Week in Grieview

[Surge pricing on 7th Street via Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Renovation work starting at the landmarked Father's Heart Ministry on 11th Street (Tuesday)

The Citibank branch on Avenue A is closing (Wednesday)

The new Beth Israel hospital for the East Village looks pretty bonkers (Tuesday) ... and more details on the new hospital (Thursday)

Report: City claims immunity in tenant lawsuit over deadly Second Avenue gas explosion (Wednesday)

(More) Condos coming soon on East Houston (Monday)

Remembering a fallen NYPD officer on the anniversary of his death (Thursday)

Out and About with Michelle Candela (Wednesday)

Local elected officials asked to vacate longtime office space on First Avenue and 14th Street (Thursday)

New renderings for the luxury building that will hang out over the Mercury Lounge (Thursday)

Report: Babu Ji on Avenue B hit with another wage lawsuit (Thursday)

Empire Biscuit has until Tuesday to pay the back rent or surrender their Avenue A storefront (Wednesday)

Dieci closes on 10th Street (Monday)

More Mosaic light poles arrive at Astor Place (Wednesday)

East Village Burritos & Bar and Apna Masala haven't been open lately (Monday)

Heights + Kenchi moves to 9th Street (Tuesday)

Being Steve Croman (Friday)

Mandolino Pizza coming soon to 13th Street (Monday)

Coming to 'Merica (Friday)

Joey Pepperoni looking closed on First Avenue (Wednesday)

Getting piggy with it: Found heart outside the Riis Houses not human, ME says (Thursday)

Did you lose this cat?

An EVG reader notes that this "very friendly, not feral" cat was found in El Sol Brillante community garden (next to the playground) on 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B this morning...



The cat is there now... I also have a phone number if you need to contact someone about the cat...

The Hunter’s Supermoon, night 1

[Photo by Liza Béar]

Let's start by cutting-n-pasting this from National Geographic:

Sky-watchers are gearing up for a super-sized moon that will grace evening skies this Sunday, October 16. The so-called hunter’s supermoon kicks off a lunar triple play happening over the next three months.

This month’s full moon is known in North America as the hunter’s moon. That’s because in other months, the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day, while the October moon rises just 30 minutes later. That offers more light overall during a 24-hour day, which came in handy for traditional hunters. [Ed note: Does this make it paleo?]

This month, the moon officially reaches its full phase at 12:23 a.m. ET (4:23 UT) on October 16, which means that the lunar disk will appear nearly equally full on the nights of both October 15 and 16.

Last night, local astronomy buff Felton Davis has his rig up on Second Avenue and East Houston for some supermoon viewing (top photo) ... Unfortunately, not everyone was buying it...

@evgrieve obviously fake. #fakemoonlanding #fuckthefullmoon #bullshit pic.twitter.com/W7hb4m6EWs

— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) October 16, 2016

And here's a view after midnight and early this morning via Bobby Williams...





And why does the moon have a reddish tint in the first photo from Bobby? It's sunburnt, of course.

Via EarthSky:

"The orange colour of a moon near the horizon is a true physical effect. It stems from the fact that - when you look toward the horizon - you are looking through a greater thickness of Earth’s atmosphere than when you gaze up and overhead.

The atmosphere scatters blue light - that’s why the sky looks blue. The greater thickness of atmosphere in the direction of a horizon scatters blue light most effectively, but it lets red light pass through to your eyes. So a full moon near the horizon — any full moon near the horizon — takes on a yellow or orange or reddish hue."

Anyway, keep an eye up tonight... and I believe Felton will be back on Second Avenue and East Houston for a better view...

Open Cemetery Weekend

This weekend, the New York City Marble Cemetery on Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... and the New York Marble Cemetery on Second Avenue between Second Street and Third Street are open to the public from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This is part of the whole Open House New York Weekend happening this, uh, weekend. Here's a PDF of the program for the stuff you don't need reservations for to enter.

