RIP Lorraine Levine

Don't freak out, but I died on Sunday. You can now reach me via the Ouija board. Will do hauntings for a buck. ❤️u pic.twitter.com/4x01HWTYGT

— Lorraine Levine (@ask_lorraine) May 23, 2016

Lorraine Levine, an East Village resident who received attention in recent years for her frank, expletive-filled advice videos, died on Sunday. She was 87. (Previous features on Levine listed her age as 89.)

"She was hilarious and full of life," said Maristella Innocenti, a friend of Levine's. "She never gave up on life, even at her age. She always talked about the future. For me it was an honor to have met her and to have had a chance to be part of her life."

Her neighbor, filmmaker Robert La Force, launched a video series in early 2015 titled "Ask My Neighbor Lorraine," in which she answered questions about how to meet men and offered hangover cures.

She also tried her hand at social media.

First tweet and I already fucking hate Twitter!

— Lorraine Levine (@ask_lorraine) April 30, 2015

A video sampling ... (a little NSFW) ...



The Brooklyn native was married five times, according to an interview with her last year at MTV.com. She was a former antiques dealer.

From an interview last August with DNAinfo: "The accidental comedienne, who grew up in Brighton Beach in a Russian Jewish family of entertainers, thinks of herself as, above all, a 'very cultured, sophisticated lady ... who says fuck often.'"

There is a memorial for Levine Wednesday morning at 11 at Thomas C. Montera, Inc. Funeral Home on Westchester Avenue in the Bronx.

At a later date, Innocenti said that friends and family will get together at Levine's East Fifth Street apartment, where she lived since 1978. "We will have a party in her backyard. That's what she would've loved."

Icon Realty hires a chief safety officer

[445 E. 9th St.]

On May 9, tenants from 445 E. Ninth St. and 57 Second Ave. joined up with community organizations and local elected officials to speak out against landlord Icon Realty.

In a statement, the Cooper Square Committee called for an end to Icon's "alleged campaign of construction-as-harassment against tenants and to meet the tenants’ demands."

Per the statement:

If Icon refuses to do so, the tenants – represented by the Urban Justice Center and Manhattan Legal Services – will file lawsuits against the landlord.

For years now, Icon Realty has been aggressively displacing rent-regulated tenants to make room for ultra-high rent paying tenants. Like other bad-acting landlords, Icon Realty has exposed tenants to hazardous health and safety threats, brought dozens of lawsuits against tenants, and continue to deny tenants their right to live in these buildings without fear of extreme tactics to remove them.

Icon tenants in gut-renovation hell aren't limited to these two addresses. For example, in March 2015, the tenants association at 128 Second Ave. filed an HP Action for Repairs and Services against Icon Realty in NYC Housing Court.

Yesterday, Icon principals Terrence Lowenberg and Todd Cohen announced that their company has hired a chief safety officer to oversee the construction and renovation work in Icon buildings.

According to a news release, the chief safety officer "will have a daily presence in Icon buildings during any construction/renovation phase to make certain that all applicable protocols are observed."

Here's more from the statement:

“After hearing from several tenant leaders in the last few weeks, Icon has added a new position of Building Safety Manager, to serve as an internal safety coordinator and tenant safety advocate. Icon has hired Felipe Olmeta to serve in that role. He started on Monday, May 16th. Felipe has a breadth of experience in the field of construction and construction protocols. Felipe will report directly to both of us and have vast discretion for tenant safey and as an advocate for tenants. Felipe will focus on 445 east 9th and 57 2nd Avenue at first, before expanding his role to other buildings.”

And:

Icon Realty Management is committed to building safety for its tenants and workers. As Icon works on repairs and renovations in several of its buildings, we have taken tenants concerns seriously and want to ensure that safety is the top priority.

Icon spokesperson Chris Coffey told us that all construction work in the two buildings has ceased for now. "We are looking at the tenants' concerns ... and work has been stopped while we evaluate those questions," he said.

New floors on the way up at 222 E. 7th St.

222 E. Seventh St. is starting to grow. After gutting the building between Avenue B and Avenue C, workers are now adding two new floors to the former 4-story residence...


[The view from 6th Street]

As previously noted, the new building will house eight condos.


[Photo via Dave on 7th]

We haven't seen any details about pricing or amenities for the new homes just yet.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Villa Capri condos coming to Seventh Street

[Updated] Work underway on the new residential conversion on East 7th Street

Bringing down 222 E. 7th St. brick by brick

[The old-looking No. 222]

East Village is No. 1 in Lower Manhattan for garbage, noise and rodent complaints, study finds

[EVG file photo of 6th Street]

DNAInfo has the results of a RentHop study tracking 311 complaints in six Lower Manhattan neighborhoods.

