September opening for the 2nd Avenue Tompkins Square Bagels zapped by an electrical issue

Christopher Pugliese hoped to have the Second Avenue location of Tompkins Square Bagels open by the end of this month.

Unfortunately, the building's main power line had other ideas.

Yesterday, Con Ed arrived to dig up the street and sidewalk in front of the storefront at 184 Second Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street...





"There's an electrical problem with the main line to the building. Nothing to do with my work," Pugliese said last evening. "However, they will need to dig up my space to replace it. Hopefully it's quick."

He's now shooting for an Oct. 15 opening.

Previously on EV Grieve:
After 40-plus years, Open Pantry looks to be closing on 2nd Avenue

Rumor: Tompkins Square Bagels possibly opening a 2nd East Village location on 2nd Avenue

A 2nd Tompkins Square Bagels confirmed for former Open Pantry space on 2nd Avenue

Tompkins Square Bagels makes it official on 2nd Avenue

The new Tompkins Square Bagels will arrive before the 2nd Avenue subway

September opening expected for the 2nd Avenue location of Tompkins Square Bagels

The Lenin statue, safe for now on a Norfolk Street rooftop

[Lenin's descent last week. Photo by Peter Marciano via]

It has been a week now since workers removed the 18-foot statue of Lenin from atop Red Square on East Houston.

The New York Times yesterday reported that the statue would be on display again within about a month on a Norfolk Street building a 1/2 block from Red Square.

Per the Times:

A construction manager who supervised the removal of the statue from Red Square on Sept. 19 said it had spent that night in a crane yard in Jamaica, Queens. The manager, Peter Marciano, arranged for it to be brought the next day to its new location atop a walk-up on Norfolk Street because he thought it would be safer there.

“I didn’t want him to be held hostage or kidnapped,” Mr. Marciano said. “Those stairs will deter all but the most severe fans of communism.”

The article is accompanied by two cool photos of the statue lying on the roof with Red Square in the background.

Updated 6/9

Lenin has returned. Photos here.

Previously.

1st meeting for the 11th Street Block Association is tomorrow (Wednesday!) night

There's a new block association in town... the 11th Street Block Association launches tomorrow evening at 7 with a kick-off meeting at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery.

As the sign shows, this is for residents who live on the street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. Perhaps the group will be discussing what's transpiring a block away with the incoming Moxy hotel.

Community Board 3 has a listing of other block associations/community groups in the area right here.

Sales launch for Ben Shaoul's Katz's-dwarfing new condos

At the moment, the incoming 11-story condoplex on East Houston at Orchard is a foundation pit in progress...



In any event, sales got underway last week, as Curbed first noted.

Available condos, browsable on 196 Orchard’s website, range from a 551-square-foot studio asking $1.075 million to a 2,069-square-foot three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom apartment seeking $5.995 million. Prices were initially poised to start off at just shy of $1 million, but it appears that the base price has been upped. With that, the average price per square foot in the building becomes a robust $2,325.

The building’s distinct setback design, a creation of project architect Ismael Leyva, will allow for some apartments to have private terraces. New renderings for the development that came along with the listings show off expansive outdoor spaces that give way to well-appointed interiors designed by Incorporated and decked out in finishes like Nero Marquina marble for the backsplashes, concrete on the nine- to twelve-foot ceilings, and blackened nickel on the kitchen sink faucets and hoses. Heck, the kitchens even have Franke in-sink garbage disposals — the real dream.

And here are two renderings via Curbed...





The condoplex features 94 units... as well as a three-level Equinox (gym) in the retail space.



On Friday, The Real Deal reported that Ben Shaoul’s Magnum Real Estate Group secured a $195 million senior construction loan from SL Green Realty for this development.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Making way for Ben Shaoul's new retail-residential complex on East Houston

Katz's is now the last business on East Houston between Ludlow and Orchard

Send a salami to your boy next door in the condo

Side streets, milled and paved

Been meaning to note this. On Friday night, workers paved parts of Seventh Street between First Avenue and Avenue B, as the above photo by Dave on 7th shows.