Noted

For some closure on the Green Day Stencil Promo on Historical Church Fence story... the ad was wiped off/painted over yesterday... not sure who did the work (a church employee? Green Day Idiot Team Nation member? Bille Joe Armstrong?)...



As previously noted, several readers sent emails to the Green Day Idiot Team Nation last week after the ad for the band's 12th album showed up along the fence outside St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery ... and someone there responded:

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, it is being removed immediately.
Thank You,
Green Day - Idiot Nation Team

It took five days, but it was removed here on 11th Street and Second Avenue. Coincidentally (or not!), there is an empty six-pack of Corona at the exact spot where the ads were...

In the City

Revisiting Spacemen 3's "Big City" (Everybody I Know Can Be Found Here)" from 1991.

Card-carrying members of the band likely already know that bassist Will Carruthers has a new memoir out now titled "Playing the Bass With Three Left Hands."

EV Grieve Etc.: Honk tomorrow in Tompkins Square Park; 'Halloween' midnight at the Sunshine

[Photo in Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg]

Check out the schedule for "HONK for More Gardens!," happening tomorrow in local community gardens ... then 3-6 p.m. in Tompkins Square Park (Official Facebook event page)

A review of iO Tillett Wright’s debut memoir, "Darling Days," about growing up in the East Village in the 1980s (The New York Times)

Tim Lawrence on his new book, "Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor: 1980-1983" (The Wall Street Journal, subscription required)

Man picked up on 6th Street and Avenue D reportedly leaves gun stolen from a South Carolina police department in back seat of cab (DNAinfo)

More about Carmen’s Community Garden on Avenue C (Off the Grid ... previously)


[At East Village Hats on 7th Street via Derek Berg]

Children's Museum nixes move to Essex Crossing (Crain's)

Thoughts on the new Astor Place (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

The campaign for "In Case of Shooting" posters seen in EV stores (Campaign US)

Actress Cynthia Nixon buys East Village co-op (Curbed)

Hansky talks about his new VR exhibit opening tonight on Grand Street (The Lo-Down)

The original "Halloween" plays midnight at the Sunshine this weekend (Official site)

"Ramones Way" Street renaming set for Oct. 30 in Queens (DNAinfo)

Bird watching in the city (Laura Goggin Photography)

And on that topic, EVG reader Michael had a visitor in Stuy Town yesterday — a peregrine falcon...

Being Steve Croman

BloombergBusinessweek files a long read on landlord/developer Steve Croman this week titled "Out With the Poor, In With the Rich: The Landlord’s Guide to Gentrifying NYC."

He is under criminal indictment for mortgage fraud in a probe launched by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

In addition, a civil suit alleges that Croman "directs an illegal operation that wields harassment, coercion, and fraud to force rent-regulated tenants out of their apartments and convert their apartments into highly profitable market-rate units."

Croman's criminal case was adjourned until Nov. 29 ... while the civil case begins on Nov. 1.

Croman's real-estate empire includes 47 buildings with 617 units in the East Village. As previously noted, Croman owns more buildings in the East Village than any other landlord.

The Bloomberg piece contains plenty of horror stories from past and present Croman tenants.

“He would remove the washing machines. He tried to close the front door, make everybody go through the basement. He got rid of the super, then had a part-time super who did nothing.”

Even his new market-rate tenants suffer, such as this NYU student:

Sophia offers me a brief tour of her formerly stabilized apartment, telling me that she and her two roommates pay $5,200 a month. The place has been renovated—wine fridge, exposed brick—but in a cheapo, Ikea way. “We just had someone in here fixing our shower,” she says. “We have a dishwasher that’s been broken since we’ve moved in here. Our dryer is, like, total shit. You have to dry things, like, 84 times.” She pauses. “The joke is: Everything is pretty, but nothing actually works.”

