[Updated] Report of a death in Tompkins Square Park

[Photo by Steven]

A body was found early this morning near the southeast entrance of Tompkins Square Park on Avenue B and Seventh Street. Readers reported seeing emergency responders as early as 7 a.m.

An emergency responder at the scene told EVG correspondent Steven that the male victim was found next to a tree. There's conflicting information at the moment about the man. One worker said that the man appeared to be at least 50 while another Park regular said that he was a younger traveler. A drug overdose is suspected as the cause of death.

We'll update when there's more information to share.

Updated 7/6

According to Downtown Manhattan Patch, the man was 52 years old. The medical examiner was still waiting for results and investigating the cause of death, a spokesperson from the ME's office said today.

Dorian Grey Gallery space is for rent on 9th Street

The now-empty gallery space is on the market here on Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue...



Per the Sinvin listing:

Ground Level: 650 SF (approx)
Storage Basement: 300 SF
Description:
• Eclectic and busy East Village street close to Tompkins Square Park
• Perfect for either boutique retail or restaurant
• Landlord will vent and install grease trap for food tenant

The asking rent is $7,900.

Gallery rep Molua Muldown told us last month that they were unable to come to terms on a lease with the new landlord (Benchmark Real Estate Group). Dorian Gray has a pop-up gallery space in Watermill for the summer.

Thanks to Steven for the photos

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Dorian Grey Gallery saying goodbye to 9th Street

Looking at the new residential building for 13th Street and University Place

We haven't walked by the now-demolished stretch of University Place between 12th Street and 13th Street in some time.

So we hadn't seen the rendering for the new residential building for the corner space at 13th Street...



New York Yimby previously reported that a Adjmi Architects-designed seven-story residential building (condos) is in the works... good for one unit per floor on top of 3,200 square feet of ground-floor retail.

The corner previously housed University Place Gourmet as well as several adjacent storefronts, including Bennie Louie Chinese Laundry.

Developer Ranger Properties paid $22 million for the lot, and sent everyone packing.

Meanwhile, next door, 23 floors of condos are going up at the former home of Bowlmor Lanes and several other businesses. That building will be called 21E12.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Building that houses Bowlmor Lanes will convert to condos, like everywhere else around here

76-year-old Bowlmor Lanes closes for good today

Bowlmor says goodbye

Bowlmor Lanes replacement: 23-floor residential building

Major changes coming to University Place and East 13th Street

How about some more condos for University Place

Here's what's left of the block of University Place that once housed Bowlmor Lanes


[13th and University in June 2015]

Santos Variety Shop is closing on Avenue C

The shop at 77 Avenue C between Fifth Street and Sixth Street will be closing on July 25.

The owner, who is 80, has decided to retire... so for the next few weeks, Santos, which sells various religious artifacts, such as candles, statues and incense, will be unloading its inventory...







The circa-1950s canisters of Saint Mark powdered incense were going for $1.50.

La Contrada now open on 2nd Avenue

Several readers, including Vinny & O, who shared these photos, have noted that La Contrada is now open for service on Second Avenue at Fourth Street...





The place is billed as an "Italian American Restaurant and Caterers" ...



The restaurant menu shows a variety of standard pasta, meat and fish offerings...


[Click on image to go big]

They also offer takeout items ... as well as juices and smoothies...



The hours are 8 a.m. to midnight daily.

This southwest corner of Second Avenue and Fourth Street was formerly home to Contrada, Calliope and Belcourt. For now, the Contrada signage remains up.

Please ket us know if you have tried La Contrada.

Today we celebrate our Independence Day!

[Photo on East 3rd Street from last night]

As you know the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks are on the East River this year/tonight...

Here are some articles with the rundown on places to watch the fireworks, street closures, etc., at Gothamist ... Curbed ... DNAinfo ... The Village Voice

And there are parking restrictions...

Be mindful of Parking Restrictions for the 4TH, No Parking both sides of E 14 from 1 Ave to Ave C, Sun & Mon #NYPD pic.twitter.com/l5SI7lr4aJ

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) July 2, 2016

...and the 9th Precinct offers this...

Wishing everyone a safe #July4th weekend including all our furry friends. #NYPD @NYPDPaws pic.twitter.com/e7UXfnysGS

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) July 2, 2016

Lastly, a reminder not to have any breath-holding contents.

Otherwise, enjoy, be safe ...

Noted

As we reported back on Friday, the owners of the Kati Roll Company are looking to open their fourth Manhattan location at 128 Second Ave., former home of the Stage, according to preliminary paperwork filed ahead of this month's CB3-SLA committee meeting.

This spray-painted message arrived overnight here between St. Mark's Place and Seventh Street...





The Stage, the 35-year-old lunch counter, closed March 30, 2015. Stage owner Roman Diakun had been involved in an ongoing legal/eviction battle with landlord Icon Realty. (You can read that background here.)

