[Updating] The cube is back in town

[Photo by Vinny & O]

After nearly two years away (and a few fakeouts), the Alamo has returned to Astor Place... workers are putting in back into place on the revamped Astor Place...

Breaking News! The Cube is back!!The Cube is back!!The Cube is back!!The Cube is back!!The Cube is back!!The Cube is back!! pic.twitter.com/vUl7lUjX9u

— Astor Place NYC (@AstorPlaceNYC) November 1, 2016

Workers packed up and carted off the Alamo for safekeeping for the duration of the Astor Place-Cooper Square reconstruction back on Nov. 25, 2014. The cube was installed here in 1967.

Updating...

Here's an aerial view via DP in the EV...



...via Russell K. ...



...via Sheila...





...via EVG...



... 10 p.m. ...

Halloween night on Avenue A and Avenue B

A few trick-or-treating photos from last night by EVG contributor Stacie Joy...

Report: East Village zip codes in the top-5 citywide for illegal Airbnb listings

As you probably know, Gov. Cuomo last Friday signed into law legislation that prohibits advertising illegal short-term rentals. Airbnb quickly responded with a lawsuit, asking "a judge to declare the law unconstitutional and block the state and the city from enforcing it."

Under Cuomo's bill, per Bloomberg:

The fines for those who advertise vacant apartments in a multi-unit building for 30 days or less could be as high as $7,500 for repeat offenders, threatening the company’s operations in the state. People are allowed to rent out a room in their house or apartment as long as they are also staying there.

The new law would apply to buildings with three or more units.

Leading up to this, ABC News reported:

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office conducted an investigation of Airbnb rentals from 2010 to 2014. It found that 72 percent of the units listed in New York City were illegal, and that 36 percent of rentals came from commercial operators who made up only 6 percent of hosts.

In any event, I wanted to mention this data that ValuePenguin, a personal finance website, released on which NYC neighborhoods would be hit hardest if and when the fines take effect, as DNAinfo reported.

According to ValuePenguin, the zip codes 10009 and 10003 have a combined 418 full apartments listed on Airbnb, which would/will violate the state's new law ... taking two of the top-five slots citywide...



Last night, Reuters reported that Airbnb Inc and New York state are in talks to resolve the lawsuit.

Spice on 1st Avenue is now The Sabieng Thai

The Spice at 71 First Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street recently closed... and the space is now The Sabieng Thai. (Does anyone know when this transformation took place? The First Avenue outpost has already been removed from the Spice website.)

With this closure, there aren't any Spice locations left in the East Village. This one opened in the former home of sister restaurant Pukk in the spring of 2015. The Spice on Second Avenue at Sixth Street closed in June 2015. The location on 10th Street at Fourth Avenue closed in December 2014.

Eight Spice locations remain in NYC; the closest here now on 13th Street near University Place. I have no idea what The Sabieng Thai is... they weren't open at the time of the above photo.

A look at the retail listing for the northwest corner of A and St. Mark's Place

[Photo from Saturday]

A follow-up to the post yesterday about the combined ex-Nino's and Hop Devil Grill spaces on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place.

A tipster shared the flyer in circulation for the property...



As we understand it, the spaces are very much still on the market. No word on the asking rent. All uses and divisions will be considered.

Meanwhile, a reader left this in the comments yesterday:

I live in the building above it. Last week I spoke to a worker fixing electricity in the building who told me they are upgrading the electrical system because a STARBUCKS is going in...

Aside from this claim from a worker, there isn't any other evidence that this space has any retail tenant. And Starbucks has been a handy rumored tenant in recent years ... for the corner of Avenue A and 11th Street and Avenue B and Fourth Street ... the contractor who said that a Starbucks was coming to First Avenue and 13th Street turned out to be correct, though.

Work in progress at 14th and C

Just a quick look at the southwest corner of 14th Street and Avenue C... where activity is picking up in the empty lot...



... and the coming-soon rendering is on the plywood...



In case you missed the last post on the project, here's a quickie recap about the 14-story building:

The plans for 644 East 14th Street include 50 residential units, 8,064 square feet of retail space with 200 feet of frontage on 14th Street and Avenue C, and 21,575 square feet of community facility space.

