Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Report: Landmarked East 13th Street building sells for $21.5 million



Back in August, 126-128 E. 13th St between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue and an adjacent property on East 12th Street arrived on the sales market.

And now, The Real Deal reports the property has a new owner: Investor Arthur Minerof's Milan Associates picked up the two buildings for $21.5 million, or $1,670 per square foot.

The dance studio Peridance has a lease through 2028 (with a 5-year option after that) while the 12th Street side houses the Alliance Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu martial arts studio.

Per The Real Deal: "Minerof ... is planning a long-term hold of the properties."

As for 126-128 E. 13th St. (as we've cut-and-pasted before), this is believed to be the last surviving horse and carriage auction mart building in New York City, according to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), who helped keep the structure from becoming a seven-story condo back in 2006.

In addition, the building served as the studio of artist Frank Stella, and during World War II was an assembly-line training center for women. (Read more about the building's history at the GVSHP website here.)

In May 2012, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to landmark the building. Several months before this vote, a State Supreme Court judge ordered the sale of the property after the condo developers lost a foreclosure suit, according to The Real Deal.

Image via Cushman & Wakefield

David Bowie tributes on the Bowery and Bond Street


The tributes to David Bowie continue...

In case you didn't read about this one yesterday... during the blizzard on Saturday night, a group of Bowie fans added David to the street sign on the Bowery at East Houston...



You can read more about this at Gothamist and BoweryBoogie.

And not everyone is a fan of the addition. Gawker said that "the tribute is bad and makes no sense."

Meanwhile, another tribute arrived last week on a gate along Bond Street between the Bowery and Lafayette...



You get two versions of Bowie, depending on the direction you're headed... the above shot (going to the west) is from Aladdin Sane ... and there's an older Bowie on the other side ... (this photo is much better than the one I took, so...)


This installation comes courtesy of Scott VanderVoort, who previously created a tribute to Steve Jobs on the same fence.

-----

...and you've likely seen these around... just as a recap...


[First Park]


[Outside the F stop on 2nd Avenue]


[Lafayette Street]

Monday, January 25, 2016

Car 5087, where are you?



While on patrol in Tompkins Square Park this morning, an NYPD cruiser got stuck in a snowbound area near the dog run...



A group of residents and fellow officers came together to assist...





EVG contributor Derek Berg noted that it took a little more than an hour to free the cruiser.

PYT has closed on the Bowery after just 3 months



PYT — "Home of America's Craaaziest Burgers" — debuted on the Bowery last October. And despite a lot of opening publicity, PYT has closed. For rent signs now hang on the window here at 334 Bowery between Great Jones and Bond.

To date, there isn't any mention of the closure on the PYT social media properties.

This was the first NYC outpost of the Philadelphia burger place known for some pretty wacky creations. Like the Cocoa Krispies Chicken Burger. They also offered the $64 "Basquiat Burger," a misguided effort at paying homage to the neighborhood that BoweryBoogie described as an example of "utter cluelessness"

The space may officially be a doomed location. It was home to Forcella Bowery for nearly three years until November 2014 … only to be replaced in December 2014 by the tapas-friendly Espoleta, which closed six months later to make way for Gia Trattoria. They quickly closed. Then PYT arrived.

The adjacent space, the former SRO Pizza, is also for lease.



Previously on EV Grieve:
PYT bringing its offbeat burger creations to the Bowery

Storytelling with B&H Dairy owners Fawzy and Ola Abdelwahed


[Image via Facebook]

B&H Dairy owners Fawzy and Ola Abdelwahed are among the guests tomorrow night in the new "What's Your Story?" series co-hosted by the East Village Community Coalition and Fourth Arts Block.

Here's a description of the "What's Your Story?" event:

It’ll be an evening of storytelling (similar in format to “The Moth”) by neighborhood artists, residents and business owners. Free and open to the public; free drinks for the first 30 guests, free food for everyone!

Other featured speakers include Sophie Lo from the Museum of Chinese in America and Alex Campaz from Works in Progress NYC.

It all happens tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan 26) from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at UNDER St. Mark's, 94 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Find more info here and here.

With a carrot nose, and two eyes made of lemons...


[Outside Cafe Mocha on 2nd Avenue via Derek Berg]

To be honest, the professionalism and craftsmanship of the now-defunct 5-foot snow penis in Tompkins Square Park took the spotlight away from some of the other more family-friendly snow creations that arrived after the blizzard... here are some of those snowpeople via Bobby Williams...







Feel free to leave your blistering critiques of the children's work in the comments!

[Updated] Woman has her face slashed on the 6 train at Bleecker Street this morning

The NYPD says a 71-year-old woman was slashed in the face while riding a southbound 6 train as it approached Bleecker Street around 7:15 a.m., according to published reports.

The injured woman, who told police that she did not know her attacker, was taken to Bellevue Hospital with a 4-inch laceration on the left side of her face.

The NYPD described the suspect as a light-skinned black or Hispanic 18-year-old man, wearing a red sweater and black sneakers, the Daily News reported. He reportedly fled the scene on board a southbound D train leaving the Broadway-Lafayette station.

Updated 1/26

Police released a sketch of the suspect... and noted that the attack happened on a downtown D train entering the Broadway-Lafayette station... and not the 6 arriving at Bleecker as originally reported in media outlets yesterday...