Here's how this neighborhood stacks up vs. No. 2 Chinatown:

East Village: 680.3 garbage complaints and 572.9 rodent complaints per square mile, 75.5 noise complaints per 1,000 residents

Chinatown: 486.5 garbage complaints and 344.2 rodent complaints per square mile, 47.8 noise complaints per 1,000 residents

You can find an interactive map and more results from the survey here.

Vandalized MCA mural blacked out

As previously reported, someone destroyed the MCA tribute mural on East Seventh Street near First Avenue on Saturday night.

@cramcept, who created the previous two MCA murals, painted over this yesterday. He says that he will eventually create something new featuring MCA here.

The mural arrived last May 4, on the third anniversary of Adam Yauch's death. Yauch, aka MCA of the Beastie Boys, died of cancer on May 4 2012.

Previously on EV Grieve:
There's a new MCA in town

Someone vandalized the MCA mural on 7th Street

Pommes Frites opens today in new home on MacDougal Street

[Image via Twitter]

Former East Village mainstay Pommes Frites, destroyed in the deadly Second Avenue gas explosion in March 2015, reopened today in its new MacDougal Street location.

The New York Times spoke with tearful co-owner Suzanne Levinson:

“Reopening is extremely poignant for me,” Ms. Levinson said. “But it doesn’t change what happened. The day that the building collapsed, I did not mourn the loss of my business. I haven’t mourned the loss of my business for one day. It’s just a business.” She added: “When I think about what happened to us, I don’t think about us, I think about what happened to the young men.”

She bowed her head and her shoulders heaved with sobs. The two young men, Mr. Locón and Mr. Figueroa, she said, are constantly on her mind.

“I don’t want it to be an opening with fireworks and fanfare,” she continued after a pause. “We are insignificant compared to the impact this had, compared to what happened to the families and loved ones. We’re French fries.”

They will be running with limited staff and hours for the next two weeks, per the Pommes Frites Facebook page.

The new location is at 128 MacDougal St. between Bleecker and West Third Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
With space too expensive in the East Village, Pommes Frites will reopen on MacDougal Street

After 98 years in business, Surma Books & Music is closing

Jeremiah Moss first heard the rumor on Friday ... and DNAinfo confirmed the news later: Surma Books & Music will close some time next month at 11 E. Seventh St. after 98 years in business. The Ukrainian speciality shop's third-generation owner, Markian Surmach, declined to comment further.


[Photo from 2013 by James Maher]

We featured Surmach in an Out and About in the East Village in May 2013. Here's an excerpt of that interview:

This store was founded in 1918 by my grandfather, who came through Ellis Island in 1910. The neighborhood was very different. It was very Eastern European and more solidly Ukrainian than it is now.

I was born in this neighborhood and lived here until I was 6, when we moved up to Rockland Country. And I moved back here when I was 18 for college and such. But because of the shop here and being a child in this family you were recruited to work every free moment that you had. Me and my sister spent almost every weekend in the shop growing up. So I was always in and out of the city most of the time.

I moved to Colorado for 15 years and lived a very different life. The objective of some people who live here is how to get out, so I moved and then I was brought back in again. My dad passed away [in 2003] and I got the call, “Okay, what are we gonna do now,” so I came back. I live a couple blocks away now. Moving back has been an adjustment but I love New York and I love the shop.

In the beginning the store catered to those who didn’t speak a lick of English, to help them assimilate into New York life. My grandfather was catering to people who needed virtually everything. It was like a PC Richards, in a way. The old Gramophone that’s up in the corner of the shop was cutting-edge technology at the time. That’s what he was selling. He even sold washing machines. You name it and he was selling it — everything that people needed to live in New York.

The Surmach family owns the building here near Cooper Square. It is rumored to be in the process of being sold.

Previously

103 St. Mark's Place sells for $11.5 million

The 6-story building between Avenue A and First Avenue has a new owner.

An EVG reader who lives in the building learned of the transaction via a note under the door on Friday.

The Commercial Observer noted the deal Friday afternoon ... reporting that Allied XVII LLC (with a Great Neck, N.Y., address) paid Adria Realty Investment Association $11.5 million.

Per the Observer:

The building ... has 21 apartments and two retail spaces, both occupied by a dentist’s office, with a lease expiring next year. Only six of the residential units are free-market and the rest are rent-stablized with average monthly rents of approximately $1,500.