Previously

Mid-afternoon fall foliage break from Tompkins Square Park

402 E. 12th St. is for sale

The 6-story walkup between First Avenue and Avenue A is now on the market.

Here's the description via Cushman & Wakefield:

The 7,740 square foot building benefits from 30’ of frontage and recently received a full gut renovation of all but one apartment. Of the 16 residential units, there is a mix of one-bedroom and two-bedroom units which consist of 15 Free Market and 1 is Rent Stabilized unit. In addition to the common areas being fully gut renovated, the Free Market apartments have experienced substantial renovations which include Carrara marble countertops, brand new stainless steel appliances including a dishwasher and microwave, luxury bathrooms with carefully curated mosaic tile work, Bosch washer & dryer units, recessed lighting, exposed brick, espresso cabinets, ebony hardwood floors, and crown/baseboard moldings. The building is currently generating an annual gross income of $690,000 with a net operating income of $477,000.

And the neighborhood?

Located in the heart of the East Village, 402 East 12th Street benefits from a wide array of the city’s best shopping, dining and nightlife options. The area continues to attract local and global visitors on a daily basis due to its dynamic culture and convenient access throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn via countless subway lines and buses.

Public records show that Icon Realty bought the building in 2013 for $4.65 million. The current asking price is $11.3 million. (Perhaps that Jerkface mural on the east-facing wall helped up the property value.)

The former spaces for Nino's and Hop Devil Grill have been combined

In recent weeks the former Nino's Pizza storefront on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place has been blanketed in graffiti... making it difficult to see what might be going on inside the vacant space. (Not to mention the brown paper.)

The other day a worker wiped away part of the tags, offering a view of the interior...


[From St. Mark's looking north]


[From A looking to the west]

The wall separating the former Hop Devil Grill at 129 St. Mark's Place has been removed, creating one big(ger) space...



There are work permits, dated Oct. 14, on file with the DOB for "interior demo."

No word if there's a tenant for the space or if the landlord is just giving it the vanilla box treatment to show potential tenants.

James Morrissey, who owns The Late Late on East Houston and now VNYL on Third Avenue, had been after the spaces to create The Honey Fitz. Those plans were put on hold, though Morrissey told DNAinfo back in February the he "remains interested in the location, assuming all outstanding lease issues have been resolved."

A for rent sign (which arrived back in April) is barely visible now at the Nino's space...



Nino's closed in October 2015. As previously reported, owner Nino Camaj accepted a low six-figure amount to walk away from his remaining 10-year lease and surrender the pizza shop that he opened in 1989. He had been in a dispute with the landlord over back rent and a closure due to a gas leak in the building.

Hop Devil Grill and its sister bar next door, The Belgian Room, were seized by the state in April 2015 for nonpayment of taxes.

A few more details on the East Houston condoplosion

The New York Times yesterday checked in with a piece on the luxury boom along the East Houston Horridor Corridor...

East Houston was once dotted with gas stations, parking areas and weedy lots.

And now? Let's ask developer Ben Shaoul, who's putting in the Katz's-adajecent condos at 196 Orchard St.

“It’s evolving into more of a luxury neighborhood from a grungy neighborhood,” Mr. Shaoul said. “But it’s still a very cool, very hip spot.”

The article offers more details on the million-dollar condos coming to 287 E. Houston St. between Clinton and Suffolk.


[Rendering via Familiar Control]

For starters, the development is a joint project between "Hogg Holdings and Vinci Partners USA, a firm with a Brazilian parent company that is undertaking its first American project."

Likewise, the master baths will have marble slabs or tiles on every surface but the ceiling. Originally, [Vinci rep Jose Antonio] Grabowsky said, the stone was to be deployed much less extensively.

Other features of the apartments include floor-to-ceiling windows, in a building that will stand above most of the surrounding blocks, courtesy of a 2008 rezoning that allowed taller structures on major streets and avenues.

Previously on EV Grieve:
(More) Condos coming soon on East Houston

11 stories of condos to join the growing East Houston residential corridor

On East Houston, empty lot awaits million-dollar condos

An abandoned car in an empty lot that will soon yield a 13-floor residential building

Pourt signage arrives at Cooper Square dorm retail space

Back in August, we noted that one of the retail spaces in the base of the Marymount Manhattan College dormitory on Cooper Square was becoming a "shared office space and café concept" called BRUD (or Brud, depending on the source).