Gothamist has an update with video surveillance footage and relevant links here.

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.

Updated 1/27

Police arrested 21-year-old Damon Knowles, of Brooklyn, in the assault.



Morning slush hour



Astor Place outside the downtown 6 (though several other corners have a similar look).

A sign of peace at 118 E. 1st St.



Can't say for sure when this happened here at 118 E. First St. between Avenue A and First Avenue... someone painted a giant peace sign on the front of the building. (I don't recall seeing it on Friday afternoon. Anyone?)

In any event, might be a good time for a quick recap on what's happening here. As previously noted, the existing structure is being demolished to make room for a 9-story residential building. In total, there are seven units divided over 12,500 square feet of residential space, as NY Yimby first reported. (Given the size — about 1,800 square feet, NYY figures these will be condos.)

And it looks as if the city approved the plans back in November...



...while I haven't seen any renderings, perhaps these zoning diagrams on file with the city about what's to come will hold you over...



And as noted in a few previous posts about this address, No. 118 was home in the mid-1980s to Darinka, the performance space operated by Gary Ray that featured They Might Be Giants as its house band.

Previously on EV Grieve:
118 E. 1st St. arrives on the market with so many possibilities, and air rights

118 E. 1st. St. will yield to a new 9-floor residential building

Demolition of 118 E. 1st St. begins to make way for 9-story residential building

Coming soon signage arrives at Mamoun's new St. Mark's Place home



Just noting the signage is up at 30 St. Mark's Place, where Mamoun's Falafel will be relocating in the months ahead.

As we first reported on Dec. 30, the 45-year-old falafel joint is moving from its longtime home at No. 22 here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue for double the space.

Red & Gold Boil closed at No. 30 in early October.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Mamoun's Falafel is moving on St. Mark's Place

More about the Mamoun's Falafel move on St. Mark's Place

The $20k penthouses that rose from the ZP Auto Repair Shop on Lafayette

[EVG photo from 2011]

We've been following along with the developments at the corner of Lafayette and Great Jones for seven or so years now.

The corner was previously home to ZP Auto Repair Shop, who was able to secure a new space in 2011 in Brooklyn. (Jeremiah Moss noted at Vanishing New York that, despite brisk business, the shop lost its lease and closed last October.)

Now the rentals in the new building at 11 Great Jones (aka 372 Lafayette) are officially on the market.


[Photo from Friday]

Curbed had the first look last week:

The 11 apartments ... start at $11,750/month for a 2BR/2.5BA, and ask up to $21,000/month for a 3BR/4.5BA penthouse with a private terrace. "11 Great Jones Street was conceived as a response to the demand for high-end rental residences in the sought-after neighborhood," Noam Shemel, founder of developer Kano Properties, said in a statement.







Here are more details via broker Corcoran re: the penthouses:

The two Duplex Penthouses are among the finest in Downtown Manhattan, with soaring 11-foot High Ceilings and generous Private Terraces with Custom Outdoor Kitchens. PH-A covers 1,900 square feet with 850 square feet of outdoor space spread over Two Terraces; the Upper Roof Terrace has an amazing Outdoor Kitchen area with a Wolf Gas Grill and Marble Wet Bar, while a Lower Terrace has a Weber Grill.

Both penthouses are comprised of three Bedrooms and three Baths, along with two half-Baths and a Lounge Area with a Custom Wet Bar. A direct Keyed-Elevator opens to these spectacular Lofts featuring only the finest of Custom Finishes, including 7” White Oak Floors, Floor-to-Ceiling Windows with bright, Eastern Exposures, and Extra High 10’5” – 11’ Ceilings. Each Designer Kitchen is fully-equipped with Gaggenau Appliances, including 5-burner Cooktops and Dishwashers, REXA Custom Cabinetry and Carrara Marble backsplashes and countertops individually hand-cut in Italy.

Back to 2009...



Previously on EV Grieve:
New skyline for Lafayette Street?

Another corner still primed to fall on NoHo

Demolition starts on former garage and lot; new developments coming for Lafayette Street

Looking at the future luxurious corners of Lafayette Street

Alumni Day: Cycle 19 of the Centre-fuge Public Art Project is underway



Work has started on the next round for the rotating outdoor gallery/construction trailer here along East First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Here's more info via the Centre-Fuge website:

Cycle 19 is a collaborative effort by 10 artists, all of whom participated in a cycle on the trailer during 2015.

Artists represented in Cycle 19 are Andy Golub, Below Key, Hiss, Key Detail & Yu-Baba, Leon Rainbow, Pawn, Ramiro Davaro-Comas, Rez Shoalin, Smurfo, Vince Ballentine & Zero Productivity.

Established in 2012, Centre-fuge Public Art Project has re-purposed the DOT trailer into a rotating street gallery. Anyone has the opportunity to submit a mural proposal, in the form of a sketch, for an upcoming Cycle to be selected by our curators.

The goal of Centre-fuge is not only to re-beautify an incredible city, but also to encourage the community to express itself in a public forum, to alleviate and inspire, to express and reclaim. The project is dedicated in memory of friend, creator and Lower East Side neighbor, Mike Hamm. A recreation of Mike Hamm’s work is permanently installed on the eastern face of the trailer.

Once complete (the snow threw off their schedule), this will be on view through late April.