And a few more passages:

Sending one landlord to jail won’t turn New York City into a communitarian paradise, of course, but the attorney general’s case against Croman suggests the state is at least eager for gentrification to proceed legally. The city has maintained rent freezes on one-year leases for stabilized apartments for the past few years. Mayor Bill de Blasio has called for the repeal of decontrol loopholes (though the state is unlikely to accede), and has overhauled the zoning code so that many new residential buildings must set aside units for low-income tenants.

But such measures will do nothing to address the seemingly inexhaustible demand from privileged undergrads and Qatari emirs for well-appointed New York apartments. There are those, too, who argue that rent control isn’t worth fighting for—that it artificially suppresses housing supply and creates opportunities for bad actors such as Croman to exploit.

One lawyer who represented tenants in a lawsuit against Croman speculates that the landlord will spend time in prison: “I’m thinking he’s probably going to be living upstate somewhere. They really want to make an example out of him.”

Read the full piece here.

The Earth School Annual Fall Fair is tomorrow (Saturday!)

The Earth School on Sixth Street at Avenue B is holding one of its main fundraising events of the year tomorrow in Tompkins Square Park.

Here are details via the EVG inbox...

Venue address: Tompkins Square Park (Corner of 10th Street and Avenue A)
Event dates and times: Saturday, October 15, 2016, noon-5PM
Event prices: Admission is free, tickets for games and food range from $1 to $5
Age range: Kids 2-12 years, with adult book and rummage sale — and food for all.

This annual celebration of fall is eclectic, has a slew of activities for kids and adults. Kids experience the Amazing Maze, snap a wacky portrait at the photo booth, do a Halloween costume mix-n-match, decorate pumpkins, meet the Pocket Lady with pockets full of mystery prizes, play games including mini-golf, bean bag toss, basketball, get face painting ...

Adults get to taste international foods, both homemade and from East Village restaurants, buy unique gifts, and score a bargain at the extensive rummage and used book sale. Funds raised go to The Earth School.

And some photos from previous years...





Photos by Sonia Benson

This 'Merica life

As you may have heard, there's a restaurant opening at 320 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue called 'Merica.

And tomorrow (Saturday!) is the soft opening day for what has been described as a "tongue-in-cheek eatery" featuring décor that includes rifles, NASCAR memorabilia and non-stop episodes of the Chuck Norris vehicle "Walker, Texas Ranger."

The co-founders are Radoune Eljaouhari, who ran Zerza, the previous restaurant in this space ... and Zach Neil, who operates the Tim Burton-themed Beetle House a few doors away as well as Stay Classy, the bar for Will Ferrell fans on Rivington Street.

Here's part of a preview via DNAinfo:

'Merica ... seeks to transport its diners to the "real America" — or at least a humorous, tongue-in-cheek homage to the idea, decked out with race cars and guns, inspired in part by ... Neil's childhood.

"I spent a good portion of my childhood around the backwood, hillbilly southern Republicans, then I moved to Pennsylvania and grew up next to a NASCAR race track," said Neil.

"Imagine the Donald Trump campaign coming to your backyard every weekend."

And here's a look at the menu via the 'Merica Facebook page...




[Click for a bigger view]

As you will see, there isn't any Kanye West-inspired food. An earlier Facebook post noted an item called The Kanye, described as "fried breast of chicken tossed in a creamy rich Alfredo sauce served over mashed potatoes, then drizzled with a balsamic glaze. This meal will make you into a famous rapper and a narcissistic asshole. Ask the public to loan you the money for it. $18."

Neil told Patch.com that "The Kanye" wasn’t really going to be on the menu, that it was just posted on Facebook for "shock value." (That post was later removed.)

Gothamist summed up the whole operation this way:

It's basically this Simpsons clip of the time they went to Japan's Americatown, but somehow real life ...

