Monday, December 28, 2015

Sweethaus Cupcake Cafe opening an outpost on St. Mark's Place


[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 now there's a taker for the former bar-restaraunt. The owners of Sweethaus Cupcake Cafe, with locations in Charlottesville, Va., and Williamsburg (Brooklyn, not Virginia), are on the January CB3/SLA committee meeting docket for a new beer-wine license.

While the Virginia location serves house-made cupcakes and what they describe as "nostalgia" candy such as wax bottles, candy necklaces and gummy cola bottles, the Brooklyn outpost of Sweethaus offers a more extensive food menu... as seen here...



Sounds as if the St. Mark's Place location will feature a similar concept. There aren't many details available at the moment, aside from the hours: 8 a.m. to midnight. (You can read more about Sweethaus here.)

In any event, this item will not be heard before the committee meeting, which is Jan. 11.

Luca Bar closed back in late April.

A dry cleaner-laundromat combo for the former Little Pakistan Deli space on 2nd Avenue



Little Pakistan Deli at 200 Second Ave. closed in January 2015... and now there's a new tenant for the storefront between East 12th Street and East 13th Street... the coming soon (with three !!!) sign announces a dry cleaning and laundromat...



Soothsayer is hiring on Avenue A



And at 171 Avenue A, work continues on the conversion of the former B.A.D. Burger space between East 10th Street and East 11th Street ... which will soon be a contemporary Vietnamese restaurant called Soothsayer.

The restaurant, run by siblings Stephan and Kimxuan Brezinsky who grew up in Stuy Town, is currently hiring...



Back in July, Soothsayer upset a few neighbors after asking for support for a full liquor license and use of the back patio. Soothsayer reportedly withdrew its application at the July CB3/SLA meeting.

In September, CB3 OK'd a beer-wine license without use of the outdoor space. The proprietors also agreed to hours of 5:30 p.m. to midnight during the week, with opening hours of noon on Saturday and Sunday.

Soothsayer has a website (no menu posted just yet) here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Incoming restaurant on Avenue A asking residents to rally for their liquor license and back patio (42 comments)

Restaurant news: Mulan East and Banana Leaf now open; By Chloe coming soon on Lafayette

A few items to note from the past week or so...



Mulan East opened earlier this month at 58 Third Ave. between East 10th Street and East 11th Street. One EVG reader gave them high marks after a meal on Xmas Day. (You can find their menu here.) Until this past July, the address housed the Thai restaurant Bodhi Tree.

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Banana Leaf, a Sri Lankan restaurant, is now open at 326 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... taking over the space from Spice Cove (same owners) ... Banana Leaf moved their business here from West 28th Street... find their menu here.

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And slightly outside the usual coverage area... the popular Bleecker Street vegan restaurant By Chloe is expanding... and the signage arrived last Wednesday on Lafayette Street between Spring and Prince... BoweryBoogie noted this storefront previously housed 16 Handles.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Week in Grieview


[Early morning at the Odessa the other day]

Watch this guy take all the packages from an East Third Street building lobby (Tuesday)

Floors collapse at under-renovation 356 E. Eighth St. (Thursday)

The new Tompkins Square Bagels will arrive before the 2nd Avenue subway, probably (Monday)

Bluebird Coffee Shop has closed on East First Street (Tuesday) and here's its replacement (Saturday)

The CBGB restaurant is open at the Newark airport, though you won't be able to order the Marquee Moons Over My Hammy (Thursday)

Prepping to repair fire-damaged wall next to the Second Avenue explosion site (Wednesday)

Details on the legal battle over the ownership of 80 St. Mark's Place (Monday)

Danny's Cycles has closed on East 14th Street (Thursday)

Number of national retailers increases in the East Village, report says (Wednesday)

Minca Ramen Factory remains closed on East Fifth Street (Tuesday)

Incoming 99¢ pizza place on Avenue A will be called 99¢ Pizza (Tuesday)

Some more details on the condos at the former East Sixth Street synagogue (Monday)

About the East Village-based podcast mürmur (Wednesday)

A question about Extell construction noise on East 14th Street (Monday)

Raphael Toledano's Brookhill Properties gives tenants $20 gift cards for the holidays (Wednesday)

Live painting with Mike (MiMo) Mozart at 212 Arts (Tuesday)

Another juice shop in the works, this one on First Avenue (Monday)

AMC Village 7 premieres renovated theater, reclining seats (Thursday)

Manhattan Cryobank wants Stuy Town sperm (Sunday)

Anecdote about a photo of framed sheep (Monday)

Candles for Joe Strummer (Tuesday)

EVG turns 8 (Monday)

... and a last look at some holiday cheer on Avenue B...


Catch 'Astor Barber All-Stars' tonight on PBS

[Production still by Phil Penman]

Tonight (Dec. 27!) at 11, WNET (PBS Thirteen) is airing "Astor Barber All-Stars," the documentary by Karen Gehres.