In June, CB3 OK'd a beer-wine license for BRUD. And the retail listing for the adjacent space mentions BRUD as a neighbor.

Anyway, we mention all this because new signage up at the space at Sixth Street shows a business called Pourt (or maybe pourt)...



Looks like a cafe — the U being a coffee cup and all. And Pourt/pourt is more cafe-sounding than BRUD/brud, which maybe rhymes with C.H.U.D., a pretty good bad movie to watch this time of year.

Anyway! The CB3 application fshowed daily hours of 7 a.m. to midnight for BRUD/brud/CHUD... with menu items including breakfast wraps, deli sandwiches and salads... as well as tea and coffee.

Soft opening weekend for Three Seat Espresso & Barber on Avenue A

[Photo by Steven]

As previously noted here, a new cafe, barber and bar concept is in the works for 137 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.

Over the weekend, several EVG readers noted that the space was open for business...

To conclude our soft opening weekend, we will be serving from 10am to 6pm today. Barber open until 7pm. Thanks for everyone's support thus far ✌️️☕️+💈

A photo posted by Three Seat Espresso & Barber (@threeseatespresso) on Oct 30, 2016 at 6:21am PDT

The cafe will be serving coffee and tea as well as a several menu items at breakfast (avocado toast, for example), lunch and dinner. You can find their menu here. They also have a beer-wine license.

The cafe hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; until 10 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. The hours Saturday and Sunday are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. The barber hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. (The barber portion of the business is in the back of the storefront, and there is a wall separating this from the cafe.)

The previous tenant here, Top A Nails, moved next door to No. 139 in May.

Sunday's Parting Shot

[Click to go big]

A view of the crowd this afternoon in Tompkins Square Park for Choking Victim via Goggla...

Sunday's other parting shot

[Click to go big]

The incoming, late-afternoon storm... photo by @GMKevv

Week in Grieview

[Photo outside Gem Spa by Derek Berg]

New ownership makes it official at the former Red Square on East Houston (Tuesday)

Ribbon-cutting ceremony marks return of a community garden on Avenue C (Friday)

City says no to landmarking row of Seventh Street homes, clearing way for demolition of No. 264 (Friday)

New life for Bolt, the dog abandoned in Tompkins Square Park (Saturday)

Wayland team opening Drift Inn at former Evelyn Drinkery space on Avenue C (Monday)

Sigmund Pretzel Shop makes closing official on Avenue B (Tuesday)

Blink Fitness is now open on Avenue A (Tuesday)

Another broker for former Chase branch on Avenue A, where the asking rent is nearly $50k a month (Monday)

Virgola is no more on Seventh Street (Monday)

Fall greetings from Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street (Tuesday)

Lamia's Fish Market headed to SLA for a beer-wine license for 45 Avenue B (Tuesday)

Three new name possibilities for Church of Most Holy Redeemer and Nativity on Third Street (Tuesday)

Squish Marshmallows signage arrives at 120 St. Mark's Place (Friday)

Out and About with Grant Stitt (Wednesday)

Something new to sit on at Astor Place (Wednesday)

Pit crew preps for 22-unit condo on First Avenue (Friday)

Tiny food for Astor Place (Thursday)

Celebrate Halloween with construction and water service interruptions! (Thursday)

Humongous fungus (Monday ... Tuesday)

Divya's Kitchen now open in the Bhakti Center on First Avenue (Wednesday)

Both storefronts at 111 E. Seventh St. are now for rent (Thursday)

The Dump Trump Collection (Monday)

SantaCon is Dec. 10 this year (Wednesday)

Turning over some new leaves for Cooper Square (Wednesday)

...and this is why we can't leave out nice discarded toilets...


[Photo on 10th Street by Steven]

[Updated] Roaming East Village streets somewhere

EVG regular William Klayer spotted this today on Astor Place... be warned!



Unless this is more new, bespoke seating.

Updated 12:35 p.m.

A clearer picture of what happened is beginning to emerge... EVG coffin contributor Derek Berg took this photo yesterday... (which is what might happen if you carry a coffin through the neighborhood ...)



Officials from the Department of Design and Construction are seeking the identity of the two men in the photo to seek their permission to turn the coffin into an attraction for an upcoming Astor Alive! event.