“The seller is a local businessman who has owned the building since the early 1980s,” said Lev Mavashev of Alpha Realty, who represented the buyer in the deal. “He is planning for retirement and decided to capitalize in this market. The buyer is a local private investor with numerous holdings in the area. When I called the buyer on this deal, he immediately recognized the opportunity to purchase a building with plenty of unrealized potential and jumped on it, especially in this location.”

Mr. Mavashev said the buyer wanted to “add to his holdings in the area.”

The dental office had been on the rental market. The photo here is from March...


[Photo by Steven]

The dentist, Elan Kauffman, had been accused of alleged insurance fraud in this Fox 5 report from 2011.

The other retail tenant is Take Care, a natural healing center and spa with locations in Malibu and Montauk (per their website).

Meanwhile, per the EVG reader on the new owner: "I haven't heard or read anything either positive or negative about them, so I'm not sure if need to be in a state of super alarm (you know, start getting money orders for my rent checks and having them sent certified to the LLC's address — a P.O. Box! — etc.)"

Sixth Street Community Center CSA launches for the summer/fall

Here are more details via the Center's website:

The Sixth Street CSA has been in existence since 1996, and our members consistently have access to some of the freshest and best quality produce available. From June to November, our partner farms, Hepworth Farms in Ulster County, New York, and Catalpa Ridge Farm in Sussex County, New Jersey, provide over 200 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

At Sixth Street, we believe that all neighborhood residents should have access to fresh, organic, local produce, regardless of their level of income. Our CSA operates on a sliding scale model, and member fees are determined based on the income level of your household. This sliding scale model is made possible in part thanks to a generous grant from Wholesome Wave.

CSA pick-ups are every Tuesday from 5pm-9pm at Sixth Street Community Center, located at 638 E Sixth Street between Avenue B and C.

Learn more about how to take part by visiting the Center's website or calling (212) 677-1863.

The retail space at 20 Avenue A no longer looks like a bank branch

The Chase branch at 20 Avenue A closed last Nov. 12.

Workers have now gutted the ground-floor interior at the corner of East Second Street... showing the space's potential for a new tenant...



As we noted a few weeks ago, there's a new broker for the space. (The third by our count since last June.)

According to the listing at Winick Realty Group, all uses will be considered. The rent is available upon request. Anyway, it's a big space — 4,300 square feet on the ground floor. (There's also a basement.)

Back in February, the listing via Town featured renderings showing two wine bars in this location.

The 62-unit apartment building here exchanged hands in the summer of 2014 for $26.2 million.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The retail-wine bar possibilities for the former Chase space on Avenue A and East 2nd Street

Week in Grieview

[Members of the Alice Farley Dance Theater during the Dance Parade yesterday. Photo by Steven]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Residents at 444 E. 13th St. will receive a $1 million settlement over claims of harassment by Raphael Toledano (Wednesday)

ABC No Rio set to close next month ahead of demoliton for new building (Tuesday)

First look at the all-new 26 Avenue B (Monday)

Report: Mount Sinai Beth Israel "will cut its inpatient capacity" (Wednesday)

A new sign on Avenue A from Donald J. Trump, President of the United States (Monday ... Saturday)

The return of the night heron! (Wednesday)

Spotting Christo and Dora's latest offspring in Tompkins Square Park (Thursday)

Will a car-free 14th Street make life more bearable during (and after) the L train renovations? (Tuesday)

The Tang bringing Chinese noodles and wraps to 120 First Ave. (Thursday)

The Ignited Lighter Project at Exit9 (Tuesday)

Rolled ice cream for Seventh Street (Wednesday)

The Neptune's new breakfast special to go on First Avenue (Friday)

On this Urban Etiquette Sign, grease is the word (Wednesday)

Reader report: Have you heard Verizon test its emergency generator on Second Avenue? (Friday)

Cava Grill coming soon to Fourth Avenue (Monday)

Guaco Taco now open on East Second Street (Friday)

Small kitchen fire temporarily closes McDonald's on First Avenue (Thursday)

Historic 25 Bleecker St. one step closer to being demolished for a 6-story building (Thursday)

Thor Equities is the new owner of Patricia Field's former retail condo on the Bowery (Wednesday)

Donald Trump dog poop bags (Tuesday)

Someone vandalized the MCA mural on 7th Street

This happened last night next to Abraco on Seventh Street near First Avenue...



The mural, by @cramcept, arrived last May 4, on the third anniversary of Adam Yauch's death. Yauch, aka MCA of the Beastie Boys, died of cancer on May 4 2012. He was 47.

Updated 10:43 a.m.

Here is a photo of the person who may have been responsible...