A summation of the film:

With so many NYC institutions dropping like flies, due to skyrocketing rent, one barber shop remains. Since 1939, Astor Barber has been cutting hair with pizzazz and is still one of NYC's most loved institutions. Get your hair cut from cradle to grave... literally! The Vezza family, their loyal customers and over 50 stylists working at Astor will show why this three-generation family-owned business attracts 'em all. It’s a story of endurance and a family, its employees and customers that stuck together against the odds in NYC.

Check out the trailer ...



The shop has been here since 1939. Jeremiah Moss wrote about it back in April 2012: "It's one of the last places in the East Village that still feels like the East Village. More than that, it still feels like New York City."

Continuing to enjoy scenes from the Christmas season along Avenue C



Avenue C at East Seventh Street...





... and at the former Mobil station on Avenue C at East Houston... the stockings remain up!

Saturday, December 26, 2015

The Lazy Llama Coffee Bar is the name of the Bluebird replacement on East 1st Street



We first noted back on Tuesday that the Bluebird Coffee Shop has closed on East First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

A sign on the door thanked customers and noted that new owners were taking over the space.

There's now a second sign on the door...



Dear customers,

We are working very hard to open shop after Christmas. We will be serving Stumptown Coffee... see you soon

And the name of the new venture is The Lazy Llama Coffee Bar...


Thailand Cafe now closed for renovations on 2nd Avenue



Meant to note this earlier in the week... looks like Thailand Cafe at 95 Second Ave. between East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street is sitting out the holiday season... the sign on the gate points to a renovation that will keep them closed through an unspecified date next month...



I also realized that I've never eaten here... if anyone wants to put in a good word for the place...

Start-up Christmas/holiday tree stands available to budding entrepreneurs



Several of the tree vendors left behind their unsold wares as Dec. 25 came and went (oh, how was your day?) ... seemed to be the most remaining product on East Houston between Essex and Norfolk...

And this tree got as far as across Essex Street...

Friday, December 25, 2015

Christmas dog day afternoon



Maddie from Avenue A shows off her skills on the First Park handball courts this afternoon...





Thanks to Katie from Avenue A for the photos...

Jimmy's holiday party is today at La Plaza Cultural



And if you're around today without any plans ... Jimmy's annual holiday party is today from noon to ??? at La Plaza Cultural, on the southwest corner of Avenue C and Ninth Street...



Per the Facebook invite: "There will be food and music and it is potluck. Bring firewood for the bonfire and grill if you can. Bring your musical instruments. It is rain or shine."

And not to be a jerk, but these elves working the mail room at La Plaza totally lost my packages ...

Thursday, December 24, 2015

[Updated] Sunset, xmas eve edition



Photo by Bobby Williams

Updated 12/25

And now equal time to the xmas morning sunrise, also via Bobby...



[Updated] Reader report: Partial building collapse on East 8th Street; unconfirmed report of a fatality



Several EVG readers have passed along word of a partial collapse at the under-renovation townhouse at 356 E. Eighth St. There is an unconfirmed report that one of the workers at the site was killed in the collapse that occurred earlier today, according to the super of a building on the block between Avenue C and Avenue D.

As of 2 p.m., a reader reported that the site is cordoned off... with building and police officials on hand.

There isn't any other information available at the moment. We'll update as necessary.

As previously reported, the vacant townhouse had been on and off the market in recent years (here and here). The most recent listing pitched the space for "high-end apartments or a luxury home."

Recently approved work permits show that the existing 4-level structure will receive two new floors and a mezzanine. Here's the all-cap DOB recap of the permit:

FILED HEREWITH PLANS AND APPLICATIONS TO ADD A SIX STORY HORIZONTAL REAR ENLARGEMENT AND A THREE STORY + MEZZANINE VERTICAL ENLARGEMENT WITH SIX FAMILIES TO AN EXISTING FOUR STORY, THREE FAMILY BUILDING.


[EVG photo from September]

The owner is an LLC with a Kew Gardens address, according to DOB paperwork.

Here's a photo of the house from 2014...



Updated 12/25

The city has issued a Full Vacate on the address... "due to stability concerns," according to the DOB website...



The Firemen's Garden next to the property has also been hit with a Full Vacate...





As for the report from a neighboring super about a worker fatality... we have not heard anything further about this. There is a candle at the scene now. Someone wrote "May the Lord be with you now and forever."



According to the DOB website, the FDNY ordered the inspection after a worker fell from the third to first floor.

Updated 12/27

There is a new chalk message outside the site ... along with more candles...



"May God Bless your soul eternally. Godspeed."

Updated 1/11

A reliable source says that the construction worker who died was a 33-year-old man from El Salvador, a married father of five. The accident happened around 11 a.m., and the man died later that afternoon at a hospital. According to the source, workers were demolishing the existing rear wall when a large chunk of masonry broke off and somehow landed on the scaffolding the was on and he fell.