With this, I believe, all the freshly milled side street have their new asphalt...

Except for Seventh Street between Avenue B and Avenue C, where Con Ed has been replacing gas mains...



...and an aerial view showing the work, which is expected to be completed some time this week, per a worker...


[Photo by John Iz]

And from earlier this month... a photo showing the eerily beautiful sight of a freshly milled East Fifth Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square....


[Photo by Louise on Fifth Street]

Watch the presidential debate tonight in the great outdoors at La Plaza Cultural

La Plaza Cultural will be showing the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tonight at 9 on a big screen.

The community garden is on the southwest corner of Avenue C and Ninth Street.

No charge. And the entertainment will be provided.

Part of a community garden reappears 16 years after it was bulldozed

Landscaping aside, work appears to be complete in the long-empty lot between Eastville Gardens and 115 Avenue C (between Eighth Street and Seventh Street)...





Eastville Gardens, the apartment complex whose official address is 342 E. Eighth St., is on the site once occupied by El Jardin de la Esperanza. The 22-year-old garden was bulldozed in February 2000 to make way for the new development, which includes 20 percent affordable housing. (The New York Times weighed in with an editorial on this here.)

The site was the scene of several protests in early 2000. Dozens of people were arrested, as the Times reported.

Some people have said that there was an agreement between the developer, Donald Capoccia of BFC Partners, and local residents that this plot of land would be returned for use as a community garden.

L+M Development Partners bought the 7-story building that includes the Associated for $44 million back in the spring.

In any event, this Sunrise Garden is named for Carmen Pabon... (You can watch a video biography of Pabon here.)



No word at the moment when (or if) this will actually be open to the public (or maybe just Eastville residents?) ... and who was ultimately responsible for making this happen. Capoccia? L+M Development Partners? Local elected officials?

Thanks to Dave on 7th for the photos!

3 years later, school emerging from behind scaffolding and construction netting

Just noting the recent reveal of part of The Neighborhood School and PS 63 on Third Street between Avenue A and First Avenue ...



Back in June, everyone finally had enough of the three-year renovation via the aptly named Kafka Construction company ... Per The Neighborhood School’s Health and Safety Committee:

The co-located elementary schools ... have been covered in scaffolding for three years, blocking all sunlight into classrooms and creating a neighborhood eyesore. Local politicians and DOE officials who toured the schools in early June were shocked by what they found. It was enough to compel the SCA to take “drastic actions,” firing Kafka and bringing in an emergency contractor to complete the work, ostensibly by the beginning of next school year.

While there's still work to do, parents have said they are pleased by some progress...



The Department of Education are reportedly banning the Queens-based Kafka from taking new jobs with the city School Construction Authority for at least two years.

Kin Asian Bistro is now Carma East on 6th Street

The signage for Carma East went up on Friday here at 507 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B... A neighbor says that this will be an EV outpost of Carma Asian Tapas on Carmine Street in the West Village.

Per the Carma website:

Two Chinese friends, one with a degree in Modern Philosophy and one in Medicine, now longtime New Yorkers, had a dream of two cultures merged into one. The result is CARMA: Eastern cuisine with Western flare. CARMA is a Modern Asian Tapas Wine Bar in the West Village, celebrating a contemporary approach to traditional Asian recipes. With a signature menu created by the Executive Chef of Taiwan’s renowned DinTai Fung, we feature healthy, balanced, and locally sourced ingredients.

CARMA provides a destination dining experience that not only stimulates your palate but visually engages you in an exhibition of works from a diverse group of artists, from the Hudson revivalists to Beijing’s 798.

The previous establishment here, Kin Asian Bistro, which took over from Purple Ginger, had been open for less than a year.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Purple Ginger out, Kin Asian Bistro is in on East 6th Street

14th Street looks so bare without the large, blue IHOP awning

One week in now on the Great IHOP Makeover of 2016...and we're in the Remove the Awning phase here on East 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

IHOP signage on the front window promises "A whole new IHOP is coming." So that means awning too.