Reps for the the well-liked Kati Roll Company will be seeking a beer-wine license during the CB3-SLA committee meeting next Monday, July 11.

Neighborhood alert for the 3rd Street Rose Snipper

These are flyers up on Third Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... for an alleged flower thief.

Thanks to EVG reader Marjorie for the photo

Week in Grieview

[Photo on 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

The Sock Man is returning to St. Mark's Place (Thursday)

Gregg Singer secures $44 million loan to continue plan to convert former PS 64 into a dorm (Monday)

Report: East Village man admits to three sexual assaults in 2014 (Wednesday)

At ABC No Rio's last HardCore/Punk Matinee on Rivington Street (for now) (Tuesday)

Reverend Jen departs her LES home, and Troll Museum (Tuesday)

A visit to former East Village mainstay Love Saves the Day in New Hope, Pa. (Thursday)

Brooklyn's Dun-Well Doughnuts opening an outpost on St. Marks's Place (Wednesday)

Out and About with Colette Pwakah (Wednesday)

Another freeze on 1-year leases for rent-stabilized apartments; 2% for 2-year leases (Tuesday)

Other Music storefront is for rent (Monday)

The Kati Roll Company vying for the Stage space on Second Avenue (Friday)

Thursday Kitchen will serve Korean tapas on East Ninth Street (Tuesday)

235 Second Ave. being pitched for bar-restaurant usage (Wednesday)

B4 has closed on East Fourth Street (Thursday)

Final 4Knots Festival lineup unveiled (Monday)

Checking out the penthouse at THREE99 — "unlike any apartment ever in the East Village" (Friday)

Sweetgreen opening on Astor Place (Thursday)

The black crowned night heron continues to come out at... night in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

Two more sidewalk cafe choices for Second Avenue (Tuesday)

Films in Tompkins return this summer with "Do the Right Thing," "True Romance" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (Friday)

A reminder about breath-holding contests (Wednesday)

Osaka Grub bringing Japanese fast food to the Essex Street Market (Tuesday)

Full reveal at Icon Realty's 327 E. Ninth St. (Tuesday)

Inch by inch, 190 Bowery is losing its graffiti (Thursday)

Lost and found PSA from Tompkins Square Park

Paging William A. Morton...

Photo via Steven

A LinkNYC kiosk for 2nd Avenue, and several false alarms

The influx of LinkNYC kiosks continues... as one of the [free] Wi-Fi hotspots has been installed on Second Avenue and East 12th Street... the first that we recall seeing in the neighborhood outside the Third Avenue corridor at and above 14th Street.

The city is reportedly expected to have more than 500 kiosks up and running by the end of this month... with a goal of 7,500, each replacing a pre-existing phone booth, over the next eight years.

Meanwhile, given the anticipated arrival of more kiosks, there has been some confusion... none of these are LinkNYC kiosks, just FYI...

Summer lovin'

A moment on St. Mark's Place via Derek Berg

Steiner East Village wooing L train Steinhangers

Developer Douglas Steiner has unveiled an ad campaign at the L train stop on Third Avenue and 14th Street for his residences — aka Steiner East Village ...



The 7-story, 82-unit building at 438 E. 12th St. features homes starting at $1.1 million... with the 4-bedroom penthouse with 1,364 square feet of terraces that's asking $11.25 million. Something nice to think about while pondering which L train shutdown scenario MTA officials will choose...



Meanwhile, forgot to note that the 438-branded astroturf arrived on the corner of Avenue A and 11th Street a few weeks back...

INCOMING

A look downtown earlier this evening via Bobby Williams...

A 'Grey' area

NYC-based punk/blues band Boss Hog have an EP out today — their first new material in 16 years. (Brood X, their fourth full-length album, is due later this year.)

The track here is for the first single, "Wichita Grey."

Eat Prey Love

Christo and Dora's red-tailed hawk family has been quite active in Tompkins Square Park this summer.

After getting the flying down, the three hawk kids are now trying to learn to hunt then prepare their own meals without any parental assistance.

As Goggla notes in her latest hawk dispatch:

Christo had left a rat in a tree just a few feet away and the fledgling began eating it on a branch. They must learn everything, including how to hang onto their food while balancing on a branch. The fledglings haven't quite mastered this and have been dropping their food regularly.

So Christo swooped in and picked up the dropped meal, as these photos from Goggla show...





Per Goggla:

In the end, Christo took the rat to a bigger tree with a wider branch that made it easier for his kid to eat and not drop the food. I admired how Christo performed this task so patiently, keeping a close eye on his kid and making sure it ate enough.

Head on over to her website here for more photos and red-tailed hawk observations.