Previously on EV Grieve:
USA today: 'Merica NYC signage arrives (69 comments)

Zerza has closed on 6th Street; Merica NYC coming soon? (17 comments)

About 'Merica NYC (40 comments)

Thursday's parting shot

Heading all the way back to today's spectacular sunrise...photo from the East Village via James and Karla Murray...

Remembering a fallen NYPD officer on the anniversary of his death

A ceremony took place today in honor of slain NYPD officer Brian Jones at PSA 4 on Avenue C at Eighth Street.

Jones, a four-year veteran Housing Bureau officer, who was assigned to PSA 4, was off duty when he was shot and killed while attempting to interview a robbery suspect on Oct. 13, 1996. He was 27.

Today, his family members were on hand for a plaque dedication ceremony at PSA 4...

We Will Never Forget! #NYPD PO Brian "HuggyBear" Jones EOW-10/13/96 -20yrs ago today he gave the ultimate sacrifice protecting our city pic.twitter.com/GEUhfAqcSg

— Chief James Secreto (@NYPDHousing) October 13, 2016

Thanks to EVG reader Peter D. for the photos.

Blink Fitness getting its Blink Fitness signage on Avenue A

Happening this afternoon at 98 Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

Signs on the windows say the gym is opening at the end of this month. Workers started carting in the machinery on Monday.

Memberships are, for now, $20 a month with $1 annual membership ... the membership office arrived at 115 Avenue A in late August. You can stop by Ray's for fried Oreos afterwards.

The gym is the retail tenant in Ben Shaoul's surrounding condoplex.

And two more shots via Peter Brownscombe...

Getting piggy with it: Found heart outside the Riis Houses not human, ME says

Last week, a man found what was thought to be a human heart in the trash outside the Riis Houses on the FDR Drive and Sixth Street.

After an examination, the New York City Medical Examiner’s office deemed that it was not a human heart, and likely belonged to a pig, DNAinfo reported yesterday.

Why was a pig's heart in the trash? One theory, per DNA:

Pig hearts are sometimes used in cooking — they are featured in recipes that are part of the Paleo diet and are the staple ingredient of several international dishes, including Bopis in the Philippines and Sarapatel in Brazil.

More details on the incoming Mount Sinai Downtown Beth Israel

[The current 2nd Avenue and 14th Street complex]

On Tuesday, thanks to NY1, we all got the first look at the rendering for what will be known as Mount Sinai Downtown Beth Israel.

Now that some time has passed, perhaps you're ready to embrace this bold [not bonkers] new hospital for the 21st century on the southeast corner of 14th Street and Second Avenue.

Let's try this again...



There's also another rendering via the architectural firm Perkins Eastman showing the view from Second Avenue looking to the south...


[Click for the glorious details]

Let's head to the news release about all this...

Mount Sinai Health System today announced the start of the first phase of its more than $500 million project to rebuild Mount Sinai Beth Israel (MSBI) and create the new “Mount Sinai Downtown” network. The new network will consist of expanded and renovated outpatient facilities at three major sites with more than 35 operating and procedure rooms and an extensive network of 16 physician practice locations with more than 600 doctors, stretching from the East River to the Hudson River below 34th Street.



Mount Sinai Downtown will be anchored by a new MSBI inpatient hospital with operating and procedure rooms, and a brand-new state-of-the-art Emergency Department, located two blocks from the current MSBI. The transformation will also include a major investment to support and strengthen behavioral health services, anchored at MSBI’s Bernstein Pavilion. Additionally, the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai will be preserved and enhanced. MSBI hospital will remain open throughout this transformation, and its emergency room will remain open until the new ED is fully operational at the new hospital.

And here are a few more areas of interest via the release...

Construction of the new Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital
Mount Sinai has retained renowned architectural firm Perkins Eastman, which will oversee design work and construction of Mount Sinai’s brand-new hospital. Pending approvals, demolition at the new site is expected to begin early 2017 with construction beginning early 2018. Construction of the new hospital is expected to be complete by late 2020. Initial renderings are available to the press and public, while the finalized renderings and designs are still being completed.