This location closed for the renovations on Sept. 18.

When the building that houses IHOP hit the market in 2012, the listing noted that the pancakers were paying $45,833 per month on a 10-year lease. This location opened on Sept. 20, 2011.

And a fond look back at the awning ...


[2012]

Maison Kayser now open on Broadway

Maison Kayser opened its doors this past Thursday at 841 Broadway between 13th Street and 14th Street.

Some EVG commenters were pleased by this arrival in the previous post on MK. For example

Stefa said...
For those skeptics out there who fear the mediocrity of another "chain" bakery, please let me assure you that Maison Kayser is THE BEST Bakery in NYC. And, for those Olive Bread aficionados, be prepared for a doughy, soft, delicious, loaded with olives piece of heaven like you've NEVER tasted in your entire life. I'm delighted that Maison Kayser's will be closer to me in the East Village. MAGNIFIQUE!!

And!

marjorie said...
i'm psyched. my mom is OBSESSED with this place and i've never been. i'm down with lots of delicious bakeries! Breads is definitely TO DIE FOR: expensive as heck, but not kidding around. it's no fro-yo in a hoof, is what i'm saying.

And!

cmarrtyy said...
I'm in... Bring on the lbs.

This location marks the ninth now in the the city for the French bakery/bistro.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Maison Kayser opening a large bakery on 13th and Broadway (25 comments)

Week in Grieview

[Pumpkins arrived at St. Mark's Market this past week]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Lenin comes down at Red Square (Tuesday ... Wednesday)

Avenue A bomb scare turned out to be broken glass and golf balls (Tuesday)

Fire at Caracas Arepa Bar (Thursday)

Former Guayoyo space for rent on First Avenue (Tuesday)

There will be several eating-drinking choices at the incoming Moxy hotel on 11th Street (Wednesday)

Last call for the Edge (Friday)

The demolition of the Mobil station and full NEKST reveal (Monday)

The former St. Mark's Bookshop is for rent (Monday)

A few more details on the Swiss Institute's move to the East Village (Friday)

JuiceGo opening in the former Cadillac's Castle storefront on Ninth Street (Thursday)

A change in the crap sold at street fairs (Thursday)

130 St. Mark's Place is for rent (Monday)

Desi Galli, now with beer and wine on Avenue B (Wednesday)

Croman case adjourned until November (Tuesday)

About the Stop Work Order at the incoming Taberna 97 on St. Mark's Place (Thursday)

Checking in on 500 and 524 E. 14th St., where work looks to be past the halfway mark (Monday)

East Village IHOP closed for "makeover" (Wednesday)

Activity in the long-empty lot that will house 8 floors of condos on First Avenue (Tuesday)

Activity at Nino's, and brown-paper action on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

Fresno II Gourmet Deli signage arrives on Third Street and Avenue C (Tuesday)

255 E. Houston St. is disappearing (Friday)

... and a moment with Christo in Tompkins Square Park via Steven...

Peephole dioramas arrive at the Ninth Street Community Garden & Park

Peephole Season is upon us at the Ninth Street Community Garden & Park on the northeast corner of Avenue C... as East Village artist J. Kathleen White has assembled her 2016 collection of dioramas.



The theme: "Spot-Ons" ... (photos via Bobby Williams)...









White started creating and sharing the dioramas along the fence here in 2005. Here's her work from 2015 ... 2014 ... 2013 ... 2012 ... and 2011....

As for community gardens... today is Day 2 of the LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival. Check out the list of activities for today here.

Nirvana's night in the East Village that helped get Nevermind made

Nirvana's Nevermind turned 25 today, as you may have heard.

So on this occasion... revisiting this... Nirvana made their New York City debut on July 18, 1989, as part of the New Music Seminar at the Pyramid Club on Avenue A. They played a 14-song set. Other bands on the bill that night were Cows, God Bullies, Lonely Moans and Surgery.