EV Grieve Etc.: Skateboarders of the East Village; Ludlow Guitars heading to Brooklyn

[Outside St. Dymphna's via Derek Berg]

Ludlow Guitars relocating to Brooklyn after 17 years on the LES (The Lo-Down)

Mayor de Blasio signs into law a City Council bill that places time limits on the public review process associated with creating new New York City landmarks (Curbed)

Last look at Other Music (A.V. Club) while Yoko Ono says goodbye to the store (Rolling Stone)

DA indicts three Lower East Side drug traffickers, including kingpin (Patch)

Documentary in the works on Jerry the Peddler (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Photos: Skateboarders of the East Village (Vogue)

The former horse auction house on East 13th Street (Ephemeral New York)

The ceaselessly experimental cinema of Ken Jacobs (Anthology Film Archives)

Former tenant suing Steve Croman (The Real Deal)

Graphic designer Jose Guizar's take on the windows of NYC (Wired)

What's next for Three Lives Books? (Off the Grid)

Some history of Weegee's New York (BoweryBoogie)

Kellogg's is opening a cereal cafe in Times Square (Gothamist)

...and in case you were headed to the excellent Sunny's Florist on Second Avenue and Sixth Street this weekend for flowers...


[Photo by James Maher]

...Edward and Sunny are on a holiday break...

The late, great Stage slated to become the Kati Roll Company on 2nd Avenue

The owners of the Kati Roll Company have designs on opening their fourth Manhattan location at 128 Second Ave., former home of the Stage, according to preliminary paperwork filed ahead of this month's CB3-SLA committee meeting.

The restaurant serves the namesake Kati roll, made by wrapping warm paratha, a type of Indian flat bread, around a variety of meats, vegetables and cheese. The Kati Roll Company currently has locations on MacDougal Street and in Midtown East and Midtown West. (There's also a branch in London.)

According to the CB3 website, the owners will be seeking a beer-wine license for the Second Avenue space between St. Mark's Place and Seventh Street.

The Stage, the 35-year-old lunch counter, closed March 30, 2015. Stage owner Roman Diakun had been involved in an ongoing legal/eviction battle with landlord Icon Realty. You can read that background here.

The July CB3-SLA committee meeting is July 11 at 6:30 p.m., in the Thelma Burdick Community Room - 10 Stanton St. at the Bowery.

Checking out the penthouse at THREE99 — 'unlike any apartment ever in the East Village'

[Rendering of 399 E. 8th St.]

At the beginning of June, we wrote about sales at the new 9-story residential building at 399 E. Eighth St. near Avenue D (awkwardly called THREE99OnEIGHTH).

As noted, a one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit starts at $685,000 ... a two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit asks $960,000... the top home here is the three-bedroom, three-bathroom penthouse at $4.9 million.

And that penthouse arrived on the market this week. Here is the description via Streeteasy:

Enter into your new home through the elevator opening right into your living room. Featuring a light ash finish floors throughout, this Penthouse at THREE99 is all you can ask for. Floor to ceiling window in your living room over looks one of two private terrace. The unobstructed views of the downtown skyline are enough to fill any NYC eye candy appetite.

The open kitchen features smooth and sexy stone counter tops with a classic subway tile back splash. Filled with a Viking Range and vented microwave, is just the beginning of what this exquisite kitchen has to offer. A SubZero fridge freezer combo nicely complements the 100 bottle ZubZero wine rack. Off the kitchen you have two split bedrooms, one featuring a private bath and entry to the South facing terrace work perfect as a guest bedroom. The King sized Master Suite features a North facing terrace with midtown views of the Empire State and Chrysler building. The Glass walled bath is nothing like you have seen before. Featuring hand picked Italian Carrarra marble walls and floors, you are able to relax in your whirlpool/Jacuzzi soaking tub after a long day or just to unwind with a glass of wine.

This Penthouse is unlike any apartment ever in the East Village. Having access to all of the amenities of the building including, Gym, Billiards lounge, Pet Spa, Roof Deck, Bike Storage, Cold Storage, Package receiving room, and a Honeywell Virtual Doorman which is monitored by a live agent who can do everything from guide deliveries to the locked cold storage and package receiving room.

And some photos via broker Citi Habitats (the copy didn't mention the cool Con Ed power plant views):











There's an open house by appointment only on Sunday afternoon.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Meanwhile, before we christen Avenue D the next Greenpoint...

Stalled development site on Eighth Street and Avenue D asking $5.2 million

Films in Tompkins return this summer with 'Do the Right Thing,' 'True Romance'

The Films in Tompkins series starts next Thursday with a free screening of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (this was on the slate in 2013, but rain canceled the screening) ... and concluding on Aug. 11 with the Leo-Claire version of "Romeo and Juliet."

Live music will precede each film as in previous years.

You can head to the Films in Tompkins Facebook page for more details.

Tompkins Square Park will also host two great French films on July 22 and July 29 as part of the Films on the Green series.