Workforce Impacts
Earlier this year, Mount Sinai confirmed that all union employees affected by the transformation would be offered other union opportunities at equal pay. Thus far, more than 150 Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital employees have accepted new opportunities at the same or higher salaries with the Mount Sinai Health System. Mount Sinai continues to work closely with all employees during this transformation.

There's an FAQ page as well that may have details you are looking for related to health care and the construction.

The hospital's downsizing from its campus on First Avenue and 16th Street is part of a $550 million plan by Beth Israel’s owner to adapt to a changing health care landscape where patients are using more outpatient care and spending less time in hospitals, as previously reported.

Mount Sinai will sell the 16th Street property, which has a current reported value of $600 million. Beth Israel reportedly has outstanding debt of some $200 million.

Kenneth Davis, president and chief executive officer of Mount Sinai Health System, previously stated that it will cost $250 million to build the new hospital and upgrade the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary on Second Avenue and 14th Street.

Previously

New renderings for the luxury building that will hang out over the Mercury Lounge

[EVG file photo]

Plans to build on top of the former Provident Loan Society building on the southwest corner of Houston and Essex continue to move forward.

CityRealty got the first look at the latest set of renderings for the space...


[Renderings by Rogers Partners via CityRealty]

Per CityRealty:

The Lower East Side development will rise within an existing two-story building from 1912 to become a 120-foot-tall structure with 12 stories. The building's design features an irregularly stacked structure that will cantilever on floors 8 though 12, hovering over a neighboring residential property.

And!

Rogers Partners drew design inspiration from former tenant Jasper Johns’ number series, pieces that allow the abstract and concrete qualities of the numbers to build upon one another and create an ultimate sense of structure. The design for 225 East Houston Street finds rhythm in both its bold form, unique rising mass, and distinct arrangement of windows. The new 44,000-square-foot building will host 38 residential apartments, as well as a rooftop terrace, a fitness center...

[Renderings by Rogers Partners via CityRealty]

As BoweryBoogie previously reported, building owners Elsa and Dunnie Lai have lived in the neighborhood for 40 years, and say that they are committed to restoring the original structure. Head over to BB for that background as well as some of the community opposition to such a tumor-like structure here.

After a string of random clubs and concepts through the past 20 years, the Provident Loan Society Building is currently unoccupied. The space served as a studio for Johns in the 1970s.

Local elected officials asked to vacate longtime office space on First Avenue and 14th Street

Commercial tenants who rented office space on the upper floors of 237 First Ave. at 14th Street were recently served with notices to vacate.

Among other tenants, the building served as an office for City Council District 2 and Council Member Rosie Mendez as well as Brian Kavanagh, a member of the New York State Assembly representing the 74th Assembly District.

Here's more about the situation via Mendez's blog:

The district office located at 237 First Ave., at the Southwest corner of East 14th Street, was also home to previous Councilwoman Margarita Lopez. Every commercial tenant in the tenant was served with a notice to vacate, including Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, who now occupies an office at 250 Broadway full-time.

This suite on the fifth floor has served constituents of Council District 2 for over two decades and the displacement is sad news to Team Rosie. As the exhausting search for affordable space within the boundaries of the district continues, we will be sure to keep you updated when we relocate.

Mendez's team is for now working out of 250 Broadway.

A rep for Mendez's office said, "I'm not sure why we were all asked to vacate but I can only guess they want to hike up the prices."

There are work permits on file for each of the floors here via landlord Noam Management Group.

Report: Babu Ji on Avenue B hit with another wage lawsuit

Earlier this month, news broke via Eater that the owners of Babu Ji, the popular Indian restaurant on Avenue B at 11th Street, settled a wage lawsuit with two employees for $95,000.