This iteration of the band included Chad Channing on drums and second guitarist Jason Everman, who later got the boot. (This was Everman's last show with Nirvava, who were so disappointed in how they played, they reportedly cancelled their remaining four gigs on this East Coast tour. )

This article by Joe D'Angelo and Jem Aswad published on MTV.com provides more background about the performance at the Pyramid Club:

According to Michael Azerrad's "Come As You Are," the definitive Nirvana tome, the show was far from the band's best: One of the few who refrained from heckling was Iggy Pop, who cheered encouragingly. After the show, bassist Krist Novoselic was so disappointed with the performance that he shaved his head bald in the Jersey City, New Jersey, motel where the band was staying.

Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon stitched in the story's silver lining by bringing A&R man Gary Gersh to the show. Not long after, Gersh signed the band to Geffen Records, the company that released Nirvana's breakthrough, Nevermind, in 1991, after Moore convinced Kurt Cobain that signing to a major label wasn't selling out.

Looking at 'easily the most amazing terraced duplex penthouse on the East Village market'

The listing for a 1-bedroom unit at 509 E. Sixth St. says that this is "easily the most amazing terraced duplex penthouse on the East Village market."

Here's more on the condo rental between Avenue A and Avenue B via Streeteasy:

The entry fifth floor level features an open kitchen with a sleek black-stone island and natural-wood cabinetry, a spa-like Calacatta marble bathroom with Waterworks fittings, and a large living area surrounded by 5 oversized windows with east, west and north exposures. The upper level offers the master-bedroom with ample closet space, a skylight & remote-controlled shades, and a 275sf adjoining terrace to enjoy panoramic views of the midtown skyline, including Empire State, Chrysler, and New York Life buildings.

Citi Habitats is the broker. Find the details here. There's an open house today and tomorrow from 3-4 (p.m.).

And the price? $5,995 per month.

Noted

First tag/graffiti/vandalization/etc. that we recall seeing on a LinkNYC kiosk since their arrival... this one is outside Gem Spa on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

Or perhaps someone didn't have paper and was just jotting down some notes while making a phone call from the kiosk.

Cool, free chair without bugs of the day

Spotted earlier this evening on Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue... as the sign says, "Cool free chair! Clean — no bugs"...



Photos via Steven

TV land

Never Enough, the debut record from the East Village-based Public Access T.V., is out next week. They're playing (a sold-out) Mercury Lounge tonight... and later this fall heading to Europe for some shows.

The video above, featuring some familiar places (the Grassroots, Lucy's, etc.), is for "In Love and Alone."

Other Music alum will be part of the Brooklyn Flea Record Fair tomorrow (Saturday!)

Fans of the late Other Music take note...

A photo posted by Other Music (@other_music) on Sep 23, 2016 at 10:38am PDT

The Brooklyn Flea Record Fair is tomorrow (Saturday) from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in East River Park. Details here.

EV Grieve Etc.: Avenue A's transformation; thoughts on Lenin's departure

[Photo in Tompkins Square Park via Derek Berg]

The transformation of Avenue A (Curbed)

Michael Rosen on the fall of Lenin (Bloomberg ... previously)

Plans for 25-story building on Essex Crossing Site 4 unveiled (The Lo-Down)

People seem to like those giant dumplings at Drunken Dumpling on First Avenue (Eater)

Some Bowery-of-1985 pics (Flaming Pablum)

History of the former Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Anshe Ungarn on Seventh Street (Off the Grid)

Christo and Dora outtakes from this past hawk season (Laura Goggin Photography)

A talk with the proprietor of Downtown Yarns on Avenue A as the NYC Yarn Crawl commences (DNAinfo)

Upcoming: 50th anniversary screening of "The Chelsea Girls" (Anthology Film Archives)

The Lower East Side Pickle Day is Sunday on Orchard Street (Official site)

"American Psycho" at midnight this weekend (Sunshine Cinema)

"Ubu Rex" through Oct. 9 at the Theater for the New City on First Avenue (SmartTix)

For fans of diners... on 23rd Street near First Avenue, East Side Café has been rebranded the East Side Diner (Town & Village)

...and remnants of, perhaps, the first smashed pumpkin of the season this morning on St. Mark's Place...