[Photo via @porchettaskittles]

Previously on EV Grieve:
There's a new MCA in town

Noted

And who delivered the medical school cadavers to the alumni dinner? Outside Tompkins Square Library on East 10th Street this morning...

At DanceFest 2016

DanceFest photos in Tompkins Square Park today by EVG contributor Stacie Joy...

Report: NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force investigating fake Donald Trump sign

[Photo on Avenue from Monday by Karts]

That fake sign declaring that "Muslims Must Wear Identity Jackets At All Times" and signed by "Donald J. Trump, President of the United States" lasted about two days on Avenue A near East Ninth Street before someone removed it.

There was also one on Orchard Street, per The Lo-Down ... as well as other parts of the city.

Last night, WABC 7 reported the following:

The NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is investigating a potential ant-Muslim harassment case after an outrageous sign was discovered on the Upper East Side.

Police are looking for the suspect who hung the sign that read, "Muslims must wear identity jackets at all times," and placed a yellow jacket next to it.

The sign was found near the ambassador of Yemen's residence.

Police have canvassed the area with signs asking for any help identifying who put that sign there.

Added: H/T to anonymous commenter on the previous post!

[Updated] Nara is missing

Nara is a black-and-tan Shiba Inu. Last seen last night heading east on Houston at Second Avenue... details on the flyer.

Updated 5/22

There is now a $1,000 reward for her return...



H/T Steven

Updated 5/23

Unfortunately, there isn't a happy ending to this search. The Daily News has the tragic story.

How about that moon last night

...Early evening from East Sixth Street...


[EVG]

...and later from a telescope...


[Grant Shaffer]

Feelings

Wednesday marked the 36th year since Ian Curtis, the frontman of Joy Division, committed suicide at age 23...

"Disorder" remains one of my favorite Joy Division tracks.

EV Grieve Etc.: Remembering an early Beastie Boy; migrating birds in Tompkins Square Park

[Moving art on 7th Street via Derek Berg]

RIP John Berry, an original member of the Beastie Boys (Flaming Pablum)

A look at a Section 8 renovation at Campos Plaza (WNYC ... Daily News)

A man in his 30s was fatally struck by a Q train at Union Square (Gothamist)

Steve Cannon — "keeper of the multicultural flame and flavor of downtown Bohemia" (Off the Grid)

A look at the potential fallout from an L train shutdown (The Real Deal)

Spring migration in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography)

Activities around the LES this weekend (The Lo-Down)

From May 18, 1977: WPIX commentator does NOT appreciate the Sex Pistols (Dangerous Minds)

NYC's best thrift stores (Gothamist)

Will Rivington Street condo debacle topple de Blasio? (The Village Voice)

The rise and fall of Fairway (The Commercial Observer)

The affordable housing crisis (Curbed)

More J.G. Ballard and the Cinema this weekend (Anthology Film Archives)

C&C Prosperity Dumpling on Clinton Street appears to be closed (BoweryBoogie)

... and tomorrow...Houston and Second Avenue ...

A photo posted by Peter Missing (@petermissing) on May 19, 2016 at 3:25pm PDT

The 10th Annual Dance Parade & Festival is tomorrow (Saturday)

Several readers have asked about the Dance Parade ... and subsequent Dancefest in Tompkins Square Park tomorrow given the iffy weather forecast.

Here's the latest missive from the organizers, edited for length, via the EVG inbox...

Finally — the world's largest display of diversity, Dance Parade kicks off at 1 pm THIS SATURDAY!!

For many it will be the best day of the year — despite the rainy forecast. Why? Because there are few places on earth where so many proudly express, through movement, their freedom and artistry. Dance Parade serves to keep dance alive in New York City!

We will shine bright even if it's a little wet here and there ... don't let the excuse of some grey skies keep you away. Come out and join the fun ....

Greg Miller
Executive Director
Dance Parade, Inc.

The parade starts at 1 p.m. at 21st and Broadway (see the map above)... and eventually heads east on St. Mark's Place into Tompkins Square Park for DanceFest, which runs from 3-7 p.m. You may find all sorts of pertinent info at the Dance Parade website.


[Photo from DanceFest 2015 by Stacie Joy]

Reader report: Have you heard Verizon test its emergency generator on 2nd Avenue?

Via the EVG inbox...

I live on Second Avenue between 11th and 12th streets. Verizon has been testing their emergency generator on the roof of 204 Second Ave., between 12th and 13th streets for the past year or so. The noise from the generator is incredibly loud, like the sound of a jet engine at close range.