Now, Eater reports that "frequent suer-of-restaurants" attorney Maimon Kirschenbaum filed yet another class-action suit against owners Jessi and Jennifer Singh last month. The suit, identical to the previous one, alleges that the two pocketed all tips and paid staff under minimum wage.

Per Eater: "Employees Rakesh Raju and Benson D’Silva claim they regularly worked more than 40 hours a week and were paid a flat rate of $600, regardless of the time worked."

Read the full story here. Read the full 15-page complaint (PDF) here.

Babu Ji opened in June 2015.

Previously

Hitchcocktober move of the week: 'Suspicion'

Tonight's Hitchcocktober movie of the week at Village East Cinema on Second Avenue and 12th Street is ... "Suspicion."

The one-sentence plot via IMDB: "A shy young heiress (Joan Fountaine) marries a charming gentleman (Cary Grant), and soon begins to suspect he is planning to murder her."



And upcoming:

Oct. 20 — "Dial M for Murder" in 3D

Oct. 27 — "The Trouble With Harry"

Oct. 31 (Halloween night!) — "Psycho"

You may buy advance tickets here. The movies start at 8 p.m.

Meeting tomorrow night for shareholders living in HDFC buildings

Via the EVG inbox...



As the flyer shows, the meeting is tomorrow night at 6:30, PS 15, 333 E. Fourth St between Avenue C and Avenue D.

Find more information at the the HDFC Coalition website here.

Discarded toilet on 2nd Avenue continues to captivate

[Photo by Steven]

The toilet arrived yesterday morning on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street... delighting the children as only a discarded toilet can...


[Photo by Steven]

...and by today, there were additions...


[Photo by Derek Berg]


[DB]

More Mosaic light poles arrive at Astor Place

[Photo by Steven]

This morning, two more of Jim Power’s Mosaic Trail light poles were reinstalled at the (not-yet-complete) redesigned Astor Place... seven poles are expected in the final redevelopment... (you can read more abut the pole-restoration project here).





Previously on EV Grieve:
The first of Jim Power's restored mosaic light poles has returned to Astor Place

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.



By James Maher

Name: Michelle Candela
Occupation: Writer / Artist
Location: Tompkins Square Park
Time: 2:30 on Friday, Oct. 7

Originally, I’m from Philadelphia, but my father’s side of the family are all from here. I moved to New York in 1985, then I left in 1995, and I came back in 2005.

I used to work in animation. I write. I’m trying to write a couple screenplays. I did act for awhile. I was a librarian. It was one of the best times of my life here. I lived on Avenue B between 4th and 5th.

As a matter of fact, I come down here every now and then to recharge my batteries. I came today to see some friends of mine down the street on Avenue A. I just like coming in and walking around.

Avenue B was nothing like it is now. There was garbage everywhere, which I didn’t mind. There were lots of bodegas and small little shops, which really weren’t much. There’s the Horseshoe bar, which is a great bar on B. On the corner of 7th and A was King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, then there was 7A Café, which is now Ms. Lily’s, and then across the way was Leshko’s. That was a Polish coffee shop, and it was the first time I ever had kielbasas and pierogies. Next door to King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut was Sal’s Pizzeria, which was where I found my kitten, who I had for 18 years. She was a little black cat and she was so adorable. I named her Zia. So I got her right there and I fell in love with her.

New York, and especially down here… you never had to worry about who you were. It was unpretentious. It was just life. When you came over here you could just be yourself. It didn’t matter what walk of life you came from. It was where all the misfits congregated.

You can still see it now. There are a lot of really cool people here. The feel and the community was just awesome. It was down to earth. It was just life. People were cool. Whether they had a bad attitude or a good attitude, it didn’t matter, because it just fit into the neighborhood and you understood it. Everybody understood each other.

My philosophy is: Be who you are; have a great time; everybody is awesome.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Empire Biscuit has until Tuesday to pay the back rent or surrender their Avenue A storefront

Over at Empire Biscuit, the 7-month-old disposable plate posted to the window notes that they are (still) peeling' potatoes here at 198 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street.

