usual and have a reddish hue, an event known as a super blood moon.

It’s a combination of curiosities that hasn’t happened since 1982... A so-called supermoon, which occurs when the moon is closest to earth in its orbit, will coincide with a lunar eclipse, leaving the moon in Earth’s shadow. Individually, the two phenomena are not uncommon, but they do not align often.

For these kinds of events, we usually look to local astronomy buff Felton Davis of Maryhouse, who sets up his telescope in strategic points in the neighborhood. However, he is out of town at the moment... in his absence, EV resident Danielle Baskin along with her friend Maya Eilam and Joanne Kennedy from the Maryhouse are operating the telescope. Felton has trained them how to set up the gear ... so if the weather cooperates, then East Village residents can still view the spectacle.

Danielle and company will be by the Second Avenue F station (Second Avenue and East Houston) from 7 p.m. onward. The eclipse should reach totality at around 10:45 p.m.

Keep in mind that this moon won't happen again until 2033, the same time when work is expected to be complete at the Astor Place Reconstruction Project

Image via the U.S. Naval Observatory

Updated 9-28

A good number of people turned out that evening to take in the super blood moon here on Second Avenue between East First Street and Houston…


[Photo via Danielle Baskin]