The DEP told me that by code, the emergency generator must be tested at least once a month. The tests last an hour or more each time. There is no predictability when the testing will take place. Verizon has turned the generator on very early Sunday mornings, and sometimes in the middle of the day. On Monday, the generator came on twice, once at 5:30 in the morning, which woke us and other neighbors up, and then again around noon. Wednesday night at 7 just as we sat down for dinner, the generator went on again for about an hour.

I have taken to calling the DEP each time the generator goes on and they have offered to come to my apartment to monitor the noise level. The DEP needs to take a reading when the generator is on and when it is off to get the ambient sound level in the apartment. If there is more than a 10db difference between the two then we have a case and Verizon could be ordered to do some sound attenuation to bring the generator noise below the threshold set by code.

The DEP has been very helpful, however so far we have been unsuccessful in getting them here with a meter while the generator is running. I have taken readings on an iPhone app and have found the sound of the generator to be over 10db from the ambient noise level in our apartment.

I am wondering if anyone else in the neighborhood has taken any action. Thanks for your help!

The noise is coming from the metal chimney shown here on the south side of the Verizon Building roof.

The Neptune's new breakfast special to go on 1st Avenue

The always-reliable Neptune diner on First Avenue has a new to-go breakfast special... and in this era of the $12 breakfast bagel, it's a good deal... an EVG reader shared this photo, which points out the specials, such as two eggs on a roll with coffee or tea for $2.50. The priciest item appears to be a Western omelette with cheese on a roll for $4.50.

The Neptune is at 194 First Ave. between East 11th Street and East 12th Street.

Guaco Taco now open on East 2nd Street

A quick post to note that Guaco Taco just opened on Second Street, just east of First Avenue. We didn't have time to stop to check out the place... but at first glance, it looks inviting... for now they're advertising a breakfast burrito with potatoes for $3.50, from open to close...



We'll stop by again later to try some food... there's some staunch quick-serve competition not too far away with the Tacos Morelos Cart on Avenue A and Second Street ... and Downtown Bakery on First Avenue between Fourth Street and First Street... and El Diablito Taqueria on East Third Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Icon Realty providing free space for Celebrity Catwalk events this weekend

[152 2nd Ave. via the Icon website]

Via the EVG inbox... edited for length...

Icon Realty Management is working with Celebrity Catwalk to provide free space for adoption and fundraising events at available retail spaces in New York City.

Celebrity Catwalk works with local animal rescue organizations to help with fundraising and awareness of national animal rescue. Celebrities include Jamie Foxx, Nicole Richie, Heather Mills and Melissa Rivers.

Icon Realty Management owns and manages over 1,800 apartment units located throughout the City and also has retail space. Icon feels it is important to give back to the NYC community and local neighborhoods and helping save lives of NYC homeless pets is a great addition to our community work.

“We are excited to work with Celebrity Catwalk to provide free space for adoption and fundraising events for animals,” said Terrence Lowenberg, Principal at Icon. “We are committed to giving back to the neighborhoods we are part of in as many different ways as we can and we are proud to do that here.”

Celebrity Catwalk will be hosting a weekend of events called “Paws in the City” including a “Pink Paws for a Cause” reception on May 20th 7-9 pm with an on-site veterinarian doing cancer pet screenings, which will take place at an Icon building. Additionally, on May 21st 5-8pm there will be the “Paws and PJ’s” event, which will also be held at an Icon building.

According to the release, Icon has been working with Celebrity Catwalk for the past four years.

Both events will take place in the vacant storefront at 152 Second Ave. between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street. The dress code for tomorrow evening's event is "Pajamas, Sleepwear, Loungewear."

Find more details on the events here.

As DNAinfo put it in their coverage of this: "The events will occur as Icon’s reputation in the neighborhood stands on shaky ground."

Stabilizing NYC, a coalition of City-funded tenant advocates and neighborhood organizations, named Icon Realty as one of the city's worst landlords last year.

During a rally outside two Icon properties on May 9, Cooper Square Committee and several elected officials accused Icon of employing "construction-as-harassment" tactics to displace rent-stabilized tenants.

Previously

Look at the babies!

In recent days, at least two of Christo and Dora's 3-week-old offspring started poking their heads out from the duplex nest in Tompkins Square Park (inside the Eighth Street entrance off Avenue B) ... Bobby Williams got a few photos of the nestlings ...









Sources say that Christo and Dora's other six kids feel as if this 2016 class is pretty spoiled growing up in a large nest in an actual tree as opposed to a stupid air conditioner, like in 2014 and 2015.

Goggla has some great shots of the nest and Christo and Dora being red-tailed hawks right here.