The quick-serve biscuiteers have only been open a few days this year. They announced reduced hours in January, and then never reopened. Empire Biscuit owner Jonathan Price promised a return in March. That never happened.

Meanwhile, there's rent to pay.

Yesterday, several pages of legalese arrived on the front door...



According to the paperwork, it appears the biscuiteers haven't paid the rent — a little more than $6,000 a month — dating back to the summer of 2015. (There are also some early unpaid real-estate taxes.) Not sure what the total bill is. The front page has $29k and change through November 2015. The rest of the paperwork is taped pretty well to the door.

Anyway, ownership has until Tuesday to pay up or surrender the possession of the property, per the paperwork.

Back in the summer, the City Waste Services of New York dropped some legal papers off here to collect a debt.

Empire Biscuit opened to some fanfare in the fall of 2013.

H/T Greg Masters!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Incoming Empire Biscuit on Avenue A launches Kickstarter campaign (122 comments)

Report: Empire Biscuit opens today (65 comments)

The Citibank branch on Avenue A is closing

[Photo from 2014]

The Citibank branch at 50 Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street is closing in January.

Citi customers started receiving letters yesterday about the development. An EVG reader shared this...



The letter, which does not offer a reason for the closure, states the last day on Avenue A will be Jan. 13. This customer's account will be transferred to the branch on Grand Street in Seward Park, which is not really convenient. (Why not the Stuy Town branch on First Avenue at least?)

Another EVG reader recalls that No. 50 was previously home to an E.A.B. branch. Citibank bought E.A.B. in 2001, according to The New York Times.

Per the reader:

In the 1990s, we loved E.A.B. and the people who worked there, especially the manager, John Ottino. Then at some point, Citibank bought out E.A.B., which upset us because everything became so corporate, but at least John and several other wonderful people who had worked for E.A.B. stayed on at the branch for a while, and at least we’ve been able to keep our original E.A.B. account numbers all these years. Because of constant employee turnover, this Citibank branch hasn’t provided a personal touch for many years, but it certainly has been convenient to bank there.

The Chase branch at 20 Avenue A closed last November. That space remains vacant.

Report: City claims immunity in tenant lawsuit over deadly 2nd Avenue gas explosion

Catching up to this piece in the Post from yesterday ... as previously reported, several dozen former Second Avenue residents filed a $17 million lawsuit in the wake of the deadly March 2015 gas explosion.

The suit ... alleges the city and Con Edison, along with the owners of the restaurant Sushi Park and contractor Neighborhood Construction Corp., failed “to observe significant and dangerous ‘red flags’ … failing to take any steps to protect the public and their property.”

The city and the others also failed to “properly test the gas lines” and relied “upon an illogical and antiquated system of enforcement, inspections and unreliable self-certification,” according to the suit.

As the Post reported yesterday:

In denying any fault, the city said the damages were caused by Con Edison, the building’s managers, and the five people busted for the illegal gas hookup blamed for the blast.

The lawyers representing the tenants stated: "We believe that the city’s failures were not of the nature of misjudgment in discretionary acts but rather a fundamental failure to carry out ministerial acts and essential functions."

As for Con Ed, a spokesperson said simply: "We will address the matter in court."

In February, the DA charged No. 119 and 121 landlord Maria Hrynenko and her son, Michael Hrynenko Jr., with involuntary manslaughter ... as well as contractor Dilber Kukic and an unlicensed plumber, Athanasios Ioannidis. (A fifth person, Andrew Trombettas, faces charges for supplying his license to Ioannidis.) All pleaded not guilty.

The lot that housed 123 Second Ave., one of three buildings destroyed following the explosion, recently sold for $6 million to Ezra Wibowo under the LLC 123 Second Ave. Corp. There haven't been any details divulged about what might be coming to the property.